Nightmarish Scourges could learn a thing or two from upper class humans. The malicious glee in their faces when attempting to humiliate others for one, and how to emit the appropriate amount of spit to thoroughly disgust their listeners when yelling profanities for another. It was enough to make fabulously murderous fantasies seem rather reasonable after all.

Lucius Cromwell would never relay this observation however. He much preferred the pale, wrinkled abomination his Scourge of choice had chosen to represent its otherworldly presence.

"You do know I can hear your thoughts though?"

Lucius let out a sigh only a person under constant, unhallowed surveillance could as the creature in question made itself known, and he clicked his tongue.

Even you wouldn't stoop so low.

"A physical appearance is bad enough to begin with, but no soul on your plane is worth looking like that."

Lucius shifted his focus back to the unbecoming commotion he was walking away from, grateful to finally be out of the spit-zone. He should never have offered to come down there in person.

Agreed.

"Did you hear that, Lady Cromwell!?" Mr. Whitbrow, the goatish owner of one of many fishmonger places in town spouted as he followed Lucius' steps, gesturing back at Miss Duval who was in the process of rolling up the yellowed sleeves of her dress as if threatening to throw a punch.

Lucius had not heard, and he was certain he wouldn't have wanted to anyway, but for the sake of his job he at least had to pretend.

"I'm afraid no further physical violence will be tolerated, Miss Duval," he therefore raised his voice to announce. The guards had already broken up three fights before Lucius got there and that was more than enough. "As you all know I've already made my decision and you can go back about your day."

He turned his head in Whitbrow's direction.

"And with that, I believe I have other matters to attend to, so if you'll excuse me."

"But surely you can't be serious?" Mr. Whitbrow threw his hands out, and Lucius found it impossible to ignore that the man's sleeves were too short. "I'm even offering them money to get out of that building. Worms like them should be grateful if anything!"

Scourgefucking angler.

Lucius had no desire to hear more of the situation, but he suppressed his discomfort with a deep breath.

"Unfortunately, my dear Mr. Whitbrow, the money you offer for them to leave that building isn't enough for them to find a place to live anywhere else. While I understand you feel like it's inconveniencing your business, throwing people out on the streets for such a small reason just isn't right, is it?"

"They're not just inconveniencing my business, they'll have it shut down all together!" Mr. Whitbrow went as far as to shake his fist back at Miss Duval, who had decided to fold her bony arms instead of readying them for a fight. "No one will even come close if people like them live right next to it!"

"Well my reasoning, as I've told you twice already, is that Miss Duval and her children needed a place to live, they found out that building's upper apartment had been abandoned a few months ago and took their chance." Lucius raised his shoulders in a light shrug, only realising afterwards that it probably came off as rude. "They did claim it first and unfortunate or not, their need to survive comes before you expanding your business into another building."

Mr. Whitbrow was taken aback, and began a sentence only to interrupt it several times before getting it out properly.

"With all due respect, Lady Cromwell, it's not about me expanding my business, it's about vermin from The Entrails spreading into the nicer parts of town and ruining them!"

Lucius lowered his gaze to the ground. It gave a rather good hint at where in South Kerilia the place was located. It wasn't as dry or clean as the streets further northwest of town, but the cobblestones were in good condition and not nearly as caked with grime as their poor counterparts in The Entrails. The street was bordering on the latter area, but it hadn't fallen into poverty just yet and was optimal even for wealthier occupations as fanciness wasn't necessary and living conditions were cheap.

Wealthy people had no need for that however. Not as much as those trying to escape The Entrails to have even the slightest chance at getting their life together.

As if they care.

"Surely you've at least heard of their kind, Lady Cromwell," Whitbrow continued, and Lucius fought back the urge to send the man a scalding glare. He knew what kind of speech was coming and he'd never be in a mood good enough to handle it well. "Scum clawing their way from that place will dirty the streets both through reputation and their criminal ways."

"I think you're getting ahead of yourself, Mr. Whitbrow." Lucius tried to smile as genuinely as he could manage. "Accusing people of crimes based on where they live does not seem very fair."

"It's well known that most crimes happening in this town happen in The Entrails." Whitbrow turned his chin up, much to Lucius discontent. "I believe that makes a good reason for my suspicions, or what would you say, my Lady?"

Lucius had a lot to say. Such as the reason people were even living in such a horrid area in the first place, why many of them had nowhere to turn but to crime, or why people only chose to acknowledge crimes in town when they happened there. To sum it up in short however, he could pin it on one reason and one source, and it was not The Entrails.

Just as he opened his mouth however Bahman Featherstone, a member of the town's council and the one person Lucius found at least slightly reasonable among them, appeared at his side with a look suggesting he close it again.

What a lousy system.

When he'd led the Shallow Reapers he never had to deal with these things. True enough, he had cared about the group and would not have them too upset on a personal level, but when it came to business no one would ever argue with him like Whitbrow did or give him looks as if they knew better. What Lucius said was done, and things were good that way. Simple and convenient. Good people were good people and trash was trash, no matter what social class life had handed them.

"Suspicions or not, I've announced my decision," Lucius said instead, deciding to end the conversation before his temper betrayed him and let the actual Lucius Cromwell take charge. "Disappointing as you may find it, it's not in your favour, but the place is theirs now. Officially."

"That's not true!" Whitbrow paused for a second, realising his tone had been unfit for the person he was addressing, and he cleared his throat. "They don't have the money to buy it, and they don't have any records of them legally owning the place, which means they don't have the right to live there!"

Such blatant disrespect, Lucius' mother would have slapped the man for his language alone. Of course, she wouldn't have objected to his ideas, but the mere lack of etiquette was disgraceful.

"Mr. Whitbrow—"

"So unless they can provide those documents, I should be free to buy it, shouldn't I?" Whitbrow's expression changed into that triumphant, malicious smile Lucius hated so much. "And I assure you, you'll find no such paper."

Lucius balled his fists, keeping his urge to stab the man from welling up and instead produced a horribly forced smile.

"And I assure you, Mr. Whitbrow, that with the aid of a quill and some ink, I most certainly will."

Finally the man shut up, and to Lucius' greater fortune he also stopped in his tracks, successfully causing him to disappear from view.

Lucius finally regained his genuine smile, this one of a content kind, and he inhaled a deep breath as if fresh air had forsaken him for as long as Whitbrow had been near. It would be a short lived relief, he was sure, but he'd enjoy his victory for just one moment.

Then Bahman cleared his throat to demand attention, and the moment was over.

"Lady Cromwell..." His voice was slow and careful, both to Lucius' pleasure and disdain. It was no doubt intended to sound submissive, but he had no problem discerning hints of the tone one used to reason with an angry child.

In conclusion, Bahman was disappointed.

Again.

"They keep trying my patience." Lucius didn't look at his conversation partner, instead letting his eyes be drawn to a nearby alley where a mangy cat was playing death-tag with a rat. "I promise you I'm doing the best I can."

"Yes, that's..." Bahman cleared his throat. "... I, um... I wish, for your sake, I could say these incidents are rare, but I'm obliged to tell you they're, well... Not."

Lucius' nose scrunched up as the rat was thrown up into the air for a second time.

"Oh, I know that." He had no doubts. He was well acquainted with the rich vultures of South Kerilia and their ridiculous demands. "Just one of many things that need to change I suppose."

Bahman's brief silence indicated another scolding was imminent.

"Lady Cromwell, while I do understand you have some kind of fondness for the, uh... Less fortunate kind of people..." He pursed his lips as Lucius wrinkled his eyebrows, eyes finally tearing away from the horrible scene. "... But we as the town council have always prioritised preserving those already well off, allowing them to thrive. Should Whitbrow have claimed that building his business would have grown, and the street would have improved, which would mean The Entrails would have shrunk."

"And once Miss Duval's family is not starving or freezing to death we will have more workers, meaning they will provide for themselves as well as allowing the area around them to prosper." Lucius was growing tired but tried to keep up a pleasant facade. "Meaning The Entrails will shrink, and people will not be dying in the streets."

"Yes, well..." Bahman grimaced, and was likely searching for more arguments that Lucius could shoot down. "... People surviving is good and all, but Miss Duval's family will not be able to provide as much for the town as those who've already established their business can."

"I mean no disrespect, Bahman, but I believe the town could stand to extend some wealth for the sake of its inhabitants' survival." Lucius spoke through his teeth at this point. He really had no interest in having this conversation again. Him being in charge didn't seem to matter, or that he had reasonable arguments. No one listened to him. What was his position even meant for if his decisions kept being disregarded?

"It's just... Not the approach we have taken before." Bahman smiled through an awkward grimace and scratched his whitening hair. "And I am most certain that if you—Uh, we keep that up the upper class will have a lot to say on the matter. No doubt you're aware of the impact that could have on the town, not to mention us?"

Lucius reluctantly nodded, the corner of his mouth twitching. He didn't want to adventure his position just because of some disgruntled snobs, but he'd make no changes in the town if he obeyed their every order.

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the town hall, and Lucius braced himself as he walked into the council chamber. He'd be surprised if anything said to him within the following hour failed to annoy him.

"So, Lady Cromwell, was the 'go down there personally' a success?" Viktor Bezek asked with a smile suggesting he knew full well how things had gone.

Lucius didn't have the time to reply before Bezek had turned his gaze towards Bahman instead, who seemed to confirm Bezek's suspicions with whatever expression he was making.

"Honestly, my Lady, I know adapting can be quite an ordeal but you must realise that after this and the, well... Similar situations this past week..." Clara Nox waved her hand lightly where she sat in her comfy armchair. "... There may be an attitude shift in order, don't you think?"

To think council members would be so disrespectful. They were no better than how Telmo had acted when Lucius led the Shallow Reapers, and she may have been one of the rudest members he'd had to deal with.

"Chances are we will hear from several merchants these upcoming days," Bahman relayed to the other two. "Mr. Whitbrow was far from pleased, and others will most likely come to his aid, if not for him then for concerns about their own businesses."

"Which means Lord Hargreaves will get involved." Mr. Bezek sighed, and Lucius stared at him in disbelief.

They knew? They all knew? Had Lucius been one of the last to find out?

"Perhaps it is for the best," Clara then said, managing as polite of a shrug as she could. "If anyone can... Sort things out, it's him."

Lucius clenched his fists. The situation just got a whole lot worse for his temper, and he desperately wished to get out of there so he could scream. No one was going to 'sort things out'. Especially not him. Lucius had been perfectly capable of handling all situations that had occurred these past few weeks since he became the town chief.

"Some action concerning the Whitbrow incident may be in order, at the very least," Bezek suggested, sending another condescending glance in Lucius' direction. "I am certain there is still time to make changes more in line with what the town requires, Lady Cromwell?"

Lucius relaxed his expression at this, performing another genuine, though this time sinister, smile before walking over to one of the bookshelves on the wall.

"That is true, Mr. Bezek," he agreed as he scanned the shelf, soon bringing a large book down from it. "In fact, I will take action immediately."

"Well, that is... A welcome surprise." Bezek blinked as Lucius placed the book down on his desk and began searching for his quill. "Shall I send for him?"

"Oh, no, I want nothing from him." Lucius tried laughing with dignity as he opened the ink jar, and then lowered his voice to a mumble. "Well, except his absence, that is."

"... My Lady—" Bahman almost sounded like he was going to plead with him, but Bezek was quicker.

"Then what is your plan of action?"

"Nothing new, actually," Lucius raised his voice so the others could hear him again as he flipped through the pages, quill ready in his hand. "But I did assure Mr. Whitbrow I would find official records of Miss Duval owning that place."

***

"It didn't go over well." Lucius sighed as he leaned back in a creaky chair later that evening, now having changed into his original identity. "Honestly, I get the feeling Bezek and Nox don't even like me."

"Well..." Samueli Faal pursed his lips together, pouring a glass of whiskey for his old friend. "You know I'm on your side, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. From what you're saying you're not exactly trying to get along with them."

"Because I shouldn't have to!" Lucius threw out his hands before accepting the glass and placed his feet on the table between them. "Or, I mean—I kind of do, also? I say plenty of nice words. And honestly, they shouldn't have to like me, they just have to respect what I'm saying. Like the Reapers did."

"The town council aren't the Reapers though." Samueli shook his head and firmly shoved Lucius' feet off the table. "And this isn't a Reapers place either, so try to be a good influence."

Lucius looked around the small room inside Sam's orphanage, formerly known as the abandoned Hydrina theatre where Lucius spent part of his childhood. Despite his initial dread to enter the building again Samueli had managed to renovate some of the rooms almost completely to a point where Lucius barely recognized them.

"They're all asleep, aren't they? Besides, the kids here won't be better off just because of good manners."

"Happy as I am that you're still alive, I cannot condone the behaviour you picked up after years with those criminals." It was Sam's turn to lean back in his chair with folded arms, but his feet remained on the floor. "Though I suppose your arrogance suits your profession."

"Ouch." Lucius scrunched up his nose, deciding to lean forward and rest his elbows on the table instead. "And yet, arrogance would only make things worse in my position."

"Because Lucia is new, I imagine." Samueli looked no more impressed by his slouching, but he didn't comment on it. "She may have a ring suggesting connections with higher ups but no one's spoken about it, and she doesn't have a reputation or other connections to lean on. Which means high class people can easily gang up on her should they see the need to... Which they might, soon enough."

Lucius' grimace deepened, but he could see Samueli's point. Lucia appearing out of nowhere was a downside to the Scourge pact for sure.

"Pains me to say it, but I'm a bit lost on what to do in this case." He took another sip of his whiskey. "I can't upset the higher class but how am I supposed to make changes then?"

Samueli tapped his foot as he sat in thought, finally clicking his tongue as he uttered sentences Lucius did not want to hear.

"And you haven't asked Lord Hargreaves for advice? He held the position before you after all."

Lucius averted his gaze, aware that his expression had darkened at the mention and Samueli sighed.

"Still not talking to him?"

"No."

"And for how long are you planning on keeping that up?"

"Until he tells me what happened." Lucius' teeth were clenched, and a deep wrinkle formed between his eyebrows. "For real."

The door was suddenly opened with a hip-bump by a young woman effortlessly carrying two large, wooden boxes. Her rosy skin was tinged with sun burn and her blonde hair that had initially been braided back into a bun had at some point fallen down over her neck, sending multiple locks to get in the way of her face.

Lucius couldn't help but be in awe of her frame. He wasn't sure he'd seen such a big woman outside high society before, but her clothes didn't quite make the cut for someone of such a class. They were nice enough, with flowery patterns on green and light brown fabric, but older than most preferred and with some wear and tear along the seams.

She still looked very much like the ideal person if someone wanted to paint a young woman picking flowers on a sunny field.

"Hey, Sam, I figured I'd stop by before—" She paused as she eyed the scene, letting out an offended sigh. "Samueli! You're drinking whiskey now?"

"Just one glass," Samueli replied, not seeming bothered at all by the woman shaking her head. "It's been a long day, Eliza."

"I can't believe you started without me!" Despite her scolding voice she still had a smile on her face as if the two men were just misbehaving children. "And here I've been hard at work with getting the pies done."

"Wait, you're done already?" Samueli sat up on his chair, eyebrows raised. "Must've taken all day."

The woman called Eliza grinned, patting one of the large boxes.

"I had some assistance. The others noticed I was stressing over something so they all offered their help after our shift ended. Some even had leftover pork at home."

"Wow, that's impressive." Samueli nodded, eyebrows still raised. "Wouldn't have expected burly harbour workers to get together and bake pies for an orphanage."

"Oh, they're all sweethearts." Eliza's smile grew wider. Then she finally seemed to remember Sam wasn't alone in the room and she turned to Lucius, mouth forming into an 'o'.

"Oops, sorry, I forgot you had company." She nodded in Lucius' direction before taking a step back through the door. "I'll put these away, but save some whiskey for me."

"No worries," he called after her and then turned back to Lucius, who cocked an inquisitive eyebrow.

"So you've managed to find more people to work here?"

"Oh, not really." Samueli shrugged. "Remember that friend I worked for in West Kerilia? From the war? That's his niece, Eliza. When I mentioned starting up the orphanage he suggested I'd ask for her help since she lives not too far from The Entrails, and well... She accepted, and now she comes over to lend me a hand every now and then."

Lucius nodded slowly. So her family was initially from West Kerilia. That explained the flowery patterns on her dress.

"Nice to hear people still look out for each other around these parts."

"There'd be no future if we didn't." Samueli's gaze fell to the table and he linked his fingers. "We can pray to the Archons but they can only do so much. It's not like the anglers don't have the assets to help us, it's that they believe everything they have belongs to them and if the Archons wanted to help The Entrails they would..." He gestured vaguely with his hands. "... I don't know, just summon money on the spot, I guess? They don't make a lot of sense. It never occurred to them that any fortune made in the world could have been sent by the Archons to distribute to all."

"Yeah..." Lucius lingered on the word, having grown uncomfortable by the mention of Archons. "... The upper class is just a big pile of shi—"

"Stop it. You know better than that." Samueli interrupted him with a thoroughly disappointed glare, and Lucius looked away. He'd partly meant for it to change the conversation, knowing Samueli wouldn't like it, but he also wasn't fond of the man's scolding.

In a way, he probably saw Samueli as more of a parental figure than his parents.

"Well, I'm not wrong, am I?"

"That wasn't the point." Samueli's disappointed frown wouldn't let up. "You can't keep speaking like that. Especially not now when you're a town chief."

"Lucia can't speak like that," Lucius corrected him, face turning smug. "Lucius can and perhaps he should, seeing how it would make the resemblance even harder to notice."

"Poor manners are one thing because they can be corrected, but you're actually sitting here justifying why you should get to keep them?" Samueli drummed his fingers against the table. "I thought you would have matured more than that."

Lucius had a rather impressive vocabulary when it concerned social battles, but saying something rude as a comeback would only prove Samueli's point.

"I'm plenty mature."

"Someone mature wouldn't run away from confronting certain people out of childish pettiness." Samueli's expression was unimpressed, and Lucius suddenly wished they could go back to talk about Archons. "Especially not when they, for some peculiar reason, care about said person."

"It's not very mature to lie about being dead either," Lucius said through gritted teeth, knuckles whitening as he clenched his fists. "And then come back pretending everything's fine and give some half-assed story about a miraculous recovery from being shot twice and drowned underneath ice for what had to be more than an hour."

Samueli sighed through his nose at the very specific example.

"So there's more than one way to be immature, I'm not arguing that." He picked up Lucius' glass, much to the latter's dismay and confusion. "But I think it's about time someone stepped up to be the mature one."

Lucius tried grabbing his glass back.

"This is unfair—"

"Is not what a mature adult would say in this case." Samueli held it out of reach. "And to be honest? If not swallowing your pride for your own sake, then do it for The Entrails."

Lucius blinked.

"... What?"

"As much as I hate anglers, swaying someone of higher class even the slightest to our side could make a difference one way or another, and you're in a position to do that, aren't you?"

"I... I dunno," Lucius muttered, staring down at the table. "Not sure I matter as much as I thought I did, all things considered."

"Well, then I guess it's time to find out, for both reasons," Samueli decided, and Lucius chewed on his lip in frustration.

"I... Guess."

He had no intention to, no matter what Samueli said, but if it gave him back his whiskey and made the man shut up on the subject then he'd agree. He'd happily ignore certain people for at least a couple more days.

"I'm glad you agree." Samueli smiled, then he turned his head towards the door, raising his voice to call out. "Eliza?"

Lucius frowned as Samueli waited for a reply, and it didn't take long before the young woman showed up in the doorway.

"What?"

"Lucius here is heading out, and his destination is pretty far. You wouldn't mind escorting him, would you?"

Lucius opened his mouth to protest, but Eliza was quicker.

"Oh, that's fine, if you clean up in the kitchen and hallway while I do."

"Sounds like a good deal to me. I'll leave the rest of the whiskey for you as well." Samueli looked content, which was the opposite of what Lucius looked like.

"I'm—I'm sorry? Why do I need an escort?"

"To make sure you don't run away." Samueli's voice was flat, but his expression was highly amused. "And arrive safely, of course."

"Don't worry, I'm strong!" Eliza held up her arm to show off her muscles, but her ruffled sleeves didn't allow her to reveal much. "And it's pouring outside, so you'll have use of my umbrella too."

"Be warned though, Eliza, he might try to slip away," Samueli informed her, and then locked eyes with Lucius. "Don't let him, even if you have to drag him there."

Eliza laughed, seemingly confused by the situation, but didn't protest either.

"All right, well... Where am I taking him?"

Lucius tried sending Samueli a warning glare, but the man paid no attention to him, happily announcing the destination with a smirk.

"To Lord Anthony Hargreaves."