We stopped at a farm with a dock and unloaded some equipment for them. I saw Kim disappear into the farmhouse with one of the women and then came back out a few minutes later. Some sort of private sale?
The shipping company crew unloaded the farming equipment, and the foreman spent some time with the farmer, making sure he knew how to operate it. The farmer was iron-rank, and I smelled plants and earth on him. His daughter had one essence from the smell, and his son was too young for essence yet. I was thinking they were further away from a town than usual for such a low-rank family. I know there are things you can put in place to keep you safe, but monsters can appear anywhere.
Then Kim and the wife came back to the dock, and the wife was strongly bronze level with no sign of using monster cores. She carried herself like a fighter, and she had a weapon on her back. I smelled might, speed and a hint of something else. I guess she was the last line of defence, and she looked formidable. When she turned away from the dock, I saw the weapon, and it was a large double-bladed war axe.
We sailed again, and our next stop was a farming and fishing village. We would be there in time for the evening market and would stay there overnight. We arrived late afternoon, and I helped Kim set up a stall while the foreman and his workers delivered goods to the various people in the village. The local tailor received a whole crate, and I watched as he unloaded and marked off various goods, mostly leathers and bolts of cloth. Then he started loading it with other goods, including some finished clothing. It was the foreman's turn to record what was put back in the crate. I saw farmers loading a crate with fresh crops and fishermen loading one with fresh fish.
The market started late afternoon and there must have been many people coming in from the surrounding district. It was quite the festive mood; stalls were popping up, and food vendors were popular. I really enjoyed the fun of the village. There were games set up in a field to one side and races for the kids.
Kim was both buying and selling, although she was mostly selling. A range of goods and tools were available that would not normally be available in a village of this size. She knew what would be desirable.
I decided I would practice Blending into the crowd. This was not something my Blend Skill could do at iron rank. It is mostly for blending into the background in a rural setting or in a fixed place, but the bronze rank skill is more flexible. I can move faster, and it can change to match the background easier. I was wearing my shorts and belts so the fur could blend well. I tried to make the skill mimic clothes and help me blend into the mostly non-Leonid crowd.
This was more than Blend could do, but stretching the skill like this seemed the right thing. To blend into a crowd, an excellent aura control was also needed. The fine aura control that Farrah was talking about; not my totally disappear aura skill. This was a challenge, but a good one.
As darkness fell, lanterns were lit, and musicians and alcohol came out. Several Kais were out and about, and as darkness fell, Night Kai emerged and moved through the market. Bat Kai was flittering around as well.
Then, I saw the pickpocket moving through the crowd. He seemed to be an older man, bronze-rank, but heavy monster core usage. He wasn’t as good as Kitten, from way back in Ironwood, and Kitten was new iron rank and considered herself to still be in training. I moved back into a shadow and engaged my full normal Blend and aura control. I looked around, and I saw Kim looking at me over the crowd. How can she see me from her stall? She is in a lit area, and I am in shadow in full camouflage. She has scary eye skills.
I watch the pickpocket move through the crowd, and I notice Kim following where I was looking… Really? How? I saw Mara swaying to the music near the dancing. She had a drink and was chatting to some locals. I watched when the pickpocket noticed her out-of-town clothes and changed direction toward her.
I had Night Kai and Bat Kai track him as I ducked back away from the crowd and circled around. I was aiming for an ally where I thought the thief would head to try and cut him off from escaping.
I came to the end of the building where the party started, and the shadows stopped. I looked around to orient myself. The pickpocket was working behind Mara now. I looked around and judged the chances he would be caught and what might pass as law enforcement here. In my village, the Mayor had a chief enforcer, and that was it. It was probably similar here.
I saw Kim in her stall from this new angle, and I saw her looking around. I caught the moment she saw me. How did she do that? I was in full stealth, and Blend was on full in the dark shadows.
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I turned my attention to the pickpocket and considered my options. I didn’t really want to make a fuss, and I am not the law here. I wonder if I can pickpocket the pickpocket? I haven’t done any, and I only have the skills Kitten showed me, although I did keep up the fast hand exercises. I am bronze, and I also have Quick Sharp. It might be a bit of fun. If it goes wrong, I can always catch him and make a fuss.
I remembered the first rule that Kitten had taught me. Always time it so the mark is distracted, or make a distraction for the mark. The pickpocket was heading to this ally to make his escape, so I moved a bit deeper and got ready.
He came around the corner and sped up his walk. I had Bat Kai fly across the ally, getting his attention for a second. I made my move and got his coat pocked and cleaned it out, and the thief carried on without noticing. Really? That is a surprise. Did I actually pull that off, and he never even noticed I was there? He is really not very good, and his situational awareness is very weak.
I dropped my stealth and moved back into the crowd. I wasn’t sure how many coin purses I got, but there were a few. I decided to move over to Kim, and she could advise me.
In a break between customers, she said quietly, “Did you deal with the thief?”
I nodded. I felt for the purse I thought was Mara’s and put it on the counter in front of her. It was Mara’s. “You might tell her to be more careful,”
She nodded and put it away, “Where is the body?”
“What? Why would I kill someone for some petty theft? There is no body”
“Well, you didn’t drag him back and hand him to the locals, so I figured he must be dead. Did you let him go?”
“Yes.” I pulled out some more purses, “I relieved him of his illegal goods. He is probably only just realising it now.”
Kim looked at me sharply, “Are you saying you picked his pocket and got away with it?”
I nodded, “It surprised me that it worked.”
She laughed. “You are a surprise. What are you going to do with the goods?”
“I am not sure,” I said, going through the purses under her counter so it was not visible to the public.
“Keep the coins,” Kim said, glancing down, “I could probably find a buyer for that ring. I don’t normally deal with stolen goods, but I know someone.”
That was a surprise. “Not normally” means she did deal with stolen goods sometimes.
“How did you see me even through my Blend skill?”
She looked at me for a minute, then said, “A combination of Darksight and Keensight. Keensight picks up small details, and now it is bronze. It can pick up small details, including details that might indicate a stealth skill. It depends on the Stealth skill.”
“But you saw where I was looking,” I said.
She paused, then said, “Once I knew where to look, I focused in with my Telescopic Sight. I also have a skill called Insight, and it helps me see below the surface and interpret what I am seeing.”
“You are scary.”
She laughed. Then she looked at me, “I might need your help later in the trip. My Insight is telling me something is not quite right. Your stealth is actually quite good, especially your aura.”
“Does this have something to do with Mara?” I asked.
“No. It is just business, my private business.” she paused and raised a privacy barrier. I had seen those items around. I guess merchants need to conduct private business. “I have something to sell in the last town we are visiting. It is not illegal as such, but it can be used in a variety of ways. Let's leave it at that. The purchaser has a bad reputation, and that is the reason I chose to hire Mike and Rob over others. It was for my protection during this deal. However, I am seeing small things, especially from Mike, that my Insight is telling me something is wrong.”
“You think they might double-cross you?” I asked.
“That is one option, but there are others as well. I have rivals, and this is a big deal. I don’t know what is wrong. For all I know, he might just be worried about something back home. What I do know is something is not right.”
“What are you wanting from me?”
“Are you willing to be my backup to my backup? I will pay you. You follow in stealth and get me out if the shit starts flying.”
“And your skill is telling you that you can trust me?” I ask.
She shook her head, “My skill is telling me you have a lot of secrets. What I have seen over the last few weeks is that you are loyal and smart.”
“I am not sure about this. Let me think about it,”
“Fair enough. We can talk again on the ship.” She disabled the privacy barrier and turned to talk to a customer.
That was food for thought. I thought Kim worked for a legitimate company. She probably does. She said this was a personal business, so she obviously moonlights on the less-than-legal side. We have only known each other for a few weeks. How much do I trust her?