The Blood of Angry Men

Some of the characters and the setting are taken from a forum RP I "dm'd" for lack of a better term. There should be sufficient context in the story that you don't have to (but are certainly free to) read that thread. The setting, Gradzlata, is a small duchy nestled between two greater powers. It is a port and a center for international intrigue. The tone of this is a good bit different then my first story so the prose is a little less florid. Enjoy!

The brush of soft fingers along her back lulled and excited her all at once. The gentle caress of skilled hands slipped her into a state of restfulness she never achieved naturally, but somewhere in that semi-slumber her mind was keenly aware of each little movement, each tiny graze of fingers and warm hands along her back. The warmth of the touches mingled with the sunlight streaming in through the nearby open window.

Kasia opened her eyes to stare out that open window. Through it, from her angle on the bed, she could see the verdant splendor of the eastern rise of the Stulkin Vid mountains which the city below was nestled in. The past year the half-elf spent hobnobbing with the elite had made her accustomed to certain luxuries, and the clean air of the heights and the impressive view were ones she was loathe to surrender. She sighed, trying not to think about the price of those privileges.

Instead, she thought about being touched, the simplicity of it. The quiet non-sexual intimacy of the massage. She sighed and closed her eyes, letting the warm sun and warmer hands sink into her. "You're a wizard"

"No, silly. Just someone who knows what she's doing" Marta retorted, keeping her hands moving still, pausing at the long, ragged scar that followed the line of Kasia's scapula. She worked her thumbs against it, then placed her palms on either side of Kasia's spine, pressing in and up against the little half-elf's back, freeing some of the tension stored there.

"True. I dated a wizard. He never knew what the fuck he was doing." Kasia grinned her too-wide grin, then rested her freckled head on equally freckled arms, her curly, unnaturally red hair spilling over pillow, up out of the way of the girl's hands working her back. The hair was a product of her mixed parentage, along with her strange emerald eyes. "I appreciate you coming up here. I know you're losing a half a day's pay." She felt Marta's shrug in the altered pressure of the hands on her back.

"A half day's pay for what, sucking small cocks and pretending they are too big for my mouth? Listening to some merchant complain about the increased price of barrels and how it is sure to bankrupt him while I ride him? Please. Besides your employer has a good view of the city. It" there was a pause "Being up here makes me aspirational."

That was the problem, Kasia thought. The view of Gradzlata from the heights made it feel like anything was possible. That the world was pretty and clean and easy. She grunted as Marta's hands got a little firmer. Not rough, but digging into the band of tension at the small of her back, just above her pert cheeks. She shifted subtly and Marta shifted with her.

"I could do more than rub your back. You know. I mean. You surely don't want for admirers who would do this for you for free. If you're shy about more." Marta trailed off, a promise. "I mean, no charge."

"I know, Marta." Kasia sighed "But nothing in this world is free. Not even massage. A man or a woman who wants to rub your back will eventually want to touch your ass, and then have their hand between your legs and your mouth between theirs. That part's not so bad." She rolled over, looking up at the blond woman straddling her hips. Marta was comely enough, clear skin, long flaxen hair with a healthy sheen. Curvy in all the right ways, not quite plump just a pleasing softness to her. It would be easy to believe the lie of love in those blue eyes. But that's what a working girl did. A good one at least. She made you feel, if only for a moment, that you were worthy of her attention. That's what people paid for. "but eventually, so they don't feel like they're using you, they want your heart. My heart's for nobody. It's rotten." Kasia grinned her gremlin grin, too wide mouth showing teeth too white and even to be anything but the result of magic. "I'm the worst."

Marta laid a gentle hand on Kasia's chest, between her small breasts "That's where you're wrong, Kas. Some day, I'll tell you how I know. But for now, you paid for a massage and ONLY a massage so a massage is what you'll get. I'll stroke your ego while contradicting your self-deprecation sometimes when you're paying for that."

Kasia perked a brow, trying to remember when she and the pretty working girl had crossed paths in a way that would justify such a sentiment. She came up with nothing, and shrugged, rolling back over. She felt the other woman settle against her ass and the pressure of her hands again. This time it was enough to lull her into sleep.

*****

Kasia woke alone, feeling the chill that had crept into the spring air. At this elevation, the temperature swung wildly once the direct sun was gone. She rose and threw on an emerald green tunic and gray leggings, then went to the window to shudder it against the chill. Pausing, she looked out over the city below. Gradzlata, nestled between two forks of the Stulkin Vid mountain range, was cast half in shadow. It stretched along the river from the shore to the south to the foreboding sole mountain at its north edge. The Demonska Planina. The mountain the gods threw down to seal away some danger, or punish the sinful people of the Bright Empire of the Homines that populated the ruined city of Citta De Mare, or the work of the devils that populated the hells depending on who you asked. Regardless of its origins it was home to the impressive ducal fortress of Kazimir, sovereign of the Grand Duchy. She regarded the foreboding fortifications a moment, then sealed the windows and headed into the hallway.

"Master Simic would see you, Miss Kasia"

"I guess lunch will have to wait." Kasia sighed as the butler led her from the servant's quarters where she was ensconced into the main house.

"It is nearly supper, Miss Kasia, lunch is well past." The butler's tone betrayed his disgust with indolence and her perceived privileges. Never mind she'd probably find herself working till dawn.

"Noted, Pavel." She breezed past him into the study to find Jozep Simic, her employer and scourge of her existence, seated behind his ebony desk. He was severe, not quite gaunt but not a man who indulged himself to be sure. His prematurely gray hair dropped lank in a fringe around his balding pate and his dark eyes stared across a hawklike nose to a set of papers on his desk. Though in his early fifties she'd have guessed him to be older than sixty by look alone.

She sat quietly, knowing it was expected, until he deigned lift his head "Quiet as ever, Kasia." He stood and moved to a nearby crystal decanter, pouring himself some water. He offered her none, which was out of the ordinary. He paused, preoccupied. Finally, he drank and sat, regarding her.

"That's why you pay me. Right?" She slouched in a chair waiting on a disapproving look from Simic that never materialized. Self-conscious, she straightened "and you wanted something."

He nodded, clearing his throat "I find myself in need of quick cash." He sipped at his water and set his glass down "Kazimir is willing to sell my son a peerage. Not Andrej. My heir. Maciej." Simic's elder son had been written out of the inheritance and was pursuing life as a mercenary. He tapped his fingers against the glass "It's a staggering price but it is the culmination of my life's work. A Simic will finally be landed nobility. As you know, most of my money is tied up in the vineyards and my grain futures." Simic had made a killing off of the drought in Sewochan, having accurately predicted it. While others had followed in his wake, he'd purchased the rights to grain harvests well into the future from the Ludowy and Volk alike. Wealth had come for many, but not nearly so much as had come for Simic.

"I'm afraid I can't do better than a forty sixty split if you're asking me to rob your neighbors" She grinned across the desk at him, leaning forward "I mean I'm taking all the risk there."

Rolling his eyes he steepled his fingers. "Karolina will be negotiating the sale of some of my grain contracts." Simic's second wife had proven to be a shrewd negotiator. It was unsurprising he would send her on such an errand. "You will attend as her bodyguard and you will keep an eye out for those who might wish to know my business. I want to know who asks too many questions. I want to know who does not belong at the table and is brought anyway."

Kasia nodded "If you're genuinely concerned for her safety isn't Longinus a better choice?" Marius Longinus was the enigmatic City-Elf swordsman Simic used when violence was called for.

The old man shook his head "He wouldn't know what to look for Kasia. Every tool to its purpose. I do not prune vines with a scythe, nor would I harvest grain with shears. She will be visiting Gerhard Goldschmidt this evening. You're to attend."

He resumed looking at his papers in that way that let her know she was dismissed and the conversation over, and so she made her way out for something to eat.

*****

Nikolaj bent over his seafood stew, finally cool enough to eat. He dipped a roll into the broth, taking a bite of it before spooning a bit of crab into his mouth. To his left, Lazar and Jadranko watched Kazimir's men evicting the tenants from a set of townhouses that were to be cleared for the duke's new university. Over the last few months, the decision had been finalized to bring the school within the walled city. Many preferred disturbing the farmland to the north, along the river. Kazimir's witch, however, had her sights on land just inside the wall on the north edge of the city. The neighborhood was working class, on the verge of middle class. One of the few affordable places that was safe and clean. Now it was being torn down for blocks on either side of the river. No doubt the value of the remaining real estate would skyrocket, pricing out the families that had lived there for generations.

Looking over, he could feel Lazar seething. "This is exactly the kind of injustice we should be fighting." The young man's face was a mask of barely suppressed rage "My father alone could have forced Kazimir to move the campus north along the river. He could have displaced a single farm instead of a hundred families. The three of our fathers together." He trailed off, inarticulate in his fury "The three together could demand the freedom of the city entire. The city is ninety percent of the wealth of the duchy, the feudal lords should bow to us, not the other way around!" he slammed his fist on the table, disturbing Nikolaj's soup.

Jadranko grinned, "As Orestos of Kamagnos said, 'man conquers the world by conquering himself' Master yourself young Lazar, and surely you will triumph over the hated Duke Kazimir."

"If Orestos of Kamagnos said eating a spoonful of camel shit every morning led to a life well lived you'd eat a shovel."

"Nonsense. For as the great man said..."

Whatever the great man said, it was interrupted by the splash of a flagon of wine flung by the younger man into his companion's face. Nikolaj sighed "If you really want to do something Lazar then hold your tongue and come to the meeting with Jadranko and me." He handed a napkin to the dripping man "Jad, stop tormenting Lazar. We need him." He offered a smile to the tempestuous younger man. "We all need to be as one for this."

A few moments later, the bill paid, the trio made their way into the back of the tavern and down a set of steps into the basement. There, playing cards, were a quintet of other sons of wealthy merchants. Shipping and shipbuilding mostly, though his own family was heavily involved in the olive business. They owned a series of islands close to Kesh, with vast plantations of citrus and olive trees. Though landed, they were not aristocracy. That was, at the end of the day, the heart of the problem. Money and power but no status. Commoners.

Seating himself in the corner, he was able to keep an eye on the steps. A few minutes later, right on schedule came Rasul. The impossibly good-looking Keshvian exile always had girls with him, even on days like today. A bevy of attractive women of marriage age but with even less station than Niko and his friends. Still, it made Rasul even more popular than his money. Today a gaggle of blonds made their way down the steps with Rasul, listening to some far-fetched tale that would no doubt be spun into part of his ever shifting reason for exile.

A flash of dark interrupted the blond landscape. Tight black curls barely kept in place by a loose kerchief. Serious dark eyes in a serious face. Niko realized after a long moment he was holding his breath. He made himself look away from the olive-skinned girl. Despite her presence in Rasul's retinue, her men's breaches and her linen laborer's shirt there was something... but Keshvians were as a rule a conservative lot and their grip on their womenfolk was legendary. Fooling himself into thinking there could be anything down that road was worse than the fantasy that brought him here in the first place.

Niko made his way through the crowded room, pulling Lazar and Jadranko with him. "Rasul" he smiled "these are my friends..." before he could finish, the Keshvian interjected.

"Jadranko Temec and Lazar Cacic." Rasul extended a hand "It is good to meet other men dedicated to the cause of freedom. A friend of Niko's is a friend of mine." Niko barely registered two of Rasul's group peel off to stand with his friends, drawing them into conversation and away from Niko and the Keshvian.

Niko looked again to the dark-haired beauty who had arrived with Rasul, but only briefly as the Keshvian steered him towards a corner. Niko returned his gaze to Rasul "Jad and Lazar are good for maybe ten apiece. If we wait till after the dividends return from this fall's harvest maybe fifteen."

"The men I want to use are contracted in Sewochan until then anyway." Rasul kept his voice low, conspiratorial. "Are they all dedicated? It's a fine thing to make speeches in bar basements to impress your friends. It is another to put your money and your neck in the noose. If we are to do this thing, we will need men of character. Men with steel in their spines. This is no longer a game for rich young boys to play. This is a cleansing fire. A change in how all of society functions."

Niko nodded "There's not been a republic since the Homines abandoned it for Empire. If there's to be one, it can only be here. The Volk and Ludowy are too tied into the feudal classes for their soldiers. The Keshvian Beys and Mullahs are drawn from the same families. The king of the Sewochi is said to be semi-divine. No. Here in Gradzlata the only thing more powerful than the Duke is coin. This is where we make our stand."

Rasul nodded "There's another path..." whatever he intended was swiftly cut off when Niko's attention wandered again. "Hey." The Keshvian grabbed Niko's arm with a bit of force "That is my cousin, not some revolutionary groupie to be ogled in exchange for your loyalty. Eyes on me."

Niko started. He'd never seen the Keshvian in any state other than smooth and in control. The tightly coiled anger on his friend's face was visible, if only for a moment. "Sorry."

"It's fine." The near-omnipresent smile was plastered on Rasul's features again. "You didn't know. Now you know. Come by tonight. We can discuss timing a little more and I can lend you my copy of The Lectures of Quintus Aurelius. I know you've been wanting to read it."

"Y... yes. Yes I'd love to see it." With that he joined the others in discussion, empty debates about the shape of the coming legislature, and whether there should be some sort of declaration of rights. The second idea was quite popular, and of course led to fisticuffs over what belonged in it. All the while Niko's attention drifted to the serious girl from Kesh in the corner, ignoring the fracas and lost in her book. He would definitely be visiting Rasul tonight. That was for sure.

*****

Kasia's gaze flicked from person to person at the Salon. A collection of the would-be powerful. Pretenders and the pretentious. Gadflys and hangers-on. She rolled her shoulders, feeling tight. The night was sure to be wasted, as had a few of the prior. There were no Temecs or Cacics. None of the Petrovics or Janics that made up the considerable shipping empires that were the lifeblood of the City. There were none of the Volk or Ludowy merchant class who had already purchased the bulk of Simic's contracts. Maybe a few of these middling merchants might band together and buy a contract or two, but ultimately this was going to be fruitless, and in being fruitless would need to be repeated if the last of the grain futures were to be sold.

She swallowed her annoyance with a glass of an excellent acidic and deeply purple vranac that she barely tasted. Something pricked at the edge of her consciousness, and she was further irritated that she could not identify the source of that danger sense. About to set it aside as nothing more than overactive imagination in an evening of unconscionable boredom, her eyes returned again and again to a bearded man hovering around some young bravo, barely into his majority. The boy was unremarkable. A peacock in cloth of gold loose breeches and a silk shirt. He had a crimson cape, the latest affectation among the rich. The rapier at his side had more decoration than was practical on a weapon that was for more than show. The bearded man was as plain as his charge was colorful. Dressed in muted grays, with what appeared to be an unremarkable service weapon, the kind of sword a soldier would wear. An enlisted officer, at least.

That wasn't notable in and of itself. Plenty of former soldiers found themselves quietly dispatching the violence that the well-heeled incited with loud words, or found themselves called upon to defend their master's purse when their charges were indulging in some vice in the poorer quarters. There was just a sense, a nagging feeling that she was missing something important about the man. It might be that he too was half-elven. He hid it well enough, with ears tucked into his voluminous hair. He had a cheap glamor on his eyes that a trained eye could spot, but his hair was an unnatural black, deep and shining in a way that human hair would not have been. The crow's feet around his eyes might be makeup, or he might be that old. Showing signs would put him somewhere north of one hundred.

The analysis reminded her she was, ostensibly, there to guard Karolina. She swallowed the last of her vranac and set the glass aside, moving through the crowd towards Mrs. Simic. She slid through the assembled throng easily, unnoticed, her dark livery with the Simic family crest on it marking her as part of the help. To notice her would be beneath most of these people, particularly since they had notions of their standing far in excess of their reality.

She found the tall blond Ludowy woman holding court among the more ambitious women in attendance. Mrs. Simic, in the absence of the great shipping magnates, represented the upper echelon of city wealth. She was never far from sycophants. She nodded at Kasia's approach and tapped her wine glass subtly with her ring finger, signaling the little Half-Elf to rescue her from her current conversation.

Kasia put her hand on Karolina's elbow and drew in, mumbling nonsense in the taller woman's ear, straining to do so. Karolina nodded in response and patted Kasia's hand "Of course. Of course." She gave a smile to the women surrounding her "My keeper has reminded me we are here to meet young Master Luka Bogdanovich over there on some business for my husband. A wife's work is never done." Karolina then placed her hand on Kasia's back at the small of it and steered her expertly towards the very pair she had been eyeing earlier. "Your arrival was well-timed, Kasia. Much obliged."