Oracle

Part 5

The back room was a specific term for a specific place in an organisation. Every one of the players in the city had a 'back' room and for John's bars and inns, it was a surprisingly easy thing to get to. Most weren't so easy and several doors and pathways had to be taken but John was strong enough a player that he allowed his to be easily accessible and even rentable for the right price. A room which existed in the city but out of the confines of the law, both official and unofficial.

The bar patrons were doing fine without Justice, the current hour being one where technically no alcohol was served in the city. 5 am to be exact, time having run away with the night because of Elison's journeys through the shadows. With no beer or whiskey to be had for one single hour, many of the patrons were either sitting resting with their final glass in their hands or now laying on the carpeted floor of the bar napping. John didn't care if the regulars slept the night in the Rook provided they had paid their tab up for the night and were not owing in favours or cash.

Walking past snoring men, Elison let himself behind the bar. The wooden latch allowed him past, shutters already down on the goods to protect them from any drunk not yet in his right mind to remember he was not allowed to buy at that moment. It shut back in place with a soft click, gentle enough not to wake any of the sleeping men. The next door gave him more issue. He pulled the handle gently from the left side of the door to the centre, locking into place before pressing down. It clicked, the door locked.

Exhaling to calm himself, Elison knocked three times on the wood. Three times was the polite way to knock in the city and the generally accepted way to ask for someone to appear. Any other number was seen almost as rude unless the person was still fresh to the city and then it was seen as ignorant. Neither were good things to be considered.

The door swung open and unlike before when it had been darkness, linked to the shadow's paths, it was to an actual room. Elison stepped through the threshold, almost painfully aware of the fact he was being transported to a different location. The door linked the two locations but their physical locations were actually far apart. Elison didn't know the real location of John's backroom but to get there, three knocks and the handle on the centre of the door was the sure way to get in.

The room was almost mundane compared to many of John's locations for rent. It was a plain room with a large conference table in the centre and enough chairs for twelve men. In the centre of the table was a crystal which was gently glowing blue. It was a truth crystal and if someone spoke a lie the light would change to an angry red colour. A device which was handy if someone was unable to hire a being about to tell truth or lie straight away anyway.

The walls of the room were wooden but there was an iron skirting board running the length of the room and no windows. There were pictures, paintings of landscapes, intended to make the room seem less imposing but even the paintings weren't enough to remove all of Elison's concerns.

Four of twelve of the chairs were taken by three men and one woman with one of John's pretty boys standing to the side ready to serve drinks. They sat in three distinct groups and all of their eyes were on Elison as he walked into the room.

"Lord Calder," Elison bowed politely, focusing on his boss and therefore the most important of the group, but turning to greet John with a similar degree of respect. His boss was wearing a black suit with a white shirt which stood out in contrast with his dark skin tone. He already had a plain grey tie on, his appearance from his short hair to how his suit jacket sat on him was immaculate and obviously well cared for.

Elison nodded to the man sitting next to his boss as he turned, the man being Lord Calder's personal aide and not a man needing of a verbal greeting in this situation. Similar to Calder, the aide was wearing a black suit and white shirt but unlike his boss, he was wearing a black tie. The aide was also in immaculate condition and looked wide awake and aware despite the time of morning. To Elison's understanding, the aide, while not as pretty as some of the men Calder could pick to be next to his side all day, was extremely good at this job. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for Elison to actually know his name which irritated Elison immensely.