To Rule In Shadow

"Shit, shit, shit, shit..." Abby was muttering under her breath as she hunted through the western side of the Bazaar for the third time. As she grew more frustrated, her voice got progressively louder until she was nearly shouting, "Where the hell did that creepy bastard go?! Ah! If my pay gets docked for this, I'm going to-"

Feeling that this was an excellent point to break in, Adrian tapped her on the shoulder.

Whirling, she jump back and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You! Where did you go?! Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?"

Adrian raised an eyebrow at that, "If I had to guess, I'd say since sometime after you ran off to go shopping and left me by myself in an unfamiliar environment."

Abby's mouth opened for a second, and then closed. She looked away, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Okay, you may have a point, but that doesn't explain where you've been all this time."

"I was looking around and found myself in a fairly interesting part of the Bazaar. Didn't really do any shopping, but I met some fascinating people." He explained calmly while subtly guiding her towards the exit.

She squinted at him. "That sounds super suspicious."

"Its nothing you need to concern yourself with. More importantly, did you find everything you were looking for here? I don't see you carrying any bags."

There was a brief pause while she tried to determine what his angle was, before finally letting the matter go with a sigh. "No, the vendor who sells moon peaches didn't come this year. Apparently, there is some issue with supply."

"Moon peaches?"

"Right, you probably don't know about them. They are one of the Underworld most delectable delicacies. Although they look a bit like regular peaches in terms of shape, they come in varying shades of silver, and glow in the dark. While growing, they supposedly need to be bathed starlight of one of the Fae realms of eternal night, and you can't take them out into the sun or they'll burst into flame."

"...Are you sure these things are edible?"

She gave him a confused look. "Of course! They're delicious!"

He had a hard time believing her, but figured this was a safer topic of conversation. "Really? What do they taste like?"

"Hmm...that's hard to explain. They feel a bit like candied fruit, if you've ever had it, but with a somewhat meaty texture. When you take a bite, your mouth overflows with sweet and tangy juice that is somehow both refreshing and invigorating. After that, the mellow flavor of the fruit itself washes over your tongue, leaving you crying in joy as all the various components of the experience work together to complete the experience...I'm not doing a great job of describing it. Honestly, its something you have to try for yourself."

Adrian frowned. [That sounds...interesting? But it feels like there is more to the story.]

"Oh, and I think its supposed to help Practitioners with their craft. I feel like Cornelius got angry at me the last time I ate one, going on about how they were a precious cultivation resource or something." Abby explained while waving one hand dismissively. "For a mere Knacked like myself, they are apparently worthless."

[Ah, there we go.]

"I'll have to keep my eye out for them in the future. Anyway, are you ready to check up the exhibition hall?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose. Not much else to do beside listen to bunch of decrepit old men talk for hours about esoteric nonsense."

As they headed back into the hallway and started walking towards the hall, he gave a rueful smile. "I'm sure some people enjoy the lectures."

"I don't know about that. Maybe at some point in the past, but now this whole conference thing is really just a chance for networking. Most of the members who attend are only looking to build connections with higher ups in the Order, while most of the outsiders are trying to establish or maintain relationsh.i.p.s with the movers and shakers. That's why the lectures from the senior members are always packed full of suck-ups, even when the topic itself if boring beyond belief."

"Ah, so its pretty much the same as the conferences I've been to in the past. That will make things easier."

Abby went quiet, looking a bit discomfited. Perhaps she realized that she was being a bit too talkative. They spent the rest of the time to the exhibition hall in silence, so Adrian spent his time mentally preparing himself for the coming confrontation.

He had two real tasks at the moment. First and foremost, he had to negotiate for Stella's freedom to fulfill his side of the bargain. It was his intent to offer an exchange of services, but he had a few other options. Based on his experience in the Bazaar, he was reasonably certain that he could buy the man off with some material or item of a high enough value. There was also the option of simply tracking the man down outside of the conclave and eliminating him, but he was unsure about how difficult it might be.

This led him to his second task. He wanted to get a feel for just how powerful he was in relation to the practitioners of the Underworld. The Hall had yet to recover most of its strength, and as a result, he could only use a pitiful amount of the ruler's original abilities. While this may have been enough to massacre mundane humans and bluff his way through a few encounters, he didn't know enough information about Practitioners and their abilities to get an accurate picture of how he measure up to them.

"Alright, here we are." Abby announced once they reached the entrance to the exhibition hall.

A large sign hung from the ceiling with the words 'Mysteries of the Deep' in light blue, wavy letters. The rest of the sign was painted dark blue near the top and got progressively darker as it got closer to the bottom. Combined with muted blue lighting and nautical themed wall decorations, the entrance made Adrian think of a high-end aquarium.

Inside was a large room, similar in size to the Bazaar, with cl.u.s.ters of exhibits located throughout. He could see a few of the display cases that seemed to be showing off a few things, as well as several tanks with various kinds of sea life located within.

Apparently, this was a pretty popular destination for conference goers, since Adrian and Abby had to press their way through a milling crowd just to get through the first few meters.

[They didn't really think about traffic patterns when they planned this place out, did they?] He thought to himself with a bit of irritation. Based on what he'd seen so far, he was fairly certain that the high and mighty masters who managed this event probably viewed such concerns as beneath them.

"Ugh!" Abby complained. "I hate crowds. There's always too much going on at once. Do you want to go somewhere else?"

Resisting the urge to grimace, Adrian looked over at her. "I'd like to check this place out a bit, seeing as its my first time at this kind of event. If you're uncomfortable being here, I can meet you back at the dining hall before dinner."

"Can't do that. Cornelius wanted me to keep an eye on you." She replied with a sigh. "Whatever, we can stay for a bit. Just try to make it quick."

[It would be easier for me if you left, though.] He thought while pushing his way towards the first exhibit, working to get a good look at it.

Peering over the shoulder of a large man dressed in a business suit, he caught sight of a display case filled with a variety of artifacts that wouldn't have looked out of place at a museum. Shattered bits of worked stone, pieces of crudely made jewelry, and several tools seemingly carved from bone were the most visible. They all appeared to be primitive, and Adrian wouldn't have been surprised if they belonged to some Stone Age culture. However, the card at the bottom said otherwise.

'Artifacts collected from the vicinity of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone. Believed to have belonged to a deep dwelling offshoot of the standard Merfolk. Investigations are continuing, but experts theorize that this particular species went extinct in the recent past. While the exact reason remains unknown, suggested causes include endemic pollution, starvation secondary to over-fishing, and the brief appearance of an aquatic Elder God in the northern Atlantic Ocean in 1925.'

Interesting implications aside, this wasn't what he was looking for. Glancing around at the rest of the hall, he quickly realized that it would take far too long to search this way. Turning his head so that Abby couldn't see, he whispered out of the side of his mouth. "Pavuk. Where is the one I'm looking for?"

There was a brief moment of silence while the presence in Adrian's shadow vanished and then swiftly returned. "He is in the southeastern corner of this chamber near one of the tanks. There is a small crowd of people looking to speak with him."

[Sounds like he's one of the senior members of the Order, then.]

In order to avoid arousing Abby's suspicions, he proceeded to move generally in that direction while casually checking out the other exhibits. There were a lot of things that interested him, but he made sure to only briefly look over the descriptions before moving on.

After fighting through the crowd for a few minutes, they eventually made it to a large tank in the southeastern corner. As far as Adrian could tell, there was nothing actually in it, save for some surprisingly clear water, however the description card listed 'Salt-Water Elemental.' Off to one side was a congregation of people surrounding a well-dressed man. It only took him a brief look to discern that this was his target.

Alexander Tarn turned out to be a relatively good-looking man that might have been of Eastern European descent. He appeared to be in his mid-forties, although Adrian assumed he was probably a lot older given his background. His dark brown hair, speckled with gray, was slicked back in a way that emphasized his prominent widow's peak. Dressed in a black suit and tie, his ramrod straight posture and manner of moving betrayed a strict and rigid personality.

At the moment, he was listening a pretty young woman while idly running a hand over his neatly trimmed beard. By all appearances, he was merely pondering the words of an interested fan, but after seeing the woman's sensuous posture coupled with the way the strap of her dress kept slipping off her shoulder, he could only assume that the interaction was less innocent than it appeared. Judging from the way that Alexander wasn't really responding to the subtle cues, he must be uninterested, or perhaps unwilling to engage in such acts in a public forum.

Regardless, this gave Adrian his opening. Striding forward boldly, so as to avoid any complications caused by Abby, he pushed through the crowd surrounding the two and rudely walked right up to Alexander. He ignored the muttered recriminations from the people who he'd essentially cut in front of, and instead focused his full attention on powerful Practitioner who was now looking him over mildly.

"Excuse me!" The young woman broke in, not bothering to conceal her irritation. "I don't know who you think you are, but Master Alexander and I were having a conversation."

Adrian glanced at her for a moment, then looked back at his actual target. "I get the impression that Mr. Tarn did not care for what you have to say, so perhaps you should leave. Instead, I have something to discuss with him that should be far more interesting."

That got her riled up, and a flush of anger quickly overwhelmed the slight blush that she'd been wearing. "How dare you?! Do you have any idea who I am?!"

"Not really..." He replied disinterestedly.

"Fool! I am the third daughter of the Marquin household. If you don't step back right this instant-"

"That's enough, Rebecca." Alexander broke in. "I'd like to hear him out."

The blood drained from her face, and she was left looking between the two of them uncertainly.

"I...wha...GRR!" Finally, she stormed off, hints of tears in her eyes.

"I think you may have just made an enemy." The practitioner commented dryly, a small smile on his lips. "Now, what's so important that you weren't willing to wait your turn."

Adrian grinned. "Its come to my attention that you've recently misplaced a certain someone. A Fae being of an aquatic nature."

Alexander narrowed his eyes, and suddenly started giving off a slightly hostile air. Clearly, Adrian had his attention.

"Good. You know what I'm talking about. Now, I'd like to discuss a trade."