The Peculiar Alchemist

24 || Stolen Goods

It was probably one of the most well-hidden places in the whole city, located in the shabbiest, most dangerous part where many outlaws roamed the place. Everyone was a criminal there, and if they weren't here to enjoy the company of others like them, then they were there to either hide something or hide themselves.

It's also the only place where one can trade for things not normally found anywhere else – mostly because they were stolen or illegal– and it was exactly what Kellen was there for.

But he wasn't trading for coin, instead he was trading for information.

The small and somewhat dilapidated shop that he was standing in front of was only accessible if one was brave enough to venture into a dark alley where anything could happen, and Kellen carelessly did, knowing that this place was somehow connected to the necromancer he was trying to reach. One of his killed victims kindly revealed where they got some of their cute little necromancy books and toys.

They were sold by someone called one-eyed Bert, and it didn't take much to track that person down.

And while he knew for certain that he was being watched, maybe even followed, Kellen didn't give a damn as he pushed the door open and had to bend down a little to not hit his head on the door frame. Everything inside was just as miserable and shady as he expected, and when he looked around the place, he found a small man leaning on a wooden cane which looked a bit too heavy for him to move around.

His eyes were squinted as he sat there not even reacting to the appearance of someone else inside, and he clicked his mouth as he swallowed showing that he had no teeth.

Kellen stared at him for a moment before he decided to speak. "Bert?"

The man's head turned to him at a snail-pace before his eyes opened slightly. "Ha?"

"You seem to have both of your eyes." Kellen mumbled his observation and the man's upper lip went up as he tried to decipher what was being said. He then hit his cane on the ground and started to yell at him while sometimes stomping his feet.

"I can barely hear you, you idiot. Speak louder."

"I said," Kellen spoke loudly this time, completely unaffected by the tantrum the old man was throwing as he kept hitting his cane making it impossible to hear anything even with perfect hearing. "You have no teeth."

The stupid old man glared at him in confusion. "Who's Keith?"

That made Kellen stand there as the stomping continued while he stared at the old man with a blank expression on his face. "I hate old people."

"Bertha, kick him out, now!"

This made Kellen sigh before someone thankfully appeared behind the counter, and the cane was tugged away by an unseen force as an old woman stood there looking fed up before she turned to Kellen. "Did you have to annoy him?"

The old man let out a few grumbles as he yanked the cane from the air and resumed to lean on it, but at least he wasn't hitting the floor with it anymore. Kellen regarded the woman in front of him for a moment and saw that she had one of her eyes covered with the scarf which was thrown messily on her head, and he shrugged at her in response.

"Not my problem his own deafness upsets him. Bert, I assume?"

The woman nodded her head. "And who are you?"

Kellen hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "Keith."

Bert scoffed, smiling a little. "You think you're being funny, huh? You're lucky I don't care about names. Now who are you?"

"I am just someone looking for information. There's a necromancer I want to find."

She stared at him for a long while before she shook her head. "Let's say I even know what you're talking about, what do I get in return?"