Robbing the Hood

Unsteady the Foundation
Xavier wasn’t sure how he felt about taking up any kind of leadership role again. When he had been the God-King of Rhaegar, things had been… complicated, at best. Despite the near century he ruled over the planet, it hadn’t really made any kind of advancement towards peace. He’d thought he’d established peace, of course; he was on the top and the people that had been under the former rulers had taken power and control. But all he had done was replace one tyrant with another. He was, at least, self-aware enough to realize that. Now that he was on Earthland, he’d been given a second chance to make something of his life. He’d spent the majority of the year he was on the planet just learning how to survive and thrive. It hadn’t been easy but as a man that started out poor, he knew what it was like to survive against the odds.

He had been starting to make a name for himself too. He’d saved up a decent amount of jewel and was beginning to attract the attention of representatives. His music was fresh and exciting and he was getting rave reviews. Unfortunately Xavier -- or rather Trevor Winters, as went by -- didn’t have the wherewithal to know who was or wasn’t legitimate. And he was talked into handing over what he had saved to a nasty, corrupt individual who claimed to be on the up and up with the musical industry. Of course nothing ever came of it; the man took the jewel and then cut off all communications. It wasn’t until Xavier began to ask around that he learned that he’d been scammed by a rather rich man who owned his own recording studio. And he wasn’t the first; it seemed a wide variety of unknown artists had been approached by different individuals, promising them riches and fame and taking their savings without recompense.

The rich and powerful keeping the little man down. Yeah, he knew a little about that.

Most of the others that had been scammed had given up fighting their misfortune and tried to move on. Actually taking time to do his research this time, Xavier began to suspect that the individuals weren’t working by themselves but were part of a collective of powerful men and women. They wanted to keep the status quo and stomped out any that could take away attention or jewel. They also only seemed to promote artists that they ‘discovered’. And that was just one portion of the world; all over Ishgar, there were companies, corporations and rulers that kept their heels square on the necks of the ones that had helped elevate them.

It was disheartening to learn that corruption wasn’t just a side effect of his own world. It was universal, multi-dimensional even. And no one was trying to bring down the people doing the wrongs, at least not in a way that worked. Sure, Fiore’s Rune Knights tried to target illegal activities but they couldn’t do shit against things like this because it was legal to a point. It was just morally wrong and the people on top couldn’t be toppled by Knights arresting them. They would find a way to use the legal system to get out of it. No, they needed to be taught a lesson about their hubris and brought down without even being aware of their own swindling -- just deserts.

It couldn’t be an outright rebellion either. Not only would that be squashed and ignored, Xavier wasn’t looking to start a revolution again. It had been too big, too much for his younger self. Tying in the death of his father and he’d become unstable. No, something smaller; a group of people that could use their cunning and wit to earn trust and get into places and to people that would usually be impossible to reach. A band of thieves, just like he’d heard about when he was younger. Even on Rhaegar, there had been tales of rogues that came together to rob the wealthy and take their power and influence.

Now that was something he could get behind. Once more the alien Xavier was forced to use his limited circle of connections to learn how he could assemble people. The good news was that the poor were very attuned on how to get information around to those that were less than savory. Promising a few favors, Xavier was able to send out several different notices -- promotional material that was written in such a way that people that understood the lingo could interpret it. He also asked that word be passed around, a message asking for help and wanting to recruit being forwarded via word of mouth. He’d set a meeting place and a time, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn’t be the lone attendee.

Reinford was a very busy place, a city of industry and trade. But as it had advanced and grown, several places had run down and become desolate. One such place was a former administration building to a trading company long forgotten. Left to fall apart and home to only squatters over the years, it went largely unnoticed by the rest of the city. It provided a perfect headquarters for a group of up and comers to meet and plan their heists. It was certainly far from glorious but hopefully, should they succeed, their profits would help them renovate. And with the perfect cover in place to allow them to connect to the wide world, they had a good chance of turning the favor towards them.

Xavier would be waiting in the former reception area of the building. It was in a sorry state, most of the molding and structure crumbling and cracked. With his hands tucked in his jeans, Xavier leaned against the wall of the former attendant area, watching the main doorway with fixed intent.