Three piercing bangs echoed throughout his home. Amens snapped his head towards the door in shock. A rough, hoarse voice called out to him.
"Is anyone there?"
The voice was full of rage, almost as if the noise itself could rip someone in half. Calmly, Amens answered.
"Hello"
Crash…
The door flung from its weak hinges as a shoe could only be seen in the dust that the door falling made. As it cleared, three scrawny men could be seen with a prideful grin on their face. They looked around the room for Amens but soon their faces were full of confusion.
Stab…
Behind them stood Amens. He lunged from next to the doorframe and into one of the gang-bangers heads. The othe two frowned as they ran towards him, their knifes flinging around recklessly, almost hitting each other.
Sigh…
One of them tripped on Amens foot and tumbled over, stabbing the other member killing them instantly. Amens kicked the one on he floors hand, forcing the, to drop the knife and crushing their hand. They screamed but that didn't stop Amens from sticking a knife to their throat.
"Why are you here?"
"P-please l-let me l-l-live"
"Then answer me"
"One of o-our s-strongholds w-we-were raided and the m-marked coins l-led us here."
"Oh, well okay then"
Amens stood up and took the knife away from his face with the scrawny man still trembling. Amens looked at his coat, still lined with money. He held one of his fingers to his nose feeling disappointed in himself.
"Thank you for telling me"
Amens kicked the corpses head, crushing it whilst splashing pools of blood that the wooden floor absorbed. The ones that didn't get absorbed fell in between the cracks of the wood and onto the rocks below.
As he stood up, he reached to his coat's pocket and grabbed a coin. He examined the intricate details of it. The faces on both sides of the coin, the rough, bumped edges, the rough feeling of it as he moved his finger across it.
Well, I guess this money is worthless. I should probably use it to get a few of them gone. Then the civil tensions of the Gilded Dregs should escalate. Amens thought.
Since the coat already had the coins inside of it, he put it on with his hands in his pockets to cover the glisten of the coin. The door creaked open like any other day as he walked out. The daily pollution rushes inside his lungs as he took a deep breath, looking to the grey sky with a face face that said "normality".
As Amens walked around, he debated where to put the trap at. He decided he was going to set the candidates he had in his mind to determine which one would be most suitable for a trap like this. He currently had 4 in mind, the edge of the slums that stretched into the wilderness, an abandoned warehouse that was build by the Kingdom which was soon gotten rid of, making it territory of the slums, a secluded square, made of the stone walls that build the slums yet had no ceiling and finnaly the well that the Gilded Dregs mostly abandoned. Mostly because a guard came to the well yet met his tragic fate.
There were issues with all of these locations, for example, the well might not be abandoned and the fact that it's small will mean that if a lot of gang members come, it will not fit all of them. The abandoned warehouse might have squatters or be home to a cult. The edge of the slums is too open making hiding impossible. The secluded square is only useful at night due to the brightness that made it harder to hide and move silently.
If the warehouse stayed abandoned it would be the perfect place to go to, it was also the closest to his home so it was the place Amens was headed towards. As he arrived the building, he had realised that moss grew on the warehouse and broken shards of glass, painted with blood stained the floors. The only noise were his footsteps echoed that across the building. It was mostly stone and had many rooms. The shelves were knocked over and cockroaches scurried across the floor, fearing Amens.
This is perfect. I doubt I need to check the other places. But before I get hasty I should probably check the second floor.
Curious, Amens walked up the crumbling stairs, careful with his steps as it seemed to almost fall. Suddenly, his foot fell a bit further than it was supposed to. His eyes full of shock. Quickly, he looked around, searching for anything stable to grab onto.
Fortunately, there was a large crack in the wall. Reaching out, he grabbed onto it and pushed his other leg upwards so he could get a better grip onto it. His fingertips stretched feeling like they were almost about to be ripped apart and bleed. The rough stone helped with the thought of that pain. Swiftly, he swung himself to the second floor, out of breath and panicked.
Holy shit. That was lucky.I probably shouldn't do it on the second floor, let alone come here again. He thought.
Whilst catching his breath, he looked backwards at the stairs, there was still a mostly stable path, waiting for him to go down.
Sigh…
He looked around, the place being mostly light as there were window frames that led outside. The broken shards being scattered on the floor, with dry blood clinging onto it. Amens held a handle that led to a room. Right as he opened the door, a putrid smell emerged from the room, forcing him to turn his head and cover his mouth and nose.
With his sleeves covering his face, he peeked inside. This was the only room without broken glass. Rotting, mutilated bodies were placed neatly on the shelves. The foul sight of a human size crucifix held nailed organs that seemed smushed together. The dried blood was proof of abandonment, putting Amens at ease.
He left the room to check the others. Other than the smelly one all of them fit the same trope, knocked over shelves, broken glass and the occasional bug, often large moths or cockroaches.
As he left the building, he looked back at it and sighed with an unnerving expression on his face.
This is the best I can get. Well the first floor at least. He thought.