LOTM: Seekers

34. A Theater play

As usual, they made sure they weren't being tailed before making their way to Mr. A's secret gathering. The setting hadn't changed—the same discreet location, the same heavy atmosphere, and the same Mr. A, lounging lazily on a velvet couch, his face obscured beneath a dark hood.

By now, none of them were strangers to this place. They knew the routine.

The first stop was the information board.

"Still nothing on the Apprentice Pathway…" Fors let out a long sigh, her shoulders slumping as she stepped aside to let the next person look. Viscount Glaint wore a similar look of quiet disappointment as he moved away from the board.

Meanwhile, Xio's expression was the opposite—finally, relief. She had scraped together enough money to purchase the formula for the Sheriff potion. Without wasting a moment, she signaled one of Mr. A's subordinates and followed them into a side room, Fors trailing behind her to watch over the transaction.

Audrey glanced over the board.

"No new entries from Roselle's diary…" she noted with a touch of disappointment. Still, she continued scanning through the listings, her emerald eyes dancing over the items on display.

Despite the secrecy and danger of the gathering, the setup reminded her a little of window shopping at a high-end mall—rows of rare items, some absurdly cheap, others suspiciously ordinary. But even as she indulged in the comparison, Audrey remained sharp. She was a noble lady, yes, but she was also a keen observer—and right now, her attention was trained on Chris.

She watched from the corner of her eye as he approached a nearby request box—one of those placed discreetly by Mr. A's group for confidential trades and inquiries—and slipped a note inside.

Deciding to make her presence known, Audrey stepped up casually and spoke, "What are you trying to look for?"

Chris didn't seem surprised; he'd clearly noticed her approach. He turned slightly, meeting her gaze.

"I'm requesting information about dangerous places in Backlund and its surrounding regions. The newer the intel, the better."

Audrey raised a brow, her curiosity piqued. "Isn't that kind of information easy enough to get?" Her tone held mild skepticism. She wasn't naïve—she knew full well that Backlund harbored more than its fair share of danger. After all, she'd played a role in the fall of Qilangos, a notorious pirate who had died within this very city.

Chris nodded, acknowledging her point. "Some of it, sure. But there's a lot you won't find through normal channels. Especially not when it involves Beyonders. Even an official Beyonder from a Church can be a threat to us."

His words made sense—sobering, but reasonable. Audrey silently agreed. While she herself rarely ventured into the darker corners of Backlund, she understood that having access to such knowledge could mean the difference between life and death.

Just as she opened her mouth to ask if she might get a copy of the intel when he received it—

"If there's someone willing to sell the information, would you want to hear it too?"

Audrey studied his expression, searching for any hidden motive behind the sudden invitation. But beneath his cloak and hood, his face gave away nothing.

"Of course, you'd have to pay half," Chris added casually.

"That sounds fair enough," she replied, a small smile playing at her lips.

An easy silence settled between them—comfortable, without any awkwardness.

Before long, one of Mr. A's subordinates called Chris over, signaling that it was time to enter the transaction room. Chris nodded briefly toward Audrey, who silently followed him, the two moving together into the shadowed depths of the gathering.

Before we stepped into the room, one of Mr. A's subordinates handed us each a cloak to wear. It was clearly their way of ensuring maximum anonymity during the transaction.

Opposite us stood another cloaked figure. The bulky padding obscured their form so thoroughly that it was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman—and honestly, it didn't seem to matter.

"What do you want to know? And how much are you prepared to pay?" the figure's voice was calm and neutral, pitched somewhere between masculine and feminine, adding to the enigma.

"You name your price and how much you're willing to share," I proposed. "If I agree, you simply tell me which information you think is worth that amount. I trust you'll be fair—and I expect the information to be genuine." I glanced over at Mr. A, who watched the transaction with his usual imposing presence.

'The Constellation Demon-like Judge of Fire consents to pass judgment.'

I'd anticipated this reaction. For now, there's little advantage in rocking the boat—doing so might even paint a target on my back within this organization. The cloaked figure processed my offer, then turned to Mr. A for confirmation. After a subtle nod from him, the man laid out his prices: "5 pounds, 10 pounds, 25 pounds."

As the offer was laid out, I leaned in and whispered to Audrey, "I'm thinking of going with the 25-pound option. What do you think?"

She had been observing the cloaked man intently, but like me, she seemed to have little knowledge about the Beyonder-related issues in Backlund.

"I don't mind," she nodded. For her, it was barely a fraction of her pocket money.

"25 pounds," I confirmed firmly to the cloaked man.

He nodded eagerly, clearly excited about the easy payday.

"Alright," he began, "I'll start with the most obvious: the outskirts of the city—like Delaire Forest. It's notorious for its wildlife, but if you're unlucky—or lucky—you might encounter mutants there. Many black market hunters patrol those woods, hunting creatures for profit. It's wise to gather information about those hunters beforehand; they have strict territorial agreements, and crossing them rarely ends well. Technically, it's outside Backlund, but stray too far from the main roads and you might stumble upon abandoned places rumored to harbor unusual beings."

Audrey and I both nodded in understanding.

"Next is beneath Backlund itself. The city's sewer system is vast and labyrinthine—like a maze. Over the years, whether due to failed experiments or lost pets, it's become as wild as the deepest forests. Countless beasts roam those tunnels, some truly monstrous, others merely men wearing beastly masks. If you're feeling lucky enough to venture there, make sure to have a reliable map. Losing your way is often the first step toward becoming prey for the hunters who prowl those shadows."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Then there's the Eastern Borough, where society's lowest gather. Unlike the outskirts or the sewers, the people there are mostly beasts in human skin. You never know what horrors they hide behind closed doors. There's too much to say about that place, but the key point is this: never let your guard down. Even a small-time gangster there could have a few mid- or even high-level Beyonder—if luck is on their side."

"Also, each official church maintains its own specially protected grounds where they monopolize and safeguard the rare materials needed for their potions. It serves as a second layer of security, ensuring their formulas don't leak out. Despite pressure from the official churches, the royal family and the royal army each control one of these natural reserves—they hold exclusive monopolies too. These places remain shrouded in mystery. All I can offer are rumors, and whether you choose to believe them is entirely up to you."

He then went on to share several other whispers he had heard—some so outlandish they sounded like fantasies, such as an underground forest cultivated beneath the city as one of those secret grounds.

"I think all of that was worth the price," he concluded.

But I shook my head. "No. You've talked plenty about dangerous places and given us advice, but you haven't explained why these places are dangerous—except for those controlled by official Beyonders."

The cloaked man immediately dismissed my objection. "That's outside the scope of this transaction. Besides, the information I've given you is already worth the pounds you paid."

Before I could press my case further, Mr. A interjected for the first time.

"It's worth the price," he stated firmly.

His words made us all turn to him briefly.

"Alright," I conceded, deciding not to push my luck any further—I wasn't quite ready to pick a fight today.

"Thank you for your patronage," the cloaked man said as he turned and exited the transaction room. Audrey and I followed suit, stepping out together yet feeling as though we had just emerged from entirely different worlds.

"I never realized there was so much hidden beneath this city," Audrey murmured as we walked away, her voice tinged with both fascination and a trace of apprehension.

It was like discovering your seemingly normal neighbor was actually a serial killer—with a body count well above five.

"It's good that we know now. Do you think he was lying?" I asked, more as a jab—like saying, I bet you can tell when someone's bluffing.

"I'm not sure," she replied calmly. "But it sounds fairly accurate. I've heard similar whispers from other sources."

"And you? What's your take?"

"I'd say there's about an 80% chance he was lying," I answered confidently.

Audrey's voice carried a note of surprise. "Really?"

I chuckled softly. "Not entirely. Maybe only 10 to 20 percent of what he said was false—or maybe he just didn't give us the whole truth. But even a small slice of real info like that is enough to ruin greedy people's plans forever."

I wasn't completely certain either, but these kinds of shady dealings always demanded extra caution.

Meanwhile, Audrey fell silent as we walked, her thoughts hidden behind a calm exterior. Who knew what impressions were forming in her mind?

As we exited, we rejoined our group—Xio, Fors, and Glaint. Not long after we assembled, someone approached us—more precisely, he approached Xio.

"Ms. Arbiter, who recently purchased the sheriff's formula, may I have a moment of your time?" he asked with surprising politeness.

Xio flinched, wary and startled that he knew such specific information about her. Yet, after some gentle persuasion from Fors, she decided to accept the invitation.

Shortly after this unexpected encounter, the gathering came to an end.

***

"Susie! You won't believe what I went through today! The atmosphere, the tension, the probing disguised as small talk—it felt just like something out of a theater play!" Audrey exclaimed, bouncing onto her soft bed, unable to settle down.

As she spoke, she recounted every detail to Susie—not only to double-check if she'd missed anything, but also because Susie might catch nuances Audrey hadn't noticed.

"He was unusually guarded and seemed to know quite a bit about me, though I'm not sure exactly how much. Should I bring you along next time, Susie?" Audrey replayed the encounter in her mind, her voice tinged with both curiosity and caution.

Susie just rolled her eyes, clearly amused by Audrey's dramatic retelling.