Fate's Gambit: A Half-Blood's Odyssey

Chapter III: The Cat's Out of the Bag

The tuna was incredible. Somehow, despite being the same as it always has been, it tasted better than any other time I've tried it. That's good service. I wonder what's in the ocean water? The buttermilk was great as well. Creamy and buttery and not too sour or bitter. It was a bit sweet at the same time, too.

Before I leave Overseer's Tavern, I stop by the counter to talk to Cota once more.

"Hello again, Kaela," Cota bows slightly.

"I have another question for you," I grab at my cloak from the inside, keeping my masked face down, staring at the counter.

"Another pure-blood question? By all means, go ahead."

"You'd still like me if I was hiding a secret from you all this time, right?"

"Of course, silly! What kind of friend would I be to dislike a pure-blood like yourself?"

"Yeah... Pure-blood..." I mutter under my breath.

"You've got a lot to talk about, but I can tell you're on a bit of a schedule with your thieving and such," She takes a page out of her server book and starts writing on it, sliding it toward me on the counter when she's finished. "Here's my address. Come meet me at my place at sunset and I'll answer any other questions you have for me.

"Oh, sure thing, Cota," I take the address from her with hesitation and place it in one of my cloak pockets. "See you then."

Deeper into The Underground, there's the Arms Department. Any weapon I want can be found there for a price. From daggers to bombs, poisons to arrows, or spears to swords, you want it, the Arms Department has it. That's why I love this place so much, it has everything I need and it's only a 10-minute walk from home.

The air in the Arms Department reeks of revenge. Every person here looks as if they want to tie up some loose ends, or rather, tie up the people that did them wrong. Either way, something's getting tied and I don't think it's going to look pretty.

I step up to one of the booths where I'm greeted by a buff-looking man. He has an eye patch on his left eye with a long scar under it. Now that I get a good look at him, he has quite a few scars on his face. I'm sure he has seen better days. Or maybe he hasn't because of the eye patch.

"Welcome, young lady, my name is Victor," says the man. "What services can I entrance you with?"

"I want bombs," I tell Victor. "The colored variety."

"For distractions and escapes, or damage and destruction?"

"Distractions and escapes. The small ones."

"Wise choice, here's my stock," He steps to the side, revealing a set of small bombs on display. "Any color you need, I've got it, you just name it."

I take my time to think. Black smoke sounds cool, but so does red smoke. Is red cooler than blue, though? I could trick people with yellow and make them think it's sulfur. No, that's too easy. I need a color that really catches the whole Kaela Rose style. Roses are usually red, and so is the blood of my enemies. So, on second thought, maybe I will go with red.

"Do you have red?" I ask.

"Of course, of course," He grabs the set of reds from the display and lays them on the counter. "These here will cost you 200 Novas individually, or 500 for all three. A good deal, in my opinion."

"Will you accept a bargain?" I don't feel like paying 500 Novas for it. Not that I don't have the money, but I'm just too lazy to count that high.

"Depends," Victor crosses his arms.