Nightwalker, Finalizations, and Beginning Preparation

"Nightwalker?" Drew asked in confusion.

The man's eyes darted around the store for a moment and he signaled for one of his apprentices to come forward.

A boy who appeared to be in his early teens approached hesitantly and stood at attention towards his mentor.

"Send everyone off, the shop is closed for today," He said decisively.

"What?!" The boy said in confusion.

"I said, Close the shop!" He said with almost a yell.

The boy nodded in shock and went around and got his fellow apprentices to help clear out the customers and send their apologies.

It only took a few minutes and a lot of complaints from the rich folks before the shop was cleared out and the apprentices stood at attention in a line near the door.

The man looked at the kids in anger and raised his hands hurriedly.

"What are you still doing here? I told you that the shop is closed!"

The apprentices looked at each other with confusion before nodding with relief.

'Didn't he say not too long ago that they were gonna have to spend an hour as punishment for their work?' Drew thought but remained silent.

'If they can get out of a punishment I don't mind not speaking up,'

The kids left and before long it was just Drew and the man, who he had yet to learn his name.

The man twirled his hands in the air and two of the chairs that were supposed to be used for measurements lifted through the air and positioned themselves across from each other.

He quickly sat down and motioned for Drew to do the same.

After settling for a moment the man took a deep breath to calm himself before speaking.

"It is quite obvious that you have met the Nightwalker of Lyre,"

Drew knitted his brow in confusion.

"I don't know what you are talking about... She was quite strange but she never called herself the 'Nightwalker',"

"That makes sense. Those who find her rarely know of her true identity,"

"She likes to remain mysterious,"

Drew thought back to his and her's interaction and recalled she did like to leave a lot of information out and she did seem quite strange.

"The 'woman' you are looking for happens to be a very powerful individual within Lyre,"

"And perhaps one of the strongest individuals of Lune in general... Though that I cannot say for certain,"

"The information I have is lacking and not a first-hand account. My sister works at the Church of Bram and has been studying history, specifically the past few hundred years and the legends of that time, therefore I have heard a little since she likes to chatter and we are quite close,"

"But what I know... I shall share,"

"The title that she has been given by the common folk was Nightwalker. It is how most refer to her as except for those who have met her in the past hundred years or so,"

"Hundred years?!" Drew said in disbelief.

"Yes, she has been around longer than me and most of the legends from her prime have passed into the realm of the dead,"

"I'm not sure how old she really is... but she is at least 200 years old,"

"That's what the stories say. The first story recorded of her was a little over 30 years after the Burning Rain Era," He said as cold air seemed to permeate the room at just the mention of those three words.

"The story says that she destroyed a man who was nearing the end of the transformation from being a mortal... to a demon,"

"She was named the Nightwalker after that feat because the half-demon she killed was a lord of shadows, and not only did she beat him at his own game... but she didn't even suffer a scratch,"

'Demons...' Drew thought as his mind began to wander slightly.

"It's just a story but the source of the tale is from a legendary seer who was not known to be a liar," The man said with reverie.

"No one knows exactly what happened but nearing the end of her mortal life a being cursed her and turned her into an animal... a black cat to be precise," He said while looking at Drew in anticipation.

"Y-yeah... It was a speaking black cat," Drew said in shock.

"Then it is true..."

"She disappeared after that..."

"Rumors appear of her from time to time,"

"They say she practices enchanting nowadays. Which makes sense for your interest in finding such a talented individual,"

"She goes by Jazzy now... I'm not sure why she chose that name but it honestly isn't any of my business," He says simply.

"As to where to find her..."

"I'm afraid I'm at a loss,"

"Even the strongest divination mages in the world have struggled to get a hint of where she might be,"

"So a simple Tailor like me has no chance at finding such a legendary person," He says slightly sad.

Drew frowned for a moment but understood exactly what situation he was in.

'People of influence... I seem to have run into quite a few,'

'Atun... the high priest of a local church,'

'One of the cardinals of the entire church of Bram,'

'Gill, a member of the Black Strings who even invited me into the organization,'

'And now a legendary cat!'

Drew felt a pressure build up in his head at the ridiculousness of his situation. He had met normal people... but isn't it a little bit too much to have come across so many influential people?

"I suppose that should be enough information for me to complete your request," The man said after letting Drew have some time to process his words.

"Yes... more than enough," Drew mumbled.

"Then on to simpler things," The man said with a clap as he stood up suddenly and the lights in the room brightened ever so slightly.

"For the Runework on your clothing, what is it that you want besides the rune you have allowed me to learn?" He asked, brushing off the earlier conversation.

"Oh, yeah," Drew said while coming back to the situation at hand.

"What are the costs for them?"

The man nodded but a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

"I think your request just a little while ago was quite simple... I'll give you a decent discount for your kindness,"

"I thank you for your kindness in turn," Drew said with a smile.

'I'm tight on gold as it is... so even if this guy is a bit of a narcissistic asshole at least he has some manners when talking to me now,'

"I hope this may mark the beginning of a lasting friendship," He said politely.

"A friendship with you would be very pleasant and beneficial for the two of us, but now that I think of it, I haven't learned your name yet..." He said after a slight pause.

"Oh... I forgot after you..."

The man looked slightly embarrassed as Drew's words trailed off into silence.

"I do apologize thoroughly for my previous actions. Not many people are as polite and... civil as you are. It was an outburst that was not justified. Though you must understand that I frequently get individuals wandering about my store with not a copper in their possession,"

"It is rather frustrating when people 'Window shop', so to speak,"

Drew nodded after understanding his rudeness to him during their first encounter but still held some resentment.

'He still treats his students like trash... and that's not something I'm a big fan of,'

'But being a 'friend' with this man could prove beneficial,'

"My name is Drew. Drew Pence," He said while reaching out for a handshake.

The man reciprocated it and a callused hand met Drew's. Though the man was a tailor he had a strong grip and the hands to suggest elsewise.

"It is a pleasure to become your acquaintance Drew Pence,"

"My name is Mavick Celestine, Master Tailor and Owner of this fine Establishment," He said with pride.

"Now, on to business,"

"The price of the runes are as follows,"

"Cleansing will cost 1 gold,"

"Mending will cost 3 gold,"

"Pigment adaptation will cost 5 silver,"

"And... Absorption would cost you 12 gold" Mavick said with hesitation.

'12 gold?!' Drew thought in surprise.

'That would only leave me left with 4 gold left...'

'It's a useful ability but without knowing how to actually use magic, despite having a magical affinity, it's practically useless to me right now. Except for the magic resistance...'

"I will take Mending and Cleansing... Absorption is just too rich for my blood,"

Mavick nodded and waved his hand as the previous notes floated towards him and one of the step stools slid between them.

"I understand... even some of my wealthier clients aren't willing to pay the high price for that rune,"

"But it's a fair price,"

Drew nodded in return.

"I understand. Learning such a thing must have been difficult and may require a lot of effort,"

Mavick nodded and marked the added cost of everything and moved towards the counter once more.

"The price for a custom-made outfit of this specification is... 30 gold for the main outfit and 4 gold for the runes for a grand total of 34 gold coins,"

"Um..." Drew heard the insane price and frowned realizing that his request might have been a bit... too much.

"But since I promised you that the set of clothes would be free that would come out to 4 coins," He said with a smile at Drew's surprise.

"That's doable," Drew said with a little laugh before paying Mavick and looking at the remaining 12 coins.

"Your new outfit should be ready by tomorrow around noon. Though if you have other business to attend to then it can wait until you have a chance to visit again,"

"Alright, I may be a little busy tomorrow and the day after but I will try and make time to come by in the next week. And once again, it was a pleasure to make another friend,"

"I must say the same. I truly wish you well in your endeavors," Mavick said with a wave Drew left the shop so he could work on deconstructing the jacket.

'I got to check out the other stores sometime... but I'm out of time for today,' He thought while thinking of the training that he had to do in the coming week and staring at the street that was quite empty compared to a few hours ago when he entered this district.

'It's getting dark... I should get home and rest,"

"But before I do that I can at least think of my goals in the coming week," He thought while organizing his thoughts on his walk home, still making sure to hide from guards and people in general. Though stealthing was a bit more difficult since he no longer had his hunter's jacket.

'Training with Flux is a priority, learning how to fight together will greatly increase my strength and make it possible to survive much deadlier encounters,'

'Learning information from the system is also on the to-do list. If I can learn more about the basics of this world then I won't have as many blindspots in the knowledge department,'

'I got to learn how to adapt to this world or life will only get harder,' He thought while thinking about how much he had changed since coming here.

'After I go through orientation with The Black Strings will be when I finally help out Atun,'

'It's when I will finally deal with that 'Sebastian Greennose'. Even though Atun said all I had to do was steal that weird candle from him... I can't help but think that the world may be a little better off without him,' Drew thought as he neared the abandoned farm once more, the sun setting as he reached the border.