070 THE ASSASSIN GUILD
"It's not hard to figure out," Leo replied. "Sodom City has one of the largest river ports in the region. They're likely here to search for the Relic Stones that Bara said were given to the Koresh navy."
"That's our theory as well," the Shaman confirmed.
Kasshyek looked to Leo. "What are your orders?"
"Spread out around the city in disguise," Leo instructed. "Find these foreign mages."
"And what should we do once we locate Bara?" the Shaman asked.
"We'll come up with a plan after we confirm her location. But first, we need to make a stop at the Assassin Guild," Leo said.
"The Assassin Guild?" Yun-Yun asked, puzzled.
"It's like the Black Market of Gomora, but on a much grander scale," Leo explained. "It's run by a secretive organization known as the Assassin Workshop."
"What exactly can we find there?" Kasshyek questioned.
"They trade in rare and illegal goods, and more importantly, they deal in information," Leo said. "If we need help, they can also take on missions for the right price. This could be our best shot at gathering intel on the mages and planning our next move."
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[Sodom City Port]
"Are you lying to us, you wretched bitch?" one of the mages sneered, his impatience boiling over.
"We've been waiting here for weeks, yet not a single ship carrying the stones arrived. According to the schedule, they should have been here by now!"
Bara met his glare defiantly. "Do you think I'm in charge of transportation? I don't know their schedule! I just delivered the cargo to them. They won't bother to tell me where it was headed afterward."
"Will they truly be coming to Sodom, Ma-re?" another mage interjected, concern creeping into his voice. "There are too many powerful enemy mages patrolling this city. We don't have enough of us to take on the whole place."
Ma-re's expression darkened. "We must retrieve the holy relics. Without them, the Sword Mountain Sect will cease to exist. This is the only major port along the river they must stop here."
"This is all because of these stupid bitches!" Ma-san spat, his anger getting the better of him as he slapped Bara hard enough to draw blood from her lip.
"We should fuck her to quench our anger," Ma-re suggested with a smirk.
Ma-san shook his head. "We don't engage in such immoral acts. We are a benevolent sect."
"Right, because slapping her is benevolence, but fucking her isn't? You're just into violence, while I'm about pleasure. What's the difference?" Ma-re shot back, a mocking smile on his face.
"Just don't do anything foolish until we find the relic stones," Ma-san warned. "You can do as you please once we secured the relics."
With that, he turned to restrain Bara once more, putting her inside a cage in a dark corner, leaving her alone with an unusually ugly rat lurking in the room.
Knock... knock.
"Who is it?" Ma-san called out, irritation clear in his voice.
"Great sirs, I'm a runner from the port, my name is Kalimin," came the muffled reply from behind the door.
"I deliver information for those seeking specific shipments coming into the city. You asked for some information," he added.
The mages exchanged glances before Ma-san opened the door, eyeing the young runner suspiciously. "What do you want?" Ma-re demanded.
"I heard you might be looking for information on a ship carrying a valuable cargo of rare stones," the runner replied, rubbing his fingers together in a universal sign for payment.
Ma-san sighed, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a pouch heavy with silver coins, which he tossed to the runner. "Alright, speak."
Pocketing the silver, the runner nodded. "I've got word that a ship with such a shipment is indeed arriving, it was delayed for some weeks at the river. River monsters maybe."
"Are you sure the ship is coming to Sodom?"
"Yes, we have received their requests by flying pigeons, but it won't be docking here at main Sodom Port. It's headed for a smaller unused jetty, outside the main city."
"Which jetty?" Ma-re asked impatiently. The runner raised his hand, signaling for more silver.
Ma-san gritted his teeth but handed over another small pouch. "Now, tell us."
The runner pulled a rolled map from his satchel and passed it over. "Here's the location. They'll be docking there tomorrow. If you hurry, you might reach it before the ship arrives."
Without waiting for another word, he slipped away, leaving the mages with the map in hand and a new glimmer of hope.
"At last, we've found the foundation stones," Ma-re said with a sigh of relief.
"Don't get careless," Ma-san warned, glancing around warily. "This port is crawling with spies. If anyone here finds out we're from Eastern Kun, they'll try to hurt us."
Ma-re frowned, studying a magic compass in his hand. "It's strange... the tracing spell we placed on the relic stones isn't registering on the compass."
"Surely, it's not. We can only trace it when it's near the city. It's still probably in the stupid river."
"Are we heading to the jetty tomorrow, then? What if it's a trap?" Ma-san asked, his tone uneasy.
Ma-re shook his head. "I don't know yet. We'll need to be cautious."
Suddenly, another knock was heard on the door.
"Who is it?" Ma-san asked.
"Sirs, the dinner that you ordered is here", a servant said.
"Come in."
-----
"Shouldn't we go rescue the princess immediately? Why are we going shopping?" Kasshyek asked, his frustration clear.
"This is Sodom, one of the busiest ports in all of Inland Koresh. There are things here we could never find in Gomora City, Gomora in comparison is like a small village compared to a metropolis," Leo replied, undeterred.
"Every day we delay, the princess is at greater risk, and we're already late for the battlefront to meet the old master, we should just report to the authorities and let them deal with it," Kasshyek grumbled.
"No way, we are not losing the bounty", Leo said.
"What bounty?" Yun-Yun asked.
"There must be a bounty for hunting powerful foreign spy mages", he replied.