A Werewolf In Under-Town

Shaggy’s feet hit the deck of his in-game house. After the Cog Raid, he and Levy had spent the past two game days working on their little cave. Getting away from the cops on Liberty Hill was a simple thing for Shaggy and the others. With all the others player’s scattering everywhere, the cops had their hands full. Even with the Hero Guilds trying to help round up the independent and Villain players.

Word on the street was that the Silver Wings took an enormous blow politically for not having a proper cordon in place. Anika and her Wor Boyz were taking the same flack, but they didn’t care. As for the RiffRaff, they had been making waves all throughout Austin. Slink and Ephemara said that Tolliver and Obsidian were seeping further into Austin’s crime scene. Surprisingly, they hadn’t gotten down to Under-Town yet.

It wasn’t like they were a secret anymore. Most players in the days following the Cog raid had hunted down Shaggy and the Legion. To the NPCs, Under-Town seemed to remain a rarely spoken open secret. But for the players? They were posting new information on about the underground city on the forums daily. Players were flooding the underground city and there were rumors that the big Four were going to expand the cave systems.

“I guess it’s the big three now.” Shaggy thought as he stretched.

The Quinica had been a complete non-issue since Roald got the Legion’s anti-portal array up and running. Slink had even set up defensive teams for each pylon. So with no way for the pale vampires to come back, Shaggy, Vlad, and Slink had written them off. Ren and Dave were the lone holdouts, saying that they needed to keep a watchful eye out.

Dave assumed that meant upping the training he gave the local citizenry and the Legion Lackeys. The guy had been holding daily training sessions in the square outside the Viper’s Den. Ren, on the other hand, had found his little green friend, Randa. The little gremlin had been press-ganged into helping Roald shore up their defenses. It had only been a little under a week, but the pair were proving quite efficient.

Slim arms wrapped around Shaggy’s shoulders and he sighed. “You thinking about the UGB offer, love?” Levy asked.

“I wasn’t till you mentioned it. It has to be a setup.”

“I don’t think so. The Legion is still growing and the Big Four have been cut to ribbons. They need to show stability somehow. By accepting the Legion, they show you are working with the city and the forces controlling the city are still in charge.”

Shaggy rolled his neck. “I get it. I just don’t like it. A day after coming back from the Cog raid, we get an offer from the UGB? It’s super fishy, babe.”

“Yes, but it’s a hell of an upgrade. The Legion will be one of the big dogs down here now. It also looks great with the new members. They just joined and their leaders are getting such a big offer? We couldn’t hope for better.”

“You’ve been talking to Vlad, haven’t you?”

“He’s not wrong.”

“Then he can deal with all that shit. We’ve still got to get shit setup here. That new power-stone thing needs installing. I need to reach out to our people topside, and we need more rooms built.”

Levy gave him a peck on the cheek and chuckled. “I’ll get the ‘power-stone thing’ installed. You go do what you can. We have people building out the new houses, but remember me and you get final say over who lives here. This is our little slice of the underground.”

“I know. Some of the new players were angry, but fuck’em. We fought for this place. It’s ours. They want their own spot. They can kill a geomancer and his army of Kobolds.”

Levy nodded slowly as she stepped off their porch and out into their front yard. The surrounding trees were growing nicely. But it was still extremely dark in the cave, even with the lights strung about the place. Off in the distance, Lackeys and mages were hurriedly scurrying about. Some helping the plants grow, others moving building material to the projects being built. Shaggy momentarily missed Slink’s War Table, but he shook it off as he waved goodbye to his wife.

One of her mages had found a magic stone on the magical black market yesterday. Levy spent most of her game time hunting down the seller and persuading him to part with it. Supposedly, the thing was going to power their cave like the old crystal did. Shaggy left the magical stuff to Levy and started walking toward the exit, but a hurried looking Lackey slid to a stop near him.

“Uhh, boss?”

“What?” Shaggy stared at the panting guy in black leathers.

The young guy eye’s were glancing everywhere but at Shaggy’s face and he seemed extremely agitated. Shaggy’s gaming sense was going off. But the Lackey’s next words quickly quashed any excitement he was feeling.

“Vlad says that the UGB guy is back. The entire council is being called.”

Shaggy frowned and chewed the inside of his cheek. After a quick rundown of the pros and cons of skipping the meeting, Shaggy nodded.

“Alright. I’ll be there. Get back to work.”

“Um, I need to tell Mistress Levy.”

“Fine. But let her finish what she is doing before you bother her, clear?”

The young Lackey nodded and rushed off. Shaggy watched him run before he sighed loudly and turned toward the Portal. A continual flow of Lackeys and cargo went through the thing daily, but Shaggy and Levy had special privileges. He shoved himself to the front of the line and rushed through, ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach.

He popped out in an underground metal room that was shining brightly under florescent light. One of the Gremlin, Randa’s first decrees, was to brighten up the network of tunnels under the bar. Slink had sorted it out fairly quickly and now the basement of the Viper’s Den was slowly being plated in starship silver. Combined with the large oblong florescent lights, the entire basement made Shaggy think of a bad movie set.

“Hey, boss. Did’ya hear?” Said Vick’s voice from the room’s door.

Shaggy nodded as he let his stomach calmed down from the portal. “Yeah. You on guard duty?”

Vick nodded and lit a cigarette. “Yeah, needed a break and this place is quieter than your damn arcade.”

“It’s not even finished yet!” Shaggy said defensively.

“Doesn’t stop the young folk from running throughout the building banging on them machines you got set up.”

Shaggy quirked an eyebrow. “‘Young folk’? Really, Vick? You’re barely in your thirties.”

Vick tapped ash from his cigarette and glared at Shaggy. “I’m twenty-six.”

“So stop saying shit like ‘young folk’ ya walking cliché.”

Vick looked ready to argue, but his eyes fluttered and then he stared hard at Shaggy. “You’re stalling. You don’t want to go to your meeting.”

Shaggy scratched the back of his head and smiled. “That shits annoying, you know.”

“But damn useful. Now git, boss. You’re holding up the line, I’m sure.”

Shaggy glanced around at the other Lackey’s in the room. Some of whom were carrying large metal boxes. With a sigh and a wave, he left the room and hurried down the hall. Everywhere he looked, Lackeys were hauling, working, or fighting something. The few players that had joined them in the days since the Cog raid were nothing compared to the NPC Lackeys. Apparently, word traveled fast in the underworld.

As he entered the common area of the basement, heading for the exit, a female voice stopped him.

“Hey! Boss-man. Got any work for us?!” Xiv asked excitedly from her spot on the couch.

SenSor glowered as he stared at the screen they were watching. “Damn it, Xiv. This is just getting to the good part. We can play later. You need to see what happens to Sam.”

“Why log into games if all you are going to do is sit around a watch TV shows?” Cutie asked.

“Hey, either way, I’m de-stressing, right? Besides, logging into a game and just hanging with friends is also fun.”

Shaggy gave the big man a nod. “He ain’t wrong. Besides, I got nothing planned right now. Why don’t you check with Slink?”

“The kid’s great, Shaggy. But he wants us to help with construction efforts or do supply runs. That’s not really exciting shit. We want to run into trouble, get into big boss fights, fuck up a few heroes, y’know?” Xiv explained passionately.

“Then head topside. All you have to really do in the Legion is pay your guild fees. Otherwise, the players are free to do whatever you want.”

Xiv groaned. “Yeah, but what are you doing? You’re the one that finds himself in the shit a lot, right? So let us ride your coattails a bit, huh?”

“Ride his what?” Levy’s voice said from behind Shaggy and Xiv’s face paled slightly.

Shaggy felt Levy’s slim arms wrap around him as she placed her chin on his shoulder. She glared at the woman sitting on the couch and smiled evilly.

“Mine.” Levy said.

Shaggy flicked Levy’s nose as gently as possible. “You heard what she said. Don’t be a pain.”

“Gotta stake my territory.” Levy said in a mock grandiose tone. “There are far too many harlots and Jezebels in this damn bar. It’s why I keep you locked away in our sex cave.”

Xiv and Sensor choked and sputtered at the same time as Cutie chuckled. Shaggy rubbed his face and started walking toward the exit. Dragging Levy with him.

“If you want trouble, you gotta go out and find it, Xiv. If you get in over your head, come back to the Legion. I’d help, but I’ve got some politicking to do.”

“Wait! What are we licking?” Levy asked as he dragged her up the stairs.

Shaggy bit his lip to fight off the laugh. But he was sure Levy knew she had gotten him. He kept his eyes forward as he held onto Levy’s arm and gently pulled her upstairs. The noise and footsteps coming from the bar filled his ears and Shaggy sighed as he led Levy through the throng of people and up two flights of stairs.

They had all agreed to keep Non-Legion members away from their actual conference room. Slink had a second room built upstairs, and the Lackeys had finished it in time for the UGB envoy to be its first guest. Shaggy hadn’t liked the guy at all. It was another the uptight, jack-booted thug in heavy armor that seemed to run everything in the Underground Governmental Body. Quietly hoping the same guy hadn’t come back, Shaggy thrust open the door on the third-floor conference room and rushed in.

A set of bright blue eyes zeroed in on him as he entered, and Shaggy felt the frown form on his face. The look was mirrored by the UGB representative as Shaggy and Levy moved toward their seats. Vlad, Slink, Ren, and Dave were already seated at the table and Vlad was pushing a plate of finger foods toward the UGB side of the table. Neither the representative nor his two guards took anything, though. Instead, they just watched as Shaggy pulled Levy’s seat out before sitting himself. Once he was seated, the rep finally pulled his glare away and sneered across the table at them.

“So…” the bright-eyed jackass, Commander Klevin, said. “Have you decided to join the Big Four or not?”

Shaggy bit back a smartass response and waited for Vlad or Ren to speak. They had spoken about the choice over and over since it was made. Shaggy had been almost immediately out-voted. The pros far outweighed the cons. Shaggy just didn’t like the smug bastard’s tone and general bearing. Even now, Klevin glared at them like they were something stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

“Yeah, about that.” Vlad started. “We need to know what goes along with joining as well.”

Klevin’s blonde eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Oh really? So you are not merely going to jump at the chance to be one of the biggest gangs in Under-Town.”

“We already are.” Shaggy couldn’t stop himself from growling.

Levy, Vlad and Ren shot him looks, but he ignored them. Sure, he had promised to stay quiet during this meeting. But that was entirely contingent on Klevin not being an asshole.

Klevin snorted. “Sure, your numbers are raising and your little training sessions are cute. But you still can’t be considered in the big leagues.”

“Tell that to the Raks or the Quinica.”

“THAT,” Ren interrupted before Klevin could snap back. “Brings up a good issue. What about our previous disagreements with members of the Big Four? We’ve had open and secret wars with the Raks and Quinica. We’ve even had some run-ins with the Phreaks.”

Klevin stared hard at Shaggy for a few seconds before he turned to address Ren. When he did, one of his guards kept the glare going.

“Fights between members of The Four are common. So long as they are done in accordance with the rules. The Council will not intercede. Remember, The Four are here to maintain an equilibrium on Under-Town. We need stability.”

“So why don’t you raise it back to the Big Five? We understand that there was another group down here before?” Slink asked.

Klevin nodded. “The Faceless, yes. They were wiped out by an overzealous third party. The Brute Clan has supplanted them. Even though they have rejected our offers to join. But their current actions seem more geared to creating a safe space for their people.”

Dave pushed his chair up on two legs and asked his own question. “You dudes are, like, okay with that?”

“Yes, we have no qualms with one of the entities in Under-Town wanting to help others. In fact, we encourage it.” Klevin said with a straight face.

Shaggy bristled as he watched the Commander’s eyes glow with what he assumed was mirth. The UGB didn’t care about doing good. They were just happy the Brutes weren’t pushing into any other rackets. With the northern section of Under-Town a safe zone, that left the UGB with only three other competitors. Well, two now.

“So why have you come with this offer specifically? You could’ve called a conclave and had the heads of the Phreaks and Raks make the offer with you. As is tradition.”

Shaggy was sure he saw Klevin wince. But it was gone as soon as he noticed it. The smug-looking UGB thug coughed into his hand. Probably to buy time. When he had collected himself, Klevin addressed Vlad.

“We thought it best, given your history with those groups, that we make the offer first and then take it to the conclave.”

The room almost rang with the bald-faced lie in Klevin’s words. Of course, Shaggy’s snort of disbelief probably didn’t help.

“Ix-nay,” Levy hissed, elbowing him in the side.

Shaggy grunted from the hit and turned his gaze to the ceiling. All he had to do was wait through this and then he could get back to setting up his little slice of heaven. He also wanted to look in on the arcade.

“Ahem…” Slink cleared the moment. “How can we be assured they conclave will accept your proposal? For all we know, we can take this to them and they can shut it all down.”

Klevin was silent for a long time at Slink’s question. He studied each of their faces in turn before finally sighing and sitting forward. His steely smugness was gone and his two guards seemed to relax into their seats. Upon further inspection, Shaggy realized that the two guards were asleep. Klevin placed two gloved hands on the table and leaned forward.

“Because,” he started. “Both of the other gangs have gone silent.”