Ervos Trax

Ervos Trax
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Marchesa's Smuggler.jpg}}|250px]]
Details
Race	Human
Birthplace	The Lowlands, Fiora
Lifetime	Mending Era
Colors
Sources

Ervos Trax was Marchesa's smuggler and business partner on the plane of Fiora. Ervos's criminal empire stretched from the lowlands to the city of Talon and the docks beyond.

Description

Ervos was not yet middle-aged, although in his line of work that would make him ancient. He was arguably handsome, with sandy brown hair and straighter teeth than most. With his good looks and undeniable charm, he had exploited his first victims. Although he wore last season's fashion, a somewhat garish suit made of golden cloth, he still looked pleasing to the eye. His best clothes, which he had worn, were fancy to lowlanders, but out of date and less impressive to a High City noble.

History

One evening, Ervos was eating dinner with his business partner Marchesa after an invitation sent by her. Out of the blue, he told her he thought he would have her killed. He knew should would never share her power, and she was his last obstacle to full access within the High City. He could kill her on the spot, of course, but her zombie minions and a dark curse cast on him to cause him everlasting pain would render that idea unwise. Even though he'd scoped out her house plans, he knew they were likely falsified, and the apparent escape route would lead to a horrific death. Killing her with poison would be out of the question, as she was a master of poisons and had multiple safety measures going to prevent such issues. Recruiting others to his cause was similarly hopeless, as her countless agents and hidden supporters would surely rat his actions out.

Her one weakness was that surrounding herself with people allowed for indirect cooperation with a free agent, such as her sub-lieutenant Pietro Lokosh. Ervos would find Pietro's weaknesses, like his family, and then extort him with the threat of violence into giving Ervos information about how Marchesa moved her personnel. Marchesa replied that she of course would suspect such a subterfuge and end Pietro Lokosh's life as a precaution. Likewise, she would locate Ervos's spy and flip his allegiance with the promise of gold, allowing her to keep better tabs on the smuggler, feeding back the information she would want him to hear until she decided to kill the spy and retrieve her gold.

Ervos in turn, knew that the spy would be used against him and that any person in his organization would ultimately be corrupted by Marchesa's promises. He also knew that he was not as adept at knowing people as her, seeing all the variables. So in the end, Ervos knew that he would not be able to kill her. Still, he knew that as their businesses continued to square off against the other, one of them would have to die. So instead of letting her kill him, he would poison himself, knowing he would be dead despite any schemes he might plan.

Having shared all this, it was apparent as he was coughing up blood, that Ervos had indeed poisoned himself, and was dying. Marchesa told him she was shocked and impressed at his display, and revealed that she had planned to have him killed at his secret penthouse in his sleep two nights later. She admitted to him that it seemed she would be blamed for his death and face retaliation from his associates.

Ervos smiled, now shaking as he tried to hold himself up in his chair, but then slumped forward, face into his plate, dead.

Marchesa sighed and fidgeted with her rings. She stood up, pushed her chair back, and walked over Ervos's body. She wanted to kiss him on the forehead, but she knew Ervos would have put poison on his skin to prey upon any compassion she might show.

Instead, she walked out of the room to summon her butler, who had been in the backyard since before Ervos arrived, digging a hole for his body. Marchesa had known all along that her rival would take his own life, but she wanted him to think he had had the final victory as he died, as thanks for his long-standing services.

Story appearances

Title	Author	Publishing date	Set	Setting (plane)	Featuring
The Black Rose	Matt Knicl	2014-05-21	Conspiracy	Fiora	Marchesa d'Amati, Ervos Trax, Grenzo, Pietro Lokosh

In-game references

Represented in:

• Marchesa's Smuggler

Depicted in:

• Marchesa, the Black Rose

Quoted or referred to:

• Liquimetal Torque