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Tox leaves

Palara Taloon prizes himself on his work ethic. Every second he is awake, the cityfolk was working to make everything run smoothly. “Oppertunities do not come for those who wait,” was one of the things he said to justify himself working long hours. Were Rodie not around the house with her assistance, Taloon would have keeled over much earlier in life. Today was the day that the cityfolk worked from home, where the interruptions were few and the tech he had was within reach. The mere acquisition of the tech made Taloon’s work easier to manage and expand to outside the city. Still it was not all smooth sailing for the cityfolk.

It has been awhile since Lord Burke returned to Maan Ellis, without the company of the seven last minute editions to the caravan, one of which was an employee of Taloon, Tox. Taloon had tried contacting the Lord in a number of ways, but all was met with silence. The cityfolk wondered if Lord Burke knew of his investigation into the caravan or if the Lord was just too busy to get in touch with. Where it just that, Taloon would have written off the caravan for a one time thing, but there was more to it.

After the report Tox sent from Lakeside of the cultists, Taloon thought it would be best to investigate the caravan and its people. Most of them were normal folks, besides the cultists and bodyguards. However the circumstances around it was bizarre. All the people in the caravan were either invited by Lord Burke personally or had some connection to him, including the cultists. The guardsmen who had to be replaced at the last minute all had some sort of accidents or incidents that forced them to be removed from the caravan. Looking into the history of the Aegis Segund member’s history showed a number of them are far more skilled then what would bed needed for a caravan of the size, even if they were accompanying nobels. But the most confusing part of it was after arriving in Lakeside, a number of the caravan members was sent to the city which served as the head quearters for the Aegis Segund, Maan Helton. All that put together might not seem much but coincidences, but Taloon didn’t think so. In fact, He believed the opposite, that everything Lord Burke done has been a deliberate move for one specific reason: the artifact in his possession.

In the report Tox sent back, he did not give a reason why the group was being sent to Maan Helton. Rather if was a request of Lord Burke to keep it a secret or Tox’s own judgement call, Taloon couldn’t tell. All that the cityfolk could figure was that Tox must have come into contact with the artifact on the road in some way if Lord Burke is sending them to Mann Helton. Still, it was all just guesswork from both Taloon and his confidante, the werrit maid Rodie.

But before all the answers could be answered, pressure was placed on Taloon to stop his investigation. Long term business partners were cutting contracts. Multiple clients moved to Taloon’s competitors. Even guards and the Aegis Segun started to poke there noses into the merchant’s buesnesses. The cityfolk can guess who the orders came from, but stopped the investigation regardless. Almost immediately everything went back to normal. Taloon did not liked being outplayed, but still had one thing they could not stop: Tox. The lizardfolk might be violent and even unruly, but secretive was not one of them. He was honest to a fault and would leave thinking for others, meaning that simply asking Tox about the artifact was the best chance to Taloon knowing the truth of this caravan, all he had to do was wait.

A loud buzzer broke the cityfolk out of his thoughts. “Who would that be? Schedule.” In an instant a new screen popped up in front of Taloon, showing the appointments he had for the week. The area for today was completely blank. “I shouldn’t be expecting anyone today,” he muttered. The cityfolk leaned back into his chair. “Surely it couldn’t be a potential client. A postal worker maybe? No, no, I don’t think I have anyone outside of the city at the moment except for Tox and he wouldn’t send a missive saying he was coming back.” Taloon tapped his pencil on the desk, “I’m sure Roe will inform me in a minute.” Taloon looked back at his sheets and screens but found his attention wavering. In his head, the cityfolk wondered who was visiting and why. It was a minor thing to Taloon, he had grown used to the sound of the buzzing, and yet this time it felt different. He could not shake the feeling he was to hear some bad news.

After what felt like an eternity, a knock came from behind the door, followed by the werrit maid, Rodie, entering the office. “Evening Master,” she said while slipping into a curtsy. Immediately Taloon can feel something was off with Rodie. The werrit does not show her emotions of her face or body, but through action. The act of coming in the office without being invited in was a sign of trouble.

“Rodie,” Taloon slowly raised up from his seat, “tell me who was at the door.”

Rodie was silent, her hand folded in front of her dress.

“I take it the news isn’t good then.”

“Indeed sir. Its about Tox,” the werrit paused, “he had quit.”

“He what” Taloon shouted.

“Tox left the caravan returning from Maan Helton. Jumping from the autotran on route here.”

“So he at least made sure to deliver the artifact to the Aegis Segun, correct?”

“I believe so, sir.”

Taloon breathed a bit easier. It would be one thing to quiet during the job, but at least Tox was able to finish it before leaving. The cityfolk grabbed his pencil, “map.” In a second an image popped in the air of the region. “do they know where Tox left from?”

“No sir, only that he left once Maan Ellis came into view.”

“That would put Tox anywhere north of here depending on the route,” Taloon studied the map, “and they arrived today?”

“I believe so. I was also told he left a message with the group to be delivered to you.”

“what was it?”

“I was told he said ‘he no longer need the spirit of luck you posses’.”

Taloon sat back in his chair. The cityfolk, in all his years, could not put into words what he was feeling at that moment. A bit of pride and anger. Sadness and relief. Satisfied but rejected. It was as though as watching a deal collapse before his eyes and a plan coming together all at once.”

“Should I organize a search party?”

“No. Even if we did go to him, I doubt we would be able to bring him back even if we used force. Besides, he no longer need us, he’s changed.”

“Changed,” Rodie asked puzzingly, “what do you think he changed?”

“Recall our time with Tox if you will. When he first came to us, he was violent, even savage, but in some way obedient in a way. Did what he was told, never asked questions, and even when he hated life in the city, he always returned when sent out with caravans. Tell me, and give it some thought, would a lizardfolk like Tox willingly chose to not return if he wasn’t changed in some way?”

Rodie thought back on his behaviour. It was true that the lizardfolk hated life within the cities, but he was at least tolerant of the life to not abandoned Mr. Taloon with the first chance to escape. Even when he was charged to guard caravans, Tox always returned to Maan Ellis after finishing the job, regardless of his hatred of the city. Even when he started to doing caravan’s on his own, Tox returned. “No, I don’t believe he would have. But if he is not returning here, then where is he going?”

“I believe, he might be returning home.” Taloon pressed the tip of the eraser on the swampy area of the Western Midlands. “The trip from here to the Midlands would take over a week on any tech transport. On foot however, it could take months, if not years to get home. Still, I doubt that boy would have too much trouble making it there.”

The werrit approached the map, looking at at where the pencil was. “Do you believe he can make it in a year? The distance is quiet vast and Tox himself has never covered that much distance on his caravan runs.”

“I believe he would follow the road to Wheaton, but beyond that, he’s on his own.” Taloon pulled back the pencil and slumped back into his chair. “Honestly, if he at least came back, I would have arranged some transport for him.” With a wave of the cityfolk’s hand, the map vanished.

“Still, what would cause Tox to leave so suddenly?”

Taloon can only think of one reason the lizardfolk left him. “the artifact,” Taloon sighed.

“The one rumored to be in Lord Burke possession?”

“The very same. I don’t what the artifact is or what it can do, but I believe Tox came in contact with it at some point and was changed by it.”

“Into a follower of Malkormus?”

“No, I doubt it. Tox’s tribe does not views the gods the way we do. They believe more in spirits and nature. You can probably put a god in front of him and Tox would immediately start a fight.”

“I suppose he would,” Rodie remarked. At the mentiond of the word ‘spirits’ Rodie twitched as she recalled something about Tox, “but wait, Tox said ‘he no longer need the spirit of luck you posses.’ But what does he mean by that, sir?”

Taloon paused. The question came so suddenly he had no time to think on how to respond. Taloon sighed as though he instantly aged a few years in a moment, “Rodie, I am about to tell you something I want you to keep to yourself. It does not leave this room.”

The werrit drops into a curtsy, “as your maid, I will share it with no one. You are my Master until death parts us, Mr Taloon.”

The cityfolk knew it was true, but hearing it from Rodie helped steady his nerves. “I am about to explain the situation on how Tox, and as well as some of his tribe members, came to be in our employment. As I said before, Tox’s tribe has a rather different view then us when it comes to religion, this is cause of the tribe’s isolated nature. As such, they do not have a firm grasp on how the world works like we do. A perfect example of this would be a facet of life that anyone in the city can tell you about: Karma.”

“Karma?”

“Its funny really. Karma is such a simple thing a child could understand it. Its a part of life we are all to aware and conscious of. Well, almost everyone. Tox’s tribe is one of the few place where they are not aware of Karma’s existence and in turn, faces the full wrath of their karma.”

“Its wrath? I heard stories of what can happen to people who suffers from bad karma, but I don’t not understand what you mean by its full wrath.”

“Plauge, raids, famines, harsh weather, wild beasts attacks, think of any bad thing that could happen and Tox’s tribe will tell you they lived through it multiple times. It was as though the very world was driving the tribes in that area to extinction.”

“But why,” Rodie questioned, with her distress momentarily breaking her stoic self before regaining composer, “What have they been doing to suffer through all that?”

“Savagery,” Taloon answered. “The swamps where Tox was raised is a never ending battle for resources and dominance. Tribes fought contently and without mercy. To them, savagery was the way of life. Fight. Kill. Eat. Repeat. It was a simple way, but leaves them to the mercy of Karma’s punishments. They see Karma as a fact of life in a way. Bad things just happens, not realizing how they brought it upon themsleves. When they receive there punishment from Karma, there savagery turned to the other tribes, raiding and killing to live another day, only to receive Karma’s backlash all over again. It is a vicious cycle there.”

The werrit was stunned. To think Tox grew up in such an environment until adulthood was probably a miracle onto itself. In part, knowing his history did explain why Tox was so quick to fight when he arrived. “But then how were you able to bring Tox and the others back with you?”

Taloon got up from his chair and walked over to one of the cabinets at the side of the room. He opened up one of them and pulled out a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses. “Remember the time I went to the Midland upon rumors of a distinct wine being brewed there.”

“I recall sir. I stayed behind to manage in your place.”

“Exactly.” Setting the glasses on the desk, Taloon opened the bottle and poured some wine in them. “This was brewed by a group who were studying the Midlands and its environment, using the sales of wine and other products to help fund there research.” The cityfolk picked up one of the glasses and handed it to Rodie.

Rodie took the glass and started to examine the wine. Being the maid of the house, the werrit was all to familer with the types of wine and how to judge them. The liquid was hazy with a deep red color. From a single whiff of it, Rodie could tell that it was a floral type of wine, but she could not tell what kind of flower was used. As she took a sip, she immediately notice how acidic it was thought it was not enough to overpower the other flavors. “This wine is rather unremarkable. Not bad, but it doesn’t stand out much to other wines.”

Taloon took a sip of the wine, “I rather like it myself but that’s off topic. See the people who brewed this wine are rather close to the area where Tox is from, to the point they have a sort of agreement with the tribe. The tribe would act like body guards, protecting both the facility and the workers in return for supplies and stuff not found within the swamps themselves.”

“And that how you met Tox?”

“Not exactly. See on the day I was visiting the facility, leaders of that tribe were also there. We talked but one of them, an older green lizardfolk covered in scars, seem entranced by me. She mentioned I have been blessed by the spirits and would bring great fortune to her tribe. Specifically the spirit of luck that I have.”

“Do you have any idea what she meant?”

“Not a clue. While I am rather lucky, I don’t think its would be cause of some spirit. Still she was adamant I would be able to help her tribe in some way. It was their I learned of the situation within the swamps and of the tribes. I was rather moved by it all and thought about how I could help.” Taloon took a large sip of wine, “that was when an idea on what we could do. We needed to break the cycle Karma had over the swamp. So I offered to take come of the tribes members under my wing as workers, as a way to balance out the Karma while the others go into hiding, away from the other tribes in the swamp.”

“And thus, you got workers and help the tribe at the same time.”

“Yes, but there is more to the plan.” Taloon issued a command. In an intent, the faces of the green lizardfolk who were members of Tox’s tribe popped up over the desk. Taloon started to move the picture around, forming a few groups out of them. “You see Roe, it is not as simple of just letting Karma balance out for the tribe members. They also have to learn how to be aware of it. To think about there actions and the consequences of them. As such, this is also a way to educate them in how to avoid Karma all together. In that sense, it would mean teaching them about Karma and, in a sense, undo a lifetime of experence. They will have to learn about our gods, our culture, about the other races, and even technology. In a sense, my goal is to change the members of Tox’s tribe so that they can effectavly no different to the people within the Maans.”

“Like how you changed me and the other workers, sir?”

Taloon paused for a moment, “Exactly. People will always have need of change. Through education, through training, even through jobs, people must always be able to change to be able to survive. I believed in was my calling to help those people change when I got my businesses up and running.” The cityfolk finished moving the pics around, leaving two piles of profiles. “so far, there are two groups out of the member’s of Tox’s tribe, one who has become aware of Karma and those still clinging to there old ways. Tox was in the later. But now,” Taloon pulled Tox’s pic away from the others and set it aside, “Tox seemed to have plans of his own, quitting the way he did.”

“And you believe the artifact was involved?”

“The artifact, the cultists, the Aegis Segund, really anything could have changed Tox in some way on that trip. The only one who can even answer that is Tox and he somewhere in the wilds now.” Taloon finished off his drink, “well, no used sitting around now. We still have work to do. Roe, see about cleaning up Tox’s place and getting it ready for any new residents.”

“At once, Mr Taloon,” Rodie placed her unfinished glass on the desk, bowed, then left the room.

Taloon finished the other glass while looking at Tox. A sour sensation formed in the pit of Taloon’s stomach. In a way, everything worked out for those involve. Lord Burke got what he wanted and more it seemed. The artifact was with the Aegis Sengund and whatever info about it was with Tox. Taloon doubt that going after the other members of the caravan would turn up any leads. Whatever way Taloon looked at it, he had lost whatever upper hand the info would have provided for him. “All I can do now is accept my defeat gracefully,” The cityfolk mutter to no one in particulate. “But a single loss hardly matter in the long run.”

Taloon grabbed Tox’s image and looked at it, “delete all info related to Tox within the system.” The image crumbles in the cityfolk’s hand. “In a way, Tox, you were more then I hoped for. But, at what cost? Now that you are changed, would you feel satisfy just returning to the swamps and returning to your old life? The swamps and life you had is already gone dear boy. The tribemen you knew are slowly losing their savage nature. In a sense, you are alone now. But would that isolation break you or make you stronger? Only time will tell.” The cityfolk poured another glass full of wine, “but for now, cheers to you, for escaping my grip on you,” Taloon tipped his head back, drinking the entire wine in one gulp.