The Quest of Pursuit (Part I)
The Quest of Pursuit (Part I)
Under the dim light, the men were bare-chested, their sweaty backs revealed. They sat at the bar table in the center, gulping down pints of cheap beer while chatting noisily with their companions. The scantily-clad maids were interspersed among the beer tables filling up the guests' glasses.
He looked around and found himself a target—a petite man who was sitting in the corner, and there was a withered wild rose on this table.
Theo walked towards the bar and ordered a pint of beer. He slowly savored the bitterness while looking around to see if there was anyone else secretly watching the petite man. He was very satisfied with what he saw. Although patrons would occasionally glance towards the corner, most were inadvertent. Only one person at the center table made the effort to cover his observation with his beer glass.
One person to connect, another person to coordinate was the practice of Rats in the Black Street, which was coincided with Theo's understanding.
"One more," he shouted at the bartender, "iced."
"Sir, the price of cold beer is double," the bartender reminded.
Theo threw a silver royals out and said, "The icier the better."
Theo walked towards the petite man with the foaming beer in hand and poured it onto the wild rose. The cold beer flowed down the curled petals. The man raised his head and said impatiently, "Pouring such a good beer on the table instead of drinking it, are you crazy?"
"Paying respect to the rose," Theo smiled and sat opposite the other party. "We've been looking for you."
"It only proved that you weren't looking at the right direction," he rudely said, "but since you're a customer... go ahead, how can I help you? Ask for a clue, to steal, to redeem the lost property, or stolen goods?"
"Neither, I hope you can help me to spread a rumor."
"That's not within the business scope of the Wild Rose." He shook his head.
"No, no, no. You would be interested in anything as long as it could be paid with gold royals." Theo shook his finger at him. "Young man, I'm not a layman. In order to get the prey hooked, we sometimes need to create a bait and rumor is the best bait, which has no evidence and arresting point. It's safer than stealing."
"This sounds very reasonable, "the other party straightened, showing a trace of a smile. "You've commissioned Wild Rose before?"
"I once entrusted your competitor from a small place. The name isn't as elegant as yours, and they can't do much."
"The business scope is too small and it's hard to find the right business whereas in Silver City, competition is fierce." He picked up the wild rose and shook it off a little before putting it into his pocket. "So, what kind of rumors do you need to spread?"
"News about the witches." Theo smiled. "An organization called the Witch Cooperation Association has found Holy Mountain in the Western Region, and they've overcome the Demonic Torture and gained eternal peace.
"Brother, this news is really..." The petite man clucked. "Really old school. Although I rarely abet the customers on deceiving, you have to at least come out with one that makes more sense. Let me guess, either you're trying to abduct a witch or to act against the church. For the latter, you would only be waiting for the Judgement Army to hang you to death, so I would think it's the former..." He showed a nasty smile. "Unfortunately, as far as I know, almost all of those who wanted to catch the witches and sell them for money are dead. Even though they all have God's Stone of Retaliation with them, those women aren't idiots."
"Why doesn't it make sense?" Theo asked curiously.
"A union organized by the witches is just like the moon in the dark night sky. If it was true, the church would certainly flock there, and if I were a witch, I wouldn't go to that kind of place. If it was false, then I would have no reason to go there. As for the Demonic Torture, brother, are you serious? Witches are the embodiment of the devil, and this is such a big lie that even the witches will scoff."
"Then just spread it like this," Theo said without taking it seriously.
"The customer has the final say." The petite man shrugged. "Anyway, I have to remind you that it costs 20 gold royals."
"Do I pay in one shot?"
"Yes, Wild Rose doesn't accept any deposit or final payment," he said, "and the trade is entirely voluntary."
Theo sighed. He took out a sack from his pocket and poured 19 gold royals on the table, and then he seized a handful of silver royals which were only the size of a fingernail and counted out 100 pieces before pushing the money toward the man in front of him. The latter only checked the authenticity of the gold royals and swept all the money into his bag.
After receiving the money, the petite man was much more relaxed. "It's rare that Wild Rose can't deliver what was promised. As I told you before, the competition in Silver City is very fierce, and our reputation would be ruined if we deceived the customers. If you're not in a hurry to return to the Western Region, you could stay here for a few more days. You'll hear the news everywhere not before long.
"Will it spread to the witches' ears?"
"Of course, but it depends if they're willing to go. In short, I wish you success. You'll be able to cover the cost if you sell one to the church or you can earn more by selling them to the noble. Of course, if you can't find a way out and afraid to be found by the church, you can always come to us, we only charge a 10% of the introduction fee."
The petite man snapped and walked away with the bag. The man who was responsible for the coordination also got up and left soon after him. Theo finished the rest of his beer with a gulp after waiting 15 minutes and hiccupped before walking out of the pub.
His Highness' task was now complete. Theo had gone all around, first from Fallen Dragon Ridge, then to Redwater City, finally to Silver City, to find the Rats from Black Street and spread the news. Every city had a group of them in a dark corner. They formed an orderly and hidden organization even under the acquiescence of the lord, including the king's city of the Kingdom of Graycastle. What they could do was far more than those who spoke. As to what extent was mainly dependent on the number of gold royals the customers had.
The only difficulty was in finding a connection with the Rats. Not to mention it was rather difficult for him as an outsider to gain their trust. It cost him at least five gold royals just to speak to them. If it were not for his similar experience in the king's city, he would probably still be in the Fallen Dragon Ridge right now.
Walking on the way back to the hotel, he was aware of the strange atmosphere.
He was followed.
Although the other party was acting very subtly, however, Theo as a professional guard was aware of the presence of her. He quietly drew the dagger at his waist and turned into an alley on the edge.
Was it Wild Rose? He had purposely emptied the sack to find the 19 gold royals when he paid to avoid others from coveting. In general, they would not loot for a few hundreds of silver royals.
He leaned against the wall, counting the footsteps that were getting closer and closer. He rushed out suddenly as the other party was about to pass through the alley. His dagger suddenly appeared on the other party's neck.
"Don't move!" Theo shouted.
The other party suddenly turned into a mass of fog and disappeared.
[A witch!] He realized and before he could make a noise, his neck was hit heavily from behind. He suddenly felt a sense of dizziness and lost all his strength, falling to the ground.