Post by Asa Khan on Jun 29, 2010 19:08:14 GMT
Asa Khan had long been aware that he may not have been considered a respected person, particularly due to his country of origin. It was time, he thought, to do something about that.
With Lu Jiang being a popular gathering place for merchants it was logical that there would be those to prey on them; a perfect opportunity to garner some favour. Asa had spent the morning making enquiries to the local merchants, befriending them and getting them to share their woes. They had disclosed to him that there was a thug who forced them to pay a ‘protection’ tax in order to keep them safe from ‘bad people’. He had, of course, agreed to deal with this problem and deliver the crook to them to be dealt with as they saw fit. He would receive adequate payment in the form of the knowledge that the streets would be much safer for the people.
Asa sat in wait between two merchant stalls in one of the main trading streets of Lu Jiang, as the crowds streamed through the streets, occasionally stopping to browse the available wares. While the streets were considerably packed, they were nowhere near as busy as they were at noon. The sun was going down, filling the street with an enchanting twilight as the merchants began to pack up their inventory for the day.
“It shouldn’t be long now,” he whispered to himself. The merchants had told him that the thug usually came to collect his ‘tax’ just before sundown. He needed to be dealt with; such an injustice would not stand under his vigil.
An hour passed, and the crowds thinned even further. A dozen or so merchants remained in the street, and it was becoming more and more apparent that they were nervous. Some were repeatedly carrying out the same, irrelevant task, whereas others were fidgeting and glancing toward the end of the street. He would be here soon…
Another 10 minutes yielded expectant fruit, as the ruffian turned the corner, brandishing a colossal, spiked club with an evil glare. This man appeared to be considerably larger than he had expected. He was built like a bull and taller than any other person in the street. Towering over all, he strode menacingly toward the stall across for Asa, with the merchant turned around and completely oblivious to the threat’s presence. He nearly jumped out of his skin as the thug’s club was smashed down onto the counter, causing the stall’s supports to crack.
“Perfect,” he said, letting his anticipation take over, almost yelling. Luckily, this lapse in control went unnoticed by the goliath who continued his prey. Asa silently stood up from his vantage point and made his way over to the scene, his sword drawn and his shield in his position.
With a tap on the man’s oversized shoulder, he sternly announced, “Am I right in thinking you are the honourless cretin who has victimised these poor merchants?”
Without turning, he boomed in a deep voice, “and if I am?”
“Then, for your injustice, you must answer for your crimes… or maybe you’re pathetic enough to resist fate,” he mocked.
This shattered the temper of temper of the brute, which was not what Asa had expected. With a guttural snarl, the beast swung his club backward over his shoulder, embedding it deep in the ground as Asa barely managed to dodge out of the way.
“You lack honour, dog! You have no chance of victory,” he yelled as he pulled his blade down onto the leg of his engaged opponent, evoking a spurt of blood, followed quickly by a howl of pain which echoed through the streets. The man was evidently not very brave on his own, as he doubled over and began emitting a pleading cry for him to stop.
“Pathetic.”
Asa placed his foot on the man’s shoulder and kicked him down onto his back. A small crowd had formed; mainly of the merchants the thug had been terrorizing. Asa returned his weapons to their resting places and pulled the oversized club out of the ground, tossing it at the feet of the merchants.
“Do with him what you will. Somehow, I doubt he will trouble you any further.” He said, afterwards moving slowly away from the crowd of merchants praising him for his assistance, for the punishment of the criminal was surely to follow. The pride of the lawbreaker was broken, and that was all he required. Hopefully it would ensure that there would be no more trouble for the merchant from him.
With Lu Jiang being a popular gathering place for merchants it was logical that there would be those to prey on them; a perfect opportunity to garner some favour. Asa had spent the morning making enquiries to the local merchants, befriending them and getting them to share their woes. They had disclosed to him that there was a thug who forced them to pay a ‘protection’ tax in order to keep them safe from ‘bad people’. He had, of course, agreed to deal with this problem and deliver the crook to them to be dealt with as they saw fit. He would receive adequate payment in the form of the knowledge that the streets would be much safer for the people.
Asa sat in wait between two merchant stalls in one of the main trading streets of Lu Jiang, as the crowds streamed through the streets, occasionally stopping to browse the available wares. While the streets were considerably packed, they were nowhere near as busy as they were at noon. The sun was going down, filling the street with an enchanting twilight as the merchants began to pack up their inventory for the day.
“It shouldn’t be long now,” he whispered to himself. The merchants had told him that the thug usually came to collect his ‘tax’ just before sundown. He needed to be dealt with; such an injustice would not stand under his vigil.
An hour passed, and the crowds thinned even further. A dozen or so merchants remained in the street, and it was becoming more and more apparent that they were nervous. Some were repeatedly carrying out the same, irrelevant task, whereas others were fidgeting and glancing toward the end of the street. He would be here soon…
Another 10 minutes yielded expectant fruit, as the ruffian turned the corner, brandishing a colossal, spiked club with an evil glare. This man appeared to be considerably larger than he had expected. He was built like a bull and taller than any other person in the street. Towering over all, he strode menacingly toward the stall across for Asa, with the merchant turned around and completely oblivious to the threat’s presence. He nearly jumped out of his skin as the thug’s club was smashed down onto the counter, causing the stall’s supports to crack.
“Perfect,” he said, letting his anticipation take over, almost yelling. Luckily, this lapse in control went unnoticed by the goliath who continued his prey. Asa silently stood up from his vantage point and made his way over to the scene, his sword drawn and his shield in his position.
With a tap on the man’s oversized shoulder, he sternly announced, “Am I right in thinking you are the honourless cretin who has victimised these poor merchants?”
Without turning, he boomed in a deep voice, “and if I am?”
“Then, for your injustice, you must answer for your crimes… or maybe you’re pathetic enough to resist fate,” he mocked.
This shattered the temper of temper of the brute, which was not what Asa had expected. With a guttural snarl, the beast swung his club backward over his shoulder, embedding it deep in the ground as Asa barely managed to dodge out of the way.
“You lack honour, dog! You have no chance of victory,” he yelled as he pulled his blade down onto the leg of his engaged opponent, evoking a spurt of blood, followed quickly by a howl of pain which echoed through the streets. The man was evidently not very brave on his own, as he doubled over and began emitting a pleading cry for him to stop.
“Pathetic.”
Asa placed his foot on the man’s shoulder and kicked him down onto his back. A small crowd had formed; mainly of the merchants the thug had been terrorizing. Asa returned his weapons to their resting places and pulled the oversized club out of the ground, tossing it at the feet of the merchants.
“Do with him what you will. Somehow, I doubt he will trouble you any further.” He said, afterwards moving slowly away from the crowd of merchants praising him for his assistance, for the punishment of the criminal was surely to follow. The pride of the lawbreaker was broken, and that was all he required. Hopefully it would ensure that there would be no more trouble for the merchant from him.
