Chapter 74: An Offer
Viscount Luke sat inside his lounge, his eyes on the knight that trained outside his window and a glass of wine in his hand. He swirled it around before taking a sip, then slowly moved it away from his mouth.
"Shadow, you ended up failing to kill the target," he stated, no emotion in his voice; it was flat.
A figure walked up from behind, Shadow. She got to the chair and sat down as well, throwing her head back and crossing her legs. "I never expected that there would be someone like that there," she stated.
"I still find it hard to believe that the kid was with someone that had enough strength to take you down. Had it not been for your special state, you would have died by now. The wound was extremely grotesque and massive," Viscount Luke said. He took a sip of his wine. "You were almost cut into two halves." He then leaned back into his chair, finished what was left of the wine, and placed the glass on the table.
"This isn’t the end. I need that kid dead, and I’ll make sure he dies before he can harm my plans even more," Viscount Luke said.
"They should be in Ravehold by now. There is no way for me to enter the town to kill him, it is far too dangerous to be reckless. Besides, the kid is heading to the academy," she explained.
"I know all of that already, but his death is something I will not overlook. He must die." He said before stroking his nearly nonexistent chin. "I can’t think of anything good to do, so what do you have to say?" he asked her.
She looked at him, her eyes heavy with mockery. "Look at you, turning to me when it is difficult for you," she said.
"Well, yes, you were made to do things no human can, thinking, fighting, and more. Your brain works better than most humans’," he said.
"Are you trying to call me a construct?" she asked, looking at him with a death stare. He instantly grew fearful and waved his hands quickly to try and explain. "I’m not calling you a construct at all. I am sorry," he apologized.
"Don’t worry about that. I’m just pulling your leg. I am a construct, that’s a fact. But I also still am my own person," she said and then got to her feet. She walked over to the table in slow heavy steps, stood beside the bottle of wine, and grabbed it.
"Hey, hey, that’s my wine," Viscount Luke argued.
"That’s your business," she replied and took a big gulp before placing it down. Then she walked to the door. "My business with the kid isn’t over yet, and more importantly, I plan to kill that man," she said.
"Do not let your personal vendetta stop you from effectively dealing with the kid. You failed once; if you fail again, you know what will become of you." He said. She paused for a small moment and then walked out, leaving the room behind her.
[.... ]
After a while of walking, they finally arrived at the shop that Ella spoke of. She pushed open the door and walked in first. The soft smell of herbs filled their noses and the warm atmosphere hugged them like a comfortable blanket.
The first thing they saw were rows and rows of shelves, each holding different magical tools: staves, wands, rings, and more. There was a counter to the side, and behind it was a frail-looking old man with a bald head and a full white beard.
The moment he noticed that someone had entered, he looked up to see who it was.
"Hello, Rufus," Ella greeted with a smile, no use of any honorifics. The man squinted when he heard her voice, then pulled out glasses and put them on; his face lit up instantly.
"Little Ella," he spoke, his tone enthusiastic and filled with energy.
"It’s good to see you again, Rufus," she said and gave a bow. He waved his hands. "No, no, the pleasure is mine. Seeing you around here still lightens my mood like it always did before." He got up and walked out from behind the counter, giving her a hug before turning his attention to the others. "Seems you brought some friends along. You all can call me Rufus, any friend of little Ella is a friend of mine," he said.
"You need to stop calling me ’little Ella.’ I’ve grown past that," Ella stated. "Also, two of my friends want to purchase their first magical tool before the academy examination," she explained the situation to him.
Rufus scanned them with his eyes. "Hmmm, the Raven Academy examination, aye that’s pretty tight competition, with a lot of prodigies coming from all over to try and enter the academy," Rufus said.
"Well, you don’t have to worry about any of them. Entering the academy isn’t really hard for these three," Ella said. Rufus scanned them from head to toe. "Hmmm, I see." He then clapped his hands together. "Alright, so what do you all need? I’m sure there will be something that catches your attention. Everything here is standard, so look around," he said.
Ella immediately pulled Riker away to check some out, and Gavin also browsed the store, but Raze, on the other hand, went to meet Rufus behind the counter.
"Have you found what you want?" Rufus asked.
"No. On the contrary, I want to make something special," Raze said.
"Something special huh? I don’t really take special requests that easily, kid, even if you have the money," Rufus said.
"I have something better than money," Raze said and then dug into his pockets, removing a small vial of perfume. He placed it on the table.
"This is something that the Crimson Auction House will be selling soon, and only the rich can have it, a perfume made beautifully and yet rare. I want to offer you a little of it for your work, and not that alone. I also have some, you can say, old texts on rune work, some of which might be of great importance to you," Raze said, smiling as he spoke.