The Legacy of Vera Shelby (Silvercrest)

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VeraShelby
Posts: 39
Character: Vera Shelby

Re: The Legacy of Vera Shelby (Silvercrest)

Post by VeraShelby » August 5th, 2021, 10:45 pm

10. Don’t Fuck with My Money: Song

The sun rose steadily in the east as Vera made her way from the Legion clearing to Fort Prae. Jakell and Vera spent most of their evenings at the fort given that their work was centered around this area now. They only used the house by the graveyard for storage and rarely spent evenings in the old rental with Furio. They’d both tried to get Furio to move from the rental to the new house, but to no avail. The only downside, besides Furio’s stubbornness, was Vera had to get up earlier to travel from the Legion clearing to the market.

Vera yawned heavily, covering her mouth with a knit, fingerless glove as she mouthed a hello to her merchant Sidonia. Sidonia was a nice girl, young with yet black hair and a dark complexion. Vera had hired her upon coming to the First Province to sell her goods and she was reliable and never skimmed off the top.

“Good mornin’ Mistress”, Sidonia said as she took the satchel of tools Vera brought with her.

Vera blinked sleep from her eyes and responded with a muffled “Mornin’”, as she yawned again.

Sidonia shifted on her feet nervously as she stored away the tools, hatchets, pickaxes, and other small things. The girl chewed on her bottom lip and looked side to side opening her mouth to speak but deciding against it.

“Out with it”, Vera waved a hand towards herself to encourage her.

“I don’t mean to question you, but don’t you think we should raise our prices a little? We’re undercutting every merchant in the marketplace”, Sidonia whispered as she leaned closer to Vera.

“Sidonia, is this about your pay?”, Vera sounded impatient now.

“No, no, of course not!” Sidonia held her hands up palm forward submissively, “it’s just that. . There were a few men asking a lot of questions about who I work for and our prices”, the girl trailed off and looked around before lowering her voice, “You know we undercut even the cheapest merchant by ten coppers?”.

Vera gave the girl a flat look as she organized her bags and pouches. Vera had been lowering her prices since merchants wearing “R and T” badges had shown up and taken over a dozen or so spaces in the marketplace. She had started selling her tools for fifty coppers and lowered them to forty and then to twenty as a middle finger to the tool merchant for R and T who kept lowering theirs. Vera didn’t see a point in raising her prices while they were locked in this price war.

“Just mind your business Sidonia, and don’t tell people who you work for. Everything will be fine.” She replied in a somewhat gruff tone.

Vera had met Khalkeus Renatus, the figurehead for Renatus and Thrupp a few weeks back. He was an older man with brown hair that was speckled through with gray. His eyes were a dull brown with one of his pupils being milky in color and Vera suspected he may be blind in it. He wore a thin monocle over his milky eye that only made the deformity more apparent.

Renatus was loud, he spoke in a particular cadence and frequently occupied the workstations in the engineering wing of the craft hall. Vera had run into him one day when she was in a particularly foul mood only to find that he had filled the whole room with key rings. One couldn’t take a step without shuffling through a hundred or so rings. They covered the floor, spilling out through the doors and littered the tops of every work surface. Vera had stepped into the room to repair her hatchet and found herself ankle deep in the rings.

“Ah! A free sample of the fine wears Renatus and Thrupp will be offering!” Renatus said in a booming voice and fished one of the key rings off the table and held it out to her.

Vera looked around the room in shock, there was no way for anyone else to work in this space. She waved a dismissive hand to the man and declined the ring, if she wanted one, she’d collect it off the ground.
“Ya know other people work in ‘ere, right?”, she asked him, growing impatient immediately.
“Ah yes well, can’t stand in the way of progress!”, he replied and swiped several dozen rings off the neighboring workstation onto the ground.

Vera stared at the man in disbelief and just shook her head, “Only a gaping ass’ole would fill a shared space like this with garbage”, she replied and shook her head as she trudged through the rings and left.

She now stood outside of the craft hall and chewed her bottom lip with irritation. She’d had her shop up before R and T and had been selling copper and tin tools for weeks, if they wanted to be upset over her prices that was on them.

Vera was aware Renatus was unhappy with her pricing, he had told her so himself when she and Jakell ran into him in the engineering room one day the week before. He’d asked them if they knew who Sidonia worked for and mentioned that he would even pay good coin for the information. Jakell and Vera had both played dumb while Renatus insulted Vera’s copper tools and made mention that her pricing was ruining the tool market.

She growled to herself under her breath at the memory and hadn’t made it two steps out of the hall before she was stopped by Elsea Hunter, a young woman with short chin length brown hair. Vera had met her a few times before; she’d done some construction work for her in the past. Elsea looked confused, concerned and a little lost.

“Vera, a man in black gave me this and told me to give it to you”, she said quietly and held out a rolled piece of paper.

Vera looked up and down the road, they were alone save for the pacing guards. The paper read “It is imperative that we meet, come alone and meet me on top of the inn immediately”.

“Who gave this to you?”, she asked as she brought her eyes up from the paper.

Elsea simply shook her head, “He didn’t give a name, just some coin and asked me to give this to you”.
Vera pursed her lips together and examined Elsea closely, “I’d recommend in the future that you not take odd jobs from even odder men” she warned, “Not everyone in this land abides by the motto of ‘don’t kill the messenger '’”.

“I don’t plan to”, Elsea responded and cleared her throat uncomfortably.

Vera rolled the paper back up and nodded to Elsea in thanks, giving her one final prolonged glare to further illustrate her point.

“Well, this is it”, Vera thought to herself as she walked at a brisk pace to the inn, “they’ve finally found me. It was a good run”.

Vera took the stairs two at a time at a jog, if her father and family had found her there was no point in delaying the inevitable, it would be better for everyone if she just went to them. She wondered how Vittus would respond to Jakell, or if he would even bother to meet him before dragging her back to the West bound and gagged.

The thought made her take a pause. She stood on the steps halfway to the top floor and thought of Jakell and how lost he would be if she just suddenly vanished. Maybe they’d let her get a letter to him? And what of Lucien? Would her sudden departure create a void in his life?

She drew in a deep breath and forced herself to move forward. If this letter was from her family or even a representative of the Shelby’s they wouldn’t stop until they found her and that could mean spilling blood to discover her whereabouts. It could mean harm coming to Furio, Jakell, Lucien or any member of the Legion. She couldn’t live with that on her conscience.

Vera stood alone on the top floor of the inn and walked through the rows of benches that faced the center stage. She moved into the middle of the clearing, the woven mat was still dirty and stained by the fights that used to take place there. Vera ran her boot across a splattering of blood and drew in a deep breath.

“Did you come alone?”, the voice said as the man stepped from the shadows. He was tall, thin, and covered head to toe in draped black fabric. Vera studied the man trying to take in any noticeable features, but all that stood out was the tips of a gray beard under his cowl.

She nodded and held her hands out to her sides. “I’m ‘ere, what did ya want from me?”, she barked over at the man aggressively in her Western accent.

“I’m not here to harm you, but there are others who would prefer I did”, the man continued.

Vera lowered her hands and furrowed her brow at his words. If this man was a representative of her family, he would have no need to cloak himself.

“It has come to our attention that you are an associate of an associate of mine”, the cloaked figure said and motioned for her to join him at a table.

She stepped forward cautiously moving closer to the man and slowly took a seat in an open backed stool. The man sat across from her, his fabrics obscuring the stool entirely as he settled in. His voice came almost as a specter from the shadows of his hood.

“My organization has taken on a contract to find and dispatch the owner of a particular tool shop here in the fort”, the voice said as the man folded his hands in front of him neatly, “had we known it was you who had created such waves, we would not have accepted it”.

Vera’s whole body leaned away from the man as he spoke, her arms were folded tightly across her chest, and she simply shook her head in disgust as she listened. He didn’t need to tell her anymore for her to know who had hired him; the greed of some men was appalling. Vera knew Renatus was irate over their competition, but she never thought he’d go to these lengths. Renatus was sending her a message, “don’t fuck with my money” and she was hearing it loud and clear.

“So why tell me instead o’ makin’ good on the contract?”, she saw no reason to hide her accent now and leaned in, “Wouldn’ it ‘ave been easier fer ya ta jus’ ‘dispatch’ me an’ be done with it?”, Vera was angry, and she wore it all over her face. Her self-preservation instincts were showing up quite late to this party.

“As I said, it has come to our attention that you are an associate of an associate and our relationship with them is more important than a few pieces of gold from a one-off contract”, the man turned his hand over fluidly as he spoke, his gestures were smooth, intentional, and seemed almost practiced.

“What exactly do ya want from me, then?”, she leaned in a little and worked to ease the tension in her face.

“We want to find a solution that leaves our business relationship intact, appeases our contract and keeps you alive, Ms.Shelby”, the words came from the hooded figure as he rolled his hand back over and folded it neatly with the other, “Leave here and go to the Unity Bridge past your fort’s clearing. I will meet with my associates and work to come up with a solution, then meet you there.”

The man’s body weight shifted to stand, and Vera was on her feet before him already three paces out of his reach. A soft chuckle escaped the hood and just as quickly as he had come, the man was gone.

Vera sighed with frustration and did as she was told, she left the roof of the inn and immediately started on the path to the Unity Bridge. She ran over the information in her head and as she did, she had to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Who knew the tool business could be so cutthroat? Or deadly?

She could see the palisade through the trees as she approached the Legion Fort, but what she didn’t expect was to see Koss and Jaxon standing outside of it waiting for her. Koss, as always, towered over Jaxon who was a far slighter man, tall with long black hair and a gray beard. Vera wasn’t well acquainted with Jaxon, but he bought lockpicks from her and paid well so she didn’t think much of him.

“Vera! Vera!” the pair called out as she approached, not quite in unison.

Koss was to her first and then Jaxon, the pair were talking over one another and were impossible to understand. “Are you alright?” “Why would you meet that man alone?” “Where are you going?”

She waved her hands in front of them to try to slow them down, she couldn’t even make out who was asking what.

“Jaxon was just tellin’ me that ‘e got words that there is a price on yer ‘ead! Why wouldn’ ye ‘ave someone go with ye?”, Koss said breathlessly, shaking his head with disappointment.

Vera looked between the men; she wasn’t sure how word had reached them before her, but she now found herself in the impossible position of trying to explain her lack of caution. She looked to Jaxon who was now speaking.

“Vera, I heard about the plot through a collection of acquaintances and was just informing Koss when you came up”, Jaxon was wearing Legion red and black leather armor, his long hair was wild as was his beard. Could this have been the man she just spoke with? Their frames were similar, but she was unsure.

“I’m supposed to meet with him at the bridge”, Vera motioned to the north and both men shook their heads.

“No, don’t do that, let me go and speak with him, I think I can find a way to resolve this. I think if you would be willing to dismiss your merchant, maybe even wait a bit to hire a new one and change your inventory it could satisfy all parties”, Jaxon said, his fingertips pressing together as he spoke.

Vera was tired, beaten down and anxious over the whole situation. She simply nodded to Jaxon in agreement with a vacant expression. She didn’t feel she should have to change anything, but she would do it to end this interaction and to prevent another “organization” from picking up her contract.

“Good, I’ll send word when it's done”, Jaxon said to her and to Koss with a firm nod.

“Vera, ye really need to be more careful, ye shouldn’t ‘ave gone to meet with anyone alone like that”, Koss began, and Vera put her hands up to stop him.

“I thought he was someone that I knew from before”, she explained through a sigh.

“Still, ye’re in the Legion now, we protect one another and ye never know who wants to ‘arm us”, Koss didn’t sound angry or even disappointed, this giant of a man sounded genuinely concerned for her.

Vera offered him a small smile, craning her neck up to meet his face, “I’ll take that into advisement”, she responded and turned to leave.

As she left, she noticed she was walking in the massive shadow of Koss who insisted upon following her back to the Fort. As much as she wanted to argue with him, she knew it was fruitless.

Koss walked Vera back to the rental where he made sure she was inside safely before leaving. Vera had to reassure him several times that she would be careful, that she wouldn’t wander off alone and that she wouldn’t meet with strangers in private locations again.

Vera had been so distracted by Koss that she hadn’t even noticed the other giant in her life sitting at the dining table until she turned around. Furio gazed upon her with his mellow brown eyes and lifted one brow in question. Before he could even ask Vera launched into the whole story.

“And that’s why Koss brought me here, he thinks Jaxon can resolve all of this before it gets worse”, she said as she lowered herself into the chair with a sigh.

Furio looked forward at Vera and his brow twitched ever so slightly, she could tell Furio was concerned, she had grown to be an expert at his micro expressions.

“What is the Legion going to do about this?”, Furio asked in his usual smooth tone.

“They’re workin’ on it. I’m supposed to wait for a letter or work from Jaxon, but I don’t know if I trust that man”, Vera ran her fingers through her hair.

“Who else knows?”, he asked and casually offered her some cooked mystery meat.

Vera took the food from him but didn’t eat it, she placed it in front of her and idly picked at it with her fingernails, “I think just us, Jaxon and Koss, but I don’t know. I don’t think Renatus even knows that’s my shop yet”.

“Then it would be wise to do as the man said, dismiss your merchant and start over. Your life isn’t worth a grudge match over tool prices”, Furio always had such a deliberate tone to his voice that drove points home for Vera. When she wouldn’t listen to anyone else, she would always listen to Furio.

“I will, I’ll go and talk to Sidonia tonight. I’ll be sorry to see her go, but I need to also think of her safety”, she drew in a breath and put a sliver of meat into her mouth to appease Furio.

“I’m sorry this is the outcome Vera but know that I’m always here if you ever need anything. You can always call for me and I’ll be there to aid you”, Furio tried to offer Vera a comforting look, but it looked the same as all of Furio’s expressions.

“Thank you, friend, you’re like the eighth brother I never wanted”, she let out a soft chuckle and Furio nodded once to her. “I’ll get out of your hair; I need to take care of a few things”.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to go out alone?”

“I’m a big girl, Furio, I’ll not live my life requiring a babysitter, but I won’t stray far from the guards if it makes you feel better.”

Furio nodded, Vera could feel his hesitation in allowing her to leave alone but knew Furio respected her enough to make her own choices. The two of them shared an unspoken mutual regard and respect. If she said she would be ok, she would be.

Vera delivered the news to a teary-eyed Sidonia and gave her all the profits from the last week as a severance. She had given her enough information to be sure that she wouldn’t take another job too quickly, but not enough to put her in danger. It was a tricky balance to find.

The afternoon dragged on, and Vera was left with little to do with no vendor to sell her merchandise and Jakell off on an exploration trip to find new resources. Jakell often left for a few days at a time to gather lumber and hunt. Vera thought that perhaps he just valued his peace and alone time, something that was becoming harder to come by as the Legion grew.

Vera stood at the South gate of the Fort and looked behind her. She’d told Furio that she wouldn’t leave the protection of the guards, but there were several that lined the path to the Foundry; she wouldn’t technically be breaking her word.

She took the path out of the Fort and followed it around to the finished house she had made for Lucien. Vera looked over her shoulder frequently and her nerves responded to every twig snap and rustled leaf along the way. She was relieved when she approached the small home and noticed that light shone through the bay windows she’d so carefully crafted.

Tap, tap, tap. Vera drummed the knuckle of her index finger on the door. She could have walked in, she had a key after all, but it seemed more polite to knock.

Lucien opened the door, his brow fixed in a scowl and his fist balled before seeing her. His expression softened and he stepped to the side to allow her in, “Vera?” he said as she walked past him, “What brings ye this way?”

As she stepped into the house all her nerves and the anxiety of the day washed over her. Her face flushed and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. Vera paced in the small front room of the house that was barely decorated with a small round table in the corner and several crates in another.

“Eh. .” Lucien vocalized as he watched her.

“The funniest thing happened to me today, and I just couldn’t wait to share it with you”, she said, pausing her pacing but the spurts of laughter continued to come in waves.

“O’ yeah, what's that?”, Lucien gave her his signature crooked grin and folded his arms over the loose fitting long-sleeved shirt he was wearing.

“Well, turns out my tool prices ‘ave been the topic of some conversations and Renatus from R and T hired a man, or an ‘organization’ or somethin’, to fuckin’ kill their competition” she drew in a breath as she laughed, “Which is me, they paid a man to kill me”, she continued to laugh and gesticulated towards herself as she talked.

Vera’s voice broke as she watched Lucien’s expression drop. His arms unfolded and he looked a mixture of confused and enraged, “Yer fuckin’ kiddin’ me?”.

“I wish I was, I wish this was all some sort’o sick joke, because that’s ‘ow it feels”, she tipped her head back, she could feel hot tears forming in her eyes as she spoke. She wasn’t crying because she was scared, she couldn’t help but cry because she was so frustrated.

Lucien stood awkwardly in front of her, he looked as though he didn’t know what to do. His arms raised for a moment as though to reach for her but fell back to his sides. His hands balled into fists and the skin across his knuckles grew pale with the pressure.

“Vera”, he said quietly, “I’ll fuckin’ kill ‘im fer this. Mark my words, I’ll bring ye that man’s stupid fuckin’ monocle one day”.

“O’ yeah?”, she chuckled and wiped under her eyes, “Ya promise?”.

“I promise”, he responded in a hiss with a tone that made her blood run cold. She’d always suspected that Lucien had killed a man before, but she’d never been as sure as she was at that moment.

She searched his face that was wise beyond his years and tried to imagine all he had seen and done in his short time on this Eden.

“Do ye got a weapon?” Lucien said suddenly and before she could respond he was digging in his pack.

“I don’t”, she pursed her lips together.

“’ere take these”, he handed her a pair of brass knuckles, etched across the front of them were the words “Lucien’s Fists”.

Vera slipped the knuckles over her fingers and flexed her fists with an appreciative nod.

“Thank ya. I sometimes find myself doubtful o’ my choices to join the Legion, but I ‘ave to say, I’m really appreciative of them and ya today”, she looked down at the knuckles as she spoke and looked back up to find Lucien smiling at her softly.

“Ye can lean on me Vera, yer not in this alone. It's not ye against the world, even if it feels that way sometimes”, Lucien motioned between them as he spoke, “we’re a team”.

Vera knew he was right, she needed to trust the Legion to have her best interests at heart. She was a cog in the machine that was the army and that had its benefits along withs its downsides. Vera looked down to her arm at the brand that resided there. She ran her fingers across the scar tissue. She wasn’t going to let Renatus get to her. She wasn’t going to let anyone stand in her way.

Vera looked up from her arm and grinned, an expression that Lucien couldn’t help but return.

“Yer right” she said with a chuckle, “Fuck that ass’ole”.

“That’s my girl”, Lucien responded with his signature crooked grin back on his face.

Vera left shortly after and decided she’d hire a new merchant, no, she’d hire two more merchants and flood the market. If Renatus could be petty, so could she, she’d send the message right back to him, “don’t fuck with my money”.

VeraShelby
Posts: 39
Character: Vera Shelby

Re: The Legacy of Vera Shelby (Silvercrest)

Post by VeraShelby » June 3rd, 2023, 2:46 pm

The Weight of Living

A tickle at the back of her neck made her shoulders shake as the sinking feeling of dread filled the pit of her stomach. The sensation was familiar; she’d once felt it just before Jakell was dragged from a swamp, barely clinging to life.

Where was Jakell?

The adrenaline of panic had her on her feet and pacing the streets of the fort as quickly as her broken ribs would allow her. Had he left to pick herbs again? They hadn’t been as close recently, but the least he could do was leave a note at the shop.

Her feet took her past the south gate, and in a moment of surreal weightlessness, she was met with the sight of Jakell and the relief that brought. The solace was replaced just as soon as it came by the icy chill of consternation. For, in Jakell’s hands were the lifeless feet of Lucien, his upper body carried by Avi.

Time dilated, and all she could hear was the beating of her heart in her ears, a rapid and thumping cadence. The pair placed his body behind the apartments out of sight, and Jakell approached her, though she heard nothing of what he said. She hadn’t been prepared for this or the flood of conflicting emotions it would bring her. Despite everything, she still loved him dearly.

Locke and Conway lingered close by, and one, though she couldn’t be sure who, passed her Lucien’s wedding ring at her request. Vera knelt by his body, barely feeling the sting of her broken ribs, and straightened his hair away from his face. He’d been clean-shaven recently, and she’d just told him the day before how much she preferred him with a beard. He looked young clean-shaven, and even younger now, lifeless and splayed out upon the ground.

Vera knew what she must do, a ritual and prayer taught to her by Lucien years ago to release those from the horrors of reincarnation back into this world. She’d never thought she’d be saying the prayer over him. She’d always imagined it would be one of their children, decades from now, in some warm compound of her family’s far away from here. Leaning close, she traced a symbol on his forehead and whispered gently in his ear:

“I cut the cord, the ties that bind you,

With love, I release the oaths that keep you,

By my word, you are free from the responsibilities laid upon your shoulders,

Be cleansed of allegiance, loyalty, and obligation,

Walk now, unfettered to the land of Bones, and let go of suffering,

Rest eternal”

All else fell away save for the two of them, and as she closed her eyes, she felt the final embrace of his soul as it departed this world, taking a large piece of her with it. Nothing would be the same; there would always be a void in her so long as she walked this plane.

Vera leaned closer and kissed Lucien’s face; he was still warm to the touch.

“I will be with you in the end, my love. As we’d always planned, I will just be a little further behind you than expected.”

Vera stood, and though it felt like the world should have stopped, life continued around her, the terrible weight of living pressing upon her shoulders.

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