A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

Beam did as he was told. Inside, there sat 10 gleaming gold coins. He gasped in surprise.

"Haha!" Greeves roared with laughter again. "That caught your attention, eh? Money talks, as they say. Is that your first time seeing gold, lad?"

Beam nodded dumbly, absolutely blown away by the sight of the shining metal. Just a month ago, he\'d never held a metal worth more than copper. Even silver had been a great and exciting privilege. Now, beyond his expectations, he was given gold. Not one, but ten of them.

"But it\'s so much…" He said.

Greeves shared a look of surprise with Judas. The big man laughed as well. "That\'s the first time in all my career as a merchant that I\'ve ever heard someone complain about being paid too much."

"I\'m not complaining…" Beam said.

"I\'d expect not. Well, anyway. That hobgoblin sword sold for a pretty penny… and then the corpse on top of that – well, let\'s just say, you\'ve more than cleared the red from my account books. And so, to celebrate a job well done, and to commemorate the finishing of yer quests, I\'ll give you a nice 10 gold to enjoy," Greeves said.

"You already knew that I\'d slain the corpse soldier?" Beam said in surprise.

Greeves just shrugged. "I figured it was just a matter of time. There\'s no way a corpse soldier would pose a problem for you, not after that display the other day."

"Mm. So my work for you is done then, is it?" Beam asked.

"It is…" Greeves said cautiously, "but I would rather it not be."

"And why is that?"

"Well, obviously because yer so fricken strong, kid. You\'ve got the kind of strength that I\'d bet rivals some of those knights from the city. We\'d be able to accomplish great things together, wouldn\'t we?" Greeves said. "And there\'d be a lot of money in it too. You like that coin there? I can promise you a hundred in a year, easy."

"I\'m not interested in your underworld dealings," Beam said. "You were quick to threaten Nila when things weren\'t going your way. Do you really think I\'d jump back into business with you, knowing your morals?"

"Well… I can see why you might say that," Greeves said, nodding. "But see, it\'s more complicated than a kid like you thinks. You don\'t know the true darkness of the world yet, boy. You don\'t know how deep the road to hell truly runs. Me? Compared to those lot?

I\'m nothing. I\'m more just a fox looking for scraps."

"Greeves," Beam said, unable to keep the anger out of his voice as he fixed his gaze on the merchant. Greeves could not help but shudder. Even Judas felt goosebumps run down the length of his arms. "You gave that threat so casually. How many families have you torn apart just for coin? How many lives have you condemned to slavery just to fill your purse?

How many hopes have you snuffed out with a single thoughtless line?"

Greeves met his gaze head on, despite the trembling in his heart. Beam\'s eyes that made even a hobgoblin cower – but the merchant was made of firmer stuff. "You look down on me boy, I see that. You judge my crimes as inadequacies. But your judgement? I piss on it.

You\'re strong, kid, we all see it. We all see that you\'re climbing a mountain taller than any of us could imagine – but that doesn\'t make you wise. Doesn\'t even make you smart. Don\'t you lecture me on darkness when you\'re merely hiding in your own weakness."

Beam stood up in his anger as he towered over Greeves\' desk. Greeves stood up to meet him, his own anger aflame.

"You\'re just a fucking murderer, merchant. I don\'t care how you try to justify it, you people with your hands in slavery – you can all rot. You should all meet a bloody death for the deeds you\'ve done," Beam spat.

"Aye? And can you give me that bloody death? Can you?" Greeves shouted back. "Your morals are piss poor! They\'re fucking see through, son. That shit is weak.

That shit burns a country to the ground. Do you know what it takes to fuel these cities, do ya? Do you know what the fuck goes on behind the scenes? Nah, cos you don\'t give a fuck. You lack understanding. You say \'that\'s wrong\' but you can\'t provide another way.

You label me a criminal, but can you cut me down, boy? You ever killed a man? You ever believe in something so strongly that you\'d cut down anything that stood in your way?"

The sheer venom with which Greeves spoke made Beam recoil for a moment, before his eyes flared with anger once more, sure that it was merely a merchant\'s attempt at weaselling his way out of the crimes he committed.

"When the day comes, when it\'s necessary, I\'ll be able to do it," Beam said.

"Then start here! Go on then! End it! You\'ve judged me guilty, have you not? Go on then, you deliver the punishment!" Greeves grabbed his knife off his desk and forced it into Beam\'s hand, before grabbing the edge of the blade and dragging it towards his throat. Blood dripped on the desk from it.

Judas baulked in alarm as he held his hands up, not sure quite how to get involved or who to help.

Beam coiled his fingers around the hilt of the knife, looking deep in Greeves\' eyes as the merchant begged him for his execution.

"DO IT!" Greeves shouted.

"FUCKING DO IT!" He said again.

The merchant\'s eyes were so dark in their brown that they approached black. The many lives that he had taken swam inside them, complete in a sea of suffering. An existence that betrayed its agony.