Dwarf Demands

January, 3505, Planet R-786 TRAPPIST Planetary system, 40 light years from the sun.

Twilight crawled in nice and slow over the white dwarf sun and doused the city in orange. A bleak and uninviting breeze picked up pace and drove most of the men inside. Nocturnal beings ventured out. A rectangular hover craft zoomed past the empty city, people unaware of its existence. It slowed down and dived steep towards the deserted street of Canneti and pulled up just in time. The diver relaxed his grip and glanced back with a boyish grin towards a government labour regulations office, a grin stretched out from his scarred face, like remembering something. Seven years ago the monster within him had raised its hood, frightening him to his core. He had since mastered the monster but kept him alive. On the outside he was the chief of one of the biggest slave traders of the planet, inside he was a serpent. Venomous and vicious.

Suddenly, he heard a soft voice, "Please" it called. It was urgent yet not excited. Kane slowed down, the grin replaced by the sharp eyes that years of his special hobby had ingrained in him. "Please." The voice called again. Kane spun around at the cluster of bushes the sound was coming from. He slowed and moved towards the noise. An open window of the neighbouring dome spilled enough light to let Kane see the source. A girl put her head out from under the bushes and called "I do not know where it is?" By the time Kane had jumped off his hover craft, a dwarf had slithered into the light and was staring intently into Kane. "On your way buddy, if you know what's good for you" The girl was trying to move but was struggling. Kane stretched his hand towards the girls' legs and said "Release her!"

The dwarf took a sudden step forward when a second voice sounded "Easy Kranky, its Mr. Kane."

"Oh!" Said Kranky and stopped abruptly. The girl shot towards him and grabbed his hand. The dwarf cried insolently "You can't fly away just like that..." but Kane crouched and with a low snarl punched the dwarf on his face. The dwarf, red eyed and a scowl on his evil looking ugly face, fell to the ground with a thud. Kane straightened. After making sure the dwarf was immobile for good he tugged the girl closer. She jumped over his hovercraft and within minutes they were cruising away.

"He was blackmailing me! Who would have thought?" Said the girl.

"I don't need to know" said Kane indignantly. 

"Kranky my slave! He was trying to extort money from me!"

"You didn't pay him?" Asked Kane eyebrow raised.

"I did, but he needed more! They were supposed to be free for life and now suddenly he is asking for a 1000 Stoners! That scoundrel! He even bought an enforcer. But thank God, you flew by! I shudder to think what they would have done to me otherwise."

"They would have killed you. Dwarf magic is untraceable."

“Dwarf’s cannot kill !” the girl said loudly.

“They can set fire to your house, drop a slab of concrete on your head, gouge out your eyes and…”

"That’s enough” said the girl with her eyes shut, “Well I was lucky, wasn’t I? You were destined to save me." 

"I must leave! I have to go home now." Said Kane ignoring her.

"Can't we have a drink? Just a drink. It would mean a lot to me." she said it so earnestly, Kane couldn't refuse. 

“All right. Just because you are a demilien" he jerked a finger at her.

They turned right towards the main street and entered an all-day dinks bar. They sat down for a drink in a corner, away from the pounding of the diamonds on the street. The bar was empty except a reptilian looking earthling wearing an explorer’s jacket. The girl introduced herself as Effie Ambrosius. She had curly blonde hairs and thin lips. Her eyes were just like Kane’s, deep dark blue. Dark enough to be black from a distance.

She was eyeing Kane intensely.

"Can you believe what that Minister of Slave Labour says?" she asked after a minute, “treat them like one of your own” she drew a face as if she had chewed on a bitter grubbly root, “like they deserve it!” she added.

Kane regretted the separation of the ministry of Slave Labour from the ministry of commerce. And now it was the biggest cause of death, theft and arson in the city.  The slaves’ rights movement fanned by the resistance group “I is Free” had turned into a beast that was way bigger any threat their world had ever faced.

"I believe in slave’s rights but I don't believe in their way of justice."

"Wasn't the Labour minister your class mate? Can't you talk to her?"

Kane was taken aback. "How could you possibly know that?" 

"You are Kane Morgan, the Slave Trader" she said with a wide grin, "who doesn't know you? Besides, that dwarf called out your name and I recognised your face from those adverts on our comms. You should stop doing that ridiculous dance routine, we know your slaves are the best"

"Yours’s turned out to be a disappointment" he said in a dry voice.

Over the years the slave’s rights movement had gained support and even though Kane had pointed out the rebellion was funded by his enemies, his partner Sayan’s wife and the current Minister of Slave Welfare, Indrani didn't listen.

The waitress reappeared with a weak smile and slammed the two glasses on the table and tottered back across the counter. The frothing glasses just stood there for a moment.

 “Your slave, Kranky, what was he looking for?” asked Kane glancing up the dripping iced grubly root glasses.

“I told you. He was asking for more money.” she said with a generous swig of the grubbly root drink.

“I think I heard you say ‘I don’t know where it is.’ said Kane in a high pitch voice mocking her.

“Oh that! He was trying to lay his hands on a fabled family heirloom.”

"And what's that?"  

“It’s a fabled chest of armour that has the shield of the great first King of Canneti and the wand of his mage, Sturgis the noble” she said “The chest of Pridewen” she added in a whisper.

“And your family owns Pridewen chest?” said Kane, sputtering a bit of the drink over his front.

“Yes, I claim descent from Sturgis himself from my mother’s side you see” Effie said downing the glass in one full swing.

“And your mother left you a magic shield and a staff?”

“The First King’s shield and Sturgis’s wand, the wand of commons”

“I thought Sturgis had a staff?” Kane sipped his drink.

“Ah, yes and no. He won the staff in a duel. He used a wand made of goblin wrought silver before his famous defeat of the which Shophia” 

“Why would you need a goblin made wand?”

Effie shook her head side to side, “It’s a collection of fairy tales. No one has ever seen it in living memory. Besides the chest said to be locked by the great Wendelin Ambrosius.”

Kane choked on his drink and coughed out spraying the froth right onto the polished table. Eyes watering, he put down his drink and looked up. 

“Wendelin the weird was a descendent of Sturgis?” 

“Yes! Don’t you know? Anyways, it’s just a fable. Kranky was being greedy”

Kane’s snake brain hissed. He finished his iced grubly root and shook Effie’s hand.

“I’m sure you can find your way back home.”

Effie nodded. Kane threw a 5 Stoner note on the table and left on his limited edition Avenger hover-board.

His wife could wait, there was work to do.