Chapter 8: Chasing Shadows
We had just exited the Suwen Trading Company having learned nothing. I did, however, finally decide on how I was going to choose my friends from now on. After letting that man's hideous facial hair get the better of me I discovered Future Sight also works on people! I'll call this Object Premonition. I read a book back in the Cathedral about a member of the Evil Eye Tribe who could see the future. The specific variant was incredibly rare in fact so rare that only one ever existed in history.
Most Evil Eyes were very similar in function as they allow them to see invisible things and interfere with people's minds. Some were capable of draining people's mana which was a more combat oriented Evil Eye. Anyway, the Evil Eye was called the Evil Eye of Premonitions. So, naturally I stole the name hence Object Premonition. Of course the name is slightly deceiving as it works on both living and nonliving things, but there's a catch. Nonliving things only had a single future that was more or less unchanging while people had multiple. So depending on whether or not I liked what I saw was how I'm going to base my decisions. Yes, yes I'm a genius no need to praise me.
Still I have no idea what I would've done if he'd been a not so nice person. Probably forcibly shave his face and let Prylla handle the rest. She was nice like that. Now, on to the matter at hand. I needed to find this robed man and I had no idea where to look.
"How are we going to find him now?"
"Hm… I doubt he'd have left the city. Where you took us earlier was where the trade took place, right?" Prylla rubbed her chin with her free hand as she asked me.
"I'm pretty sure that was the right place. Oh, I know!" Prylla looked at me inquisitively as I squeezed her hand a little tighter.
I activated Object Premonition on her and the scene around me changed to a birds eye view of the city. Turning my head around I realized this was the top of the Time Tower. Trying to adjust the Focus Point while using this wasn't the easiest task in the world. I needed to go further down this line while avoiding the incorrect futures and managing the ever growing headache and nausea that would begin blooming at any second. Unlike with my Gospel everything was much clearer and easier to make out.
Using the Time Tower as a reference I started tuning it forward. The yellow glow quickly faded as it turned to a dull red. The scene progressed forward with it as a result. Everything around me began to disperse into shadows as it reshaped itself into the next scene. This part of the city looked unfamiliar, so it was most likely not the north or west districts. "Hnk. Hah-" The headache began to increase in severity as the nausea was setting in. I didn't have much time left.
Swiftly pivoting on my right foot in a circle I finally saw what I was looking for. The cloaked man had entered what appeared to be a restaurant of some kind. The sign outside was worn out, but I could make out the first word on it: 'Winking'. I deactivated Object Premonition and fell over clutching my head. Prylla was still holding my hand so she was able to stop me from hitting the ground. She lowered herself to me to inspect me with a worried expression on her face.
"Are you okay!?"
"There's… some kind of shop… or restaurant… couldn't… make out... full name… Winking something..." I stumbled over my words as I waited for the pain to subside. It seems to be taking longer to set in lately, but it still wipes me out when I try to go too far. I felt my consciousness fading. I was going to pass out. Hopefully Prylla understood what I told her.
I didn't wake back up for about two hours apparently. The second I woke up, Prylla yanked me into a tight hug. It wasn't like that was going to kill me or anything. I'm better than that. We were already stationed outside the building I saw in my vision. The full name was the Winking Lizard probably because it was mostly lizard folk who came here. The building itself felt out of place compared to the rest of the city. While the typical buildings looked like they belonged in the middle of a desert this was more like a shack than a restaurant fit for actual use.
It was closer to something you'd see if you'd entered the most run down portion of the city. Unlike the rest of the city this building in particular was made from wood. The entrance had wooden columns supporting the part of the roof that jutted out. The columns were evenly spaced apart and nicely framed the arch that formed the entryway. This building seriously looked like someone just decided to build it on a whim without proper permits whatsoever. I was going to give the owner an earful if that was the case. I may be young but rules are rules!
I chatted with Prylla about frivolous topics while we waited. The Time Tower was beginning to shift to red so the robed man would be appearing soon. More time passed and the man of the hour had finally arrived. Prylla helped me devise a plan before we began. First we were going to let him enter the building without any issue. I was going to follow him and try to get close. Prylla was going to hand a bit back ready to use her magic if necessary, but I ultimately wanted to end this peacefully.
Prylla made sure to hammer in the fact I may need to actually fight, to which I responded I'll just use Shamak and leave it to her instead. While I might be clever I wouldn't count on physical abilities. Prylla could just use her wind blades while I used Future Sight to dodge them and slip away. So, we put our plan into action.
I made sure to keep my eyes glued to the man as I followed. Entering the building inside was nothing like the outside. While the outside looked run down the inside was actually well maintained. There was a bar on the opposite end of the square room and tables littered about. There weren't many customers inside, only about two or three drunkards playing a card game in the corner. The main thing I noticed was that the only employee in the building was a demi-human, specifically a lizard lady. This wasn't the first time I've seen a demi-human as they were fairly abundant among Petelguese's fingers, however, they were usually scared stiff whenever I walked within three feet of them. They would quickly bow and scurry away like rats. I didn't like them very much. At least say, 'hi'!
The cloaked man approached the counter where there was a female employee wearing a simple barmaid outfit that accentuated her chest. I watched him sit down and could hear him mumble something before the lizard lady poured him a drink.
"Bwahahaha! I win again!" One of the men in the corner yelled out, a human.
"Yer cheatin'!" A dog man responded by raising his fists above his head.
"Hey! No fighting in here. Take it outside." The counter lady yelled out.
I found myself distracted from my goal and found the counter lady staring at me.
"You! No kids allowed in here, get lost!" The lady waved her hands at me.
"Huh? That's kinda mean don't you think?"
"Sorry she's with me." Prylla quickly ran up to me.
"Tch. Take your rugrat and get lost." The rude lady responded.
This seemed to tick Prylla off severely. I was annoyed too. I hadn't done anything to deserve this sort of treatment. I turned towards Prylla whose face was beginning to show her anger, but I could tell she was trying to hold it back. Instead of listening to the lady I walked over to the cloaked man instead and tugged on him.
"Didn't you hear her kid, leave." His voice was rather gruff; he was definitely on the older side. Middle aged?
"Sorry mister, but I think you have something I want. A metia. It's a ring with a red jewel on it."
He's going to jump out of his seat. Nearly as soon as I saw it happen he proceeded on the exact course of action. He was now on the far side of the counter with his hand gripping something tightly under his cloak.
"How'd you know about that metia? Huh? Who the hell are you?" The man's voice exuded hostility. Prylla was already preparing herself to fight.
"Hm? I don't see why you're acting like that. I haven't done anything to you. You should treat strangers politely, you know? After all, you don't know the problems they're going to go through. Not everyone's future can be good." I took a step towards the man who stepped back.
"There's only one group that would have any interest in this metia… You're tellin' me you're one of them? The bastards that destroyed my family!"
"Really? Can I meet them? I'd like to give them a scolding later." The man didn't respond; he'd simply drawn his sword. "Hey, that's not nice! I'm trying to talk to you and you point a sword at me? Hmph."
I turned towards the three in the corner. "You should probably leave. I wouldn't want you to get hurt." The three nodded and swiftly left. I then focused my attention on Ms. Rude. "You, however, are getting a scolding too missy!" I pointed my finger at her as her eyes went wide.
"And you! Cloak guy! I've never even seen you before and you go and accuse me of hurting you? How rude! I was going to buy it off of you and scold the mean lady. Now I'm mad." I huffed angrily, turning my head towards Prylla who had been waiting for whoever made the first strike and nodded at her.
"Shamak." I used shamak to fill the room with smoke as I fumbled my way out of the building. The next thing I heard was Prylla's voice.
"Fura!" A loud thump followed.
I heard the sound of steel clashing against steel. I knew that whatever was happening in there I probably didn't want to witness it. Or rather I knew deep down I simply was ready to witness what was going on inside that building.
"Goa!" I heard a male voice yell. This was a spell I recognized as a simple fire spell, but with the construction of the bar I more or less could guess what was about to happen. The left side of the building caught fire and started spreading to the right. I heard a few more clangs of metal against metal before a loud thump on the ground. The fire was nearing the entrance when a single person emerged: Prylla.
She was tucking away her dagger after flicking a red liquid off of it. In her other hand was the item we came here for a small ring with a red jewel. The item in question was obviously meant to be a pinky ring due to its size. Prylla walked towards me and handed me the ring which I pocketed.
"Are you alright?" She asked me.
"I should be the one asking you that."
Prylla chuckled as we trotted to an inn further in the city far away from the ashes of the Winking Lizard. It was a shame the place had to burn down, but I really needed that metia. I didn't want to fail my first mission after all. We stayed overnight and set out for the Cathedral the next day. The journey back was uneventful, but we did spend some more time taking in the outside world.