Chapter 10: The Man Who Sold Information
By the time they escaped the prison district, Kai had reached a simple conclusion.
Yggdrasil was insane.
The city wasn't built like any place he had ever seen.
Roads climbed vertically along the mountainside.
Bridges connected districts suspended over empty air.
Entire neighborhoods were carved directly into the rock.
Some buildings seemed to defy logic entirely.
And somehow thousands of people lived here.
At this point Kai wasn't even surprised anymore.
If someone told him a dragon operated a bakery nearby, he'd probably believe it.
The prison alarms eventually faded into the distance.
Either the guards had lost them.
Or they had bigger problems.
Andre didn't seem concerned either way.
He casually strolled through crowded streets as if he hadn't escaped prison less than an hour ago.
Kai walked beside him.
Trying very hard not to look suspicious.
The problem was that Andre looked suspicious even when doing absolutely nothing.
Several civilians crossed the street simply because they saw him approaching.
Andre seemed proud of that.
"Where exactly are we going?"
Andre pointed ahead.
"A library."
Kai blinked.
"A library?"
"Yep."
"You know how strange it is hearing that from you?"
Andre looked offended.
"I can read."
"I didn't say you couldn't."
"You implied it."
Kai wisely decided not to continue that conversation.
The city gradually changed as they descended.
The upper districts contained soldiers and officials.
The middle districts contained merchants and craftsmen.
The lower they went, the stranger things became.
Street vendors sold items Kai couldn't identify.
Musicians performed on crowded corners.
Smugglers openly conducted business in alleyways.
A man attempted to sell Andre a suspiciously large lizard.
Andre almost bought it.
Kai physically dragged him away.
Eventually they arrived.
The library stood quietly between several larger buildings.
Compared to the rest of Yggdrasil, it looked ordinary.
Stone walls.
Wooden doors.
Tall windows.
Nothing remarkable.
Which somehow made it more suspicious.
Andre pushed the door open.
A bell chimed overhead.
The smell of old books immediately fills the room.
Rows of shelves stretch across the building.
At the center sits a single man reading.
Long beard.
Dark robe.
Hood.
Book in hand.
Without looking up, he speaks.
"Escaped prison again?"
Andre groans.
"You always know."
"I run an information network."
The man finally looks up.
His eyes settle on Kai.
Then back to Andre.
Then Kai again.
"A new friend?"
"A new problem."
"Same thing."
Kai immediately likes him more than Andre.
Andre drops into a chair.
"We need help."
"No."
Andre slams his hand on the table.
"I haven't even asked yet."
"You escaped prison."
"Yes."
"You brought another drifter."
"Yes."
"You probably punched someone important."
Andre pauses.
"...Maybe."
Zindine sighs.
"Then my answer remains no."
Kai steps forward.
"My name is Kai."
"I know."
Kai blinks.
"How?"
"You're standing in front of me."
Andre immediately starts laughing.
Kai explains everything.
The forest.
The village.
Lee.
The dead courier.
The letter.
Yggdrasil.
The prison.
The cockatrice.
By the end, Zindine has closed his book.
For the first time he actually looks interested.
"A courier died carrying a letter for Akshay."
Kai nods.
"It should still be delivered."
"It should."
Kai places the unopened letter on the table.
Zindine glances at it.
But doesn't touch it.
"Not curious?"
Kai asks.
Zindine shrugs.
"If it was meant for me, my name would be on it."
Kai likes that answer.
Zindine stands.
Walking toward several shelves.
He pulls out maps.
Reports.
Documents.
Old military records.
Kai watches.
"What are those?"
"Problems."
He tosses several papers onto the table.
"Demon attacks."
Another report.
"Missing caravans."
Another.
"Monster migrations."
Another.
"Cult sightings."
Kai frowns.
"Cults?"
"Minor ones."
Zindine folds his arms.
"Nothing unusual by itself."
He taps the stack.
"But all of it happening at once?"
The old man becomes serious.
"That is unusual."
Andre leans forward.
"You think something's happening?"
"I know something's happening."
"Then tell us."
"If I knew what, I'd be charging money."
"There's the greed."
"There is."
Kai finally asks the real question.
"Can you help us meet Akshay?"
The room grows quiet.
Zindine studies him.
Then laughs.
A small laugh.
Not mocking.
Amused.
"You really don't know what's happening, do you?"
"What do you mean?"
"The city is a mess right now."
He points toward the ceiling.
"The military is on edge."
"The prison just suffered an escape."
Andre raises a hand.
"My fault."
"Obviously."
Zindine returns to his chair.
"If you want access to Akshay..."
He pauses.
"You'll need Vice."
"Vice?"
"Vice Encio."
Andre immediately nods.
"Smuggler."
"Assassin."
"Information broker."
"Criminal."
"Businessman."
The two continue listing titles.
Kai isn't sure if they're describing a person or a disaster.
Then the library doors open.
Not dramatically.
Quietly.
Which is somehow worse.
Five men enter.
None look interested in books.
Kai immediately notices weapons hidden beneath their clothing.
Andre notices too.
The room becomes tense.
One of the men smiles.
"Andre."
Andre sighs.
"There goes my afternoon."
The man turns toward Kai.
"You're coming with us too."
Kai raises his fists.
Andre cracks his knuckles.
The lead assassin looks genuinely disappointed.
"Why do people always choose violence?"
"You walked in with knives."
"Fair point."
The fight begins.
Books fly.
Shelves break.
Assassins crash into furniture.
Andre launches a man across the room.
Kai knocks another into a bookshelf.
Within minutes the fight is over.
The assassins are battered.
Unconscious.
Or pretending to be.
The leader spits blood.
Then laughs.
"Vice wants to see you."
Andre pauses.
Kai pauses.
The assassin laughs again.
"Told you we'd bring you."
Andre looks toward Kai.
Kai looks toward Andre.
Then both simultaneously say:
"Good enough."
A few minutes later the group leaves the library.
The assassins limping ahead.
Kai and Andre following behind.
As the doors close behind them—
Zindine watches from his chair.
Silent.
Thoughtful.
Then he opens his book once more.
A page turns.
The old man stares out the window toward the distant royal district.
His expression hardens.
"Jack..."
The whisper barely leaves his lips.
"...what exactly are you planning?"