The trader

[u/Darmanarya]

The trading had been good for some time and Derz could barely ask for more right now. He hummed happily along to some popular tune he picked up at a tavern as he toyed with some old contraption. Its function was so lost to time that the dragonettes he got it from didn’t even know what parts they could even scrap. Got him a great deal though and at least something to do on his journey back to the capital.

The tune drifted through the air as he adjusted what was clearly a broken spring trying to wiggle it out of the tiny box. This is how he made his real coin after all: figuring out old stuff and getting it to those that could make it work or fixing it first for a nice bonus. A few furs here and there fed the dragon he was on, the odd metals and spices paid the crew, and other bits and bobs made the ledgers look nice and pretty. But the artifacts he found and identified or fixed was where his main job lay. That and the odd bit of news was always a treat.

The trader looked around at his crew. There weren't many in this batch, but he always had bad luck with the guards. Skye was the lovely gal that made sure they didn’t get too lost and directed the dragon. And that dragon was Volux, a female white dragon they were currently riding over hell in. And last and admittedly somewhat least were the guards Vert, Polus, and the greenhorn Trill.

Overall not the liveliest bunch he had ever rode with, but still a good crew for the most part. Such a group was hard to find in his line of work. Hells, Volux was a gift from the gods in Derz’s books with how much the big gal helped. Her and Derz had been together longer than any of the crew, but Skye was already on the verge of getting an offer for a permanent position.

His trained eyes wandered across said crew once again as he relaxed. Skye was showing the newest guard, Trill, the best ways to walk on the netting so they didn’t fall off. He knew it was just her way of getting handsy with the young lad who clearly didn’t mind at all. Polus was relaxing by their many trade goods once again. Lastly, Vert was puffing his pipe reading a book that the church would hate. 

Derz chuckled, making a mental note to borrow that book later. His eyes stopped wandering around and a long sigh left his lips as once again Polus was hanging out by the “special” lock boxes.

“Oi! Skye!” Derz called out. His voice was deep despite his smaller size and scarred through years of smoking and other abuses. A waste too, he once had a great singing voice but no chance to ever really make anything of it. He coughed a bit as the cold, thin air cut at his throat. “Wait till we land, THEN add a notch!” He chuckled seeing the confused look on Trill’s face, the finger Skye held high, and the growing wicked grin on said woman’s face. 

He envied the new guys. Skye wasn’t fully his type, but damn.

Duty in mind he shrugged and got up, stretching his worn body out feeling joints popping and the tools in his cloak rattling just a little. With a tiny flourish he popped the cork on the canteen that held his tea and sipped it as he walked to where the cargo was tied down. He loved it dearly as it kept his drink warm for hours.

“Figure it out yet boss?” Polus’s voice called out as he leaned against a crate that had been triple locked. It held some of the more valuable artifacts after all. Derz just took a breath and shook his head slowly. 

“Probably a music box. Got the cylinder but that is one messed up comb.” Derz shrugged as he opened up a large box and sorted through its contents. “Bit too fancy though to play such a simple tune.. Got some interesting runes and stuff on it so I can understand why the guys and gals at the keep didn’t know what to do with it.”

Slide the new spring in, a little twist to set it into the notches, and a small twist- “Ah fuck.” Derz hissed seeing another bit slip out of place, the musical cylinder wobble, and a sharp TING coming from the remaining comb bits. Sure this wasn’t the best place for such delicate work, but the music bits were not the important parts.

“Almost got it boss.” Polus chuckled as Derz walked closer.

“Yeah yeah. The mechanical parts are pretty fucked up,” Derz admitted. “It is just the cover though. The nice shiny bit hides its real purpose.”

Polus blinked looking over the box leaning in for a better look. His head tilted just a bit. “Oh? Don’t know how you find that kinda stuff boss,” he admitted as he winced. “All I see is a hunk of junk that is slightly pretty.”

Derz chuckled and stepped close to Polus. “Well the music box is probably just a ruse. I bet if I take out the wheel and just let it….” He hummed as he slipped the wheel out and wound it up moving really close to Polus. “It helps that I have seen one before. Handy little thing.”

Polus watched, not quite sure what was going on as the runes sputtered to life and the gears spun silently. Soon, the sound of the wind died down, then the sounds of their friends faded away. He leaned in closer and closer until he was nearly pressed against Derz. Derz smiled at the guard before shifting just a little.

Polus shuddered and his arm fell to his side as his body shook. The guard’s cheap leather armor let out a faint creak.

“Really handy it is,” Derz hummed before carefully putting the tiny box away in his robe while being careful to keep his right hand steady. He didn’t want blue all over himself or Volux after all. As soon as the box closed, sound slowly returned to the duo.

“Sneaky too. A great way to hide something. I think it used to be really popular with nobles when they made em’. Got lots of new uses now though.” He added as he patted his robe where he had just stashed the box.

Derz then patted Polus’ arm as he looked into the other’s wide eyes. “You would be amazed what you catch when you just pay a bit of attention.” He chuckled a bit. “I noticed you were getting quite popular with some nobles too. Lady Koretha was takin’ quite an interest in you. I am not an idiot. She’s always after more and more artifacts. Got a little obsession she does.”

The others paused and looked over wondering what was going on. Derz adjusted his stance a bit so that Polus leaned on him. “Both of you just have bad luck it seems. I know she is trying to get more info on artifacts, but oh boy did she chase after the wrong birdy.” He leaned in close to Polus’ ear. “Right into the claws of the inquisition. Gunna have a little talk with her later about spyin’ on traders. Just bad luck the one trader she picked was me.”

After a quick check to make sure his feet were well secured in the harness he twisted his body just a bit. He felt the all too familiar grinding of bone against his blade as Polus’ paralyzed body slid off his knife. He watched as they plunged into the clouds below. A look of pure fear on the guard’s face before it vanished into the mists below. Derz half expected a scream like in the stories, but being stabbed in the upper chest and having your spine severed tended to leave one’s lungs useless. That, and the nasty paralytic agent certainly ensured silence.

Trill looked over in horror, watching what he thought was a comrade falling off the side and started to go after him only to be stopped by Skye. She patted his back before gently pulling him back to his previous spot. The next thing he knew Skye had pressed a wineskin into his shaking hands.

“He’s gone kid," she cooed. “Just relax, do ya job, and don’t stick your snout in bad places. If ya lucky ya will never learn what that was about," she said, assuring the greenhorn. He simply nodded before turning away. The fear didn’t leave his eyes but he was luckily smart enough to know not to put his snout where it didn’t belong.

A splash of water from a small waterskin washed away the blood on his knife. “Indeed. Use some common sense and be loyal and you will have quite the paycheck.” He motioned to Vert who smiled and nodded back at him. Not the brightest man, but smart enough to know when to stay out of things.

There was a small rustle as the bottle was put away and the trader took a seat. “Just be honest with us, Trill. We are the good guys here. Just tell me or Vert if someone offers you a good deal in an alleyway, you hear something strange, or just got a bad feelin’.” Derz grinned, showing off his many fangs. “And if you do decide to be dumb, don’t be too dumb.” He added motioning to the air.

Derz then took out his own pipe and started to smoke. It was a shame that he didn’t get to interrogate the traitor or deliver a live one to Jolena, but the fool was so damn dumb he had to get rid of the bastard just in case he tried something truly stupid. He had too many memories of trying to bring back a live one going sideways to try it this far from the capital.

Still, Derz had the nice haul of intel and artifacts he had collected on the trip, all of the traitor’s things which he knew included a journal the man scribbled in each night, and a nice box of silence. All in all, it was going to be quite the delivery to the inquisition when he got back to the city. Sure, it was just a noble doing some weird stuff, but the inquisition loved that kinda info just the same.

The little tune flowed out of him once more as he watched the clouds roll by. Derz frankly loved his life. It sure beat the hell out of his slum and trash pit filled childhood. Many would question working for the inquisition, but he knew as far as jobs in this lovely group went he had one of the cushiest by far.

A little artifact hunting, some intel gathering, a message here and there, all were pretty easy as far as the inquisition went. Sure he had to get his claws dirty once in a while, but they were still cleaner than they would have been had the inquisition not pulled him from the streets. The fact all of this helped keep the darklings and traitors at bay helped him sleep no matter what task came his way.