RotDG Chapter 69: Underworld Investigation IV

The [Innkeeper] led me further down the stairwell, before coming to a halt right before a heavy set of wooden double doors. I could see magic woven onto its surface, suppressing the noise that was coming from the other side, despite the visible crack underneath the doorway.

She heaved, opening the door as the clamoring from the other side leaked out, before she gestured for me to enter.

“Welcome to the Gryphon’s Talon,” she said as I stepped inside.

The basement of the Golden Gryphon was actually not much larger than the common room itself. But the crowd that was gathered was no more mellow than the one above. They were ostentatious and loud, laughing as they rolled a dice or played games with cups and cards. 

I saw exotic dancers gathered near every other table. Personal servers for every customer group— and every customer was gathered in a group. Most of them were older men who had a couple of women slung around their arms. There was even a singer who sang in an operatic voice on top of a stage at the back of the room. 

A server approached me as I stood there, sweeping my gaze around the room.

“Greetings… uh, Madam?” he asked as he met my skull-like mask. “Welcome to the Gryphon’s Talon, how may we serve you today?”

“I’m looking for Marlowe,” I said simply, not responding to his confusion about me.

That made the server pause. “Master Marlowe? But we’re not expecting any visitors—” he started.

And I cut him off, holding out a gold coin in the palm of my hand. “Tell him it’s from a former client of his.”

“That’s…” The server blinked, before I handed it to him. He accepted it as he straightened and cleared his throat. “Right this way, Madam.”

He evidently thought that I was a girl based on my lithe frame and my height— and I wasn’t going to correct him. I was going to let him believe whatever he wanted as he led me to the back of the room.

There was a doorway covered by a velvet curtain there, and the server gestured to me to wait outside.

“One moment please,” he said, before disappearing into the room.

I waited as I glanced back to the rest of the gambling den, hearing a raucous laughter erupt behind me. But the server returned a moment after as he pulled the curtain to the side.

“Master Marlowe will see you now.”

“Thank you,” that was all I said as I stepped into the room.

The curtains fluttered shut behind me as clouds of smoke briefly distorted my vision. But my eyes quickly adjusted to it as I found myself greeted by a man sitting in the middle of a sofa. He wore a leather vest, and he had a cutlass at his side. His hair was shaved to a buzz cut, revealing the tattoo of a gryphon from his nape to his crown.

There were two young ladies at his side— exotic dancers, by the looks of it— and he took a puff from a long pipe, before he set it back down onto the table. One of the girls tried to feed him a grape, but he lightly smacked her hand away as he exhaled, letting out a plume of smoke from his nose.

“I would say I don’t remember ever meeting you, but I’ll recognize that corny mask anywhere,” the man— Marlowe— said as he met my gaze. “And yet, you are not Nicholas the Bloodied Blade, are you?”

I just silently walked up to him as he grabbed a glass of beer and chugged half of it, before I came to a halt before him. He slammed the glass down, burped loudly, and then snapped his fingers as he looked back up to face me.

“Ah, I know you— you’re his sister, aren’t you?” 

Marlowe shook his head as I said nothing. He wiped his mouth as he nodded to himself, continuing regardless of my lack of response.

“He told me about you,” he chuckled as he grabbed a small brownie in the shape of a cube and broke it in half. Behind him, the two girls just shifted uncomfortably where they sat, unsure of what to do as he continued. “Nicholas did say he had a little sister who didn’t approve of what he was doing. So that’s why he never came back for more of my… precious goods.”

As he spoke, he inspected the brownie halves, before finally tossing them behind him at the pair of exotic dancers. They quickly fumbled to catch their pieces of the brownie, before biting into it. They sighed satisfactorily as they swallowed it.

“Get out of here, you two,” Marlowe said as he glanced back at the women.

They hurriedly nodded, before exiting the room. The man turned back to me when we were alone as he took another puff of his pipe.

“So what happened to your brother, huh?” he asked, letting smoke out of his nose. “Bit the dust early, did he? He was quite the ambitious fellow, and unfortunately for most of us, ambition kills…”

I ignored pretty much everything Marlowe said, instead replying simply, “Nicholas is dead, I killed him. I’m the leader of the Blood Swords— the Bloodied Blade— now.”

“Are you now?” The man raised an amused brow at me. “And what does the new Bloodied Blade of the Blood Swords want from me?” 

“I heard the Iron Maw is willing to dabble in any business for the right price,” I said as I nodded at him. “And I’m looking for information.”

“Everyone is looking for information these days, young lady,” Marlowe replied, narrowing his eyes at me. “But we are no information broker, so even if you have the right price, we may not have the right information for you. So tell me, what or who exactly are you looking for?”

As of right now, everything was proceeding quite smoothly. But I knew that once negotiations began, things might change. That was why I remained on guard as I explained what I wanted.

“I’m looking for a man who goes by the name of Wyll. He’s a Gold Rank [Mage], and a former information broker.”

I kept things as vague as possible to prod what Marlowe knew— to see if he was going to try to bluff me and scam me of my money. However, it seemed that he did know at least something about Wyll.

He tapped a finger on his chin. “Wyll, huh? Yes, I know of him. He’s… affiliated with the Crimson Covenant. I’m sure you’ve heard of them, even if you’re not a local around these parts.”

I just nodded. Marlowe continued, shaking his head as he spoke.

“They’re a dangerous bunch, you know? And while we certainly know of his general whereabouts, acquiring information about someone from the Crimson Covenant is going to fetch quite a high price. I mean, I don’t want to accidentally draw their ire— not especially against such a small-time organization like the Iron Maw…”

Marlowe trailed off for a moment, pausing as he tilted his head back. And then he leant back forward as he placed a hand on his chin. 

“But before we discuss that, tell me: why exactly do you want to find Wyll?”

I pondered over his question as he peered into me. I could have tried to come up with a lie— maybe even weave a whole story about why I was searching for the man. But I knew that it would come back to bite me if I withheld this information here.

So I just told the truth.

“Because I want him dead, that’s why.”

***

This was a waste of time. 

Marlowe had dealt with the Blood Swords before, and he knew that they were a small-time gang from the very outskirts of the Sanctus Empire. Even when he had done business with them before, he had gone out of his way— as a token of goodwill for a future partnership— to give them a significant discount on their first shipment of drugs they had ordered.

And it wasn’t just any ordinary drugs. They had been elven drugs— imported all the way from Dryz. They normally fetched a premium. But, perhaps foolishly, Marlowe had chosen to offer Nicholas kindness.

He was not going to make the same mistake again. Not especially with Nicholas’s sister, who was probably the reason why their previous business venture failed to materialize into anything substantive.

Besides, this was the Crimson Covenant that they were talking about. Wyll might have been a brand new member of the organization, but from what Marlowe knew, the former information broker was placed considerably high up in the chain of command. 

For what reason could a random Gold Rank be given such a privilege? There were plenty of Gold Ranks within the Crimson Covenant— in fact, there were supposedly dozens of Platinum Ranks, and their leader was even a Sapphire Rank.

While they certainly weren’t strong enough to topple over the criminal empire that was the Sapphire Stalkers right now, they were growing in strength extremely fast, and they were more than powerful enough to crush the Iron Maw. 

Regardless, Marlowe didn’t know why Wyll was placed relatively high up in the chain of command. And it didn’t matter.

Because this girl… whatever her name was… wanted to kill Wyll. Which was practically impossible for her. Again, because the Blood Swords were a small-time gang from the outskirts of the Sanctus Empire. That was not to mention the fact that she probably wasn’t going to be able to afford this single piece of information without bankrupting her gang.

That was why Marlowe decided to put an end to this discussion— he had already entertained it long enough.

“Ms…” he started, looking expectantly at the young woman standing before him.

“I’m the Bloodied Blade,” she responded in her warbled, high-pitched voice.

He pursed his lips when he heard that. Like brother like sister, huh? Both weirdos…

“Alright, Ms Bloodied Blade,” Marlowe sighed as he shook his head. “I am aware of the Blood Swords reputation— where you come from, you guys are big shots. Everyone in your little town is scared of you. But this is the big city. Gangs like yours and mine are a dime a dozen, and the Crimson Covenant can crush both you and I with their thumb.”

That’s not to mention that the Iron Maw can probably destroy your little gang in a single night too, Marlowe added in his mind. But he didn’t vocalize those thoughts, keeping things civil and amicable, before finishing what he was saying.

“So just a little word of advice— save your money, and forget this idea you have, alright?” 

But the Bloodied Blade didn’t falter. 

“If the Crimson Covenant ends up crushing the Blood Swords, that is none of your concern. You will still get your payment, and I assure you, there will be no trouble that comes your way.”

Marlowe crossed his arms when he heard that. He was getting tired of this conversation— he was trying to be nice, but that was only because he was trying to leave the door open for potential future business opportunities. However, his patience had its limits too.

“Look, I spoke with Nicholas in-depth about the Blood Swords’ finances,” Marlowe said exasperatedly. “And unfortunately for you, I do not believe that we will be able to make a deal materialize tonight to give you the information you are looking for. So if you can please just take your leave, I will not be forced to call over the guards to escort you out of the premises.”

Even while annoyed, Marlowe still kept a somewhat cordial tone. But it was evident from the look on his face that he was getting annoyed by this. And for a long moment, the Bloodied Blade remained silent. 

Was she offended by what he said? Probably. Her ego was definitely hurt, considering it was the first time she was not taken as a big deal in her life. But Marlowe didn’t care.

Nicholas had been a mere low-leveled Gold Rank. At most, his sister was probably a mid-leveled Gold Rank. Meanwhile, Marlowe himself was a high-leveled Gold Rank— and that was not to mention that they were surrounded by dozens of Silver Rank guards outside of this room who would answer to him. So he could take her on in a fight if one broke out.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the Bloodied Blade moved. But she didn’t move for the doorway. Instead, she just raised a hand.

“Your information about our finances and strength is… outdated,” she said simply as she opened the palm of her hand. 

Marlowe opened his mouth, about to snap for real this time. But then with a flash of light, gold coins started pouring out of her fingers— like they were being created out of thin air.

“Things have changed since I have taken over the Blood Swords.”

She continued as the pile of gold coins at her feet grew taller and taller. There had to be over a hundred gold coins now, and the pile was still growing larger. 

Marlowe blinked a few times as he processed this, before the gold finally stopped pouring.

“I do believe that this payment will more than suffice for the information I am looking for,” the Bloodied Blade said as she met his gaze. “Consider the extra payment as both an assurance for a future, meaningful business relationship between the Blood Swords and the Iron Maw, and an apology for our failed past business ventures with our previous leader.”

“Well, that is… really generous of you.” Marlowe tried to work his jaw as he stared at the pile of gold coins. 

At most, he would have asked for a hundred or so gold coins for the information about Wyll’s whereabouts. But this was nearly triple that amount. Were the Blood Swords now truly so rich they could afford paying such an outrageous amount for simple information? 

Evidently, that had to be the case, because the Bloodied Blade didn’t even flinch at handing over such a large amount of coin. And if that were the case, then wouldn’t that also mean they were truly as capable as she was saying too? 

Marlowe didn’t have time to ponder over this as she pressed him.

“Or do you believe I still have to take my leave even now?” the Bloodied Blade asked him almost facetiously.

And in response, he cleared his throat as he straightened. “Ah, no. My apologies, Ms Bloodied Blade. It appears I was mistaken, and I am sure that the both of us can come to a mutual agreement…”

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