Chapter 5
The Deal
It didn't take long for Zoran to know he was being followed. He turned around, and saw a mysterious figure enshrouded in a black cloak. His face was obscured, and he spoke to him and a mysterious voice.
"You are no Mobian, are you?" He asked him. Zoran had no idea what he was talking about.
"I have no idea what a Mobian is, so I guess I'm not." The man nodded. Zoran tried to see if he could make out a face, but he just couldn't. His face may have been obscured from a mask.
"I am the last of my race, a race that was…wrongly destroyed, and like you, am a foreigner to this world. I desire an artifact of immense power, and in return, perhaps I may help you. You didn't come here as a tourist, from what I see."
Zoran nodded. "My name is Zoran Prower, and I advise you to never do business with a Prower." He told him half jokingly. "Not if you plan to betray me, that is." The man's face reacted to his name in an odd manner, and despite the mask he seemed to be wearing, he did not hide his reaction from it. "I am on a search for… something… and in order to find it, I am in search of my cousin."
The mysterious man smiled, the only thing that he had been able to see from the man's face. "Ah, you aren't the only Power I've come across. Indeed, while doing my task you may just come across him, indeed very likely."
Zoran nodded. He was excited, but he masked it well. He wasn't about to be tricked, never again, but he wasn't going to bring more dishonor to the Prower line than was already there. There was a bloody and sad history in that name…
"It appears that a special diamond was stolen from me, and after ages of passing from one hand to another, it has finally landed into Sonic's possession. He's a powerful hedgehog, but with your… abilities… you may be able to defeat him. Normally I wouldn't care about it that much, but there is power in such an item, power I require for my work."
"And what would that work be, sir?" Zoran asked.
"My work brings change. I'm afraid I must be discreet here, though I wish I could tell you more. If you bring this diamond to me, then I shall aid you in your search with whatever you need, money, equipment, transportation, maps, with whatever information you can convince your cousin to tell you. And if he isn't your cousin, then perhaps I can help you find the answer, or help find your real cousin. But I need the diamond! Do whatever it takes to get it, and remember, you will be rewarded well."
Zoran smiled, satisfied. "Thanks, but I must ask how you know about my cousin." There was no doubt it was his cousin, it was after all, his grandfather that had invented the last name.
The man's face looked even more mysterious before, as if he was trying to hide a secret deep within the ground. "We've meet a few times." He didn't say anything else. Zoran thought it wise not to press him. "But be off! The sooner you get it, the sooner I can aid you with your search!
As Zoran ran off, the man smiled to himself. What Zoran didn't know wouldn't hurt him… until he knew, of course.