Benny is one of those pawn brokers that exist in every major city at any time, in any existence. He’s a cheat, a charlatan, he’ll buy or sell anything that isn’t nailed down, and if he can pry up the nails he’ll sell them too. He’s short wirey and green like almost every goblin and he has a tendency to wear an old battered fedora that makes him look like Humphrey Bogart if Bogart was a frog. His shop is filled to the rafters with everything from Hearts, Stars, and Horseshoes, to the gossamer wings of Pixies trying to make rent and the shattered dreams of children. Everything has a price and if Benny can make a profit anything can be sold.
Benny and I go way back, and we’ve been friends or enemies for the better part of our entire existence. When you are the last detective in Faerie sometimes your enemies turn out to be your best friends. So when I walked into his shop I was surprised to see the little bastard wasn’t behind the counter where he normally was. Instead a rather large fellow in a cheap suit was sitting behind the low slung counter, the gun evident in his pocket and his gorilla like demeanor pegged him as hired muscle, for whom I didn’t know and I certainly hoped I wouldn’t find out. But being the reckless and carefree kind of fellow that I am I approached the counter anyway and cheerfully asked where Benny was. The gorilla in the three piece simply glared at me, his bloodshot eyes trying to bore a hole in my head.
I decided to wait it out, since Benny wasn’t likely to be gone long, after all you can’t turn a profit when you aren’t at the store and decided to browse around the shop for any supplies I might need in the coming days. You can never have too many tricks up your sleeves especially when you are dealing with Nobs. I dug through all the mess lining the shelves and unearthed a few gems that might be worth the effort of haggling with Benny. And as soon as I had completed my shopping the back room opened and one of the fattest creatures I’ve ever seen came trundling through the door surrounded by a haze of bluish smoke and the sounds of quiet sobbing.
The fat creature saw me before I could duck behind one of the many shelves and waved me over its grotesque face split into a wide mirthless grin.
“Stilskin me ol’boy what brings a troll like yourself to this useless little establishment? I hear you’ve got yourself a new gig working for one of the Nobs, very nice, but be careful I hear those bitches up there can be real mean if you know what I’m saying. If you ever need any information be sure to drop by and have a word with your old pal Fats it won’t cost you too much.” The words were said in such a rush that I though the giant creature was going to deflate by the time he was done. But the bastard just kept going and once he finished he roared out the most hair rising cackle this side of the gray.
As Fats and his hired goons exited the store I was left to deal with the mess they made in the back room. I made my way behind the counter and into the back of the shop where I found a badly beaten Benny lying in a pool of his own bluish blood. I quickly fetched a towel and began to soak up the blue liquid before I started tending to Benny’s wounds. He was pretty banged up but as I began to look him over the swift healing of the Goblin race kicked in and Benny started knitting back together in an alarming rate. Knowing the penchant for goblins to eat anything in sight after an intense healing I immediately moved out of the way and found a large bowl of what I hoped were leftovers in Benny’s fridge.
As the little green pawn broker regained consciousness I slid the bowl in his direction and wordlessly tucked the now soaked rag into my coat pocket. I proceeded to light up a smoke and give my oldest friend the once over. He looked rough, the bruises were fading but they had really done a number on the little guy. Even as I watched the bones in his hand began sliding around and re-arranging themselves back in to proper working order, it didn’t look like a very comfortable process.
Benny wolfed down the food in record time and soon he looked almost normal. “What are you doing here Stilts,” he asked around a mouthful of food.
“I came to get my heart back Benny.”
“Really, with interest you owe me a lot of money where did you find that kind of cash”
Wordlessly I held my tattooed wrist out in front of the Goblin’s eyes which grew even larger than normal. “Is that what I think it is,” he remarked as he grabbed for my wrist peering at it closely.
“Sure is Benny boy, you can’t fake a Nob mark like that. So send the bill up town for me”
“Sure thing, is there anything else I can get you?”
“No, just my heart.”
Benny leapt up and rummaged around in an old cupboard, I could hear the sound of tumblers being turned and a safe being opened but I didn’t bother to look the traps on it were probably far worse than the items hidden inside would be worth. When Benny turned around he was holding in his hand a fist sized stone, grayish in color and covered in strange etchings. With a smile I took it from his outstretched hand and slid it into one of the pockets of my coat.
“Aren’t ya gonna ask me why Fats was here Stilts?”
“No Benny, I figure you’ll either tell me, or you won’t but right now I need to get to work, tell me over a beer tonight at the Thorn.”
The little goblin looked almost crestfallen when I told him I had to go, he loved telling stories almost as much as he loved making a profit. I left him in his store, his joy returning as he realized the large amount of gold he would be making for the return of my heart. As the door closed I could hear his parting words “I’ll only charge you half for that blood you mopped up Stilts, the first round is on you tonight.” I chuckled and let the door close softly. Remembering my unwanted shadow from earlier this afternoon I looked around to see if anyone was paying any undue attention to my person, but it didn’t look like it. So with heavy steps I turned to face Nob hill and headed toward the address Lady mystery had given me. The rain picked up in earnest and I thought that today was definitely going to be a long day.
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