A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

Chapter 30: A Meeting With The Devil - Part 6

Judas tapped his wooden baton into his massive palm to accent his employer's words.

"Neither," Beam said firmly, pleased that he didn't stutter his words, despite hating every moment of this situation. He had adrenaline coursing through his veins, as it had started to when he sparred with Dominus, when he'd decided that he really wanted to do something right.

"Go on then," Greeves said impatiently. "I know you're a stupid fucking digger boy, but when you say 'neither' you're meant to offer alternative conditions. Your cunt father not teach you that, boy?" Greeves asked, moving to slap Beam on the cheek.

Beam's eyes flared as he saw the blow come towards him. He grabbed the merchant by the fingers and twisted. "For a start, how about I let you keep your fingers, unbroken?" He threatened, holding them in a lock.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Judas bellowed, sprinting from the front of the house in a panic.

"Quiet you fool," Greeves said, waving him off, knowing that his fingers would get broken should anyone make a sudden move. Beam nearly smiled at that. He'd made a mistake in grabbing the hand – he knew that – but through his strategy lessons with Dominus, he was beginning to learn how to turn chaos and the unexpected into an advantage.

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Dominus watched on with interest, as the event unfolded. 'What the hell is that fool doing? Attacking the very man he's meant to be grovelling to?'

The fact that Greeves waved Judas off despite everything, that meant he was averse to personal pain, even though he was so keen on dealing it out.

"Mm… You know there will be… consequences for this… don't you boy?" Greeves threatened through gritted teeth as more sweat ran off his tanned forehead and added more grease to his already shiny curly black hair.

"There will be," Beam agreed, his heart racing, as the adrenaline threatened to abandon him. He worked hard to keep the nervousness out of his voice, as his eyes darted around like a wild animal, looking for any sudden moves from Judas and his two thugs that stood behind him, batons brandished. "But there's no reason it can't work in both our favours, is there? Your house got burned down, and I owe you for it. I don't have money for which to pay you, so here I am, trying to make an alternative agreement with you, to ensure you get what you're owed."

"Ohhh, you're speaking business?" Greeves asked, looking like he was about to stand up, until Beam applied more pressure to his fingers and forced him back down again. He flashed a false smile at that, trying to hide the pain he was in. "Then talk. We don't need such barbarism."

"Sorry," Beam told him, "but I don't trust you. The second I let you go, you'll have Judas and his boys come at me with everything they've got. So before I let you go, we're going to have to solve this little dispute." Beam flashed him a false smile of his own, attempting to wear a mask to hide his own raging emotions.

The people in the square spared them glances as they passed and muttered. Some even pointed. It looked like a crowd might form at any second, which only added to Beams' anxiousness. He had to get this dealt with, quick.

"Speak honestly, merchant. That house you rented me was no more than a shack. I could probably rebuild something just as good in a week or two," Beam said hurriedly.

"Hah!" Greeves laughed, his eyes flaring. Even with his fingers locked in, about to get broken, he didn't seem particularly willing to get into a deal that didn't favour him. "I don't want the shoddy work of a digger boy! I need proper craftsmen to rebuild it, and they'll cost coin, boy, that they will – and the materials too, they cost—ah fuck, stop squeezing it you little shit!"

"You have all the materials you need. There's good lumber on that land. What about the craftsmen, how much for their work?" Beam asked.

"You'll be lucky to get it for a gold—Ah, fuck! Fine! Stop squeezing! Stop squeezing! Five silvers boy, there you go! That's what you owe me! For both the house and the inconvenience you've caused me!" Greeves howled, arching his back to deal with pain.

"Five silvers?" Beam muttered. It was an insane amount of money for him. With 10 coppers being equal to one silver, it would take him five months of digging work to afford that price, and that was if he didn't spend a single penny in the meantime. But it was at least within the realm of reason. "I see… So you're using the opportunity to build something better there?"

Greeves smiled painfully at being caught out. "Hah! Obviously! That was the plan from the start! Do you think I'd just leave that shitty little shed that you were happy to live in? That's a prime location! I'm losing gold not putting anything on there."

"So this benefits you," Beam said. "You're going to profit off this. I assume you're happy, then?"

"Yes! Happy! Very happy!" Greeves shouted through gritted teeth, tapping his feet like he was desperate to go to the toilet as he sought to escape the pain in his fingers.

"Good, now you're going to make it benefit me," Beam said with a carnivorous smile. He copied the same smile his master had flashed him the day before, knowing just how unnerving it could be. "You're the one who burnt down that house, aren't you?"

Greeves froze, going silent. Judas froze as well, his eyes widening. "From that reaction, I'd suppose it was Judas that did the burning on your orders?" Beam guessed. He hadn't been certain, of course, but their reactions confirmed it.

There was a flicker in Greeves' eyes and he stopped moving, as though his finger no longer concerned him. A true smile twisted his thick lips and his eyes lit up. "…Clever boy. Very clever," he murmured. "What's a clever boy like you doing being a digger, mm? Well, no matter. No matter. Mm. I've been caught, it seems, I've been caught. What're you going to do now, threaten me? Break my hand and tell on me to the law? No one will believe you."