"So, what exactly are you looking for in the black market?"
"I... want to perform a divine channel ritual on my own, so I need an altar and ingredients. And the only place I could think of to buy that stuff was the black market. Since I don't know how to get there, I asked for your help, since you're kinda 'the guy who knows a little about everything'."
Hearing Tom's answer, Ouden made an effort not to laugh and ended up letting out a soft snort while his pale cheeks twitched.
"Yeah, I have to admit your reasoning wasn't bad, since you'd probably alert at least the lower ranks of the churches of the Violet Maiden and the Blind One if you bought an altar stand and ritual materials from some official religious store.
Tom simply raised a hand, indicating that was obvious enough to think about.
What made him call Ouden to come along was that, based on his knowledge of stories and fantasy, there was a huge chance the black market wouldn't be completely open to strangers, meaning there's a possibility his entrance would be denied and his goals frustrated.
He had a hunch and was also betting that the experienced vampire knew the place and would therefore make getting in easier.
"Are there more churches here besides the ones for the Blind One and the Violet Maiden?"
Tom brought up the question.
"Yep, but very few."
Vampires didn't get sleepy, but Ouden almost looked drowsy.
"Not too far from here there's a church of the Son of Time, and almost at the edge of the city there's a monument where, at least until some time ago, there was a congregation of vampires who worshipped the Supreme Archangel."
"Are you looking for one of them?"
"Not necessarily." Without even looking back, he denied it.
At that moment, Tom was making assumptions in his head.
It's easier to think that each church has its own deity and each of those has an ascendant. So it'd make a lot of sense for the ascendants of the Violet Maiden and the Blind One to be here in Nikz, since that's the dominant religious presence in the city. Maybe even in the kingdom.
Or... what if a Superior actually had more than one title and more than one church? Would He or She become more powerful?
He couldn't dive any deeper into the thought because Ouden interrupted him.
"Here, we're here."
Getting out, Tom paid the coachman, who quickly left with the carriage.
Unlike most streets in the city, which had a sign displaying the street name and emitted a strong reddish glow that illuminated the entire road, the place where Tom and Ouden arrived had a crooked, poorly lit sign, making the deserted street feel even less welcoming.
This is an "artery", right? Why does it look like an alley or a ghetto? If this were Earth, walking into a street like this would be asking to get robbed. Hopefully it doesn't work like that here.
Nikz was organized like a representation of a body, with its main areas such as downtown, the noble district, and the more important roads categorized as named arteries; meanwhile, moderately important streets or those further into neighborhoods and commercial zones were numbered veins. Lastly, the suburbs, poorer areas, and places farther from the center were categorized as named capillaries, or sometimes didn't even have official names, instead being given informal titles by the locals.
The vampire Ouden stepped forward and knocked against a wall without any openings.
Tom looked suspiciously at the scene but chose to stay quiet and observe how events unfolded.
A few seconds later, the vampire opened his mouth and his jaw trembled, yet no sound entered Tom's ears.
A sound signal that only vampires can hear as an entry code?
Soon after, scratches outlined themselves along the wall and, out of nowhere, a door opened.
To hide his surprise, Tom pretended to adjust the sleeve of his overcoat while rotating his wrist.
Ouden entered first, and Tom followed him.
After passing through the door, it was shut and completely disappeared, leaving behind only the smooth surface of the wall.
As they ventured deeper and deeper inside, the sound of voices grew louder until they finally reached another door which, upon opening, revealed a spacious noisy environment filled with people walking, talking, trading, buying, and selling in every direction.
Hanging from the ceiling was a large metallic-looking bar that emitted a pleasant yellow light, brightening the place to resemble a less sunny late afternoon.
"I have to admit I was expecting a dark, enclosed place with red lights everywhere and way darker than this."
Tom scanned the surroundings.
"Why? Just because we're in Nikz?"
Turning toward the reply, it wasn't Ouden who spoke, but rather a young-looking man with pale skin, black hair, red eyes, and the same height as Tom.
"Ouden, this guy you brought is funny."
Tom looked confused as he noticed both vampires smiling.
"OK, okK. Salim, this is Tom, a mercenary from the Moonlight squad. And Tom, this is Salim, the guy who knows this place like the back of his hand."
Ouden made the proper introductions after he stopped laughing.
The three of them moved through tents, stalls, small shops, street vendors, and all sorts of different people along the path, all seeking ways to buy the resources they wanted or properly earn their living.
Suddenly, they reached a railing and stopped.
Ahead of them was nothing but a massive vertical drop, an enormous cavity stretching into the depths underground. Around it were positioned ring-shaped walkways with railings, where even more businesses could be seen. These rings descended all along the edge of the cavern until reaching the bottom, which could barely be seen.
"Tom, welcome to the Cave of Lhéus." Salim declared proudly.
"Relax, he does that with everyone who comes here for the first time." Ouden stepped away from the railing.
Coming back to his senses, Tom simply nodded his head, allowing himself to be genuinely impressed.
"Now then, I think we should get to the important part. What did you come here to buy? After all, it doesn't look like you brought anything to sell."
Inspecting the human, Salim quickly shifted his gaze, confirming the young man carried nothing in his hands nor any luggage.
"We have everything here, everything you can imagine, want, or need to buy. Tools, weapons, clothes, artifacts, antiques, forbidden knowledge, slaves, rental services. Whatever it may be. Everything depends only on whether you're willing to pay for it."
Seeing that Ouden showed no discomfort whatsoever and in fact seemed to be returning to an old cozy place, Tom skipped excuses and got straight to the point.
"I'm looking for materials and ingredients to perform a divine channel ritual on my own."
"Hm... divine channeling. Then what you'll probably need is an altar, ceremonial candles, ornamental plants, precious stones for offerings, incense, myrrh, critiques, priestly robes, brantiun..."
Once the list started, Salim spoke like a machine gun.
Holy shit, all that? Father Abel didn't use all that when he performed the ritual with me. Or did he use it and I just didn't know?
Smiling awkwardly, he quickly imagined how much he would spend if he really had to buy everything Salim was listing.
Following the two vampires, they headed toward a somewhat more organized street vendor stall displaying statues, customized fabrics, and other religious accessories.
"Granny Tânia!" The guiding vampire called out.
Immediately, a piece of wood cut through the air and hit the vampire directly in the forehead. He quietly complained about the pain while bringing his fingers to the struck area.
"I already told you not to yell my name, brat! I hear perfectly fine!" Someone inside shouted angrily.
"Ow. So, this is Granny Tânia, she's a great artisan when it comes to religious equipment."
"Granny is your mother!!! I'm still young and I hear perfectly fine, you shameless vampire!"
Retorting loudly and irritably, an elderly woman clearly marked by messy white hair and wrinkles across her face slowly walked to the entrance. She wasn't very tall, but she displayed the ferocity of a beast about to tear apart its prey. Or in this case, Salim.
Why does this sound familiar?
Tom didn't dare laugh, otherwise he'd definitely become a target of her fury.
"Ouden... And you, my old friend, how are you? Already passed a thousand years old yet?"
The moment Tânia said that, Tom and Salim immediately turned toward the vampire with brown hair and beard.
"One day I'll get there... one day." He immediately tried to cut off the subject.
His name kinda suggested it, but a thousand years?
What a cruel joke giving your kid the name Ouden, he's born already sounding old.
This time Tom smirked at his own thoughts.
"And you... I've never seen you here before. Who are you?!"
Narrowing her eyes, she finally noticed the brown-skinned young man with medium-length black hair and brown eyes.
"That's because I've really never been here before. You can call me Tom."
With a cordial smile, Tom extended his hand to the old woman, who returned the gesture and nodded without hesitation.
She widened her eyes while staring at the three in front of her, as if expecting one of them to speak.
"Right, I'm looking to perform a divine channel ritual and I'd like to buy the necessary materials."
For the third time, Tom explained what he was searching for.
With a wave of her hand, she gestured for the three of them to move deeper into her establishment.
From one of the shelves she pulled out a rectangular wooden "block" with a marble surface. Then she opened a drawer, took out colorful candles, and placed them on top of the block. Finally, she dragged a jar filled with incense over beside the other items.
"Another one seeking divine favor..." She seemed to lament.
"That'll be 230 zenns."
Wow. Just this costs that much? If I included everything Salim mentioned, would it cost more than one obra?
Even though he wasn't one hundred percent comfortable with the price, Tom swallowed the urge to haggle for a discount and pulled the money from the pocket inside his overcoat to pay the woman.
"Good doing business with you, Tom. Come back more often. And don't be like Salim, don't spend too much time hanging around with him." The wrinkles on Tânia's face deepened.
"Heeey!" the beardless vampire protested.
Tânia placed all the items into a large bag and handed it to the mercenary.
The vampires Ouden and Salim were just about to step out of the stall when suddenly both of them were grabbed firmly by the forearms, immediately making them turn around.
Letting the bag containing the altar items fall onto the rough ground, it was Tom who had stopped them from leaving.