Egil said, "I thought you wanted to be a landed gentleman, maybe get a seat on the Merchants' Council. Respectability, you said."
"Oh, I do. And we'll still be respectable. Or at least more than we are now. But… being respectable seems like a lot of work, doesn't it? Am I wrong?"
Egil laughed, raised his tankard in a toast. "You're not. It does seem like work."
"You know, maybe we should change the name from the Slick Tunnel to the Shithole? Embrace the truth, as it were. Some might find it amusing. What do you think?"
"I think my ale cup is empty again."
"That it is." Nix gestured to the tapkeep. "Ales around, Gadd."
That, Gadd understood, and they were soon staring at full tankards, listening to the sound of the common room behind them.
"Those four slubbers still watching us?" Nix asked.
"I believe they are," Egil said. "Been watching us the whole time. I guess they are here for us. What do you suppose they want?"
"The fun's in finding out, yeah?"
Egil drained his cup as he stood. "Yeah."
"Try not to throw anyone else bodily from the premises," Nix said, loosening his falchion in its scabbard. "Tesha frowns on it."
"Well enough."
They stalked across the common room. The four men saw them coming, nudged each other. Expressions tightened, and hands went low, near hilts. The men slid their chairs back from the table to give them room to stand, pushed back capes to give unfettered access to blades.
Mindful of Tesha's admonition, Nix faked a smile, an expression he'd worn both while seducing women and while putting a span of steel into a man's gut. Egil simply wore his usual surliness. False expressions weren't in the priest, no matter the circumstances. If Egil wanted someone dead, that someone would see it coming well in advance.
Out of habit, Nix and Egil spaced themselves at two paces, wide enough to ply their weapons without getting in each other's way, should it be necessary. Nix hoped it wouldn't, but it paid to be prudent.
"And how do you fare, goodsirs?" Nix asked.
"Uh, fine," said one of the younger men, and the older shot him a glance that said "shut up."
"Is the ale to your satisfaction?" Nix asked.
The three younger men, perhaps puzzled by the mundanity of the question, looked to the older bearded man, whom Nix made as their leader.
"It's quite good," said Beard. "Surprisingly so."
"Excellent," Nix said, and nothing more. He and Egil stood their ground in silence, near enough to the table to make their presence an irritant. Nix kept his smile and Egil his frown, the two of them comfortable with the other men's growing discomfort.
"Something else?" Beard finally asked.
"I don't know," Nix said pointedly. "Is there something else?"
The man seemed to take his point. He pushed his tankard away, looked to his fellows, back to Nix, then put his hands on the table where they could do nothing foolish.
"Right. So, you're Nix Fall and Egil of Ebenor?"
"And you're Dur Follin Watch, yeah? That bit at the Slum Gate-"
The man shook his head. "Isn't my concern. What makes you think we're watch?"
"If not watch then what?" Nix asked.
"Do you answer every question with a question?"
"Do I, Egil?" Nix asked the priest.
"What of it if you do?" Egil answered.
Nix looked at Beard. "Do questions bother you?"
One of the other three men smiled, probably the youngest. Beard did not. He looked from Egil to Nix and shook his head as if to clear it of confusing thoughts.
"No. Look. I mean, listen, we work for someone who's interested in your… services. We've been waiting for the right time to approach you. You were either fighting or surrounded by women 'til now."
"You speak of it as if that's a bad thing," Nix said.
More smiles from the other three.
"And I wanted to take your measure," Beard said.
"Really? And how'd you go about that?" Nix asked.
"And since when's it take four armed and armored men to make a job offer?" Egil growled. He let his hands fall to the hafts of his hammers.
"Does seem less than gentlemanly," Nix observed solemnly.
"Just tell me if you're interested," Beard said, his voice tinged with impatience. "The terms are generous."
"I'm not interested," Nix said. "Egil?"
"No."
"And there you go," Nix said.
"But-"
"See, we don't hire out," Nix said. "Not our approach, powerful patron or no."
"But-"
Egil stepped forward and put his hands on the table, nearly toppling it, staring Beard in the face. "We. Don't. Hire. Out."
To his credit, Beard looked neither frightened nor especially put out by Egil's tone and proximity. Most men would have been.
Military, Nix figured. Had to be. Or damned experienced watch.
"Offer our regrets to your employer," Nix said. "Meanwhile, enjoy the ale and the rest of your evening. Here, if you have half a mind. Elsewhere, if you have a whole."
Beard shook his head. "You're making a mistake here."
"Doubtful," Nix said.
With that, he and Egil turned and started to walk off.
"Final word, then?" Beard called after them. "You're certain?"
Nix did not like the implication dangling in the sentence. He turned around, his eyes hard.
"No, these are my final words: don't get cute with me in my own place. Oh, and stop fakking staring holes into my back, yeah?"
Two of the three younger men leaped to their feet, sending chairs toppling. They had hands on their sword hilts, but Beard halted them with a sharp word and a raised hand. Egil's hammers were already in his hands, a snarl on his lips.
"Barky bunch of curs, ain't they?" Nix said.
Egil grunted. "Need to be brought to heel, maybe."
"Nix!" called Tesha from her station atop the stairs.
Nix winced, and dared not turn to face her.
"We were only asking," Beard said calmly. At his gesture, his two underlings retook their seats and removed hands from hilts. "We intended no offense."
"A misunderstanding, then," Nix said, hopefully loud enough for Tesha to hear. "No harm done. As I said, enjoy your evening."
"Elsewhere's probably best though," Egil added.
As Nix and Egil walked back to the bar, Tesha descended the stairway to meet them. She smiled at a patron ascending the stairs with one of her girls, but the smile disappeared the moment the patron was out of eyeshot. Nix tried not to ogle her figure as she moved toward them.
"You can muster a fake smile as well as me," Nix said to her.
"Twice in one night you threaten-"
"Leave it be, woman, "Egil said. "They're watch or kith to watch. We only had words."
" Heated words," she said.
"Words, heated or no, shed no blood."
Nix cut off whatever she intended to say. "Did Kiir and Lis tell you our thinking? About this place?"
For the first time, Tesha's severe expression softened. "They did, but… did you mean it? I thought you were having a jest at their expense."
Nix shook his head. "We're earnest. Free room and board for you. As for your workers, half of what they've been paying for rent and board. Profits come to us, less ten percent as your earnings. No negotiations. That's the offer. Done?"
Her expression vacillated between surprise, hope, and skepticism. "This is business, Nix. Nothing else. You're clear on that?"
"You cut me deeply, milady. If ever I have to buy an entire tavern to procure sex, even from one as lovely as you, Egil has standing instructions to kill me."
Egil chuckled. So did Tesha, and Nix thought the sound musical.
"What about Gadd?" she asked, and looked over her shoulder at the towering tapkeep. He tended his wares, as always, working his sorcery behind the bar. Morra flew by, holding her usual platter of ales.
"He already eats and drinks free," Nix said. "His pay is your concern, but keep it reasonable. Morra's too. If you accept the offer."