Steak gave Rook the rest of the unsold cigarettes in his inventory. More and more shops in Spawnharbor’s red light district started to open as it got later in the night. Steak must've brushed shoulders against thousands of other people as they went through the chaotic streets, he couldn't believe it. The thought of the amount of people that were sent there like him. He wondered how many of them had their memory completely wiped as well.
“Cigarettes? I thought they gave up trying to find Tobacco plants years ago,” an old man who ran a small outdoor bar said.
“But the old world Tobacco plant wasn’t the only plant that had nicotine in it. And, the same thing can be said about the plants in this world. Here, have a taste and see for yourself,” Rook brandished a couple of cigarettes in between his fingers.
“Aren’t you a bit young to know about these things?” the bar owner raised an eyebrow.
“Come on, just try it one time,” Rook pleaded.
The bar owner sighed and took a piece. Rook was ready, with his other hand, he grabbed a small stick that had engravings on it from one of his many front pockets. He imbued it with the smallest amount of Mana possible. The end of the small stick lit up in a small flame, he had created his own magical match.
The owner took a short drag and let the smoke out of his nose. For a split second, there was a smile on his worn out face, but it was quickly replaced with a deep frown.
“It’s a bit sweeter than what we had before. But the sensation is undoubtedly nicotine,” the owner put out the cigarette after one puff.
“So, do you want me to supply this shop of yours? You’ll be one of the first ones to have it in your shop,” Rook grinned.
“You know, you’re a smart kid. Unfortunately, you’re still a kid, making you prone to your foolishness clouding your intellect,” the owner said.
“Is that a yes or a no?” Rook ignored his comment and asked again.
“I’ll buy everything that you have right now, and throw in those matchsticks for free. How many can you make per week?” The owner asked.
“Around a thousand,” Rook said after making a quick calculation on his notebook.
“I’ll buy half of it every week, but give me a discount,” the owner said, extending his hand out to the kid.
Rook thought about it for a bit, but accepted the arm with a smile at the end.
***
“That went quite smoother than what I expected,” Steak said, scratching the stubble that started to grow around his face.
“I realized as I was selling my first batch that it was a hassle convincing them individually. If we target establishments like that, we’d be reducing the amount of labor we’d have to do. Now, we just need to increase production and start growing our own plants. You’re a druid, so you should pick up a skill that would help with that,” Rook said.
“I’m still a bit confused about the whole skills thing,” Steak said.
“There are currently a lot of theories on how they work and how to get and develop them. They’re actually quite important especially that we currently have a Level Cap applied to us,” Rook started.
The two of them were going back to the shack in the middle of the woods in the dead of night. They’ve gone past the town gates and the noise of Spawnharbor’s nightlife faded away as they got farther and farther from the town. It was a lively town filled with all kinds of people, though it was a bit too overwhelming for Steak who for the most part of his existence, had little exposure to fellow people. Most of it was a blur, not remembering much of their faces.
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“-and that’s one of the theories,” Rook kept on talking.
Steak was nodding away, seemingly agreeing to what he had to say. In reality, his mind trailed off somewhere during the first few sentences. Rook used words that Steak wasn’t familiar with.
As Rook continued on with his lecture, a tall lanky man stepped out onto the dirt road from the bushes and blocked their way. Behind them, a large rotund man blocked their way back.
“Brave of you to come back so soon,” the toothless man said.
He leaned against a tree with one of their cigarettes in his mouth. Lighting the end of it with one of Rook’s matchsticks, it momentarily illuminated his ugly and scarred face.
“Mm, you doing this now, huh? I thought you specialized in poisons. Weren’t you an alchemist before?” The toothless man stepped forward.
“I only made those because your bosses ordered me to, Haddock,” Rook said.
“Our bosses. Speaking of them, are you operating on your own? Because if you are it might mean trouble for you, especially when you haven’t paid back what you owe,” Haddock said.
“If it’s the Credits that you want, I’ve got it now. And, yes, I’ve got permission from Mistress Cassandra as long as I pay a percent of the profits to them, directly,” Rook emphasized the last word.
“Woah, no need to get hostile. We’re all comrades here, even that dumb-looking guy next to you. We all want the same thing, which is for our family to grow and prosper,” Haddock smiled, flashing his gums at them. “Although, the family can’t grow if debts aren’t paid, right?” He raised an eyebrow at Rook.
“Alright, alright, I’m paying you now,” Rook opened the transaction window and transferred the Credits to Haddock. “There, 45000 Credits.”
Haddock tilted his head and scratched his chin.
“That’s the agreed upon amount!” Rook shouted.
“Yeah, but what about the late fees? You know, all the trouble that we went through chasing you down? Do you even know how hungry Wedge got because of all the running that you made him go through? You were hungry, right Wedge?” Haddock called out to the fat man behind them.
“Aye, I’m even hungry right now!” He yelled back.
“Oh, and don’t get me started with the medical fees. That Blood Warg got a nasty hit on Biggs when it chased after us,” Haddock continued.
“Here, I’m still bandaged up because of that!” Biggs showed his wrapped up forearm, though it was clear that it wasn’t done by a professional.
“You can’t be serious!” Steak called out their bullshit.
Haddock used a skill, dashing forward a few meters. From Steak’s point of view it almost looked like he teleported. Haddock moved so fast that it left groove marks on the ground.
He punched Steak right in the gut. The attack was too quick for the Druid to react. Steak crumpled on the floor, gasping for air.
“Don’t you talk back to your superiors,” Haddock hissed above him.
Anger overcame Steak, making him pop out
“This isn’t even ten thousand,” Haddock looked at him with disgust.
“That’s everything that I have, just leave us alone,” Rook said, emotionless.
Haddock observed the boy for a bit, trying to figure out if he told the truth. Eventually, he and his goons walked away.
“Pleasure doing business with the two of you,” he said, waving his hand around in the air.
Rook stood there, staring at the ground and his fists clenched into a tight ball. He released the skill that bound Steak in midair, causing him to fall to the ground.
“What the hell man, I almost had him. One slice to his neck and it would’ve been over for him,” Steak said. He stopped talking when he saw the look on Rook’s face.
“You, no, we would’ve died if you attempted it. Haddock tested me to see if I would protect him and stop you. Besides, it’s not the time to strike yet,” Rook said.
Pure anger was written all over the small teen’s face. Unblinking, his eyes were red from holding it in. It almost looked like he was about to cry, that was how mad he got.
“Yet?” Steak asked.
“Haven’t you seen enough? That was just the low tier goons of Murder of Crows. It doesn’t take much to imagine how much worse the real ones with power are,” Rook hissed. “They’re parasites that need to be cleansed from this world. You saw how ugly that town was. It’s all their fault.”
“And what do you plan to do about that?” Steak cautiously asked.
“A lot, but if you’re going to be a part of it, then you’re going to need a lot more skills under your belt. Especially with the Level Cap in place. So, are you in?” Rook asked.
“Huh, it seems we’re on the right path then. A divine message of sorts. Even the gods want them gone,” Rook had an evil grin on his face. the last bit of innocence that Steak saw in him, gone.
“Nothing about this seems holy. But, yeah, I’ll help,” Steak accepted the quest.