- Job Details:
"Nine Steel? Yeah, I've heard of them." The man scratched his beard as he peered at the stranger from behind his market stall. He was just here to sell his wares, which were various tools and trinkets made out of various metals. The day had been going well when this person had showed up at his stall and asked after a group called "Nine Steel", and he was wondering if he should tell her to go away or not. "Not sure what business of mine that is, though. Nor yours." Then again, her appearance made him feel like if he refused to go along with what she wanted she might become... troublesome. Or maybe the term dangerous was more appropriate: her inhuman appearance, combined with a fierce glare as if she was ready to stab him with her gaze alone, wasn't reassuring regarding the peaceful nature of this encounter.
However, out here in Desierto ruffians were a dime a dozen. A tyrannical regime which left most of the population in poverty meant that survival was a struggle, and a struggle that often ended up being resolved between people. There were those that tried to live out their lives slaving away, most of their productivity serving the few elite, but there were many who would rather strike out on their own, risking death under the merciless sun of the desert or at the hands of their fellow men, in return for breaking free of the trappings of a twisted society. And while those lawbreakers might be untrustworthy they were still humans, and thus could often be found in the markets just like their law-abiding kin.
As such, the merchant wasn't about to cower and hide away from this woman, no matter how dangerous she may look. Ruffians would often rely on their scary reputation to get what they want, but if they actually started trouble they'd often find themselves in more trouble than they could handle. So far as the merchant was concerned, this woman fell within the same category.
"A mutual acquaintance told me to find them. But you're correct that the details are none of your business." The reply was curt and formal, a pleasant voice speaking cold words. Akeya had no reason to tell this merchant why she was looking for the mercenary gang, but she had heard from others that this person might be able to help her contact them. He looked like an innocent trader of goods, but supposedly for more loyal customers he also had a secondary trade: that of a weapons dealer. Powerful weapons, either magical or non-magical, which were used by bandits and thugs and rogue mages. Of course, within the boundaries of Desierto's territory selling such equipment was tightly regulated, as the Three Desert Kings didn't want the populace to have the capacity to rise up and rebel against their oligarchic regime. That was only natural, when you'd set up a system to serve the wealthy.
So where would this man be getting his wares from, and how did he remain unnoticed? With the assistance of those very same outlaws who were also his clients. For the outlaws having a method to obtain weapons was crucial, as there weren't many who could survive for long in Desierto without any weapons to bolster their combat capabilities. That, or submitting to the government and being protected in return for being little more than servants. This man was hardly the only one, but outlaws would strike deals with merchants who were willing to supply them with equipment to help those same merchants become wealthy. A mutually beneficial agreement, even if there was always the risk that one side would betray the other in the hopes of being well-rewarded and not having to fear the wrath of the ruling class any longer.
This man, in particular, was supposed to have dealings with Nine Steel. Nine Steel was a mercenary group consisting of nine powerful combatants, each relying on their weapon skills combined with magical weapons. Individually they were already strong, but together they were a fighting force worth fearing, as they were said to be easily capable of defeating an army of standard soldiers hundreds of time their own size. If this were true, then their combined might was comparable to that of the most talented magic users of Fiore.
The problem was that they were willing to be hired for relatively little money and by any customer regardless of affiliation. They appeared to have no ideology beyond turning their capacity for violence into a source of income, and as long as the customer could pay their wages there wasn't anything they weren't willing to do. At least, nothing that didn't boil down to fighting and killing. One probably shouldn't try to hire them for chores. But in this case, their latest client hadn't paid for them to perform any small tasks: the rumours were that Nine Steel had been hired by the Ironheart Pact to serve as a mercenary force against the Luminous Covenant. They were small in number, could mobilize easily, and unless appropriate measures were taken they could take down fortresses by themselves. They were practically an elite strike group which could only be handled with utmost caution.
Now, Akeya had nothing against letting people fight for whatever cause they wanted, nor was she opposed to letting people fight for money. She herself was a mercenary, after all, even if she was affiliated with Fairy Tail these days and wouldn't do anything that would get her excommunicated. While she may be acting the role of a member of the guild she was, by nature, an assassin. She would eliminate those targets she was assigned to eliminate, either because she was paid for it or because she was given other incentives. An assassin couldn't complain about other mercenaries doing exactly the same thing, unless they wished to be an irrational hypocrite.
But she would interfere with Nine Steel's business, because she was now on the side of the Luminous Covenant. If a band of mercenaries as powerful as this one began to cause trouble all over Ishgar, disrupting trade routes and killing key figures in the war against the Ironheart Pact, the consequences could be disastrous. While Akeya held no feelings of loyalty towards either Fiore or the Luminous Covenant she was keenly aware that if the Ironheart Pact won this war it would be bad news for all those who used or relied on magic. And as a dragon, she very firmly fell into the category of creatures who wouldn't fare well if Pergrande got its way and began destroying everything that was related to magic.
The merchant in front of her, not privy to her thoughts, frowned deeper. "Look Miss, I don't know who that acquaintance might be, but bothering me isn't going to help you any. You'd be better off asking the red sands." Desierto was one of the economically weakest countries in the entirety of Ishgar, all its wealth concentrated at the top of the social hierarchy with minimal investment into expanding its economy. Ironically, however, the sands that formed most of the land would often look like gold in the sun. On the other hand, it all depended on the lighting: if one looked at it from another angle, in the right circumstances, the sands could look red like rubies.
"The sands won't answer, for they are neither rubies nor gold." Akeya had been waiting for the man to give her the opportunity to say the passphrase. According to the "acquaintance", a thug who also had dealings with this merchant but didn't know enough about Nine Steel to allow her to bypass the weapons dealer, the passphrase was what was used to get access to the merchant's secret wares, and might also get him to talk about his other customers. Of course, getting that information out of the thug had taken some effort: outlaws weren't inclined to spill their secrets if they could avoid it.
The merchant raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't show any outwards response. The passphrase was unusual enough that one was unlikely to say it by accident, so whoever this strange inhuman woman was, she knew what she was doing. Interesting, although the merchant was more interested in doing business and not getting caught. "That may be so, but you still shouldn't go around asking stall owners in broad daylight about such things. Only a fool would talk about such things out in the open." The man glanced towards an alleyway, long enough that Akeya could memorize which alleyway it was. He then let out an irritated grumble and rubbed his beard again. "So, are you actually planning to buy something?" His hand swept across his wares, and Akeya was quite certain she saw his hand linger above a particular item, small and unremarkable. It looked like some kind of artistic paperweight, three different metals interwoven to form a small tower. Most likely a reference to the three rulers of this land and their political power.
"...Sure. I'll take that." Akeya pointed towards the paperweight, and the merchant quickly snatched it up and gave it a final polish before handing it over. "Pleasure doing business with you. Hope you come back soon." The price for the paperweight was insignificant, so Akeya paid for it without bartering. The merchant might be relatively well-off for the society he lived in, but as someone from Fiore she could say that the prices here were laughable.
However, she had received the key to her next step. The merchant's words had been both vague and precise, giving a clear idea of what she should do next. The merchant would be giving her more details after the sun had gone down, in the alley, and the paperweight was most likely meant to serve as evidence that she was the same person who had bought it. It wasn't the most thorough of security systems, but they were close to the edge of the sultanate: it wasn't like the merchant regularly got royal guards inspecting everyone. She wondered if this man had actually sold anything meaningful to Nine Steel, or if he merely supplied them with disposables like caltrops and throwing daggers.
Well, she could ask that once they met at night. For now Akeya would study the paperweight as she wandered through the streets of Desierto, towards the inn where she could rest and meditate until night fell. It was quite well-made, the three metals each having a distinctly different colour and interwoven intricately so one might think it was one solid piece. She wondered if the design was meant to imply that the Three Desert Kings were in harmony and cooperated with each other, which was as laughable as Desierto's economy. No doubt the three political factions had gotten accustomed to the balance of power and were no longer wholly invested in toppling the other two, but most likely they would take the first opportunity to become sole ruler of the desert kingdom. Although if reports were to be believed, the one who was supposed to be the servant of all three might be the true power in Desierto...
Well, thoughts for later. For now she'd have to wait.
- Current Appearance:
WC: 1,878
PWC: 1,878/10,000
Last edited by Akeya on 23rd April 2022, 4:42 am; edited 1 time in total