That Lucky Jerk (On Hold)

Chapter 3: Baleford

"Ah, it's been a while since I've been here." Eric spoke happily to himself as he jumped down from the wagon and joined the crowd walking away from all of the merchants entering the city. And thankfully no one stopped him as the guards didn't inspect individuals passing through the gates, though there was something different about his arrival this time, and that was the angry girl yelling from behind him.

"Where'd you go?! Huh?! Come back here and fight me, you jerk!" The apple girl yelled, though Eric had no intention of returning any time soon as he found his way into the city and immediately headed towards the slums where he could find more of his own kind. And seeing as the slums were the only ill-maintained section of the city, they were fairly easy to find before he started cutting through the back alleys and waving to people he knew.

"Hey Hogface!" Eric called out his greeting to the first pair of thugs that he saw, causing two men to turn towards him angrily before they finally saw him and waved greetings of their own.

"Oh, hey Eric." Hogface, a massive orc that towered over any human, waved towards him. "How're your parents?"

"Hopefully dying in a ditch somewhere." Eric answered.

"Yeah, we've all wanted them there at some point." Hogface laughed in reply.

"Yep, well, sorry for bothering you when you're busy." Eric apologized as he began to leave that section of the alley.

"Eh? Oh yeah." Hogface nodded to himself before he went back to doing what he and his friend had been in the middle of, which appeared to be the mugging of a wealthy-looking merchant.

"Hey Eric!" Nisa, an elven spy and part time assassin who was sitting at the edge of one of the roofs called out to him as he passed underneath her.

"Hey Nisa!" Eric waved towards her. "What color today?!"

"Nice try kid, but I'm not wearing any underwear!" Nisa laughed.

"Nice!" Eric gave her two thumbs up in approval before he approached a door that was guarded by two more orcs that were just as massive as Hogface. "Hey guys, is your boss in?"

"He just got back a few minutes ago." One of the orcs replied in a deep voice before he opened the heavy metal door between them and the smell of spilled alcohol and body odor rushed past him.

"I- remained standing!" Eric called out his triumph as he swayed on his feet from the smell before he took a deep breath and entered the building, hoping that the stink wouldn't stain his cloths before he walked down a flight of stairs and entered an underground tavern where the less-than-honest residents of Baleford normally did their business. This place had everything like orcs fighting each other, a group of dryads and gnomes that normally played music in the corner, a line of dwarves swishing their alcohol while dancing noisily on the tops of the tables and goblins running around while offering crude explosives to people. Gambling, assassins, drugs, slaves, loan sharks and even cute girls that would spend the night with you if you paid them enough, if it was illegal in the streets above then it was found in abundance in a place like this, and Eric continued to wave to everyone he knew before he finally approached the back of the room where a fatter-than-normal orc was currently surrounded by several of the cute girls that he'd been thinking about earlier. Though there were just as many of the underworld's guards there as well.

"Well well well, if it isn't the avatar of luck himself!" The large orc in the middle laughed as soon as he saw Eric, who smiled in return. "You're not here to clear out my gambling den, are you?"

"I would if I had anything to offer as a bet." Eric laughed slightly before sighing. "But unfortunately, I'm flat broke right now."

"Then a loan then?" The orc asked.