Inside an apartment in the suburbs of Nikz.
A handsome man and woman closed the door after entering.
"This rain got way too much in the way."
Removing the top hat from his head, a tall man with a stern expression threw the hat onto the table with all his strength, making it slide across the entire surface before falling to the floor.
"That's just your excuse, Jaiden. You're the one who failed to locate him and now you're blaming the weather."
Disappointed and angry, the socially dressed woman wearing pants and a white vest removed the dark blindfold she had over her eyes.
"This kind of thing is expensive, Jaiden..."
A peculiarly calm voice echoed softly through the apartment.
Immediately both the gentleman and the lady looked toward the voice and dropped to their knees.
"Lord Fate… Welcome. I, I mean, we didn't know we would be visited by you."
The woman stumbled while trying to answer.
Beside her, Jaiden was in even worse shape, completely petrified and without the courage to say a single word.
"Thank you for the respect, Gianni, but the ascendant is more important right now. What progress have you made?"
Illuminating the apartment's living room was a tall figure carrying a candle. His orange eyes carried a lifeless glow while his long hair had the shade of fluffy snow.
Slowly Jaiden and Gianni regained their composure. Even though he was almost the same height as the one holding the candle, Jaiden kept his eyes closed beneath the blindfold he wore.
Without any flashy movement, in a single second the three of them were seated at the table, with the candle-bearing figure occupying the seat of honor. And the top hat that had previously been thrown to the floor was now positioned in front of Jaiden.
"So, sir, the ascendant is named Tom and he's a rookie member of the Moonlight mercenary squad…"
Without trying to embellish the information in an attempt to impress Fate, Gianni explained in detail everything she knew about Tom, or rather, everything she had bought information about him.
"You know a lot, yet not much about what interests us. Move on to the problematic part."
The master maintained his apathetic tone of voice.
"Two days ago we approached him and were going to bring him with us, but another ascendant appeared and blocked our spatial displacement. I ended up choosing the safe option and didn't fight, after all there were two ascendants. And afterward we tried to locate him, but he simply no longer appears to our eyes."
"Do you know the identity of the one who helped him?" Fate flicked the table in boredom.
"I believe you may remember Malivor Begger."
"The troublemaker who preferred imprisonment over joining the Deorder… Yes, I remember him."
"His key emanates an unstable but powerful energy."
He opened a mocking and irritated smile while replaying that memory from the past in his mind.
"A contr…"
"Ah, yes, there's als—"
Gianni's face completely froze and her eyes nearly bulged wide open the moment she realized she had interrupted Fate while he was speaking.
"Sorry, forgive me sir!"
She was lowering her head when an invisible force pressed against her, preventing the movement.
"No, continue."
"Uh, yes… according to the source, Tom was trying to discover who Malivor's Superior is because he was looking into divine channeling rituals. It's also possible the ritual was for himself, but according to the source it was for Malivor."
"That… That… That explains several things, including the reason why I'm here."
All of Gianni's attention turned toward him.
"Your eyes can't find him because there is some force trying to protect him. Even mine are having difficulty seeing him right now."
Even Lord Fate can't fully see him?
"What do we do now?" She asked.
Shifting his gaze away from the two seated figures, he stared fixedly at the door before the orange coloration in his irises completely lost its glow.
"Vert Artery No. 11 is where he's heading." He then extinguished the candle, leaving the place dark once more.
Gianni turned to ask more questions when she noticed the seat of honor at the table was empty. Fate had already left.
"Come on, we have to go."
She spoke to her brother while placing the black blindfold back over her eyes.
…
I need to test this.
Achoo!
"To the Bell Tavern, please!"
At that moment Tom's finances remained stable for those small expenses since he had one obra and 63 zenns, or 1063 zenns after conversion, even after paying for both the book loan and now the carriage ride.
…
Vein No. 18, Borges Street
Quickly changing environments after arriving, soon he was seated in front of a middle-aged man with brown hair and beard, who was talking with and serving other customers.
The tavern was packed, complete with live music from an artisan band, not to mention the several vampires speaking loudly.
Removing a large mug of beer and placing it in front of the mercenary, the tavern keeper immediately filled it until it overflowed with the yellowish, foamy alcoholic drink.
"On the house, madman"
That nickname... He wanted to erase that from memory.
Tom looked once at the mug and once at Ouden. Even though the first round was free…
"No, I'll pass this time. Ouden. I need information, are you willing to negotiate?"
After finishing delivering a few dishes from the kitchen and serving several loud customers who were singing, drunk on joy and free from the worries of everyday life—
"Very well, Tom. What are we talking about?"
"The black market. I need to go there."
The pale-skinned man didn't appear affected in the slightest by the mercenary's words, maintaining his relaxed posture and distant crimson gaze.
"You know you could ask your captain, right?"
"Consider it a side mission."
Pulling the golden coin representing one obra from one of the overcoat pockets, Tom placed it on the table.
"Half of this to take me there. What do you say?"
Looking from one side to the other, the vampire briefly bit his lower lip before sighing.
After reflecting for a moment, Ouden removed the wood-colored apron he was wearing, delegated the work to another employee, and walked around the side of the counter.
Since he was the owner of the establishment, no one was going to stop him.
Lastly, he picked up the gold coin and returned half of its value as change.
"Alright, let's go."
Since it had been a quick process, Tom returned to the same carriage he had used coming from the library.
After both gentlemen sat on opposite sides of the transport, the mercenary looked toward the vampire tavern keeper so he could indicate the destination.
"Vert Artery No. 11, but drop us off at No. 12 preferably." Ouden told the coachman.
And so the two departed.
Still midway through the trip, Ouden came up with a question.
"So now, what exactly are you looking for in the black market?"