The Weretiger's Path
Chapter Two: Syn City

In his opinion, he looked quite good in the tattered cloak he'd pilfered from someone's house. It have him an edge of mystery, made him look more rugged.

But he wasn't here to look good. He was here to find out more about his adversaries, and the cloak did a good job of hiding most of his features.

Syn City was a dirty place, to say the least. The streets were crowded with all sorts of shifty characters, beady eyes, hidden faces. Thieves, assassins, and ne'er-do-wells.

He fit right in.

He scanned the crowd, checking for the two tall horsemen. Seeing Balio and Sunder weren't there, Rei figured he could move around without fear of being recognized.

But where would he start? He couldn't just go around and ask for information! Ask the wrong person, and it could be all over.

Did that mean there was a right person to ask?

Rei walked down the street, looking right and left, trying to find someone who might know something. Someone brushed by him and tried to disappear into the crowd.

Being a good thief, Rei knew what had just happened, and reached after the person. Rei picked up the person and held him at eye level, glaring.

His glare lessened when he realized what exactly he was looking at.

"Doesn't that just beat all. You're just a kid!"

The ratty-looking little boy would have protested about being held several feet off the ground if he wasn't looking into the eyes of a very imposing tigerman.

Rei sighed, "I'll let you go, just give me back my money." He'd worked hard stealing that money, and he wasn't about to let some little pickpocket run off with it.

"I-I dunno what you're talking about," the kid said.

"Sure you don't," Rei replied. "How about this: if you don't give me my money, I'm going to eat you!" He growled to drive his point home. He didn't mean it, but it might scare the kid into handing the money over.

The kid whimpered and held out a small sack of money.

"That's better," Rei said, taking the money and putting it in his pocket. The grubby face stared back at him.

It occurred to Rei that this kid was roughly the same age as Ryu when Rei found him.

Annoyed by the nostalgic feeling he was getting, he said, "Alright, kid, I'll give you ten zenny if you tell me where I can get some information without getting killed."

The kid's face brightened a little.

"Over there," he said, pointing at a seller's stall. The kid held out his hand. "Gimme."

Rei gave the kid his zenny, set the kid down, and watched him disappear into the crowd.

Rei went over to the stall the kid pointed out, trying not to act or look suspicious. A hag sat behind the wooden counter, winkled and bent with age. She had numerous powders and potions set out to sell.

"Can I help you, young man?" she asked.

Rei wasn't sure how to go about this. If he said the wrong thing….

"I need information," he said.

"We'll see if I have any to offer," the hag replied. "What kind of information?"

"There's a crime syndicate that operates through here," Rei said. "Do you know anything about it?"

Judging by her cackling, the hag found this amusing.

"You aren't from around here, or else you'd know. But it's going to cost you."

"I figured. How much?"

"Fifty zenny, for starters. We'll take it from there."

Rei shelled out the fifty zenny, and the hag counted it carefully before continuing.

"The syndicate doesn't just operate through Syn City," the hag said. "It operates out of here. Syn City is the headquarters."

"What exactly does the syndicate do?"

"Thirty zenny," the hag demanded. Rei paid.

"Syn City is one big black market. The syndicate oversees the sale all contraband and otherwise illegal items, and takes a cut of the profit. In other towns, it has operatives to see the items get through without being caught or stolen."

"Who's Mikba?"

"Fifteen zenny."

Rei gave her another fifteen zenny. If this continued, he'd be broke, and then he'd have to go stealing again.

"Mikba's the leader of the syndicate. You'd best stay away from him, if you know what's good for you."

"I'm not paying you for advice," Rei retorted. "Where are Balio and Sunder?"

The hag blinked her small, shrunken eyes.

"Balio and Sunder?" The hag erupted into a fit of cackles. "Whyever would you want to know that?"

"Just tell me already!"

The hag continued to cackle, and Rei's patience was wearing thin. He picked her up by her robes and demanded, "Where are they?"

"Hey, you there!" A few gangsters made their way over towards Rei and the hag. "Put her down!"

Rei could take them on, but now wasn't the time. He dropped the hag.

"I wasn't trying to start anything," Rei said, backing away from their advance.

"Right, and I'm the king of Wyndia!" one gangster sneered.

"Look, I'm leaving, alright?" Rei took a few steps down the street.

"Don't let it happen again, or else you'll regret it." The gangster pulled a dagger from his belt and brandished it. "You got me?"

"Yeah, I got you." Rei backed down the street, not turning his back until there were enough people between he and the gangsters that they couldn't attack without making a scene.

After he felt relatively safe, Rei started planning his next move.

He'd been so close! Why wouldn't the hag tell him where Balio and Sunder were? Was there something about them that he didn't know?

It wasn't any use going back to Syn City and asking again. The hag wasn't going to talk.

WaitRei thought of someone who would know where Balio and Sunder's whereabouts. He'd been under Rei's nose all along.

McNeil.