Gazing down at the body of the wine merchant sprawled on the bloody ground between Spider Murphy and himself, Rifkin goggles...
"You killed her?!"
Wiping the gore off of his sword, the wild afroed assassin smiles in response.
"Come on Rifkin, you knew what we're doing here. Did you imagine our victims would simply hand over their profits?"
Rifkin's stare shifts between the leader of his recently joined gang of robbers and the corpse.
"But we agreed to only rob the merchants on their way back from the fair... And she was just on her way there. She hadn't even sold her stock and worse, after Little Joe killed her guard, she'd surrendered. You didn't have to kill her!"
Spider Murphy's smile widens manically.
"Well we needed a loot cart and I figured the boys would enjoy the contents of her wagon. Killing Martha here was just for fun,"
Rifkin tries to step back but instead bumps into two of the gang members, who immediately pin his arms as Spider Murphy advances.
"I knew you were going to be too soft. You're a poet, not a thief and now I think, we have no use for you."
Sensing the danger, Rifkin shrugs his shoulders in supplication.
"I understand. Let me gather my stuff and I'll be out of your... hair."
Spider Murphy's smile evaporates as he unconsciously pats the unruly, sponge-like mass on his head.
"No. I don't think so. You can leave but your 'stuff' stays here."
Rifkin mouths a protest but Spider Murphy cuts him off.
"ALL you stuff!"
"You killed her?!"
Wiping the gore off of his sword, the wild afroed assassin smiles in response.
"Come on Rifkin, you knew what we're doing here. Did you imagine our victims would simply hand over their profits?"
Rifkin's stare shifts between the leader of his recently joined gang of robbers and the corpse.
"But we agreed to only rob the merchants on their way back from the fair... And she was just on her way there. She hadn't even sold her stock and worse, after Little Joe killed her guard, she'd surrendered. You didn't have to kill her!"
Spider Murphy's smile widens manically.
"Well we needed a loot cart and I figured the boys would enjoy the contents of her wagon. Killing Martha here was just for fun,"
Rifkin tries to step back but instead bumps into two of the gang members, who immediately pin his arms as Spider Murphy advances.
"I knew you were going to be too soft. You're a poet, not a thief and now I think, we have no use for you."
Sensing the danger, Rifkin shrugs his shoulders in supplication.
"I understand. Let me gather my stuff and I'll be out of your... hair."
Spider Murphy's smile evaporates as he unconsciously pats the unruly, sponge-like mass on his head.
"No. I don't think so. You can leave but your 'stuff' stays here."
Rifkin mouths a protest but Spider Murphy cuts him off.
"ALL you stuff!"
So Rifkin has a slightly murkier past...
ReplyDeleteI think it was you David who noticed the disparity between the number of bandits and the number of tents. Rifkin is the sort of person that likes the idea of adventure but dislikes the more bloody aspects of said adventures.
ReplyDeleteI disliked Rifkin before, now I know I want to see him dead.
ReplyDeleteShould have guessed the one whose escape was carefully engineered would be a pivotal character. Any bets he will be that grey-old-dude-with-the rats's right hand man? No, didn't think so.
Sorry, not Rifkin - Spider-Murphy. Brain fart
ReplyDelete100 xp bonus for the first one who can work out where Rifkin met Spider-Murphy and Little Joe.
ReplyDeletebonanza
ReplyDeleteGood 'Little Joe' connection but no.
ReplyDeleteAs an additional clue, before you slaughtered them all bar Spider Murphy, they called themselves 'The Purple gang'...
It did not go unnoticed that Rifkin knew exactly which tent had a "really nice" lute inside. I doubt he has x-ray vision...
ReplyDeleteThe Purple Gang... Like this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Purple_Gang
ReplyDeletePart of the inspiration but Still no.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Wikipedia is cheating.
;P