Commiserating & Gold (Tove)

[Regime]

1st of Summer, 518 A.V.

It was said that Goldfinger was the busiest man in Sunberth. Tall Johnny could take time off to gamble, the heads of all the gangs could take pleasure in their trivial spoils, and the rest of the city waded in the normality of their lives.

But, Golidfinger. He was a man of ledgers, coin, favors, and caution. As he sat at his desk, Goldfinger glanced up at the knock on his door. It was a delicate knock.The sound of his newest receptionist who still had no idea how to properly disturb her employer. “Yes, Marill?” He stated calmly to the woman. He couldn't see her, but could tell that the pale female Symenestra receptionist was scared for some reason. “I’ve a miss Tove here to see you about a Loan.”

Marill had worked for Goldfinger for the better part of thirty days, so she was still afraid of the two rather massive green armed Isur brothers who stood guard outside of Goldfingers door. His guards were all paid well to protect his interests.

Espionage was another part of his daily routine which kept him busy. As soon as she had mentioned Tove’s name, he smirked to himself as he wished to talk to his newest asset. “Let her in.” His tone was a jovial one, even as he watched the door open. He motioned his hand towards one of the heavy, although plushly seated, chairs on the opposite side of his desk.

A neat stack of three hundred gold Miza rested atop his desk to his right, while a stack of ten thousand gold miza laid stacked just inches to his left. “Take a seat, Miss Tove.” Goldfinger smiled wryly and slipped a gold coin out of his pocket. It was the first interesting item that he stole; although that was something that not many people beside his closest friends knew.

He glanced at the coin, turning it slowly between his fingers to glance rays of light off of its edges which shined into his office through his window. Less than a moment passed before it ceased to amuse him, and he bounced the coin once in the palm of his hand before returning it to his pocket. "You work for me. But, do you fully understand what I’m asking you to do for me?" he said, folding his arms loosely across his chest.

[Tove]

Rhythmic taps had filled the waiting area for several Bells. Tove's jaw had tightened subconsciously. The two had sat side by side for several Bells, and yet the fidgeting had only worsened between each chime that had passed. Plenty of men and women had entered and exited Goldfinger’s office in the time she had been waiting, yet the one person she had hoped would leave remained during her entire wait.

The man appeared to be in his 50s, on the verge of tears. his body odor worsened by the humidity of the day which helped little with Tove’s annoyance that had long since been directed to the man. How can a grown man be afraid of a much younger man? Tove had heard her fair share of stories revolving around the intimidating charm of Goldfinger but never once had she met anyone who had anything particularly negative to say about him. Maybe there aren’t many brave enough? Or there aren’t many left standing to tell the tale?

Thinking of such things right before being called up had done nothing for her nerves, the sound of her name having reached her ears. She despised the simplicity of her name at that moment, wishing it were just a tad bit longer.

Nervousness was hardly a newfound emotion for the Kelvic so she was not surprised by the automatic shaking of her hands as she pushed herself up from her seat. She shot her pitiful neighbor one last glance as she followed the receptionist. Tove found herself intrigued by the two Isur standing at the entrance of the office as the receptionist requested approval to open the door. Surely these men could break her neck with their pinky fingers if she were to do something idiotic, not that she had any plans on doing such a thing.

She took little time to eye her employer as the door had opened, her focus more so on the chair he had motioned her to sit upon. It’s wasn't as though she expected the chair to jump out at her, wielding a sharp blade of its own…but stranger things had happened. Despite the silly and slightly horrifying scene that had played out in her head, she sat down quietly, not speaking until spoken to. Her posture remained stiff, her curious nature repressed as her eyes locked on Goldfinger as she attempted to appear somewhat confident.

An air of mystery surrounded him and yet he spoke with an almost friendly tone. He was pleasant enough to the eye which had managed to stir up the Kelvic's even more than they already had been. The way his eyes had focused on a single coin left the girl uncomfortable, her weight has shifted from one side of the chair to the other as she awaited his words.

It had taken half a chime for his question to process within her head, her face having contorted like that of a child being called out to answer a question that they lacked to answer to. What would the answer to such a question be? Had it been rhetorical in nature?


“I’m hoping that if I say the job is to gather information on those of your choosing without destroying anyone's reputation I won’t be completely wrong…” The words had escaped her without much thought, though she hoped they would be at least somewhat satisfactory.

[Regime]

Goldfinger couldn’t help but chuckle at her answer. It was a surprisingly nieve answer for someone in her line of work. “Oh, sweetie. What I do in response to the information you give me is none of your concern. The only reputation that matters is your connection to me. If you get caught, then I do not know you. I will deny your existence. If you stain my reputation, I will simply remove you from my ledger.” The serious tone poisoning each of his words betrayed the smile that decorated his happy features.

“Now then. It should be painfully obvious that whatever we speak about in this room shall never be shared with others, unless I’ve told you to do so. Do you understand?” He paused only for the fraction of a moment for Tove to acknowledge his question before continuing the conversation.

“While there are many people whom I have reasons to keep an eye on, the main ones you should watch are as followed: Donovan; owner of the Muted Maiden, ‘Chubs’ Tryannus; slaver at the Slave market. I’ve heard he is now in league with the Vino at the Quay. And Natlana, she is the wife of Max at the Aquillar Hot Springs. Each of them are… special to me in their own way.” Goldfinger’s eyes locked with Tove’s, making sure that everything he’d just said had just been embedded into her memory. “Do I need to repeat myself, darling?”

Goldfinger’s body language and tone relaxed as he reclined against the backrest of his seat. “Now I will ask the same question in a different manner. What do you suppose I'm asking you to do to those people?” He reached aside to pick up a gold miza, and with practiced precision started to make the coin dance back and forth across the top of his right hands knuckles.

[Tove]

Tove felt her heart rise into her throat, stuck there until he finished speaking. It was clear in that moment why nobody had crossed Gold finger, he was terrifying. Tove, despite having been an agent of sorts for him, feared he would stab her in the throat with words alone. Lucky for her he merely switched topics.

The question managed to leave her momentarily stumped, her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she dropped eye contact. A thin piece of fabric had wrapped around her finger. It had left the flesh temporarily purple. How nervous had she been?

“Yes sir.” A simple enough answer, one not even the Kelvic could mess up. Maybe it wasn’t the response he wanted but surely he would know full and well that Kelvics lacked the ability to read minds. Her voice hadn’t wavered or cracked. It was clear Goldfinger was the type to value professionalism, or he seemed clear to Tove in that moment.

Only one of the names her had listed off had been familiar. Chubs. She couldn’t remember if she had known him during her time as a slave, but his name was one she had heard before the meeting. Despite wanting to scrounge for memories Tove managed to lock her attention on Goldfinger as he continued to go down the invisible list of names.

“No sir, that won’t be necessary.” How anyone could forget anything the man had spoken of skipped Tove. His words seemed to wrap around her like a Venomous snake that threatened to squeeze tighter if forgotten.

The Kelvic found herself entranced with the way the coin danced along his knuckle. Her head turning ever so slightly to eye the coin before locking her eyes on the man’s once more.

“Absolutely nothing. You’re not asking me to do anything. I survey them because I’m nosy on my own whim. As soon as I leave this room you are no longer involved.” She said whilst eyeing the coin once more. Again, her answer may have been completely incorrect. Maybe it hadn’t the slightest to do with his question, but it was all she could say in response.

“Hopefully that is a sufficient enough answer. It matters no how it is done as long as it is done well and inconspicuously.” A small sigh escaped her, her eyes had fell back on his, “But if I may ask, what exactly am I watching for. I could report back with everything I gather, but I would rather have something of worth to you.”