Chapter 234: 234. Belaal’s Drum

Evening shift came and went. Several times Dallion checked his tournament ring to see whether there was any news on his next phase. The echo—which was far more polite than the bureaucrat in person—calmly explained that applications were still underway and it would be a while before the combat rounds began. Even so, he did share that Dallion was in the top twenty candidates. Familiar with leaderboards and game rankings, Dallion took that as a plus, although he would have also preferred to get a glance at the other names on the list.

While playing in the inn, there was the distinct impression that Jiroh had found out Dallion’s plan. However, Dallion sneaked a bit of enthusiasm into Veil and Gloria—as well as the rest of the crowd—getting them to occupy the fury a bit more than usual. It wasn’t too difficult, especially after Jiroh let it slip that she had been at Performer’s Plaza a few times. That seemed to have opened a floodgate that had lasted the entire evening after patrons had gone.

Knowing it would be suspicious if he went to his room early, Dallion had soldiered through it, occasionally saying a word or two. Finally, when all was said and done, when everyone had finished their food and helped take the dishes to Aspan, Dallion went up.

The first thing he did was open the window, in the hopes that “Cloud” would be there waiting for him. She wasn’t. Instead, he found a small scroll stuck to the outside of the frame with what appeared to be a ball of wax. Opening it revealed a blank piece of paper. However, Dallion had a pretty good idea of what was needed.

ITEM AWAKENING

He found himself in a small yurt-like room. Everything around him was white and wavy, as if someone had tried to make a flimsy house out of poles and bedsheets.

You are in a small paper room.

Defeat the guardian to change the SCROLL’s destiny!

As amusing as that sounded, Dallion had other plans.

“Hello,” a white figure emerged from the wall itself. It had no face or specific appearance, as if a sculptor had started working on it, but stopped at the silhouette stage. “Belaal’s Drum, Grey Harbor. Wear your ring when you leave the city gates. Don’t worry, you’re expected.”

“I was expecting—”

Before Dallion could finish his sentence, the echo crumbled to fine dust before his very eyes. That was new, though unexpected. The first association that passed through his mind was a James Bond movie. It was also much cleaner. Dallion didn’t have to destroy or eat the paper and there was not a soul alive that could hear the message now that the echo was dead.

Any idea where that is? Dallion thought.

Actually, yes, Nil replied, making Dallion blink in surprise. The establishment was rather famous for its gambling. That was before my original was banned from there.

You can’t stop there. Dallion grinned.

Sadly, I have to, dear boy. There are some things best left unsaid. It was a somewhat humiliating experience. In any event, it’s much better than the cesspit you went to reclaim your gear from. They weren’t joking about the rings. It’s policy for everyone going there on special business to wear them. More than likely, you’ll even be provided an additional one as well.

What happens in the drum stays in the drum, Dallion said to himself. It was risky. His past self of a week ago wouldn’t have dared, but it wasn’t like he had much of a choice. Using his acrobatic skills, Dallion climbed out onto the roof, then gently closed the window so it appeared latched, before heading in the direction of Gray Harbor, leaping on a few rooftops as he did.

The feeling was exhilarating, but Dallion jumped down to the street after a few buildings. As much as this was one of his fantasies come true, it was careless. There were lots of the city guards that could see him, not to mention Jiroh.

It took close to an hour to reach the building in question. Dallion had received detailed instructions on how to get there once he left the city gate. At that point, though, he also had to put on his blocker ring. Thankfully, with Gen in his realm, that wasn’t a reason for concern. The echo was in Nox’s realm, ready to convey Dallion’s thoughts in case there was need.

Neither harpsisword nor the armadil shield was with Dallion along this journey. Since he had seen firsthand that he wouldn’t stand a chance in a real fight, he preferred to leave them back at the inn, so as not to tempt people doing something rash. The mirror pool might have agreed not to do him any harm, but they hadn’t said anything about third parties.

The Drum was quite larger than Dallion thought… very much larger. Standing at four stories tall, it was a cross between a Las Vegas casino and a high-class fantasy brothel. No wonder it was famous. Knowing that captain Adzorg had frequented that place on a few occasions posed a few questions, however.

“Good evening, dear customer,” a rather tall, tanned woman greeted Dallion at the entrance.

Looking at her, one would think she was a companion with her long black hair and revealing attire. However, Dallion was also able to see that she was an awakened. More than that—she had just tried to use music skills on him. Based on the effect, her skills had to be a single digit level at best. Nonetheless, the fact that she had attempted at all suggested that the staff here was more impressive than met the eye.

“Is there any way I could be of service?” the woman slid her hand down Dallion’s shoulder.

“I think I’m expected?”

“But of course, dear customer.” Almost instantly, the woman pulled her hand away. Not a single muscle in her face flinched. “Please,” she moved aside, allowing him to enter. “Enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you,” Dallion replied with a smile, and did just that.

The inside was a mixture of music, perfume, and tobacco smoke. None of the scents were displeasing. To the contrary, it was as if Dallion had walked into the inside of a sweet waffle. One thing that he noticed was that there wasn’t the slightest trace of alcohol.

As he took a step, a large man in expensive clothes bumped into him. No words were exchanged, but the man’s anger and disgust were felt thanks to Dallion’s music skills.

Dallion looked back. He didn’t judge, nor was he disgusted, but his improved senses told him exactly the reason the man was there. Not wanting to create a scene, Dallion apologized beneath his breath, then calmly slid by the other patron.

The space was divided into a variety of sections connected, separated from one another by decorated cloth dividers. Each section had its own musician—none of which were awakened—as well as their own waiter. As Dallion walked forward, he saw through the bright lantern light a new set of dividers, colored purple. He didn’t need any guesses what those were.

“Evening, sir.” One of the waiters said in a deep voice. “Please accept this complimentary mask,” he handed Dallion a domino made of what appeared to be porcelain.

Uncertain what to do, Dallion took it and put it on. There were no changes to be felt, and it definitely didn’t cover enough of his face for anyone not to recognize him. If anything, the smoke was doing a much better job.

“Please, follow me.”

The waiter led Dallion to the stairway section of the building, which was situated in the center of the room. Dallion expected them to go up, based on his experience of the Icepicker guild hierarchy. Instead, the waiter did the cliché thing and took him down to the second floor underground. The atmosphere was much more different there; not that it was darker or more-gritty. Rather, the opposite. However, instead of sections, there were individual rooms ensuring much better privacy.

“I would like to remind you it is not advisable to use any weapons or skills within the premises,” the waiter said.

“I suspected,” Dallion replied with a slight smirk.

“Very well.” The waiter went to one of the rooms and opened the door for Dallion to enter. “The master will be with you, shortly.”

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This was the point at which Dallion was supposed to ask the obvious question. However, he chose not to. And as tempting as it was to split and check out what would happen if he did, that might be considered an act of hostility and get him thrown out.

While small, the room was rather expensive, composed of couches of velvet surrounding a single table of white marble. Four lanterns hunt from the ceiling, placed in the corners of the room, lighting up the place as if it were day. Whoever owned this place spared no expenses, which could only mean that they were earning that much more.

After several minutes, the door opened, and a thin figure in violet black clothes of fine silk entered. A full mask over the other’s face made it impossible to tell whether the person was male or female, and the loose flowing clothes made any guessing impossible.

“So, you are Dallion?” a male voice asked, as the figure sat down on the opposite side of the table. With a swift action, he removed his mask, revealing the face of someone in his thirties. Cold blue eyes stared at Dallion, contrasting with the raven black beard and hair.

“That’s me,” Dallion stood out of habit. That seemed to amuse the other. Of course, not to the extent that he would actually introduce himself.

“You are an interesting person to deal with. Three hunters have already let us know that you are not to be touched. In fact, I was tempted to refuse this meeting. However, something piqued my interest. If so, many hunters are sticking up for you, who exactly might you be? To be frank, you don’t seem all that special. No insult.”

Dallion didn’t say a word. This was clearly a provocation. The best course of action was to keep his head and continue with what he had come for.

“I’d like to buy something,” Dallion went directly to the point. “Or rather I’d like to receive it as payment for services rendered.”

“This should be good,” the other laughed.

“Where is the man with the tattoos?”

“There has been a slight reshuffle in the pool,” the man replied vaguely. ”Nothing of your concern. However, just because he isn’t here doesn’t mean your services have been forgotten. For that you have my thanks.”

“Only that? I saved a few of your people.”

“Might have saved,” the man corrected. “And you earned the right to have your friend obtain a theatre sponsorship. Oh, and the guarantee that she will be kept out of pool dealings in the future. Unless she wishes to do so on her own accord, naturally.”

That was a classical loophole, but Dallion had to admit that it had its uses. If not for it, he wouldn’t be having this conversation.

“I fulfilled the item’s destiny.”

“That I must admit.” the blue-eyed rubbed the palms of his hands. “And what do you want in exchange for it?”

“A kaleidervisto,” Dallion whispered.

“You want a trinket? I would be a fool not to agree. After all, that’s a low grade artifact that doesn’t do anything much. Well, except for finding things that wish to remain hidden. Like a copyette, for example?”

Sudden pressure hit Dallion like a wave. He had no idea where it had come from, but he could almost touch it. The person he was having a conversation with wasn’t just a high-ranking pool member, it was very likely he was an aristocrat.

“Are you thinking of running around the Nerosal in a misguided attempt to reveal him?”

“Yes,” Dallion managed to say. “Someone has to.”

“The guardian could have been lying. And even if he wasn’t there’s no guarantee that the copyette has even been here. For all we know, he might be hiding in the Imperial capital, or in some hole in the wilderness.”

“In that case, what would it hurt to have a kaleidervisto?”

“Stubborn, aren’t you… Tell you what, since you did the pool a favor, I’ll give you something in return.”

The owner reached beneath his flowy garment and took out a small red die, which he tossed on the table. The interesting thing about the die was that only one of the sides had a white dot on it.

“An echo of one of my best girls,” the man said. “With the compliments of the Drum. What you do with it is up to you. Sell it, rent it out, or use it for personal consumption, if you will. Either way, it’s a fair compensation for what you did in the ring.”

As far as bribes went, this one was the most unexpected. Part of Dallion wanted to accept just to see what the echo was. Then again, that was a bad idea on several levels.

“I still want the kaleidervisto,” he said firmly.

“You really don’t know what you’re getting involved in, do you?” The other’s attitude changed. It was like watching a cat’s claw emerge from its paw.

“I have a basic idea. It’s not like I’m trying to take something that’s not mine. I just want to buy the artifact.”

“Do you know what the word means?” The owner leaned back. “It stands for ‘seer of beauty.’ I’ve no idea what that meant at the time it was built, but it lets you see the invisible, some more than others. You can guess why there is a lot of interest in obtaining them.”

“I thought only hunters ventured out in the wilderness.”

“Hunters, merchants, soldiers, many do, but that’s not the only thing. When used properly, it also allows echoes to be seen.”

Dallion felt a chill down his spine. That was a major ability for certain. How come no one had mentioned it before? Having one of those was the same as having an anti-bug device back on Earth. Everyone who knew what it was wasn’t eager to give it away.

“Are you sure you don’t want the die?” the aristocrat asked. “It’s not a bad deal.”

“I think I’ll pass.”

“Your choice. You don’t know what you’re missing.” The man stood up. “Sorry we couldn’t come to a deal. Feel free to stay a bit before you leave.”

“Just one question. If it’s not for sale, how about I gamble for it? This is the right place for it, right?”

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