41: Madam Welsh
The travel to the Grim Corner was unexpectedly easy. Despite its horrid sounding nickname and the rumors floating about, it was as easy as just turning a few corners and passing several blocks.
He’d figured there would be some obstacles in his path, like a mini-gang protecting the entrance or whatever, but it was just walking through an archway separating the districts to one another.
Unlike in the slums, which required an active security check to pass through, entering the Grim Corner was easy, but the moment he entered, the entire air shifted and turned malignantly vicious.
He smelled blood from far away, and sensed souls that were riddled with incredibly sharp-pitched tones that made him want to cover his ears. He didn’t even have to receive any notification like passing through the floors of the Crystalfang Dungeon to know that he was entering a dangerous place.
“Make sure you don’t stray far from me,” Nina warned, giving him a glance. “One wrong move, and you’ll end up chained and enslaved without even realizing it.”
“And you go here every time? Alone?” Aidan couldn’t help but ask.
“If you know where to go, and more importantly, you make yourself stand out as someone that shouldn’t be crossed… but half the time, there are idiots that refuse to see reasoning, only seeing a delectable target all by her lonesome. After that, it’s just moths closing in on an open flame.”
Aidan shivered, imagining all sorts of poor morons that were sucked in by Nina’s beauty, only to be latched with binding contracts soon after. Though that was their own fault for doing such heinous acts in the first place.
The Grim Corner had more spaces between the buildings, the streets wider than usual. He could easily see more carriages driving through side by side, yet despite the open available space, there was barely anyone in sight.
Only in sight though. Hidden away within buildings and various spots, he could see dozens, hundreds of people lurking about. His senses dictated that the Grim Corner made up around perhaps 20% of the entire city’s size. That definitely surprised him. How was it that anyone would let nearly a quarter of an entire city get overtaken by rampant crime and mayhem?
“How the hell does Forontia live like this?” Aidan asked, all the while keeping to Nina’s side and taking a sharp eye at anything that even moved in his vision. Nina didn’t seem to mind, perhaps even taking advantage of this by staying close to Aidan.
“You don’t seem to understand despite everything you’ve seen so far,” Nina said with a small smile. “The city’s leadership already knew about the existence of the gangs. So why do you think they continue to exist despite the trouble they could cause to the reputation of the city?”
“Ah…” Aidan understood immediately.
“Corruption is just one way of getting ahead in life,” Nina said, wisdom flowing in waves. “Knowing exactly who to pay and taking advantage of their weaknesses is only natural to the ways of the strong. You can even buy levels and power, but it can just as easily be taken away if you mess with the wrong people, dragging you down into a contract binding you forever.”
“So you’re saying it’s pointless for me to raise levels like this?” Aidan asked, feeling a little dejected.
“It’s pointless for you if you don’t use it for me,” Nina dictated. “As long as you do as I say, you won’t be left wanting.”
“Wow, I feel so safe and protected,” Aidan said derisively, which to Nina was nothing but sweet music to her ears–at least according to her soul that was practically singing in delight.
She was the type to relish in knowing what she held in her hands, and Aidan knew it was because of the contract she placed on him. Who knew what might happen if she found out that he already broke it? He was only following her because it was benefitting him more than going on by himself.
That, and he couldn’t help but still feel curious about Nina. The way she lived her life and how she handled problems was something he couldn’t quite shake off. Her soul was definitely the prime reason why he never seemed to want to stay away even with all the power he had on hand already.
That train of thought was cut off when he sensed one of the souls a few blocks away from him. It practically screamed in fear before it was suddenly silenced, leaving nothing but a gnawing silence in the air. Someone just took another’s life, and he didn’t like how close it felt to them.
“Where are we going? I just sensed someone getting killed and nobody batted an eye,” Aidan said.
“We’re going to an informant that I know,” Nina answered. “And that’s just normal around here. No guards in their right mind would wander around here unless they’re looking to get slaughtered or enslaved. Only when there’s a massive panic is when a group of guards gets brave enough to enter here.”
“What even is the point of traveling here?” Aidan asked.
“This is where you normally find things you can’t find in the normal streets of Forontia. Information, illegal goods, personnel with questionable abilities, methods that are banned in most cities… you can find anything here as long as you have the resources and wits to stay alive. One could say that controlling even a fraction of the Grim Corner is enough leverage to take half of the city’s control for yourself.”
Aidan figured that much out for himself with everything going on, but hearing it all told to him still felt a bit off. An area that was completely under the control of the underworld of the city, and the ones with authority are the ones who make the big bucks. A truly lawless zone where it’s dog eat dog, and that dog then paid another dog to keep the cycle going.
Thanks to that, his nerves were on the high end as he pulled up on his Sense Vibrations for anything that sent him the wrong chill. The place was infested with maliciousness that he could feel dripping from the very edges of the Grim Corner, ready to stain whatever innocence was left of anything that moved.
However, Nina walked as though she belonged here. Her soul never relented despite the troubling noises Aidan could hear from farther away, followed by some rampant screams that were as distant as caws in the night. How could anyone sleep here was anyone’s guess, but he could imagine this being akin to sleeping in New York where constant sirens and howling horns keep resounding throughout the hours of the night.
They managed to go over a few buildings, creating a series of networks that made a puzzling pathway that resulted in the two going over one block, under the road bridge of another, bypassing some of the canals that had drifting water with… well, various things that ranged from trash, feces, and bodies that may or may not be alive. He hated the fact that out of all of them, he sensed at least one still alive, barely hanging on for dear life.
For the first time, he wanted to turn off the Sense Vibrations. The lingering stench of death and decay was starting to gnaw at his very soul, almost similar to how he was first bound by the contract. It lingered in his senses, making him want to hurl out his stomach. He knew that it wasn’t just the rampant crime and lingering filth of the Grim Corner, but everything that made up the Grim Corner all the way down to its very essence that nauseated him.
Yet despite all of that, Nina’s soul held firm, fighting back the turmoil of the lingering dark around the Grim Corner. It wasn’t like her soul was thriving at being here, as though it belonged here. It was more like a veteran warrior waving through the muck, unrelenting in their path to get what they desired. In a way, it was almost beautiful to look at.
“What’s wrong?” Nina said after noticing that Aidan was staring at her.
“Sorry, just… you’re kinda amazing,” Aidan let out, not really knowing why he said it.
“Flattery will get you somewhere, but not with me,” Nina stated flatly.
“I know, but you just are,” Aidan kept saying. “Just being here is enough to break people, let alone kill them. I’m just amazed you don’t seem fazed at all.”
“Well,” Nina said, turning her attention back to the street before her. They were far enough away from the main wide streets and deep within the confines of the many small buildings and huts that surrounded them. “If you really want to know how to survive here, the only answer is that they’re just as afraid of you as you are of them.”
“That sounds easier said than done,” Aidan admitted.
“Certainly it is. It helps to have a higher level, but more than that, it helps if you have certain skills and information that lets you have complete control over anything. For instance, I know exactly who would approach me just by seeing their status. I can tell in a heartbeat if they are someone who doesn’t need anything else and is on a hunt, or someone desperately searching for something in exchange for a cost. Once you learn how to differentiate the two, the rest comes easy.”
“Huh,” Aidan let out. “I guess that makes sense.”
“We’re here,” Nina pointed out, stopping the two in their tracks.
Aidan looked up to see a small hut Nina pointed out, far up above a few sets of stairs that looked remarkably out of place, some made with the use of wooden structures that can barely hold themselves up while others were made entirely out of stone or metal of some kind.
Nina went up above the steps with ease, already knowing the path of least danger. Aidan followed her, though a few disturbing noises forced him to slowly come up as much as he could. He thought about crafting the wind, but he didn’t want to reveal any hidden cards to anyone that might be watching. It was possible that they could have skills that let them see far beyond their physical sight like Aidan’s, and he just can’t trust anything while he’s here in the Grim Corner.
They soon went up the stairs and entered into the range of the small stone structure, seemingly affixed there from the beginning at the time of construction. The small housing was made with metal plates that stuck onto the surface, with a singular door that reached the size of their heads. Nina placed her hand onto the metal door and knocked on it softly in a convoluted pattern that seemed more on purpose than anything else.
“Enter.”
A craggly voice was heard from within, followed with locks being opened up. Aidan knew in a heartbeat that the locks were made up using some kind of magic, his Sense Vibrations picking up the small beats of mana that were released as the locks came undone. Nina opened up the door and lowered her head, Aidan following along and lowering himself even more due to his height.
He found himself in a rather short room, forcing himself to bend over with Nina barely having that issue, though still found herself hunched over. There were shelves filled with knicknacks that seemed to go all over the place, but more than that, there were various array markers that Aidan recognized plastered in some places, some in sight and others hidden away. The room was fairly furnished with one person sitting comfortably on a floor filled with rugs and pillows, puffing away at a small doohickey that looked like a pipe meant for smoking. His eyes instantly watered at the smoke surrounding the place, but Nina seemed absolutely fine as she smiled at the elderly woman sitting quite firmly on the floor.
“Hello there, Madam Welsh,” Nina said respectfully, even bowing her head at her. Aidan instantly followed up by mimicking the gesture in silence. “I’ve come for your wisdom once more.”
“Bah,” The elder woman, a short-statured one with dark wrinkling skin and white dreadlocks that seemed to flow out of her head and back, scoffed. “The pretty one returns, with a pup at that.”
Aidan scanned the woman in question, surprised at what he found.
Mage, Level 37
That’s the highest level I’ve seen this entire time.
Though somehow she didn’t feel all that dangerous, not unlike with the Dweller Prime and the Red Riot adventurers they faced in the dungeon. At the same time, his body could sense that messing around with her would mean his doom, almost akin to facing Nina in that sense.
Even more so, seeing how her height was in sight, he also knew that the woman wasn’t human, but possibly a dwarf, like the ones in the fantasy fiction. Her nose was big and round, and her face looked squat from underneath all those wrinkles.
And now that he paid further attention, did she just call Aidan a pup?
“He’s new,” Nina followed up with a teasing smirk. “I picked him up after finding him lost in the forest. Followed me ever since.”
Aidan wanted to say ‘the audacity of this woman’, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
“Quite a special pup you got there,” The woman’s eyes were closed, but one of them opened up wide and stared deep at Aidan. The woman’s soul was bundled in all sorts of mysterious tones and sounds, scrambling his Sense Vibrations in a way that never happened before. “I could feel his mana going all over the place. For a low-level schmuck, he’s quite talented. Where exactly did you find him, again?”
“Somewhere that’s not necessary to know. All you need to know is that he’s under my command.”
“My, my, a greedy little hyena you are,” Madam Welsh cackled mirthfully. “That’s why you’re my favorite client. That, and you pay well.”
“I’m the only one who pays,” Nina scoffed. “The rest of your clients play too much with fire and get burnt.”
“Yet their coins fall ever so gracefully into my purse,” Welsh grinned, revealing a set of brown teeth that were aged with time. “Now, what is it that you seek? This visit surely isn’t meant for good grace, now is it? You were never the kind to act for free.”
“You’re right on that. I’m here to learn what you know about the Merunian people. Anything regarding their ancient technologies and their scientific understanding.”
“Bah,” Madam Welsh scoffed. “Might as well ask how the sun continues its burning light, or how the moon can shine so bright. Answers like that are left for the fools with too much time on their hands, and not enough for the problems they face.”
“Judging by your quick retort, I’m betting you already told that to the Red Riot,” Nina quipped, stepping up to the lady in question and sitting down, getting face to face. “Be honest–how much did they pay you for the information?”
“Not enough,” Welsh groused. “And the results speak for themselves.”
“In other words, they promised you a fraction of what might be in that treasure room they found, and they haven’t paid their due yet?”
Madam Welsh remained quiet, instead taking a big whiff of the pipe and letting out a brightly orange smoke that filtered the room around. It quickly filled the space, the smell of the smoke reminding Aidan of peaches and pumpkin mixed together with a hint of ember woven within. It was intoxicating, but his Sense Vibrations could pick up the tiny toxins within. Not enough to be dangerous, but enough to leave him in a state of disarray.
“What if, in exchange for my payment, I let you know why they can’t pay you as promised?” Nina asked. Her soul rose in timbre, the rhythm multiplying in ways that astounded Aidan’s ears.
“Ooh?” Welsh raised a brow. “Do tell then.”
“Do you think me as a fool? I want your word first.”
“Hah, you expect me to give up such valuable information that I wasn’t even paid for yet for the reason why I’m not getting paid? Stop wasting my time and fuck off.”
“Now now, let’s not be hasty,” Nina said, her hand raised to the air, prompting Aidan. “Aidan, why don’t you give me the key? I’m sure Welsh would figure it out on her own.”
Aidan knew exactly what to do, and in the tiniest corner of his mind, he wanted to pretend he had no clue what she was talking about, making her lose her timing to act all mysterious and cool. He smiled to himself then, picking up the gem and handing it to her from the spatial bag.
He wasn’t stupid enough to ruin her momentum. It might be funny, but even for him, that would be a dickish thing to do.
Nina presented the gem without a word to Welsh, the Quartz gem which carried the array for the entry activation sequence for the repository.
Welsh’s eyes gleamed before they narrowed, taking a solid moment to peer at it. She let down her pipe, taking her heavy and steely gaze to Nina’s own.
“That looks promising…”
“An unfortunate circumstance that deprived the Red Riot the way to pay you back. And a lucky opportunity that fell onto me. So how about it?”
Welsh still stared at Nina, the tension in the room rising with every second that passed. Even Aidan felt the tension, the souls between the two acting in accordance with the power of their wills.
It was like a concert, with two of the souls rising and falling in accordance with their wills, trying to overpower one another. Eventually, one of them caved in, becoming somber and mellow to the other’s ruckus onslaught of pure gusto.
“I want what I was promised, and nothing less,” Welsh demanded, her stare now turning ice cold. “Five percent of what you find there, and don’t think for a second you can fool me with anything worthless.”
“I wouldn’t dare do so,” Nina answered. “In return, I want you to tell me all you know about the Merunian mechanics.”
“There’s not much to say,” Welsh said. “See, Merunians don’t work normally like how mages do their enchantments or arrays. Even that particular bobble is no different. It works in ways beyond logic and studied practices. It works with the flows of nature, gathering energy from the world itself. But…”
Welsh took back the pipe and took in a big whiff. She let out several rings of smoke, creating a network of rings that slowly traversed across the ceiling. That only made Aidan feel more tense for some reason, knowing full well that Welsh was just adding dramatic effect according to her mirthful spirit.
“How else can you combat nature other than with pure force?” Welsh let out a big grin, revealing her aged teeth. “Merunian tech is known for their durability, their sturdiness. Of course, some buyers would love a truly unscathed product, but even they must accept that some things are just not meant to be…”
“Is it truly that easy?” Nina asked, her usual stride replaced with a steely look. “Just brute force?”
“No matter how well fortified a castle, in the end, it would fall under relentless assaults. What truly matters are the treasures hidden inside, yes?”
Nina scoffed. “And all this for five percent… you truly are a crafty old bitch, aren’t you?”
Despite the name-calling, Welsh let out a hearty cackle any old lady would have at her age, slapping her knee.
“You don’t live this long without knowing what to pull and what to leave behind, little girl. You best remember that.”
Nina let out a tired sigh as she stood up, dug around at her belt and dropped a small bag in front of Madam Welsh. Sounds of tinkling echoed out.
“I suppose it’s better than nothing. This here is a favor–make sure nobody knows we met.”
“Always a pleasure doin’ business with ya,” Welsh said, eagerly grabbing the coin and pilfering inside with her gnarled fingers. A low chuckle escaped her lips as Nina turned around to leave.
When Aidan followed suit, however, Welsh called out.
“As for you, young man.”
Aidan paused, twisting his head to face Madam Welsh, still digging around in the tiny purse she had.
“I sense something special from you. You’re not from around here, are you?”
“...Pretty much,” Aidan simply said. He could feel Nina staring behind him, frowning. He made sure not to let out any information that he himself didn’t want anyone to know.
“Know this then,” Welsh said. “As a warning–Chainlords have some method to tell which are human… and which aren’t. A freebie, since you’re so cute and all. Hahaha!”
She cackled like mad, winking at him before pushing the purse into the many robes she wore. Aidan shivered at that, but recognized her words as he nodded.
“T-Thank you… I’ll keep a lookout.”
He didn’t know what else to say. Did Madam Welsh have some sort of skill or spell that told her that he wasn’t a normal human, but a spirit variant? He quickly turned around to leave, with Nina leading the charge as they left.
When they got outside and started going down the path, Aidan waited for the chastisement to come for revealing too much. Then as expected, Nina spoke.
“That old bat is crazy, but she knows more than I do. It’s not surprising that she figured out what you are.”
“Does she have some sort of scanning that can pierce through statuses, like our little cheat?”
He made sure not to say outright the actual talent, not knowing whether or not people could figure out what he was saying. He even made it so it sounded like it belonged to the both of them. Nina looked pleased at that, her soul welcoming his words.
“There are many ways to pierce through the veil that others naturally have. Just like how I can easily hide and change my status, and how you can easily make yourself disappear with your fancy spells. I’m sure you noticed, but not everyone has the same abilities when they reach certain levels. According to what you learned throughout your life, your abilities change according to what you have learnt.”
“Huh… yeah, that makes sense.”
Aidan figured that out when he faced the two mages in the Red Riot party back at the dungeon. He knew for absolute certain that the fire spell was nothing like Ember Shot he could have learned before, and there definitely wasn’t any ice spells he could’ve learned, even though he reached the same level 15 as them. In other words, everyone learns different abilities despite having the same class.
He was probably even more certain that Mages are often the ones who had the most diversified abilities to learn, since if anyone can learn spells before they could even take a Class, that meant that the Mage class could easily shift to fit one’s build.
That might be the reason why his choices seemed to fit his current circumstances, rather than just giving him an outright list to learn. Though at the same time, the enchantments that are given to the weapons are similar to the abilities he could choose as part of his Mage class. Could that somehow be related to each other? Is it possible that he could learn the abilities he had been offered before by himself if he studied hard enough?
That sounded like more of a chore than actually sounding interesting. He let out a breath, pushing these thoughts to the side.
“So, now we know what to do. Just punch it until it dies, right?” Aidan asked.
“Ugh, I hate that method,” Nina clicked her tongue. “We’re not stopping here. We’re going to another informant I know.”
“Come on, really?” Aidan moaned. “Just being here feels so gross. I’m pretty sure it’s bad for you too.”
“Opportunity awaits us, and I’d be a fool to let go of any opportunity to know more ways to get richer. Now come on, stop lagging about.”
“Hah, yes ma’am.”
Aidan scoffed before following Nina back, feeling that her soul really did seem discontent in hearing about the method. According to what he sensed, she really had no way to figure out how to brute force it like Aidan did.
So despite wanting to go back home and get out of the filthy Grim Corner, he followed his supposed master to another informant.