Negotiator (Remastered)

After a year spent covered in the muck and blood of battle and death Vlad has changed. The
wraith has become infamous. He's fought and there have been victories losses and sacrifices
and nothing has changed. It's time for a new direction. Unfortunately the only way forward
goes through the wizard criminal underworld. He's here to make a deal and he's willing to
pay in bodies.

Excerpt:

It really doesn't matter how rich or old or sophisticated a society is. As long as
a society is made up of individuals, there are always going to be certain things. Greed,
stupidity, pointless traditions. Too many to think about and stay sane. At the moment, the
inevitability that Vlad found himself dealing with was crime. As long as there are laws, there
are always going to be people who want to break them. He was one of those people.
Technically speaking, the fact that he was still breathing was against wizard law.

But since he broke that one all the time he hardly ever thought about it. The specific crime
he was attempting to commit at the moment was the purchase of illegal materials from a
known criminal organization.

Walking up to the table Vlad's wondered what a normal person would feel about
that. Ashamed, maybe? He was no good judge about that kind of thing. Normalcy both
mystified and frightened him.

Knights didn't strut but there was a certain swagger to them. A predatory kind of
grace that was difficult to hide if you weren't trying. Vlad wasn't trying. The two guards
Rocco had with him at the table tensed a little as he approached. Hands twitched to hidden
weapons.