"Of course, my lips are sealed," Theia assured, placing her index finger on her mouth. "You see, in our circle, rumors need to be confird, and recently Riche has been rather... controversial."
The lady sighed, trying not to divulge more than she intended. "He hasn’t visited in so ti now, ever since he moved to Guragua. He was always a greedy man, only frequenting my shop because of the rare gems I sell."
"Has he ever ordered sothing unusual to be made?" Theia pressed, eager for more information.
The lady’s discomfort was evident, though she quickly masked it by talking more. "We haven’t seen each other in almost half a year. The last ti he ca in, he was only ordering a necklace for one of his maidens. I don’t know what he’s been up to recently, so stop asking about that."
Reeva sensed that he had sothing more, she only said half-truth. He knows it since he often does it in front of the priests.
"Riche..."
However, before he speaks, Theia looks at Reeva, her eyes saying "Let handle it please" So he just up and lets her do her thing.
Theia noticed the lady’s hesitation and decided to apply a bit more pressure. Leaning in slightly, she lowered her voice, making it seem as though they were sharing a secret.
"You know, there have been so rather alarming rumors about Riche recently. People are saying he’s involved in so... heretical activities. I don’t want to believe it, but with the way things are going, it’s hard not to wonder."
The lady’s eyes widened, a flash of fear crossing her face before she quickly composed herself.
"Heretical? That’s... quite an accusation," she said, her voice wavering slightly. The church burning people in the central district struck fear in her mind.
Theia nodded sympathetically.
"I know, it’s shocking. But you can understand why I’m concerned. I’m sure you’d want to distance yourself from anything or anyone that might bring trouble, especially with the church being so vigilant these days."
The lady fidgeted, clearly torn. Finally, she sighed and leaned in closer, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Look, I lied about the last ti he visited. He got in touch with recently, saying he had made so progress in his career. I was excited—he’s by far my most loyal custor, and I thought it would an a steady stream of inco. But instead of the usual purchase, he ca in with a box. He said he wanted these gems inspected."
With a mix of fear and uncertainty, she placed the box she had received from Riche on the table.
Theia kept her expression neutral, though inside she felt a surge of excitent at this new lead. "What is it?"
The lady shook her head. "I haven’t opened it... I was too scared. He’s been my most loyal custor, but I could tell imdiately that sothing was... wrong with him. He seed less confident—more paranoid about his security.
Always looking over his shoulder. He gave this to and said, ’Join ,’ then left soon after."
Normally the Jewelry lady wouldn’t trust these strangers, but the fact that they ca in with these kinds of questions, just confird her suspicion of Riche.
Theia’s eyes narrowed slightly as she considered the box before her.
"Did he say anything else? Anything that might hint at what he was involved in?"
The lady shook her head again, visibly distressed. "No, that was all. He seed in a hurry, like he was being followed or... I don’t know, like he was running out of ti."
Theia nodded thoughtfully, then reached out to gently take the box. "I’ll take a look at this. You’ve done the right thing by telling . If Riche is involved in sothing dangerous, it’s important that we find out what it is. And don’t worry—I’ll make sure this doesn’t co back to you."
The lady let out a shaky breath, relieved. "Thank you... I just want to stay out of whatever this is."
Theia offered a reassuring smile. "You will. Leave it to us. Thank you for being honest madam"
Outside the shop, Theia handed the box to Reeva. He held it in his hand and shook it a bit, hearing a faint thud from inside.
"It’s not a big item," Reeva remarked, weighing the object.
"Is it a mystic artifact?" Theia asked.
"Doubt it," Reeva replied. "But it’s not impossible. Let’s check what’s inside. Just to be safe, you should stand back."
Theia stepped a bit farther away, watching cautiously.
Reeva wasn’t about to take any unnecessary risks. He activated [experint] and carefully slid open the box. The wooden lid creaked, revealing the contents inside.
It was just a white slate, similar to the one he already possessed, but this one lacked any mystical qualities. Inscribed on it were a date, a place, and a 12-eye symbol.
Theia moved closer after seeing that nothing happened, leaning in for a better look.
"Is this...?"
Theia recognized the setup imdiately—it was a heretic eting invitation.
"Like the one you made before, but with much more grandeur," Reeva said, his eyes fixed on the slate. He picked it up to examine it more closely. It was an ordinary white slate with no mystical properties.
"Should we go?" Theia asked.
"No, it’s too risky," Reeva said, resisting the temptation. He had plenty of ideas on how to infiltrate a heretic cult using their own invitation, but it would involve other people. He was willing to risk himself but not others because of his curiosity.
Moreover, this was significantly riskier than sneaking into the church. Most of the ti, the church would be relatively safe for the priests, but a heretic eting was a different story altogether.
Reeva pocketed the slate, his mind racing with possibilities. The eting place and ti are still quite far away, So he still has ti before he has to make a choice.
Theia nodded, though a part of her was still curious about the eting. "So what’s the plan? Do we just ignore it for now?"
"We et the sailor association leader first, then we will decide our next move."
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