Divination Shop

Market District, Noes City

Silas entered the gloomy divination shop at exactly 8a.m.

Since he had slept at the Rockette food bank, the walk to the shop was a short distance.

Mr. Rudolph had taken a seat in the waiting room.

Hearing Silas enter the room, he said with a sarcastic tone, "Good morning my apprentice, are you ready to start work?"

Nodding to his own words, Mr. Rudolph continued, " For today, I want you to observe some divinations. Also you'll help around shop, talking to customers and cleaning up the divination room."

Silas shrugged, "That seems easy enough."

150 Talends per year is good enough for some basic cleaning.

Since it was only 8, not many people were out and about.

So Mr. Rudolph made Silas do chores, he first dusted off the tables and chairs, then he swept the floor. Finally he had to clean the bathroom.

Finishing his tasks, he took a seat across from Mr. Rudolph in the staff room. He was drinking a beer and reading the latest copy of the Noes Times.

The staff room was a small area behind the divination room, the walls were painted white. Only a table and 2 chairs were in the room.

Both men sat in silence until a bell sounded from the front of the shop.

"Silas, go check who it is, I'll be waiting in the divination room."

Following the old man's orders, Silas exited the staff room. In the entrance of the shop , he saw a middle aged man in his 40s.

He was a plump man with black eyes, a slightly aquiline nose and thin eyebrows. His long and curly black hair rested on his military frock coat. He supported himself with a black cane.

He looked rather stressed.

Improvising, Silas asked, "Hello sir, do you require a divination?"

The man simply nodded.

Silas led him to the divination room, then chose a corner to sit in and observed Mr. Rudolph's actions.

Mr. Rudolph's posture had straightened, and the haze in his eyes cleared. He seemed to have sobered up. 

"How may I assist you today?" Rudolph inquired with a smile.

Taking in a deep breath, the plump man stated, "I want to find out if my wife is part of an illegal group." 

"What has led you to believe this?"

"I'm away from home a lot due to my job in the military," his voice was high-pitched and anxious. "Every time I arrive back, my wife seems to sneak people out of the house or hide things from me."

"Seems reasonable enough. In order to commence the divination, I'll need some additional information. Such as your name, your wife's name and your wife's current location." Rudolph told the plump man in a calm tone.

"My name is Raynard Cason. My wife's name is Carissa Cason. She should be back home at 82 Apherod Avenue on Sector 5." Raynard replied nervously.

Getting the information he needed, Rudolph pulled out a book and quill from one of the drawers of the table in the divination room. 

He spread the book open, and let the quill rest on one of the pages.

Next, placing his hand on the book, he whispered, "Truth."

Silas' eyes widened as stars appeared on the ceiling and walls. 

The pages of the booked flipped back and forth, creating a unpleasant sound. Suddenly they stopped.

The quill sat straight up and wrote a sentence on the empty book.

Mr. Rudolph read aloud, "Yes, Carissa Cason is a part of an illegal group."

Raynard immediately got up. He tossed a 1 Talend coin on the table, bowed to Mr. Rudolph, and proceeded to bolt out of the shop.

Silas guessed Raynard was going back home to 'talk' to his wife.

Dismissing the matter with the customer, Silas looked directly at Mr. Rudolph, with a stunned expression.

Was that an ability of a weaver? Or just some cheap magic trick. 

"How the f*ck did you do that?" 

"Hehe, I'm a Weaver of the psychic domain." His master answered in his raspy voice.

"What's a doma-"

"50 Florins."

Defeated, Silas asked, "At least when am I getting my first paycheck?"

Mr. Rudolph scratched his chin and said, "Every week you'll be paid 3 Talends, that should be about 150 per year."

It's Wednesday today, so I should be able to learn more information on weaving on Sunday.

Mr. Rudolph spoke up again, "Get ready, we're going out."

He got up, put on a black cloak and exited the shop. Silas followed.

The 2 men entered a public carriage and paid the fee of 20 Florins.

"Where are we going?"

Smiling, Mr. Rudolph replied, "Sector 10."

After a long carriage ride, they arrived.

Sector 10 was mostly run by gangs. The infostructure and living conditions were horrible. 

Constant face offs between royal knights and gangsters happened.

 Silas was extremely nervous. However his master seemed calm.

They traversed the rubble and bloodied roads.

Looking around cautiously, Silas asked, "What exactly are we looking for?"

"Misfortune."

Silas took a deep breath, he decided not to press further.

After a couple more meters, Mr. Rudolph suddenly stopped. He looked behind him.

A child scurried to find a place to hide. 

Rudolph was faster.

He picked up the child by the back of it's shirt.

"Please don't kill me, I haven't done anything wrong!" 

The child was tearing up.

In a gentle manner, Mr. Rudolph let the kid down and patted it's head.

"You should be more careful around these parts. Go find your mother."

After the kid had left, Silas asked, "What was that for?"

"I just gave him a bit of luck. It's part of my abilities."

Seeing Silas still confused, Mr. Rudolph continued, "In my youth, I also happened to be homeless. A kind priest took me in. He fed me, clothed me and most importantly raised me."

"He also told me to try and help those less fortunate than me."

Mr. Rudolph smiled.

"Consider this your first lesson."