20 - Intel-gathering (and Lunch) Pt. 2 [Cherno]

“Supremacist fly-men in skinsuit disguises, huh? Can’t help but think of all those baneworm Body Theft bounties down at the Grafting Church,” Krahe said, trying to get him to speak more on these “baneworms”.

He grabbed her bait hook line and sinker: “Oh yeah no, don’t get me wrong. I hate Vedesians much as the next guy, but it’s those bodysnatchin’ cunts makin’ it hard to make end’s meet for small folk like me. Swear to Zavesh, those cunts been the bane of all good folk on Zastreon before the Evoy were a twinkle in Vedesis’ envy-green eyes. They want me to pay protection money! Me! I don’t even have a fuckin’ storefront to smash for cryin’ out loud! Ey, forget about it, they ain’t bothered me in a lil’ while at least. Just hope that the Mamom Knight that used to come ‘round to scare ‘em off is alright…”

A few minutes passed before he took three of the pans off the heat, revealing sheets of browned, scorched rice - not quite burned, of the sort one would find at the bottom of a rice pot. He covered the sheets with various fillings, folding them in half, and wrapping them in brown wax paper.

“That’s a hundred-thirty DDs.”

She paid with rings as before, and the vendor gave her one more invaluable piece of advice: “Oh, New Calbium Rings, that’s nice. I’d get those changed for Dregstones or somesuch if I were you. My cousin Garvesh can getye thirteen DDs for a ten-DD ring if you don’t ask any questions, he’s got a nice lil’ pawnshop just down the street and to the right, can’t miss it.”

“Thirteen DDs for a ten-DD ring doesn’t mean much without something to compare it to. Wouldn’t want to get scammed like some stupid foreigner, right?” Krahe said, looking over her glasses and adding a vaguely threatening edge to her voice.

The vendor took the message, “Oh no, ‘course not, I ain’t like that. You can probably get eleven-to-ten at the market - be my guest, go ask ‘round for yourself.”

“I’ll make sure to do that… Garvesh’s Cousin,” she smirked, slowly making her way down the street as she took the first bite of her first proper meal in this world. It took a significant amount of willpower to not let out an entirely inappropriate noise at the blend of textures and flavours.

From behind came the vendor’s raspy tone: “Imraal! The name’s Imraal!”

Krahe held out a thumbs-up, not willing to waste a bite of that delicious scorched-rice foldover by swallowing it unchewed.

Finding a market wasn’t difficult, and Imraal’s claim was confirmed right then and there. The exchange rate of rings to dregstones was indeed eleven to ten DDs; not just with one money changer, but every establishment and vendor she could find that provided such a service. Jas’raban Brass Coins were also being exchanged at an increased rate compared to the value the Prospector’s Eyes assigned them.

She leisurely headed the way he had pointed her, looking out for signs that she might’ve been sent into an ambush. None presented themselves, and she reached Garvesh’s pawnshop without incident. It was tucked away in the side alley of a side alley, identified only by a small brass plaque inside the doorway. Garvesh’s, next to it a downward arrow. She pushed the door in and was greeted by two narrow stairways, one upward one downward. On the inside, she saw that the hinges were disproportionately built-up, strongly anchored into solid stone, with a second, metal gate that was open at the moment. She took the stairs down Around seven meters deep into the ground by her estimate, she came upon the door to the actual pawnshop. A hammered-iron door with a peephole, three locks, similarly massive hinges to the ground-level door, and an “OPEN” sign affixed to the middle by unseen means.

Finishing the first scorched-rice foldover, she stowed the second and bit into the third before going in, embodying the mask of a random would-be-customer. That mask crumbled when, the moment she walked in, Garvesh unsubtly snapped his eyes to her. The store was deserted; a small room with a counter and a great array of objects lined up on display behind it, from trinkets to jewelry and weapons.

He recognized her, Krahe felt it. How did he know?

“Garvesh, I take it?”

“Mrrrhm. Y’know the rules,” he grumbled, pointing to a sign on the countertop.

NO QUESTIONS ASKED

“Imraal sent me,” she said to him.

No tangible attitude shift. A reaction of feigned surprise: “Did he? Explains how you found the place… Didn’t happen to run into any baneworms on the way, did you? Some of those dregs have been causing trouble for our customers lately.”

“He did mention them. He also mentioned how a Mamon Knight that used to come ‘round to scare them off hadn’t showed up in a while.”

“That fool. Hashem’s people got to him, no doubt. He was already a big juicy target to begin with, being a Banisher and all, throwing himself like a wrench into the gears of their plans only gave them all the more reason to nab him.”

“Banisher? Wouldn’t happen to be…” she started, retrieving the “Banisher Kidnapping” bounty memslate and her eyebox into her pocket, slotting the former into the latter and pulling it out. With a click, she presented the projection of the bounty. “This guy?”

That bounty poster had stood out to her because it was the only one with the listed crime, and because it was the only one that looked new.

His eyes narrowed to slits and he snapped an instant response: “That’s Semzar Hashem’s newest skinsuit. He’s the offspring of the big boss, Damrus Hashem, with all the bad manners and misguided egoism natural to a mafioso’s kid. Fucker busted down my front door last month. Tell you what, since my cousin likes you, I’ll make you an offer.”

Garvesh took a piece of paper, and upon it sketched a crude map of the local area.

“A couple of Hashem’s people tend to hang out in the smokery down this alley,” he pointed to a spot on his map.

“Semzar even makes an appearance every once in a blue moon. Pretty sure it’s run by the Hashem Family, they host prize fights and keep the losers’ corpses. You oughta be able to blend in there. If you bring me any info on Casus’s whereabouts, I’ll make it worth your while… Once he’s found.”