The Stonehearted Knight-Chapter 386: Meeting at midnight (1)

Hex left the Inn an hour before midnight. Under the pretext of going to bed early, he had retired to his room.

As someone who spent a lot of time reading and studying other stuff, he didn’t raise any suspicions. Hex felt the cool night air blow against his face as he wandered around on the plaza. Now and then, whenever he passed a place with a window, he checked up on his disguise.

The reflection in the window showed a slightly gaunt person, with a receding hairline. The clothes were clean and without stitches, but the faded color and stubborn stains told everyone that they were old.

Hex didn’t stand out because of his appearance. He had observed the night crowd and had chosen a look that best approached the average person on the plaza.

Aside from the outsiders, people from Wrixia that wandered around in the night were mostly workers and servants, searching for a drink and a group to gossip with. Mixed with them, the spies roamed around.

Sometimes, these servants were allowed to join the more distinguished groups of outsiders. This was mostly done to learn more about the unwritten rules and customs of Wrixia. The outsiders, mostly dignitaries, and small-time merchants, hoped to learn as much during this visit in order to increase their standing in their own nation. Everyone knew about the war. And everyone knew Wrixia was the alley everyone wished to have. So, the ones who knew the most about it stood to profit the most.

Hex made sure to drop in at certain drinking spots. Just in case. He was not crazy to underestimate anyone in a place filled with spies. Who knew, someone would notice something about him and track him.

He had the Veil of Death to hide from everyone’s senses but sometimes the lack of presence was the most conspicuous thing about someone. If someone tracked him and he disappeared from their sight, never to be found again, they would be less likely to ignore him.

’Mine options with the partial transformation are limited. I can don perhaps ten or so different disguises. More if the crowd is less sharp.’

With such a limited number of disguises available, he rather not risk losing one of them unnecessarily.

...

"Gus, you sure are generous tonight. You have already treated us to three rounds of Barty’s Ale. This stuff isn’t cheap, you know," a guy at the Soaking Twig slurred out, as he patted his friend.

"You bastard, you do have enough to pay, right?" Another one cursed, hurrying to grab the last bottle and filling his cup. "You won’t end the night by saying you forgot your wallet and make us scrub this shithole, are you?"

"Like he made you do the last time?" A third one asked, after which the others burst out in laughter. Everyone, aside from the one cursing.

"No worries, guys." Gus looked around, giving his friends and Hex a proud smile. He fumbled in the pocket, missing a few times, before he finally pulled a wad of paper out. A closer look revealed the large W imprinted at the right and left corners.

"Here," Gus said, slamming the wad of money on the table. "A thousand golden leaves." freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Hex listened to the ’Oe’ and ’Ah’ coming from the mouths of the people on the table. The guy cursing Gus poked the money and then grinned. He downed another glass and ordered a new bottle. Of course, it was on Gus’ tab without Gus knowing about it.

"I earned this today by betting on a match. Luckily, I had seen that man named Trid fight a few times. I betted on him even before I had seen the opponent," he told the table.

"Ah, I heard. Too bad I wasn’t there. I heard the woman has a body that makes you lose control only by seeing her. I wonder how she would feel pinned down on the sheet," another guy commented.

"The truth," Gus slammed his hand again. "I saw her. Man, oh man, if I had to fight someone like her, I would focus more on slamming my serpent in her than those watery ones."

They laughed and discussed all the things they would do with a woman like that. Plenty of times, Hex deliberated shoving the empty bottles in their mouths but he refrained from acting out.

"Have you heard?" One guy who had been silent all this time suddenly said. He leaned in and spoke softly. "I heard that guy, Trid, has gone into a coma in the evening. No one knows what happened to him. Even the Dryads have come empty up to now."

The table turned silent. For a little bit. Then they exploded into a discussion about what might have happened to the guy. The guy who had spoken silently withdrew himself. Only Hex noticed him leave. But he didn’t follow him.

The men at the table ordered more bottles. On Gus’ tab. Gus was too busy bragging about things he had seen in the arena to keep track of the tab he was running up. The wad of cash stood in silence on top of the table. It would soon change owner.

’A thousand Wrixian coins can allow him to live on the ground without any worries for a month or so. But he will be out of it by the end of the night. Maybe before that.’ Hex shook his head and downed his cup. Silently, he withdrew from the group. They were too drunk to even notice.

Hex had not wished to join them in the first place. But when he strolled inside the bar, he was dragged to join them by Gus. Drinking Ale alone makes it go stale, Gus swore. Hex didn’t think the shelf life of a product depended on the number of people at his table but he decided to go along with the group of experienced drinkers.

He slowly merged with the darkness of the bar. Activating the Veil of Death he disappeared from the bar. Slowly, he made his way to the back. He passed by the man who he had a drink with not a while ago.

It didn’t surprise him. He had expected more people to attend the one-on-one meeting he had requested.