The Black Cat Tavern, adjacent to the Docks, was a popular and influential area of the neighborhood due to the presence of the Scavengers' Guild, and because of the prestige of Knight Aldrich Triss, especially his position as Captain of the Night Watchman, who often automatically removed the adverb of his own accord, many of the negotiations and consultations concerning interests were held in the lobby below.

The Fourth Knight of Eastwood, who spends his days on the second floor, does not dare to turn his face and fight without saying a word, and he will be the first to come forward and disarm all those who wield their weapons, and they will not even need the help of the scavenger guild members during this period, they will at most maintain order in the vicinity.

The tavern's business was booming with a steady flow of customers, and the proprietor, Wario Berg, should have counted the money and felt the happiness, but lately he was a little worried, as the ambitious President Triss was looking for a suitable location in the neighborhood and began to prepare for the opening of the bakery.

Is it so easy to start a business from nothing? Mr. Berg, who boasts of great experience, or a well-meaning gentleman, is ready to find an opportunity to get together with Aldrich, and to dig out his heartfelt words and advise him not to throw his hard-earned money into the water.

It is a pity that without the presence of this great knight, there are often quarrels and brawls in the tavern, and it is not Mr. Berg's business that anyone is injured, but if he does not pay compensation for the tables, chairs, benches, cups, pans and plates, he will not be able to sleep for three days and three nights.

Sometimes, the time has come to discuss, but the words that come to your lips are all kinds of complaints: Why didn't President Triss stay in the tavern, why didn't President Triss intervene to stop him, why didn't President Triss intervene to punish those who broke the rules?

The cumbersome gossip was exchanged for Aldrich Trissy's reassuring words: Isn't it much better than before? The majority of people obey the rules, and even if some people damage the clutter in the tavern, it is only an unintentional mistake, and the recovery of compensation should be done in the right way.

Who cares about tables and chairs that decay after a long period of damp moisture, worthless cheap cutlery that is as cheap as a handful of copper at a flea market, and what Mr. Berg cares about is the bakery where the scavengers' union will soon open.

Does it mean that the union's daily food consumption is gradually getting rid of the influence of taverns, after all, they have better choices. Does it mean that the union is about to move out of the Black Cat Tavern and go to a new station under their control, after all, it will be safer to run it by their own people. The guests who appear in the Black Cat Tavern are too motley, including members of the Thieves' Guild who spy on the scavengers, and even spies from the official town hall.

Without the need to be reminded by the kitchen manager, Mr. Berg noticed that the wolf peaches picked up from the garbage heaps in the vegetable market in the evening, the fruit platters made by removing the moldy and rotten parts were not marketable, and the dead fish and shrimp collected in the dock market and the meatballs made after washing were gradually becoming unpopular.

Didn't you put a lot of salt to suppress the smell? Could it be that the tongues of the union members have eaten and become hateful gourmets and have begun to be picky eaters and calculating?

Presumably they are all waiting for the bakery to open, yes, yes, it must be so. O ungrateful people, forget who provided the premises for them to move in in the first place, even though at the same time brought in a steady stream of customers and income. Forget who has been putting up with the smell they brought up from the sewers, despite the fact that there is no charge for the open space to provide hot water and dry clothes.

The gentleman, Mr. Warrio Berg, inherited the dilapidated tavern from his father and worked hard to keep it in operation until the scavengers' union moved in, and finally had the money to repair the leaky roof due to the large amount of daily consumption, and even hired a painter to paint the façade of the tavern to new condition.

Needless to say, it must be a resting inn, which is tantamount to taking away the signboard of the black cat as the only residence of the union, and with the attendant that the leaders of the small gangs in the docklands will no longer regard the tavern as a safe area for negotiation and negotiation, and they will choose another suitable location, perhaps the scavenger's own property.

Mr. Berg, who had a great sense of crisis, foresaw that the tavern business was about to fall and begin to operate dismally, perhaps returning to the old days of two or three big cats and kittens, drunken unemployed sailors and hired laborers, drinking cold water mixed with wine, lamenting his miserable fate. This was absolutely intolerable to the gentleman who had begun to have a face in the docklands, and he decided to secretly obstruct the opening of the Scavenger Bakery.

Aldrich Triss, who had chosen a suitable location and was ready to build an abandoned warehouse as the cornerstone of his new business, soon learned that the owner had repented, and he did not let Gorgau, who had been in charge of the matter but 'smash his hands', go to deal with it, but personally visited the old man with sincerity.

The owner of the warehouse, who heard the rumors from somewhere, seemed to be worried about the other side of the prestige of the scavengers' union, "I don't want to offend people who can't afford to transfer the right to use the warehouse, your union has been too famous lately, and it has angered many big people, and they will soon crack down on the scavengers." Ten years of use is too risky, and if it is messed up, I don't even want to live in peace in my old age. ”

"Dear Mr. Conrad, it's a blessing that the union didn't sign an agreement with you to transfer the right to use the warehouse, isn't it luck that you avoid heavy losses? ”

Aldrich Triss's words made the old man feel a little comfortable, but he felt a little strange, after all, he had experienced the baptism of time, lived in the dock area for most of his life, watched it from a small dock to a deep-water port, and there was an instinctive awe of this rumored 'big man' who was at the peak of the knighthood.

"Please don't say that, the person who proposed to break the contract is not Your Excellency, it is a heavy blow to my reputation, and I have no way to make such a disrespectful decision, after all, the time from the creation of your union to fame is too short, and it has invisibly offended many big people, as long as they stretch out a finger, you can't bear it. ”

Aldrich did not deny it: "Yes, there are many non-human anomalies in the sewers, goblins, kobolds, underground gnomes, but they can't come to the surface and walk in the sun. The union's crackdown on smuggling does make some people jealous, but we abide by the rules of the underground world, and those bigwigs know that they can't come openly, so they can only do it secretly, but with the responsibilities of the city hall and the presence of the temple, isn't our scavenger union running its own business as usual?"

Mr. Conrad, the owner of the warehouse, pondered and found that this was indeed the case. He wasn't the one who believed the rumors to be true, and he had asked about President Triss from his own door.

In a short period of time, an ordinary night watchman has leapfrogged the veteran old man in front of him to become captain by leaps and bounds—here he automatically and consciously removed his deputy—and has a much broader future, and even if the scavengers' guild falls, he will be out of it unharmed.

Win the first pot of gold in a gamble against professional gamblers and crooks, and set out to create a scavengers' union, albeit full of unemployed sailors and hired laborers, idle ruffians and gangsters. With the sweat on their foreheads and the swords in their hands, they expanded their own territory in the sewers and started the business of real scavengers - thanks to the efforts of the union, the unbridled sewage on the roads of the dock area was reduced by silting and could flow smoothly in the sewers, so that some shops with poor conditions could return to the customer's field of vision.

He was one of the invisible beneficiaries, and his ears were filled with words of thanks from old men in the neighborhood for many years, otherwise Mr. Conrad would not have happily sold the right to use the warehouse, of course, most of it was also affected by the ten-year transfer of the right to use.

Until then, the warehouse was in an abandoned state, after all, no merchant wanted to lease a warehouse that was flooded all year round. Once full of high-quality wool, cotton stacks, grains, flour and other bulk commodities warehouse, due to the geographical advantage, there are people rushing to break the head, but with the extension of the dock area, it has gradually become unnoticed and deserted, after a significant reduction in rent, only a few snobbish businessmen who are greedy for money choose to settle down.

But when the nearby neighborhood was relatively low-lying and sewage flowed freely, the warehouse that once brought a good income to Conrad's family became a gathering place of dust. Rats become regulars, sharpening their front teeth with wood and rock, and their nemesis, wild cats, often stage spectacular battles in warehouses.

The owner of the warehouse lowered his head in shame, not daring to look at Aldrich, after all, it was too rare for a knight to be able to condescend to him, and the previous negotiations were all his deputies, with a smile on his face, and Gorcaud who wanted to take out his money bag when he saw him.

"Maybe it will give you peace of mind. President Triss pulled out a contract drawn up by both parties from the cowhide belt tied to his belt, "The rent of forty-eight silver deleux a year is a bit out of place, after all, after the efforts of the scavengers' union, the neighborhood will return to the view of the merchants, and there will be more opportunities, so how about raising it to sixty? and the rent for ten years will be paid in one lump sum!"

President Triss's last words were like a pound-heavy blow to Mr. Conrad's head, and he seemed to be a little dazed and unable to stand, and Aldridge stepped forward to support him unhurriedly and sat down on the stone steps at the entrance of the warehouse.

A few rats jumped in the warehouse, frightened by the terrifying smell of the giant bear on the knight's body, and ran away in a panic, and even the very brave wild cats jumped away from their backs, not daring to approach from afar.

"You make me think again. "After all, Mr. Conrad is too old to withstand Aldrich's nimble pace and sudden blows, and his original intention was indeed to refuse the scavengers' guild that would 'cause trouble', but in front of the six hundred silver Dele, all psychological defenses collapsed.

Fifty gold coins, the weight of which bent Mr. Conrad's upright waist.

"Well, for the sake of you're the Night Watchman, you'll be able to honor the contract of assignment as usual. ”

The crisis was easily resolved, and Aldrich Triss did not have any superfluous words, but smiled and accompanied the owner of the warehouse, Mr. Conrad, to the town hall to witness the signing of the deed of transfer of the right to use the warehouse for ten years in the shortest possible time.

But this was only the beginning, and trouble ensued, and the promised baker disappeared, leaving a message that seemed to echo Mr. Conrad's concerns.

The union's 'big butler' Gorgau concluded that someone was behind the scenes, the purpose was to curb the expansion of the scavenger union, but the transformation was on the right track, and the sewers and even the underground world were happy to see it, who would have the motive to secretly make a move, he had a few objects of suspicion in his heart, and his eyes immediately turned to the owner of the Black Cat Tavern.

"His behavior has been somewhat suspicious lately. ”