4 days after the explosion - prince room
The prince went to bed early yesterday with the excuse that he was really tired, the truth was that he really needed to wake up before sun rise so he could get to the shady part of town before they close but after the dangerous hour passed.
He really hated to wake up so early in the morning, but it wasn't his first time and it wont be the last. His disguise was already prepare yesterday just to be safe so he didn't have to spend too much time preparing. The disguise was a simple one, he wore a magician robe with a pair of glasses. It worked fine because he wasn't the only one going to that part of town in that get up and no one would suspect that the failure of a prince was dress as a magician.
Well, he also wore his leather armor and utility belt under the robe for safety, since it didn't weight much and it didn't restrict his movements and a bag to sell some of his stuff.
After wearing the disguise, the easy part was done, now came the hard part, getting out of the palace without being notice. It wasn't as hard as it sounds, since he had a really lecherous and friendly brother that not only found all the secret doors in the palace, but he also shown most of them to him. No, the problem were the guards and staff, since even at this hours some of them were working and if he wasn't careful, he would be found out(specially since some of the people working here have enchanted senses thanks to their inner mana).
He did have some special boots that didn't make noise when he walk, so as long as he didn't breath hard, step on anything crunchy or bump into anyone, he should be fine.
First, the prince put an ear on the door to try to hear if someone was close, then he open the door and taking only his head, he confirmed that none was outside.
The next step was to get to the end of the hallway and peak the other side, while paying attention to noises. He bent down and took a small mirror to pick the other side, but he almost turn white when he saw through the mirror. Far away he catches a glimpse of the annoying servant standing on the hallway.
He was just standing there but as soon as he started looking, it seems the servant sensed something because he started to look around until he stopped and looked to his corner. The prince started to panic but just when it looked like he was going to move, a maid stop him and after talking who knows what, both went the other way.
Relaxing a little, the prince keep going until he reached his parents room. It was the closest and most convenient secret passage, but he could only use it when his parent were out of the palace. He used the copy of the key he had and enter the room without a problem.
The room was spotless, and unlike his sister room, it looked like no one have stolen their stuff. Now, all that was left was easy. He searched for the loosen brick behind the mirror, and a secret passage open behind the fire-place. the prince follow the passage and open another secret door that went to the sewers of the city. he follow the sewers for a while until he went up to one of the streets in the city.
The sun was starting to go up went he got outside, and the streets were deserted. You could hear some people here and there, and some store started to work at this hour like the bakery's, but it was mostly quiet.
He went to the shady part of town, and luckily, he didn't find any troubles on the way. The place he wanted to go didn't look like a store or something like that. No, it was a house with a reinforced door. He knocked the door and waited for an answer.
"Who is it?"(??) a voice could be heard behind the door
"Take a guess"(Prince)said loud enough without screaming
"Jarvan! come inside come inside, I was getting worried someone took you out"(??)an old muscular man open the door and hug the prince
"old man, you know i am worst than a cockroach, there is no way someone can kill me"(prince)took the hug and gave him a smile
"true true, but even a cockroach will get killed if you hire an expert or work hard enough"(old man)the two of them went inside and the old man close the door with multiple locks
"shesh, thanks for the vote of confidence, like I said, I am worst than a cockroach, they won't get me"(prince)
"fine, what bring you here today, the usual or something else?"(old man)
Inside the resident, it looked kinda like a store, with all kind of different products or materials all over the place(illegal, hard to get or stolen) , but the good stuff were lock away for safe keeping as the prince found out one day.
The prince found out this place after paying a few golden coins in a shady tavern, but only after getting a reputation around the parts that he sold "interesting" alchemy materials.
The old man had a good reputation, for a shady merchant at least. He was famous for selling and buying at a fair price and got deals with the guards and thief guild to leave him alone. From time to time someone tried to steal the place, since the stuff was worth a lot, but he was an S rank adventure in his younger days, so even in his old age he was quite strong (or so he says, no one knows for sure since the guy is really old and he never says his real name).
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
The prince was really intimidated the first time he met him, but with time he got use to the old man and the two of them made a lot of money together. Since the prince got better equipment, resources time and interest(since most were mages) than most alchemist, he could make quality stuff that the old man sold later, and even got a few request that not only gave him a lot of money but also new alchemy recipes. He also brought rare stuff for his experiment or even normal stuff at a great discount(since they were stolen) so the old man was always happy to see the prince, and the prince didn't mind the old man manners, but of course he always worked with an alias.
"Well, yes and no, I came to sell the usual stuff and the last request, and to buy the usual but this time I want special information"(Prince) said while handing him a bag with the stuff
the old man took a quick look at the bag to make sure everything was there
"Sure, I am not really in the information trading business, i know a guy for that, but tell me and I will see what I can do"(Old man)
"A friend of mine got their stuff stolen the other day, he doesn't care about the stuff but more like if someone is out to get him. That's why I want to know if someone brought some of the staff in this list the last few days"(the prince) handed the list Rebbeca gave him
The old man took the list "Yes, someone brought a couple of the stuff on this list, but no matter how much I like you lad, I can't betray one of my contacts"(Old man)
"Look I get it, but I am not out for blood, you should know I am not that type of guy. The problem is that they stole important research papers and my friend want it back. If it was a simple robbery, then we just pay to get the stuff back and be done with it, and if it was to purposely hinder my friend, then he wants to know to be more careful for now on"(prince)
"Like I said, I can't just betray a contact, It's bad for business"(Old man) gave the prince a sorrowful look
"How about this, tell me if the guy that sold you the stuff belonged to an organisation or worked alone, that at least will help get a picture of what happened"(prince)
"Fine, it was a guy that usually works alone but gets hired from time to time"(Old man)put his two hand up in surrender in a joking manner
Well, that helps a little but doesn't answer if it was from the bombers or someone taking advantage of the bomb
"mmmh, If I promise to don't bring him any harm from me or anyone I know and to paid him no matter what kind of answer he give me, would you please tell me how to find him"(prince) pleaded him
"Why so much interest in helping this friend, I never saw you try so hard at something before"(old man) was surprise how tenacious prince was this time, he usually was quite lay back and showed little interest to anything and everything.
"Usually yes, but I own a lot to this person and I would feel bad if I don't try a bit at least"(prince) thought about telling the old man that he was related to the stolen stuff, but he was afraid that if someone connected the stuff with Rebbeca, and he admitted he was directly connected with this, they would find out he was the prince. At least if someone who knew asked about it, he could tell it was a friend from the magic university, and it reasonable for them to know what she had in the room and ask for her stuff. Well at least that was the story he was going to give.
"I give up, the guy name is guisu, he usually drinks at he green dragon in the evening and he has brown hair and a scar on his forehead. I am doing a leap of fait with you lad, if the guy gets mad and doesn't want to do business anymore or he show up dead the next day, you and me will have a problem, ok?"(old man) gave the prince a glare, making the prince sweat a lot and wish to never make an enemy of the guy
"Don't worry, I also like or friendship and I wouldn't want to break it"(prince) gave the old man a smile, trying to reassure him
The old man started to palming his back and laugh "hahahaha, don't give me that face, I am sure you will keep the end of your deal, I was just scaring you a little. Now tell me what you have being up to lately, it's been almost two weeks since I last saw you"(old man)
"Fine, but bring me something to drink first old man all this talk made my throat thirsty"(prince) would chance some of the details so he wouldn't catch on to who he was, but at least he have someone to talk about his problems now.
Note:Trying new stile, tell me if you like it or if i should go back to the old 1 and thx macrobdella for the help
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