The old man had wisps of grey hair that looked like they were stuck on his head. His back was never straight, and his shoulders hunched over his portly staunch. But despite his decrepit looks there was a sharp mind filled with knowledge hidden inside the haze of drunkenness.
He was sipping a hot liquid and I slled coffee. Loctris was surely the centre of this world, it had coffee.
I sat opposite him. "How old is Loctris?"
He sipped and then gulped the short black down his gullet. "We've got a lot to do tonight. Do you want to sit here and ask questions or go?"
We weren't alone in the common room; it was for everyone after all. "Maybe there's sowhere else we can sit and chat before we do whatever you have planned for this evening."
"It's free here," he said. "And we're just two losers in a corner."
"Do you know a discreet money changer?"
A low chuckle escaped his lips. "Sure, but the more discreet the worse the exchange rate."
"We should be very discreet it's better than complications later."
He stood. "That shall be our first stop and we can kill two birds with one stone."
"You go first, I'll follow at a distance."
He nodded. "I'll head north."
The person watching the campus across the street was still there. They never left; maybe they lived in that room above the cheese shop. I looked up and the room was dark, but they were there either standing or sitting on a tall chair. This ti they did not budge, secure in the knowledge that I could not see them. Rembering Alejo, I added another question to the list I wanted to ask Leonell.
He wound his way to the edge of the rchants district and entered a smoke filled caf. He waited for at the door and nodded when I entered.
We walked through the caf which was filled with patrons smoking long pipes and sipping from small glass chalices filled with dark liquid. He then went up a spiral staircase with a little difficulty, it was steep and narrow.
A woman sat behind a desk at the entrance to another lounge. "Business or pleasure?" she asked. She wore a black cloak, the colour which Leonell had told not to wear.
"My lady, it is both tonight, but business will co first. Can we get a walk-in with the money changer?"
She pursed her lips. "Na?"
"Leonell the grey and a new friend." His hand indicated .
She peered at us. "Take a seat in the lounge and soone will fetch you if he accepts. Next ti make an appointnt though one of the urchins."
Leonell bowed. "I will lady, my apologies." He was awfully polite to a door woman, there was more here than t the eye.
She escorted us to a semicircular seat near the centre of the lounge. The lighting was dim and familiar slls filled the air. Tobacco and marijuana amongst other things t my nostrils. Both had distinctive slls, but the third was unknown to .
I looked at the long pipes stretching up from the ornate bottle on the floor. "Hashish?" I asked.
Leonell shrugged. "I don't know what hashish is. You can smoke tobacco, cannabis, or lotus from the Argila. I do not recomnd black lotus, but you can partake in the red or white. Can you pay?"
"After the money changer I can."
He nodded. "Then consu nothing unless we get a eting."
There were four doors other than the entrance with two on each side. There was a bar and behind it was a partition to another area. One which seed invite only, in fact the whole building other than the ground floor appeared to be invite only.
On the odd occasion I saw a person wearing a black cloak and they always had adept sized cores.
"What's with the black cloaks?"
Leonell brought a finger to his lips. "Although it's an open secret it's not polite to discuss especially here."
"Leonell the grey?"
"I am neither black nor white. I walk between the worlds."
"So it's not a title?"
He chuckled. "Nothing special and rarely ntioned."
A short man dressed in grey robes approached us. "The money changer will see you now. Thank you for waiting."
We followed him through to one of the side rooms. A tall pale skinned man was standing in the corner and when we entered he put down the vial he was holding and turned to face us.
"Welco," he said. "Long ti Leonell. What brings you here?"
Leonell bowed shallowly. "Thank you for seeing us Lafe. I would like to introduce a gifted student of mine."
Lafe raised an eyebrow at the word gifted and he considered . I didn't look like much, Gunt was an adventurer after all. Non-descript in size, strength with sowhat good looks. I mimicked the shallow bow Leonell gave.
I was embarrassed to say my na. "Gunt Sir."
He indicated a couple of chairs in front of his desk. "What can I do you for?"
I reached into my pouch, extracted the Bullfrog's core and rolled it across the table. He picked it up and stared at the swirling blue liquid inside.
"Interesting, it has good concentration for its size. What is it from if you don't mind asking?"
I peered. "I'm not sure what they're called. I had never seen one before. It was the size of two oxen and resembled a frog with an ugly face and hooves. It spat qi from its mouth."
He nodded. "I see. How many with you to take it down?"
"I was alone sir."
He raised his eyebrow and looked at Leonell who shrugged.
"Gifted indeed," he said. "I see why Leonell favours you." He peered at Leonell for a long ti. "Are you drinking less these days?"
Leonell shrugged and Lafe chuckled. "I think you are. Very well I hope things are looking up for you old friend."
Leonell leaned forward and gave him a yellow toothed smile. "Don't call old friend unless you are offering old friend rates."
Lafe chuckled. "Welco back to the land of the living. And in honour of your return I will give you slightly better rates than normal." He placed the core on a fancy brass scale and checked the weight. He opened a silk pouch and began adding silver coins.
He paused. "Do you want to open an account?"
I looked at Leonell who nodded to .
"What's an account do?"
"Each ti we make an exchange I take twenty five percent and add it to your account. We keep a ledger of your investnt and loan it out to others, businessn and the like. It is one of the things a money changer does, and you get fifty percent of the return."
He nodded towards the scale. "This is a small amount, but you have to start sowhere and if you can kill a Thrackan alone then you have great earning potential."
I wasn't planning on being here long, but the black cloaked money changer may be a handy contact. "Agreed. I am happy to join the sche."
He smiled and nodded. "Good, good." And then he finished filled the silk pouch with silver and a couple of gold coins.
He pushed it across and watched my face as I picked it up and slid it into the inside pocket of my cloak.
He spied the knives when the cloak was open. "Can you use those?" And I knew what he ant.
I closed my cloak and t his gaze with tight lips.
He turned to Leonell. "Where did you find him?"
Leonell chuckled. "You would never believe ."
"Try ."
"He is one of the adventurers the Chancellor brought to the city."
His mouth opened and snapped shut. "I thought there were a joke?"
Leonell nodded. "They are. He is the exception which proves the rule."
"Teacher," I said in warning.
He shrugged. "It doesn't matter my boy; they will find out soon enough whether I tell them or not."
It was my turn to look surprised. "The one across the street who watches us co and go? She is a black cloak?"
Lafe laughed. "Soone will have to inform her her stakeout is blown." He turned back to Leonell. "Is he open for recruitnt?"
Leonell shrugged. He did that a lot.
Lafe turned back to and asked, "Well?"
"Let think on it," I said.
Lafe smiled. "Very well. We can discuss it next ti. Please make an appointnt with one of the urchins. Just tell them which day, weight and whether its morning, afternoon or night."
"How can I recognize them?"
"Thy wear a black patch on their clothing near or on their shoulder. No other clothing they were is black. Ensure you ntion my na because there is more than one money changer in the guild."
There was another faction in Loctris one which had talented qi adepts the sa as the red and green cloaks. I wasn't sure how many of them were noble or if the black cloaks were entirely made up of outliers, but they had my attention as I did theirs.
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