...nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers
nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:10
It was quite unfortunate for the immortal soul of Farek—assuming he had one to begin with— that he was all of these things. He was a merchant in the broadest of terms, but it is safe to reason that merchant is a title that rouses quite less suspicion than huckster or swindler or anything similar that suggested what he really was: a purveyor of deciet, lies, information, and, not to be discounted, illegal wares. He had also been referred to as a brigand for past acts of highway robbery against numerous caravans in the desert lands to the south, but as far as Farek was concerned, that fact was neither necessary or prudent to reveal.
Farek was as greedy as the Arab looters at Rhodes, as decadent as Caligula himself, and as unscrupulous as Genghis Khan Temujin, though, in his defense, he was not as bloodthirsty as each of his historical counterparts. That fact, of course, did not absolve himself from living a life of wickedness and greed; and while he was not truly evil, he was, at best, morally ambiguous, though the two terms are not so dissimilar at the most rudimentary of levels.
Still, Farek did not live a life of luxury, despite his great success in the businesses of smuggling and hucksterism. He chose to live among the urchins and guttersnipes, the hungry and the wretched, because they were the easiest to exploit. Whether it was weapons, various pipe weeds and other narcotics, or information, Farek knew how to keep the customers returning for more. After all, it is impossible to make a profit by teaching a man to fish.
Those with which he dealt were considered the dregs of RhyDinian society. Most were parolled criminals or criminals who had never been caught at all. Farek also shared in this type of background, having been imprisoned for a decade in a bustling metropolis to the South. So, Farek felt quite at home amongst the scum of the earth, but that did not mean he did not keep a wickedly curved dagger where the tooth fairy left it, just in case.
After all, it's difficult to sleep when you're the wealthiest man in the slums.
1 Corinthians 6:10
It was quite unfortunate for the immortal soul of Farek—assuming he had one to begin with— that he was all of these things. He was a merchant in the broadest of terms, but it is safe to reason that merchant is a title that rouses quite less suspicion than huckster or swindler or anything similar that suggested what he really was: a purveyor of deciet, lies, information, and, not to be discounted, illegal wares. He had also been referred to as a brigand for past acts of highway robbery against numerous caravans in the desert lands to the south, but as far as Farek was concerned, that fact was neither necessary or prudent to reveal.
Farek was as greedy as the Arab looters at Rhodes, as decadent as Caligula himself, and as unscrupulous as Genghis Khan Temujin, though, in his defense, he was not as bloodthirsty as each of his historical counterparts. That fact, of course, did not absolve himself from living a life of wickedness and greed; and while he was not truly evil, he was, at best, morally ambiguous, though the two terms are not so dissimilar at the most rudimentary of levels.
Still, Farek did not live a life of luxury, despite his great success in the businesses of smuggling and hucksterism. He chose to live among the urchins and guttersnipes, the hungry and the wretched, because they were the easiest to exploit. Whether it was weapons, various pipe weeds and other narcotics, or information, Farek knew how to keep the customers returning for more. After all, it is impossible to make a profit by teaching a man to fish.
Those with which he dealt were considered the dregs of RhyDinian society. Most were parolled criminals or criminals who had never been caught at all. Farek also shared in this type of background, having been imprisoned for a decade in a bustling metropolis to the South. So, Farek felt quite at home amongst the scum of the earth, but that did not mean he did not keep a wickedly curved dagger where the tooth fairy left it, just in case.
After all, it's difficult to sleep when you're the wealthiest man in the slums.