“Ok, fine I’ll go. However one last question, Vixen, I want to know honestly how you made a living in the slums. From what I’ve heard, Shiara worked as a healer, mainly outside the slums. However, I never really heard what you did apart from a few vague words and gestures. Care to explain it in more detail, or is it too shady for me to know?” Sarra stared pointedly at me. It was clear that she was beginning to doubt my integrity and character even if she wished to believe otherwise. That, or she was beginning to find it hard to read me. “I understand that you have lot’s of secrets, it’s obvious at a glance. I just want to know mainly out of curiosity what you did, but can you please tell me enough so that I can get to know you better? I promise I won’t think badly of you even if you’ve done a bad deed or two if they’re nothing major. ” Or she just simply asked out of curiosity and… friendship?
Well telling some of this should be fine, and if that were the price to satiate her curiosity, it would be a small price to pay. I guess divulging the intricacies of my work would not make much of a difference at this point.
“Ok, I’ll tell you about how I survived in the slums. Well the whole idea to trade and deal in information began when I was quite new to the slums, only a few months after my arrival there I believe. I was sitting on the ground in a stupor, when three kids rushed by me carrying something. Two of them continued to run away, while one, seemingly tired, decided to hide behind a pile of trash.”
I stared at the two who were enthralled with the story before continuing, “Soon after, a man ran by. Seeing the backs of the two kids, he was about to run on when he stopped and suddenly came back. He calmly looked around before he eventually noticed me and came over. He explained to me how he was a storeowner, and how the kids had stolen from him, asking me if I had seen where the third kid went. Realising I was too tired or weak to talk, he brought out some half eaten food and fed me. He then took out a dirty coin and said, “If you tell me where the kid who has my jewellery went, I’ll give you this copper coin.” For me, it was an easy decision to make, so I pointed to his spot and said “Behind the garbage over there.” The kid must have heard me tattling on him, as he quickly burst out and tried to get away, but the man swiftly caught him. Manhandling the kid, the man tossed me the coin with his other hand before leaving. I never saw that kid ever again.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Stop nudging me Suticat. I pushed his head away. “After realising the value of information, it was just a gradual trial and error until I perfected my work. Of course there were a few times where I nearly lost my life, but that’s a story for another time. The work was irregular, and I quickly discovered several things; that not all information was valuable and that the higher the value, often the greater the risk. I also discovered by a fortuitous encounter the value of incorrect information, or as many of my clients called it, misinformation. False information nearly made me as much money as correct information.”
“As of the way I collected my information there were three main ways. One way was by going around the slums to ask for information, but this was mostly useless. While other kids were good at spreading rumours, they also heard mostly incorrect or inaccurate rumours. Another more reliable way was to go around and sit outside shady pubs to eavesdrop. I could even occasionally sneak into the ones run by a local gang lead by Flu. However this method was also quite unreliable. However, my last strategy, which I’m very proud of, worked the best, and considering how close we are, I shall reveal it to you two. However, I want you to promise to not spread it.”
The two who were looking fascinated and caught up in the excitement nodded quickly like chickens pecking. “ We definitely won’t talk about it. What is it?”
Leaning closer to the fire, I whispered “Hanging onto carriages.” The two revealed confused looks. Do they still not understand it? “Hah…. basically, I would lie around gates, waiting for carriages, typically important looking carriages to pass by. Then blending in with the human crowd, I would get close, and maybe even pretend to get hit by the cart sometimes, before going under and clinging onto the underside of the carriage when the drivers were inattentive. There I would hang on to the axle and eavesdrop for a bit, before leaving again in another crowd. The guards at each checkpoint will often check under the carriage, so you need to leave before then. And you know the most brilliant thing? Lots of low level mercenaries, merchants, nobles and official’s carriages have thick soundproof sides, but not a sound proof floor. You can often hear everything clearly once you press your ear against the floor. People are often quite loose lipped inside carriages-people seem to subconsciously believe they are safe and infallible inside.”
“Hmm I see. But Vixen, why didn’t you suggest we do that to leave Frankfurt? We could freely travel while under someone’s carriage right?”
“That-“
“No Shiara. If you think about it, you would need enormous strength to hold on for a long time. The uneven ground outside of towns would also make it very dangerous. You also wouldn’t be able to hide easily when the people inside the carriage set up camp. The journey would have been filled with many issues. Lastly, I might not still be alive if you two hadn’t save me. Anyways, thanks for the entertaining story, I just have one last question. Seeing as you are so informed, did you hear anything about the firefo-“
“Ouch!” I turned to my left to glare at him. “Suticat, why did you bite- Oh. OH NO! Grab your fish and go. Now!”
We had gotten too distracted, and if Suticat had not alerted me, I might not have noticed it in time. The air in that direction was vibrating unnaturally. Milling Air.