The sun was shining in the bright blue sky.
Autumn began and the hot summer days were slowly coming to an end and autumn promised a refreshing coolness. Tsu took a puff of his cigarette and leaned out on the balcony of his apartment. His gaze wandered to the market directly below.
It was, as usual, filled with customers looking for warmer clothes and blankets for the change of seasons. The stalls, made of rust and wood, were bustling with activity.
Shoppers haggled over the price, animals in cages, shopkeepers who advertised their wares.
Tsu took another deep puff and his eyes wandered up to the run-down and badly patched buildings on the opposite side of the road. Many of the windows were either broken or hung with bed sheets, and the walls were covered with various graffiti, most of which were just paroles. His gaze stopped at the image of a large ogre holding a severed elf head.
The logo of the Splitters, a group of ogres who once controlled this part of the Makt.
Now the image was painted over, with the insignia SS, which stood for Seventh Street.
Tsu was part of this group, a gang made up of humans who fought for the interests of the people in this district. Tsu has been working there for as long as he can remember. Since then he has also come a long way. The doorbell rang, jolting him out of his thoughts.
Tsu turned and stepped through the balcony door back into his sparsely furnished one-room apartment. A mattress lay on the floor, next to it the toilet and above it the sink. There was no shower, but a large bucket of water which was used for washing, bathing and well everything imaginable. A small table and a chair stood on the other side of the room, on it still the dinner from the previous day. next to it a small closet with clothes. Not much, but more than most had.
To get an apartment in the Ring you had to take a lot on yourself, privacy is a privilege you have to work for. Most slept in tents or makeshift shelters or just on the street.
He picked up his jacket with the big SS lettering on the back from the bed, threw it over himself and reached under the pillow and pulled out a pistol which he tucked into his belt under his shirt, just for safety, Tsu thought. On his way out, he grabbed the basketball bat that was resting next to the door and left the apartment.
There was no lock, but there was a 2 meter tall doorman in front of the entrance to the staircase. Tsu nodded at him, the colossus named Big Mike nodded back and grumbled a barely understandable morning. Tsu was greeted by the smell of the market, a mixture of fried chicken, rat and swathes of herb smell. A red-haired woman awaited Tsu.
She had long hair tied back in a tight braid. Miko was as always unmistakable with her jacket with the SS logo on the back. It was not easy to gain respect as a girl here, but she had managed it.
"Goooooood morning Tsu!"
She said with an innocent smile. When you see her for the first time, you might think she was a good-hearted young woman in her mid-30s. But those who knew her knew better.
"It seems so. Today we share the route?"
"Yep, your luck! Are you happy?"
"I can't imagine anything better."
Tsu was recently promoted to collector. Not exactly the most honorable task, but it gave him some leeway and, above all, respect. Tsu and Miko started their route.
"How's business?"
Tsu asked a shopkeeper while Miko was talking to one of the watchmen, who were scattered all over the market.
"Oh Tsu, my good man, it's not going well. I'm telling you, these people are going to kill me."
"What's the matter, is someone trying to get you again?"
"No! No one wants to pay for quality anymore, it's all about cheap cheap cheap, but I can't go any lower, otherwise I won't earn anything myself."
"It'll be alright, better times will come again."
Tsu cheered him up and patted him on the shoulder. The shopkeeper smiled. Tsu nodded him a goodbye and went on, looking at the stores and vendors and talking to some of them.
The mood seemed to be excellent, a lot of laughter and the drunkards were also already drinking.
Many knew Tsu since childhood. It is a small world where people help each other as much as they can, some go up and some remain down. Tsu was convinced that part of his job was not only to cause trouble for those who did not pay their bills, but also to take care of their well-being and especially their safety. It's something of an all-around happy package, not a requirement for the job, but it brought some advantages. It has benefited him a few times, because shopkeepers pick up a lot of things and rumors can become real treasures.
After a few more conversations where he and Miko picked up a bag of money or two, they got to their main goal for the day. The Elven-Delight, a dosshouse for dreamers to feel like on cloud nine. Everything your heart desired, from pretty elves to the best herb in the neighborhood. Dreamers, that's what they call those who knock themselves out with herbs and are no longer good for anything. Both entered the smoky dosshouse.
Tsu looked around briefly to get an overview. The room was quite large, and Tsu could see through the smoke the outlines of mattresses, beanbags and on these probably the usual regulars. What could be heard, however, was the bubbling of the water pipes with which the herb was smoked. Tsu found the counter and approached it. At the counter stood an elf, charming thing. Had good curves, she was also thin. Must be around 90, Tsu estimated. She had a chain around her neck which was tied to the counter.
"Hey, is Martinez here?"
The elf nodded toward the back area. Tsu and Miko walked past the dreamers. Miko looked at them in disgust. Tsu pushed aside a curtain which was considered a section for staff and VIPs, at least one window was open here.
Martinez was sitting on a couch in the middle of the room, with a TV in front of him.
Tsu could hear the commercial. "Still haven't found Prince Charming? Then it is time for change! Let yourself be enchanted! No surgery, no side effect! 100% magic! The real you is waiting for you." Must be nice behind the wall, Tsu thought, there was nothing like that here.
Next to Martinez were two more.
"Lina you bitch! I said I don't want to be disturbed!"
Shouted Martinez who was busy making out with the other two on the couch. He was so focused with the two that he didn't even look who entered.
"Yo Martinez, do you ever get your ass outside?"
Tsu called out to him. Martinez jumped up startled.
"Oh it's you, sorry buddy. Good to see you, you're more than welcome! How are my best friends? No hard feelings, okay. What can I do for you today? A quickie or some herbs?"
Tsu stepped closer and now saw the other two on the couch. Two more elves, scantily clad, a boy and a girl maybe around 60. Tsu said nothing but handed Miko his baseball bat. Martinez gulped….
"Hey Tsu, buddy... I'm not quite... well you know. Business didn't go so well. What do you say I pay you next month? I invested my money in a new elf... but she just won't do it. That useless thing, was supposed to be the main attraction...."
Tsu sighed and nodded to Miko , who took the baseball bat and hit the TV. It shattered with one blow. The two elves jumped up frightened and took cover behind the couch.
"Hey hey hey!!! are you crazy?!!!"
Shouted martinez in shock.
"Every month the same".
Tsu answered him in a calm voice. He glanced around the room.
"this isn't going to work martinez. I already helped you last time, took a few punches for it, so show some gratitude."
Martinez sighed,
"Shit man... I am grateful but I really have nothing... I invested everything in the new girl but she refuses to serve customers."
Tsu thought for a moment.
"Then I'll take her off your hands. She's nothing but trouble anyway."
"Come on Tsu, buddy... Elves aren't cheap, especially when they're so pretty. I'm sure I can change her mind, you know me."
Miko was walking up and down and gave Martinez a nasty look, which made him flinch.
"I said I'll take her, where are the keys?"
Tsu replied firmly. Martinez hesitated for a moment, looked over at Miko again, who smiled at him, of course while bouncing the baseball bat up and down. He hesitantly pointed to one side of the room.
"They are lying on the dresser."
Martinez replied in a defeated manner, it seemed to really hit him. Tsu walked towards it and picked up a ring of keys on which a dozen color-coded keys were hanging.
"Which one?"
"The blue one... it's the blue one."
Tsu took off the key and turned to the passageway. He walked back into the bar area without waiting for another response, Miko following him. She smiled again with her best innocent smile at Martinez and waved goodbye.
Tsu approached the elf at the bar.
"Name?"
"Lina."
The elf answered.
"Lina you come with me."
Tsu gave her the key and she took off the chain and handed it over. Tsu fastened it to a latch on his belt.
"Let's go."
"Phew! Disgusting stuff!"
Mina said and patted off her clothes. Martinez was one of those problem customers who never manage to pay their bills. Yet he uses the services more than anyone else in the neighborhood. Tsu regularly has to come in to kick out dreamers or beat up those who try to mess with the elves without paying the fee.
"Has been a while since you saw the sun?"
Tsu asked the elf. Lina nodded.
Mina walked in front of the elf and put her hands on her shoulder.
"You'd better get used to it quickly, we'll be able to enjoy it for a while longer."
Tsu took off his jacket and put it over the elf's shoulders.
"I don't want you to freeze to death"
They continued their route with Lina in tow. You could tell that she hadn't had much movement lately. She dawdled a little. Tsu didn't let that bother him, and dragged her along.
Miko asked after a while.
"Why did you take her? There were enough other things that had value."
"I always wanted to have an elf."
"You? As if! You dont believe in this stupid legend right? And what about Martinez's debt?"
"I'll talk to the supervisor and pay it off"
"But don't come to me begging for help when you can't pay it back!"
When they passed a stand with dumplings, Lina stopped for a moment. Her stomach growled. Tsu turned to see Lina greedily staring at the dumplings. Tsu went to the stall and put five coins on the table. The vendor thanked him and handed Lina the meal. Miko looked at Tsu with her puppy dog look. Tsu put another five coins on the counter. The three sat down at an empty table and began eating. The elf ate with a speed that would have made any mother swing a speech.
After a while Tsu turned to the Elf.
"Which Ring are you from?"
"From the seventh"
she answered with her mouth full. Tsu thought about it for a moment.
"Must have been nice behind wall…" Lina stopped eating and went silent for a moment.
"Come on Tsu! Stop bullying the girl while iam eating!" After a while, Lina continued her meal and after she had finished, the three of them started moving again. They slowly approached the border to the ogre area. More and more ogres were now among the people and the elf attracted many looks. A few times ogres came up to them and made offers for the elf. Tsu denied it everytime. The elf was sightly frightened by the ogres and stepped closer to Tsu.
"Don't worry, they're just talking, they don't dare do anything. We'll be done soon."
They entered a small alley. I have something to do here. Tsu undid the chain and handed it to Miko. Miko giggled
"Visiting your lover?"
She asked with raised eyebrows. Tsu didnt reply and walked further into the alley. To the sides, a few ogres slept under newspapers. Others rummaged in the garbage cans for valuables. Tsu stopped in front of a butcher's shop the ogre hatchet. He opened and a doorbell ringed.
"Look at what the cat dragged in again, you're just in time."
A female but deep voice said, behind the counter stood an ogre.
"Oh my Tsu darling, I missed you!"
"Hey Mulla, it's been a while."
"Way too long! She jumped over the counter and rushed at Tsu, took him in her arms and lifted him up."
Tsu was almost crushed. Ogres have extraordinary strength, far superior to that of a human.
"You're crushing me!"
She let go of him and stepped back to the counter.
"You came at a good time, I was already thinking about coming over to your side and letting you know. But I don't really want to show my face there, you know."
"What do you have for me?"
Mulla looked around briefly.
"I've heard something special. Really special if you know what I mean."
Tsu understood and took out a money bag from his jacket and put it on the counter. Mulla opened it and briefly rattled the coins.
"Okay, the info wasn't easy to get, but apparently there's a group that has a big thing planned. They got news about a Molten transport. Goes right through the 12th."
"Are you sure? They never go over this route, the risk is too high."
"Exactly! I thought so too, but they seemed to be certain. They've already sold their share of the loot, you don't do that lightly."
"Maybe" Tsu wondered.
"Anyways, it has to be something big, otherwise they wouldn't take the risk.
"When will they strike?"
"The transport is supposed to go along the old factory halls tomorrow evening. The guys have set up an ambush there, borrowed some sick stuff from Splitters. Spike traps, drilling equipment, the whole program. A couple of Splitters will also be there to monitor. So if you want to grab it, prepare for some serious resistance."
Tsu nodded, thinking.
"Is that all?"
"That's all I have for now."
"All right Mulla, as always, I hope your information was worth it."
"Come on, you can always count on me."
"I'll see you around."
"Good luck and come back more often."
Tsu stepped out the door and the bell sounded again.
Back in the alley, Tsu looked at Lina and Miko, and around them stood three ogres, quite enormous ones. But they did not seem to belong to Splitters. They were missing their neck tattoo, probably passing through from another ring. Tsu reached into his pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. He lit one and watched the scene for a moment.
"I can't come with you, I'm waiting for my friend"
Said Miko in a sweet voice.
"Boyfriend? Oh come on, he can't make you happy! You need a real man!"
Said the biggest of the three ogres he had a scar on his face.
"I don't know, I think my friend is more of a man and stronger than you!"
Replied Miko with an innocent expression. Great, Tsu thought, he knew what she was after.
Scarface just broke into laughter.
"A man? Stronger than me? Did you hear that, boys?"
They joined in the laughter. Ogres have such a strange way of laughing, it sounded more like grunting. But they had a point, he was no stronger than an ogre. Ogres have thick skin, knives, swords and all that stuff have no effect on them. Maybe a small wound if you hit hard enough. Firearms as they are commonly used can't hurt these giants either. You really need strength or something like a chainsaw. Neither in weight, muscle mass nor speed could humans hold a candle to ogres. The only thing they were not so good at was logical thinking. They are more instinct driven things.
Miko noticed Tsu and waved towards him.
"There he is! Come over sweetie!"
The three ogres turned their heads to face him. Scarface stepped toward Tsu. He clenched his fists.
"Your little girlfriend said you were stronger than an ogre! I don't believe it!"
Tsu tried Miko's tactics as well and put on his best innocent face.
"Awww! She's exaggerating! How could I mess with an ogre? Especially with such a strong one? I don't stand a chance!"
"You see guys? What a wimp!"
The big one shouted to the two others, who laughed.
"Tell you what kid, give me the girl and I won't break your bones, deal?"
Tsu pretended to think about it for a moment
"Deal!"
"Seriously? Oh come on Tsu, how can you leave the love of your life, this defenseless damsel in distress like that?"
Cried Miko… Tsu had to hold back a sarcastic laugh, but he wanted to play along.
"Oh beloved Miko, I thought I was always your knight in white armor, but now that I see true strength I must have been mistaken. This ogre is your knight without a doubt!"
Tsu doubted that the ogres understood what he had said, but it didn't really matter. After all, he had agreed to hand her over.
"You're not as stupid as you look!"
said scarface, stepping back to the others.
"And we'll take the elf too"
One of the other two interjected and began to reach for her.
A loud bang echoed down the alley, and where there had been a hand reaching for the elf, there was now only a stump. For a moment, time seemed to be frozen, one second, two seconds.... The one-armed ogre let out a scream and sank to his knees looking down his arm. The tall one managed to gather himself and turned to face Tsu. Tsu was no longer smiling, his facial expression was menacing. He was ready to kill.
"There was no mention of the elf"
He said in his coldest voice, a chill ran down the ogre's spine.
"What... What is that weapon?"
Stammered the ogre with widened eyes.
Even though ogres have thick skin, strong muscles and are fast. There was one thing even they couldn't do anything about. Hydravit…
"That thing? Homemade, you can guess what it shoots, pick up your friend and get lost."
"Mortameer!"
The ogre cursed, turned and grabbed the one-armed man and the three ran as fast as they could. Left behind were the elf, Miko and Tsu.
Miko laughed out loud. The elf who had said nothing all this time breathed a sigh of relief.
"What was that about Miko?"
Tsu asked, putting his gun back in his belt.
"Wanted to see what you were doing, do you have everything you need?"
"Yes" He took the chain off Miko and attached Lina to him again.
"Come on, enough time wasted, we have to get moving before Splitters show up, we still have to settle up with the supervisor"
The three of them started to make their way back...