I arrived outside the adventurer's guild just before nightfall. The streets in this part of town don't seem to be too shady with the adventurer's guild being so close by. I guess having a lot of high level combatants scares off the riffraff within the immediate area.
It takes about 10 minutes for Thorne and his wives to arrive. We exchange a brief greeting before walking towards the district where the host club we discussed is located. It takes us about 20 minutes to get there.
The plan he has come up with is solid as far as I am concerned. I am not a tactical genius by any means, but I am pretty confident in the plan. I did decide to make a few adjustments to my side of things, but nothing that will create a problem. Thorne of course has no idea what I intend to do.
We arrive at the alleyway across from the host club. To me, it just looks like a slightly upmarket tavern from the outside, but I guess discretion is also part of the service with these places.
Thorne gives me a little shove in the small of my back, and I walk over to the bar. The building is stone grey, made of the same type of rock as every other building, but the staircase leading up to the door is marble, a clear indicator of its upmarket status.
I climb the stairs slowly and open the door. I step inside and I am greeted with exactly what I expected.
The bar is clearly visible right at the back of the room, same as the Inn I am staying in. However, there are no simple tables and chairs, instead, there are cushioned sofas with small tables in front of them.
Each area is divided into individual booths, sectioned off with low walls. A standing person could see over, but someone sitting never could.
Men sit in the booths, their arms wrapped around women's shoulders, sharing drinks together. If memory serves me correctly, the customer is supposed to buy drinks for the girls as a kind of gift.
Basically, they are paying for the girls' company as a drinking partner, and in some cases, a little touching, like wrapping your arms around her shoulders, is ok.
I am not really here for that, though, so I make my way over to the main bar, where they have elevated stools to sit on. Customers can come here and buy drinks for themselves without needing the company of the women.
Even after all the stuff with my alcoholic mother, I never abstained from drinking. A cold beer after a hard day laying brick was definitely something I enjoyed a lot. I made sure not to overindulge, and I usually bought the cheaper stuff.
I take a seat and a well-dressed bartender approaches, so I ask him for a large mug of ale. I slide him the 3 coppers it costs and turn around in my seat so I can survey the room. From my higher seating angle, I can see into a few of the booths.
I am looking for that slimy-looking fellow from the wanted poster who goes by the name Nico Varn. From what I understand, Nico is a pretty run-of-the-mill thief. He burglarises empty homes and mugs little old ladies. Scum behaviour, but nothing too heinous.
When I saw his profile on the wanted poster, despite the obvious difference in appearance, he gave off the same kind of vibe Derrick did. The kind of 'In over his head with no way out' vibe. He had an addiction to the lovely ladies of the host club and robbed people to pay for it.
Unfortunately for him, a couple of weeks ago, he mugged the wrong little old lady. An adventurer's mother. The adventurer went straight to the guild and offered to pay a reward for the capture of the sneak thief, alive. The adventurer wants to hand him over to the authorities personally.
My guess would be that once the adventurer gets his hands on him, he might not make it to the authorities in one piece, but that has nothing to do with me.
My scanning pays off and I see the scumbag I am looking for sitting in a booth not too far away. I can see the heads of 2 women who seem to be keeping him company, but they aren't sitting high enough to identify them with the low partition wall.
I sip at my ale, savouring the flavour. It is quite good. It's quite different to the canned stuff I used to buy from the convenience store on my way home from work, in fact, I find it to be much better. It's quite crisp and a little bitter, but it reminds me that it is definitely something with a little flavour, not just plain water.
After a couple of minutes of just plain staring at the slimy scumbag, he turns his head slightly, as though he is looking for something. I think he feels my eyes on him, but doesn't know where from. When he glances in my direction, I raise my tankard to him and shake a little bit of paper in my hands.
It's quite obvious to him that I want to talk to him for some reason, but he seems hesitant to come over. I ask the barman for another Ale and place it on the bar in front of the seat next to me, a clear invitation.
Eventually, he stands up and makes his way over. He sits on the chair next to me and sips the Ale. While he is sipping the ale, I unfold the wanted poster with his face on it and place it flat on the wooden countertop. He doesn't really react at first; he just looks at it.
'I heard they put a bounty on me, but the picture in the poster is uncanny. What do you want? If you are here to arrest me, you won't be able to, the building security looks out for me here.'
'Actually, it's quite the opposite. I'm here to keep you free and clear, for a price, of course.'
And here starts my deviation from the plan. Don't get me wrong, I fully intend to flush him out so that Thorne and his wives can snatch him, but before all that, I want to wing him as dry as I can.
In my last life, I was killed by criminals, because of a criminal. When I say criminal, I don't mean the 'stole a loaf of bread to feed the family' type. We are talking about true gangsters and their scumbag lackeys, like fucking Derrick!
While I was listening to the story of how this scumbag here robs old ladies and breaks into people's houses, I got a little worked up. I made a promise to myself that if tonight went well, I too would strive to become a bounty hunter like Thorne.
I want to do things a little differently, but that is neither here nor there right now. What I really want to do is milk Nico for every silver I can get my hands on.
'If you throw me a few silver, I might be able to let you in on a plan I heard about while I was at the adventurer's guild today. It involves a certain Thorne Malrick and his trio of buxom babes.'
Nico sips again from his glass. 'I know all about that guy, he would never let his women come in here, and they won't let him in either.'
'That doesn't matter anymore, they won't be the people coming in.' I try to sound as nonchalant as possible when I reply. I want to pique his curiosity on the subject; he obviously wants to avoid being punished for thieving, so maybe I can convince him to play ball, even if I am not the greatest manipulator.
He looks at me for a few seconds, and then places 3 silver coins on the counter, saying nothing. I sip my drink, pocket the coins and continue talking to him.
'He's decided to change tactics. Today, he approached me and a number of other adventurers, showing us this bounty poster.' I tap my finger on his face on the poster to emphasise my point.
'He told me he knows where you are, that's how I managed to find you tonight, but for some obscure reason, he cannot enter this place, so he is trying to get a group of adventurers together to storm the club with the city guards.
Apparently, the adventurer, whose mother you mugged, also has a friend or two there and pulled some strings to get a group together.
The plan is for all of them to meet up at the adventurer's guild and move out at once in one big unit so that nobody can warn you of people lurking and watching beforehand.
I thought of this as a different opportunity. I would like to sell you the information about what they are planning. He isn't exactly being subtle about it.'
The sneak thief took another large gulp of his drink, draining the cup.
'Fair enough, well, either way, I can probably smuggle myself out of the city tomorrow before they actually make their move. How long do I have before they plan to act?'
'3 silver isn't enough for me to tell you exactly when it will happen, I need another 5.' And now the games begin. This is the part where he tells me to fuck off and starts negotiating, bartering me down to 2 or 3, I am certain of it.
Oh! I am wrong. He places 5 silver coins on the countertop like it's no big deal. Lucky me!
I gulp down the rest of my drink. Pocket the extra 5 silver and tell him, 'They are gathering at the adventurers guild as we speak, you have about an hour before they arrive.'