Although the businesses in the Red District were open at all hours of the day it was common practice that customers would only come at night, or at least when the sun is about to set.
So Sylphia was quite irritated when the Enchanted Flower received a customer when the sun had not even been out for half an hour.
It would have been fine if that customer came to seek what most who came to this place did, but this particular client was here for the more lucrative business they participated in.
With a groan of discontent she got out of bed, tidied up, put on her black dress that hugged her figure and then covered it up with a white fur coat. After that she had Talia apply her make-up for her before making her way to her office. There she quickly grabbed the strongest liquor she had and poured herself a drink, which she proceeded to finish in a single breath.
I'm ready now, she thought as she set the glass behind her couch and picked up her ivory pipe. She lit and took a long drag from.
"Show her in," she said to Talia as she leaned into her couch.
"Yes Madam," Talia replied with a bow.
The woman left the office and less than a minute later there was a knock on the door.
"Enter," Sylphia said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
The door opened to admit her guest.
Nothing about the woman had changed since the previous night. She wore the same black clothes that made her look like she was in mourning, with her neck sleeve pulled up to cover everything below her eyes and the same black hat covering the top of her head. There was no change in her attitude as she traipsed into her office like she owned it and sat herself in one of Sylphia's sofas without waiting for an invitation.
It really grated on Sylphia's nerves, but she had experience enough such situations that she was able to watch it without letting her feelings show.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Lady Maverick?"
Even though she said the first part pleasantly, when it came to the woman's name she could not control the sharp edge she in her voice.
If the woman had heard the edge in her voice, she did not seem bothered by it; leaning into her seat as her dark orbs met Sylphia's.
"It is about what we have discussed before," the woman said. "I came here to finalise our agreement."
"I see," was all Sylphia could respond with, after which she took a drag from her pipe and exhaled.
Wasn't it too soon to come back for that? When the woman said they would discuss the details at another time she had assumed she meant another day; like at least three days later. Why had she come so early when Sylphia had not even gotten around to investigating her?
"Since you have already heard what I want, how much will you be charging for your services?" 'Lady Maverick' got straight to the point.
"One hundred and fifty gold," Sylphia immediately replied. "Three hundred after completion."
To be honest, collecting the information the woman asked for was not worth that much. A hundred and fifty gold was more than enough for any family to live luxuriously for the rest of their life. Even if it was to collect information about Elixirs from all around the continent, that would only require about half of that.
But Sylphia was still upset about the woman's behaviour the previous night, not that she would ever admit it.
Illusion Magic was the magic she specialised in. Without it she was almost defenceless and the fact that 'Lady Maverick' used [Forbidden Zone] to strip her of her ability to use it forced a lot of memories she would rather forget to the forefront of her mind. In that situation she had almost panicked and activated the defensive magic circles around the room. If not for the woman's claim that she was not looking for a fight getting her out of her stupor she would have probably done it; which would have resulted in her having to pay a fortune to fix the place. In the end she could only smile and act nonchalant about everything.
However, she was not willing to let it go that easily. 'Lady Maverick' had to pay for what she had done, even if that payment only came in the form of extra gold. At least then she could make her heart bleed a little when spending so much gold.
Even if 'Lady Maverick' did not accept that was fine by her. She could go look for someone else to fulfil her ridiculous request. Then she would no longer have to deal with her.
Even I cannot believe I'm actually agreeing to this, Sylphia thought.
Clues to the Elixir of Rejuvenation? There was no way her search would be fruitful! Even if they do manage to find evidence of an Elixir the chances that it would not already have been consumed were practically zero.
The kind of temptation an Elixir brought was such that no one was brave enough to flaunt one. There had been countless kidnapping attempts on Tavina Ruuh in the past few centuries because she was the only person capable of brewing them. If someone as important as the Grand Magister of Methos constantly had to watch out for such threats then obviously no one with their hands on an Elixir was safe; which was why the best thing to do after getting your hands on one was to drink it.
Still, all she agreed to do was to search for information on Elixirs, not to find the Elixir itself. There was no reason for her to reject the commission since she was not the one who would be losing money.
"Fine," the woman said after contemplating for a while. She did not sound as unhappy as Sylphia would have liked.
'Lady Maverick' produced a fat pouch and placed it on the table. Then she produced a second pouch of similar size, opened its drawstrings and let half its contents slip onto the table.
"You are welcome to count if," she said to sternly.
That was exactly what Sylphia did. She dumped the gold in the full pouch on the table and set about counting the amount. A minute later she looked up from the gold and met the obsidian pools of her client.
"That was one hundred and forty-nine gold," she stated. "You're short one gold coin."
'Lady Maverick' produced the last coin without a hassle.
"Now then," the woman said, producing a folded sheet of paper and slipping it on the table. "I've noted down everything I would like to know about the Elixirs."
Sylphia brought the folded sheet to her using [Mage Hand] and took a look at its contents. Citing nothing out of the ordinary, she nodded as her gaze returned to 'Lady Maverick.'
"There are no problems here," she stated.
"Good," the woman replied. "While we are on the subject of it, I would also like to request information about Scions. How much will I have to pay and how long do you think it will take to gather that information?"
"Huh?"
This time Sylphia could not prevent herself from reacting in surprise. The pipe that had been about to touch her lips suddenly stopped as she gave the woman a scrutinising gaze.
Why does she want to learn about Scions? She wondered.
The fact that the offspring of the Gods walked Aran was common knowledge. Everyone who worshipped a certain god could name at least one of that god's offspring. For example, every one of the Shean Faith knew Imperator Leah was Lightborne. Not only was she the Life Goddess' champion, she was also Her daughter.
"What kind of information would you like to know about them?" Sylphia asked, quickly reining in her reaction; trying to act normal.
"Anything you can get your hands on," replied the disguised woman. "Their history and their abilities if you can. It does not have to be detailed though. I simply want to know about them."
"Is that all?" Sylphia responded, forgetting to keep the scepticism out of her voice. "Then I can get you the information within a day or so. The price will be twenty gold. Once off."
"Much appreciated," 'Lady Maverick' responded. She took a few gold coins from her remaining purse and counted them before dumping the exact amount on the table. "There is one more thing I would like your help with."
"What?" Sylphia asked, trying to keep the annoyance from her tone.
Just how many things could this woman possibly have to ask?
"You specialise in Illusion Magic right." this was not a question. "I was wondering if you could share your spell models with me. I am willing to compensate you."
Hearing this, Sylphia took a long and deep suck from her pipe; trying to prolong her response, trying to force down her rising anger.
How rude!
The nerve of this woman! She actually dared to ask her for her spells!
An unspoken rule among mages was that one did not ask for the materials of another. What this woman had asked for was something that no self-respecting sorcerer in their right mind would agree to!
"I'm afraid I cannot help you with that Lady Maverick," she tried to reject her as cordially as possible. "If you are eager to learn Illusion Magic then you should consider visiting a magic shop, or the Black Market. One of those will surely have what you're looking for."
For a while 'Lady Maverick' did not respond. Instead she gave Sylphia a lengthy stare that almost made her heart leap out of her chest. She almost activated the magic circles in her office.
Luckily there was no need to do that in the end.
"I suppose it can't be helped then," the woman said. She scooped up her now emaciated coin purse and got to her feet. "I will look in one of those places. Thank you very much for your time Madam Sylphia."
Then, just like last time, she opened a [Dimension Door] and stepped through it.
However, before the Door closed Sylphia cast a spell of her own, 7th Order [Mystic Eyes]. It was a spell that allowed one to see more than what the eyes usually saw, an effect that did not disappoint her in this situation.
Her first look at 'Lady Maverick' through [Mystic Eyes] presented her with the picture of the disguised woman surrounded by a pillar of cyan coloured mana. When Sylphia first caught sight of the woman's mana she opened her mouth to exhale in relief, but when she saw at the actual magnitude of it the impending sigh turned to a gasp instead.
What kind of aptitude is this? She stared slack-jawed.
Was this the fabled S-ranked mana aptitude? It was ridiculous! Even the Ultra Order Grand Mage Savandor only had about half that much mana!
Just who was this woman? And what was that Abyss gathered at her feet? Was that her elemental affinity? How could there possibly be someone with such an affinity?
'Lady Maverick' had clearly sensed Sylphia casting her spell because just before the Door closed she turned around and gave her a stare. From the look she gave her Sylphia could have sworn the woman was smiling under that disguise. It brought a chill to her spine.
Her aura, she thought after the portal closed.
"She's not human," she muttered, aware of the thin line of sweat trickling down the side of her face.
It was a while before she wiped the sweat away and took a long drag from her pipe, letting the herbs calm her down.
I have to find out all I can about her, she decided. Starting with her relationship with the Ysran black sheep.