In Verania, at that time, two swordsmen were guarding the prison.
"So, these coins have Nordic runes on them?" Algo twirled one of the gold coins in his hand. "And are they really that effective?"
Their shift had been going on for four hours already, and with nothing else to do, the guys were tossing the gold coins, each the size of a fist, back and forth. Werner caught the coin thrown by his companion and tossed his own in response.
"To be honest, I have no idea. I've seen what Lady Asura's sword can do, but Krito enchanted it with the language of ancient gods. And this is somewhat different," the swordsman tossed the coin again and drew his own sword from its sheath. "He never told me what these symbols mean, so I don't know what power they possess."
"But these symbols somehow killed the mercenaries, so why aren't they affecting us?" Algo twirled the edge of the coin before him, trying to decipher the inscriptions. "They are completely burnt in and won't rub off."
"Maybe that's why they aren't affecting us. They work once and that's it," Werner tossed the coins again. "But whoever inflicted them must be someone important in Nordrune."
"That's true. I could have gone with them if you're so concerned about her," Algo said with a sly smile.
"For whom?"
"Well," Algo tossed a coin to his companion. "For example, for Asura."
The coin flew past and landed with a ringing sound on the floor.
"Ahem, I worry about everyone, not just her," the guy said with poorly concealed embarrassment.
"Oh, come on, if you weren't personally interested in someone from the guild, you would have joined a regular combat guild with more fighters at your level, making it easier for you to train. But instead, you joined a less promising guild and even agreed to a less honorable role. I won't say you have no talent; it's just that you can't seem to unleash it," the other guy spoke with a teasing tone.
"Haha," Werner sighed heavily. "Well, what's so special about it? I joined the guild because I like Asura... but that only made everything worse. For her, I'm just a weak assistant, and with such a skill difference, I hardly have a chance to get close to her."
"You need more confidence in yourself."
"And you're telling me that, someone who couldn't confess to his girlfriend without someone else's help?" Werner picked up the fallen coin from the floor.
"Khh, well, okay... although Krito did it purely out of personal interest, I'm grateful to him. I think if it were beneficial for him, he would have introduced you to her a long time ago... Why did you go silent?" Algo turned to Werner, who was staring at the coins in his hands.
"I think they are different," Werner weighed the coins in his hand. "This one seems heavier."
"Don't talk nonsense; they are identical. Same coins," Algo took the gold from his companion but also noticed the difference. "Hmm, perhaps, but only by a few grams. Maybe a piece chipped off, though... The one with inscriptions seems heavier, though it looks more worn."
"Let me see," a voice of an engineer came from behind the door.
"Whoa, don't startle us like that! Have you been listening to our conversation all this time?" Werner jumped in surprise.
"With your chattering, one can't fall asleep. So, what were you talking about the coins for?" the engineer asked.
"Just a trivial matter, I suppose. The coin that Victoria gave us seems slightly heavier than the one you gave me," Algo cracked the window open and handed the pieces of precious metal to the girl.
"Oh, that's very interesting. I didn't even notice that," Aileen ran her fingernail over the coins and smiled. "Algo, find Vina and ask her to assess these coins, and it would be good to evaluate all of them! Both the ones I had and the ones we found from the criminals. And while we're at it, it wouldn't hurt to find some in other neutral places."
"Is it that important? It's nighttime now, you know."
"Just go already!"
"Fine, I'll ask Vivi to cover for me," the swordsman took the gold and rushed out of the prison.
On this evening, we decided to take a stroll through the shops, at least that's how Seleria described it. Although it was hard to imagine what kind of shops would be open at three o'clock in the night in the darkest district of Iringar. This time, the crimson princess didn't fully hide her face, she just pulled up a thick hood, while I decided to test the effectiveness of the assassins' cloak.
"What are we going to buy?" I followed the connoisseur of the dark side of the city at a leisurely pace.
"First of all, information. Tain can get plans for the upper floors, but even he can't get a hold of the storage layout," Seleria replied.
"So, what are we looking for then?"
"Any indirect clues, like rare materials and suspicious traders. He started setting up the storage after I raided his previous one, and it was completed roughly after the new year. So, any major purchases made in the last six months might be related to our target."
"What makes this place so remarkable?"
"Practically everything that you can't get on regular markets," Seleria picked up a wooden box from one of the counters and tossed it to me.
"Hmm, what's this?" I twirled the unfamiliar device in my hands and felt a small hook. With a press, a bow and handle extended from the box. "Is this some kind of crossbow like Aileen's?"
"Yes, but not as small, and quite effective. It's in high demand among assassins."
"I thought we don't manufacture such things."
"We don't. This is contraband from the Empire, and not just that," Seleria pointed at various counters displayed on the dark streets at night. "This place is a small island of lawlessness in the city, selling goods from the Empire, magical weapons, even parts of dragon bodies."
"Brr, and I suppose the authorities know about this if you do?"
"Unofficially, yes, but they never acknowledge it. This place is under the protection of all the dark guilds in Leran. You can look around here, while I ask some people, and you can explore."
Seleria disappeared into the passage between the counters, leaving us alone with the friendliest company in the city. From their friendly faces, it was evident that they were ready to sell us their goods in any way possible.
"Hmm, this is interesting," Miriam stopped at the shelves with firearms. "There are some decent specimens here."
"I see you know a thing or two about this," the cunning merchant didn't miss the chance to flatter a potential customer. "Do you prefer bows, knives, or something more exotic?"
The merchant pointed to a couple of poorly made crossbows, designed for inexperienced shooters.
"No, thank you. I'm content with my bow," the girl politely waved him off, accidentally revealing her own bow in the process.
"What an interesting profession," the merchant immediately grabbed the peculiar contraption. "The metal and the string are unusual. If you ever decide to sell it..."
"No, I'm quite sure about that," Miriam was already regretting approaching the counter.
"But just think about it."
"Don't bother the young lady. She has already declined, you see," I gently pushed the persistent merchant away.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know she was with you. If you're not interested in weapons, I do have high-quality goods, not the junk I'm displaying here," the merchant noticeably lost his confidence once he saw me. "If you're not interested in weapons, I have some rare ammunition."
The merchant took out several boxes with unusual tips.
"This is a trauma arrow," one of the tips had ends bent clockwise. "It burrows into the flesh, and attempts to remove it can cause deep wounds."
"Oh, no, I'm not a fan of such methods. Maybe something less lethal?" Miriam replied.
"Hmm, strange, but as you wish. I have something like that as well," the merchant opened a box with thin needles. "Here, these are perfect for discreet infiltration."
I took one of the needles. They were about ten centimeters long but not thicker than a millimeter.
"They seem too fragile."
"That's the point. The needles break on impact, so the victim is unlikely to notice them. The poison also takes effect slowly, so if you knock out guards in the middle of the corridor, no one will find them."
"Hmm," Miriam picked up one of the needles and tested its weight. "But I won't be able to shoot such a small needle, and if I attach it to the arrowhead, the whole point is lost."
"Oh yes, for that, there's a suitable device," the merchant offered the archer a small wooden case. "You place the needles in here, and the case is then attached to the bowstring. This way, you can shoot them from a regular bow, although the shooting range will be significantly limited, of course."
"An amusing gadget," Miriam followed the merchant's advice and tried the device on her weapon. With one shot, the needle neatly embedded itself in the wall about ten meters away from the counter, leaving only its tip. "This will come in handy for us. Do you have many of these?"
"Well, the entire stock is two dozen, but if you need more, they'll deliver them in a month."
"No, that will be too late. Let's hope this will suffice. The rest I leave to your discretion," Miriam playfully patted my shoulder and stocked up on the projectiles. The merchant even gave her a discount... though it was probably a tribute of respect to my cloak.
All this time, Seleria had been standing at the neighboring counter, examining intricate jewelry. She was particularly drawn to a silver hairpin in the shape of a skull.
"Ho-ho, are you interested in jewelry?" Miriam glanced at the counter. "They do look quite unusual."
"These aren't exactly jewelry," the merchant, who had hesitated to talk to the dark necromancer before, addressed the archer. "They are hidden weapons. They are very popular among female assassins."
The merchant opened several brooches, each containing hidden blades, vials of poison, and suspicious liquids.
"Hmm, and what's this?" I picked up the hairpin from the counter that had caught Rizel's keen attention.
"Oh, that's a very popular model among assassins. They say one of the first assassins had the same one. It holds the most dangerous poisons, so it's made of pure silver to withstand the test of time. If you press on the eyes, a small blade pops out. Although it was originally meant to be a hairpin, few dare to wear it as such."
"Hmm," Rizel lifted her cloak and raised the edge of her long hair, which was held together by the silver skull.
"Hehe, Riz, it looks like your mother left quite an inheritance in this land," I remarked.
"Seems like it," Rizel pressed on the skull, and a thin blade slid out with a faint creak. Without much thought, the necromancer licked the blade and carefully assessed the contents of the vial. "At least ten different poisons, a pretty effective mixture. It could kill a person in just ten seconds."
The merchant involuntarily stepped back at such a bold gesture.
"This one was passed down to me by the rector, who said his mother used to wear it. I was actually thinking of disguising myself a bit before the assignment."
Rizel took off the hairpin and tied her long hair into two neat ponytails.
"Hmm, it suits you," I said.
"I was actually thinking of something else. I can't change my hair color or length; Thanatos' power returns everything to its original state. But I can do this," a dense cloud of smoke began to rise from under Rizel's cloak, enveloping her completely, and after a couple of seconds, her snowy-white hair turned as black as pitch. "And since this is a shadow, I can do this!"
The girl closed her eyes, and her hair, obedient to her will, started to rise into the air, behaving like extra hands of their mistress.
"You probably shouldn't do that, it looks rather creepy from the outside," I suggested.
"Hmph, fine, but the idea is quite good, isn't it?"
"Okay, okay, you already scared the seller away with your tricks."
The merchant remained in a worried stupor after witnessing such a display.
"We'll take this," I handed the money to the merchant and was about to leave but noticed something familiar on the counter. "And what's this?"
The small black balls with various symbols on them painfully reminded of recent attacks.
"These? Magic bombs. They are indeed illegal, so it's better not to get caught with them," the vendor said.
"But they could be useful," as I pondered their application, the red princess returned.
"We're leaving. I've gathered all the information we need," she said.
"And did you find out a lot?"
"In addition to our target, two other families fortified their storages. But the list is quite extensive, even for three storages. There's magical dust, dozens of poisons, thirty sheets of adamantium, and even a few soul stones. We'll have to stock up on antidotes for all kinds of poisons, but the rest, we'll have to deal with on the spot."
"By the way, one question has been bothering me. Aren't you afraid to walk around the city like this?"
"Not really. I'm not a stranger here since childhood."
"But assassins could just come back and attack again."
"Unlikely. If it happens again, the assassins won't have trouble identifying the attackers. They are probably still watching us. Besides, my father forbade any actions related to transferring power in case of his death, so the clients won't get what they want. I think the Great Jarl did the same..."
"What are you thinking about?"
"That only one king can't easily prevent the transfer of power to lawful regents... and now his assassination could play into the hands of the conspirators," the princess's eyes showed genuine concern. Assassins had already infiltrated Varengard Palace once, and they might do it again. It was necessary to warn Katrina.