The scene of Nord's test would be at the cultist base. It was two birds with one stone. I got to investigate and test out the new guy. Of course, it had risks, but I was willing to take them.
We walked there, which was a good chance for me to get to know him better. I had extra questions I wanted to ask him. While I wrapped up the home interview, that was just because I wanted to get moving.
Grey would stay home to hold down the fort, as I talked with Nord. This would be the proper examination of his character.
I still needed more background on Nord. I had to know he would be loyal and trust him fully. I'd just left a giant power vacuum and needed to fill it. Instead of some crazy cultists, however, Greyhound would be the one to take over at this time.
I left this mess, and I would clean it up. But I couldn't do it alone. That's the whole point of this Greyhound group. To help me in my adventures, whether that be above the table or under the table. Part of my mind always wanted the Greyhound group to be a criminal mastermind, but I never thought it'd come to fruition so soon.
It took us just over 30 minutes to get there by foot. Since we had no reason to hurry, we took our time.
The front restaurant was the same as yesterday. The only unusual thing was that it was closed during the busiest hours of the day.
"Is this it?" Nord asked.
"What? Expected something else?" I asked jokingly.
"I guess," Nord responded.
I led the way in, going through the restaurant before arriving upstairs on the second floor. It was clean. I did a good job covering my tracks.
"What am I supposed to do here?" asked Nord.
"Investigate. Look around and see what you can find. Feel free to do anything." I responded. This would test Nord's investigative skills if nothing else.
It was weird seeing him bumble around in his armor, though. It wasn't fully plated, but the chainmail was loud enough itself.
I went back downstairs and made myself something in the kitchen. I hadn't had breakfast, and watching over Nord was unnecessary.
It wasn't like his investigative approach was the thing I was looking for.
-----
I made myself an excellent brick-oven pizza. It was surprising to see a brick oven like this in a restaurant that was supposed to be used as a front, but I wasn't complaining.
Overall, Nord took an hour to finish everything. Two floors and many secret compartments were no joke, but Nord found them all.
I was halfway through eating when he finally came down. I swallowed my food and asked him.
"Find everything?"
"I'm not sure." Nord sighed.
"Well, what did you find?" I asked.
"Some unusual stuff. I think this place might have belonged to a gang or something."
"Really? What makes you say that?"
"Lots of secret compartments, gold, cash, not what a typical household would have.
Speaking of this place, how'd you come by it."
"It's mine."
"Really?" Nord exclaimed in astonishment.
"Well, it became mine last night."
"You bought this place?"
"Yeah, even had to kill the owners for it." I laughed.
"Funny," Nord chuckled.
I paused before continuing. "You know the local gangs?"
"Yeah, they're infamous. I've only been here a few days, but I heard about them."
This reminded me. Nord wasn't a native. He came here from the inner cities to try and find work as an adventurer. There are not many monsters near the center of the country.
"Well, there was this one group. They called themselves the 'Cult of Menos.' They were a crazy bunch, always running the streets. I got this place from them."
"How?"
"Little bit of this, little bit of that… Want to know the crazy thing?" I asked Nord.
"What?" He responded, a bit confused but equally as excited.
I took out my sword from storage before pointing it at Nord.
"Want a slice?" A slice of the pizza flew over to him.
As he grabbed it from the air, dozens of magic circles appeared, encapsulating him.
"What is this?"
"It's called pizza. It's pretty good, you should try it."
"No, what are these circles for?"
"Ah, yes… the thing with these 'Cult of Menos' people. They ran these street right up until yesterday. Isn't that wild?"
"What do you mean?" Nord was thoroughly confused.
"I killed them, Nord, just like I will kill you." I put on the most sinister face I could.
"Why?" Nord asked, but it looked ridiculous with a pizza slice in his hand.
"They were bad people. As for you, I have to know if you can keep up." I lowered my sword but kept the magic.
"Greyhound isn't a friendly organization, Nord. It will run these streets. It's the one that will control the underground. And I have to know if you have what it takes."
Nord looked as if in contemplation. After a while, he put down the slice.
"No." He said seriously. "I'm not going to hurt people. I was raised to help, not to hurt."
I chuckled. "Don't get me wrong, Nord. I don't want to hurt people either. That's why Greyhound is the best bet.
If there is one truth, it is that people will be people. That means no matter how hard you try, evil will always exist. Our job is to police it, restrict it, control it. That means we do whatever it takes.
You see those people out there? These organizations control drug addicts, and they always will. Get rid of the drug, and you're only doing more harm than good. A new one will always appear. Drug addicts will always exist.
But, this time, we'll be here. We control the drugs and help the people addicted to them. Not to make money but to help. To help, we'll need to do bad things. Like killing the gangs. We need to exact order."
I gave a villain monologue; honestly, it felt pretty good. I did want Greyhound to be a source of good, but even the good has to delve into the bad. Evil is never eliminated, only contained. And it's better we police it than anyone else.
"Nord, you might ask yourself, 'Is this the only way?' and it's not. We can always go top-down and use policing, but then we'll never get to the bottom.
That's why Greyhound will go bottom up. Eliminate the worst crimes and control the lighter ones.
You might also ask yourself, 'Why us.' And that's because we're the ones that can. As long as we fight for the people, I guarantee you, we won't fail. So, will you join us?" I reached out my hand to Nord.
"Do I have a choice?" Nord asked, glancing at the magic circles around him.
"Nope." I laughed.
"But make the best of it. This is your chance to do real good. I might not be a good person, but you, Nord, can be a hero."