"We are here."
The voice of Jasper was low and sharp.
Vince peered ahead. The next thing that presented to him was a small alleyway, all the walls of which were lined with doors opening into little shops. In the rear of this, at the back of the middle, was a pile of papers, piled up, like a barricade.
This is really it? Vince thought.
They had made allot of short-cuts on the road they had followed, bobbing through the dead quarter of Gita, of which whose not to pass.
"Where is it? And what is there I should take my book and you leave your rifle? Also, how come this place is so shady when all we are receiving are weapons? Vince asked.
Jasper looked at him with flicking eyes, and replied. He cleared his throat.
"Well, first, you must take your book. If any one steals it, or break it, dreadful misery will happen to you. In the case of my rifle, I can leave it since I will be alright without it. Now I am a Second Stacker, so I have two artifacts. My rifle will gradually disappear into my Stacker Archive. So, and about this location, we are not registered to any system or familiar network. If we attempt to purchase arms in a regular store we would be shot to death. Hiding stackers do not last long when they are discovered. Which is why we are at th eblack market."
Stacker Archive? There his artifacts are kept. Wait, said he, just a minute ago, that he just turned into a Second Stacker?
Vince squinting down, said, What the hell do you mean you just became a Second Stacker?
Jasper looked at him a long time, and then, drawing up his shirt, he walked away. underneath was a holser, containing a furling revolver. Mist was twisting round the weapon, as though it were sucking Jasper himself. Vince knew it at a glance, it was the revolver he had discovered in the house.
"Since we made the deal, I decided to take the revolver in," Jasper explained. "It's an unholy one, tied to something beyond us. From the split second I glimpsed it, I could tell it was connected to the Devil of Gluttony."
It tightened his chest and Vince stared with eyes that were wide. The object which may have belonged to him.
Amazing… he thought.
"Oh, here."
Jasper put his hand back in his pocket and threw a pouch to Vince. Twenty gold coins were in the inside.
"This can get you at least something good."
The lips of Vince curled in a little smile and he examined the coins, his fingers moving over the lines etched on them.
In the meantime Jasper walked briskly forward toward the piles of paper. He took hold of the pile and dragged it down and a swirling black mist came pouring out of the wall.
Vince froze.
What the hell?
Jasper went in, and Vince went after him.
The instant he came through, he saw no more of the world, but black mist. Then a shock struck him, one that went all through his body. His legs, feet, chest, and head all itched as though that were torture.
He wanted to groan but clenched his teeth, forcing himself to hold it back.
Jasper saw him, and pat him on the back.
"I am sorry, you shall make this hurt each time you meet with anything supernatural,"he said in his deep steady voice.
"It fucking hurts!" Vince screamed a cry of pleading and his voice broke. "Who's doing this?!"
Jasper lowered himself and leveled his gaze.
"It's a Fourth Stacker. This entire space we are in is created by the black haze he can create- or she can create. It even covers our faces too. Come on, I'll help you up."
Jasper lifted Vince on his feet. Vince tried to steady himself by pouring sweat down his face.
Ahead of them stood a man. The same black fog covered his face and body, but his arms had not been covered.
The voice of the man was normal and there was a casual nature.
"One gold coin, please."
Vince blinked in disbelief.
One coin just to enter?!
He dropped into his pocket and feebly drew out one of the coins that Jasper had handed over to him. The man got it out of his hand, and Jasper did the same. Then the figure indicated some dark corner.
Vince and Jasper strode in that direction.
Something altogether different was on the other side. The floor was changed to smooth and polished brown. It was a spacious room, with unlimited series of stands. The stalls were dimly lit, and each stall had a tint of color, and a shady men and woman stood in it, whose face and body was covered with a veil of mists. There were thousands of buyers circling them, with their heads covered in the same way.
Vince staggered, finally letting go of Jasper's grip. He took in a big breath of air, still hurting but forcing himself to push forward. The book weighed in his right hand.
Jasper's voice came low.
"First thing you need before a weapon is a book holder. Everyone's different, but a good one should be about one silver."
They proceeded until they came to a stall piled up with book holders of every type. The shelves were lined with different sizes and shapes.
Vince searched them until his gaze rested on one of the fat black ones. He pointed at it.
The seller joined his hands.
"Oh, what a lovely choice! This carrier is comprised of high quality leather. It'll cost one silver."
Vince drew out one of his gold pieces, and handed it over to the seller. The man was not visible to give any reaction through the fog.
To this the seller went to the back of the stall, retrieved the black holder and gave it to Vince. At that he slipped nineteen pieces of silver into the palm of Vince.
"Delight to sell to you, sir!" said the dealer.