Gentleman Adventurer
A True Gentleman
Blacklight. Capitol of Morrowind. One hell of a city. It was pouring rain that night, the streets even brighter than normal as the numerous neon signs were reflected in the large puddles that dotted the ground. A lone figure, dressed in white from head to toe, made his way down the sidewalk into a small shop on an out of the way street in the worst part of the city. A sign above the entrance proudly displayed it's name: Radobar's Rare Goods. The man tried the door, only to find it locked. He reached into the pockets of his white suit, retrieving a single key, which was used to open the door. As he entered, the door swung closed behind him.
The man in white coughed as he took in his current surroundings. It was a dingy, run down mess of a store. Items lay scattered about, on floors, shelves and tables. The entire room was covered in a thin veil of cigar smoke, fogging the man's vision and scratching at his lungs. A fat, middle-aged Dunmer man sat behind the counter, seemingly fast asleep. A battered old radio was on the counter next to him, playing some horribly garbled jazz music. The man stepped forward, towards the counter and the Dunmer behind it, tossing his white fedora onto a nearby hat rack.
"Fovus."
The Dunmer didn't wake.
"Fovus."
Still, nothing. The man in white sighed.
"Fovus!"
The Dunmer awoke with a start, making a noise that seemed to be halfway between a yelp and a snort. His terror subsided as he saw the face of the man in front of him. Fovus let out a deep sigh, and shifted to a more comfortable position in his chair.
"Eldric, my boy! What a pleasure it is to see you again. I was just...uh, having a little lay down before you came in. I wasn't expecting you."
Eldric looked up with a smirk. "I made an appointment with you for this exact time. Three weeks in advance."
"Oh. Well, I...I must have forgot." Fovus paused. "I suppose you'll be wanting to see the 'special inventory'...?"
"I'm never here for anything else, am I?"
"No, I suppose you're not."
Fovus picked himself out of his chair with a hearty groan, reaching into the pockets of his jeans as he did so. After a moment or two of rummaging, he pulled out a keyring. He walked over to a large metal door behind the counter, using the keys to open it. The Dunmer pushed the door open, giving a slight flourish as he bowed out of the way and let his client enter before him.
The back room was at least twice as large as the storefront, and filled to the brim with every kind of weapon imaginable. The walls were lined with rifles, machine guns, and pistols of all of shapes and sizes. Chests of swords and knives were lined up in rows, shelves stocked with ammo boxes lying directly above them.
"Just got a new shipment in from High Rock this morning, Eldric." Fovus said, closing the door behind him as he followed the sharply-dressed Nord into the room. "I think you'll like it."
"What do you have for me?"
Fovus scurried off through the stacks of weapons, leaving Eldric alone for a minute. The Nord heard a metallic click off in the distance, and soon enough Fovus hurried back, clutching a wooden box. He presented it to Eldric, who opened it. Inside was a small revolver with a white handle and seven golden bullets.
"Modified Smith & Uurwen point thirty-two pistol," Fovus explained, watching with a grin as Eldric examined the weapon. "Marble handle. Though it'd go well with your look. It's easily concealed as well."
"You know I'm a sucker for a fancy gun Fovus, but it looks a little shrimpy for my tastes."
"Trust me, it packs quite a punch."
Eldric took the pistol in hand and held it up. "May I?"
"Go right ahead."
He plucked one of the bullets from the box, loading it into the pistol's chamber. He twirled it around a bit with a smug smile, before turning to face the wall. There was a target set up there, for customers to test out their weapons. Well, the weapons that worked indoors, that was. After lining up his shot as best he could, Eldric squeezed the trigger and sent a bullet into the center of the target.
The moment the bullet hit the wall, it exploded in a small burst of flame, singing most of the target in the process. Eldric slowly turned to face Fovus, his ears still ringing from the blast's exceptionally loud noise. The Dunmer was laughing.
"Explosive ammo," Fovus said, in between chuckles. "It'll be a nasty surprise for your enemies."
"You old bastard, I love it!" Edric said, clapping him on the back. "How much for the set?"
"Fifty."
"You're kidding me."
"Marble handle and explosive ammo? That stuff ain't exactly cheap."
"Can't you give me a discount, just this once?"
Fovus shook his head. "No can do. Business isn't exactly booming around here as of late. Come on, what have you got to lose? You'll be making it all back once you rob Telvayn Manor."
"What?"
"You mean aren't going to?" The arms dealer pulled a crumpled up newspaper out of his back pocket, handing it to Eldric. "Relyn Telvayn's throwing a party, opening his home to Morrowind's rich and famous. I figured you'd be all over a chance to steal from the richest guy in the city."
"I didn't know..." Eldric said, a sly grin creeping over his face. "But I do now." He looked down at the paper. The fifteenth of Sun's Height. That was two weeks away. Good. He'd have time.
"So," Fovus said, taking the pistol from Eldric and putting in back in the box. "Do we have ourselves a deal?"
Eldric reluctantly pulled the cash out of his pocket and handed it over. "Yeah."
"Excellent!" Fovus handed the box over to Eldric, and led his customer out of the back room and into the store. They shook hands one final time, and the Nord headed back out into the rain, taking his fedora from the hat rack as he went. The door slammed shut behind him, and Fovus Radobar drifted back off into sleep.
The man in white coughed as he took in his current surroundings. It was a dingy, run down mess of a store. Items lay scattered about, on floors, shelves and tables. The entire room was covered in a thin veil of cigar smoke, fogging the man's vision and scratching at his lungs. A fat, middle-aged Dunmer man sat behind the counter, seemingly fast asleep. A battered old radio was on the counter next to him, playing some horribly garbled jazz music. The man stepped forward, towards the counter and the Dunmer behind it, tossing his white fedora onto a nearby hat rack.
"Fovus."
The Dunmer didn't wake.
"Fovus."
Still, nothing. The man in white sighed.
"Fovus!"
The Dunmer awoke with a start, making a noise that seemed to be halfway between a yelp and a snort. His terror subsided as he saw the face of the man in front of him. Fovus let out a deep sigh, and shifted to a more comfortable position in his chair.
"Eldric, my boy! What a pleasure it is to see you again. I was just...uh, having a little lay down before you came in. I wasn't expecting you."
Eldric looked up with a smirk. "I made an appointment with you for this exact time. Three weeks in advance."
"Oh. Well, I...I must have forgot." Fovus paused. "I suppose you'll be wanting to see the 'special inventory'...?"
"I'm never here for anything else, am I?"
"No, I suppose you're not."
Fovus picked himself out of his chair with a hearty groan, reaching into the pockets of his jeans as he did so. After a moment or two of rummaging, he pulled out a keyring. He walked over to a large metal door behind the counter, using the keys to open it. The Dunmer pushed the door open, giving a slight flourish as he bowed out of the way and let his client enter before him.
The back room was at least twice as large as the storefront, and filled to the brim with every kind of weapon imaginable. The walls were lined with rifles, machine guns, and pistols of all of shapes and sizes. Chests of swords and knives were lined up in rows, shelves stocked with ammo boxes lying directly above them.
"Just got a new shipment in from High Rock this morning, Eldric." Fovus said, closing the door behind him as he followed the sharply-dressed Nord into the room. "I think you'll like it."
"What do you have for me?"
Fovus scurried off through the stacks of weapons, leaving Eldric alone for a minute. The Nord heard a metallic click off in the distance, and soon enough Fovus hurried back, clutching a wooden box. He presented it to Eldric, who opened it. Inside was a small revolver with a white handle and seven golden bullets.
"Modified Smith & Uurwen point thirty-two pistol," Fovus explained, watching with a grin as Eldric examined the weapon. "Marble handle. Though it'd go well with your look. It's easily concealed as well."
"You know I'm a sucker for a fancy gun Fovus, but it looks a little shrimpy for my tastes."
"Trust me, it packs quite a punch."
Eldric took the pistol in hand and held it up. "May I?"
"Go right ahead."
He plucked one of the bullets from the box, loading it into the pistol's chamber. He twirled it around a bit with a smug smile, before turning to face the wall. There was a target set up there, for customers to test out their weapons. Well, the weapons that worked indoors, that was. After lining up his shot as best he could, Eldric squeezed the trigger and sent a bullet into the center of the target.
The moment the bullet hit the wall, it exploded in a small burst of flame, singing most of the target in the process. Eldric slowly turned to face Fovus, his ears still ringing from the blast's exceptionally loud noise. The Dunmer was laughing.
"Explosive ammo," Fovus said, in between chuckles. "It'll be a nasty surprise for your enemies."
"You old bastard, I love it!" Edric said, clapping him on the back. "How much for the set?"
"Fifty."
"You're kidding me."
"Marble handle and explosive ammo? That stuff ain't exactly cheap."
"Can't you give me a discount, just this once?"
Fovus shook his head. "No can do. Business isn't exactly booming around here as of late. Come on, what have you got to lose? You'll be making it all back once you rob Telvayn Manor."
"What?"
"You mean aren't going to?" The arms dealer pulled a crumpled up newspaper out of his back pocket, handing it to Eldric. "Relyn Telvayn's throwing a party, opening his home to Morrowind's rich and famous. I figured you'd be all over a chance to steal from the richest guy in the city."
"I didn't know..." Eldric said, a sly grin creeping over his face. "But I do now." He looked down at the paper. The fifteenth of Sun's Height. That was two weeks away. Good. He'd have time.
"So," Fovus said, taking the pistol from Eldric and putting in back in the box. "Do we have ourselves a deal?"
Eldric reluctantly pulled the cash out of his pocket and handed it over. "Yeah."
"Excellent!" Fovus handed the box over to Eldric, and led his customer out of the back room and into the store. They shook hands one final time, and the Nord headed back out into the rain, taking his fedora from the hat rack as he went. The door slammed shut behind him, and Fovus Radobar drifted back off into sleep.
-----------------------
Eldric, the man in white, walked down the slippery streets of Blacklight, on the way back to his apartment where he would start to plan things out. It had stopped raining now, and the sun was beginning to peek over the clouds. Most of the lights had gone out by now. It was a rare moment of peace for the city. Eldric hated peace. Far too dull.
Good thing he knew just the right people to help liven the place up.