Chapter 8
The first “Bookkeeper” showed up in Bream about a week later. Every day saw two or three more members show up. The town was another port town and had been selected because it was large enough that twelve strangers gathering for a meeting was not unusual. Nor was there anything unusual about the men themselves. They ranged anywhere between 30 to 50 years old. Some were exceedingly fit, while a few had obviously been enjoying the good life.
No, there was nothing unusual about them unless you looked into their eyes. One look at their eyes and you knew they were evaluating the best way to kill you and considering whether it was worth their time to dispose of your body.
Crime in Bream was average for a port town but a few of the bookkeepers seemed to be doing their best to encourage muggings. Late in the evening they would wander into a tavern obviously drunk from previous stops. Flashing large amounts of money, they would ask for instructions back to their lodging. After seeming to understand about half of the instructions, they would wobble back into the night. The first few nights this ruse drew out a number of hopeful muggers. The results were devastating, to the would be muggers. It quickly became obvious these old men were baiting them.
Old men should not be able to defeat two or three armed assailants with so little effort. When the local thieves guild leader decided that this was not to be tolerated and gathered twenty men for an attack, only fourteen of his men made it in into the fray and he learned that bookkeeper also traveled in packs. Nobody died but a number of thugs decided to relocate or take up new careers. Crime dropped to an all time low.
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