(A/N: We on two so the week seems to be starting on a good note.)
XOXO
Vale's capital was the only city I'd been in proper. And, even from a distance, I could tell that Mistral's capital was far different from it.
I dropped out of the back of the wagon I'd hitched a ride on and stepped out to its side, walking alongside and gazing up at the distant structures. Rather than relying on one massive wall to provide sanctuary from Grimm, the scattered capital was literally built along the rising slope of the tallest mountain of a vast range. That wasn't to say there were no walls at all, the stone pathway we were now on leading to a respectable wall of stone and metal manned by a mix of people and automated defenses. Still, with so much of the city so far up, the highest portions coexisting with the clouds themselves, it was only natural for such a place to favor aerial defenses.
The caravan slowed as the group ahead of them, those with the spider web tattoos, reached the large, enforced doors of one of the city's entrances, armed guards descending from the wall via a wire hung lift.
Mistral was home to the biggest black market on the planet. A little something Qrow told me. While the shadier things were only rampant in towns and cities further out from the capital, even this city was infamous for more questionable sorts compared to the other kingdoms. Consequences of their expansive territory and culture.
And those consequences were immediately obvious.
As one of the tattooed group's members led the guards around their wagon for a customary cargo check, lien changed hands. Whatever they were bringing into the city must've been some kind of contraband.
Either way, with lien greasing the wheels, those guys were quick to move along, the gates opening for them the moment the inspection was over.
Where there was society, the saying money makes the world go around would always hold some weight.
A proper inspection went on much longer, the group I was with waiting on one another once they were past the gates. I got some looks and a measure of scrutiny, especially with my mask in place, but drifters were a dime a dozen. With traders vouching that I helped escort them, I wasn't given much of a problem.
I didn't waste any time sticking with the caravan, following after the tattooed group before they left the range of my telekinesis.
I'd have a proper look around the city later. For now, they were the main objective.
XOXO
Lively groups chatted and laughed amongst each other as they walked the stone paved streets, nearby lamps providing a dim orange glow to lead them. Drunks stumbled around, nearly tripping over themselves despite that. Seedier groups and loners kept to themselves, on guard as they navigated the busy area.
All were passing in front of, some even leaving, a bar.
Situated in one of Mistral's lower levels, this area effectively playing the part of an entertainment district, it was a relatively modest compared to some of the other buildings and receiving far less traffic. No more than two stories tall, made of wood, and bearing that more eastern aesthetic much of Mistral made use of, it honestly didn't stand out much.
That said it was pretty clear the people who owned the building were making no effort to hide themselves. The pair outside, both tall with scarred up faces, were acting as guards, their respective spiderweb tattoos clear as day.
Here was the hideout, or at the very least, an establishment with known connections to the head of an infamous ring of organized crime and yet authorities were making no effort to shut it down. Even if I hadn't spent the day following around one of their people I probably could have just asked around and found my way here.
Society was one interesting machine. Mom definitely would've had no end of criticisms about how things were being done by those in power here with how tight a ship she liked to run.
Not even I got away with breaking the tribe's rules. Most of the time.
I dropped off the roof I'd been watching from, silently landing in an alleyway across the street from the bar.
There were some stray looks, but no one stopped or batted an eye as I passed despite the mask. At until I reached the entrance of the bar.
"Stop right there." One of the two said, looking me up and down. "Don't recognize you. Going to have to leave that weapon of yours home or with us if you want in."
They weren't even going to demand that I take off my mask? Laxer than I expected.
"If you think you can take it from me, feel free to try." I said.
The two exchanged a glance before one stepped forward and uncrossed his arms, reaching for the handle sticking out over my shoulder. In terms of height the guy wasn't much taller than me, but when it came to sheer muscle he must've been, what, double my size? Muscle wasn't everything though.
I intercepted his wrist while shifting my weight, the slight motion more than enough to send the man stumbling past me to a kneel, one arm twisted behind him. To his credit, the muscle wasn't just for show, no more than a grunt slipping free despite the fact that a bit more pressure or one wrong move would see the limb broken.
The other guard only raised a brow, barely sparing his colleague a glance. "I assume you know exactly who you're dealing with, so why are you here?"
"Information. Maybe some work."
"Hmph, alright." The man said, nudging his head towards the door. "Don't blame us if you end up dead. Or worse. The boss don't like you uppity types."
Again, weirdly relaxed. Then again, if the group could just sit smack in the center of such a busy street, members showing off their allegiance for all to see, how much of a threat could a single armed man be? Not like I knew much about organized crime in the first place beyond movies and books across both my lives, so who was I to tell them how to operate?
I released the one on his knees and stepped up to the doors, pushing them open.
That distinctly bitter scent. Loud chatter. A just barely comfortable warmth replacing the chill of the night.
Before I made it through the entrance way, still, pushing aside the half curtain that separated it from the heart of the building, I could tell what kind of place I was in.
Like the outside the interior of the bar wasn't anything special or far removed from anything I expected. A long bar lined with stools straight ahead. Various tables set up all across the first floor as well as along the balcony above that circled the main floor. Even if it acted as a front the business did get plenty of patronage, nearly all tables filled on both floors.
Eyes from all over fell upon me as I walked up to the bar, not taking up one of the stools but placing my arms on its wooden surface.
The bartender, a man on the younger side with the collar of his button-up pushed aside just enough to expose the tattoo on his neck, met many of those eyes before finally coming over to me. "What can I get you?"
"Water."
Nodding, he pulled a glass from beneath the counter and filled it, sliding it off to me before taking off without another word. I only nursed the cold thing, glancing around the room.
Those with tattoos and in purple had already begun to move about, not approaching but carefully positioning themselves. The windows, the doorways, along with the stairs leading up to the second floor. Without interrupting anyone's drinks they'd cut off obvious routes anyone looking to escape might take while surrounding me. The few who caught on, many armed but lacking anything that signified them as part of the group, just kept on with their drinks, one eye kept on how things unfolded.
This wasn't the first time they'd dealt with some unannounced stranger.
But none of them had their aura up yet. Surrounded or not, the advantage was still mine.
Though that didn't apply to the two who, unlike the rest of the group, were approaching directly.
"You know weapons aren't allowed in here, right?" Glancing over my shoulder, I found a young girl with long black hair and light green eyes in a simple white dress with purple threading standing behind me, arms crossed and a brow raised.
"The guys outside said the same thing." I said, turning back to my drink. "We came to an agreement through."
There was a snort then the girl took up the empty spot on my left. "You're either dumber than most who pass through here or you're one of the few around here with a spine." She said while signaling for the bartender. They abandoned the customer they'd moved on to, immediately bringing over a bottle and shot glasses while she turned to look me up and down. "What do you think he looks like under that thing, Mil?"
Another girl took up the spot to my right. Markedly similar to the first, both sharing the same jet black hair, green eyes and pale skin, she sported much shorter hair and a black strapless dress that bore similar purple lining. She offered me a smile once she finished giving the same once over as the other girl. "Cute, I think. I like his vibe."
"Cute isn't the word I'm thinking with that attitude." The girl in white said. "Do you even know whose men you threatened?"
There was a nagging familiar about the two, but I couldn't really place it.
"Doesn't matter." I said with a shrug. The security here, despite how organized they seemed, were far from impressive, all of them far too lax and lacking any true aura training from what I could tell. Complacency at work, I assumed. They probably dealt with so many different people that this was just business as usual.
"Idiot it is then." The girl said with a sigh. Once the bartender placed the bottle before them and filled three different glasses with the dark red liquid within, she waved them off and they returned to their former customer, bottle left with us.
"I'm guessing you both work for her too?" I asked while the two took sips from their respective glasses. Purple coloring aside, I'd written the two off at first, no tattoos anywhere visible, but the way their unusually similar auras were prepped and the way they held themselves marked them as far more dangerous than any of the grunts surrounding us.
"Something like that." The one in white said with a chuckle as she lowered her glass. "Going to take off that thing and drink?"
"I don't drink." I said. Beyond a shared glass of the weakest stuff with mom on occasion, alcohol wasn't something I cared for. "You two shouldn't either. You're too young. It'll stunt your mental growth."
Another snort left the one in white. "Now I can't tell if you're old man under that thing." She said, before leaning back and downing the whole glass as if to challenge my words. She grabbed the bottle, tipping it to refill.
"You can get away with one but mom's going to be pissed if you do that." The other, so far quieter, girl said. The one in white scoffed, but heeded the warning, forgoing the little refill.
"If you don't drink, there's only one other reason to come to a place like this." The one in white said, dropping her cheek on her fist as she glanced my way. "You think you can show up in a mask, ignore our rules, threatened one of our people and just get what you want?"
"Pretty much."
"Ballsey." She dropped her gaze from me to her apparent sister. "Go, Miltia."
Miltia?
I watched the short haired girl take off, mulling over the familiar name.
Miltia. Sisters that looked so similar that I was pretty sure they were twins. And, despite their lack of tattoos, getting so much respect from those around us?
Miltia and Melanie. Damn. The two were so irrelevant, probably appearing less than a handful of times in the actual show, not even popping back up or being mentioned during their mother's and Spider's appearance, that it took an entire conversation for me just to connect the dots. If Junior and all his men back in Vale were throwaway goons to have the main characters beat up on, the two were barely a step above that.
Their loud fashion sense, something distinctly missing right now, and unique complimentary fighting styles were the main things that stuck out in their few appearances.
Guess I shouldn't be surprised they were here, but they should be heading off to Vale for one reason or another.
"Better hope she likes you." Melanie said as Miltia returned. She pushed off the bar and I did the same, following the twins lead.
Their heels clicked against the bar's wooden floor, only coming to stop once we reached a large table at the very back of the first floor.
Light skin, short blonde hair, and veering on the heavier side, a woman sat at the very end of the table. At first glance one wouldn't have labeled her as threatening or anything of the sort, something that held true with the aid of my Sharingan, her aura trained to a degree but nothing special. A stark contradiction to the way all those at the table sat around and stood behind her, none daring to make a sound.
She also bore the largest tattoo yet, the black webbing expanding from her shoulder and traveling beneath the strap of her dress to cross onto parts of her neck and torso.
Lil' Miss Malachite in the flesh: the current leader of the Spiders and one of, if not, the best informed person in all of Mistral.
And, if everything went according to plan, the person that'd be keeping me informed of everything significant going down in Mistral in the coming years.
XOXO
(A/N: Hand to hand fighting definitely isn't the way to go if you want to take that someone like Talon. Anyways, we got a few substantial characters on the way and major things to cover before things can settle and Mistral itself is given more attention. There's a whole lot I can't wait until we hit but for now you must all live in mystery and I in agonizing anticipation.
Link for those who want to read ahead:
patreon .com/ thirdratewriter
I still got some work I need to get done for my actual job today so I'll end things here. See you all around.