A Fated Meeting (Emblem)

"I hope you've done your homework."

Homework. Funny way of putting it. A book store owner known by the name of 'Trailblazer' would be his next contact. Krious had spent the previous evening learning a Thieves Cant that would be required to pique the interest this proprietor. It was.. interesting to say the least. Now he wandered the streets in broad daylight in search of this shop. Somewhere out of the way, but not painstakingly so. He'd even picked out his nicest white shirt and a pair of dark chinos, ironed them, and topped it off with a similarly dark Harrington jacket. Couldn't very well show up to a man known for dressing sharply in your usual leisurely outfit and his armor would surely arouse suspicion he didn't need.

"Found it." He notified Vision whilst looking at a most curiously designed sign. Firebrand. Not the name that came to mind when thinking of a bookstore but it definitely stood out. "Good. Remember, he goes by Conrad Forrest. Sending you some more details now."

Mr. Forrest it is then. he thought while eyeing the incoming data. He casually swung open the door and was immediately greeted by the musky smell of the many books present within. A few customers were already inside. Some reading the backside synopsis, others perusing through the shelves in search of the next book that struck their fancy. Krious glanced at the bookshelves a few times while making his way over to the counter, questioning how anyone could find anything in here.

There was no sign of his target behind the counter, but ashiny service bell was begging to be used. Krious tapped it three times, making a sharp Ting, Ting, Ting, resound through the room.

It had been a day like many others in the Shop of the Firebrand. Emblem had just walked into the back room for a quick spot of tea. It had been a very ordinary day. He supposed not all days were to be filled with excitement and a research breakthrough or two, but he was close to calling this day dull. Dreary. Devoid. He had done his chores in the morning, polishing the sign, sweeping the floors, sorting the new arrivals. It never seized to amaze him how very much regular mere mortals look like zombies in the early morning. That coffee machine in his shop had been an investment that paid for itself.

As he sipped from his new brew, he listened to the afternoon newscast by use of Linkpearl. That too, seemed rather monotonous. Who would have though there could be news, without there being actual news? Emblem supposed that people might want to hear about some street gang for the umpteenth time. He’d not go as far as to call street gangs news. Welcome to Steel City.

‘Ting, Ting, Ting’ – the sharp notes of his counter bell. Those who were perusing his books were just there to read something inspiring before they left. He would hardly make a proper sell today. Yet these sounds carried with them a certain hint of promise. For a second, Emblem believed he’d meet a budding musician who could carry the tune…of a service bell no less.

‘Be right there!’

He picked up his terracotta teapot and his rather large tea mug. As with almost everything, the mug was embellished with golden lines throughout it’s design. It mirrored his suit. It made things so much more interesting. As he moved back to the front of the shop, he noticed a new customer. Raising his teapot and his right eyebrow slightly, the Devil’s Bookkeep hinted to his new customer if he would like some tea.

‘My my, aren’t we rather well dressed for a bookshop visit. I have to commend your outfit young sir. It’s quite sharp.’

As he put down his teapot on the dark wooden counter, he looked at his visitor. A stately fellow, about the same height as he was. A bit more slim then he was too. With a thought, Emblem silenced his Linkpearl. It wasn’t useful anyway.

‘How can I be of service on this fine, fine day?’  

There he was. Krious thought while comparing the man walking towards him to the slightly out-of-date image floating in his augmented field of view. White hair, yellow eyes, there could be no mistake. He dismissed the image, gave a single nod in reply to the implied cup of tea and motioned with his hands to request a smaller cup than the behemoth sized mug that his host lugged around. "Yes, please."

A brief moment of silence fell between them while Emblem filled up a second, smaller teacup and placed it in front of him. "First impressions are important in my business Mr. Forrest." Krious extended his hand in greeting. "You may call me Krious."

"But enough formalities. You mentioned sharp things. Those are some mighty fines axes." giving a slight nod towards the wall they where mounted on. While this was supposed to imply his interest in the more unique services on offer, Krious couldn't deny the excellent craftsmanship of these weapons. It was also most curious that his data-link could not identify these marvels to a specific craftsman.

The Devil’s bookkeep shook his new customer’s hand. Deftly, slight pressure, up and down and release. Perfect. As everything should be. It was also in those moments that he searched for magical oddities. He didn’t find any. Not yet.

‘Krious. Would that be a last name or a first name?’

A hint in his voice gave away that Emblem expected it to be neither. He might not even get a reply at all. After all, in a world pressed by greed and roughed up by power it seemed all too likely there would be those that would take every precaution to hide their name. While he himself had never been able to fully hide his name, there were still places where they knew him as Trailblazer. At the moment, it seemed to be a simple matter of business.

At the mention of his dear Collapse Axes, he could not help but show a small smile. Those axes were his pride, his legacy. The tricks he could pull with just one of those twins would rival that of a regular competent spellcaster. And on this day, it would at the very least be the most interesting thing he experienced all day.

‘A sharp eye notices many things, Krious. I could not help but wonder what it is that would be considered your business. These axes serve to remind me of a different world out there. You see, I get a lot of visitors every day. People offering me wares, people wanting to buy books, to gain knowledge, why…I even had officer Garcia swing by the other day. Something was up again in Steel City, as if that was anything special.’

As he took a sip from his mug, Emblem noticed the store was empty enough. It was about lunch time, and in Steel City, it meant a temporary lull in business. Those two or three visitors would clear out soon enough. One of them would be back later to purchase that one gardening book she’s been perusing. She has been back to look at it twice now. Emblem was sure to underprice it just slightly so she wouldn’t get it elsewhere.

‘Oh I know!' Said the Firebrand as he put down his mug. ‘Don’t tell me you’re the owner of the new shelter in town. I was just about to get myself a cat. Marvelous creatures they are. I’d figure a black cat with white spots, like he’s got a suit, would fit right in.’

The bounds were set, now the Dealer of Death just had to wait and see if his esteemed patron would be able to catch on.

Hook, line and sinker. Krious took a sip of his tea, appreciating the warmth emanating from the cup. He listened attentively to the seemingly random ramblings. While out of place there was a certain structure to it to make it look like an actual conversation. The undertones hidden in each sentence was what he had to pick up on. It was clear nothing special was going on at this very moment. Free to do any kind of business, but there was an uncertainty in his interlocutor about who exactly had walked into his shop. It felt like curiosity above all else, which was a good thing.

“Don't know of any shelter. But one of these cats pointed me in your direction. I help out a different kind of suit by acting as a manager to an employment agency specializing in odd jobs that require skills and mindsets hard to find in your average Joe.”

With the who part out of the way it was now time to explain the what. Krious felt that perhaps he was staying too close to the line in explaining his intentions, but it would have to do. Figuring out this ‘cant’ on the fly proved a little harder than he thought after only spending a single evening cramming.  

"Speaking of odd jobs. I'm currently in charge of looking for skilled help in handling the epidemic of stray dogs that's been plaguing this fine city. Not like them cool cats of yours. Since we are new to this city, I require someone knowledgeable of the area. Be it of shelters or other things. Perhaps more in the future since we plan to stay a while."

Krious, still holding the warm teacup in front of his chest, kept his eyes locked on the man behind the counter. His gaze silently questioning if the message was understood.

It was clear to Emblem that he might have overshot his Cant. His fault primarily, he supposed. The Thieves Cant was meant to evade law enforcement by sounding like ordinary chitchat, but it sometimes meant it constraints were not always useable. If he were to discuss in depth business with Krious, he would have to find a safe place to meet some other time.

What he did hear, if he understood correctly, was music to his ears.

‘So you’re quite a specialist, mr. Krious. Dog management it so seems.’

Emblem chuckled. Dog management.

‘I jest, I jest. There have been an awful lot of strays on the street, and it plagues my heart to see them without a proper place. They need a home too, you know? And while I do know my fair share of dogs and streets in Steel, I have a business to run. I need to keep the lights on and the merchandise coming in you see. There’s just the matter of how this humble bookshop could cater to the improvement of the city beyond enriching its lives with books. In order for some partnership to occur, I would need to have a franchise number of sorts.’

As he reached below the counter, Emblem pulled out a business card. Nothing special on the outside, but if Krious was worth his salt, he would find a slight imprint that could mechanically be translated to something. That small something was just a bit of code, enough to request access to Emblem’s Linkpearl. It was a small test, but a necessary one.

Other than that, it was a burnished red card (adorned with golden lines, logically) showing the bookshop’s name and address. He presented the card on a dark red napkin and pushed it ever so slightly towards his patron.

A ball chimed as the door to his bookshop opened again. The same woman from before. Emblem walked over to the gardening book swiftly and took it behind the counter to wrap it. He already knew. The customer looked around and was met with a package, like a gift, already waiting for her wit ha smiling Firebrand behind it.

'Service with a smile, ma'am!'

Krious exchanged his teacup for the red piece of paper and took a moment to lean against the counter and hold the card up for a better view. Name, address, logo. Yes, yes, that couldn't be it. His data-link booted back into action, snapping a still of the card and scanning it for anything of value. Character recognition picked up the same info along with what seemed to be a random string of characters hidden between both sides of the card. These characters just so happened to decode into the channel information of a communication device. He casually put the card in the inner pocket of his jacket and activated his own communicator.  

"What a curious design." He spoke out loud. The line would repeat over the wireless connection a millisecond after. An echo of sorts, that would only be heard by a single person. At this moment the shop's bell rang and a familiar customer reentered the shop. Krious hadn't even bothered to notice she'd left earlier. The bookkeep handled it like he had done many times before. Krious quietly eyed the lady with slight discomfort while she made her way towards the counter, but otherwise did not want to disrupt his patron's business. "If only my card could be so informing without voicing too much." He implied, showcasing his commlink required an audible voice. "I'll have a look around."

He'd seen it all before. Momentary surprise to the act of being a good patron and then an exchange of goods for a fleeting feeling of happiness. She probably spent weeks reading the book in this very shop or spent at least as much time pondering its purchase. Normal life looked so tiresome sometimes. Krious stepped away from the counter and moved on to a quieter part of the bookstore while he sent a ping to his handler to handle it.

"Mr. Forrest I presume?" A stately female voice came calling into Emblem's linkpearl not a second later. "My colleague is unable to continue this conversation without being overheard. I do hope he didn't mess anything up. In any case, you have questions for me?"

Krious in the meantime disappeared into an aisle of bookshelves and pretended to care about its contents while Emblem finished his business and handled his call. The channel remained open so he could listen in on the conversation.

‘Yes. Trailblazer or Emblem also suffices. How may I address you?’

A new voice popped into his Linkpearl. Rather uptight. He didn’t have a great feeling about this one, although that could simply be attributed to the fact that he did not have a face to go with a voice. Luckily for the voice, Emblem didn’t really consider his first impressions viable. Not always. As he listened, he walked into the back of the store. With the press of a button, the sign up front said ‘be back in 10 minutes’.

‘Well, you needn’t worry too much about him. The fault may have been with me. Cats are an easy subject to Cant. I had chosen it because his face is new, but it seemed I misjudged. He’s sharp and he figured out my business card sooner than most people. Give him some time and we could plan a heist in front of the police office and they'd think we're off to a birthday party.”

Emblem put on another pot of tea. A rather futile thing really, for a man wo can control fire as easily as he breathes. Oh well.

‘Thing is ma’am, all cats love fish but most fear to wet their paws. If I would just say yes to every man that walks in here and wants to strike a partnership of some sorts, I would be ruined thrice-over. I need to know more. And you will tell me what I am dealing with…and what I stand to gain from all this.’

"You are dealing with people who value their anonymity." Vision answered, completely ignoring his request for a name. The chance they would ever speak again was slim at best. "We see what this city has to offer and aim to take our slice of the pie. You have a unique position in your seat of knowledge. Consider this an olive branch for a friendly collaboration and mutual prosperity."  

What she didn't explicitly mention was the void Emblem could fill with his magical expertise. It was an area they sorely lacked in, but a smart man would take notice of his own worth in this situation.  

"We know what you are looking for. We have the means to get it. You help us, we help you. Krious will show you more details."  

At the mention of his codename, Krious had mysteriously appeared at the entrance of what looked like the employee only part of the store. He still wondered if all the theatrics where worth the effort. It seemed so pointless when the means of communication the Trailblazer currently employed was more advanced than what Krious himself carried. He kept this opinion to himself; it obviously held some value to the man.  

"You must understand that any agreement is between the two of us without obligations to a third party."

His data-link spun up once more. Photographs and short summaries appeared in his field of view, unseen to the rest of the world. All of them of government officials, key figures in different industries and other important players. Even some rumored places and objects of power. He took a quick glance around the room in search of something he could use to share this and found an answer in a viewscreen hanging on the wall. Most likely used for recreational purposes during the slow hours. Krious quickly synced it to his data-link. The screen immediately woke up and started to display the information he saw projected in front of his eyes. The data flashed by quick enough to show an indication of its worth, but not long enough to allow a full understanding. He raised his arm out towards the screen, inviting Emblem to take a look.

"Give me a name. A person, a place or an object. Doesn't matter. First one is on me."

His Linkpearl fell flat after being told the interested part in his services wished to remain anonymous. It wasn’t the best of signs, he had to agree. Everyone valued their anonymity, but there were shades and gradients there. Why would he want to deal with someone who wouldn’t even be so kind as to give him some inkling of what he is possibly lunging himself into?

There was no fun to be had there.

As soon as he thought of this, Krious had entered the back area. He activated Emblem’s viewscreen. He rarely used it, but in an instant, it obeyed his visitor’s every whim.

‘You’re sure you’re not a spellcaster? Or am I seeing Clarke’s Third Law in full effect?’

As he glanced over at his screen, the devil’s bookkeep could not restrain himself from feeling as if he’d died and gone to heaven. Now this was some seriously good stuff. Could he really ask for anything? For a second, he figured that the gain from this favor would be exactly the amount they would expect from him, if not more. This anonymous organization also had the information advantage. They knew him, he did not know them. Yet this Krious seemed to indicate he worked alone. No, not alone. He was given full reign. Yet it didn’t feel like this. It was vexing.

Standing in front of the viewscreen, there was one thing that nagged at the back of the pyromancer’s mind.

‘Show me the customer I had just now. The one I wrapped that book for.’

As images and feeds showed up, he made his request.

‘I’m not sure about her. I get regular customers who always come back for more, bit this one seemed…smooth. Too smooth. I’m hesitant to say that I am either mindlessly paranoid, or she’s somehow linked to the local authorities who try to pin something on me. Something that sticks.’

He took a slow deep breath, closed his eyes for a second and decided this was best.

‘If you can find out who in the Justice Department, be it local, regional or whatever, is investigating me and make sure it’s stopped…Well, then we have a deal. The next service would be on me. If you could somehow reverse it so that person is not going to be going after me ever..Well, I'll wrap my end of the deal in gold and silver wrappings.’

As he looked at Krious, one sliver of possibility dawned on him. Emblem’s golden eyes narrowed slightly, he wondered if this was ever going to happen. How tight was the leash on this man, exactly?

‘Care to press a coin on this one, magitek man? Make it a bit more, shall we say, solid?’