Horror Stories from Horrified - Volume One (2)

Denholm had w illingly agr eed. Cheap labour and cheap staffing w ould mean
incr eased pr ofits. Far fr om shir king the deal, this was his defining moment. One
that he gr asped sw iftly and w illingly. It was his intent to make a killing.
The dead w er e as good as Cyanquille pr omised. They w or ked long and har d. They
needed to take no r est and pr oved to have an ample mix of skill and labour to allow
completion of the w or k. Denholm financed supplies, negotiating for these via a
nominee of Cyanquille, w ho under took efficient tr ansactions w ith Lucky in the
tow ns below , on Denholm?s behalf. Wher e business was concer ned, par ticular ly for
a man of Lucky?s flexibilities, death was no obstacle to good r elations. Men w er e
again w illing to ascend the mountain and w or k in the building at its peak.
Finally, the casino was r eady, staff w er e r ecr uited and tr ained. A suitably gr and
opening was pr epar ed. The die was cast and in a flur r y of car ds and notes, for tunes
again began to be accr ued to the sound of satisfied chips being banked.
The natur al beauty of the casino ensur ed that the balconies w er e once again
filled. Success and failur e at the tables still ensur ed a familiar polar isation in the
dir ection guests w er e to take along them, dictated by the fall of dice, car ds and the
ball of La Roulette.
Weeks tur ned to months and all Denholm had dr eamed of came to pass. Tour ists
sought out the casino. The tow n pr osper ed below and its gr ow ing w ealth tr avelled
back up the mountain, coming to eventual r est in Denholm?s gr ateful coffer s.
Tur nover exceeded expectations; costs w er e far below the most bear ish of
for ecasts, thanks to the alter nate ar r angements secur ed for staff and the labour s of
the dead. The casino had become mor e of a success in this r eincar nation than ever
it had been, even in its fir st.
The hunger that Denholm had for his dr eam, for his empir e, r emained
74