Chapter 10: Sword and Sorcery, (1) (1/2)

“The Red Goblin,” Mathias read the badly painted sign above the shop.

“This is the place?” Kari asked, crossing her arms. From the outside, it looked like those night shops you purchased alcohol from at three in the morning for an afterparty. It seemed both seedy and just plain unremarkable.

With Glass Field on, Mathias could see inside the shop through a smartphone screen, and found nothing remarkable. The hob owner stayed behind a counter, seemingly passing time by playing tarot. No sign of weapons or anything suspicious. Then again, if he had, Concordia would have caught him long ago.

His thoughts turned to Maggie, who hadn’t given any signs of life since she presented herself to authorities. So far though, no one had come to arrest him, so Maggie had kept quiet. He hoped it would last.

‘I’m not going to vanish, Dad.’

“Are you alright, Mathias-san?”

“I’m fine,” he said quickly, without letting a second of doubt show. “I’m magic.”

It didn’t convince her, but she didn’t push the issue.

Kari eventually knocked and entered, while Mathias closed the door behind them. The store was dusty, almost as small as his apartment, and littered with broken smartphone parts. The sheer chaos and neglect in the workshop convinced Mathias not to trust the owner with his own stuff.

The hob owner in question, Booz, looked very old and cramp for his kind, with a vestigial white beard under his mouth, wrinkles, and a broken horn. As hobs kept growing as they got older, he reached almost nine feet in height, hunching like Quasimodo to not hit the ceiling. His crimson, almost brown, skin made him stand out among his kind, alongside the heavy scars covering his hide.

Since he hadn’t bothered to raise his head to welcome customers, Mathias exchanged a glance with Kari. “Booz-san?” she attempted to initiate the conversation. “We came here — ”

“Wait in line, squishies,” the hob cut her off as he drew two cards and put them on the counter. The first, drawn upside down, represented a young boy leaning down and granting a cup filled with flowers to a younger girl, with five other cups in the background. The second showed a naked woman surrounded by a ring of laurels and four mythological beasts. “The Six of Cups reversed, and the World upward. Strong ones.”

Without skipping a beat, his gaze settled on Kari, then Mathias. “Heard of you, squishies.” He looked decidedly unimpressed by his visitors. “Girly told me you were looking for merchandise?”

— “Not interested in who he is,” Booz told the little squishie. “Only if he’s got an eye for quality, and money to spend.” —

At least that hob was the straightforward kind. “That depends on what you offer. I’m not looking for a new smartphone. But I’ve got cash to spend, if you have interesting stuff.”

“Rich prick, are you?” He glared at Kari’s presence. “Girly didn’t tell me you would bring friends. That’s a breach of trust.”

“She’s my business partner.” Kari’s eyes shifted away for a second. “Consider us two parts of a whole.”

Booz raised a finger. “Just this once. Bring a surprise invite again, and no more deals. Rule of the house.” He rattled his throat. “Show you’ve got the cash first. I’m not dealing with amateurs.”

Mathias searched inside his backpack, bringing out a small blue card which Booz grabbed like how a cat pounced on a mouse. Grabbing a card reader beneath the counter, the hob put the card inside, and watched the numbers coming up with pleasure. “Rich prick it is.”

“I thought any business had to be customer centric,” Mathias deadpanned. “You aren’t earning points on niceties.”

“The benefits of local monopolies. You can go to the competition if you want better service.” Mathias crossed his arms at the not so subtle taunt, while Booz typed codes on his cash register. “Checking if the scalies can trace those credits first.”

“They’re untraceable. And I can get a lot more in a short time. Millions.” That was official. If the Empire hadn’t abolished bankers, Scrooge would have been the best of them. A pocket Goldman Sachs.

Eventually, Booz reached the same conclusion, and handed Mathias his card back. “Downloaded the cash before purchase, so no bloody discount, if you see what I mean. You can use that account for future purchases. If you alert the scalies and I have to close shop, you aren’t seeing it again.”

Mathias doubted it would affect his finances long term, but it was fair. At this point neither one trusted the other.

Booz clicked on a button beneath the counter, and before the sound reached his ears, Mathias lost all stimulus coming from Glass Field. It was as if his sight went dark as far as glass were concerned; he couldn’t even sense the smartphones laying around them. He heard the door locking behind them, trapping them inside.

Kari shifted a little, tense. “What have you done?” Mathias asked, a bit disturbed by the sudden loss of his spell.

“Protected us from scryings.” Booz eyed his customer, noticing the unease on his face. “You’re a sorcerer.” It wasn’t a question. “Which major color?”

“Blue, but I dabble in many colors.” Mathias hated that the hob seemed to know more about magic than himself.

— “My mistress is looking for a freelancer, preferably a Blue,” Wormson told him, buzzing beneath his cloak, “If they are powerful and ambitious, I may have an offer for him.” —

So he worked for another client on the side. Mathias would better keep his cards close to the chest for now. At least Booz’s protection couldn’t block Network. “Will it cause a problem?”

“Don’t care who you are, only that you pay and respect the rules.” Booz rattled his throat. “If you want jobs, I got plenty of them for you. There’s always a demand for sorcerers at the Market. Moreso Oranges and Violets, but Blues are appreciated. With the Crimson Epoch approaching, demand keeps going up.”

“Crimson Epoch?” Kari asked.

“Gladiator games held on the Midnight Market every year,” Booz replied with a little disdain, as if he was surprised Kari wouldn’t have heard of them. “Concordia condemned them, but you can watch it on black channels. Lots of power-brokers gather there for business.”

“Can get us an entry to the Market, Booz-san?” Kari asked, sensing an opportunity like Mathias.

“I’m a certified Midnight Marketer. I can arrange it, yeah, off the grids. Like everything I sell.”

“So your wares come from —”

“Stolen Grimsour properties, Arcadian reavers, Seeker-made organotech, Nocturne magecraft, traditional human weapons, and anything I can get my hands on. Even spaceships. If you want custom orders, I can get almost anything given time, for the right price. Where do you want the deliveries done?”

“The church in the old part of town,” Mathias said. “How long does it take for the delivery?”

“They’re done the instant they’re purchased.”

“Teleportation? How do you manage that?” Even Concordia had trouble setting it up on Earth.

“Market secret.”

— Booz looked at the gate, its shining purple light filling the cavern. “How long until the scalies find it?”

“Decades,” Zenia replied after setting the last magical protection, a cold chilly wind following her even below the earth. “Or until you stop paying me my license.” —

Ah, that explained it. Since inter-sphere teleportation remained impossible without gates, Booz acquired his merchandise from other worlds, stashed his merchandise on Earth at a secure location, and then teleported it to clients. “Can Concordia track the effect?” he asked.

“Not yet. I will leave Firma in two years or so, too risky afterwards. Too many scans, too many holes patched.” Booz brushed off the subject. “Products will bounce back, though, if you set protections at the delivery location.”

Fortunately — or unfortunately — neither sorcerers present had any on hands.

Booz put a small, unremarkable golden disc on the table. With a touch, the device revealed itself as a holographic projector, producing a digitalized halo above itself. The light took the shape of a sleek-looking, small gun with bull skulls drawn into the metal itself. “I can show you a lineup, you purchase what catches your fancy. Or you’ve got specific demands?”

“I have another question.” Mathias looked at the hologram, not recognizing the weapon model. “I’m glad you accept credits, but would you consider alternative forms of payment?”

“Some marketers deal in souls, but the Red Goblin doesn’t accept those. Too volatile. Don’t accept service exchanges either. Too many defaults.”

“Not even spells?” Booz raised an eyebrow. “I can empower people with my magic.”

“Cash is king.” The merchant seemed to take mental note of the information though, because he added. “Got a question of my own. Are you only interested in items, or in people, too?”

Mathias froze. “If you’re into creature trafficking, I’m leaving.”

“No, I’m not.” There was a little more emotion than usual from the hob in those three words. “I was thinking mercenaries. They’re our secondary export.”

“Mercenaries? They fight for coin instead of a cause, they’re unreliable.”

“How do you know that?” Kari asked him.

“I created a role playing mini-game based on the Renaissance. You played as a soldier in Cesare Borgia’s army —” He could see her losing interest. “I did lots of research. Even Machiavelli advised against using them. Mercenaries aren’t loyal.”

“Those who work for credits aren’t,” Booz said. “The one I’m thinking of, Mur, he’s into enhancements.”

“Enhancements?”

“Mur works to get stronger, not richer. Think he’s got a bone to pick with someone out of his league, and so he’s trying to catch up. Gets paid in weapons or body enhancements, and word is that he’s been looking for magical boosts.”

That could be interesting. “What is he good at?”

“Hitting stuff hard until it stops moving. Very good brawler, and not afraid to fill graves if asked. Great bodyguard too, never betrays his clients’ secrets. Not leadership material, though. If you want smarts, hire a secretary. The scalies put a bounty on him, I don’t think you’ll care, but so you know.”

“Can he take down Gearsmen?” Kari asked, voicing Mathias’ own thoughts.

“He can, and he did. I can arrange a call after we’re done with the merchandise, so you can see for yourself.”

Mathias nodded in agreement. If Mur was on Concordia’s shit-list the Magik user was willing to hear him out. Their burgeoning group needed a heavy hitter. “I’ve got specific demands. Anti-Gearsmen weaponry, state of the art.”

“Going to war, eh? You need a lot of firepower to take down those machines.”

No kidding. Mathias had seen videos online of Gearsmen shrugging off anti-tank weaponry during the Conquest. “What do you suggest?”

“Gearsmen’s components are magically enhanced by Orange spells as part of the mass production process. They’re coated in Orange Flux, which hardens them.”

“The Reinforce spell?” Kari connected the dots. Mathias remembered seeing it among the options available on Magik.

“That’s what you squishies call it? Yeah, that spell. It turns their steel harder than diamond and more flexible than aluminium. You either need an incredible amount of brute force or a rival magical effect to break them.”

“A rival magical effect?” Mathias repeated. “So if I create a laser beam from a spell, it won’t bounce back on their armor?”

“Eh, rookies. Any attack created from a magical effect carries some of the user’s spellcasting power, making it way more potent against other magical effects. So if you create a projectile out of ambient stuff, it will still carry some of your Flux juice. It won’t cancel the Reinforce spell, but it will lessen its effectiveness.”

Which would still be akin to firing at a walking, two-legged tank. Mathias cursed his short-sightedness for not having purchased his own Reinforce spell. “How much non-magical firepower would you need to destroy a Gearsman in one shot?”

Booz smirked. “I think you humans are fond of those lightshow you call ‘nukes.’ I’ve got a few spare ones.”