That morning, at a table in Last Call, Renato found Little Finger dead drunk.
When shaken awake, Joe stared blankly at Renato, seemingly trying to figure out who he was. Then he clutched his head and sucked in a sharp breath:
"Hiss-get me some water, young master. Fuck, my head's splitting!"
"There's only small beer."
"Quit talking. My throat's dry as a desert."
Joe gulped it down and sighed in satisfaction. Then, suddenly remembering something, he hurriedly felt the pouch at his waist and shouted in fury:
"You drank my booze and stole my money, you bastards, you beggars! I don't give a damn about a few dozen coppers. Keep them and buy coffins for your ancestors..."
Only after finishing his tirade did Joe turn back to Renato. His face broke into a smile, showing no trace of his earlier anger.
He pulled Renato closer and said conspiratorially:
"I've got a big deal lined up. Want in?"
Leaning away from the sour, rotten breath coming from Little Finger's mouth, Renato frowned and replied:
"Don't play guessing games with me. Spit it out."
"Hey, brother, have a little patience. I'm trying to make you rich here."
Renato pulled out the chair beside him and sat down.
"Go on, then. What's your way to get rich? Just so we're clear, I'm not going to steal things with you."
Joe waved a hand dismissively.
"You can't even pick a lock. Why would I bring you? If I wanted to steal something, a ten-year-old off the street would be more useful than you!"
"I'm talking about a real big deal. You know I know plenty of people in the city, including some rich, powerful big shots."
Big shots who cut off your little finger? Renato swallowed the words.
"You know Benjamin, the boss of the Wolf Gang? The Wolf Gang! The biggest, meanest gang in the city. Benjamin's practically the emperor of Fried City's underworld now!"
Renato nodded to show he knew, though he couldn't help thinking that he had never heard of an emperor who lived underground.
"The Wolf Gang has plenty of men and money. They control several districts, and protection money alone probably brings in at least a hundred gold coins a month. Benjamin himself has a real eye for business. He invested early, and now the horse ranch north of the city belongs to him."
Joe lifted his cup, wet his throat, and continued:
"To get his name out there, next month-next month he's holding a horse race at the ranch. The winner gets twenty gold coins."
"But that's not the point. Who cares how fast the horses run? What matters is the odds!"
Changing tack, he leaned closer again and lowered his voice:
"Benjamin's holding the race to sell horses. Why would he let anyone else win? One of his ranch's horses is bound to win! And I've got a buddy whose little brother works there. That means I've got inside information..."
"So after all that, your brilliant plan is betting on horses?"
"Listen, this isn't gambling. It's the chance of a lifetime! People like us, who live on the edge of a blade, wait for chances like this to turn our lives around!"
"I only thought of bringing you in because we've been through life and death together. Once we win next month, we'll have enough money to last us another lifetime! You could even buy yourself a lordship and become a real noble..."
"All right, I've heard your brilliant plan." Renato cut Joe off. Help him make money? Did he take him for an idiot?
Renato couldn't be bothered with any more nonsense and got straight to the point:
"Little Finger, I heard you used to work as a 'guide.' Well? Still have any connections?"
After leaving Last Call, Renato actually found Brekka Town's air remarkably fresh compared with the vomit-stinking tavern.
Little Finger had promised to introduce him to someone once they reached the city, but Renato wasn't hopeful. People like Little Finger said one thing and did another. His word meant nothing.
Besides, being a "guide" generally meant taking a group of novice adventurers who wanted to make a living in the Phantom Forest but feared dying there. They would pool their money to hire a Brekka Town "local" to lead them through a single job.
Novice adventurers rarely had much money, so the pay for a "guide" was naturally low. It wasn't a lucrative side job, but it had the advantage of being safe and efficient.
After all, according to Little Finger, a group of novice adventurers had refused to follow his orders and died in the Phantom Forest. What a perfectly reasonable explanation.
Renato found One-Eyed Holly in the square. Most of the jobs had probably been handed out, because he was sitting on the platform, staring into space.
The bald man's eyes lit up as Renato approached, and he waved him over:
"There's another job here, Renato. Want it?"
Holly was one of the few people in Brekka Town who called him by his real name. He had once tried to recruit Renato to teach swordsmanship to an elderly noblewoman in the city, but Renato had refused. He had no desire to "practice swordplay" with an old woman.
"What kind of job? Guild work?"
"Guild work. Investigate the Old Ruins District and report back. One silver coin."
Looking at the [Quest] that appeared before him, with a reward of only fifty experience points, Renato shook his head:
"I'm not taking any jobs for the next couple of days. I made plenty on the last one. I'm taking a little break."
Glancing at the sword on his back, Holly asked:
"Looks like you really did make plenty. Mages certainly are generous... I heard Pockmarked Face didn't come back?"
"She's dead," Renato said firmly. "The Owlbear tore her apart." That was the story the four of them had agreed on during the journey back.
"What a shame," Holly said regretfully. "That woman wasn't much good at anything, but she was first-rate at selling dreams to those poor bastards. She brought in plenty of people from the city every month. Now everyone complains there's too little money in it, and nobody wants to work as a 'guide.'"
"It'll get better in winter. If the poor in Fried City don't want to freeze to death, they'll have to find work. When winter comes, where will it be easier to find work than Brekka Town?"
Renato didn't actually care about Holly's business. He only wanted to ask whether there were any more side jobs.
"Holly, if you get another cushy job like the last one..."
"I know. I'll keep you in mind. Now get going. Don't get in the way of people taking jobs."
Dismissed by Holly, Renato understood that this attitude came from his failure to pay him. But he had never intended to pay him anyway.
Old Holly was a notorious miser in town, and he had often taken money without doing anything in return. Renato wasn't about to let himself be fleeced.
With neither avenue working out, Renato could only set aside his plans for side jobs for the moment and take things as they came.
Although Renato intended to rest for a couple of days, Brekka Town was sorely lacking in entertainment. Aside from the taverns' cheap liquor and the prostitutes in the shacks, adventurers had practically no other diversions to choose from.
Renato rolled his shoulders and decided to head to the pond outside town for his own particular form of entertainment-playing with swords.
Now that he had the Silent Lady, how could he not spend some time getting properly acquainted with her?
The thought left his hands itching, and he couldn't wait to swing the two-handed sword on his back that had cost him five gold coins.
"I should've switched to a two-handed sword ages ago. The swordsmanship school this body's original owner studied was meant for a two-handed sword in the first place. That old side sword never quite fit. Finally, this feels right."
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