5 in the Evening, Amyris Leaf Bar, Bayam
I, who was still not legal to drink in my previous life, but did so anyway, was now at my second bar in this world.
Having taken a glass of the famed, and cheap Lanti Proof, I walked through the bar's lobby, and headed into a certain card room. There, I gave a predetermined signal decoded from today's Sonia Morning Post, and was pointed to a staircase leading downwards.
The Amyris leaf bar was a centre for beyonder gatherings in Bayam, which over the time resulted in it providing more than just that. It had an underground market which sold various spiritual items and materials, and arms and ammunition too. Of course, they also sold fake identifications, but those identifications in the end were fake.
If investigated, they could easily be found to be forged. If I were to actually need to fake my identity, then my best bet for getting a real fake identity would be via Captain Tracy. She, who was the daughter of Demoness of Unaging, would have many connections that would allow such a thing.
For now, though, I had no need for such an identity. For me, as long as I was a man, I could stay as Lorenzo. When I would eventually become a Witch, I would change my name. And then, when I became an Iron Blooded Knight, I would change my name yet again, allowing me to use three different identities with time. I guess the City of Calamity group was cool like that. Not comparable to the Seer pathway, but effective in its own rights.
Shaking my head in amusement, I picked up a black long hooded robe, and an iron mask that covered the top half of my face up to my nose. I put on the hood, and walked out of the small disguise room into the corridor, from where a bouncer led me further into a large room.
There were around fifteen people already sitting there, they were of either gender. While most people wore hooded robes and masks, there were some that sat without any qualms.
I walked to a relatively empty sofa, and took a seat beside what seemed to be a lady wearing a dark robe and a mask that completely hid her face.
After several minutes of waiting, the old man who sat on a reclining chair straightened his back, and crossed his hands while chuckling.
"Everyone, let's begin."
Because he was old, his white hair was sparse, leaving only a thin layer. However, his light brown eyes weren't turbid, rather, they seemed bright, sharp, and aware.
He was the organizer of this gathering, Strongman Ozil. He used to be a relatively famous pirate in the past, who'd now become the owner of this bar and the whole underground market business.
I didn't have any reason for coming to this gathering besides gathering information. My current strength and financial situation didn't allow me to make any purchases on beyonder ingredients or weapons. What it did allow me, though, was leisure time to go to beyonder gatherings, and fish out any beyonders who might be looking for ingredients of the Marauder pathway.
For this special circumstance, I had been given the potions formulas of the first three sequences of the Marauder pathway by my dear Captain, which were: Marauder, Swindler, and Cryptologist.
I had to say, Tracy was quite generous when it came to awarding her crew for a job well done, especially the ones she selected herself. She had promised me potions up to Sequence 7 and formulas up to Sequence 5, as long as I did the missions she gave me, and contributed to the Black Death's fleet.
As it was, at present, it didn't seem like there was anybody else at present in the fleet who was undertaking the same ordeal.
Apparently, most people did not favour the idea of changing their genders after taking a potion. I wonder why? Can't be me.
Musing to myself, I kept my ears open as I followed the transactions that followed, looking to hear the name of any particular ingredient that was either a main or supplementary ingredient of a Marauder pathway potion.
Thinking back to my advancement, after I became a Sequence 7, I would be able to target certain people at the sea who were wanted by the Church and the Navy. Once I gathered enough money, I would then be able to exchange it for ingredients from my dear Captain.
As for my Sequence 4 advancement, I had plans, plans that I wouldn't even think of right now, lest the thoughts of a certain Spectator enter my head.
As the time passed, the gathering slowly came to an end. There was no familiar call, today, for any of Marauder pathway's ingredients.
I wasn't particularly disappointed, in fact, I was slightly overjoyed instead.
If I were to find clues to two of my targets the day I looked for them, that too consecutively, I'd become very worried about a certain quill or a Spectator working to machine my fate in their desired directions.
Taking a breath, I waited as more and more people exited the gathering room. Soon, it was my turn. Leaving behind the lady beside me, who had not spoken a single word throughout the gathering, I walked to one of the exits, entered a disguise room, then found my way out into the bar.
I, who had only had a late lunch in the afternoon, now felt like I was starving.
Remembering from dear Lorenzo's memories, I was reminded of a certain diner he liked going to whenever he was in Bayam.
Hiring a carriage, I headed to 23 Glasgow street, on which was situated a relatively small restaurant bustling with activity.
Entering, I found a seat that happened to be empty, and sat down.
When the person came to receive my order, I requested some medium rare steak, a glass of Sonia Blood Wine, and a Desi pie.
I guess I was falling in love with Klein's favourite.
Once I was done eating, I took another carriage to yet another bar in Bayam.
The Seaweed bar was a place where gangs gathered. It was common for infamous pirates to appear here.
Although the place wasn't like the Swordfish Bar, or the Amyris Leaf Bar, that allowed access to a lot of information and resources, it had its own niche!
It had many resourceful secret channels!
After finding nothing at the gathering, it made sense that I would be looking around at different bars in the city either for the Swindler, or the Pocket Watch Thief.
Taking a glass of Lanti Proof, I sat in a corner of the bar counter, watching and hearing people talk about their recent activities, adventures, and pillages at the sea.
As the night carried on, the number of people inside the bar kept increasing, until it was at its peak. Then, for a good hour, the amount of crowd stayed the same as before, after which, it actually started getting emptier.
As the night passed and my senses heightened, I focused my ears on the surrounding conversations.
"Dogsh*t! I was just walking past the Red Theatre last night, and some motherfu**er stole my pocket watch."
A man grumbled as he drank with his mates. He was a man of average height, dressed in the local fashion of Bayam, his clothes looking somewhat old and a little dirty.
"That bloody sucker may rot in hell, whoever it may be."
The man cursed the pocket watch thief, and so did his mates.
Then, their topic of conversation gradually shifted to the recent naval battle between the Admiral of Blood Senor, and Vice Admiral of Dusk.
"I heard Blood Brambles Hendry lost his ship, and was demoted to work under Steel Maveti. Man, Vice Admiral Dusk is bloody strong, to beat out the fleet of the Admiral of Blood."
"Oh stop with that half cooked crap Ol' Benny, Admiral Dusk lost two ships too. It was an equal loss for both."
"No, you stupid cu*t of a little kid, that is my point. Vice Admiral Dusk fought against the fleet of the Admiral of Blood, and suffered equal losses. Don't you see what I'm getting at? It's possible that the Dusk may soon become a true Admiral, and be equal in strength to the Admiral of Blood. Even that lad Hendry lost his ship, and now both the fleet are two ships short."
As the man curse-spoke sagely while half drunk, his younger friend who'd lost a pocket watch seemed to finally understand what he was getting at.
If I remembered correctly, according to what Lorenzo knew, Hendry had a bounty of 3,800 pounds on his head, and he was a subordinate of Steel Maveti, the Second Mate of Admiral of Blood.
I continued listening to the rambling of the surrounding men, as the time passed.
If there was one thing I could say about the bars in Bayam, it'd be that catching the latest pirate gossip was much easier here than waiting to hear about it in the newspapers. Of course, rumours would always carry a good amount of inaccuracy, but then those rumours could be confirmed with the limited but mostly accurate information that would subsequently be released in the newspapers in future days.
So far, there wasn't any news of Captain Tracy or her crew, so I was quite relieved about it. After all, it was either disasters, or miracles that became news on the sea, and the former happened thousands of times more than the latter.
I paid little attention to the group who'd recently been a victim of theft, only remembering their faces. Walking with a little wobble, I stumbled past people, towards the little group, and lightly collided with the man who'd lost his watch.