While watching the building on fire, one floor was already collapsing. A countless number of people hurried water in, but it was too late, and water was thrown on the nearby buildings. Darius looked at the building with a frozen gaze. An unpleasantly familiar voice woke him up.
“Hello, it is terrible news indeed. Your house seems to be destroyed by the fire as we speak.”
Darius looked to his left and saw Orlond leering at him.
“You see, this document you signed stipulates that your ownership is now voided since the building needs to be demolished.”
“What do you mean! I bought the building from you just this very day!” shouted Darius.
Four guards came closer to them with spears raised.
“Well yes, you bought the house, but I still own the land lot, and as an owner of the land, I say that this deal for the house is voided because the house doesn’t exist anymore. You see this section here?”
Darius took the paper, and he only saw the word building how he could have been this stupid.
“It will be all right, boy, just buy another building. There are few available for a similar price,” smiled Orlond.
Darius looked at Orlond, and while watching his eyes, he slowly ripped the paper in half while gazing coldly at Orlond.
“Hoho, this is just a mere copy, boy, relax. You weren’t in the fire luckily, you can still get a store up and running elsewhere. It is not all bad.”
Darius didn’t say anything. He just watched with stale eyes Orlond and the guards and left back to the tavern. While thinking about every conceivable way of killing Orlond, Darius went inside the slum area instead. He had to talk with mister Trader about what had happened.
While he was passing one bar, one guy came out and tried to start a fight with Darius. The guy was lanky, and he stumbled back several meters and went down after receiving one bunch right to his face from Darius while Darius continued walking past him. He only heard incoherent yelling and mumbling from the ground behind him, but he didn’t care.
At mister Trader, after the guard had left the room, Darius went straight into the business.
“You might have heard by now my building was destroyed, and not only that, but the land registry official stole my property. It's my fault for not noticing the land part missing from the writing.”
“Ah yes, you see, this is not the first time Orlond does this.”
“What do you mean!” Shouted Darius angrily.
“I understand this is frustrating, but some officials are not happy with what they have, so instead of working properly, they regularly scam people. They only get away with it because they pay cuts to local nobility whoever happens to oversee the district.”
“I see. This also covers the blackmailing of storekeepers?”
“Yes, and many other business ventures.”
Darius sighed. “Okay, here is the thing. Do you happen to have any proper fighter slaves?”
“Ah yes, I suspected you of asking something of that sort. Naturally, I am more than willing to sell.”
The slaves were hidden inside of large dungeon hall underneath the building. Despite the place, everything was clean and well-kept. The food that slaves ate was also the same food offered upstairs to others.
“I believe in a well-kept slave business. Nobody wants to buy ragged, dirty slaves for a high enough price to run this business.” Smiled, mister Trader.
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“Let's see, here are Trewan and Jurid. The latter one has a wounded leg because of a deep dagger wound. Both are fine with the tasks of severe violence, and Jurid has long combat experience. Price is 5500 gold for them. They are both knights, rank one and two. The cost is a bit higher with knights; they both have the regular curse and the mark of obedience. With your potions, I am sure that Jurid’s wound can be recovered.”
“Okay, I am in a hurry now so we can clear the money debt with these. Can you provide them with decent weapons and gears, anything they want?”
“Thanks for the extra Darius. I won’t let your guards down. Let us proceed with the incantation again.” A familiar mage came again from the corner and transferred the ownership of the slaves.
Then they were led into a storage room. At the end of the room, there was a whole wall covered by weapons retainers. Trewan took two swords and asked for a shield for his back and reinforced leather armour for maximum movement. Jurid looked at the wall and said, “This biggest steel club and 20 daggers with three dagger belts and leather armour. Keep it light I will kill people faster.”
Mister Trader looked hesitantly at the equipment after hearing that and said, “olrait, anything else?”
“Can you both use crossbows?” Asked Darius. After both said yes, Trader started gathering items for them to wear.
Guards dressed in dark robes with useful openings to access daggers, Darius left the building while Mr. Trader happily led his guest to the main entrance.
At Green Lanter, Edwin’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets while he looked at the men Darius brought in.
“Good heavens boy, you frightened me for a second. I thought the collectors were here again.”
“Oh, are those thugs still asking for security money?”
“Yes, despite nobody having seen Mathias for months, his lackeys are still extorting stores.”
“Well, we'll see about that later,” answered Darius while leading the men to the storage room.
Elvira’s reaction was much milder. She just lifted her gaze and raised her eyebrow at the men. After explaining everything necessary and Elvira ordering them two beds room, Darius started to gather potions and items for the next day. After forcing his evening meal down his throat, Darius headed into a restless sleep.
He woke up later in the day with a dry mouth and an aching neck. The breakfast in the hall didn’t interest Darius. He wasn’t feeling hungry, and the sight of smiling and laughing people sickened him. After getting something to eat, he carried cold cider, apple and bread inside his lab room. Elvira was already there making potions.
“Good morning. Do you already have what I asked for?” Asked Darius casually.
“Yes, I managed to make them last night. You seemed to be in a hurry because of the,” Elvira’s gaze froze, and she hesitatingly stopped talking after seeing the look in Darius’s eyes.
“It's fine. We will get everything back. It's only a matter of time.”
Elvira left the topic and asked, “Did you enter the academy registry? How was it?”
“Well, it looked like a palace in comparison to anything else. I actually wanted to ask you, is the high concentration of single particles okay for an acolyte?”
“It's great!. It dictates the whole power of the spells. The mage needs to order the particles. You will need concentration and the ability to see their movements, but that is more about aptitude. Some aspects can be enchanted with potions, even the particle concentration, but those potions cost lucrative amounts of magic stones.”
“Oh, how much?”
“Depends on the potion and its recipe, but more used concentration liquid silver water cost around twenty thousand magic stones. But it only works on acolytes, and the results are always different. It can also kill you.”
Darius nodded silently. Being a mage did not seem very safe to him, and he wasn’t surprised by the lucrative price. Strength and advancement always seemed to have their cost. After eating the lousy meal with more appetite, Darius continued discussion and potion making with Elvira. When the afternoon was nearing its end, Trewan knocked on the door.
“Target is still at the office, but others are leaving for the day.”
“Good, let's begin,” said Darius and lifted his sack of items.
While walking nearby the city office building, Darius saw a familiar man inside the dingy old carriage. Jurid was sitting by the window and sharpening a knife by reflex while looking at the office building. While Darius and Trewan came inside the carriage, Jurid started whispering.
“Target is still inside. We have been waiting for him to come out or him to be alone. There are at least seven people left inside.”
“Good, and now we wait,” answered Darius.
It wasn’t a long wait until Orlond exited the registry office.
Orlond strolled down in the direction of the merchant district where he lived. While he looked down the street, he heard a horse carriage coming by. Orlond reflexively walked nearby the building until something jumped and hooded him, and he felt a sudden pain on his face. While disoriented, he tried to yell, but something large was covering his face, and no sound came through. Despite struggling fiercely, he was lifted in the air and hurled on the street. But it was not a cobblestone street but a wooden floor that hurt all the same. Then his head was hit with more force, and after a stale moment, Orlond blacked out.