Chapter 289 - A Badge of Brutality (2/2)
First stop, new clothes. Tigin and Rima were immediately uncomfortable with Aegin paying for it all, but he'd just shrugged and asked them what else he was supposed to spend his money on if he had no need for food. They then reluctantly admitted that just this once, they didn't mind getting clothes that weren't full of holes and shoes that actually fit.
Once they had clothes, Aegin sent the two of them off to get food enough for the journey to Havena, seeing as they would need to stop there to pass through the Lapis Harengi. When they met up again, Aegin had secured two horses and a cart, upon which Rima finally caved and asked when they were actually leaving.
”Tomorrow,” Aegin had replied with a grin, ”I need to get the pay from tonight first”.
Tigin and Rima found themselves a little surprised, but not unhappy. Their dingy apart was hardly something to miss, and they had no friends or family except for each other.
It was on their way back to the apartment in question, cart in tow, that they came across the tax collectors.
They were collecting on the street from a fruit vendor. The woman was quite distressed as she tried to hand over silver, ”Please, sir. I beg you, this is all I can spare. I have four children, I need the money to-”
She was backhanded, and the coins scattered.
”Insolence!” the tax collector snarled, ”The tax you are to pay is two gold, yet you offer me 30 silver? How is this supposed to reassure Reishin Irons that you are grateful for his protection”.
At the movement of the second man, Tigin's eyes focused on his dark figure. He stood tall, a hood over his head, and a gold chain hanging from his hip. A rather familiar gold chain.
”Please, sir,” the woman said, then turned to the second man, ”Please Great Warrior Bloodthorn, I will not disappoint you, give me three days and I will gather the coin-”
From beside him, Tigin heard a dark growl. His and Rima's gazes snapped to Aegin, also hooded, but with a far more menacing aura as he handed off the reins of the horses to Tigin then approached the tax collector and his companion.
The tax collector turned at the approaching figure, ”Official Business of the Reishin, this is not for you to inter-”
Aegin grabbed him around the neck and the tax collector began chocking and scratching at Aegin's forearm immediately.
”Th-This is an insult against the Reishin! I shall immediately dispose of-”
The second man, the impostor, stopped his righteous speech as a throwing dagger severed the tendons in the wrist that was about to draw a blade. He screamed bloody murder as he nursed his arm and collapsed to his knees.
”You, you will pay!”
Aegin snarled as he continued to chock the Tax Collector, then he promptly snapped the man's neck and let him drop to the ground dead. He turned back to the impostor, who looked quite terrified even with his hood still up.
”I don't take kindly to my name being sullied so,” Aegin stated, ”I am no brute. And my Warrior Abilities have never been used to threaten innocents. So give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you too”.
”I...I...I meant no offence, Great Warrior-”
”On second thought, I think I'll just kill you anyway,” said Aegin, ”Your not innocent, after all”.
Aegin leaned down and ripped the throwing dagger from the man's wrist then cut off his pained scream.
Aegin huffed as he looked up at Tigin and Rima, ”Get whatever you left at your apartment. I'll meet you at the western gates”.
”What are you going to do?” asked Rima.
Aegin wiped his knife on the clothes of the fallen impostor, then flicked a couple of gold coins at the woman who had bore witness, ”I'm going to show Reishin Irons the consequences for crossing the line with the wrong person. His Shin is not the only person he should fear”.