"Where… where is Blackie?"
We went back to the town, to the flower shop to look for my transport. However, I think my dear Jena should have mentioned before that my plan was not going to work.
"Marcus took him to Firel Town with the cart to buy supplies and sell the rest of the last season batch of flowers."
She should have told me before, dammit, "when… when will he come back?"
"Tomorrow…"
"…"
This must be a joke, again a stone in my way. My road towards mightiness was being played before me on this shitty game of fate, and this sadistic disturbance on my sanity will only leave corpses on the road if I were to get angry. However, worry not, dear heart and mind… there must be another way. A magician must be able to recognize the many possibilities and many paths in the road to greatness. That is the way of the magician.
Though I can't use my supply of potions from elián flower to enhance my legs or make me suddenly appear near that mine, I can use some other tricks.
Think brain, think! There must be a way.
If I deplete my storage of magic potions and plants before I even reach the frontier, I will be done for when I try to sneak inside that hole. I need another plan. A mighty plan, intelligent plan. Goodness, I don't have anything. I think I will have to use them and then find another way to sneak inside.
Maybe if I ask someone from the town, they will lend me their carts or a horse, or even a pony if I offer the right price. However, on the hypothesis that Madame Tate knows now that I had left the tavern, more like I escaped without remorse. Maybe she is already plotting a strange scheme to capture me with the help of her many contacts in the town, then she will send me to a tower to be locked for the rest of eternity… I can't go back to the town for now.
"You can ask Merchant Sebastian, boss," Lily, the little red-haired girl with beautiful caramel eyes came inside while swindling her basket of flowers. She looked so happy and indifferent at the same time. I knew she was scheming something, but that will be for me to find some other time.
"Lily?" I said to her and she bowed to her Master.
"Hello, Boss, how have you been?"
"Good, and you?"
"Great."
"Excellent."
"Wonderful," this is strange.
This little girl's brain functioned differently from her little friends, she has this special set of skills I cannot properly specify. If the squirrel Matty was a dominant boy with great talent in making tricks and schemes, maybe the dark magic path will be his thing in the future. Hopefully, he doesn't become like those strange evil warlocks that everyone is afraid of, right? Then I will go and shout that I had created a monster… muahaha… no that's not good.
Well, anyway, this little Lily was more like a soft flower in the wind, moving with grace and delicacy. What I like to call, a ghost. She can pop up like the best magic act, and then throw words of wisdom as if they were her own and not from some book from the town's library or the ones in Kian's possession.
I bet that with time, and if she follows the instructions to the dot, she will become a great engineer. I have already seen it. Her bright future… by my side, of course, helping me with my machines and inventions.
"Boss?"
I heard her speaking to me again with her tiny voice. "Oh, right, where is Sebastian, Lily?"
"Outside," she said while signaling with her little finger to the door of the flower shop. "He said he had been waiting for a while… aren't you going, Boss?"
So… he had been waiting. How on earth did he know?
I am scared.
"He said you don't have to be scared, Boss, he will take you there."
I am more scared now.
I looked at Jena for some comfort and courage and also for a suspicious look too, but she was only smiling without care. If this is not frightening, then nothing it is.
I moved to the door and the man with his long hair tied in a ponytail and his shiny blue eyes was looking at me with a little smile. He seemed gentle as always, that was the scheming face of any businessman ready to propose a deal I won't even back off.
"What do you want?" I jumped to fate without any push. I can play for a while under its rules, then I will let him see the real me.
Sebastian smiled and signaled the back. "Miss Jane, please don't be scared, I heard you need a ride to Corn Town. I heard it from Lily and Tom when I was delivering some things for Madame Tate."
Oh, no! "Let's go now!"
If those two squirrels told Madame Tate I had escaped, and I was already finding a way to go out of town, then what was awaiting me was torture. I jumped to the cart and signaled the man to start the horses. No time to say goodbyes to Jena, only a wave of my hand was my promise of return.
However, if I had paid more attention, then I would have noticed two squirrels that had also jumped into the cart and hide themselves under some covers.
"Corn Town is not that far from the Nertil Mine, miss Jane," he started talking even without me asking him anything. Just how does he do it.
"Just a few minutes by foot, however, the roads are being watched. The Dark Duke's men are sprawled all over the place with orders to kill anyone who dares to approach the mine, no prisoners, Miss Jane."
He looked at me for a brief second and I could see a sparkle in his shiny blue eyes. This man was not some easy merchant, he was something else.
"How…"
"Please, don't ask me something I won't be able to answer, my dear," he sighed but then, "however if you want to find answers, you may need those blue stones, don't you?"
"How…"
"No… I won't answer…"
"Look…" into my eyes…
"That doesn't work with me, dear."
"Dammit!"
However, before I could use more difficult and violent methods, more like a dagger on his neck or the beauty trap, I heard some chuckles on the back. Then I looked at the man, and he smiled too. That was in no way a happy smile, a dangerous one.
"Great! Why on earth did you let those two come inside?"
"I didn't, Miss Jane, they sneaked like squirrels," Sebastian laughed, "yes, they are a pair of squirrels, or they will be if they dare to touch anything from my cart."
I felt a cold breeze growing on my hands and limbs. So, this is fear, one can't steal from a merchant, never steal from a merchant that dares to travel the dangerous roads, alone. The thieves know it, I know it and those two children must know it, right?"
"We didn't touch anything!"
The two little sprouts came out while shouting but there were chocolate marks on their lips and some bread crumbs on their clothes. Oh no, we are all screwed.
"You two little thieves! Haven't I taught you anything?!"
"…"
"What is the first rule for steal!" I shouted at them.
"To never get caught!" they shouted back with straight backs. Then they looked at the merchant, "we are sorry Mr. Sebastian, we shouldn't have been caught up."
They bowed in apology, and looked up with bright big eyes, cute enough to enchant any soul. That was the second rule of our thieves code. If one gets caught, look for a way to escape the punishment.
Heh… my two little babies are growing up.