A sudden political question was thrown into the mix after a sob story about an elderly grandma forced to lose her business and only method to support her grandchildren. Aayla's instincts screamed that this was an important question. Was he trying probe her personal views? In an instant, a sympathetic look appeared on her face.
"How tragic. Surely there's support for people like her, though? Forest Waypoint wouldn't want to lose a reputable long-time business."
The merchant looked a bit lost as he rambled a response.
"There was. But with those people in charge at Sarrasak, even if the officials here wanted to support talented people, they have limited means. Oh, excuse me. That's not something that a student like yourself should have to worry about."
That's an interesting response, especially the 'BUT with THOSE people in charge' and 'EVEN IF the officials here' parts. He brought the focus back to Sarrasak, the capital and home of the national government. Clearly, he's implying that those in higher offices aren't any good while the officials here either aren't any better or lack power.
Nobles typically support the City Lords very loudly, while the progressives vocally back the elected officials. Either way, both factions are in favor of the current government in some way. They wouldn't be so doubtful about the national government. Is this guy a neutral member?
Aayla had a strange feeling. As the conversation continued deeper into politics and philosophy, he placed a strange emphasize on 'talent' and 'the proper way to study magic'. The merchant appeared calm, but Aayla could tell that he had a burning passion underneath his cool exterior.
Normal students would be fooled. Not Aayla. She had seen similar passion before on Earth. He had an almost obsessive passion like top experts or extremely devout fanatics. A couple of other red flags were raised during their chat.
All kinds of gazes had fallen onto Aayla after she arrived. From strangers, they were typically cool, disdainful or a strange curiosity like Aayla was an exotic animal in the zoo. This man's gaze was strangely expectant and a bit greedy.
Strangers would typically ask invasive questions about her background, qualifications and medical history. This man didn't. He barely brushed over her background even when Aayla mentioned that she was studying at Nafriton. Now that she thought about it, the merchant's gaze had subtly brightened then. As if he had confirmed something.
Did this merchant recognize her? What was he expecting? Alarm bells were ringing wildly in her head. Something was wrong. This conversation might have been a mistake. Especially since she played along to see what his scam was. Aayla assumed that his goal was money, but that assumption was probably wrong.
Aayla deliberately looked at a watch artifact on the table then widened her eyes in surprise. She hurriedly took out her pocket watch.
"Oh, dear! Look at the time. I got too caught up with chatting."
"Be careful on your way. Traffic can get bad this time of day. Oh, here is a little guidebook for smaller shops and side streets of Forest Waypoint. The small business association put it together. I've marked a couple that are having some good going out of business sales if you're interested."
Aayla politely thanked the merchant. She purchased a small brooch type artifact with a clothes maintenance spell. Then she sped off before she got caught up in conversation again. Out of sight of the merchant, she wrapped the brooch and guidebook in her small towel.
Instead of putting it in her bag, she would hold onto them personally for the time being. Aayla might forget about them in her bag. As soon as she saw Captain Figgins or a professor, she would ask them to take a look.
When she passed one of the carriage stations, she bumped into some faces. The illustrious Deputy Heston and Headmaster Marin were accompanied by some military and police officials. They slowly walked towards the police headquarters.
Aayla speed walked down the crowded sidewalk. Ramona smiled and waved as she noticed Aayla. The group let the disheveled young lady catch up.
"Hello, dear Aayla. How has your trip been so far?"
"Not so bad. Only had a couple of serious incidents like some creature trying to claw my arm off or trample me to death," She dryly replied. "I've gotten so much practical experience since my work started that I really haven't had the time to do anything else."
Her sarcasm seemed to be lost on several of the officials who nodded and beamed happily. Only a few seemed to realize that she was actually criticizing their safety measures. They kept their heads down to avoid the shame showing on their faces. The criticism wasn't that bad, but their colleagues' reaction was too embarrassing.
Ramona chuckled. "Sarcasm just goes over the heads of the blockheads out here. It's best to just say things directly."
"What do you have in your hand there?" Headmaster Marin calmly pointed to the towel in Aayla's hand.
Aayla quickly unwrapped the towel. The brooch and pamphlet that she got from the stall laid on her hand. She held them out towards the headmaster.
"Just an artifact and a pamphlet. Some of the stalls just seemed a bit strange and were attracting a lot of students. They seemed like scams, so I checked on out. I wanted to get something to show a professor to be sure."
Headmaster Marin carefully picked up the brooch and looked it over. The materials seemed fine. He carefully tested the inscribed spell. His face clouded over for a brief second before returning to normal. The cleaning spell worked perfectly, but the movement of mana was a bit strange.
"You said they seemed like scams. Why?"
"Just a few strange points. I haven't seen any of those vendors before and their neighbors didn't seem familiar with them either. Their advertising methods were sensational and glossed over important points. They stopped hawking and even tried to hide when any patrols came nearby. As for the prices, they were outrageously good."
When Aayla told the group about the merchant and his prices, their eyes bulged in surprise. Did those merchants not want to make money?! They would go out of business selling artifacts for that price. Not to mention that several groups were selling goods that cheaply to students. That was suspicious.
In a flash, the headmaster subtly manipulated the brooch. No one even noticed that its mana fluctuation became normal. He handed it back to Aayla with a chuckle.
"Just leave that investigation to the professionals, Ms. Glowery. As for that brooch…" a mischievous grin appeared on Headmaster Marin's face. "Write a detailed report and tell me what's wrong with it when you get back."
"… eh? But shouldn't a professional take a look?"
"They will take a look into the vendors. But this brooch will be an excellent exercise for students. Turn in your report to Deputy Heston by the 28th."
"Sir, with all due respect but finals are in less than two weeks away! I need to study for them!"
"Oh? So should I set an earlier due date?"
"Nonononono! No sir! That will not be necessary! The 28th is a lovely date to turn in an assignment."
"Very good. I look forward to reading your work. Hahaha."
"Headmaster, please stop teasing my goddaughter."
"I'm not teasing her though."
Aayla clutched the brooch in tears. Darn it. This is what she got for being nosy! Should have just let the students get scammed. She glared at the brooch. They would figure it out eventually anyways.
"Chief, could you do this old man a favor and look into the markets? With prices that strange, I don't want weird people targeting my students' wallets."
{There was a second spell on that artifact. Something is very wrong with that stall. Don't delay on this Chief. Someone is targeting my students. I will request official military aid later. Ramona, get that brooch from Aayla in secret. Let's keep this quiet.}
The headmaster alerted only three other individuals to his concerns: Deputy Heston, the Chief of Police and the highest ranking military official present.
"Absolutely! Those conniving snakes must have been laying low for a while. Otherwise, I don't know why else they wouldn't have been caught already. Watts, go take care of this issue."
One of the officers bowed then quickly walked away. The lead military official secretly signaled for one of his men to slip away. Aayla accompanied Ramona for the rest of the day.
Unknown to her, that small report caused the winds to stir in Forest Waypoint again. Some rats were suspected to have returned. Unfortunately, with their mission completed those rats slipped away into the crowds. Later, rumors of the True Order appearing in the market spread throughout the city after the students had left.
No one was caught, but the short investigation did yield some disturbing results. Just like weeds, the True Order was unwanted and persistent. A secret message would be sent to Sarrasak that night.