I am getting paid to do this?!
Yet, Moros was given no time to think as Poppycock was still not done talking.
"Ya know my friend, we really thought ye were gone. Poured out one of my best drinks in your name…and now, you are here kicking and complainin─makes me wish ye would have stayed dead."
Moros returned these friendly words by giving his buddy a middle finger on the left and right. Dual-wielding them like he had no intention of taking any prisoners here.
Now that the fun part of the day had come and gone, it was time to talk about the things that destroyed friendships…it was time to talk about money.
"Aight, Poppycock jokes and fun aside…where is my cut at? You can't just expect me to farm up in my territory for free, right?"
"Ye greedy bastard, we thought you were dead…the hell you acting like that for? Shove those greedy fingers of yours up where the sun don't shine if you expect us to pay money here."
"Dear Mister dwarf, what kind of fun juice have you been sipping on, expecting not to pay for stuff here? Did ya think the rest of the Terra family would magically not send someone else here? One way or another, you gotta pay…FRIEND."
This time Poppycock banged his hand onto the table and threw Moros another middle finger. Negotiations between the two would not go by easily this time around.
"Did ya hit your head too hard when you came back from the dead, lad? We'd be gone long before your family would have put one and one together. So, why exactly do you think you deserve any of our hard-earned money?"
"Did that business sense of yours get left behind like your wife? I aint talking bout the measly coins. I am talking a long time business here, not just 5 minutes till stand-in Moros has a fat heart attack."
Moros knocked on the wall with a big smile on his face.
"We can turn this bad boy, into a money-printing machine."
Poppycock was having none of it, as he continued to throw disrespect at Moros, hoping to keep the greedy bastard away from his money. If he would ever give the guy an inch, he would take your entire arm.
"Ya weirdo, taken a little too much of them pills, huh? What the hell are you seein in all of this? This is just a one time thing. Ballas, even the new versions ain't fun more than once."
"You blind fucker. It's supply and demand. Just letting every guy in that did your mother really messes with how much cash you could be getting out of this. Use your brain for once."
Moros tried to stick to the facts as much as he could…it certainly did not work the way he had intended.
The discussion had taken a turn as both sides insisted they were the one in the right.
Moros gave his buddy all of his attention and Poppycock released his frustration on the poor en investigator of this place. Shocks echoed frequently through the room as the negotiations pressed on.
"Ya glue-huffing weirdo, did ye seriously believe we did not think of that. It's impossible to accomplish that, give it up before you make a fool outta yourself!"
Poppycock sat back in his chair and eyed Moros with a knowing glance. Everything that he could say would not change the truth of what lay before them. Regardless of how much the dude kept talking about the benefits, he was only after money.
The fella never truly changed.
He was the type of bloke to order a slice of cake and run away with the whole thing while people were not looking. Never ever trust a guy like Moros, else there will be just regrets left.
"You small-minded coward in a 1.30 metre frame. Did you leave your balls with your wife, or what?" Moros shot back, ready to throw hands if necessary.
"Punk, shut that trap of yours! Be talking a real big game, while your balls haven't even dropped yet. Are ye compensating for missing something in your pants…?"
Poppycock threw a verbal jab back, aiming for the typical low blow about the lacking manhood that hit most men right where it hurt.
"Now is that not something, the short little man thinks he's hot shit, while hiding in some shit hole, dressing worse than the hobos."
Moros countered with confidence, he knew that he would be packing a big wallet in his pants, nothing to be ashamed about. The size of the wallet in his pants might be small today, but with enough stimulation it would grow big in no time.
This time the reply came faster, a small dagger graced Moros right cheek drawing blood. Poppycock looked at Moros filled with great anger…
"Next time, I'll not be nice."
Moros grin turned sour, with a smile he decided to prove a point. His left hand shot toward the wall at a speed too fast for Poppycock to catch. The resulting impact shook the entire small space, more dungeon stones falling to the floor.
The dwarf looked at his newly gained space with a bit of concern, the Moros he knew had never been that strong…
"My friend, do not forget I am being nice at this very moment."
Moros voice was laced in deep sarcasm, he did not hide his current mood in the slightest. He was not in high spirits about his best friend refusing to work together.
"Are YOU threatening me right now?"
Poppycock spat back, his mood turning sour too. He did not like that Moros was copping an attitude here. Business in the underground was all about manners, something the punk was not showing at this very moment.
"No, no my friend…I will go to my family, tell em all about your little stunt…or I go to the lovely lady that captured me….Choices, choices, choices…whaddaya think would happen to you and your Buddies? Hmm? Hmm?"
Poppycock wanted to shoot back, but the words were stuck in his mouth. There was not much to know that such a scenario would be the end for all of them.
"See that is what you call a threat. But, I am not here to ruin this whole operation…I am here to make money, to rob some spoiled rich guys off of their money…as it should be done."
Moros took a few steps forward and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper on his table.
"Look, your approach to this whole thing was wrong. People pay to feel special, if everyone does it, its not special anymore. If the poor and the rich can afford it, the rich ain't gonna buy it."
Moros wiggled his finger in the face of his friend. He needed his speech-no jutsu to convince the grumpy little friend.
"Your clients used to be people looking for illegal goods, the villains, the scum of society. These guys here, they are the type I am familiar with. They require a different approach."
"I am saying, you need a man on the inside that keeps the Terra family off of your ass. That can be me. You need a guy that knows rich people better than their mothers. That can be me. You don't need someone…You need me!"
Moros turned around to leave, acting all dramatic.
This kind of bait and switch was something he had learned from the prison workers that had inspired him to hone his craft.
Poppycock, with a heavy sigh, grabbed a small back of monster cores from his drawer and threw it towards Moros, who catched it easily as if he had been expecting it long before.
Not surprised by Moros quick catch and counting of money, the dwarf spoke up yet again.
"Don't let it get to your head! I swear, people like you will get me killed someday."
The monster cores shone in the light, it was the result of many people paying for entry…Moros was a happy man, yet again.
Though both could only watch as the unthinkable happened, the monster cores evaporated in front of their eyes. With the blink of an eye, they had been turned into fine dust.
The real guardian of the Terra family began to curse loudly.
"What do you mean you flying fuckface? Monster cores have been used to repay the debt? I want my cores, not some random Dollar signs…give me back my money, you bloodsucker."
"'Dollar, flying fuckface…had his business partner really received some serious brain damage?"
The thought entered Poppycocks mind and his worries did not lesse as he continued watching the scene play out in front of him.
Moros was screaming bloody murder at the magical disappearance of his cut. Poppycock did not know what had happened, but once the beg landed in his hands, it became his problem.
"Ye aint gonna get another, even if ye beg or ask nicely."
Poppycock had to close the door before it even opened, otherwise more monster cores would magically disappear into thin nothingness.
The teenager had received his cut, now they were even. If he wanted more, he had to earn it himself─sorry, scam it himself.
Moros scowled once again, cursing once again at the 2 things that only he could see, talking about repaying his debt and whatnot…
Did he ever ask for a new heart…?
All he got for his stones was 1000 dollars, which was 1000 breaths or a day of his heart beating. Which was a little disheartening, living seemed so expensive…just how much did he have to earn if he wanted to not drop dead?
Waving to Poppycock he left the dwarf behind, he had gotten his job back, but the trouble just did not stop…crawling out of the secret space, he could only sigh.
To add insult to injury a Balla jumped into his face and exploded its guts all over the place…creating a chance for Moros to clean the whole place…
[Received 1 Dollar for killing a Balla]
"Wait, I am getting paid for this?"