The first gear. (4)

When Gabriel stepped through the open door, he found himself in a tavern, a long counter with three bartenders standing behind it. The walls were lined with various types of alcohol, a door amidst the liquor leading into the kitchen that prepared all the food. Even with all his walking, since he left before the sun even rose, it was only around the afternoon. But even so, there were already quite a few people here, sharing a meal as they chatted and drank.

"Good day my friend, how can I help you cure your ails?"

The bartender called out to him with a smile as he stopped in front of the counter, ignoring his small stature and suspicious appearance.

"I'd like a bottle of Kandar wine. It has to be at least 12 years old and mixed with dragon's blood of at least 25% purity, if its from a fire dragon then I'll pay extra. Put it in a chilled glass made from refined salt crystals and top it with five drops of Taran oil."

The bartender's smile faltered for a second as Gabriel listed out his order, but he quickly managed to return to his normal facade. He opened the hatch next to him and gestured towards the kitchen.

"Then it seems you'll have to pay extra, good sir. Please, go ahead and choose the blood you would like to use, consider it an extra service."

Gabriel stepped past the hatch, which was closed behind him again, and entered the bustling kitchen. The people working the stations were all busy, but none of them glanced at the foreign entity that entered the kitchen.

Gabriel walked over to the open storage room located at the side of the kitchen and pushed aside the rug, pushing the wooden floor a bit with his foot. The wood gave way slightly and then slide aside, revealing a descending set of stairs.

Following the stairs, the entrance closed behind him, the only bit of light coming from below. At the base of the stairs was a circular hall that was almost completely empty, save for a table and two couches at the centre. Other than the stairs behind him, there were six other entrances scattered about the room.

"…"

Gabriel inspected the room. Compared to what it would look like in the future, it really was quite barren. The person in charge right now should be the father of the future Black Fox, it seemed like they had rather differing tastes.

"Not going to take a seat?"

A heavy voice echoed through the room as Gabriel was observing it, a figure descending from one of stairs and making its way towards one of the couches. The figure looked to be a male, their voice as well, a rather robust body covered in dark brown leather and a face obscured by a mask resembling a gorilla. The man sat down on one couch, Gabriel taking a seat on the other.

"There's no one like you amongst the people who know the code, and I hardly think any of them are the kind to send a kid in their stead. You'd best pay well, newcomer."

Gabriel flashed a small smile beneath the mask, locking gaze with a pair of blue eyes. The man didn't even ask where he learned the code or who he worked for, all he cared about was how much he would get paid. In that regard, his son would be a bit better in the future.

"So. What do you need?"

The man leaned back, hands crossed in front of his chest. He was the current leader of the fifth-largest information guild in this empire, there was almost nothing he couldn't get his hands on. They also worked closely with the assassination guilds so having them kill someone was easy. But today, Gabriel didn't come to order an assassination.

"Three tasks. One, I want a logbook delivered to the Golden Sparrow Jewelries. Two, I want a Spirit Sealing Bead, middle-grade at the lowest. Three, there's an unmarked orphanage located beyond the borders of the city, quite a bit in fact. I want it investigated, I want to know what the caretakers ate, shat, and dreamt in the last five years."

A Spirit Sealing Bead was, exactly as the name suggested, a bead that temporarily sealed spirits of equivalent and lower grades. They were indispensable when it came to war and imprisonment of certain people.

"Golden Sparrow…"

The gorilla-masked man murmured for a bit, his thoughts moving behind his blue eyes. Golden Sparrow Jewelleries was something similar to the tavern above, a cover for something else entirely. But while this organization was independent, the one working within the Golden Sparrow was owned by a troublesome person, the eldest daughter of the Vritara family.

"All three tasks can be done, but the bead will be expensive. How are you planning on paying?"

In the end, it was luckily just delivering a report and not an assassination. But in the end, it all relied on the price. This child, would he even be able to pay?

"Karas Veck"

Gabriel's fingers traced the couch beneath him, the darkness moving. He saw the man's pupils contract as his gaze hardened. Yes, this was exactly why he waited until now with bringing the things out. He had to show that he was a mage, he had to show that he could use an element from the Divine Star, he had to make the man wary.

His hand sank into the darkness and pulled out two things. The first was the logbook he stole from Leonardo's secrete compartment, and the second was the necklace he also stole from Leonardo, one bead still missing. Both were placed on the table, the hardened gaze of the masked man now locked onto that ornate necklace.

Gabriel could see the light in his eyes, the fire dancing in its depth. Ah, his son was never like this, his emotions never showed when he made a deal. No wonder he took over before he even became an adult.

"There's a tree in the plaza adorned with the spearmaster. A woodpecker has punched eight holes into it, use number three from the bottom. You can put the bead in there immediately, include one of your contact points as well."

Gabriel had finished his business so he stood up, he didn't even need to ask if the necklace was enough. If the man sold it, especially to the right customer, he could easily get enough to buy at least five middle-grade Spirit Sealing Beads. The man quickly returned to reality when Gabriel spoke, the lips hidden behind his mask turning into a wide grin as he grabbed the two items.

"Looking forward to doing more business with you in the future."

Gabriel retraced his steps and returned to the tavern, leaving it without even looking at the bartenders or chefs. The streets outside were the same as when he entered, barely any time had passed after all. He continued to retrace his steps, his fingers dancing a bit through the air as he seemed to hum a low tune.

But then, just as he was about to pass an alley, he stepped sideways and entered the shade of the buildings.

"Karas Dila Ka."

The spell was completed because of his dancing fingers so the darkness immediately moved and obeyed. Dila wasn't just a word that sounded quite similar to the Dilu for Store, its function was quite similar, it Hid something using the shadows. Ka was the translation for Me, so by using the three words together, the shadows rose up and swallowed him whole before they sank back into the ground.

"Eh?"

Not long after he vanished, two people peered into the alley, their figures hidden by loose robes. Information was the lifeblood of the gorilla-masked man's organization, the Night Pack. Naturally, he could not just let Gabriel leave without at least learning a bit about him.

The two quickly searched the alley, but naturally could not find any traces of him. They rushed off somewhere, but Gabriel still didn't move. He remained in the darkness for another half hour until he finally heard the sound of light shuffling, barely audible footsteps sneaking away.

Just to be on the safe side, he waited another half hour and only then left the shadows. He quickly scurried through the back alleys, hopping about seemingly at random until he finally returned to the alley where he hid his clothes.

He removed the mask and changed back into his uniform, ditching both the old clothes and the mask in the heap of trash there. He had no more mana left so he couldn't store them.

He left the alley and continued retracing his steps, eventually approaching the plaza with the agreed upon tree after a fair b it of time. He didn't enter it straight away and instead found a secluded spot away from the plaza. He ruffled his hair and smeared some dust into both his hair and onto his face, tugging at his uniform to loosen it so that it looked shabbier. He wasn't wearing his sword so now he looked the part of a homeless kid.

He then stalked the outskirts of the plaza until he found what he was looking for, a duo of patrolling guards. They were chatting with each other quite casually so he ran up to them, stumbling as he did so.

"Sir knight, Sir knight! I saw some strange men in the alley over by that building, they were climbing up to the roof! I wanted to ask what they were doing, but they chased me away and even kicked me! I think they had weapons!"

He played the part of a panicked kid, clinging to the guards with a death-grip as he pointed, with a trembling finger, at a building that was close to the tree he had found. The expression of the guards immediately hardened. Even if they thought this was just a kid's prank, they had to check it out, it was their job after all.

"Kid, wait right here. Carto, let's go."

The guards immediately darted off, drawing a fair bit of attention from the surrounding people. Gabriel watched their backs for a bit before he started to walk, the muffled sounds of a scuffle reaching him before long.

He walked through the plaza and up to the tree, reaching into the specified hole. When he pulled his arm back, he was now holding a red bead covered in dark blue lines as well as a stud earring that was adorned by a transparent crystal. He stuffed the items into his pocket and turned his head slightly. The building he had pointed at was now almost completely surrounded by people, onlookers trying to get a glimpse at what was going on.

He hadn't done his preliminary inspection for nothing. This tree, due to its shape and location, the roof of that building was the only place from which you could get a proper look at it from a distance. Certainly, if he had been the leader of the Night Pack, that was where he would have put his people to check who came to pick up the items.

"Alright, let's go buy some sheets now."

He casually strode away from the tree, heading in the opposite direction of the crowd.

——

Alice had her head somewhat lowered, Leonardo standing at her side with his head similarly lowered. She could hear his huffing breath so he was probably still angry. But he couldn't voice it, not in front of the girl sitting in front of them, sighing as she looked at them.

"Really. Must you make such a pointless fuss so early in the morning?"