Chapter 335 - The Moonshadow Trading Company Short Stories: 1 - The Return to Rouke Island (II) (1/2)
Rassa stood on the quarter deck of The Moon Voyager, his deep hood drawn up over his head as he leaned against the railing that overlooked the main deck. The hold had been opened, the crew working to begin unloading their cargo. The warehouses that stood at the end on the shore looked abandoned and barely standing. Rassa had never mentioned them to Iah, Sharli or Falla so he hadn't exactly expected them to be well kept. He'd bought it when it was half-collapsed anyway. Almost everyone steered clear from this part of the port, believing it unused, or more likely haunted from the state of it. It was on the very edge of Port Leis, quite out of the way just as the Ruin had once been. Though from the whispers Rassa had heard the Ruin was a ruin no more.
Rassa watched as a portly man hurried down the jetty towards where The Moon Voyager had docked. He had not been expecting any sh.i.p.s to come in. The only time this jetty was used was when all of the other docks were full, usually that only happened during the Trader's Festival, and they were still a year away from that.
The man paused on the dock and called out, ”I say, you can't dock here! Not without a permit!”
Talo, who stood giving orders on the deck, looked over his shoulder, his blue eyes sparking with annoyance. The portly man had the good sense to gulp upon meeting the large man's stare.
”This is where I was told to dock,” said Talo, ”So you better make sure one of those warehouses is decently secured so that we can get our cargo unloaded, Dock Master…?”
”Greyson, Dock Master Greyson,” said the portly man, ”And I really must insist you go elsewhere, without a permit I cannot allow you to-”
Rassa rolled his eyes. The man was doing as he'd instructed of course. Anyone who wished to use the dock had to apply to the Trader's Council to prove that they couldn't dock elsewhere, at which time they would pay rent to Greyson for using the dock and likely the warehouses. Rassa hoped the warehouses looked better up close than they did from here, though the smell assaulting his nose indicated otherwise. Had the man done anything in terms of upkeep? Rassa's fangs tingled at the thought of him having done otherwise.
Rassa straightened, Sel coming to attention behind him. The eunuch had taken it upon himself to shadow Rassa when he was acting human. The man didn't talk much, but the two had come to a silent understanding that he would act like Rassa's bodyguard when Rassa was doing business. Layton, the whip-wielding teenager, had followed along, though he was far more prone to wondering off and doing as he pleased. The boy now stood with Sel, though far more casual in his stance. Rassa barely turned to face them as he spoke to them.
”Stay here and help Talo”.
Sel and Layton both nodded at the order and Rassa proceeded to walk down the stairs to the main deck, crossing to where Talo was currently arguing with Greyson.
”…I really must insist, Sir, you cannot unload her-Mr Moonshadow?”
Rassa strolled past Greyson and down onto the jetty, turning towards the shore, ”Start unloading, Captain Talo. Greyson, those warehouses better not look as bad as they smell”.
”Ah…Sir…”
Greyson scurried after Rassa towards the warehouses.
”Sir…I wasn't sure you were returning, thought you were dead in fact,” Greyson stated. Rassa could hear his heartbeat, smell the sweat as he filled with nervous energy.
”Oh?” asked Rassa, ”How strange. I did say I'd return”.
”So you did, Sir,” Greyson replied, ”About the warehouses…”
”Did you lack funds to repair them? I would have thought the rent and the starting money I gave you was more than enough to provide upkeep,” stated Rassa as he opened the door that Greyson had stepped out of. He immediately paused, another scent in the room catching his attention and causing his eyes to turn towards the loft apartment he'd given Greyson to stay in. Two figures passed by the window. Rassa's eyes flicked back to the very nervous looking Greyson.
”What is all that money being spent on if it's not being put into the upkeep of my warehouses and docks, Greyson?”
Greyson twitched nervously, ”Well, you see sir…I…I…it gets rather lonely on these docks you see, so…so I ensured that I could be in the optimal condition to carry out my duties as Dock Master, Sir”.
Rassa stood still and stoic as he took in Greyson's excuse, then he raised an eyebrow.
”Lonely?”
”Aye, Sir, lonely, and a tad chilly if I'm honest”.
Greyson gave a humorous laugh at his own joke, to which Rassa did not show any amus.e.m.e.nt. Greyson's laugh faded away before he gulped, ”I apologise profusely, Mr Moonshadow I-”
In a rush of air and between the blinking of his eyes, Rassa vanished before portly dock master.
”Mr Moonshadow?”
Greyson turned to look around, only to hear screams from the whores he'd hired the night before in his loft above. His gaze cut to the loft and his eyes widened when the screams suddenly cut off. The door to the loft wide open, Greyson heard Rassa's voice echo from within.
”Would you come and join us, Greyson?”
Greyson really didn't want to, but he sensed he didn't have a choice in the matter as he slowly, shakily, climbed up to the loft. He entered the apartment and found both of the whores, still n.a.k.e.d bar from the sheets they clutched to their bodies, kneeling in the centre of the room. Across from them, on a chair at the dining table which he had turned to face the door, sat Rassa. His eyes were focused on where his fingers drummed the wood of the dining table, though Greyson had no doubt that Rassa was very aware of Greyson's presence in the room. Greyson's gaze flicked down to the drumming fingers on the desk, only to find the inch-long claws protruding from Rassa's fingers rather than fingernails.
”Take a seat, Greyson”.
Greyson couldn't even take his eyes from the claws, let alone move. After a moment, the drumming claws froze, and Greyson glanced at Rassa's eyes. The eyes that he met were not that dark brown of before, but a predatory blood red. As the lips beneath those eyes moved, two needle-like teeth extended down slowly.
”I really don't like repeating myself”.
Greyson shivered in fear. It was a predator he was looking at, plain and simple. Greyson knew immediately that he had severely underestimated his worth to this predator. He knew from one look of those eyes that he was going to die. He felt the damp warmth of piss in his pants as his bladder emptied out.
Rassa scrunched his nose in disgust, though some part of him was pleased by the fear he could induce.
”What were my instructions to you when I told you to look after my docks, Greyson?”
Greyson fell to his knees, his head banging on the floor in a bow, ”Please, Mr Moonshadow, Sir, don't kill me! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please!”
Rassa heaved a sigh, then shifted. Greyson was yanked from the floor, his head pulled back so that he met Rassa's eyes.
”Stop blubbering and answer my questions!”
”Now, what did I instruct you to do when I left?” asked Rassa.
”Maintain the docks. Collect rent from any sh.i.p.s that wished to dock and businesses that wished to store their cargo,” stated Greyson.
”And what did you do with my money and that which was collected from the rent instead?”
”I hoarded the money for myself. Spent it on wine and whores and gambling. I saw Charm Street doing so well and thought that I should be treated the same too, but they never even glanced at me. The bitch in charge called me a vulgar pig and cast me out. So, I hoarded all of the profits for myself,” said Greyson, entranced by the pull of the allure.
”How much money? Besides the initial 200 gold I gave you,” Rassa asked.
”The rent collected exceeded 2700 gold over the past three years. Only 300 gold remains in a c.h.e.s.t under the bed,” Greyson pointed and Rassa felt a deep rumbling growl roll through his c.h.e.s.t.
That was 2600 gold he'd lost on this pig.
Greyson may have been under the allure, but he still felt fear, unable to 'blubber' thanks to the allure's order, Greyson's body shook with the emotion.
”How do you suggest you make up for the losses you have caused me, Greyson?” asked Rassa.
”I…I…the whores, you can have the whores”.
Rassa sighed, taking a cursory glance over at the two of them, ”I'll admit they're pretty. But they're not that pretty. Not worth enough to be 1300 gold each. Think harder, Greyson”.
”I…please don't kill me…please…”
Rassa turned to Greyson, ”Frankly Greyson, I don't think you're worth that much either. You'd have to taste positively euphoric for me to just drain you and be done. Though I am more than tempted. I have an alternative, one that you won't have a choice but to accept, and you will get to keep your life”.
”Of course, Sir. Of course”.
Rassa turned to look at his left hand as he took his pointer finger and pierced the tip of his thumb with the claw. His eyes glowed as he pulled the blood from his body, the shadows lifting a piece of disposed parchment from the ground. The three were forced to sit still and watch under the allure as Rassa used the blood to write on the parchment. When he was done, the wound on his finger closed over and he turned the paper to face Greyson.
”This is called a blood contract, to put it simply, once you sign it, to break it is to die a very painful death,” said Rassa, ”You will work under Talo on The Moon Voyager until you have paid off your debt to me. The cost of your meals, clothing and any other necessities will be deducted from your pay. You will not earn a coin until your debt is repaid. If you happen to die before that, the debt will be passed to your descendants or blood relatives, is that clear?”
Greyson despaired, but nodded his head.