A new business, the
foundation of an Empire.
The Gentleman’s Rest had been open for a couple of days now
and things where quiet. Starting a new venture would always be risky and the
uptake slow at first, Nell had however chosen her girls cunningly.
She had hired an Elf two Humans and a Dwarf, each one was
easy on the eye but had other talents too. She stood in the only unused
upstairs room looking out of the window and down the street, grey ash fell
through the air like a polluted snow obscuring her view.
She felt her Kimono move slightly around her waist as shape
settled within, she stilled it with a pat of her hand against the moving area.
Laughter from the room next door sounded through the wall and Nell pushed the
window open. The air was cold not much sun was getting through the ash cloud
that was being belched from the Volcano she had heard about. She and her
companions would have to deal with that at some point. Her mind turned to her
companions for a moment; they were a strange lot to be sure. However she did
like them, they had stuck with her more than anyone else had before.
One seemingly more than the others, the Holy man of Helm had
set up a new temple near to The Gentleman’s Rest. She had noticed its workers
and some of its worshippers using her establishment’s services. She wondered if
Jacob had intentionally set it up close to where she was, perhaps he was trying
to convert her to Helm?
“Not a chance, sorry Helm.” She commented “I’m not that kind
of girl.”
She pulled the window closed and snapped the lock shut, her
meetings with the local military governor had gone very well indeed. She had
not had to resort to violence to get what she wanted, planting seeds in the
leaders perceptions of her. She pulled open the door to her room and stepped
outside, shutting the door and locking it.
The laugher from the next room had stopped, Nell’s keen
senses could make out and angry exchange taking place. She neared the door and
listened trying to make out what was being said. The room had fallen silent so
Nell merely shrugged and made to walk away, she had only taken a few steps
before she heard the sound of a glass breaking.
Nell span on her heel and rushed over to the door, planting
a kick dead centre. The doors all had mock locks; the purpose of this was to
give the clients a sense of privacy and the girls a means of escape. The door
opened with a bang, a human male had Summer by the throat. He had lifted her
off her feet and into the air; Summer was not moving and hung there like a rag
doll.
“Drop her, now” Nell commanded, the room smelled of cheap
ale. A rule had been broken and this was the result.
The man turned as he dropped Summer to the floor, Nell could
see she was alive but unconscious. Summer had fallen in a heap near a large
empty bottle of Dwarven ale; Nell advanced into the room and motioned to the
door.
“Out, now.” She planted her hands on her hips “none treats
my girls like that.”
The man blinked and staggered a little and started towards
Nell.
“I paid for en Elf!” He grinned and looked Nell up and down “I’m
gonna have me an Elf!”
Nell felt her pulse quicken as the man advanced towards her,
she considered escaping the room but that would leave Summer in there alone. She
stood her ground.
“Don’t make me hurt you outlander” Nell said dropping into a
fighting stance, She had noticed his accent was not Portlandian. He must be a
traveller or perhaps a sailor from the dock a stone’s throw away.
The man grunted and charged her, he was only a couple of
feet away and crossed the space faster than Nell had anticipated. His hands
reached out and grasped her by the throat; Nell grabbed his wrists reflexively and
was lifted into the air.
Nell lacked brute strength to force this man’s hands apart
or to wrestle herself free; she might have suffered Summers fate. Nell fought as much with her cunning as with
her blades, as the man’s fingers tightened on her throat he felt a sharp
slicing pain lancing his fingers. Nell’s ear blades cut deep into the man’s
fingers nicking the bones; he cried out and dropped Nell. She landed deftly on
her feet as he wrung his hands unsure what had happened. With a great bellow he
curled his hands into fists and threw a punch at Nell’s face.
She easily avoided the drunken strike with a twist of her body;
his other hand grasped at the shoulder of her kimono and pulled her up close to
him. Nell could smell the dwarven ale on his breath, a kind of stale barrel
scent. She wrinkled her noise and turned away, the smell making her gag. Nell
felt her kimono moving as a familiar presence made its way up her back and over
her shoulder. Her Kimono parted just below her collarbone and the man looked
down at the movement.
Yellow reptilian eyes stared out from the darkness preceded
by a sharp hiss. A snake emerged from Nell’s Kimono drawing itself up to the
man’s eye level, the man just stared blankly at the creature unsure what was
happening. The snake struck him, spitting venom into the man’s eyes. At this
close range there was no chance it would miss its mark and his eyes where
covered in a yellowish burning substance.
The man squealed and dropped to his knees his eyes exploding
with a burning agony, the sight in them falling to darkness. Nell ran her hand
over the snake’s head and smiled watching the man scrubbing at his eyes. The
snake tasted the air with its forked tongue and then returned to the depths of
Nell’s Kimono to the warmth of her body.
Nell lent over the man and whispered into his ear menacingly
as he rubbed his burning eyes.
“You never touch a woman like that, never again” She slipped
her hand behind her ear and removed the ear blade there, holding it like a
razor.
“The docks is my town now” She took the blade and placed her
free hand on the top of his head, ignoring the dirty hair beneath her palm.
“You don’t move, you don’t cry out or I’ll cut your throat
and throw you in the sea” She said, meaning every word.
She did not wait for an answer, taking the blade and cutting
an “N” into the man’s right cheek, the blood dripped onto the floor as she
marked him, she angled the blade so it would leave a scar.
“You don’t talk about this to anyone, unless you want them
to know an Elf Madam beat you in a fight”
Nell walked over to a cupboard in the room and took out a
piece of cloth, wrapping it around the man’s head to cover the wound.
“I’m in a good mood, so you live today.” She led him outside
and started down the street towards the new temple of Helm. “Your sight will return,
get help in the temple for your wound” Nell stopped outside the temple and
looked around. None was walking the ash covered streets at this hour.
“Get healed ask for Jacob but do not have the scar removed,
you do, I find you and finish the job.” She slipped the ear blade back into
place behind her ear. “Spread the word, Nell runs the docks and none hurts
women here. They do, they carry my mark.”
She turned and started to walk away from the man, leaving
him for the temple to tend to. She smiled and opened the coin purse. She would
give these to Summer and have a word with her about drinking in the rooms.
Later that day she sent word out to every footpad, cut purse
and bandit in the Docks. Women where off limits, anyone broke this rule would
have a bounty put on their heads to be marked with “N”. (Nell in her Madam clothing, with Snake)
