Not long after witnessing the interrogatory in the alley, Alex found the store he was searching for. "R&D Elven Style," he read, raising his eyebrows to the board above the glass door that gave access to the store. On the vitrines, Alex could see suits, shirts, and pants. Everything was fine and elegant, not as fancy as the ones he caught black elves using, but beautiful and elegant nonetheless.
Alex opened the door and was surprised by an old voice coming from the other end of the store.
"Welcome! Welcome!" An old white elf with a wrinkled face emerged below a counter. He had small glasses on the front of his big nose, no hair on his head, and the eyes of the old wise uncle everyone seemed to have in the family. Instantly, Alex felt good about the man instantaneously. That was an ability every good cop needed, the one of being able to judge at least part of someone's character at first glance. And this old man, if he had something terrible in him, it was well hidden.
"Hello, sir. I'm looking for an outfit. As you can see, I'm in desperate need." Alex had a smile on his face. The eyes of the old man darted from Alex's head to toe, and for an instant, he was shocked, but he put up his previous smile again. If he's a lousy subject, I can expect him to say something like, "Are you sure you have the money for it, young lad?" or worse… Alex thought, but the old elf kept smiling.
"What are you looking for, young lad? I'm sure I can find exactly what you want," The elder proclaimed and extended a hand for Alex as if inviting him to come close. "Are you looking for suits, pants, shirts? I have new snake leather shoes trending in the white elf district. I also see some dark elves using them—"
"I want something simple. A good white shirt, pants and shoes. Nothing that will highlight me on the crowd…"
"I see, I see…" The old elf said, scratching his scalp. "That will be quite easy, my friend. Come with me." He said and showed Alex the shirts. They were all similar, but one caught the man's eyes. It had simple flourish details on the collar, white buttons on the front, and sleeves that went to the elbows. Alex chose slim black pants and a simple black pair of shoes. The old elf showed him the changing room, and he tried on the clothes.
Looking into the mirror, Alex felt like a different person. The young man tied his hair in a ponytail and felt good about himself. He contemplated the image of a young, promising white elf. He was handsome, with a giant smile, glimmering purple eyes, and a slim outfit that didn't make him look too thin or tall.
Alex left the room and received the praise of the old salesman,
"Oh, young sir. That fits perfectly. You are looking like the heroes of old,"
"Am I?" Asked Alex, smirking and not buying the old man's seller talk.
"Yes, you are. Oh, how I miss the old days. I'm old, you see? I was there when things changed. My father and grandfather witnessed even more than I did. You are young, you wouldn't understand." The old man had real sadness in his eyes, and Alex realized that could be an excellent opportunity to acquire some information.
"And if I tell you that as soon as I leave this store, I'm going to the adventurer's guild?" Alex threw the bait,
"I would not be surprised at all, young man." The elf now had a different bright in his eyes, and he patted Alex's shoulders slightly, "I can see in your eyes the desire to fight. Do you know how can I see it?"
"No," Alex replied while watching the old elf sitting in a bank on one of the store's walls.
"I used to have it on me. Two hundred years ago or so, when I had your age."
"Two hundred years?" Alex asked in awe, not being able to contain his shock. Can I live two hundred years?
"Yes, my son… I used to be an adventurer, you know? Sword, sorcery, and all, searching for new dungeons to fight and new monsters to discover. We expanded the empire. Those were different times when dungeon diving was more noble and less related to greed," he said, looking at Alex as if ashamed, "I'm not saying you shouldn't join the guild. I think you should, but before, we did it to protect the people. Now, the empire is preoccupied only with the arcanite."
"Yes, that's awful. I used to work in a mining dungeon," Alex said, and the old man sighed profoundly.
"Dungeons are not for mining… Yes, Arcanite is good and useful. I have Arcanite light in my store… I'm not a hypocrite. I know it's a real need for everyone, but how do they do it now… It's dangerous. The empress doesn't realize that the dungeon breaches only increase and the adventurers only scarce. Last week, a Cerberus was on the streets! I'm quite lucky not to be dead, honestly. We are lucky to have several warriors in the city… but the people in the country? Close to the bigger mining dungeons? Oh! I think about these poor souls every day when I go to bed."
Alex felt for the old elf but couldn't deny that the conversation was going way better than Alex had thought. He got more information from this lovely old man than everyone else he had talked to until then.
"Any tips for me?" Alex asked, sitting beside the man.
"Now things are different. You are only called to deal with breaches. So, you need to stay sharp and not be dumb, and you'll survive easily. Unless it's a monster of a high-level threat… or if the boss is the one who escapes the breach, in this case, you'll be pretty much doomed without magic. There's basically no one performing magic these days." The old seller was starting to become really upset with their talk, the memories that surfaced to him not seeming pleasant. "All of them are cowards if you ask me."
"Who, sir?"
"All the magus and their students, of course! Who else? And everything she does to our people every day? Not a single magus interveined." the old man smashed his hand in his own leg and shook as if he was stronger than he remembered,
"Sorry, sir," Alex said, getting up. He would not press further the old man. He had already shared enough with him.
"No, kid. I'm the one who needs to apologize. I'm mumbling about my past and complaining about the new generations. Isn't it the curse of all old men? Take everything I said to you with a grain of salt, and please don't talk to the empress that I spoke badly of her." The old seller said, chuckling, and Alex did the same. "Or better… said that I did, and ask her to come personally to complain,"
"That's okay, sir. How much does everything cost?"
"Twenty coins," the old man said promptly, but seeing the surprise in Alex's face, he completed, "For you, I'll do fifteen." One more than Alex had, thanks to the fried drake he had eaten.
"What do you think about fourteen?" Alex asked, raising his eyebrows while thinking the old man would not lower the price that much, but he only extended his hands to him.
"Keep your money, kid," The old elf said, shaking Alex's hand, "If you are going to be an adventurer, one who remains alive at least, you'll have a lot of coins shortly. Come visit me and buy better clothes, okay?"
Alex felt the grip of the wrinkled man in his hands and almost flinched. The elder still had something within him. His gentle and fragile looks were only a facade to the force of a real warrior.
"That was a pleasure to meet you, sir. Can you throw the old clothes in the garbage?" Alex asked, smiling and turning his back to the man.
"With pleasure, son." Alex left the store, feeling good about his discoveries.
"Oh, I didn't ask your name, sir," Alex said with half of his body already on the street,
"You can call me Ran'D," the old man turned his back and started to clean the shop counter.
Alex stepped into the city, thinking the old man's name rang a bell he couldn't identify. As he walked, the young could summarize everything he learned with the old man in some thoughts that he started to play over and over in his mind:
'The adventurer guild has been on a downfall for the last two hundred years; the dungeons need to remain somewhat undefeated to be mined; there's an empire which controls the mining; mages were involved in the dungeon delving but left the effort around the same time arcanite started to be used as a font of energy; the great leader of Tevia is a woman; the dungeons breaches are starting to become more frequently and dangerous; some white elves live comfortable lives but still aren't happy with the way the empress deals with them.'
All these discoveries and his new clothes put a new light on Alex's face. A face not appreciated by the black eyes who kept following all his steps since he had passed that alley where Grarp lay dead.
These same narrow black eyes watched when a surprised Alex was thrown into a black carriage. Soon, the horses leading it galloped swiftly toward the capital's center.