Samofthepen
patreon
Of Arms and Arcane: Chapter 220
🕑 Added 2025-04-14 08:51:38 +0000 UTCAfter the chanting meditation was done, there was a sermon about being one with nature and the moon. When they closed out the sermon, the cart holding the two barrels was brought over, tapped, and they started having a drinking party there and then.
Is this just a gathering of hippy chuckle-fucks? Am I really going to get my answers out of these people? I spent a few hours sitting in a tree. I had better get something out of this.
As everyone got themselves a cup of what I think is ale, they broke up into their own cliques to sit down and chat.
With so many people talking, I had trouble isolating the different conversations. To resolve this, I conjured a tendril of instinctive air magic and snaked it down the tree, around the groups, and up to the group that had the man giving the sermon earlier.
When the tip of the air mana tendril closed in on the group, I started picking up their conversation as if I were just next to them.
“-are the kids these days?”
“Doing fine, the youngest is having trouble with his letters, but is great at his numbers, better than his older siblings even.”
“That's good to hear. Being good at numbers is an important skill. Many merchants would snatch him up in a heartbeat.”
On and on, they chatted about how life and business were going, and besides some scandalous gossip about who was having an afair with whom, I got little to work from.
When I heard one of the men say he was going to take a piss, I took it as a chance to get some information from the group.
As the man walked downhill to one of the shrubs, I climbed down the tree under the cover of natural and magical darkness and dashed the long way around to catch up with the man.
As I closed in on him from behind, I used instinctive air magic to isolate the sounds of my footsteps crunching on he grass.
After he was done watering the plants and put his willy back in his pants, I expanded my bubble of air magic to encompass both of us as I put the man in a chokehold. As I dragged him behind the shrub, he was thrashing wildly in an attempt to free himself, but he had no hope of overpowering me.
When the man was finally unconscious, I removed his hood and exchanged my hood for his. Fortunately, we were around the same size. I was a bit broader in the shoulders, but I could only hope the rest would not notice the difference under the cover of darkness. I did not need to worry about my face, as the weather was rather chilly, so everyone had their hoods up.
The only problem remaining with my disguise was my voice. Thankfully, this can also be solved with a bit of instinctive air magic. I channeled the mana just in front of my mouth to adjust the density of the air, making the words that came out of my mouth sound deeper. After a few minutes of adjusting the air magic filter just right. I pulled up the hood and walked to the group.
“I’m back, what did I miss?” I said as casually as I could, and sat down where the man I put to sleep did.
One of the men answered, “Ah, Janet was just talking about some scary-looking mercenary type with an eyeless mask buying some metal dye from her earlier today. I have seen mercenaries with that kind of mask before, but they are a rare sight to see.”
Well shit, what are the odds? I bought my armor dye from a moon-worshipping cult member.
As the conversation carried on, I found a lull in the conversation to insert myself, “Hey, did anyone see Aveline around lately today?” I asked.
“The leader’s daughter? She ran with that Langston lordling three weeks ago. Come on, man, you have a wife and kid, are you sweet on her? Wait till I tell your wife,” the man who gave the sermon said jokingly, and the others chuckled at my expense.
“No, nothing like that,” I said defensively, “Just forgot that they left. Where did those two lovebirds run off to anyway?” I asked.
“Hmm…” the sermon guy rubbed his chin while he looked like he was trying to remember something, “Last I heard, they went west to Marquese Homen’s territory. I think Aveline was going to introduce her new fiancé to her father back at the cult’s home chapter.”
And that's the info I needed!
To get out of this little drinking session, I once again used instinctive air magic under my cloak around my stomach region to make a soft gurgling sound that was loud enough for those beside me to hear and let out a groan as I bent over slightly. “Ooo… I think something in my dinner did not sit well with me. Excuse me for a moment.” I said as I stood up and performed the ‘holding it in’ walk to the shrub I left the unconscious guy in.
As I was dressing his limp form back in his cloak I borrowed, he got up with a start, and I had to choke him out again.
After I made sure he was out cold, I made all haste back to my inn, grabbed my stuff, checked out, and went to the carriage service that brought me here.
Fortunately, the carriage service had 24-hour service. All I had to do was flash my membership card and tell them my destination, and I was off.
***
A few days of traveling to Marquese Homen’s territory and scoping the area, I was in a mom and pop's inn that was unaffiliated with Steward’s Guild, but they charged a fair price and the innkeeper’s husband made a mead beef stew. But more important than that, it was opposite the Eclipsed Eye’s headquarters.
On the surface, it was a successful tea shop that catered to the upper middle class, but come midnight, when this district was empty because all the customers had gone to the area with bars and the red light district, hooded figures came to the tea shop’s side alley entrance, knocked on the door with a specific rhythm, and were let in.
As for how I found the Eclipsed Eye’s headquarters, it was mostly luck. When I arrived at the city Marquese Homen ruled from, I went to the carriage service to flash my Steward’s Guild membership card to confirm my arrival.
And there, around the neck of the secretary who took down the details of my membership card, was a silver necklace, its pendant with the design of Eclipsed Eye’s eye and crescent moon.
I am not one to discriminate against anyone for their religion, unless it involves human sacrifice. However, this situation is approaching a conflict of interest if the businesses associated with the Steward’s Guild are run by cult members. I will need to inform Santon when this job is done.
After I left the carriage service, I have been tailing this lady secretary all day and overheard her speaking with others about the meeting at this tea house tonight. This brings us to the present, where I see a lovey-dovey couple walking arm in arm toward the side entrance.
Before they walked into the alley, the woman pulled the man into a recessed doorway, and they started making out. In their passion, they removed each other’s hoods to get some hair-pulling action. And wouldn’t you know it, the man was my target, Ambrose Langston. Which means his makeout partner must be Aveline.
This gives me an idea to include some value-added services for my client, a two-in-one package, one could say.
