Page 48 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

“Dunley. It’s about a two-day ride from here. Rain, I’d ask you sail us in as the trip would be much shorter that way, but I doubt you’d want to risk Dark Lady if we run into a pod of those beasties. So how about we just pack up some basic supplies. Get Hapi to raise a few dead elk in the woods for us to ride. Fight some finfolk. Bing. Bang. Boom. The job is done and dusted,” Fenric said, smacking his hands together a couple of times like he was knocking off some dirt. “Easy.”

“Except finfolk aren’t easy,” Malfas countered from his chair.

“And raising elk, while easy, requires some supplies, which are on the low side,” Hapi added.

Rain sat up, his booted feet thumping on the old wood floor. “And who gives a shit about some poor noble?”

“I’ve heard of this Lord Mire,” Hapi said slowly. “He charges taxes on top of the king’s tax. Bleeds his people dry and then forces them to become his slaves when they fall behind on his taxes.”

Fenric really couldn’t have cared less about that. His main concern was that Lord Mire not only had his mother’s treasures, but he knew who they belonged to, making him all the more dangerous and despicable in Fenric’s mind.

Maxie rose so he was balanced on his knees. “What about the people? They’re threated by the finfolk too, right?”

Fenric shrugged. “I asked around on our way back, and Lord Mire’s lands contain a lot of farms, which are now slowly being engulfed by water, as well as a handful of shops to serve those people. There’s about a hundred or maybe two hundred occupants of the village.”

Assuming the finfolk hadn’t eaten those people.

Maxie’s eyes became impossibly wide and shining in the waning sunlight filtering through one of the few windows. “We have to help those people!”

“Villains, Puppy. We’re villains, remember? We don’t go around saving people,” Rain reminded him in a gentle voice.

“It’s the duty of all able-bodied people to reach out a helping hand to those in need and lift them up so our society can go on to achieve greatness. It is the only way we can grow and fulfill our dreams!”

Fenric cringed away from those wide, hope-filled eyes. Back in his hero-ing days, he would have bought into that rationale and plunged into the fray with nothing more than a sense of duty to help the downtrodden and weak. He would argue that he was far more realistic now. Not everyone could be saved. A person had to focus on protecting themselves first.

“Fine. You can do whatever you want while we’re there,” Fenric said dismissively. Anything to move on from Maxie’s hopeful stare. Except now he fell under Hapi’s far-too-perceptive gaze.

“We all know you’re not interested in this because of the people. Why do you want to do this?” the necromancer inquired. He shifted on the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest, as if daring Fenric to dodge his words like he had Maxie’s.

A heavy sigh slipped from Fenric. There was no avoiding it. As he chose his words carefully, he glared at Hapi, who looked smug even without smiling. “Lord Mire bought something of mine off a fence. I want it back. There’s no reason to deal with the finfolk and all that other noise. Just help me get in, threaten his pompous lordship, get my possession back, and then we leave. That’s even quicker and less messy than solving the villager problem.”

Low murmurs of agreement drifted around the room. Malfas argued with his constellation god, but even the deity who spoke through his club seemed to see the wisdom of Fenric’s argument.

“The one-hundred-gold-piece reward for evacuating the finfolk from Lord Mire’s land is also an excellent incentive for pursuing this endeavor,” Belstrom chimed in from where he was standing behind Fenric.

Fenric groaned and considered punching the barbarian. Unfortunately, it wasn’t worth the effort. He was more likely to break his fist than cause any harm to the half giant.

“The reward!” Malfas cried out.

Hapi smirked. “Oh! So, there’s a reward!”

Malfas leaned forward, glaring at Fenric. “When were you going to tell us about the reward?”

The chorus of shouts rose until a high-pitched whistle cut through the room and everyone looked to Rain. The pirate balanced his forearm on his knee as he leaned toward Fenric. “What’s this about a bloody reward, you shifty thief?”

Fenric rolled his eyes while smiling on the inside. Now he had them hooked. “I didn’t mention the reward because it means we have to deal with the finfolk,” Fenric said, heaving a big sigh. “Belstrom still has to do his research, but he claims they’re nasty to deal with. I wanted us to go, steal my stuff back, and leave. Fuck the finfolk.”

“A hundred gold coins!” Rain shouted, clearly not caring if they had to go fight a dragon for the reward. “I could buy a whole new ship. A bigger ship with even more canons!”

“Untold books,” Belstrom mumbled. He sounded as if he were starting to drool.

Hapi tapped one long finger against his lips. “Could you imagine the amount of havoc I could wreak with that kind of coin in my pocket?”

“Rescuing people from finfolk won’t help our villain ranking,” Fenric reminded them, though it seemed like no one was listening.

“Wait!” Malfas suddenly shouted. “If Lord Mire’s offering a reward, he has the gold on hand. We could just go, take your treasure, and take the gold. Right?”

Fenric chuckled. “Look at Malfas having the good ideas.”