Siderius grabbed two pieces of buffalo quarters to Mucktown. The two big rabbits were sold thirty-five bronze pieces each. The buffalo quarters were actually much better in quality and quantity. He expected to acquire at least a few hundred bronze coins from these.
He dropped by Ashe's house. She was kneeling at the fireplace, fusing her True Aether and elevating her soul.
It was the first time for Ashe so it would take her quite a while to become an official Alchemist. Siderius took several restless days to reach Silver for the first time.
He had only gotten to Silver I overnight simply because it was a do over.
Siderius didn't disturb Ashe and only put the meat on the table. He left her a note to tell her what to do. Aside from the usual errands, Siderius gave her a second task. He needed her to make a specific item for him with her talent.
Then he ventured into Mucktown once more.
This time Siderius didn't go in the main gate. He didn't have any business inside the inner parts of Mucktown.
Instead, he wanted to visit the circus, which was located outside the rockwall.
He needed to visit someone to learn more about what happened.
Siderius found his way back to the circus. It was a large collection of tents, the largest of which was their performance stage. Surrounding the performance tent were smaller, individual tents of each performance group.
The fancier the tent, the more successful the performer was.
Siderius stayed in the shadows and observed the circus. He was waiting for the right opportunity.
The night was young and the people were still enjoying themselves. It was the weekend, the time that people gathered at the circus to please themselves, to forget about the chaos and unfairness of this society.
The person that he wanted to find was probably performing right now. He looked into the circus via its main entrance, the light and applause of the crowd made him nostalgic.
It was only a few nights ago that he still bathed himself under the spotlight and the praise of the audience. Everything changed so quickly.
Now he wasn't simply just an actor anymore. He was also a cold soul of another world.
The Siderius' part of him found this amusing. He had never felt such gravity toward anything. The only thing he cared about was eternal life.
And the show ended after a while and the audience scattered out from under the tents like ants. A lot of the commoners came here for entertainment. The other parts of society wouldn't go into this 'low' establishment.
Siderius also saw the performers go out via the opposite exit and return to their individual tents.
The jugglers, the clowns, the acrobats, the magicians and the dancers.
It was ironic that commoners went to see a magician do fake magic when the real thing was everywhere and soaked into the base of their reality.
But it wasn't the magicians that Siderius came for. It was the dancers. One dancer in particular.
Amy of Mucktown. The witness that had shown up just in time to see Siderius' criminal act.
It was too good of a timing to be passed as coincidence. Siderius suspected she was in on the conspiracy and therefore, he wanted information from her.
From the shadow, Siderius could see her large puffy pink hairs amongst the other dancers. They all had these big wigs with fancy colors on their heads. But Amy always wore a pink one.
Amy and the dancers went into their tents to strip off of their performing clothes before returning to their individual tents.
Siderius didn't strike yet. He waited until everyone was asleep.
The night grew old and the moon flew high. The only noise around the circus was the chirr of the crickets.
The time had come and Siderius removed himself from the shadow. He tiptoed on his feet to avoid making noise and crouched down to reduce his visibility. Most of the tents were dark but a few were still lit. He didn't want to alert anyone.
He carefully approached Amy's tent. The smell of perfume and makeup went up to his nose. An unfamiliar scent to his usual taste of woods, iron and chemicals.
But he wasn't alone. The tent was opened even before he entered. The entrance was slashed through by a sharp blade, leaving the fabric dangling freely in the air.
Something had definitely gone wrong.
Siderius moved quickly and went inside.
Amy was dead.
She was stabbed right through the heart with one precise thrust. Blood gushed out of her chest and flowed over her night gown.
His lead was dead and he wouldn't be able to learn more about what happened.
"Tch." Siderius clicked his tongue. He had made a mistake. Declaring his presence toward Lyara might have caused this situation.
She could have sent an assassin to kill the only witness. The one person that could bring the truth out to the public.
Behind Amy's pack was a man-sized hole cut out on the tent. Siderius could see a shadow moving in the night, it was a man.
He rushed forward, getting past the cold corpse of Amy, and following the assassin.
He made his presence known as his feet were not silent, they were only quick.
The assassin turned his back and saw him.
The assassin wore an all black attire with a mask that covered his face. His clothes were similar to Siderius but lacked the defensive capability of the hunter uniform.
Siderius also covered his face but with a blue-colored half scarf instead of a mask.
"Who are you?" The assassin didn't stop running but he spoke back. "I didn't know there was another who was on the job."
Siderius didn't answer. He tried his best to catch up with the assassin but it was clear that he was slower.
"You're not gonna catch me with those feet! Bugs off!"
The assassin climbed over the low fence that ran around the circus. It was at this time that Siderius got close enough to use his sigil.
He didn't need to catch up in melee range. He just needed to be close enough to use
The V with a straight line in the middle lit up in the air.
The assassin felt the utmost dizziness and fell from the fence to the ground, stopping his escape. He quickly got back on his feet but Siderius had already reached him.
The hunter jumped over the fence and drew his sword.
"Who sent you?!" Siderius screamed. The rage was coming from Snow.
Siderius slashed at the assassin but his attack didn't work this time.
Even though the assassin was still being affected by Vertigo, he pulled through and drew his dagger. The assassin blocked Siderius' blow just in time and slapped his sword away.
The assassin countered with a horizontal slash. The slash was quick and precise, aiming directly at Siderius' neck.
His hunter uniform has a thick and high collar but it wouldn't block all the force from this strike. If he was hit by this, he might not be dead but surely he would receive a not-so-gentle wound.
The assassin smirked, "You should have minded your own business, boy!"