Whispering Poems

Whispering Poems Chapter 373

2021-10-03

Chapter 372 Groceries and Spices

Shade, who was very interested in the square of the chant, walked around the square Take a look around. He even found a man who was setting up a stall betting on Rhodes cards in the square. The opponent sat on the ground and claimed that if anyone could beat him three out of five, he would get a Rhodes card with special rules from him, but for a fee of 5p per challenge.

Many people gathered around watching them play cards, and that special card also had an appraisal certificate, which meant that the card itself was real.

It's just that Shade heard from nearby onlookers that this person has set up a stall here for 8 years and has only lost once.

The other party must be cheating, but Shade is not interested in revealing it either. After all, most people who pay 5p to play poker know that there is a problem. Whether they want to enjoy playing cards with strangers, or whether they really think they can get that special card, is hard to say.

Shade has not forgotten the purpose of his coming here. According to the information provided by Iluna, the middle age person who is wearing a turban and selling spices often appears in the south of Anthem Square, and no matter where he is. Wear a pair of rain boots for the weather and put up a triangular wooden sign in front of your booth.

These traits are obvious enough that Shade sees him as he wanders the plaza.

The other party has a cart with bottles and cans on it. On his left is a peddler who sells herbs that claim to be able to heal any injury. The peddler wears a floor-sweeping robe, and the eccentric ornamentation on his body resembles the style of the primordial tribe of the southern forest of Kasenrik, and he looks very professional. On the right is a grocer who sells everything. There is a cart next to him. The floor is covered with waterproof canvas and various sundries are placed.

Because the herbalist on the left is a bit of an insult to human intelligence, Shade pretends to be interested in the grocer's wares and stands in front of the other's cart to look at the merchandise. This distance is close enough, and the voice in his head gave a reply:
[The man in the hood on your left is a ring warlock, the middle ring, the specific level needs to be confirmed after further contact. ]

It seems that the third thing Iluna chooses is finally of some value.

"Sir, what do you want to buy?"

Shade stood in front of the grocer for too long, so the small merchant who had no customers for a while took the initiative to talk to Shade.

Shade didn't panic and continued:

"We have a cat at home, I want to get some safer toys for that cat. You too You know, cats are animals that always like to swallow all kinds of dirty things."

Some thin businessmen looked at Shade, as if guessing his identity and the thickness of his wallet:
" Then why don't you buy this"

The businessman picks up a colored feather:

"This is only 1 shilling."

"Sorry, you don't have me here Interesting."

Shade shook his head immediately, he wouldn't pay that much for a dyed feather.

Thinking about it, Shade reaches out and picks up a deck of Rhodes:

"I'm going to buy this. I have a deck of Rhodes myself, but want to get a spare. .”

In fact, after having [Treasures], individual cards may be damaged when used as weapons, so they need to be replenished frequently.

"Here's an old card, count you 5p. Need something else? Oh, and since you're a Rhodes player, are you interested in a private, non-public, for-profit Rhodes game?"

The businessman asked very familiarly. His eyes were very bright and his face was smiling.

"Non-public for-profit private" is basically the equivalent of an underground illegal casino, similar to the one at the Lucky Southern Cross Club at night. The grocer who roamed around in the lower city actually had the task of generating business for the casino.

“No no, my wallet doesn’t allow me to do this at this time,” said Shade.

Shade.

Then the merchant whispered again:
"Then are you interested in dealing in special Rhodes cards?"

"You still have this?"

Shade asked in surprise, depending on the number and age of issuance, Rhodes cards with special card faces generally start at 1 pound, and Rhodes cards with special rules are at least 40 pounds a piece. The small businessman in front of him said that it should be the former.

"Yes, it's definitely the real thing. Grocers like me usually stock up on valuable little things that are easy to keep and wait for generous customers to slaughter. Make a fortune, like Lord's It's a very good commodity. There are some Rhodes hobby players, every time they go to a city, they will go to the small merchants in the city to find those cards, until they replace the entire deck of cards with special card faces."

According to the familiar introduction of the businessman, Shade imagined the sense of the task of collecting cards, and felt that such a person must be rich.

"Of course, some high-end stores even have special rules for selling Rhodes, but the price is probably not acceptable to ordinary people."

The merchants have no customers here for the time being. Shade chatted a few more times. Shade also took the opportunity to inquire about the plaza, focusing on the spice ring warlock next to his booth.

The other party is talking to the guest, and he doesn't notice the guy with ulterior motives.

"Oh, by the way, since you sell groceries here, do you accept groceries?"

Shade asked after a while.

"Of course, but I only accept valuable things here."

The businessman replied, and then saw Shade hand over the three books he was holding. The businessman raised his eyebrows to refuse, but Shade winked at him, motioning him to look inside.

The grocer nodded in surprise, carefully opened one of the books, and his originally squinted eyes immediately widened:

"This is really a good thing."

Licking his lower lip, he hurriedly flipped through the other two books as he spoke, with a sincere smile on his face:

"This is really good, these three books. How about half a pound? ?"

This price is quite suitable, after all, the quality of these three albums is very high, and even if you have money, it is not easy to buy. Shade knew that this kind of grocer who introduced business to casinos would also sell such illegal publications, so nodded:

"Of course you can, but you can't take my money for that deck of Rhodes cards. I'm done."

Shade sells these magazines not to make a fortune, of course, but to create an excuse to chat here for a while. And as he thought, after the payment for the goods was cleared, the grocer's attitude towards him was obviously better.

Shade also knew that the spice merchant next to the grocer had only started selling goods here half a month ago. And the other party will definitely not come on Sundays. Usually, he will show up at 9:00 in the morning and leave at 5:00 in the afternoon. He is lazier than most of the businessmen in the Anthem Square.

Obtaining the basic information, Shade plans to formally contact the spice merchant to confirm what he is doing. And the other party must be a person, not a relic, so he didn't plan to do in-depth research, just didn't want to delay Iluna's mission.

It's just that Shade just came to the spice merchant's side, and a familiar silhouette actually appeared in the square.

Dr. Bill Schneider came from the crowd with a suitcase, stopped to let the wild dog chasing the big white goose run by, the blue-eyed doctor waved, and the hooded spice The businessman greets:

"Good afternoon, Madison."

"Good afternoon, Schneider."

The two shook hands before the doctor noticed Go to Shade on the side. Shade went out today in a different outfit than usual, so he couldn't see him at a glance:

"Oh, Shade, why are you here?"

The doctor asked with a smile, Warmly greeted Shade, and then said to Mr. Madison, who sold spices:
"This is what I said last time, our new Hamilton. Shade, this is Mr. Alan Madison, this is Serk A student of Cess High Medical College."

Serkes High Medical College, a Mystic Art Academy on par with St. Byrons and Zarath, is proficient in alchemy and potions.

Mr. Madison, who was wearing a headscarf, looked towards Shade in surprise, and whispered to the doctor in disbelief:
"Schneider, you mean, this guy who is addicted to Rhodes gambling is still The person who sells pornographic magazines here is a newcomer to your group? I noticed him just now."

It seems that he noticed the movement on Shade's side just now.

“en?”

The doctor looked at Shade in amazement, and out of trust in Shade’s character, he explained to him:
“What is he probably doing? Entrust, he's a detective, let's talk somewhere else, it's not safe here."

Shade was a little embarrassed, but thankfully the doctor didn't continue talking on this topic.

There is a hotel next to Anthem Square, which is the "Three Cats Hotel". The wooden signboard is vividly carved with three lying cats. The hotel has a total of four floors and covers a large area. The first floor and the second floor are open restaurants and pubs, but there is no floor in the center of the second floor but a patio, which makes the view on the first floor wider, and the usable area on the second floor becomes a little smaller.

The third and fourth floors are separate rooms, which are considered to be the best hotels in the lower city of Tobesque.

Dr. Schneider, Mr. Madison, and Shade, took their seats on the corner of the second floor of the hotel.

Everyone didn't mention what Shade just did, and Shade also learned from the conversation that the hooded Mr. Madison was a six-ring warlock and also the Chief-In-Charge of the correspondence student group. , and the doctor is an old friend for many years.

Mr. Alan Madison lives nearby and is familiar with it. When the maid with the button on her chest open and the collar very low came over, Mr. Madison could still call the other party's name and greet her.

"You know what? At night, um, after about seven, there's some nice girls sitting in the corner here, if you have the money, you can"

Shade and Schneider The doctor also looked towards him in amazement.

"Don't look at me like that. I also heard what others said. I'm a person who is pure and clean."

The doctor came to Mr. Madison, who, through the relationship of Dr. Schneider, ordered a batch of relatively sensitive metal powders in the local black market, and Dr. Schneider was able to get a commission from it.

And talking about the reason why Shade appeared here, Shade mentioned the church:

"The Church of the Orthodox God noticed the special spices you are selling here, because it has not been paid attention to. , so I just gave the task to the subordinate's ring warlock squad. I have a friend in the church, and he commissioned me to check the situation."

"Actually, I just wanted to ask, Madison, you are already short Is the money enough to set up a stall outside?"

Dr. Schneider also asked curiously, and Mr. Madison shook his head helplessly:
"Of course not for making money, how much do you think this kind of work can earn? I got a special Mystic Art some time ago, the learning requirement of Mystic Art is a ceremony, and I sell spices in Anthem Square, which is part of the ceremony."

"There is such a strange learning requirement. ?"

Shade curiously asked, and the doctor nodded:

"Those Mystic Art that can only be used in the middle and high rings, of course the learning conditions are very complicated, such as the 13th ring warlock some time ago The Mystic Art used by the God-caller is a learning condition for Mystic Art, even enough to be written into a book. Judging from the Mystic Art that can be used in Central, Madison is indeed too complicated. You are sure that you are not being deceived. ?”

(end of this chapter)