Exiting the town is nerve-wracking, but uneventful. We walk by the guards like nothing is out of the ordinary. Word has not reached them, it seems.
We get back to the caravan. I touch Sentral. Its mana reserve is at 31%. Note to self, don't rip up buildings with telekinesis. I let go of Sentral, but a moment later it connects to me and repeats the intruder alert from earlier. I remove my Zone ring.. wait, there's no need since the two Zones will overlap. I touch Sentral again and access its Zone. A man is walking down the path I requested.
I turn around. ¬we've got a visitor# I think it's friendly# I can ask them to wait until tomorrow if you want)¬
She shakes her head. She's been a bit quiet recently, but I don't have time to think about it. I order a golem out of Sentral and have it pick up some chairs I bring out of my cart.
¬you can attend this meeting if you wish, or through my eyes# if you want to sleep instead that's okay too)¬
Her response is short again. ¬I'll go)¬ The three of us depart immediately.
The fellow turns out to be the same shady man from the jeweler's.
I take the chairs from my golem and set them out, two on our side and a third on his. Hana and I sit down. Shady ignores the golem and sits across from us.
Me, "We meet again. Regrettably I don't have a table to set out."
Shady guy, "Not a problem. I trust you're not offended that I left as soon as you started making a mess. It seems the little miss is okay after all. May I ask what happened?"
Me, "The short version is that I had reason to believe Hanamaya," I gesture to her, "was in danger. I proceeded to over-react. I fled the city, and I believe I was undetected."
Shady, "I will ensure my companions offer the utmost politeness to the lady, should they ever meet. Now. While I pass no judgments on a man protecting his wife, this will draw attention. Ohanel was a man with powerful clients, and even beyond that, this happened in the rich section of town. Powerful people will notice, and Karmm will be put under scrutiny. We still wish to deal with you, but we want to do so before some noble's private army arrives, and we have to go underground."
Me, "Then let's talk business. I can merge and mold gemstones. You already know this. I can't manipulate all gems, only certain types. The gems I create will only be..." I almost said art, again, but he'd probably figure out that I... Wait, he can see my golem. I clear my throat. "... will only be art. For a gem like the one you've seen, I will ask 200 gold. I'm sure you have your own expenses with, uh, whatever it is you're doing, but I'm also certain you can sell this for 500 plus. For larger works, I will charge more. For bespoke works, we can negotiate something. I would prefer you to provide the gems. I can merge gemstone dust, chips, and raws."
Shades, "What can you work with? All gems? Metals?"
Me, "Yesterday was the first time I encountered gems I couldn't mold. I don't know what they were. I can use... Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Amethyst, Rhodonite, Jet, Peridot."
Shady takes out a pouch from somewhere. "Thank you. I have been authorized to pay you 1500 gold here and now, if you will create five pieces of art similar to Unloved Monstrosity. However, the gems must come from your collection. I'm sure you're tired after an exhausting day, but if you can prove to my superiors that you can produce intense value in a short amount of time, I think we can help you with your mass teleportation solution... As well as the Kinth vines for the little lady."
The little lady in question nods after a moment. "I would appreciate that."
I summon gems of each color from Sentral. While they are on their way, I ask, "Why trust me enough to bring a small fortune out here? I could easily kill you, take it, and leave town right now, a wealthy man."
Shady grins at me. "In my line of work I've had to risk my life more than once. This hardly even qualifies. I've got your measure. You wouldn't kill me without cause. You wouldn't even steal it from me. You're a naive fool who thinks of himself as a good man deep down. As long as I don't threaten you, and I've made very sure I haven't, you'll do well by me."
Me, "Huh. I'll have to work on being less of a pushover."
The gems arrive, and I look through them. Let's start with red/blue. Just like before, I merge them into a rough sphere, and have them encroach on one another. Done in 5 minutes. I float it over to him. He takes it, and it disappears into one of his pockets.
Peridot and Ruby next. I make the encroachment more swirly. 4 minutes. Then Amethyst with Rhodonite. The encroachment are angular. 10 minutes, because I took the time to put in right angles. The fourth is Diamond and Jet. I push the encroachment to look like branches here.
Me, "How about something a little different for the fifth?" I feel a little bad since he's over-paying me, even though we're using my stock.
Shady smiles, "Go for it."
I gather Diamond and form it into a rough, hollow ball about 6 inches wide. I insert Peridot to create something like a branch from one side to the other. Next is Amethyst in the rough shape of a bird of prey. It, too, is hollow. I shape it to appear like it is just taking off from the branch. I close the Diamond sphere, and make some thin connections with Diamond to keep the bird in place. I give it to him too.
Me, "And that's 5. Anything else?"
He looks at Bird mk2 with a complicated expression. I guess it's too large for his pocket, he covers it with a cloth and holds it in his hand.
Eventually, he says "No, thank you. This will be good." He holds out the pouch from earlier. I lift it with telekinesis.
Me, "What did you have in mind for the mass teleportation?"
Shady, "Oversized Gate scrolls. They were created with the idea the King would use them to move a certain item of his. However, the mana cost was too high to realistically use as often as was required, and so the king found another solution.
"After seeing you rip a stone building apart with what I'm pretty sure is telekinesis, I warrant you have the mana reserves to use it and hold it open long enough to travel through.
"The scrolls are a set of 4. When activated, a link will form between any that are unfurled. Make sure that only 2 of them are open, or something bad will happen. We don't know what that something is. Is this acceptable?"
Me, "Yeah, sounds fantastic."
Shady, "We will acquire these for you on the condition that you take commissions like this on the daily. The duration will be one week, or until a private army shows up and we need to go to ground."
I flick a wordless question at Hana. She agrees.
Me, "We agree."
Shady, "A couple more quick points then. One, you were not at Ohanel's; instead, you were window shopping for vases at 'Wed's Antiques'. If you're questioned by the constabulary, tell them as much. The employees will back your story, and have a description of you. And two, my name is Wed." He stands up. "May our partnership be a profitable one."
I stand up and shake his hand. I guess that's all for today. "To profits, and a cushy retirement."
He smiles and turns to leave. "A parting gift. We will be in contact tomorrow." he drops some vines ¬Kinth=)¬ Kinth apparently, on the chair he'd been using, then continues walking. I levitate them over to Hana.
I tell the biped golem to collect the chairs, then start walking back with Hana. I put my hand on her shoulder. ¬what's wrong£ you are uncharacteristically quiet#)¬
¬a lot is wrong# how do I even describe it# mostly I'm just shaken# I'll feel better tomorrow)¬ From her emotions, it seems she's a little scared of... Me. I let go of her shoulder.. and disconnect the telepathy as well.
Me, "Hey, let's sleep apart tonight. I'm sure you want to try your new gross, soft bed right?" I give her a big smile. It's a lie, which is why I disconnected first. But I can't blame her, it's been an intense day. "If you want to sit out tomorrow, just say the word." I leave her. Oh. I reach out to her cart and turn the outer light on.
