Upon Jack’s agreement of finding a better venue the two departed the manor, taking off at a relaxed stroll. After about a block Bartholomew asked “Excuse me Mr. Bertrand, is there some reason that we left your family home rather than simply using one of the private rooms within for our meeting? It’s almost as if you don’t trust them or something.”
Jack cracked a wan smile. “That’s exactly it I’m afraid. I know last time we met that you expressed doubt that Jack Bertrand was my real name, which is fair enough. I mean how many people out there in the world have the joy of having a slur for their name, much less in conjunction with the name of one of the agierian clans. I had always thought that the last name was either a coincidence or my “mother” had been insulted by a member of that clan and had wanted another petty revenge through me. Letting me bare yet another burden and pain that she could vent upon.”
Jack let out a sigh glancing surreptitiously over his shoulder checking to see just how closely the two were being followed. Seeing a nondescript fellow behind them a short distance away he lowered his voice. “It turns out that I really do have Bertrand blood in me, and likely from a fairly high-ranking member of the clan at that. Just how high up the totem pole my father is? I’m not sure. But he seems high enough up that he has been kept busy with clan business for months at this point while I have been having the “pleasure” of waiting within the manor to meet him and some other family members.”
Jack paused for a moment before shrugging. “Admittedly, they could simply be using it as a power play in order to keep me down and knowing my place in the pecking order. Plus, although it is clear that the staff and likely other members of my family are either suspicious or disdainful of me it has been a nicer place to stay then many I have been at before. Much nicer than a trash bin in an alleyway I’m sure you would agree. But, for a private conversation? Well, we certainly would not be getting one there. Any of the rooms that we used would be guaranteed to be monitored closely. For fucks sake we are being spied on even now as it is.”
“What?” Bartholomew started and was about to turn around and look behind them when Jack reached out and grabbed his shoulder to stop him.
“No. Don’t be doing that. Instead, we will take a nice walk and figure out just what to create so that we won’t be overheard. Either that or we will find a shop that will allow us a private room for a few minutes.” Even as Jack spoke, he saw the vesper beginning to tense once more. He cast his mind about to find something to talk about that would distract the man from his obvious paranoia. Eventually he asked. “So, do you know why Carlos decided to recommend me? I know the two of us more or less settled our differences, but I certainly wouldn’t say that we have a good relationship. It just seems a bit odd to me.”
Bartholomew flushed at the question. Obviously embarrassed, either by the answer or by some event surrounding it. “Erm, well… You see…”
“Just spit it out. Believe me I’m not going to get offended. There really isn’t much that you could say that would truly upset me. I am well aware of how I tend to be viewed, what with my name and the fact that I am actually a jack magically.” Jack said exasperatedly at the man’s fumbling.
“I’ll be honest. You aren’t my first choice. All of our current investigators and divinators have run into dead ends by this point other than some rather outlandish theories. I think he recommended you to us with the claim that if the task is impossible or seems to be at least we might as well have you give it a swing. What was it… Ah, that while theoretically a bastard like you should be absolutely useless, you have somehow pulled off other impossible things before so there was and is always the chance that you could do it again.”
Jack snorted. “Ah, now that sounds a lot more like the Carlos that I know. I won’t fucking say that impossibility is my specialty or anything stupid like that. What I will say however is that my methods are unorthodox compared to almost any other investigator. In large part due to my magical abilities like I had stated earlier. I can’t just whip up a divination spell from here to look back on the past and see what happened somewhere or verify the honesty of the people that I talk to. So, the way I have to work sometimes can discover something that was overlooked by other more conventional methods.”
“Before we get somewhere and discuss whatever this case is in more depth, I want to make a couple things clear. First, I am well aware of what my magical status makes me socially. Even with that I will be paid fairly for my time and effort. To that end we will be writing up a full contract expressing the job pay and everything else. I’ve had enough people try to cheat me. And before you start, don’t claim that you would never. Businesses are far worse than individuals when it comes to screwing over people. Second, like any other private investigator I cannot guarantee that I will be able to discover exactly what the answer to the mystery is. I will certainly do my best and put forth every effort that I can.” Jack almost stopped walking in his attempt to convey his seriousness. It was only seeing the reflection of the person still following them that kept him from doing so. His tone however grew cold and harsh as he spoke of payment.
“That’s acceptable.” Bartholomew agreed, surprised at the sudden shift of tone.
Over the course of their walk the two made their way into a small park. With the beautiful weather there were numerous people out and about. Jack glanced around to see if there was any spot that would work for their purposes and saw a small gazebo that was just small enough to be within his ability to secure. He waved his arm toward it and spoke, “I can probably set something up over there for privacy. What do you think?”
“Well…” Bartholomew started uncomfortably pausing to find the right words before he continued. “Honestly, I would prefer a room of some kind, but that could possibly work. I have some skill in illusion magics and can help disguise our conversation. However, it being out in the open like this makes it far more complicated. Plus adding in the fact that we would need some kind of aversion ward or similar to keep people from just simply walking into the warded area. Is there no nearby business or other venue that we could use for our meeting instead?”
Jack thought about it for a moment. In terms of putting up a full ward or similar his contribution would be about worthless. He knew how to create such a thing but with his low level of power any addition that he made would likely be pierced by people without them even realizing. Especially being spread over such a wider area. With a sigh he nodded. “You’re right, this really isn’t the best location. Trouble is I really don’t know of any business that would be of any real help. Plus, there aren’t all that many here in this area in the first place. Most of this area is more just housing for the wealthy of the city.” He gestured around to the manor houses surrounding the park.
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The vesper gave a sigh at that. “Well let’s see if we can get those folks out of there and start setting up privacy spells then. How good are you at that type of spell?”
“I’m the same at that type of spell as I am at any other. I can design them well but the actual output will be on the lower end. I am both a jack, and yes, I do mean magically not just my name. As well as my aptitudes are not great. It’s a large part of what has contributed to my life up until this point.” Jack replied as he walked toward the gazebo.
At Jack’s admission of his lack of magical prowess Bartholomew stopped and stared at him asking incredulity. “If you have such issues with magic then why would Mr. Ross-Telipar recommend you?”
“I do believe that is what I asked you earlier. You were the one who said it was something to do with accomplishing ridiculous things.” Jack replied
“Ah right.” Bartholomew grumped.
Seeing the vespers nonplussed look Jack shrugged and continued, “Generally, if I was going to be doing a meeting like this one, I would prepare in advance and have ritual circles set up that I would only need to activate, or if I didn’t have them set up already, I would at least have the materials to do so. Using the natural mana to compensate for my lack of power. I did have several such things set up in my old office. However, my four month stay under the hospitality of the local branch of Telipar Industries sadly caused me to lose my lease and access to that domicile.”
Even with that explanation Jack could see the distaste present on the vesper’s face. It wasn’t unexpected. No matter how much people pretended, the world really was one where magical strength was respected and those that were weak were looked down upon.
Jack found it funny in a way. It seemed that no matter what, people found something that they would claim was superior. No matter whether it was some characteristic of their species or the power at their command and as soon as someone failed to meet those arbitrary criteria then they lost value.
Here on Surdyl, under the protective auspices of the Agier, humans and those of Agierian descent held themselves above other species due to their proximity both physically and relationship wise to such powerful entities. With the claim that as they could crossbreed with the godlike beings they were closer to being living gods themselves. Jack was sure that on most of the other realms within the Consortium the other species did the same in reverse. Setting themselves up as the epitome that all others should aspire to be. The only thing that seemed constant was that the more magically powerful someone was the better they were viewed.
Jack shook his head to get out of the pessimistic thoughts on the nature of sapient life and concentrated instead on what needed to be done. As the pair got closer to their destination, he could clearly make out what looked like a pair of wealthy ladies reading in the middle of the sitting area, along with two guards who were standing at either side of the stairs leading into it.
Without slowing, Jack approached the guards. As he got closer they begin to tense slightly. Obviously prepared for violence in case it would become necessary.
“Excuse me, I was wondering if we could speak with the two young ladies there about us using the structure for the next half hour. We are in need of a location to have a small business meeting that contains some sensitive information and we were hoping to use this location.” Jack spoke in a calm tone.
There was a pause as the two guards looked at each other weighing whether or not to accept the request seeming almost to talk to each other with only minor eye movements and expressions. After a moment one of the two men looked back at Jack and spoke. “Poel here will check with the madams. Don’t get your expectations up.”
“Thank you.” Jack nodded in response and waited as the other guard went up the stairs to have a whispered conversation with the ladies. A few moments later that one of them set down her book and walked back with her hand on the guard’s arm.
“I’m given to understand that you wished to speak with us?” Her voice was pleasant to the ears even with her disinterested tone. Jack however barely heard her speak. His mind had begun to spiral downwards into his darkest memories upon seeing her face clearly.
An expression of irritation crossed her face and her voice became harsher as Jack failed to respond “Hello? I certainly didn’t stop my reading to simply be stared at. What exactly did you want?”
Bartholomew, seeing Jack’s stunned state spoke up. “Please excuse my companion miss. He seems to be overwhelmed by your beauty. My name is Bartholomew Starsmoke. I am one of the branch managers of the Adventurer’s Guildhouse here in Desval. Mr. Bertrand and myself are in need of a location that we can secure to have a private conversation about a job and we were hoping to utilize this structure for that purpose.” After he finished speaking, he handed over a small business card with his information to the lady.
The young woman’s face softened slightly at Bartholomew’s claim. She glanced over her shoulder for a moment at her companion before turning back toward Jack and Bartholomew looking the two up and down before taking the card and tucking it into a pocket. “Hmm. I suppose that we can cut our outing a little short. Perhaps we could meet up ourselves at some point to discuss… compensation.”
Bartholomew gave a small grin as he replied, “Certainly Ma’am, I would be happy too. My details are on my card so feel free to contact me whenever.”
It was a quick exchange with a simple promise for future considerations but none the less it was effective enough. The woman turned and headed back up into the gazebo to collect her book and talk to her friend in a hushed tone. Soon the two came back down the steps and started to head off. As they were walking away Jack was able to catch a small bit of their conversation. “Really? He’s a Bertrand? I mean, I guess that there is no reason that he would lie about that this close to their property but… I would have thought that he was someone from your household. I mean really, he almost looks like he could be your brother.”
Batholomew elbowed Jack in the side trying to get his attention. “Hey. Come on, we have enough work to do to secure this area. What’s the matter anyways? While I said that it was just her beauty, her physical attractiveness certainly wouldn’t cause the anger that you seem to be holding back. Hello? Mr. Bertrand?”
Jack meanwhile barely registered just what was happening. His mind so consumed by the emotions that were triggered from seeing the woman’s face. His only response to the vesper’s elbow to his side was an unconscious grunt of pain. Taking deep breaths Jack struggled to bring himself back to the present and out of the spiral of negative memories and feelings. It took a of couple minutes but he finally managed to unclench his jaw and fists. Looking over at the vesper who was looking at him worriedly he let out a small sigh and apologized. “Sorry. I’m still having some aftereffects from an experience I went through during my last case.”
“What? Did she have something to do with your last case? The way you were acting it was almost as if she killed your pet in front of you.” Bartholomew looked at Jack curiously even as he headed into the gazebo to start setting up the wards.
Following, Jack shook he head and spoke haltingly. “Ah. It wasn’t anything to do with her. No, no. I honestly don’t even have any idea of who that was. Rather it was her face. She reminded me of someone…. Someone that I had rather terrible experiences with.”
The vesper shrugged awkwardly before stating flatly, “Well, it doesn’t matter if she’s related to your worst enemy or it’s just some kind of issue from your last job, you need to get it under control here. While you might come recommended by the Ross-Telipars, if you cannot control yourself properly in public then we can’t afford to have you working on this job.”
His body still coiled with unresolved tension, Jack managed to grit out, “I understand. Don’t worry I have been working on it and I should have it under control within the next couple of days. I am simply waiting on an ingredient that is due to arrive here shortly.”
With that statement both men fell silent for a bit as they carefully checked over the gazebo for listening spells as well as getting started setting up the privacy ward. As they worked Jack could not help but think that the last ingredient that he needed could not arrive soon enough. The man was right, he couldn’t afford to be losing his mind like that in public if he had any hope of starting back up his private eye business.