Heart of Dorkness

Terror Nine - Gold

Terror Nine - Gold

Terror Nine - Gold

There is one problem with Fancy.

Well, maybe not the man himself, other than his sense of fashion and what hes chosen to do for a living. The problem is this meeting place. Its open, and any of a dozen people could be listening in.

Im not exactly trying to be stealthy, but a bit of subtlety wouldnt go amiss.

So, girl, how can the most handsome man in the room, any room, help you?

I blink and stare at Fancy. Youre not that handsome, I say.

Fancy laughs, head tilting back with a roar. Oh, that stings!

From the mouths of babes, the one woman on a lounge chair to the side says. How is your immeasurable pride ever going to recover, Fancy-dear?

The man chuckles and shakes his head, still in a good mood. Maybe Ill convince the girls parents to go harder on the belt?

Youve obviously never raised a child, the woman says. She gestures to a man nearby and he opens a small leather satchel, pulls out a large silver spoon, and a brown glass bottle which he carefully pours into the spoon. Speaking of bitterness.

Unfortunately, Im not here to see your, um, beautiful visage, Mister Fancy, I say.

Oh? he asks. Well, my taste in girls does call for them to be a bit older, Im afraid.

Uh, I say. My core roils, disgust coming to the surface far easier than it usually does. This place is bad enough, but Fancy is just... hes just setting off every alarm in my head at once.

One of Fancys hangers-on leans forwards and whispers something into his ears, the mans eyes never leaving me. A mage, I recognize from the very thin bluish veins over his hands and around his too-gaunt face.

Fancys eyebrows rise, and he eyes me up and down. Youre a mage, little girl? he asks.

I am, I say.

And, pray tell, what sort of magic did you just use? His tone is light, the kind of childish voice that people use when talking to kids and animals. Its condescending.

I didnt cast any spells, I admit. That was just my core shifting.

Pink, right? he asks, his attention back to the mage next to him. Im not a man of books. Whats pink magic, Siverus?

Siverus smiles, and its a greasy, oily sort of smile. Disgust, Lord Fancy. The Dark magic.

I can feel the mood shifting a little, some of the hangers-on holding back smiles, and that one woman in the nice robes laughing aloud even as she waves her spoon around. Oh, that stings, doesnt it, Fancy? Some laudanum for the pain?

I glare at them all. Im not here to use any magic, I say. Im here for information.Updated from

Worse, the value of gold and silver and billon fluctuate a bunch, even in relation to each other. Is one gold worth a hundred silver, or just eighty? How much is bread worth?

You seem conflicted, Fancy says. The chuckles from his companions leads me to believe that the price is on the high end. Tell you what. I also trade in favours. A small job, a little bit of work, and youll have all the answers you need.

No, thats fine, I say. I start rooting inside my cloak, some of my little friends moving around so that theyre not in the way.

Ah now, the work isnt so hard, Fancy says.

What? Oh no, I just dont have time for side-quests. Here. I quickly count out ten coins, then hold them out towards Fancy. Ten gold, and youll answer any question I have, right? I do hope you intend to answer them truthfully.

Fancy looks at me, then at the gold. Hes gobsmacked, at least for a few seconds. His grin returns. How surprising! Come, follow me; I think youve paid for a little bit of privacy.

I step back as Fancy bounces off his throne, then sweeps past, his cape billowing out behind him.

Turning, I try to share a look with Felix, who is being very quiet, but her head is down and she doesn't have eyes to share a look with besides. I guess we follow him, I mutter.

Fancy brings us to a large office adjacent to the main room. It seems to double as a bedroom of sorts, with a bed tucked away in the corner next to a window with what looks like a movable board before it.

The desk is plain wood, undecorated, and there are books on a little shelf that catch my eye until I realize that theyre probably just accounting ledgers. Its all very underwhelming, though the wardrobe overflowing in one corner is very, very colourful.

Fancy spins around in the middle of the room, then gestures over my head. The mage, Siverus, closes the door. Alright. Are you really some noble brat who doesnt know the value of gold? he asks. Or is this something else?

Im not a brat, I say.

But you dont deny being noble? You do know that weve kidnapped nobles before, right? No, no, dont worry. We dont make a habit of kidnapping children. Its bad business, gets all the snobby sorts riled up, and Im not that kind of monster.

I really do just want some questions answered, I say.

And youre willing to pay enough gold to buy a nice house in the North Quarter for that? he asks.

Yes. Oops?

In that case, he says with an expansive gesture. Ask away!

I nod. Finally. Tell me what happened to the Dark temple, who burned it down, who ordered it burned down, the reactions of the local nobility to it, and any big changes in the way the other temples are acting. I also need to know everything you have on Javier Jurez, his operation, and, most importantly, the whereabouts of his last shipment destined to the Land of Monsters.

Thats a lot of questions about the Dark Goddess business, Fancy says.

I thought you had answers, not more questions.

He grins. I do. Now, from the top...

***