TVRWS 42

42: The Black Market

The next morning, I held an emergency meeting with ViTech's first employee. Our meeting took place in the gun range where Jane's father used to work before his expulsion.

"Miss Jane, now that you are done with your finals as well, are you ready to make me the most advanced guns of this era?"

"Hopefully, my lady. However, there is a problem I can't bypass on my own."

"Please, do tell. I love solving problems."

"While I worked hard on redesigning and adjusting the schematics you gave me, I lack the means to create it."

"How so?"

"I am a gunsmith, my ability to make things related to guns is limited to what is on the market. What you want here, my lady, is custom work. Something that hasn't ever existed and has no pieces in the market that I can pick and put together."

"So you need a metalsmith, is that it?"

"And he needs to be as crafty as Saint Hermes at that. We can't afford a single hitch in a gun if we are going to make something completely new. We will be risking the hands of whoever tries it first."

"I get you. But where can we get a metalsmith with such a skill on such short notice? I imagine that most skilled metalworkers already have busy schedules and a list filled with clients."

"That's indeed the case." Jane agreed with me but it seemed that there was something she wasn't letting out.

I looked at her intensely until she was unnerved and spilt her beans.

"There is an alternative method to find a good metalsmith." She said. 

"I'm all ears."

"Maybe a Duergar can help us… but that's just too unrealistic." Jane spoke then retracted her words with a smile.

"That's true. A Duergar will never work metal for a human." I nodded in agreement.

Because of their resentment against the human race, the duergars would never forge metal for humans with good intentions. They were always seen as heretical and cursed by the Temple of Saints, and their resentment goes as far as the Age of Heroes when those very Saints waged war against Dwarfkind and vanquished their kingdom.

But…

"You wouldn't mention a Duergar if you had nothing in mind, Jane." I said.

"In truth, I am ashamed to admit it but once, I had a problem with a project in the Academy and I had to spend a lot of money to rent a Duergar slave."

"A slave?"

"All I needed was a metal ankle and it cost me a thousand pounds. I wouldn't have gotten past the second year without that ankle for my contraption project."

I know that people frown upon slavery, despite it being an active practice, it is something on its way to be abolished sooner or later seeing how the world is going right now.

"Hmmm… where can slaves be found?"

"Not too far from the port area in the Blackguards' headquarters."

"That's on the way to Father's office."

"Are you… going there in person, my lady?" Jane asked with a terrified face, "You can't be safe in such dangerous parts of the city."

"I don't care. My reputation isn't what I need to worry about right now. Sooner or later, some slanderous rumors will start to spread either way."

I had a gut feeling that I wouldn't be left alone and someone would start coming after me looking for trouble soon. If I keep my actions restricted out of fear, I won't accomplish much.

As for searching for a Duergar metalworker, I have just the plan to acquire one while maintaining my social image. I just need someone to spread rumors.

"My stops just increased. Esmeralda, call for Logan and the bodyguards. We are moving earlier than scheduled."

"Yes, my Lady."

A few minutes later, I had a grumpy Logan protesting at my new traveling route.

"A slave market? This is not even a funny joke!"

"It is a do-or-die situation, Logan."

"I can't even imagine what sort of dangers you will be throwing yourself into everywhere you go."

"All of them, sir knight."

His protests were futile anyway since we were already en route. I got to enjoy myself looking through my carriage's window and watching the bustling city from an angel I had never seen before.

There is poverty in this city as well as there is richness and abundance. In the Moore mansion, one can't even imagine being lacking anything but I saw streets with urchins, beggars, and homeless for almost an hour now. If the carriage wasn't guarded and carrying the insignia of the house, there would have been all sorts of trouble.

But Archester itself is really big, a metropolis where the world itself revolves around. Anything small that happens in Archester can cause a large aftershock through the entire world, and one day, I'll get to witness that first-hand. Just not today, thankfully.

Our destination was a walled area reminiscent of a military camp, with three towering, spire-like structures connected by walls as a place separate from the rest of the impoverished district. The most striking feature of this place, however, was the presence of Blackguards, their appearance setting the tone for this unique location.

The carriage stopped and the knights surrounded it from all directions while throwing hostile gazes at the common-born Blackguards. Still, we were approached by a party of Blackguard officers and their leader was a bearded man with a gruff attitude. He spoke immediately before I even got the chance to land properly on the ground.

"We haven't received a report that someone from the Moore family would visit but I came as soon as the carriage was spotted." He said and tried to act with manners, alas, it was a waste of trying.

"You are addressing her ladyship Vivian of House Moore, daughter of the Right Honorable Count Julian Moore." Logan introduced me solemnly and haughtily.

Well done, Logan. I like seeing such dramas.

"Well, greeting your ladyship, I am sorry for the poor reception." The man bowed slightly, "My name is Benjamin Fisher, how may the Blackguards serve?"

"Her ladyship wishes to… how may I say this with a straight face… browse your… merchandise." Logan was about to barf at every pause there.

He can't just bear the thought of being in a slave market.

"Ooooh!" Benjamin, the Blackguard Officer, had his eyes looking at me widely as if it was the last thing he would expect from me, "I've never seen a noble come to us for a slave in… a year or so. To think that her ladyship doesn't mind browsing our merchandise, I am… overjoyed as you high people would say it."

"How dreadful!" Logan rolled his eyes.

"Enough, Sir Logan." I couldn't bear Logan's whining more than that and spoke directly to the man, "Officer Benjamin, was it? I am looking for someone who is a great metalworker, a Duergar if possible, and I was told I can find such a person here."

"That's… what we exist here for. We can satisfy all your needs, my Lady, whether it is Duergar, Hulkling, Dracoling, or even a Taurling." Officer Benjamin replied and then glanced at Esmeralda, "One of ours, I assume?"

"No, officer. That's a free woman since the day she was born." I replied.

"Well, I guess there are standards. Apologies, my lady." He bowed and waved with his hand for us to go ahead while keeping his head lowered.

As we moved, he kept himself on the lead while I was walking between Logan and a knight of my house and was backed from behind by Esmeralda. It felt suffocating but we were heading into a large gate that was guarded by a score of men that wasn't less than twenty.

"We have built our slave market so it can take a village of slaves inside. We have all sorts of merchandise… except for humans, of course. I am sure you can find the best jewelsmith in our market and be satisfied." The man said as he signaled for the large gate to be opened.

"Not a jewelsmith, Officer. A metalsmith, one that can forge all things that are required in all shapes and sizes." I corrected the man's assumption.

"Your words are our command, your Ladyship!" The man bowed his head and then looked at me asking, "Doesn't the lady have her own mask? Will you enter the market without hiding your identity?"

"Many people would hide their identity in fear of public shaming, my lady." Jane, who was tagging along this whole time, approached me and whispered in my ear.

"It is useless. I have many eyes on me and it will be found out sooner or later that I dealt with slavers." I replied and looked sideways to halt my guard, "No need to parade me. Wait at the entrance, I will take one knight beside Logan as well as Esmeralda and Jane."

"But, my lady." A knight of mine argued.

"No arguing." Logan spoke even though I thought he was the one who'd argue.

With eight knights staying behind, the mass of our group lessened and we finally managed to enter that slave village the Blackguards are so obsessed about.

"Welcome to the Blackguards Market of Archester where we have no shortage of slaves." Officer Benjamin welcomed us to what seemed to be a shanty town in the heart of the city.

First of all, this place was the size of a baseball stadium, walled from all sides by walls that may reach 10 meters in height and is being monitored by guards on its top and guards roaming the place within. Three towers surrounded the place and were connected to its walls and they seemed like they were built ages before the walls.

As the entrance of the market is on higher ground than most, the place we entered from had a good overlay over this place. One can see places, where smoke rises like pillars, which is mostly where we are headed, and other places had buildings with red curtains like houses of ill repute.

One can find work and pleasure in the slave market as it seemed and all those who come here risk being on the bad side of society.

"Lead us to our location of business, Officer Benjamin."

"As you wish, lady."

We descended into the market and the Blackguards accompanying me were pushing the slaves left and right as it seemed I was getting the VIP treatment. It seemed that the Blackguards were seeking the acknowledgement of nobles to maintain themselves and my visit here made them think I could support their dirty business.

I pity their poor thoughts.

After a short while, we approached what seemed to be a workshop where many slaves were chained and rotating a large contraption while slavers were standing over them with whips and barbed ropes. Not too far from that, there was a completely different scene where I could see a Dwarf with the attire of a slave but in a way better condition than those slaves.

He was holding a smoking pipe, sitting above a cage which seemed to be his and was even enjoying a cup of tea under the shade of a canopy on top of it all.

The scene would turn heads and Officer Benjamin noticed my interest quite swiftly.

"This right here is Vladimir the Master Smith. Now you want anything cast or forged, Vladimir is the man to go to." Benjamin introduced the Dwarf as we walked in his direction before turning to the Dwarf himself, "Enjoying the tea, Master Vladimir?"

The scene was absurd to me and I remained silent and listened to the exchange between the slave and the slaver.

"Benjamin, how can I help you on such a fine morning."

"We've got customers for you, ones you need to serve to the best of your ability."

Their short exchange ended up with them turning to me.

"So, how can I be of help, your Ladyship?" The Duergar spoke and I couldn't help but smile.

"When one comes to such a place, does the negotiation happen with the owned or with the owner?"  I asked.

It seemed my question confused them and the two looked for each other until Officer Benjamin answered. 

"Usually, the craftsman should meet with the client and discuss the work then the owner of Master Vladimir will determine the renting price." He said. 

"That's how things go, my lady." Jane came behind me and whispered.

I ignored all that and pressed my demands.

"It appears that a long-term commitment is necessary for the project I have in mind. I am here to engage the services of your finest craftsman and would prefer to pay the full amount upfront." I said without even considering what they offer.

As I said that, however, it seemed that the slave and the slaver weren't going to budge either.

"This is the policy of the Blackguards, Lady Vivian. Craftsmen who belong to the Blackguards don't get sold no matter what. Where else would the League get its supplies done?" Officer Benjamin seemed unwilling to even entertain me.

It seemed that I had to pull that card after all.

"Officer, may I speak to your Boss?" I said and displayed my displeasure in full.

"Lady, what I said is what the Leiutanent will say." Officer Benjamin insisted.

"You rowdy commoner, even when I am a guest at such an establishment, you are talking back to me like that? I don't want to meet your Boss then, I'll meet your Boss and his Boss too. The Overseer of this place is a nobleman after all, do you think this will pass?"

"M-My Lady. This is…"

"You have displeased me, Officer Benjamin. I am no longer responsible for what happens to you. I'm going to complain to my father for at least an hour."

"I'll… I'll go fetch the Lieutenant." Officer Benjamin was overwhelmed by my attitude and couldn't help but retreat for a moment to regain his mental power.

Seeing the man retreat, Logan turned to me with a nod.

"I was almost going to take his side. You were quite scary just now." Logan said.

"You're being too harsh, Sir Logan. I went too easy on him if you ask me."

That aside, now that Officer Benjamin has left us, it means we can look around the place freely but first, I needed to interrogate that Dwarf.

"Hey, Duergar." I called upon the Dwarf and he seemed displeased from getting talked down to.

"What is it you wish for, my Lady?" He replied patiently and politely.

"Since you are not someone with a price tag, I assume that any other Dwarf with less use than you to the Blackguards can be paid for in full?" I asked.

The Dwarf's eyes lit up as if he figured out what I was after.

"Technically, that used to be the case. Things have changed recently but if your ladyship wants to browse…" He said and opened the way to the large tent behind him.

The Dwarf seemed to have understood what I wanted to do but even if he didn't like it, he couldn't do anything about me. My plan was that I would demand to pay the full price for a slave but when they wouldn't agree, I would threaten to make a fuss about them with the nobles. Of course that wouldn't have worked if my face was covered with a mask. And because my target of purchase was the most valuable slave in the pen, I could actually force them to get someone lesser in rank and pay in full for him.

"Can I see the other Duergar?" I asked.

"This way please." Vladimir said even though he seemed to dislike it.

Though the cage he sat in served as his resting space, the expansive tent seemed to hold secrets beyond what was immediately visible. Vladimir walked into that tent and we followed him inside. There, one could see that on the left and right of a large circular tent were three rows of cages on top of each other. While only a few were empty, each cage was the same size as Vladimir's cage outside and had a Duergar inside.

"Aside from the guys who are out on jobs, there are these guys here." Vladimir said.

"I see." I walked further into the tent and took a better look at what's in there.

With their distinctive horns that begin from their foreheads and cover them with a hard dermal layer, the Duergar were a breed of Dwarves that hail from the mountains at northern Albion. And like the cliché Dwarves from every fiction, they were good at handcrafts but rather cowardly and greedy than what one would expect.

With my untrained eyes, I wouldn't even figure out which Dwarf is the best and which is the worst at their craft without the help of Vladimir, who seems to be unwilling for any of his kind to be out of this tent.

And so comes my next plan. If you can't solve it with skill, cover it with money. I summed up all the personal money I have, aside from the 1000 gold Father is giving to me and it sums up to 55,400 pounds, which is 55.4 gold. With some of that money, I have sent Oliver, my new errand boy, followed by a couple of knights in civilian outfits, to purchase a few magic crystals for me.

This cost me around 8500 pounds but I acquired 2000 SP using the crystals. This was almost the same amount as the ones I managed to swipe from Robert's room at home.

« SP: 1959 → 3959 »

What remained was for me to buy Tarot cards from the System shop and use them on those Duergar in order to find out which is the best to pay for. But there is a slight problem…

The Tarot is a unique system to me as Vivian where I can uncover certain information of an individual if I use the Draw option from the store. The problem here is that the first card I drew was on Edith Black and it cost me 100 SP, the second card was drawn on her as well and it cost me 200 SP. I was skeptical about how this system worked but when I used it for the third time on Richard Marshall, it was a free draw but I could see the cost of the next draw rising by 100 SP still.

In other words, each Draw costs me 100 SP more than the one before it. This means that with my 3959 SP, I have only 6 draws before I deplete all my SP.

This means that I need to at least have some recommendations before I get to verify.

"Which one do you recommend for me to hire, Mr. Vladimir?" I asked with my fingers crossing behind my back.

"Hmmm…" The Duergar seemed pleased as he sensed I was helpless and so he turned and walked to a cage in the middle of the left row, "This here is old Radoslav, 79 years of experience, my lady. He is one of the favorites of our customers."

Vladimir led me to this Radoslav, whose cage seemed unlocked, and the elderly Duergar was just sitting inside and chilling with some small metal trinket that he seemed to disassemble.

I looked at the man and drew a card from the system. My other hand was under my coat so no one saw the card materialize until I took it out and when I did…

——————————

• Name: Radoslav "the Wrecker" Silvervein

• Race: Duergar (Dwarf)

• Age: 51

• Social: Craftsman Slave (The Blackguards)

• Traits: Apprentice Metalsmith

• Emotions: Confused, Distracted

——————————

I call this bullshit, sir! Straight-out bullshit!

"You're using Tarot, my Lady? I mean it is not common to try and channel your fortune through luck but…"

"Enough! 78 years of experience, you said?"

"79, actually."

"That guy is 51 years old."

"Wha… it can't be!" Vladimir denied it immediately but those Tarot cards of mine are even better than the real deal.

"Wheel of Fortune! Reversed! Do I even need to explain?" I revealed the card which is famously known for its bad luck.

"I have never seen the Miss use tarot before. Is that how she gets lucky?" I heard Jane talking to Esmeralda.

"She ordered a book on them a few days back. It seems our lady has more hidden talents." Esmeralda replied.

A raise for you Esmeralda! Praise me more! Hahaha!

But now that things have come this way, I can't trust this Vladimir anymore as he seemed to have stood the farthest he could get from me while being glared at by Logan.

One card drawn, four more to go. In this tent, one Duergar will be the metalsmith who takes my vision from fiction to reality. Little did I know that on that day, I would meet a lifelong companion.