It had proven to be clever to drag Cole along with them. Lawrence laughed to himself as he recalled the boy’s face while he tried to come up with his joke.
* * *
Upon leaving the inn Lawrence noticed a normal-looking black-topped horse carriage, and cautiously received his coat from the innkeeper. He understood that this was a secret meeting.. but he didn’t understand how Eve had influenced the innkeeper to this degree. Inside the carriage, his suspicion only grew that he must have been bribed.
As the carriage neared the meeting place, Lawrence caught sight of many craftsmen and buildings blackened with age like the hideout Eve had taken Lawrence to earlier. Three workers were carving up a large pelt. Such textile work was much loathed by nobility, so this part of town was definitely not an upper-class residential area.
Upon arriving, Lawrence caught the stares of many of those craftsmen. It wasn’t a surprise, given that new visitors to such a place were rare. But they weren’t welcoming stares; Lawrence felt as though he was being monitored.
“I’ve brought the guest.”
The carriage had stopped next to a door, and the driver knocked on it without even getting off his seat. It was a rather rude gesture, but as Lawrence noticed the driver’s knocking was irregular it became clear it was some form of password. When the door finally opened, a familiar face appeared.. it was one of the men who had been with Eve on the delta.
“Inside.”
The man uttered this short reply after verifying that the face he saw was indeed Lawrence. He then returned inside. Lawrence felt the dread of becoming involved in something suspiciously large-scale.. but there was nothing he could do about it now.
Being afraid would accomplish nothing, so Lawrence put on his merchant’s demeanor and thanked the silent driver before disembarking. He pulled the door handle confidently and noticed that the door, while matching the disused appearance of the building, was made of good wood that didn’t creak as he opened it.
Upon walking inside he noticed the man who had welcomed him standing against the wall. A merchant was always able to smile, and Lawrence was no exception. After receiving the smile, the man used the blade of his sword to point to the room at the end of the corridor and then closed his eyes.
The interior of the building was made of stone and wood, with a muddy floor that made it obvious that it had once been a factory. Lawrence was comforted by the warming smell of burning firewood as he walked to the door at the end of the corridor and opened it.
The room behind the door seemed to formerly be a studio bedroom, but was now little more than a storeroom. There was a number of wooden crates and buckets, and a fireplace by a table on the left.. finally some proof that someone might actually live there.
“Surprised?”
Eve, who was reading on a chair next to the table, raised her eyes. Her appearance resembled that of a noble reading a subject’s letter. But when she raised her face it did indeed surprise Lawrence: the left side of her face was swollen.
“It’s so cold.. close the door. It will not lock behind you.”
In fact, he was so surprised that it took a moment for it to register that she was joking. Her face didn’t look downright terrible, but had clearly been on the receiving end of a solid punch.
“I’m sorry to disturb you.”
“..not at all, it’s always a pleasure to be invited to the hideout of such a beauty.”
The joke was obvious, given how far it was from the truth.
“Hideout, huh? Well, have a seat. My apologies, but I’ve nothing to serve you.”
Lawrence sat on the chair she pointed at, setting down the letter she had sent him.
“It really is cold in here.”
Her left hand was on the table; she was certainly relying on the fireplace to read the papers. But she didn’t reply, so Lawrence continued.
“Well, at least it will be nice and cool in the summertime.”
“But it’s winter now!”
Hearing her cross answer, Lawrence flashed her a smile.
“I guess it’s good in it’s own way.. you’ll feel warmer when you go outside.”
She raised her head once more, clearly feeling pain on her lips, and so smiling with her eyes.
“Oh ho. Indeed, I wouldn’t mind that right now.”
“Then why are you staying indoors?”
Lawrence would have bluntly asked if she was imprisoned, but was concerned the guard on the other side of the door was eavesdropping. Eve sighed, and set down her reading material.
“You’re the kind who keeps their trump cards hidden, aren’t you?”
“..of course.”
Being of declined nobility and esteemed by big wigs like Keeman, Eve might actually be the sharpest weapon those landowners had in their arsenal. From his vantage point, Lawrence figured that Eve had been reading a contract of land exchange.. probably some kind of solitary battle briefing.
“I’m not here because of these contracts. I haven’t asked you here to put you in danger.”
In Lenos, Eve had drawn Lawrence into a dangerous transaction. But at least for now she didn’t seem to be repeating history. Lawrence wasn’t acting when his smile tightened.
“That’s alright. I don’t mind going to jail – I quite like hard and bitter bread.”
Lawrence realized that the time for idle chat was over. It was time for business. What Eve meant was clear: her right cheek was about to receive a matching bruise from her captor.
“I’ve no dark motivation to call you here. But you have noticed the mess in the city right now?”
“Hmm.. you mean about the boat that just landed in the south side?”
“Yes. Quite the coincidence, that.. just as we were leaving the delta, too. Gerube’s surrounded by a river, so it’s problematic – it there’s a mess, no one’s allowed to cross the river and leave. And we’ll be stuck here in the north, with our messengers trapped in the south.”
Lawrence was a traveling merchant, so this wasn’t a problem he had to face often. But it made it clear why Eve wanted to speak with him. He just didn’t know if his information was worth anything to her. But his merchant’s sixth-sense was telling him that he should cooperate.
“It seems like you get it. I want your information. You visited your guild in the south.. what did you hear?”
It seemed that Eve was aware of Lawrence’s actions, but it wasn’t really surprising. She knew he belonged to the Rowen Trade Guild, so it was natural that he would visit their local branch. But why would she ask him so plainly? Wasn’t she afraid that they were being monitored? It seemed that she noticed his discomfort, so he continued.
“How much do you wanna know?”
“As much as possible.”
Lawrence stared at the contracts on the table, debating whether he ought to keep anything secret. But after several seconds he raised his head, having decided to tell her everything.
“A boat from the northern side of the city was being towed by another from a southern company. I’ve no clue what was on it, but I heard that the sailors were resisting. It’s probably something valuable to the Church.”
He didn’t hold back, and didn’t follow up with a question.. Eve seemed completely thrown off.
“..is that a rumor?”
“It’s what my partner learned at the Church.”
Eve sighed deeply at this revelation. She looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes. A moment later, she turned back to Lawrence.
“I see.”
He wasn’t lying, and she wanted to get all the information she could, so she didn’t play around.
“I’m glad that you’re not so narrow-minded a man as to hide the truth.”
“I’m just not some big shot who could avoid the kind of situation I’m in right now.”
“True, but there are many small, narrow paths a big shot can’t enter in this world.”
It wasn’t a good bet that Lawrence would know what was happening in the city, and Eve knew that he
would get nothing out of it. So a secret meeting like this was probably her only option. But her words struck Lawrence.. she had taken that bet.
“And you’re telling me to take these small, narrow paths?”
“You’re in a unique position in this city. You have no real contacts, yet you’re able to speak to the person they want the most.”
She smiled. Lawrence recalled Keeman, who also knew Eve, telling him the same thing earlier.
“It isn’t useless. Or so I’m told by the one keeping me here, one who walks those so-called paths.”
She handed a contract to him. It was typical, complete with signatures and stamps.. written in an old hand and concerning the delta.
“I don’t have the money, but I do have power through my connections. It’ll prove useful in business.”
“But you’re imprison-”
As he cut himself off, Eve’s face became unreadable again.
“..it won’t last.”
She touched her face, looking at her hand afterward as if expecting to see blood.
“You haven’t yet asked about my wound.”
“What happened?”
His instant response made her cover her mouth and smile, while her shoulders trembled like a little girl lost in the city. She seemed both truly happy and pained at the same time.
“I lose.. it seems that no matter what I say, you always shoot back with the best response you can provide.”
“And you always draw me into danger.”
This was no idle conversation.. if they grew careless it could truly become dangerous.
“The danger I put myself into isn’t the same as you, who plays it safe.”
“Indeed. I realized it when I talked to my partner.”
He replied defensively, conceding their verbal sparring match. Eve nodded, and changed her expression.
“It seems it might be true after all.. I’d heard that a fisherman in the north caught the Narwhale.”
“Narwhale...?!”
Lawrence immediately looked at the door after his outburst.
“Our guard won’t eavesdrop.. he’s paid too shabbily. And while my captor dares to punch me, he knows better than to do me any serious harm.”
Lawrence wasn’t sure if he could trust her, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it now. He nodded and continued their conversation.
“By Narwale, you mean that eternal life..?”
“Indeed. The horned sea-monster, who’s meat extends life and who’s powdered horn can cure any illness.”
Lawrence didn’t believe in such a superstitious myth. Neither did Eve, apparently.
“Legend has it that the Narwhale can only survive in waters as cold as the icy far north.. why would it come this far south?”
“According to a sailor, the weather of the northern seas is growing unstable and many creatures are starting to wander south. I’ve never heard of a real Narwhale, though. Maybe it’s just the horn of a bison.”
There were just too many myths involving longevity serums and healing medicines. They were mostly pagan beliefs, but there were still those in the Church who believed in them as well. There were stories of an afterlife where people lived in a painless world free of disease, which wasn’t possible in reality. Even if they lived by the teachings of God, people couldn’t live forever.
Traveling merchants, who wandered far and wide to trade, and mercenaries, who always faced death and disease, all knew that these things were just superstitious myths.. but there were many who didn’t understand that simple fact. Nobles tied to their lands their entire lives were the prime believers in such myths, always willing to pay a great deal for something like a Narwhale.
“But that means..”
“Exactly. If the Narwhale does exist, we are right back into the fire.”
Almost like a chair leg snapping, the situation had suddenly changed. In a city full of problems and anxiety, someone had caught something incredible that would stir up the situation entirely.. a war was imminent. At least, that’s what Lawrence’s instincts were telling him.
“The people in the south badly want control of the north.. if we move against them it could cause serious problems. But the Narwhale is a treasure; if we sell it, we’ll make a lot even after considering loans. They’d be up pitting themselves against the landlords of the north, but I still wouldn’t want it shipped here.. it would be tantamount to declaring war, with a lot of money at stake.”
The violence of the northerners resisted the Church’s seizure of the Narwhale.. but if they attacked the Church it really would mean war.
“How about it? If you can resolve this situation, your future will be a bright one.”
It would be, indeed. Eve was in a position to use Lawrence as a member of the Rowen Trading Guild. The north and south sides of town had no love for each other, and he had rare secret access to Eve.. no one was in a better position to spy than Lawrence was. But there was a hole in this logic that could cause him to fall to his death: Keeman knew about his relationship with Eve.
“So, are you willing to help me? No..”
She shook her head as if to cancel her words. She then looked into his eyes.
“What compensation do you want for finishing this job?”
She was asking him to become a traitor. She knew that. She would also know what a guild meant to a merchant from the south. And yet she still pressured him. How much.. he clasped his hands and assumed a thinking posture. This was just a discussion about profit.
“Give me some time to think it over, won’t you?”
Eve shook her head wordlessly. If he refused, they could instantly end up as enemies.. it was a distinct possibility. And still, she wasn’t giving him a chance to hesitate. No one could be a capable spy if they couldn’t immediately decide which side they stood for.
But Lawrence had no choice but to hesitate – he had no idea what Keeman was scheming. What if he learned of this conversation? What if he forced Lawrence into acting as his errand-runner? Where was the profit in that? The possibility of profit could tilt the scales of a situation, so merchants always considered everything in terms of profit and loss.. or rather, they were almost incapable of thinking in other terms.
“Is it because of the bones of the wolf-god?”
Eve pressed him, as though she could see through him. Perhaps she remembered their chat when they first met in Gerube.
“Your instincts ought to be telling you that Reynolds is serious, and that he came to me.”
She smiled. Lawrence had been right, and it seemed she knew the details after all.. she might even know who Reynolds wanted to contact.
“You were aware of that, yet you still wrote me a letter of introduction.”
“Are you angry?”
“No, I’m just happy that I guessed correctly.”
Eve sneered, then stood up and throw two logs on the fire. Lawrence kept the conversation going.
“People from the north usually use coal, not wood.”
“But we’re still more generous to the poor.”
“Ho ho.. looks like that kid’s welcome wherever he goes.”
Lawrence wanted to figure out her angle. Her expression shifted, and her voice assumed her usual stoic, hard-to-judge tone.
“So how about it? It’s not a bad offer, is it?”
“Perhaps.”
Dealing with the devil placed one at risk. If he accepted, Lawrence would have to move against his guild’s interests. If that was discovered, he would be expelled.. and punished. Holo had told him not to worry, but Lawrence could imagine Keeman’s expression. It wasn’t an exaggeration that a merchant in that situation could find themselves dead.
“You met with Keeman?”
Lawrence’s face didn’t react much at Eve’s question, but it was only because he was past his limit and ability to quickly respond.
“If you went to gather information, you would have had to mention my name. I can guess how that man responded.”
&nbs
p; It was like she was remembering an old friend. Was that the kind of relationship they shared? No.. Lawrence couldn’t see that as a possibility.
“Heh.. he’s really an outstanding merchant.”
“True. There are talented people in every guild. He’s one of them.”
Eve seemed quite relaxed, so Lawrence took the chance to question her.
“What did Keeman do to you?”
“Nothing interesting.. but I’m always his goal. I guess you could say he’s a threat to me.”
There was a silvery glint in her squinted eyes as she spoke.. it was quite wolf-like.
“..I see.”
“He’s quite terrible. He’s caused me much suffering.”
She stared at the table while smiling.. even though it wasn’t a good memory. But this was no time to dwell on memories.
“Hey..”
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you quit your guild?”
Her gentle question didn’t surprise him. Rather it was the notion that he could afford to quit.. it didn’t seem at all possible.
“You know what a merchant like me stands to lose by quitting their guild, don’t you?”
Their network of contacts, their special privileges, their reputation.. all of these would be gone. And with them, fame and fortune, and the safety of having allies in every town. He might as well just declare bankruptcy.
“Join mine.”
Eve spoke while fiddling with the corner of a document.
“Yours?”
“Indeed. Join my company.”
Reynolds had mentioned the Boland company.. so it really existed? As Lawrence pondered over it, Eve stared off into the distance while touching her lips.
“I’m being kept here by the order of the one who punched me.”
Her pallid fingers were long and thin.. not at all like Holo’s. Lawrence felt like he was resisting the calls of a mermaid, forcefully keeping his cool.
“He’s the grandchild of one of the owners of the delta, and has contracts with just about everyone who’s involved. He’s two years my younger, and always as persistent about money as his nerves will allow. He truly cares about me.”
Sarcasm again. Her face was showing signs of loneliness.. was she doing it on purpose?