“And that’s when Tony ripped out of the sandworm's belly, all covered in its juices. A horrifying thing to see, but Tony at the time was elated to have bested such a dangerous predator. Not that the danger was over. The deathroars of the sandworm could be heard from miles away. So loud was its roar that it attracted the attention of a scorpis matriarch.”

“What's a scorpis matriarch?” A child asks.

“Those juices must be sticky,” another child of a similar age and holding a fluffy cat exclaims.

“What happened next?” A third asks.

“Did he kill it too?” A fourth.

A group of huddled children make their voices heard to Karson Gambino. And each voice adds a wrinkle to the old man's grin. Killing, stealing, pirating- that’s just a job. It puts food on the table and feeds the family. Telling stories to your grandchildren and cousins about the grandeur of the family is what feeds the soul.

Karson gazes at the children, taking note of Quasi Eludo sitting on his granddaughter's lap. The cat has been listening with the children, even adding his own voice to the mix. For a moment, he’d forgotten that the cat in question is probably a much older [Druid] or whatever other class allows him to transform into a kitten. He should probably be a bit more wary…

“Did you ever fight a worm?” Another child asks, though the question isn’t directed at him.

The cat shakes his head. “A worm? No. Though I did fight a scorpis matriarch and win. Now those things are annoying. They’re the size of tents, are covered by a thick carapace, have four massive pincers and eight tails.”

“That sounds dangerous.” A child exclaims.

“It was.” The cat nods. “Especially the damn tails. Unlike the regular scorpis, the matriarch can shoot its stingers like a crossbow from its tails constantly.”

“Wow! So you fight monsters like Tony too?” A child asks.

At such a question, Karson starts to frown.

“Of course not,” Quasi quickly answers. “I’m sure Tony is far more capable than me. Probably defeated the matriarch easier than me. Right, Mr. Bongino?”

Childish eyes all shift to Karson in abated interest.

Karson, faced with childish wonder, hides his grimace as he continues his story.

“Tony chose not to fight. He left and allowed the sandworm's corpse to be feasted by the matriarch,” Karson explains while not mentioning the detail that Tony ran for his life. He’d been exhausted fighting the sandworm and didn’t have the energy to also fight a scorpis matriarch. Hell, nobody likes to fight scorpis at all. Their poison is just far too lethal.

“Smaaarrttt,” The cat exclaims loudly so that the children could hear. “He just fought a sandworm. Fighting a scorpis matriarch would be a huge waste of his time.”

The children take the cat's words to heart with renewed glee. Many call out praise over how amazing Tony is. Such praise that has Karson grinning from ear to ear. Eventually, such praise shifts to another question.

“How did you kill the scorpis matriarch?” one of the older boys asks the cat.

The cat swallows in hidden panic. “Ughhh, in a similar way to how Tony killed the sandworm.”

“You killed it from inside?” A child asks.

“Did you jump into its mouth like Tony did?” the older boy asks.

“Uhhh, not exactly the mouth. There was another entrance…” Quasi stares pleadingly at Karson.

Karson quickly realizes the meaning behind Quasi’s words. He leans forward, “Children, I think it is getting late. Go grab something to eat and prepare for bed.”

The children voice their complaints but the elder respectfully sends them all away. As the last child disappears, he turns his gaze to Quasi.

“You entered a scorpis matriarchs butt to kill it from inside?”

“Hey, I was exausted and starving at the time. There are too many teeth from the front end anyway.”

Karson chuckles. “I imagine there are. Now, how about we return to the table and discuss what you have a trade.”

“Sounds good to me. Lead the way.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Marco can’t help but chuckle as he watches Karson and the cat return from telling stories to children. The man has a content grin on his face while the cat just looks relieved to be done with the ordeal.

He grins at the cat's two crew members. The woman known as Irmgard has stayed very professional and constantly on guard. While the short man is the complete opposite. He’s already on his third bottle and looks the most relaxed out of anyone in the party.

“Your [Captain] is a very capable manipulator. He kinda reminds me of Tony’s wife.”

“Wife?” Cillian asks while staring at the bottle in his hand as though he’s planning to make out with it.

Marco nods. “Yea. Believe it or not, Tony was a charismatic leader with exceptional individual prowess but lacked the skill outside of that. Martha Gambino is the one who expanded the family’s fortune and allowed our business ordeals to flourish.”

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Quasi and Karson arrive back at the table. Karson returns to his seat next to Marco while Quasi takes the table.

“You look happy,” Marco says to Karson. “I’m guessing the kids had a good time.”

“They did. I told them stories of the founders' adventures.”

“Impressive man.” the cat agrees. “I learned a lot.”

“And you. I hope you were able to entertain our guests in my absence.”

“For the most part. Miss Irmgard here prefers to stay professional and on guard and. Cillian though, the man’s gone through two bottles-”

“Three.” Cillian interrupts by holding his third bottle upside down over his mouth.

Marco chuckles. “Three bottles. I’m still trying to figure out how he’s still standing.”

Karson glances at the short plump man. He then looks to one of his crew. “Get him another bottle. Let's see how many it takes to get him down.”

Cillian grins happily while another bottle is procured.

Shifting his gaze to Quasi, he finds the cat staring at him expectantly. Immediately, his spine seizes up. “With the pleasantries over, I believe it would be a good transition to speak of what you offer for trade.”

“Weapons,” Marco interrupts. “Runic ones too. They’d be good presents for Emmanuel. Especially the glaive.”

“Glaive?”

With a nod of Marco’s head, the bundle of weapons is opened again and each piece is displayed on the table. “They’re offering us three spears of penetration, a shortsword of cutting, a longsword of cutting, and this gem of a weapon.”

Karson looks at all the weapons and uses [Remote Examination] on each one. Eventually, he stops at the Glaive.

Name

Glaive of Ice Blade

Rarity

Exceptional - 10 Runes.

* 1(1-Durability)

* 1(1-lightweight)

* 1(8-Ice Blade)

Description

This Glaive is +30% more durable, +30% lighter in weight, and can cast Ice Blade at will.

Sustain

0.02% Mana regeneration per minute.

Ice Blade: 127.77 Mana to activate.

“A fine weapon,” Karson says. “But the family does not use glaives. The Mace of Crushing and Shortsword of Slicing are proper Gambino weapons. Emmanuel can make proper use of those to bolster his crew.”

Marco leans forward. He taps the polearm. “I agree, but I was thinking of something else for the glaive. Emmanuel could succeed a lot easier if he has a skilled combatant to call on. Since we’re not far from Gladius, we could buy a [Glaive Gladiators] contract and have him serve as an elite bodyguard for the kid.”

Karson rubs his cleanly shaven chin. Not a stubble to be felt. “Tempting and expensive. An advanced classer wielding a near epic weapon is something even a Buxon would be wary of. Still, it’s expensive.”

“If I had a grandson,” Quasi begins, “I’d make sure he is as well prepared for the wider world as can be. If he died because of a lack of preparation on my part, I’d not want to have that on my conscience.”

Karson grimaces at the cat's words. It’s clear he benefits from the trade, but his words also ring true.

“Coin lost can always be regained. But a life lost is lost forever.” Irmgard says slowly and with a hint of honest emotion in it. She’s still aloof and on guard, but her words carry none of that.

Oddly enough, Karson nods slowly. “Well said. Very well said.” The old man looks to one of his crew. “Bring me my [Quartermaster].”

“Yes boss.”

As the crewmember leaves, another returns with a bottle in hand. He hands it to Cillian.

Without a care, he pops the cork and takes a long swig. “Ahhh, gud shite. Reminds me of Morris’s favorate brand.”

Marco raises an eyebrow. “Morris? Do you mean [Merchant Captain] Morris Menfield.”

The Scot nods. “Aye, thas him.”

Karson and Marco share a look, then both grin. “Get me the [Merchant Captain],” Karson calls to one of his men.

The man rushes to the opposite side of the party. Not a moment later, he returns with none other than [Merchant Captain] Morris Menfield.

Immediately, Morris and Cillian lock eyes. One with a grin, the other with a grimace.

“I believe you two know each other?”

“We’re acquainted.” Morris nods as he scans the tall blond woman and grinning cat. “It is from them that I bought the Destroyer you’re buying.”

“Small world, eh?” Cillian wiggles the bottle in his hand.

Morris glares at the [Quartermaster].

“We’re about to buy some weapons from them. Care to share your opinion on their character?” Marco asks.

He nods. “They’re far more capable than you’d expect from their levels. Especially him.” Morris points at Cillian. “That man can drink over ten bottles of wine and still be cognizant enough to take all the coin I had on hand.”

“Yur still makin a profit.” Cillian counters. “Just nat az big of wan.”

“Twenty bottles?” Marco grins “Now that’s something I want to see.” He waves his arm at a nearby crewmember. “Bring me a case of wine.”

Karson shakes his head. “You’re having too much fun with this.”

Marco shrugs as Karsons [Quartermaster] arrives. The [Quartermaster] is tall, broad shouldered, and wearing thick glasses. “You called, boss?”

Karson nods. “I want to buy this Glaive, shortsword, and mace.”

“Yes boss.” The [Quartermaster] looks at the rest of those at the table. He matches eyes with Cillian and a chill runs down his spine.

_____________________________________________________________

Just because Irmgard is skinny doesn’t mean she isn’t hiding a great deal of muscle. Over one shoulder she carries a sleeping Cillian and over the other she carries the weapons that have yet to be sold. As for me, I’m just walking beside her. I could try to hitch a ride, but that’s not necessary and needless stress.

With dawn breaking, we enter Timbergrove.

“You have returned, Matriarch.” Nepenthes exclaims. Then she notices Cillian on Irmgards shoulder. She gets up and unsheathes her pincers. “Have they ended one of ours? Am I to prepare for slaughter?”

“Settle down. Cillian drank twenty bottles of wine. No idea how the man is alive, but apparently it's not the first time. I wonder if he has a skill or something I don’t know about.” I wave a paw. “Regardless, everything is good. The [Pirates] will be leaving later today and then I can enter the tower. For now, it’s nap time.”

Nepenthes sits back down and sheathes her pincers behind her back. “Rest well. I will continue to stay vigilant.”

“You do that.” I yawn. I rush to my room, mount my bookcase, and then allow sleep to take me.