The Mimic Becomes a Merchant King

When Illyana returned to Sentinel two days later, she did so in the company of Coin's rescued couriers. Joneth, the driver, took the time to explain everything that had happened to Coin. He and the others were compensated for their efforts, and a sum was sent to Racko's wife for her loss.

In the aftermath he invited Illyana to join him at the Venture mansion.

"Goodness," she said, scanning their surroundings as she entered the foyer. "You truly have come up in the world, Coin."

The mimic smiled faintly. "Just lucky. It's a great house, but... I'm starting to see why Elijah liked to stay on the road for so much. I'm, well, a little bit stir crazy. Sentinel isn't a nice place to live in."

"Mm. Human cities tend to be... unpleasant." Illyana sighed. "Not that elven cities are perfect, I suppose."

He led the way to a parlour and took a seat in one chair. Illyana took a seat across from him, folding her hands in her lap. She had changed out of her armour, replaced with a white coat and reddish dress beneath.

"It's good to see you again. Though I wish we were meeting under better circumstances." She smiled faintly at him.

Coin nodded, matching with a smile of his own. "Thanks, for saving my people. Don't want to imagine what could have happened if you hadn't been there. Seems people really have it out for my company." He was willing to bet those brigands were tied to the people paid to harass his office. But Pearl was still asking around and fishing for information, and nothing concrete was known.

"I'm not the type to turn a blind eye to people in trouble," Illyana replied.

Silence lingered in the room, and Coin felt the awkwardness grow just a touch thicker. The last time they had seen each other Coin had just smashed Valle Irons into a bloody pulp. An incident that no doubt left an assortment of questions looming in Illyana's mind, pondering the logistics of Coin's brutal assault. Yet, evidently, she had not spoken a word of that encounter to anyone, for Velasco and his people had said nothing to him in turn.

She was his friend, Coin told himself. That was what mattered.

"So, will you be heading out on the road again soon?" he asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Ah. Well, I and the rest of my squad have been given a period of leave so we can rest and recuperate, and other squads are being sent out in our stead. Velasco may not be the nicest of men, but he is smart enough to know we cannot operate in perpetuity."

"Must be pretty bad out there," Coin replied. "There are tales of whole communities being destroyed."

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"Fringe settlements, mostly. These bastards and their goblins have not overtaken any larger towns or cities," she said.

"Yeah, but they don't need to take over whole towns to harass people on the roads." Coin shook his head and sank back. "Going to need to pay for more security."

"Not much odds of that happening, I don't think. Mercenaries are going to be wary of jobs like that, given some of the tales coming back out this way. The goblins, in particular, are smarter and more vicious than ever. You'd want to be as strong as an ogre to brave that."

That gave Coin pause. An idea flashing into his mind like a bolt of lightning striking from the sky. "I could do that," he murmured.

"Do... what?" Illyana lifted a brow, confusion writ large on her pretty face.

"Get ogres to guard my wagons. There's no law against it, so long as they don't enter any towns or cities. Can't imagine they'd need much money for the work either. Damn, I could pay them in poultry and beer! They'd go nuts for that, and I'd save a fortune!"

Illyana stared at him, mouth agape. "You... you want to pay ogres to protect your wagons? That's insane!"

"Why?" Coin tilted his head. "I have kobolds working for me. And if there's no law against them guarding wagons, that should be fine too."

"That's-" Illyana huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Kobolds can be spoken to and reasoned with. Ogres can't. Try and talk to an ogre, and it'll likely bite your head off."

"Come on, they have their own society and language. They're not wild animals." Certainly, Elijah had said they could think and act with intelligence, even if it was in a brutish, thuggish way. And by the sound of things, they were in a loose cooperation with the Brotherhood and the goblins.

"Only barely," Illyana replied. "I had to fight an ogre on my own once, a beast that wanted me dead on sight. Only drove it back because I impressed him with a show of force."

Coin contemplated this. "So... if I beat an ogre up, it'll listen to me?"

"That-" Illyana winced, sucking air through her teeth. "They may but that doesn't mean you should do it. The very idea alone is insane."

"I think I'll try my luck," Coin said, shrugging. "Worth the risk."

"You are a madman. But I know you won't be dissuaded." She let out a small laugh, shaking her head. "As reckless now as you were when we met."

"Always works out for me," he said, grinning. "Well, I think I gotta try. The kobolds do great work, and nobody gave them a chance beforehand. Might be that ogres could be great employees too, with the right guidance and incentive." He'd start small, he told himself, setting one or two ogres on a single wagon. Well, following the wagon. He couldn't plant an ogre on any wood structure without expecting it to collapse under the weight.

The door opened, and Essine poked her head into the room. "Aha... apologies. I thought I would, er, come along and say hello to our guest."

"Ah, you're-"

"Essine," the kobold said, bowing and nodding. "You are... Illyana if this one remembers right?"

"I am," the elf said, smiling at her as the kobold took a seat on the other side of the table.

"This one heard you were back in town. It would be rude not to say hello."

"Well, you're welcome to stay here while you're in Sentinel, lllyana." It seemed the kind of thing a friend would do for another friend, Coin told himself.

Essine paled a bit under her fur, the offer nearly knocking her clean out of her chair. "Aha... quite wonderful," she murmured.

"I would feel a little guilty, if it's an imposition on you. But, if you insist," Illyana replied, knowing that he would. And anyway, it was better than grabbing a room at some Lowtown boarding house. "I imagine a place like this has plenty of guest rooms."

"A few," the mimic replied. He hadn't really taken the time to see them all, but he was sure they had some that weren't still in use.

"This one shall help Leonid show you to a proper room," Essine said, forcing a smile.

"You're wonderful, Essine," Coin said, nodding. "So... would you like to hear the brilliant business idea I thought up before you came in?" Already he was sure it was going to be a winner.