The Covian Tradepost

[Moraine DiGoraz]

So it was a done deal as Kazuo Shinrai walked out of the Baron's office. The small watchtower north of the barracks had been transfered to Kazuo for an unknown amount of coin. Whenever the old Tokunian sets his mind on a business deal, it generally does not take long to aquire the goods or service he is after and for a good price too! Nodding to himself he tucked away the deed of ownership, folded his hands in his sleeves and headed towards his newly aquired property.

It was already late in the day and the sun was about to set when Kazuo entered the old watchtower. Locking the door behind him he looked around at the ramshackle building that was once a sturdy watchtower overlooking the nearby lake. There was little pride to owning the building in it's current state and renovating the place would not only be quite a chore, it would also be likely to cost a hefty sum of coin. As Kazuo slowly walked around, inspecting the integrity of the walls, he was greeted by a familiar voice.

"So, this plot be ours then ey? Heh, knew ye could pull it off!"

Not bothering to take as much as a glance in the direction the voice came from, Kazuo responded coldly.

"I always get what I want Moraine, one way or another."

At this point he slowly turned towards Moraine DiGoraz, a known con-artist and thief, who was casually leaning against a corner wall, picking the dirt from under his nails with a finely crafted dagger. Kazuo glared at him.

"I take it the other preparations are all in order?"

The usual cheerfulness in Moraine's voice slowly ebbed away and in a half whisper he responded.

"O'corse, wot ye take me for ey? Ye asks Moraine ter do somethin' an' Moraine does it for ye. I be nay a fool ey, by now me knows nay ter cross yer....".

...

A few weeks had passed and the old ramshackle watchtower had been fully renovated and made into what looked like a fortified warehouse. A sign had been erected at the entrance of the building, which had been expanded as well. It read "Cove Tradepost".

During the construction period Kazuo was rarely seen at the site, only once he had shown his face when constuction works were hardly progressing and demanded an explanation. After one or two of the local contruction workers disappeared over night, the building was completed nearly twice as fast as anticipated.

When the building neared completion and even when the building was completed, no announcedments were made about a new establishment being opened in Cove. Things were kept quiet about the renovated watchtower and although there was some occasional activity during the days (and some at night), most Covians did not bother much to find out about the place. As far as they were concerned, it was just another warehouse.