A Mischievous Tale of Magical Mayhem

4 | Raebel

Tallon took a step back as Raebel dropped into a fighting stance and brandished her blades, all trace of flirtation having vanished.

"Alright, pretty boy. What is it you want?" she asked. "Did Grelorn send you? You can tell him and his filthy cronies I'll hang before I pay him and his stupid guild one bloody copper, much less help him with his hare-brained schemes. If you don't like it, I'll cut you a new one and send you along with your balls in a paper sack."

Eyes wide and hands raised, Tallon retreated until he bumped into a table. "Woah! Who the fuck is Grelorn? I just wanted information on an alchemy crate that exploded in the bay this morning!"

He shouldn't have dropped such an uncouth word in front of a lady, but damn it if this hadn't been expected. Darn him and his stupid mouth for not being more clear with his intentions.

Raebel lowered her blades a fraction and frowned.

"Oh. The Merchant's Guild didn't send you? And what do you mean 'exploded in the bay?' That doesn't sound healthy in the least."

Tallon slowly lowered his hands while keeping his distance. Scamp stared back and forth like they were playing a game with balls and racquets.

"I'm here to investigate them," he explained, deciding to play his cards on the table now before she skewered him with those swords. "My father sent me on a quest to observe and find information about the Guild. In the bay, a crate fell into the water during unloading, and steam shot up like a geyser. I paid a noble for information, and he informed me of the alchemist's seal. Then he told me to find you for exotic goods, including but not limited to poison."

With a tentative step forward and his hands where she could see them, Tallon said, "Can you believe me when I say I truly intend you no harm?"

The woman narrowed her eyes as she relaxed her stance another inch.

"Who is your father?" She asked. "Speak his name, and then we shall decide whether I dice you into mincemeat and sell you as cat food, or tell you all you wish to know."

With a resigned sigh, he hung his head and tried not to spit venom into his words. "My father is Lord Colbert of Sagehand. My elven mother exiled herself from her family in Esiluna to be with him."

Lord Colbert was an arse of a man, but his love for Lady Sylrona was almost as legendary as her willing banishment from the Esilunian elves in the southern regions of the main continent. Colbert wasn't so kind to Tallon, who had struck out on his own path rather than going into the family trade or acting in any manner befitting a nobleman's son.

The only reason Tallon had agreed at all was because his mother had asked him nicely. He hated to disappoint her after she'd already endured her family's cold treatment. To date, Tallon didn't think any of her relatives had bothered to meet their half-elven kin.

Raebel relaxed further, eying Tallon with new curiosity.

"A half-elf? That's rare. Can't say I envy you, or that I'm surprised not to have heard of you before. You say Lord Colbert sent you for information on the Guild? Good to hear someone's looking into that lot. Well, have a seat then, and I'll tell you what I know."

She sheathed her weapons, smoothed her hair, and sat gracefully at a table in the center of the room, kicking out a chair for Tallon with her booted foot. He sat gingerly, not daring to move closer while maintaining a safe distance in case the knives reappeared.

"The trouble started when Grelorn Tremesian got elected as president," said Raebel, crossing her legs and lacing her fingers around her raised knee. "Guild fees tripled, and the benefits of belonging became stratified; the biggest businesses get the cake, while the smaller people get crumbs. To boost membership, Grelorn enacted three core policies. One, guild members can only do business with other guild members, or they incur a steep fee. Two, members of the guild are 'insured' against accidents. And three, use of guild-funded projects and services, like docks, caravan security, roads, bridges, and so on, are heavily taxed for non-members."