Now imps are one type of Fae we have yet to
interview, they are also notoriously difficult to locate. As it happens, we
have our very own in-house imp here at Black Wednesday’s so this is our first interview
with a staff member.
At 61 years old, Tarene Nahge is just under
middle age for an imp and she stands at an average 5ft 1in tall. Her height is actually
the only thing we might describe as average about Tarene.
Before being sentenced for major larceny, she
dealt in antiquities and precious artefacts. Since imps are considered trustworthy
individuals and are revered amongst the fae as nocturnal protectors, you could
say Taryn was born with the ideal cover for her crimes.
A reserved yet charming woman, many have made
the mistake of assuming that she is introverted or terribly shy. The opposite
is closer to the truth; Tarene is highly observant and clever enough to know
when to play her cards close to her chest. Smart enough to take a day job and
embezzle her cash but like the majority of us here not smart enough to not get
caught.
Interesting as Tarene comes from a middle
wealth background; her family have never been poor which begs the question why
did she choose a life of theft? The answer is simply that she likes the thrill
of stealing. She explains the lure, how enticing breaking and entering is, how out-smarting
technology and making a clean get away with someone else’s valuables makes her
feel alive. Tarene also has a clean set of rules; she loftily affirms that the
things she steals have to be of great value. A careful opportunist, she is not
a risk taker outside of her ‘job,’ and even then, she plots and treads with
caution. She is, as she likes to remind us, ‘no petty crook.’
Handy that her father is a locksmith working
for a security company, tinkering with locks and alarm systems is therefore second
nature to Tarene. Her first job was for
this same company, a job spanning enough years for her to learn all the tricks
and ticks of the security systems they were selling. Shifting to sales was
likely the beginning of her career, since those who refused to buy would find
their homes broken into shortly after and would immediately call to get
security installed.
Knowledge of antiquities came later in Tarene’s
life, after meeting a crooked dealer seeking particularly rare items. She would
always deliver, so it didn’t take him long to figure she was a thief. Once clarified, he asked her to get rarer
items for the black market and so their lucrative yet illicit business relationship
began.
As far as criminals go the length of Tarene’s record
is quite impressive if we do say so. She managed to evade capture for a good
seven years before they tracked her down and shipped her off to Black
Wednesdays like the rest of us.
Tarene is not a lover of material possessions;
she never owned a grand house and her coin never went on jewels or lavish
goods. She used her profit modestly to keep her family, a saver in fact the
majority of it remained tucked away in several accounts. Saved perhaps for the
time she might need to make a quick getaway and escape the authorities. Shame for
Tarene then that her accounts were located before she was, preventing any great
escape she had planned.
Her one self-expenditure over the years has
been on her looks. Yes, Tarene is the vain sort, one who proudly plays with her
‘flowing locks,’ daily and spends hours preening in the mirror. In fact, she
gets quite offended when we point out that five clumps of hair doesn’t equate
to flowing locks. Still, as most imps aren’t blessed with any hair on their heads
we can appreciate her pride, in the same way we appreciate stale bread after
three days without eating.
Overall Tarene is a quiet soul, not a boisterous
persona and one who effectively blends into the backdrop of our offices. You
could say we forget she’s there at times but that’s probably because as a doubtlessly
intelligent and sneaky individual she’s busy scheming who to steal from next.
So yes, when expensive things go missing in
the studio we know who has them.
………….
Editor’s note: After reading her interview,
Tarene curtly informed us that she has six clumps of hair not five.
