| Subject: Decisions, decisions |
Author:
Eremis
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Date Posted: 16:40:01 09/05/02 Thu
Eremis took a final drag from his cigarette then tossed it out the window. He leaned into Cas' embrace while listening to him state their demands to Erlic. At first he was a little worried that his friend might be pissing off their guest with his bold manner, but then he remembered Marz. Apparently, Erlic was used to his student's tough guy attitude therefore dealing with someone like Cas should be a piece of cake for him.
The healer's cheeks reddened when Cas said that Belald could get himself a new pretty face to fuck. Being a whore and talking about the things he did while whoring were two different things as far as Eremis was concerned. Hearing Cas speak so nonchalantly about his fucking Belald to his old friend, embarrassed the shit out of him. His body stiffened a little before he pulled away from Cas, wanting to put a bit of distance between them at the moment.
He glanced from his friend to Erlic, studying his face as he sipped his java. Since he had known Erlic for nearly a year, he really wanted to trust him. Of course he had rarely spoken to the man in that year's time, but he never saw him do anything to warrant his fear or suspicion. Dalo and Ravin seemed to get along with him really well, and he was the only one able to calm Marz down until Tristan came along.
Eremis had a feeling that the ex-gang leader and the dragon didn't know about this meeting with Erlic because just last night they were both trying to convince him to move into their new home, while Erlic was telling him that he wouldn't have to change a thing about his lifestyle unless he really wanted to. Maybe they weren't even aware of the secret Specialist's Guild that they had just learned about. After all, Erlic did mention that Ravin and Dalo were members yet he said nothing about Marz and Tristan. Knowing that he was asked to join an elite organization boosted Eremis' ego a little. For once in his life he felt pretty important, even if that importance came about because of his whoring. Hell, Marz used to sell his body and nobody seemed bothered by that at all. Being an ex-prostitute certainly hadn't ruined his chances with Tristan!
The healer shook his head slightly, pushing away any further thoughts of the dragon and the secret love he harbored for him. Eremis slid down off the windowsill and poured a glass of brandy from the bottle Erlic brought them. He sipped at it while slowly pacing the room and listening to what the bearded man had to say to Cas' demands. Eremis was always impressed by Erlic's ability to remain calm in any situation. The man must have been born with nerves of steel!
Eremis wasn't surprised to learn that Sir Redric was a greedy man since most nobles seemed to possess that same trait. He was a bit shocked by the revelation that Redric had been attempting to blackmail some people, but at least that made more sense than him abusing youngsters. At least Cas had finally managed to gain the truth from Erlic about why they were truly hired to infiltrate the nobleman's estate last night.
His brow furrowed in thought after Erlic mentioned that Belald was the new owner of the Silk Palace. He made a valid point by more or less saying that their ties with the mercenary wouldn't be completely severed until Eremis stopped working there. The healer wasn't about to do that yet because he needed the extra money to support his drug habit. Of course he could probably get hired on at a different whorehouse, but he'd never be able to work out the deal he recently made with Belald, and that would mean less money coming in.
Suddenly, Eremis realized how stupid it was to write Belald a letter saying he didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore AFTER he had promised to service him for free in order to get 40% of what the customers paid for his time at the Silk Palace. I should have thought things out a little more before we delivered that letter to his house!
After a deep sigh, the healer gulped down some brandy then lit a Lotus cigarette. The drugged smoke relieved some of the tension he felt building up when Erlic stated that it was virtually impossible to stay hidden for long in a place like Bizmar. He supposed that was true since it hadn't taken very long for Belald and his old friends to discover where he lived. Eremis knew that running away and hiding from people or problems didn't solve anything anyway because he had been doing that for nearly a year, and he was now worse off than he was when he first came to Bizmar. He needed to find the courage to tackle things head on, like Cas and Marz did. If he had faced up to his strange desires a few months ago and told Tristan how he felt, they might be together today in a loving relationship. Whoops! He wasn't suppose to be thinking about the dragon, or things that could have been.
“Since I’ve covered a lot of details, I’m sure the two of you will want to discuss it in detail in the privacy of your own home," Erlic said. "Therefore, I’ll simply leave, and possibly return tomorrow, or the day after, by which I’m hoping that you’ll have come to a decision.”
Eremis was glad that the man was willing to give them a little time to discuss the matter before giving him their final decision. After Erlic stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind him the healer glanced at Cas, unable to judge how he was feeling by the expression on his face. "At least we both agree that the money is good," he quipped, before taking another drag from the cigarette.
He sat down in the chair recently vacated by Erlic then shrugged. "I know we wouldn't even NEED to make so much money if it wasn't for my drug addiction, Cas." He sipped more brandy and lit a candle before turning to face his friend. "This is gonna sound kinda delusional, but whoring don't seem like such a bad thing when you know you're only using it to spy for some secret organization that you’re a part of. Of course I have to do it for the drug money too, but it's just nicer to think it's for a totally different, more worthwhile reason, I guess."
He laughed then sucked more smoke into his lungs. "In case I didn't mention it before, I've known Erlic for almost a year now, and although he's never talked much about himself, he's always been there when me or any of the others at the tavern needed help. You heard him say that the famous thief, Ravin Rue is a member of this specialty guild, didn't you? Since I really got to know Ravin better over the past year, I can honestly say that I don't believe he'd join a guild that did nothing but hurt people. The guy's a great thief, but he's got a heart as big as the city of Bizmar itself."
Eremis jumped to his feet and retrieved a sheet of parchment, and writing utensils before sitting down again. "Let's make a list of what we like about this offer and what we don't like. That might help us with our final decision." He took a hit off the cigarette then laid it in an ashtray and dipped his quill into the ink jar. Good points….Bad Points, he scribbled across the top of the page, separating the headings by a line drawn down the center.
He listed money, protection, and free training under the good points and dangerous under the bad, speaking aloud as he wrote since he wasn't sure how well Cas could read. Eremis twirled the quill in his hand then met the vivid green eyes of his friend. "Okay, it's your turn to add something, or comment on all the stuff Erlic had to say."
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