Ups and Downs

Ups and Downs

=October 24th=

by Litto

Litto had a simple philosophy, he had followed it all his life, "Enjoy the good times while they last, bear the bad times till you can do something about them." It had always been that way.

His father had made a life out of blaming Litto for the things that were wrong in his own life. It was Litto's fault when the crops failed. It was Litto's fault when his mother ran off with a traveling salesman. It was Litto's fault when his father lost their meager savings at the gambling den. LItto knew the signs well, first came the shouting and name calling, then came the beatings. Since he was old enough to remember he had endured them. Only once had he spoken up, telling his father he would regret it if he laid a hand on him again. The beating that time had been particuallarly brutal.

The time to do something about his bad situation came in his 17th year, right after his father had sold their harvest, but before he could gamble it away. His father was sitting at the table counting his earnings when Litto walked up behind him and slit his throat. As his father looked up at him from the ground with disbelieving eyes, his life pumping out of his wound, Litto spit on him and said "I said you would regret it one day, well that day is today." He took the money from the table and never looked back.

Tough as his childhood had been, it had provided him with several assets. First, he was a strong determined young man, more than capable of standing up for himself and giving as well as he received. His years of doing without ment he valued money, and easily resisted the many temptations others fell into that sapped them of their earnings. Finally, he was more than willing to do whatever it took to better his situation.

The harvest money had lasted him a good while, but eventually even it ran dry. It was then, as hunger howled at his door, that he decided to try something new, the military. They offered several things he needed. Three square meals a day being the most important. They also provided clothing and shelter. While the duty had its moments of extreme danger, most of the time he was either waiting around for orders, or doing menial yet easy details. Hurry and up wait was the military mantra, and for a time it served his needs.

It all ended with his new commander. An Elf, who held different views about what was acceptable in the military and what wasn't. Litto sensed that one day they would clash, and eventually that day arrived. It was right after a small skirmish on the borders. The enemy had probed the border forces looking for a weakness, and several troops on both sides had died. Now looting from the enemies dead had always been an acceptable practice, but Litto, being the ever practical sort, had taken to looting his own sides dead as well. After all, the dead Elf soldier wasn't going to be using those new boots anyway, and those silvers in his pouch would do him no good. The commander saw it differently, and threatened Litto with punishment.

Not being a selfish man, Litto tossed the commander the dead soldiers pouch with half the money it had held. He figured the commander was just looking for his cut. He figued wrong. By the time it was all over, Litto had been tried, lashed and driven from the regimental compound. The commander informed him the only reason he hadn't been exectued was because the military regulations did not allow it for his crime. The military regulations ment nothing to Litto, and he whispered that into the commanders ear that evening when he garroted him in his tent.

With the money from a chest in his dead commander's tent, Litto set off for Stormwind. Perhaps it was time to look into what the big city had to offer.

=October 25th=

by Litto

With funds running low again, Northshire Abbey seemed a good place to start. Rumors had it that a person willing to take some risks and perform a few tasks for the clergy and militia stationed there would be rewarded with food, shelter and a bit of coin. All three of those sounded good.

All the tasks involved exterminating vermin. The vermin came in the form of wolves, kobolds and Defias thugs. An added benefit was that Litto got to keep any loot the vermin happened to be carrying. Granted, vermin dont tend to have much, but every little bit helps.

Litto's favorite bit of fun was picking a Defias Thugs pocket, then slitting his or her throat. He was getting quite good at it, and every once in a while he would even find one with a decent bit of cash. Still, like all good things, eventually the time at Northshire had to come to an end. While the Militia had no problem with anything he did to the vermin, they began keeping a close eye on him when their own pockets started turning up empty.

No one came right out and said anything, but Litto sensed the time had come to move on. First he did a few odd jobs in Goldshire, then he tried Stormwind itself. It was in Stormwind that his big break came. At first, it didnt seem like a break, but he soon realized it was.

It started when he spotted the well dressed Gnome talking to an Elvish girl. He was apparently trying to convince her to come back to his place. With his attention focused on the girl, the Gnome seemed the perfect mark for a bit of pick pocketing, so Litto carefully moved in and lifted the Gnomes pouch.

"Unless you plan on becoming one of the soul stones in that pouch" the Gnome said "I suggest you return it to me now." Litto stopped and turned back to look at the Gnome. "Pouch... what pouch?" The Gnome laughed. "You are a cheeky one arent you" the Gnome said, holding out his hand. Litto smiled his best kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar smile, and tossed the Gnome's pouch back. "No blood no foul" he said, then turned to leave.

"Not so fast" the Gnome said. "I like your style." Reaching into his robes, he produced another pouch, which made a gold on gold clink when he shook it. He then tossed it to Litto. "I am in need of a resourcefull and intelligent agent to perform a few special tasks for me. I reward loyalty and success extremely well." Litto caught the pouch and secreted it on himself without bothering to confirm the amount of money inside. "Looks like your in luck" he said "because I am both of those things and more."

The Gnome turned out to be a member of the Rocketfellers' clan. Litto knew that he had hit the Jackpot, and planned to milk this job for all it was worth.

=October 26th=

By Litto

Working for the Gnome was good. He paid well, and appreciated skill and loyalty. The jobs at first had been simple, deliver a message, guard a shipment, investigate the loyalty of an employee and if necessary take action. As Litto proved his courage and ability to follow orders, the Gnome involved him in more and more of his projects. When one of his compeditors horned in on his profits, the Gnome sent Litto in to clean things up. The result was a bloody and obvious message to others to not interfere in the Gnome's business.

It was clear to Litto that this Gnome had a plan. He was driven by money and power, and seemed determined to show the Rocketfellers Clan that he was more capable than any of them. Following the sucess of Litto's lesson, the Gnome began to involve him more and more in the inner workings of his plan. The first order of business was making contact with a human in Menethil harbor.

The human was ostensibly a merchant in charge of a shipping company, but the Gnome knew that he was really the leader of an underground criminal organization with activities on both the Alliance and Horde sides of the conflict. The Gnome had made the initial contact with the Human, but wanted Litto to act as his agent in future contacts. The first of those contacts had come a few weeks later, when Litto had met with the Human in Menethil.

When Litto was young, before his mother had run off, she often told him stories. One of her favorites, and thereby his favorite as well, was about a spy. In her story, the spy had gone to great lengths to ensure the security of his activities. Apparently the Gnome had heard similar stories, since he insisted on all sorts of cloak and dagger procedures. Litto was mildly ammused by some of the protocols the Gnome insisted on, but then, he was paying the bills, and paying them well, so Litto followed them to the letter.

The contact with the Human in Menethil had been easy enough. Litto had presented the recognition token, a pink silk handkerchief, and the Human had acted appropriately. After retiring to a more private location LItto had passed on the Gnome's instructions, and the Money that was to be passed to an agent in Darnassus. Litto had also given the human his payment, which had been substantial. A short while later, Litto received the token indicating the job had been completed successfully.

The Gnome was extremely happy with the results, and immediately began the next phase of his plan. As promised, the Gnome rewarded success generously, and Litto immediately began to lay in his nest egg. No matter how good things were, Litto always kept in mind that they could turn bad quickly. Best he be prepared for any contingency.

=October 26th=

By Kyanali

Kya was preoccupied with explaining things to Monroe when Tai started feeding her info about the subject through the comm device. Elenya, a lithe, serious and silent cat, had been sniffing around Monday night fires off and on whenever the mood struck her for quite some time now. She came noiselessly and watched, seeming to take comfort in sitting near Kya. If there was one thing in Azeroth Kya knew, it was that cats sensed her love for them. Perhaps it was pheromones or some other scent exuding the acceptance and joy felt whenever one of her adopted cats came to sit close. Yet if a spark flew or voices rose in debate, it took so little to spook Elenya.

Domo had been working on some device that night over near Monroe. He had a few pieces assembled and was puzzling over their fit and mechanics. If anyone could figure it out, Domo could, Kya had no doubts. But Monroe, ever sensible, had taken great objection to Domo’s seemingly careless use of these incendiary devices near barrels of things obviously labeled “explosive”. Monroe could not have known that Domo would never risk blowing himself up, let alone Kya, so he acted with instinctual swiftness. The careless one had been Kya, when she laid a poorly lit fire near the barrels Domo had been working next to. Monroe immediately and without preamble, hefted the closest barrel over his shoulder and chucked it over in the general vicinity of Elenya. The cat’s hair stood on her back and her tail swelled. In a puff of sparkling mist, the druid transformed into a beautifully lean elf with a toss of her midnight blue hair and flashing eyes. She hissed, still catlike, “If you wanted to get rid of me, you could have just asked.” The aftermath tingled Kya’s spine and added to the confusion of static in the night air.

“Monroe, you know you’re welcome here at the fires. We love having you. But tossing that barrel in the bushes actually scared one of my cats. Yes, yes I know you had no idea she was there, and even so, cats have all those regenerating lives. Don’t really want to cross a black cat this time of year. Yes well, I do suspect she’ll get over it and come back…eventually….”

Monroe was gravely upset he had scared the skittish creature away. While he was defending his actions and doing his best to assure her he meant no harm, Kya was aware of both wishing she was not so direct sometimes and also wondering how the heck she was going to learn how to gracefully curtsey. It wasn’t that she was not paying attention; it was that she had understood from the start he meant no harm. Almost ready to pat him on the back in conciliatory comfort, Tai’s voice whispered urgently and quickly to her.

He gave her a description of the man and told her to look for him coming out of the Inn. Kya did not see the subject at first. She finally zeroed in on him as he strode purposefully towards the gryphon master. Too late and too far behind, she did not catch him give the location for his destination as he rose into the twinkling night sky and rode away. Having excused herself from Monroe, she left to grill the gryphon master.

Kya hurried up to Shellei, having used her often to buy tickets. “That man,” she asked somewhat breathlessly, “where did he go?”

Shellei looked Kya up and down for a few seconds then replied, “What man?”

Kya gave her a patient smile and the lost her patience immediately, asking, “The one who just left – Oh come on, I have to know, it’s urgent!” Kya performed a little dance with her feet that greatly resembled what her Momma used to call “the pee pee dance”.

Shellei merely faced her through those mirrored glasses which were so hard to see through, and shrugged, “A million men come through here everyday.”

Frustrated, Kya placed her hands on her hips and countered, “Yes but he JUST bought a ticket a few people ahead of this one here; surely you can remember where the past 3 or 4 customers went?”

Shellei shook her head and kept right on selling tickets as if Kya were not there. Kya finally took out a few gold coins and jingled them in her hand. She walked up real close and nearly whispered, “What’s it worth for you to remember for me?”

Shellei laughed and leaned in towards Kya, “I get paid to be the veritable soul of discretion, Miss. My lips are sealed.” And at that, Kya snorted and walked away. It was always worth a try when someone was tight lipped. Half the time it worked.

“Sorry, Boss. Lost him,” Kya spoke softly into her comm.

Tai’s reply was gentle and understanding, “It’s alright, Kya, I really just wanted you to be able to recognize him.” Kya smiled then and decided it was time to sleep. The crack of dawn was always the best time to practice her martial arts and Kya clearly needed to hone her responsiveness.

=October 30th=

By Litto

The second meeting with the Human had gone as smoothly as the first. Litto had presented another pink handkerchief and the human had immediately taken him to a quiet place to talk. He had passed on the Gnome's request that four artifacts from the High Elf ruins North of Auberdine be collected and delivered as soon as possible. The human had assured him it would be done. Based on his previous interaction with this human and his organization, Litto was sure it would go off without a hitch.

That confidence had begun to slip a little by the following Sunday. Litto had gone to the post box each day to see if the success token had been returned. Each day he had returned to the Gnome to inform him that the requested task had not been completed yet. At first, the Gnome had taken it all in stride, but then all of a sudden, Saturday evening, the Gnome's entire attitude had changed.

The Gnome had gone to some sort of a family reunion with his indentured man servant. When he returned, he was more agitated than Litto had ever seen him. "I'll show them" was all he ranted as he paced up and down in the room. Litto waited patiently, till the Gnome acknowledged him and asked if the token had arrived yet. When Litto told him it hadn't, the Gnome lost his cool completely, and began heaving expensive pieces of art at the walls.

Litto had assured him that the Human Merchant was good at his type of work, and met his obligations. The Gnome had seemed to calm down a bit, but still, Litto hoped the token arrived soon, he was not looking forward to dodging more artwork.

=November 1st=

By Litto

Litto checked the post box for the third and last time.

The success token had finally arrived, wrapped in a poem. The hand writing was feminine and the prose showed a flare for the dramatic. Once deciphered, the note gave a time and place where the next meeting was to occur. Litto smiled to himself, and began the trek out to the glade of the Greenwarden. It paid to be well versed in local lore.

Litto loved the Wetlands. It was full of things that wanted to add you to their diet, and that made it both challenging and exciting. After a bit of effort he arrived at the Greenwarden's glade and settled in to wait for his contact to arrive. He reexamined the skin he had removed from the foolish crockolisk that had been determined to delay him. It would make a nice pair of boots he decided.

She came strolling into sight as if she didn’t have a care in the world. That was no mean feat in the Wetlands. Litto reminded himself that any woman who could casually stroll about this part of the world was not to be underestimated. That was good; it meant the Human was sending one of his best. Litto stepped from the shadows of the large flowers he had been standing under.

"Nice night for a stroll and conversation" he said casually. "I was just thinking the same thing" she responded. Litto nodded and added "Then I guess I am in luck, what shall we talk about?" "How about Cats" she said with a smile. "Cats" Litto said "how fortunate, I happen to be in the market for cats... four to be exact." "Well" she said, it just so happens I have four here, and she produced the cat artifacts his employer had contracted for.

Litto examined the artifacts, and when he was sure they met the Gnome's specifications, he handed over a small bag with 20 Azerothian Diamonds. The woman smiled and pocketed the gems after inspecting and counting them. Litto then gave her three of the cats back, with two notes. He provided her with instructions to deliver one cat and one note to the Elf contact in Darnassus, and directed her to deliver the other note and two cats to his Orc contact in Booty Bay. Litto was pleased to see the woman absorbed all the instructions on the first pass.

"A pleasure to meet you" she said. "Indeed, always a pleasure to do business with a professional" he responded. After a few more pleasantries he bowed and hearthed out of the glade. He returned to his quarters to await the predestinated signals that all the deliveries had been successful.

=November 2nd=

By Litto

A most interesting turn of events.

The Gnome, received a good will gift from the parties we are negotiating with. Turns out it was a Hippogriph egg. The Gnome feels this is a sign that they are near accepting his proposal, since they apparently do not give these sorts of gifts out lightly.

The Gnome had his weak minded indentured servant hatch the egg, and is now in possession of a hippogriph hatchling. Needless to say, he is quite pleased. He was so pleased, he gave me a bonus for all the good work I did on this project, which made me quite pleased.

Apparently, the only one who isn't pleased is the indentured servant, who has been sulking around the mansion in a funk since the egg hatched. Not real sure what happened while he was in the room hatching the egg, but it seems to have had a profound effect on him. Go figure.

=November 7th=

By Litto

The Gnome has gotten wind that one of his relatives, his Uncle Theopolous to be exact, is on to his plans. He has been quite agitated since he found out. He paces back and forth in his room and debates with himself whether he should take action or just accept the fact he will lose revenue to his Uncle. Today, he finally decided he would take action. Still, he wants to be very cautious.

Seems there is a rule within his clan that no member of the clan can spill the blood of another member. Apparently the reprocusions if it is discoverd that the murder of a clanmate occured would be quite dramatic. I have not seen him hesitate over any action he deemed necessary to ensure his profit margin before this, so I believe I understand the importance. He asked my advice, and I recommended we approach the Human Merchant.

He and his organization have been quite resourceful up to now, and if we can convince them to take on the job, I am fairly sure they will succeed. He has agreed to allow me to approach the Human with the proposal. If this works out, I will reap many rewards. If it fails, I will most likely be looking for a new job if I am lucky, and will be pushing up daisies if I am not. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

=November 8th=

By Kyanali

Kya sat in the Pig & Whistle at a table with Tai, Von and Kennia. They were huddled in close, heads together, as if looking over some imaginary document with small print. Kya’s voice was low as she spoke, mindful of anyone trying to hear. Speaking in the Tong Cant might have been enough to conceal their business, but it was never a good idea to be brazenly loud, especially when giving a report of mission status. Kya glanced quickly over to Reese the Proprietor, quickly sneaking a drink of her own water so that she did not insult him.

“Well, to be honest, I expected this Litto guy to be more – rough around the edges.” Kya said with a furrowed brow. “He was surprisingly educated and well mannered, easy going even. He was neither tense nor stingy with his amusement.”

Kennia leaned back a little, her new black armor catching the light in that curious way. People eyed Kennia wherever they went naturally. She was stunning in stature and command, but this new state of the art black material was eye catching on its own. Kya observed a couple of hunters enter the tavern and do double-takes at Kennia. She caught back her own smile when she saw Tai notice the same thing and sit up a bit straighter to stare down the hunters, whose laughing joviality quickly changed to quiet embarrassed whispers after receiving and heeding Tai’s glare.

Kennia spoke casually, proud of Tai’s radar in all matters concerning her, “So, I take it all the figurines were delivered as expected?”

Kya nodded and glanced quickly to Von. "Von did a superlative job, as always. I had Domo deliver the first package to the agreed upon location at the pier in Darnassus. Honestly, I know Domo can be a goof at times, but he was right on target with this delivery. You think he’s charming to just women?” At this Kya pursed her lips and then sighed in teasing admiration. “Well, I think he charmed the socks off the guy. I did not hear the precise wording from my hidden location but I sure heard his laughter loud and clear.” Giving Von’s forearm a quick squeeze, Kya continued. “Von followed him after the delivery was made.” She nodded to Von.

“The Elf is apparently working for the Archruid Staghelm, which does worry me slightly.” Von tapped his cigarette on the table and leaned back to light it, waving the smoke away from the others’ faces. He stretched out, long legs under the table, a pensive look on his face. ”For one, I don't like working for governments, even in a limited role. They tend to blame you if things don't work out as they'd like, and publicly.” Tai nodded thoughtfully at this, always considering every angle.

Von continued, “Secondly, the actual political situation in Darnassus is very tense, with the Disciples of the Moon and the Cenarion Circle locking horns regularly on all policies... “ Von let this sink in a bit before indicating where his thoughts were leading. “I'd like to research this connection further if possible, and if necessary, I'll lead the investigation. Whatever happens, we must proceed with caution.”

Kennia eyed Von with clear admiration. She knew he’d not set well with concerns like this eating in the back of his mind. “You do that, Von. Kya here can sit back and let you take over once in while, right?” At that, Kennia shot Kya a smirk and Kya looked quickly from Kennia to Von the back again. Her mouth opened to protest, but snapped shut again when she felt her face burn in agitation.

Tai’s soft laughter rumbled out like a bubbling brook before asking the next question, “And the other drop, how’d that go?” Kya leaned forward over the table, glad for the shift in focus, “Well, we had a little trouble with Garond…” Kennia’s eyebrows shot up at this as Von flicked a small smile at Tai.

Von spoke with delicate humor, knowing full well that everyone at this table had nothing but the highest respect for Garond and his abilities. “Maybe Garond got lost, or uh… fell off the boat.” Kya’s laughter came out in a half snort, this statement being quite ludicrous. She interjected as the others enjoyed the vision, “Come on, Von, you know he had good reason for his delay in getting back to us. It very well could have been a rendevous with –“ Kya stopped, unsure how to refer to the new mother of Garond’s child, not having met her before.

Tai slipped in quietly and with his typical sneaky humor, “ – Tacos?” Kennia had been taking a sip of Port and now it appeared to spray out her nose just a bit with that sudden burst only a well-timed inside joke can give. Their laughter broke out over and above the rest of the banter in the tavern, and Elly stopped dancing long enough to wink at Tai, her adoration for him clear as a child’s love for puppies. Kya caught the wink and was relieved to see Kennia had not this time.

Kya finished up the rest of their business as it was getting late. She had an early running date in the morning with Tai, if he did not collapse on her. She was intent on getting him in better shape so he could keep up with his long-legged wife. “Domo, Von and I traveled to Booty Bay and met Korttie there. She spoke and aided Von in the delivery to the Horde man we were told to meet. Afterwards, Domo trailed him to a contact just outside the Inn in Ratchet.” Kya hesitated and then looked apologetically to both Tai and Kennia. “I should have assigned one of our Horde team to the task of trailing, because I don’t think Domo caught the actual words spoken.”

Tai gave Kya a smile of reassurance. “Don’t worry, Kya. You’ll plan better next time, I’m sure.” Kya grinned broadly at Tai. “I can do that, Boss.” She noticed he’d not had his usual drink tonight and wondered if he really was taking her scolding seriously about being in better shape.

Tai got up and extended his hand to Kennia, “Come to bed, Nia, you cannot keep me up all night tonite.” His twinkling eyes bore into hers with a passion so strong it filled the room in its power. Kennia rose like a queen and slipped an arm around him to kiss him with every promise of a sleepless night.

Tai nodded to both Von and Kya. “Behave, you two. Great job, both of you. Keep up the reputation and this will continue to pad our pockets for some time to come.” With that Tai shifted his entire focus to Kennia as he led her away, hand on her waist, steering her with some urgency.

Kya smiled and turned to Von, “Wanna bet he doesn’t get up at the crack of dawn?” Von leaned in close to Kya, chuckling. “No, Miss Kya. I know better than to bet you anything.” Kya merely rolled her eyes.

As Kya walked home that night under the full moon, she found herself wondering where the cat figurines really ended up and what might have been planted in them. Why cats, and what drove a man like this Litto guy to resort to secret deliveries? She knew she should be able to close her mind down after a job was completed, but somehow her imagination always kicked in, the challenge of a puzzle something she could never resist. There was something really large behind this fellow, she just could not pinpoint what – yet. Not that it was really any of her business.

=November 14th=

By Litto

The meeting with the human had gone well, they always did. He had ensured the Human understood the Gnome's need to find a few bribable or blackmailable Dwarvish Senators so he could secure his business interests. The Human, both understood and was already planning his course of action. It was truely a pleasure to work with professionals. Should his tenure with the Gnome ever come to an end, he would look into the potential of working for this human. He liked his style.

=November 28th=

By Litto

The Gnome has been in a good mood all week. Apparently he achieved some sort of exalted rank recently, and that has made him both happy and generous. Needless to say, a happy and generous employer is always nice to have around. I will certainly enjoy the benefits while they last.

=December 1st=

By Litto

Litto was summoned to the Gnome's room, "another mission no doubt" he thought.

The Gnome sat in his over stuffed chair facing the fire. A folded letter sat on a silver tray on the coffee table beside him. He looked up and smiled at Litto when he approached. "Litto, I have a job for you."

Litto smiled to himself. "Yes sir, what can I do for you?"

"I wish you to find out all you can about a very prominent Arms dealer. The name is Langley. I want to know all you can find out about him, his family and his business. Sooner rather than later would be best."

Litto nodded and left the room.

30 minutes later, Litto dropped a small package into the post. It was addressed to Mr Tai Jiang, of the Gray Tiger Shipping Company. The package contained a pink handkerchief and a note which read:

Dear Mr Jiang

I require your information services. All you know or can find out quickly about a Mr Langley, who is apparently a prominent Arms manufacturer. Personal, family and business information is all desired. As soon as possible is prefered. Payment shall be in diamonds as always.

Litto

=December 1st=

By Kyanali

To the gentleman with a penchant for pink hankies,

I hope you don't mind but the Boss Man shared your letter with me. I just so happen to have the lowdown on aforementioned target. My co-worker happens to have a kind of understanding with the man, and we can tell you anything you need to know. Do you wish to meet to discuss this in some obscure and guarded location or would you prefer a full written report forwarded to you?

Expediently at your service, The one who likes to watch you fish without you knowing it

(the note has a delicately sketched picture of the Darnassus fishing pier at the bottom)

=December 4th=

Litto chuckled to himself at the picture of the pier. She was a very talanted lady, no doubt about that. He penned a short response.

Dear Lady

I of course do not mind your involvement in this issue. I am planning to be in Menethil this monday evening. You can pass on any information you have to me then. Should we not manage to meet on monday, a simple written report will suffice.

Hope to see you in Menenthil

=December 6th=

By Litto

The meeting with the Gray Tiger folks had gone well.

As promised, they had provided two people knowledgable about Langley, his family and his business. One was the woman he had dealt with previously. She was as professional and capable as she had been in all the previous meetings, and he was always pleased to deal with her. The other was an Elf he had not met before. The Elf proved to be very knowledgable about the subject, and provided good insight.

Based on the information, Litto was going to recommend to the Gnome that he go ahead and attend the Tea, as it seemed unlikely to pose a threat to either his person or his enterprises.

These Gray Tigers were proving quite resourceful. The Gnome was definately getting his money's worth.

=December 6th=

By Tai Jiang

Tai drummed his fingers on the oak table, his mind running through the possibilities. Kya and Von had met, discretely enough, with Litto. Getting him information on Langley and his associates had been easy enough, in large part because they'd done work with and for Langley. And there was the rub. Tai snorted ruefully; Langley hadn't exactly been showering them with gold and had pulled something - Tai still wasn't sure what - in the 'export' of firearms that Von had arranged with Nerrok ...

Finally, Tai smiled. Nothing Kya and Von had supplied Litto would be something that could be traced back to the Tong, and so far it had paid to keep Rocketfeller happy. So their risk was low. High profits, low risks - a combination that made Tai smile.

=December 8th=

By Litto

Litto had maintained a discrete distance while following the Gnome. Though he had advised his boss it was safe to attend the tea with the Langley Woman, he stayed close enough to ensure he had not been wrong. He took up a position just outside the house and watched the comings and goings. He was close enough to be summoned by the Gnome, using the short range communicating thing he had designed, but far enough not to be obvious.

He had almost gone in when the blood splattered Gnome entered the house, but since the boss had not signaled him, he stayed at his post. Afterwards a tall good looking female human and a short attractive Gnome entered the house as well. Finally, an armored Dwarf went in. "They must be having one hell of a party in there" he thought to himself, and hoped once more that the Tiger folks were right, as it would be dicey business if he had to rescue the Gnome from the now crouded house.

A short while later, the Gnome emerged unharmed, and Litto breathed easier again. The Gnome was a good and generous employer, and he would hate to lose him. His boss nodded to him as he walked back toward the Tram. Litto followed him once again from a discrete distance.

=December 12th=

By Litto

The Gnome summoned Litto to his office once again.

"Litto you appear to be correct about Ms Langley, while she is obviously quite capable of agressive action, even in her present state, she seems to have no ill will toward me. Still, I am concerned about her association with a particular Gnome who came to her house. This Gnome, who goes by the name Frazzlesprout I believe, was talking about some sort of scam when he walked in. I want to know more about this Gnome, to ensure his scam does not somehow involve me or my projects."

Litto bowed to the Gnome, and proceeded to send a message to Tai's folks regarding a friend of Ms Langley's who went by the name of Frazzlesprout."

=December 12th=

By Tai Jiang

Reading over the message brought to him by Kya, Tai's brow furrowed reading the name. Frazzlesprout? Tai looked up and handed the letter to Kennia. Kennia leaned back and rested her rump on the edge of the desk. She smiled a bit at the name and looked up at Tai, her eyes sparkling, "Think he means that pain in the ass Fizzlepockets? He's like a bad copper, keeps showing up ..."

Tai grinned a bit and nodded, "It's a guess, but a good one. I'd put money on it." If it was Fizzlepockets that might complicate things. They'd bumped heads more than once, including the effort the gnome had made to extort them for the photographs he'd discretely snapped of Kennia in the guard barracks' shower. Still, the advantage was that they had a fairly large file on that particular gnome ...

Tai leaned back and called to the back room, "Talula, you back there? Can you grab the folder we have for a Fizzlepocket something something something Tweek something ...?"

=December 13th=

By Litto

"Darn it all" Litto thought, "just when things seem to be going well they always turn south."

The Gnome had called him in and showed him a letter from the Human. The Human had intimated that someone knew about the recent transaction involving information on Langley and his family. This complicated matters, and worse, made him look less capable. The Gnome was a generous and trusting employer, so long as you showed loyalty and succeeded at your tasks. He wondered if loyalty would be enough to keep his head on his shoulders should this failure be traced back to him.

The only difference between this transaction and previous ones with the Humans organization was the inclusion of the Elf. The Elf had said several times he knew and liked Ms Langley. Could he have slipped her information based on that friendship. Litto hoped not, but he could not assume anything. He would have to talk to the Woman and see what she thought about the possibility of her associate passing information to Ms Langley. He liked the woman, had even grown to trust her, but if it turned out the Elf was not responsible, he would be looking into her next. One way or another, the leak had to be silenced...before he was.

=January 3rd=

By Litto

"Off the hook" was the first thing that came to mind.

"Darn it all if that Tai doesn't have the best looking associates" was the second.

Litto sat at a table across from the attractive woman. She had identified herself as Ollie, and informed him she had been assigned to determine if there was a leak in either the Gnome's organization or the Tong. The investigation showed that no leak had occured. Litto was very pleased.

Since the possibility of a leak had arisen, the Gnome had been very irritable. Litto knew that the Gnome punished failure as much as he rewarded success, and Litto was glad to no longer have that particular dagger hanging over his head.

He knew he should head off at once to inform the Gnome, but Ollie was very attractive, so he lingered just a bit longer, using finishing his drink as a convenient excuse. Eventually his sense of duty reaserted itself, and he excused himself, thanking Ollie, and telling her he hoped to do business with her again.

As he walked off, he thought he was going to have to discover what Tai's secret was. The man was a veritable magnet for highly capable and attractive associates. If Tai could bottle what ever it was that made him so successful, it would sell for a fortune. Litto made a mental note to himself to pay more attention to Tai the next time they met, maybe if he was lucky a bit of it would rub off.

=January 17th=

By Litto

Litto suppressed the smile until after the Gnome and his indentured servant had departed.

The Gnome had come to trust Litto more and more, and leaving him in charge while he was out of pocket was just the most recent proof of that fact. Money, status, and now power had all been rewards for his loyal service. Now all he had to do was make sure he didnt screw anything up. As generous as the Gnome was in rewarding success, he was equally ruthless in punishing failure. For Litto, failure was not an option.

The smile was for the Gnome's indentured servant. Litto had grown to like the bumbling fool, even if the Gnome didnt trust him any further than he could throw him. It had amused Litto to no end watching him prepare his bags for the Gnome's latest adventure. Borriguard had packed everything but the kitchen sink into his packs, to avoid being kicked for not having something the Gnome wanted, then had almost herniated himself lifting the packs to follow the Gnome out the door.

Though Borriguard had proven himself an idiot over and over again, he was a likeable and trustworthy idiot. In the backstabbing world Litto often found himself in, it was good to know there was one person he did not have to worry about turning his back to. There was also the human merchant and his female associate that Litto had been primarily working with. Though his upbringing and life experiences had taught him not to trust anyone, he found himself wanting to trust the two of them. He hoped that sentiment wouldnt land him in trouble one day.

=January 19th=

By Litto

To: Pariwinkle Cogsworth Rocketfellers III

From: Acting Business Manager PCR3 Enterprises

Sir, as requested, this is the status report of your firms activities since you departed.

The Blood Elves have honored the agreement you brokered with them and have granted PCR3 Enterprises a monopoly on the sale of beauty products (make up, hair gel, combs, brushes and mirrors). This week alone we made millions of gold on these products, and that just our Male line. With the introduction of the Female line next week, those profits should go through the roof.

With the huge rash of Spirit dogs suddenly appearing in the Draenei area the sale of flee collars has skyrocketed. I admit I was wrong when I questioned your decision to stock pile so many flee collars and have them shipped out there. As usual your ability to forsee a need and step in to fill is it right on the money.

Our sales of profelactics in the Stormwind to Iron Forge Tram have gone down drastically, but the good news is the difference was made up in sales to Blood Elves and Draenei.

The shipments of arms, armor, uniforms, foodstuffs and medical supplies you ordered for the Argent Dawn were well received. You were quite correct in your prediction that their demand would more than meet the supply we have on hand, so I have ordered an increase in production of all those types of items.

All other business areas are showing a resonable profit, so with the huge upswing of profitablility brought on by your Blood Elf and Draenei ventures, you should be making major inroads toward a record breaking year.

I shall continue to monitor all your business ventures as directed, and stand ready to respond to any new opportunities you send my way.

Litto Acting Business Manager PCR3 Enterprises

=January 24th=

By Litto

Running PCR3 Enterprises was keeping Litto more than occupied. The Gnome's trust came with a long list of responsibilities. Most of those responsibilities involved traveling. He had seen Ratchet, Booty Bay, Menethil, Auberdine and Exodar more in the last week than he had in all his previous employment with the Gnome.

Some of his responsibilities had even involved removing some of the Gnome's minor irritations. One of those irritations was a distant relative of his who was working for the Venture Company in the Stonetalon Mountains. Apparently that particular Gnome had crossed some boundry with his boss sometime in the past. When Litto had informed the Gnome of his relative's whereabouts, the response had been quick "Kill him."

Litto had worked his way into the Venture Company work site. As with all Venture Company activities, the destruction of the land and natural resources was horrible to see. After a few knife point interogations and a slit throat or two, he had discovered the Gnome was usually found at the top of the large water wheel, overseeing the operations.

Litto had worked his way up the scaffoldings. Avoiding confrontation where he could, ending lives quickly where it was unavoidable. As it turned out, the Mark was on top of the last scaffold, repremanding a goblin that worked for him. Litto began the discussion with a stab to the Gnomes back, followed by the words "Pariwinkle sends his regards." The Gnome died badly, as was to be expected. His goblin subordinate had shown a bit more resolve, but only a bit. When it was done, Litto wiped his blade on the dead Gnome's clothing, and took his mechanical arm as proof for the boss.

In a way, the pursuit and kill had been a nice respite from all the headaches involved in running the Gnome's business. He sincerly hoped someone else crossed the Gnome again soon, so he could have another enjoyable outing.

=January 26th=

By Litto

To: Pariwinkle Cogsworth Rocketfellers III

From: Acting Business Manager PCR3 Enterprises

Sir

I paid a visit to the stockade to discuss the non-payment of debts. The ringleaders seemed reluctant to see things your way, so I extracted something personal from each one of them as directed. I nailed the extracted parts to the wall of the stockades, so the new leadership (once they quit squabling over who that will be) should be more resonable about paying their debts.

Litto

=January 26th=

By Tai Jiang

Nikoli took a long swig from the mug of ale, draining it, and then wiped the foam from his beard. The man he was sitting with, a dark skinned man signalled to the barmaid to bring another round. The young doxie smiled at him and wasted no time bringing over a drink to Nikoli, leaning over Nikoli to replace his empty mug and brushing a bit against him. Nikoli smiled, leaning back in his chair, taking in the view of the woman's pleasantly round rump as she swooshed away to the next table. Nikoli was feeling good. Working as a jailkeep in the Stockades didn't pay well, and any attention from women made his head swim. Very nice of this shopkeep or whatever he was to buy him a round of drinks; must be nice to have coin to throw away ...

- - -

Tai kept his face neutral as the boar of a man leered at dear little Elly, who was like a little sister to Tai. Foam still flecked the man's scraggly mustache; by the old gods, it was no wonder the Stockades were always a mess, if this Nikoli was typical of the kind of men and women charged with keeping order there. Tai did not like this man, but he wasn't done with him yet. Before Tai could nod to the new drink, Nikoli had picked it up and was beginning to chug it.

Biting his lip, Tai leaned forward, "So, that's an amazing story. Actual ... parts of prisoners nailed to the wall, eh?" Tai did his best to look shocked by the things humanoids could sink to. Nikoli nodded violently, spilling some of his ale on his uniform pants, "The worst was this one guy's ..."

Tai put up a hand, quickly, shaking his head, "I doubt I could bear the image. Only men cut with your jib are meant to face such things." Tai gave a small nod of feigned respect, before pressing (gently) for more, "And you have no suspects, none at all? Who would do such a thing?" Nikoli gave a big, stupid shrug, "I just work there, but the boss pulled out a couple of the softies and pressed 'em for information ... and the word is that somebody on the outside wasn't too happy with some of the folks inside. Of course, not a single redeeming value in any of 'em, I can tell you that."

Tai leaned back in his chair, not listening to Nikoli anymore. He stroked his beard, thinking. There was always competition for business. He expected that. Nether, it made life fun. There'd been rumors of someone smuggling some weapons down into the stockades (no doubt, assisted by greasing the already oily palms of some cretin like Nikoli here) - and now it seemed someone was looking to make sure accounts were tidied up. The more intriguing part, to Tai at least, was that he wasn't sure who was behind this - and the lacking of information of that nature could be at least costly and at worst dangerous. The Tong would have to learn more about this.

Tai glanced up, realizing that Nikoli had finished his ale and seemed to be waiting for more. Tai frowned and glanced over to Rob, standing nearby, giving him a slight nod. Compact and muscular, Rob came over and put a firm hand on Nikoli's shoulder, "Time's up buddy. Hit the cobbles." Nikoli looked up, almost angrily at Rob and then to Tai. Seeing the cold look on Tai's face, and feeling Rob's fingers dig into his shoulder, Nikoli thought better of it and started to get up. Tai spoke in a low voice, "I'll pick up the tab but it would be best if you left something for Elly." Tai nodded towards the barmaid Nikoli had been eyeing.

Nikoli began to think maybe these guys were more than shopkeeps and began digging in his coin pouch, bringing out a couple silver. Rob gave him a look and grabbed Nikoli's wrist, guiding his hand back to the pouch, "Try again and see if you can't pull out ten more." Nikoli grunted but the man was strong and well trained. Licking his lips, Nikoli dropped a handful of silver coins on the table, before turning and heading out.