Chapter 289: Crisis of Faith (1/2)
The illicit organization that the Broker worked for had set up in the business office of a seemingly abandoned shipwright's complex located docklands of the southern New City. The moldering remains of a half-finished vessel still sat in the drydock, looking sad and dilapidated. Combined with the obvious disrepair of many of the buildings, it appeared that no one had used this place in quite some time.
[For a major city, the capital seems to have a strangely large number of abandoned properties. I wonder if there is some reason for that.]
Mike took a moment to scan his surroundings with Aerosense, noting the half dozen hidden guards who were watching him as he approached. Although he could see two of them once he knew where to look, the others were too well concealed. One even appeared to have some sort of invisibility or illusion effect active, since he wasn't visible despite not actually hiding behind anything.
[Impressive as always. Now, let's see. I needed to knock three times…]
He banged on the office's door, and then stepped back and waited. After a few moments, it opened and a well-dressed man ushered him inside. Much like the last time he'd visited this organization, the interior of the building was in direct contrast to its outward appearance, being tastefully decorated in a manner that spoke of wealth and elegance.
Winding through a few corridors that seemed to have been laid out in an intentionally confusing manner, he was eventually directed into a parlor-like room and told to take a seat on one of the couches. After declined the offer of refreshments, he was left to his own devices until the Broker arrived. Thankfully, this didn't take long, and within a matter of minutes Mike was facing the unusual merchant once more.
”Welcome again to our humble offices, Sir Dragonknight.” The emaciated man began with a wan smile. ”What can we do for you today?”
”I'm here for two purposes. First, If you haven't heard by now, I am planning on leaving for the Riverlands in the near future. Since I don't have any established connections over there, I wanted to check to see if your organization had branches in the region, should I need your services.”
The Broker nodded dispassionately. ”We do. Although I am not personally acquainted with those particular representatives, I can guarantee you that they will be more than willing to accommodate you if you reach out to them.”
”And how would I go about doing that?”
”The same way you scheduled this meeting. Leave a message at the Adventurer's Guild and they will get in contact with you. That being said, I'll have a letter of introduction drawn up as well. With it, you should have no trouble dealing with my Riverlands colleagues.”
”That would be most helpful.” Mike said with a smile. He'd been hoping for something like that. ”As to my second task, I would like to take a look at your catalog.”
The Broker hesitated for a moment. There was a brief flicker of uncertainty in his eyes before his usual poker face returned. ”While we would normally provide that service to a repeat customer such as yourself, the war has disrupted many aspects of our business. Our selection is far more limited than would otherwise be the case. I can certainly give you a list of what we have available, but I cannot guarantee that we would be able to deliver every item on it to you in a reasonable amount of time. If you have some idea of the kinds of books you are looking for, I can see what I can do about acquiring them.”
[Hmm...I have a hard time believing that the war has affected them so greatly. Everything I've seen about the way they operate suggests that they are more than capable of maintaining their supply routes despite the blockade. Is this an intentional effort to steer me away from something? Or does he want to avoid revealing his hand too early?]
Deciding that there was little to be gained by arguing the point, he acquiesced. ”Very well. First, I'd like to know if you have anything along the lines of a guide to the Riverlands. Preferably one that details regional powers and influential people. The more current the better.”
Nodding, the Broker consulted a notepad. ”I believe I have something that fits your requirements. It's a travel guide written by a former adventurer who spent the better part of a decade roaming the region. While it is a little out of date, I doubt you will be able to find anything more recent without a significant drop in the quality of information.”
”That sounds promising. May I see it?”
”I'll send for it.” The emaciated man replied while standing and moving to the door to exchange a few quiet whispers with his subordinate on the other side. After sitting back down, he fixed Mike with a blank look. ”Of course, there is no book that can take the place of an expert guide. I recommend finding someone to show you around once you get there. Now, is there anything else you are looking for?”
”Yes, actually. Do you have any books that cover resistance skills and their acquisition methods? I'm especially interested in any that cover mental defenses or provide protection from illusions.”
The Broker frowned. ”That is a bit more difficult, I'm afraid. Few holders of resistance skills choose to detail the method they used to acquire it, and fewer still have a well defined means of improving said skill. However, if acquisition is all you are looking for, I can see about compiling a list of possible methods based on our information network.”
”That would be perfect, however, I intend on leaving by tomorrow. Will there be enough time?”
”Assuming you are willing to pay up front, I can have it delivered to you by the end of the day.”
[I suppose resistance skills are probably easier to acquire than others. One simply has to get hit by a corresponding effect often enough. Still, it would be nice to get an idea for how many of them there are.]
”That will be acceptable.” He replied. ”Alright, next I'm interested in…”
He spent the next half hour going back and forth with the Broker, trying to find other books that might be of use. However, it seemed like the man wasn't kidding when he said that their inventory was limited. Most of the subjects he was interested in were either unavailable, or only a possibility if he was able to wait a few weeks or months. Considering the tight timeline he was under, this was basically a non-starter.
Luckily, they were able to provide at least one of the things he was interested in.
”The Beltanian style of unarmed combat, also known as the Way of the Flowing Fist, is widely recognized as being one of the most potent styles of martial arts practiced in the Inland Sea Region. Unfortunately, many of the secret techniques have faded from popular consciousness in recent years, leaving its modern practitioners struggling to match up with the other major schools.” The Broker was explaining as he handed over the manual. ”This is a rare copy of the instructionary text used by Yorutine, the first disciple of Beltan to take on students of her own. As such, it should be far more effective than those used today.”
Mike gladly paid for the rare tome, which ended up costing almost twice as much as the list of resistance skills and the guide put together. A few weeks ago, he might have hesitated to sink so much money into a single book, but now he was so rich that it was hard to take the expense seriously. Honestly, he would have to do something like this hundreds of times before it started making a dent in his wallet.
With his business concluded, he bid the Broker farewell and went on his way, feeling a small amount of relief in the realization that he would likely not need to deal with the strange figure again. Despite his professionalism and skill, Mike found the emaciated man a little unnerving for reasons that he couldn't quite put into words.
[Strange. I didn't get this feeling the last time I dealt with him.]
Putting his thoughts aside for the moment, he concentrated on putting some space between himself and the shipyard. He figured that he'd start flying as soon as he was far enough away. Or at least that was the plan. Circumstances made such an option more difficult.
While he was still walking along the deserted street which ran the length of the docks, Mike detected several sources of hostility in the area around him. Although it was a little haphazard, they were laid out in a classic ambush formation. Using Aerosense, he tried to determine their identity.