Constance

Take a look into the life of a not-so-ordninary servant of the light!

Topic/Postby Lilandris » 17 Mar 2017, 00:53

Constance

I wanted to write a story for my goblin. And since I did, I might as well post it here.

Not my best work but meh. It serves its purpose at least.


Constance



The humidity hung over Booty Bay on this hot summer's day, the streets were bustling with life as always. Between pirates, adventurers, thugs and other fortune seekers it was just another day on the cape of Stranglethorn. The waves crashed gently against the shore and piers, guiding vessels safely to port for docking. In a dimly lit back room in the old Port Authority building, a meeting of sorts was going down.
"I swear I was gonna pay you yesterday but stuff went down and I just didn't have time to come around." The goblin man rubbed his neck nervously while his other hand rested on the table. Across it stood another goblin, a lady, with an annoyed look on her face behind her large oval glasses.
"Yeah yeah, like I ain't heard that one before. Don't insult me with that crap, Elroy. You should know that a date like that is not up for negotiation. You pay up on time or bad stuff happens, just look at where you are right now." She gestured to the room.
"Come on, you're a nice gal, help a guy out here, Connie- " She smacked a thin bamboo stick across his hand, making him yell in agony.
"My name is Constance! And that's 'Lady Lockblast' to you, you insolent, disrespectful gnat." She took her glasses off for a moment to polish them and wipe some sweat out of her brow, the room was getting a bit stuffy from the outside heat. "But you're right, I -am- a nice gal. I helped yous out when you stumbled in here a couple of months back. But any self-respecting goblin knows that everything comes with a price tag, especially in this town." She put the glasses back on her nose and leaned on the table, staring into the man's eyes. "And it's time to pay your debts, Elroy. It's nothing personal, it's just business. I've been lenient with you before, but now you're getting the stick, because you've gotten the idea that lenience meant I was soft." She walked slowly around the table.
"Look, Miss Lockblast, you gotta understand. I don't even have the money right now, because I'm still waiting for the shipment to come back to me with the money! That's why I didn't pay you yesterday!"
"Bullshit! Now you listen to me you son of a murloc!" She slammed his head into the table. "Either you pay up in gold, -today-, or I will take my payment out of your enterprise directly, including your fingers!"
"Ow! Knock it off! Surely we can come to some kind of agreement?"
"You honestly think we're negotiating here? Did your momma drop you or sumthin'?" She glared into his eyes. "You know what, I'm thinking that you're leaving me no choice." She let go of him, stepped away over to another table, bringing a blackjack mace back with her. She grabbed Elroy's arm forcibly, placing his hand on the table and raising the blackjack over her head.
"Alright alright alright!"
Constance brought the blackjack down with a brutal slam, barely a few centimeters away from Elroy's fingertips. He cried out in mere shock and reflex.
"Alright! I'll get you the money just cut it out okay?!" He sounded like he'd just wet himself.
"See, that wasn't so hard now was it? And turns out I'm so nice that you get to walk away with all your fingers this time. But mark my words, any more negligence outta yous and I will take every last one of them, you got that?"
"Y-yeah... Loud and clear Lady Lockblast."
"Goon will be tagging along with you back to your place to collect." She looked over in the shadowy corner, where an orc stood silently. He nodded in response. "Oh, and sorry about the headache, Elroy."
"Wha?"
Constance flipped the blackjack in her hand and struck Elroy over the head with the handle end.
"Ow! lay off!"
"Now get outta here. Off ya go." She walked over to the door and opened it up motioning for Elroy to get moving. As he and the orc left, she shook her head and sighed. "I swear. New punks are always so lacking in respect."

Constance stretched and closed the door behind her. She pushed her glasses up on her nose with her middle finger and proceeded out of the building and up towards the upper tiers of the city. She stopped outside the door of an unobtrusive house and folded her arms across her chest, looking up at it before looking over her shoulder out towards the sea, taking in some of the sunlight as the sea gulls called in the distance. She turned around properly to face the sea, staring at the horizon for a minute before she turned her head from whence she'd come just before.
"You know, you're not as stealthy as you think you are, hun."
"Wow you're breakin' my heart, sweet sugar." A goblin man stepped out from behind some crates a few paces away and walked up to Constance, putting an arm around her waist and moving in to kiss her before she stopped him with a firm hand to his shoulder.
"Hey cut it out, I'm on the clock right now. Wha'd'ya want?"
"Just seein' my sweetheart."
Constance rolled her eyes.
"Look, I appreciate it, but you gotta stop hangin' on me like this when I'm workin'."
"Come on, Constance, I'm bored outta my mind here. The old man hasn't given me any work in days. If I didn't know any better I'd think he was shutting me out."
"Well don't look at me, I dunno what he's up to. Now scram, I'll come see ya at the Salty Sailor tonight, yeah?"
"Alright, see ya then, toots."
Constance snuck a peck onto his cheek before he let go of her and left. She turned towards the house again and went inside. The voice of an old, weathered goblin man sounded from the back office on the far end of the room.
"So, d'ya handle it?"
"Yeah pops, Goon is with him right now to collect."
"I'm not your pops, girl."
"Hah, no but you wish you had a daughter like me." She proceeded over to the office door.
"You know back in my day, that chump would have been sleeping with the fishes right now. Haven't I taught you anything? What gives?"
"What do you mean 'back in your day'? You're still in the game for cryin' out loud. And he ain't sleepin' with the fishes yet 'cus the fishes won't put gold in his pocket for us to collect. But I got the message across to him, trust me." She leaned against the doorframe into the office with hands across her chest.
"Second chances doesn't get you the right rep, Connie. You gotta understand that word of mouth is important in this business. That's how you know people respect you, and won't try and mess with you like that chump tried with you today."
"Maybe I'm trying to not have people piss their pants as soon as I enter the room. Besides, I ain't your enforcer. You wanna break kneecaps and throw people in Neptulon's Locker, you can do it yourself. That's not my way unless there's no other way."
"Well why don't I just toss this here cane aside and roll up my sleeves then? Oh right, I'm an old man!"
"Then take Goon and Luca with you, that's why you're paying them. And people still respect you in this town after all, so what's the problem? People know they're in deep when you tell 'em you need to talk."
The man leaned back in his desk chair, making the old wood creak under him. He sighed and looked sideways over at Constance in the doorway.
"Goon and Luca are both good boys, and they pull their weight. But I'm not sure they always handle things as well as you. I might not always approve of your methods, but you got that look in your eyes that gets results, and I suppose that's all that matters in here." He poked a heavy finger down on a large, black book on his desk. "Goon is a bit heavy-handed, or dare I even say ham-fisted sometimes, he lacks finesse. He didn't get that name from nowhere. Luca, on his end, is just reckless, no matter how often I tell him to get his act together. I've been hoping you would be a good influence on him, but I guess that stuff takes time. But time is money, y'know, and I admit I'm losing my patience with him."
"Yeah 'cus you have that in abundance, boss."
"Ey, watch your tone, or I'll smack that sarcasm off your lips." He pointed a warning finger at her with stern eyes to back it up.
"Well do you intend to do anything about him?"
"I don't know. I haven't given it too much thought yet. But maybe you can do me a solid and talk some sense into him, eh? He listens to his girlfriend after all. And while I'm sure he respects me as his boss, I get the feelin' he doesn't always like listening to a crusty old-timer like me."
"Well ain't it your way to smack some sense into him then?" Constance shifted a hand to rest on her hip.
"I guess I just ain't got the energy for it anymore. Way back I'd have kicked his ass already, but now I've just settled with having him strung out for a few days."
"Yeah he mentioned that. He was practically fidgeting when I saw him earlier. I would maybe say your tactic is working against its purpose. But alright I'll talk to him. I'm seeing him later tonight anyway."
"Alright, I guess you're off the hook for today then, assuming Goon doesn't get lost on the way back here."
"Works for me. Thanks pops." She turned around into the other room, heading for the stairs. She turned her head to yell back to the boss. "Oh and by the way, promise me you'll send Goon or Luca next time you need to calculate with someone else's digits, alright? I'm your talker and mover, not your enforcer. You gotta let the boys handle that stuff, it's the only way they'll get better at it."
"I hear ya, now push off." Constance could hear his chair creak again as he leaned forward to resume his work as she continued up the stairs to find her room.

Her room was smaller than Goon and Luca's, but at least she didn't have to share. Being the only girl in the crew had its benefits, especially paired with being an earner. She opened the window by pushing out the rod on the frame and wedging it in the windowsill to keep it up. The evening sun bathed the room in an golden glow. The wind was finally making its appearance as well. Even if it was gentle, it made a world of difference for the stale, humid air in the Bay. Constance sat down on her bed with her back to the window, grabbing a magazine off of her nightstand. The contents of which were any and all things a goblin gal like herself would want to read about during their "me time". everything from cosmetics and romance, gossip, and even a saucy read in every issue. And of course, guns, explosives and other gadgets and gizmos.

Barely thirty minutes passed by before she heard the old man scaling the stairs, no doubt to come talk to her again. She rolled her eyes and put the magazine aside before sliding off the bed. She walked out of the room and over to the banister on the stairs and leaned on it.
"Something you need, old-timer?"
"I'm afraid so. Looks like we have more work to do."
Constance made no attempt to hide her sigh.
"Fine, where do I have to go?"
"We all need to go actually."
"That sounds... serious?"
"It is. Turns out that idiot you handled today is in deep with more people than us. And they ain't fans of us protectin' our investments." He waved a piece of paper in his hand.
"I'll go collect Luca then." She turned back into her room to collect her gear - A large rifle and a machete.

After collecting Luca from the Salty Sailor Tavern, the three headed out to a meeting spot in one of the coves out of town. Dusk was upon the scene lending a golden orange hue to the sand and cliffs. The beach was riddled with crates, boxes, and chests befitting of any smugglers' cove. On a little clearing of sand between the random stacks and clusters of containers stood a band of assorted people, and in front of them Goon was on his knees with his hands tied up, looking like he had been roughed up a bit too. Behind him was a scruffy human aiming a pistol at him. Next to the human was a goblin man who looked like he was in charge. He looked like a younger version of the boss. He greeted them in a more disrespectful tone than you would expect from someone like him.
"Finally, I was starting to think I would just have to blow his brains out and leave him here for you."
The boss retorted in a calm voice but with obvious disgust.
"Sheesh, is this what passes as head honcho material these days? Pfah, kids these days."
One of the thugs in the other band took a step forward only to be halted by the goblin's hand.
"Now now, there's no need to make it personal, old man."
"Whaddya want? You have some balls to drag us out here when that's the hospitality you show us." He gestured to Goon.
Constance did a head count of the other band, they were outnumbered two to one for the moment, but her gut told her more could be in the area. They'd walked into the lion's den this time, even if most of the thugs seemed like they were still wet behind the ears. What was going on here?
"I'm gonna give it to ya straight. You're done. We'll be handling the business in town from now on."
"Really, and how exactly do you intend to do that? Last time I checked people like you don't get to operate in this town unless I let them. Roughing up my associates doesn't change that."
"Well you see, Booty Bay needs a fresh coat of paint... A bit of house cleaning, you know?" He turned his head to the human and nods. The human pulls his trigger and Goon slumps over forward in the sand.
"Sheesh, Looks like you could use some pointers when it comes to redecorating."
Constance knew the boss was a stone cold bastard when it came to business, but she would have expected a more heated response from him. It took every fiber of her will to not flip out as she looked over at her dead friend. As her right hand held her rifle, she reached discreetly into one of her pockets, wrapping her fingers around a grenade.
"Not really. There's a new boss in town, and you are old news." He pulled a gun and leveled it on the boss.
"Hmh. So this is what it's coming to then? You won't be building anything that'll last this way. Kids these days."
As he finished his sentence the other goblin shot him dead. After which all hell broke out around them as shots rang out from the thicket towards the band.
"Boss!" Constance pulled the smoke grenade out of her pocket and threw it down between them and the band, and checking on the boss. He was most certainly dead. She grabbed his cane as Luca grabbed her and pulled her into cover behind a crate. "You bastards!"
"Constance! Even with our backup we're outgunned here. We'll have our revenge, but not here."
Constance still decided to toss a couple of grenades their way. Then she fired off another smoke grenade to cover their escape.
"I guess we are dead in this town now, Luca."
"I know babe. No other choice than to make ourselves scarce."
"This wasn't the way I imagined myself leaving the Bay behind."
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Lilandris
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