Kingdom of the Weak

8. North Side Issues

“Remian! Are you all right?”

Max found him panting on the road in the middle of the north side, wheezing for breath with his face completely red.

“Just… tired…” Remian managed. “And stupid.”

“What do you mean, ‘stupid’?” Max was baffled.

“I went and… implicated a Wild… without asking it.” Remian huffed. “She was just… too pretty.”

“Huh. Well, you won’t be the first guy around town who had is brains scrambled by a girl. Just tell me that she wasn’t Cruel Rose.”

“What?” Remian blinked.

“That girl. Her name wasn’t Rose, was it?”

“No, it was Mandy.”

“Good.” Max sighed with relief. “If it was Rose, we’d all be done for, one way or the other.

“Who’s Rose and why is she so dangerous?” Remian asked.

“Rose is the boss of the Cruel Rose gang. They deal with… people.” Max said vaguely.

“Doesn’t everyone?” Remian frowned. “That’s what trade is, right?”

“Not if the goods are the people themselves.” Max hesitated. “How old are you, exactly?”

“Nineteen plus.” Remian answered shortly. “Why?”

“Well, then…” Max took a deep breath. “The Cruel Rose gang runs all the brothels in town.”

Well, that was straightforward!

“I also suspect they sell people in a different way.” Max added. “So do not let your guard down, or you might find yourself sold into slavery overnight.”

That sounded like the warning Mandy gave the little girls. Apparently, it was meant literally.

Remian eyed Max sideways. “I take it the Iron Legion disapproves of slavery?”

Max paused. “We believe in opportunity and reward. A lot of our officers were slaves who earned promotion through service.”

“So… what are you doing here on the North side?” Remian asked.

He half expected to hear Max make an excuse about lunch or some such, but instead, Max fell silent.

“It’s not even noon, yet!” Remian protested.

“Rates are lower in the slower hours.”

Remian shook his head. “If you’re so intent on keeping me away from them, why don’t you talk to them about the board instead, then?”

“Very well.” Max straightened. “Take care of yourself, Remian.”

“You too, Max.” Remian didn’t know what else he could say.

He watched Max go, wondering if he’d just done something particularly evil, but Max really seemed to want to keep Remian away from the Cruel Rose gang altogether.

Well, if Max could handle dealing with them, all the better, right? Remian wasn’t confident he could face someone like Rose or her girls when Mandy alone had him completely flustered. He simply didn’t dare.

With the east side and the north side gangs done with, Max turned his attention to the most violent gangs in town; the Blood Claw and the Burning Steel gangs on the west side. He wondered about it as he crossed the central area, the town square where a few vegetable carts sold their goods…

“Psst. Remian! Hey!” Mindy poked her head out from the side.

“Mindy? I thought you were at church, recovering.” Remian said, breathing heavily after all that exertion.

“I couldn’t take it anymore! All they wanted me to do was sit still all day! I was bored to death! I had to get out of there!” Mindy complained. “I’m better already! Really!”

“Really…?” Remian shook his head but what could he do about it? He could barely stay on his feet as it was.

“What about you? You look like you’re the one who should be in bed.” Mindy pointed out.

“I’m just… tired. But I can’t go to bed now. I need to find the Blood Claw and the Burning Steel gang leaders…” Remian wavered. “I’ll just sit down for a minute…”

“Don’t go to the west side!” Mindy said worriedly. “They’ll kill you. The only thing they respect is strength, and you look… well…”

“Weak.” Remian finished for her.

“Hey, don’t get me wrong, I know you’re actually very powerful.” Mindy tried to comfort him. “That light spell you used last night was incredible! You could hunt all sorts of Wilds with that kind of power! Imagine bringing in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 carcass to process at Burning Steel’s forges! Everyone would respect you at once!”

“Really?” Remian lit up. “What’s a Tier 2 or 3 carcass?”

“It’s the dead body of stronger Wilds. That Iron Bristle Boar you killed last night was a Tier 3 Wild.” Mindy explained. “You can sell the tusks and the bones to the Burning Steel forges. You could have sold them the leather if it weren’t in such bad shape after all the fighting. As for the meat… you can sell that anywhere. You should sell it to us! Bring it to the Raven Tavern! We’ll even share some of it with you!”

“Wouldn’t it be easier and more profitable to sell it along with the rest of the carcass to the Burning Steel gang?” Remian questioned.

“Aww.” Mindy’s head lowered in disappointment. She kicked the curb. “We never get the good stuff.”

“Why not? Isn’t Kage a really strong fighter?” Remian asked.

“Kage is too busy protecting us. One time he went hunting and half the gang got captured by Rose’s slayers and sold into slavery.” Mindy said darkly.

“If it’s so dangerous, why do you stay around the north side?” Remian questioned.

“Because everywhere else is worse. At least there we have space to run a tavern and a garden and a small workshop. Everywhere else, we’d just be extorted and tortured and bullied.” Mindy sniffed. “At least Rose wants to catch us healthy and pretty, even if it’s just to sell us back.”

“Isn’t that just kidnap and ransom?” Remian shook his head.

“They hire us too.” Mindy said, shuffling her feet. “Laundry, cooking, cleaning… we do all of that for them. Once in a while, they’ll even let us have some of the good food.”

“You work for them, and they kidnap you?” Remian gaped.

“Only if Kage and Donny aren’t around. As long as they’re there, we’ll be okay.” Mindy protested.

“You run a tavern, yet they get the good food?” Remian questioned.

“We save the best stuff to sell.” Mindy muttered. “Selling away a good steak can get us the money to buy a whole basket of vegetables.”

“So they get the good food from you…”

“No, no, the meat is theirs. We just cook for them.” Mindy clarified hastily. “They have three Slayers. They can afford to send one to hunt.”

That was it. The great divide. A single Slayer made all the difference in this town.

With a groan, Remian squatted down right there in the town square.

“Hey, you really look like you need a break. Maybe hunting isn’t such a good idea right now.” Mindy said dubiously. “We should get you home, or to the church.”

“Back to camp.” Remian decided. “I don’t want to be forced to sit around doing nothing all day either.”