"These are real", Trace resorted.
"Hundred percent, my eyes must be blind if I cannot see the existence of such a magnanimous product", Egon grabbed Trace's shoulders.
The coachman at the side peeked from the carriage. His eyes reflected two small dots of red that were on Trace's fingers. But his skilled hands with no rings did not stop polishing the silver carriage.
"Who is this great master that blessed you with these emerald rings?" Ergon said.
"My great master is a fortune teller".
"Where does he live"? Ergon's eyes lit up.
On receiving an answer Ergon's smile lessened but did not diminish. Coiling Cradle Street, home to the shady fortune teller. Most people were antagonizing the fortune teller now but that was not always the case. Ergon wanted to visit the fortune teller of the Coiling Cradle during the peak of the latter's fame. But before Ergon got a chance rumors hit the fortune teller's reputation hard.
Ergon seized the kid once again. There was nothing noteworthy about this kid, if not for the two shining blood red rings. If not for such realistic products, Ergon would never have approached. There were many methods to test the kid but sensing innocence Ergon went for the most obvious method - a run.
"Young man, what can this insignificant character do to get in your great master's good books?"
Trace's mind was focused on the words 'great master' and his mood was betting better. He wants to help me, but there's something wrong with him, Trace thought. He patted his pockets to see if the gold card was still there. After taking a look at Ergon, Trace patted his other pocket to check the coins.
"My great master will definitely help you", Trace said.
"Can great master help me get such rings?"
Ergon picked up Trace's hand and said in a pleading tone. Slowly, he seemed to get a better understanding of Trace's personality. But as a force of habit, the back of Ergon's hand touched his own forehead, giving a deeper expression of plea at first glance. The flashy pose made the eyebrows of the coachman at the side twitch but made Ergon's impression deeper in Trace's heart.
"Of course master will help, I will also stuck at the first sequence of Level 1 but my great master helped me".
Listening it from Trace, solidified the existence of such heavenly fake rings in Ergon's heart. Along with Trace, Ergon stepped inside the carriage. The time to show his worth was nigh. All along the way, to a promise land, Ergon did not held back in praising Trace's master.
…
Curtains of the carriage remained closed. Thus, Trace did not have an idea of direction nor the surroundings. He was happily listening of the praises of his master, along with the description of the place they were heading towards. When the carriage stopped, Trace saw Ergon swiftly get out of the carriage and followed. On getting out, Trace saw Ergon standing straight beside the coachman and they both were looking in different directions.
"Young man, are you ready to explore the best shopping complex in the entirety of Koyoko"?
Ergon turned towards the side and tilted his head upwards. His one hand was holding the puffed bag whereas the other ran through his hair. With the corner of his eyes, Ergon observed Trace. Only after Trace nodded did Ergon let go of this posture.
"However, the location of this extraterrestrial place is secretive".
Ergon stopped again, unblinkingly observing Trace. On the carriage while hyping up the hidden market, Ergon had even tried to slip the rings out of Trace's fingers. He was not expecting success but wanted to get a feel of the rings. Moreover, Sorcerer rings were like tattoos engraved on the fingers but with a bit of thickness.
"Swear an oath to the heavens of its secrecy and you can follow".
Ergon only added when Trace's face showed signs of disappointment. Instantly, Trace face lit up again after hearing it. Ergon fiddled inside his bag and took out a piece of black cloth. After, explaining its use, Ergon wrapped the piece of cloth around Trace's head to cover the eyes along with ears.
Suddenly, all the sounds vanished and the world turned dark. Trace's heartbeat slowly quickened. His mind could only feel the heart seemingly pounding against his own chest. But the cloth was removed as soon as it was tied.
"Brave young man, can you feel the power of emptiness? It erupts from inside and bashes your own self, never to be satisfied until you destroy yourself".
Trace's saw Ergon's encouraging looks as the cloth was raised to cover his eyes again. Emptiness entered Trace's sight, but the sound of carriages in the distance still tapped in his ears.
"The gluttony of darkness is unending, fight it with an unending power. The future is limitless, your heart is eternal, inside you are infinite", Ergon's said.
The cloth was tied and silence slipped in again. However, this time Ergon's words were ringing inside Trace's mind. Slowly, he understood their meaning. Dreams of a Detective Agency filled in mind, his heart was in his control. Steady steps followed Ergon, whose one hand was holding the puffed bag and the other held Trace's hand.
…
When the black cloth was removed a sharp light entered Trace's eyes and his mind filled with bustling noises. As his vision grew clearer he saw a row of stalls extending to the distance with people patronizing every single stall. Looking around, Trace saw the same scene on all four sides. Apparently, he was standing in the middle of the shopping complex alongside Ergon Franke.
Ergon, wearing a half mask, flashed around a pair of gloves and a mask. Trace held out both hands to accept the accessories and wore them without questioning. The masks extended from the forehead down to the nose, cutout were made for the eyes. Additional curves of the masks covered the chins and gave it a fashionable look.
The white mask on Trace's face had cutout for eyes highlighted with purple. And towards the upper corner the marks was extending making it look like little horns on Trace's forehead. Flower designs and waves on the mask along with the horns gave it a unique charm.
As Trace followed Ergon, he kept looking around. The number of talisman stalls here were surprising! Stalls in the same row were all of same size, the columns saw an increase in stall width to towards the corners. Ceiling was fairly low, making it look like a huge underground basement. Trace looked around trying to remember the shops that interested him.
Most of people present were covering their faces and even more were wearing gloves. This also included the shopkeepers who were loudly advertising their products in muffled voices. The only thing that interest Trace about the people were badges attached on their clothes. Three types of badges Trace concluded - New Moon, Crescent Moon and Half Moon.
"I must admire you young man, your master did not take you as his apprentice in vain. Maybe someday you will touch the greatness that this unrivaled salesman and that your master once reached", Ergon said remembering about how he brought Trace here.
Trace looked at Ergon and nodded. He repeated every word in his mind but when it did not make any sense, Trace only focused on the part about his master and smiled widely. They had reached one end of the complex.
Solid shops were sticking together encompassing the complex from the sides. They were standing in front of shop with a large window and an open door. Looking inside the mirror Trace saw an illusion of a black sky with a full moon at the distance.
"Before we continue on this abounding adventure, let's carry out the customaries first", Ergon said.
Just as Trace stepping inside the shop a cold air greeted him. In front of him was a wide table with a boy bent down on a register. The boy's white hair duller than the paper he was writing on. A round pen holder carrying a few pens was sitting on top of a few registers pilled in the side.
The room had a sofa towards the side along with a small table. Hanging on the ceiling was a small chandelier and a few paintings were hanging on the walls around the room. And at the other end of the room were stairs leading to somewhere below the room. Ergon walked up to the counter and lightly knocked on the table.
"This air is nonchalant…", Ergon said.
"It's the air of the moon".
The boy at the table interrupted in between. When the boy looked up, Trace saw a full moon badge pinned on the boy's chest. The moon's dull pearl white luster separated itself from all the objects in its presence but oddly matched the boy's hair. There are four types badges? Trace questioned his conclusion from earlier.
"Peerze you poor juvenile. My memory recalls your incompetent father preaching about how the masses should educate their successors at school and…"
"This is called accounting", Peerze interrupted again.
Ergon Franke paced around the room once showing his anger with the moments of his hands. The hands that seem to close on his forehead in agony, before flipping out prostrating annoyance. Ergon, then bent down to search though his bag. This time taking out a cylindrical object with thickness just about the size of pen holder on the table.
After shaking it a pack of rolled papers spilled out and landed on Ergon's hand. With great speed, he flipped through the papers. A sudden jerk of hand towards the air made the target paper flew up in air. Ergon quickly rolled the papers and put them inside the cylinder before catching the flying that had yet to land.
"Step forward young man. You showed unmatched bravery on the path leading here. Only a minuscule deed is waiting for its completion before you obtain the items needed", Ergon passed the paper to Trace.
Trace saw the symbol of moon at the top of the paper. Below it were many blank fields asking for information. After taking a glance at the paper, Trace looked towards Ergon.
"Indeed, your eyes have seen the light. It is a waste of time for us to fill this. We do not need to fill the paper".
Ergon snatched the paper back and signaled to Peerze. Who took out a similar sized sheet, but this one had a bit of thickness for it. Ergon tired to get the sheet from Peerze but was denied.
"I don't see your badge Ergon", Peerze said.
"Badge are unnecessary when there exists non in this complex who is untouched by the light of my holiness"!
Ergon said before grabbing the paper from Peerze. The thin paper from earlier was carefully place on top of the sheet. Two little holes pierced the paper when it was pressed firmly on the sheet. Looking closely, there were two very small pins embedded on the sheet.