[RP Academy] A Black Cup of Cola

[Renolion]

Still trying to strike a balance between expositionary details and proper Eurth-style RP

 

Adelfo Petrino was a man not to be trifled with. He was there to make sure his company survived regardless of outside factors, and he’d done that for years through both legal and illegal means. The Petrino Bottling Company produces nearly two billion bottles of cola and other products per day, and it wasn’t magic and prayers that had built that empire, no, it was ruthless expansion and the destruction of all those who opposed him and his company. 

Now he sat staring at his desk, a coffee mug full of cola and piles of papers staring back at him. Company operations were out of his hands at this point, he saw no reason to busy himself with what he now considered “mindless work”. His business masterpiece needed no more intervention from him, however his other piece of work needed to be finished before he could hang it in his hall of accomplishments. Cola was fine, but liquor was a far more interesting product. The Kingdom held a monopoly on the alcohol industry, regulating the sale, price, and locations of purchase, but this of course left many folk unsatisfied. One day there would be plenty of cheap wine and brandy, the next day you couldn’t find a single bottle of the fermented grapes and the brandy was 18 silocas per bottle. Petrino was one of many who had a ‘solution’.

Moonshining was a business not too different from making any other drink, just took more time. Throw your ingredients in a vat, add yeast if the need arises, wait, transfer it, distill it, age it, transport it, and call it a day. However, most moonshiners only sold locally which limited profits while minimizing risks and costs. Petrino on the other hand had a monopoly on the drink industry, and enough transports to start an army. Through his office door, two armed men entered. He knew these men, they were employees, good ones at that. Noticing that one of them had a briefcase with him, he began to speak with them.

“So, what’s the blessing and what’s the damnation?”

“At the price of a busted tire and a few scratch marks, we’ve sold all our remaining stock in Portus Adurni. 156,000 silocas total.”

“What’s that bring our daily total to?”

“A half-ish of a million sir.”

“Good, leave the briefcase next to my desk, I’ll see it stowed and distributed later.”

With a nod, the short affair ends, and the two men depart. To Petrino, they’re merely guards of his product, to everyone in the company they’re merely bodyguards for Petrino, and to the people of Portus Adruni, they’re the bringers of good times and cheap drinks. They’re Petrino Boys. Cola trucks were always more than capable of bringing a little extra “unlabeled product” upon request, and Petrino made sure that the right people new that if they cared for the stuff, then they’d best call him and ask for a special order regardless of if or if not it annoyed the govie’s.

Govie is slang for a employee of the Renolion Government, usually tax collectors.