"That is some expensive information kid, you sure you can pay for it?" Leaning her elbow on the bar top, Maddie turned her attention onto Mark. Looking him over, Maddie came to the realization that Mark looked like someone who just came out of a dumpster. "If you can't pay then you can't get any information out of me."
"How much does the information cost?" Mark had realized he would need to buy the information, but he was never given any idea how much the information was going to be worth.
"I can give you the information for about 10 grey. Any less than that and I wont be able to get any profit."
Gulping after hearing the value of the information, Mark tried to think of some other ways he could get the information out of Maddie. He considered many options but there were none he could think of that would work.
"Is there anyway that I could work for the information?" Trying the only option that could get him the information, Mark prepared for a swift denial.
"How much of the cash do you have?" Not immediately turning down the proposition like Mark thought, Maddie already had an idea how he could pay back the rest of her cash.
"I only have 10 white." Rubbing the back of his head, Mark declared how little cash he had. "Also, I need to buy some feed for my bird, so I can't even give you all of it."
Maddie stepped back after hearing how little money Mark had. She had expected him to have less than average but the amount he had wasn't less than average, it was so far below the average that he couldn't even be said to have change.
"You came in here expecting to be able to get information for only 10 white! I don't run a charity, if you aren't going to be able to pay then don't bother looking for me." Never before had Maddie been insulted like this. She was known as the best info broker and here someone was asking for free information.
"Maddie, I am so sorry. If I had known he couldn't pay I never would have brought him here." Realizing the blunder she had made, Abby tried to apologize to her friend and business associate. Their partnership started when Maddie was beginning to be an info broker. She wasn't well known at the time so she and Maddie made a deal.
Abby would bring people looking for information to her, and in return Maddie would split some of the profit with Abby. People would spread Maddie's name as one of the best info brokers and others would spread the name of Abby being one of the best guides. It was a win-win for both parties.
"Please, I will do anything for the information." Now getting on his knees, Mark begged for the information. He had no other option besides wandering around the city endlessly.
Seeing this, both women stared at each other. They never thought this boy would be so insistent about finding the underground fights. Abby knew he wanted to go there but she never though Mark would be this determined.
"Fine, I have a proposal. Abby, have there been any robberies recently?" Both scared and moved by the boys resolve, Maddie decided that she would try to compromise with him.
"Yes, there was one at Dante's earlier this evening. Why do you ask?"
"Hey kid, I will give you the information if you do as I say." Coming up with a solution, Maddie had decided that she would test Mark before giving out the information.
"Yes, anything." After hearing those words, Mark could finally see a way that he could get stronger and get into an academy.
"Fine, meet at Dante's in 3 hours. When you get there tell Dante 'you're looking for Maddie'." Explaining what he needed to do Maddie walked away, leaving Mark and Abby by themselves at the bar. "By the way, you can feed your bird the free nuts."
Getting up from the floor, Mark looked at the countertop and in a bowl were the complimentary nuts that Maddie was speaking of.
"Hey Vanishing, feel free to go wild with the nuts." After saying this the bird on Mark's head flew to the counter and began digging through the bowl. "Abby, I know this may be rude to ask, but is there anywhere I can go lay down. I haven't been in the best condition while we were walking around."
"Sure, no problem. If you walk to the corner there are some couches there." Pointing to one of the corners of the bar, Abby could see that there was something else Mark wanted to ask. "Don't worry, I will keep an eye on Vanishing."
"Thank you. Vanishing, behave yourself." Speaking to Vanishing, Mark turned around and moved toward the couches in the corner of the room.
'Finally, my organs feel like they are going to tear apart any minute now.' Lying down, Mark prepared to activate his recovery skill.
"Painful Recovery."
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"Mark, wake up. We need to get over to Dante's or you won't be able to get the info you want."
Waking up drenched in sweat, Mark heard a voice that sounded familiar.
"Do you want me to leave without you and tell Maddie you decided not to find the underground fights?" The voice, now threatening to leave Mark behind, started to become clearer in Mark's ears. Opening his eyes, Mark was greeted with the sight of Abby leaning over him, hair dangling, caressing his cheeks.
"Ugh, how long have I been out?" Sitting up, Mark rubbed his eyes. He had obviously fallen asleep after using Painful Recovery.
"About 2 hours. We need to leave for Dante's store soon or we won't meet Maddie in time." Reminding him of his agreement, Abby stood up straight and walked back to the bar.
Following behind, Mark looked around and saw that the restaurant had more customers than it did before he had to recover. The dining area was bustling with life, people enjoying food and friends telling stories from their daily lives.
"Hey Abby, where is Vanishing?" Mark had reached the counter and expected to see his bird lying in a pile of nuts and food scraps, but Vanishing was nowhere to be see. "You said you would look after him, yet I don't see him with you."
Abby turned to face a table with two men holding jugs of beer. One of these men had a very bushy and full beard while the other was cleanly shaven.
On the table, a bowl of peanuts could be seen shaking violently even though the men didn't have their hands near it. They didn't seem to mind their nuts being ransacked, or they just hadn't noticed that it was happening.
Mark began walking towards the table with a defeated look on his face. He would have to apologise for his summon making a mess on their table.
The two men saw Mark approaching and decided to beckon him over quicker.
"Hey kid, this your bird eating our nuts?" The bearded man sitting at the table asked this question with a smile on his face. He clearly didn't mind the bird going to town on his nuts, and he may have even found it amusing.
"Yes, he is. I am sorry sir, if he has caused you and your friend any trouble." Bowing his head as he said this, he called for Vanishing to come out of the bowl and rest on his head. "Vanishing. show that you're sorry too."
Hearing the order of his master, Vanishing bowed his head towards the two men wo he had robbed of their nuts. Seeing this astounded the two men, they had never seen a beast obey an order without some resistance.
"How did you get your beast to do that? I don't see any domination seal on the bird and humans don't usually have any abilities." Confused as to what he was seeing, the bearded man asked Mark how he was able to get his bird to obey his orders without hesitation.
"Me and Vanishing have a bond of trust. I found him one day injured and tried my best to nurse him back to health and now he does his best to listen to me." Coming up with a fake story, Mark tried to make his story sound believable. He couldn't go around telling people that his bird was made out of his missing finger and was created to follow his every order.
"Well, he must trust you a lot then. Beasts don't usually associate with humans a lot." The shaven man chimed in with his opinion after hearing Mark's story. "If you want to find out more about beasts, we run a store here where we sell beasts and books on beasts. Pay us a visit sometime."
The shaven man held out his hand which Mark grasped.
"You got it."