The God of Jesters
Chapter 704 - 11.02.3 Enter the bar.

Chapter 704: 11.02.3 Enter the bar.

Leaving his wife to his father-in-law seems appropriate, considering the circumstances. But then again, all this can only be done until he ensures that the one being targeted is him.

’They won’t make a move too soon.’ Looking out toward the streets and recalling the odd movements of certain people before, a picture formed in Darde’s eyes. He spoke to his wife. "Talk to Captain Sind once you reach the colony, you can tell him all the details barring my sister’s involvement, and call her an unintended victim that earned time for me to deal with the killers."

His sister still appears mortal to the simple mind, it would be easy to fool a knight like his Captain. Not to mention, this way he can ensure a temporary safe residence for his family while he goes on to confirm some of his suspicions.

His target, obviously the Merchant Guild that put this hit on him, but only partially, he was not some criminal or a man with nothing to lose, he can’t act rowdy unless he wishes for more danger to come to his wife and daughter.

So his first target was to look for a simple mask. "This should be enough." A monkey mask and a small hoodie. The places these were bought were random, and both times Darde hid his face one way or another, even using some of his psionic energy to mess with the perspective of those around him.

And then, he made his way toward the location where certain underhanded elements of the Flower Gradient’s operated from. The place that should know more about this than the official sources.

So he moved, his aim already obvious, targeting the ones involved in recruiting men for certain odd jobs in the company. For a woman by the name of Lady Emira, the issue was, that targeting her was easier said than done.

But now is the best time to do it, no matter how one looks at it. Which is why Darde made his move.

His eyes were cold as a dead bird, his steps calm and calculated. While his eyes dart around the streets, ensuring that there are no eyes suspicious of him. And before long, he came to the entrance of the hideout. A simple bar on the surface, but it hid the office of Lady Emira behind it.

Half the patrons in the bar were not even real, mostly just setups and guards that melded with the mercenaries and some other kinds of distasteful folks who were involved in such heinous activities.

With barely any presence of the locals, which should have been the norm. Meaning that this place might seem hidden, but most already knew of its truth and the kind of things that happened there.

Which is why he was here. But there arises the issue, there are so many people here, using his psionic power in the crowd would alert them, not to mention, he was not a mage that can use his powers on a large scale using mana as support, it only his mind playing with other minds. Influencing the minds on such a large scale was not something he could do.

But, there are always other ways. "Influence." he waited outside, some people came and others went out, but Darde waited for another minute before he found a single individual inching towards the bar as usual. His clothes and walk seemed practiced. Easy to see he was a regular patron here.

Not to mention, from the uniform alone, it can be seen what kind of business he was in. ’Clean clothes, high position, and the signs of wearing mask on his face and hair, a slave auctioneer from the looks of it.’ Them wearing good clothes didn’t make them rich, but it was a sign of them carrying a big backer. A perfect target.

This is what Darde did, his position was perfect, like he had killed the man from before, he made a similar move, but instead of harming the man in any way, he grabbed the man’s face, who could easily struggle against such feeble strength considering Darde’s has physique of a Mortal. But the man couldn’t, as his mind went numb in that very instant. "Go inside, cause commotion... big one." With those words, Darde felt drained.

The mind reading from before had already taken a huge toll on him, and now this. Well, what can be said, this is what one needs to do to ensure his family’s survival.

******

Here she was, inside the bar looking carrying the name of Renasa and wearing the face of an ugly old woman. Renasa’s earlier failure in the brothel did make her worry a bit, but considering she was able to get the material needed, there was no complaint from her handler, only the words, to keep quiet and hide in the public eye for a bit.

An order that seemed odd, considering the mess-ups that did occasionally happen in other cities, would usually lead to her leaving the place altogether to prevent any further accidents from propping up.

But this time her mission was to hide in public space, specifically a bar she had been keeping an eye on for a long while, considering this bar was more than it looked to the eyes, with the woman inside being one of the shadiest existence in the city of Mersood.

Although she was affiliated with a specific Merchant guild, her transaction happened with all those who were in the business of selling and buying people. The ledger she keeps can be a good hunting list for those interested. There actually were none beside her.

This is why she killed one of the regulars here who she had followed for a long while and had learned about her long ago, and took her place in the bar.

There was no time to waste in the girl’s eyes. And the faster she acts the more she can learn the ins and outs of the bar and then hit it when it’s the most unguarded.

Might take a week or even a month. The girl was ready to do this job as long as it took or she got a new mission of sorts.

But it was just day one, no... it’s not even been an hour since she got here and was ready to look for some employment at Lady Emira’s hands, a start of her first series of interactions, but something absurd happened.

"Who the fuck sold me that whore." Shouted a man throwing the door open. His eyes darting around, red in anger and probably drunk. "Sir Ezekiel, what are you talking about... we don’t do such business here." This was true, the bar was mostly for those seeking employment and providing a safe haven for conducting certain kinds of trades.

"He seems drunk, and can’t tell right from wrong." One of the patrons spoke, looking at the rabid intruder, who started throwing stuff up. Which did earn some ire from the bar owner. "Deal with him, gently."

The commotion, although small and taken care of not even in a minute or two was enough for Darde to make his move, he entered the bar as any other patron, but his clothes changed mid-way, and those interested in him would have seen how he easily stole one of the coats on eh table and replaced it with his own. Probably the smelliest coat in the whole room at that.

After which, Darde made his way toward the door he knew Lady Emira was hiding behind. But then again, there was a different kind of security at this part of the bar. ’A Knight of Adept rank?’ Troublesome.

The Knight was not alone. Certain magical and warning traps were spread around this room, leading to the hidden chamber. Tripping even one of them would result in being found out, and meeting Emira would be even harder.

But Darde could see them all. ’Perfect.’ Although he didn’t know what those magical runes meant, or how to break them. But being a Mystic, his strong spirituality ensured that he could see what the dead zones in this whole protection system were. If not for this Knight here.

’I can dodge them... but he would have noticed long before... even if I take him out first if his body falls the same thing will happen.’

’Troublesome situation to say the least.’

He had minutes before the chaos in the Bar calmed down, so he had to act now. ’But she can escape.’

Troublesome, so troublesome.

Thought Darde, but, there was no other choice, he had to make a move now or regret it forever. Which is how Darde planned to walk out and expose himself. But at this moment. "Oh young man, do you have a bottle of the Mystic blue blood?"