A Street Performance (4)

The ‘red herring’ pawn shop was as similar as it was different. The familiar haphazard line of random objects spanned each shelf, but what seemed to have changed. That wooden slab was gone, not that I remembered what it was called, and replaced with some kind of chalice called a Zarf. The Detritus Hole, meanwhile, had been moved slightly. Of course, the muscular pirate that was the owner stood on the opposite side of the countertop, training his robotic-looking eyes on me. If I had to say one thing that changed…

…he was threatening to kill me this time.

“Why did ya come back h’re? And what are those fancy clothin’ you’re wearin’?” he scowled. Four spears of dirt shot out of the ground surrounded me, hovering just inches away from my neck.

“Clothes? Oh do you mean my suit?” I had dispelled my (fake) teleportation, but it seemed like I forgot to do so for my costume too.

“Yeah, those. Are ya working for a noble now?” The spears inched ever so closer, ready to pierce me if I gave the wrong answer.

“Um, no, I’m not. I was just using it to put on a street show,” I said hesitantly, making sure to get my words across clearly.

“Street show? Ah, was that fire bird yours?”

“You saw?”

“Yeah. Been a while since a spell was fired on the streets. Guards get ‘em pretty fast.” His expression visibly softened, but the spears remained where they were.

“Um, by the way, why such a hostile response…?”

“Well, my customers are not the type to pawn off an invaluable ring from royalty and stick around, ya know?”

“Oh…” Yeah, that makes sense. I didn’t think about that whatsoever, mainly because of how little I knew of this world. Doing research was Survival 101, but I had been making due with all the gray in-betweens as an ‘illegal’ of the capital. I expected the outside world to have beasts and bandits and all manner of things to kill me, but I never bothered to verify that. It was simply a presumption from my familiarity with games and books. Of course, that didn’t mean I was wrong, but that didn’t mean I was right either.

First thing’s first though. “Well, I came for some more information.”

“Hah? For what? You don’t got anything worthwhile except cash.”

I averted my eyes slightly. “Well, I was hoping you would give some more because of our previous trade…”

“What?” The man’s eyes narrowed. “That transaction’s closed. Don’t tell me ya spent it all already? What kind of stupid scam did ya fall for?”

“Well… a suit…”

“Suit? Wait, from Elvira?”

I gave a nod in response.

He stared at me for a few seconds before massaging his temples in annoyance. “That woman… but I guess it works out,” he muttered. “What do ya want to know? I’m guessin’ about the guards?”

“How did you know?”

“If y’re usin’ magic on the streets, there’s no way ya didn’t catch their eye. I assume ya remember my last piece of advice?”

“‘Don’t go to the castle’, right?”

“Yeah. They’re basically workin’ for them. They find anyone with talent and take ‘em to meet the bastard duke.”

“And then they’re turned into assassins,” I finished.

“Yeah, right on the mark.” I felt a growing pit in my stomach, especially after remembering what the queen told me.

“It feels wrong, doesn’t it?” The familiar voice echoed in my ear, forcing my mouth to move.

“Why does no one stop them?”

“It’s only one or two every week or so, and almost no one who works above the ground. Though, the main reason is because opinion is split on havin’ the bastard duke or the queen rule.”

“Then why does she have to die?”

“Can’t the queen just retire then?”

“Does she want to retire?” he responded, giving a questioning look. “Well, no matter. Even if she did, they would still send killers after her. There are rumors goin’ around that the bastard duke is trying to sell the country. It probably won’t affect us, but if it does badly, it could easily cause a backlash.”

“So, it's trying to remove potential threats.”

“Yep. That’s just how it is. Ain’t nothing we can do about it.”

“Are you sure?”

“...”

“Well, if y’re on their radar, as long as ya keep runnin’ around, it should be fine. They got no spatial mages with that crap ritual goin’ on. Though, they’ll eventually catch ya. Get out as soon as ya can if ya want to live,” the man rambled, though I could tell he was trying to change the topic.

I decided to take the bait. “...I was gonna ask that next.”

“Huh? About leavin’?”

“Yeah, I heard that I can’t teleport outside the gates.”

“Ah, yeah. They’ve got a barrier that dispels mana in a fifty foot radius. Yeah, makes sense ya can’t leave that way.”

“...so you know of another.”

“Huh? You don’t?”

“What would I know?”

He seemed to be genuinely surprised. “Ugh… nevermind. But it’s gonna cost ya.”

“How much?”

“Ten thousand.”

“...you’ve got to be kidding me.” Even a month at the hotel was only two thousand reales. This was five times that, and just to leave a city!

“We’re the ones takin’ the risk h’re, so take it or leave it. There’s no negotiation. But if ya want an easier way.” The spears of dirt closed in once again, stopping just a hair's width away from my neck.

Okay… calm down and think about this. I should be able to make that much in a week, and it’s not like I have any expenses. I can gather information about the surrounding area over the next few days too. So, why do I feel…

“I think you already know.”

…but I can’t let my emotions jeopardize my safety. I don’t have the power anyway.

“Fine. Give me fifteen days. I should have everything I need by then.”

“Durin’ the queen’s birthday? Perfect.” He stuck out his hand, letting the spears fall back into the ground. I reluctantly shook it.

“Pleasure to work with ya.”