I, who had lived only one night in this world, was now out on the streets of a bustling tourist city.
It was one thing to read about a city, it was another to actually see it with your eyes.
Among the people walking along the streets, there would be a few gentlemen passing who were dressed in Loen style suits. As for the natives and mix bloods, they preferred a different sort of fashion.
They would wear loose, baggy pants, and shirt over, which they covered with thick jackets. While the Loen fashion heavily used solid black colour, the native fashion seemed to avoid that, they liked wearing browns and grey more.
Of course, I knew all of this from Lorenzo's memories already, but it was a different thing to see it, and confirm it with my own eyes.
That was also the reason that I was wearing somewhat old, but clean native style clothing. It was to keep a low profile, and blend in with the crowd. Assassin and Instigator were the only sequences in which I could do something like this. The day I become a Witch, staying low profile or hiding in the crowd would be nigh impossible.
The Rorsted natives had brown, bronze like skin, the kind one would get by working in the sun for long. This may make one think that I, who looked as whitewashed as beef tallow, would appear out of place. But the truth of the matter was that, most mix bloods easily covered the skin tone difference between the Natives and Loenese, or other Caucasians from the Northern Continent.
And on top of that, many people that came here from the Northern Continent would choose to dress like the locals, because it was simply less eye catching, and way more comfortable than a tuxedo suit.
As much as I liked classic suits, they were definitely not the best kind of clothing for combat, unless you were a Seer pathway beyonder. The abilities of a Clown are very flexible.
I walked some distance to the main street, from where I took an individual carriage to the Red Theatre.
Of course, my goal was not the Red Theatre itself.
After reaching the area, I circled the streets for about 5 minutes, before turning into an empty alleyway. It was a narrow, dark area filled with various dislikable smells.
Using the Assassin's ability, I became one with the shadows, and used my spiritual intuition to reach the street side of the buildings that formed the alley. There, I sneaked into a gift shop.
The gift shop was manned by an old man who looked to be in his 60s. Finding the shop empty, I took my time to slowly reveal myself. As my figure gradually appeared in front of him, the man's eyes widened in astonishment, and his mouth gaped for two seconds, before he closed it and held back his surprise.
Fully visible now, I took off my cap, and gave the man a little bow with a small smile.
"Good morning, Old Man Osmil."
"Haa, you gave me a fright Li'l Lorenzo. To think you would become a beyonder this fast."
"The captain gave me an opportunity, and I decided to take it."
I walked closer to him, and we shook hands.
Old Man Osmil was one of the few local contacts the crew of Black Death had in Bayam.
He was a native of Bayam, and was secretly part of the Resistance that formed to oppose the Loen's colonisation. Since the Black Death's fleet occasionally provided support and rations to the cause, the Old Man's goals aligned with those of the Captain, and he became one of the informants on the Island.
When Lorenzo had come to Bayam to become an adventurer, several months ago, the man made him do some errands before introducing him to the Second Mate of Black Death.
"Is there some particular news going around these days? Some rumour?"
The Old Man shook his head, and replied.
"There isn't much for now, although I've heard that Steel Maveti has set foot in the city yesterday. There isn't much information available about why he is here right now, but it could be anything."
I nodded to the man, and looked around at the shop. It wasn't a particularly big shop, but the man made enough profits to be able to donate some of it to the Resistance.
"I'll need you to safe keep my suitcase for me, while I go and do some errands."
I handed him my suitcase, which was simply full of a few changes of clothes, and some trinkets that Lorenzo owned. As for my weapons, I had everything on my self. Of course, I didn't have much, but these cargo pants that the natives wore had a lot of pockets, which made them convenient to hide weapons in.
I had 3 knives hidden in my pockets, and some poisoned needles, and my revolver strapped to a shoulder holster hidden inside my jacket. Of course, it was corked on an empty round.
Feeling light and free after handing off my luggage, I decided to get out of the place.
"Alright, then I'll see you again in a few days, Old Man."
"Good luck Li'l Lorenzo, I hope you stay alive doing whatever you do."
After bidding the old man farewell, I took a public carriage and headed towards the Swordfish Bar.
Along the way, I got off near the Bayam post office, and sent a letter to the Stoen City of East Chester County. It was a letter to Lorenzo's home, where his mother, who was a kindergarten teacher, and his father, who worked as an accountant, lived. He wanted to convince them of good things about Bayam over time, so that he could make them move here before the October of 1350, when the World War would begin.
Considering that this Island was first protected by the Sea King Jahn Kottman, then became the centre of the Church of The Fool, it was by far one of the safest places in the world. Even though I myself felt little about his folks at the moment, as someone who took over Lorenzo's life, I felt responsible to make sure that they stayed safe.
Sending off the letter, I went straight to the Swordfish bar next.
I didn't really have any particular plans about whether I wanted to do something there or not, I just wanted to pass some time till it was evening, after which I could go and find my first two targets.
Since it was still just approaching afternoon, the bar was sparsely filled, and most people were there either for food or early drinks, with a few who came to look at the job boards.
The Swordfish bar had three blackboards supported by wooden shelves. Sitting on them were yellowing notices in white, with a variety of content, strange and varied.
Some were hiring bodyguards, some were seeking help in finding people, some were investigating the situation on a particular island, while a few were offering a high reward for the head of a particular pirate.
The place was more bustling than what one would expect from a normal bar in the early day.
I casually walked towards the bar counter, and sat down on a stool.
"A glass of Zarhar."
I placed my hand on the counter to support my chin as I tilted my head, and tapped the counter with my other hand.
"Three pence."
The bartender cast a look at me, not showing any change in his expression. After he gave me a glass of beer, he went back to doing what he was doing.
Zarhar was a locally produced malt beer of Bayam, and it was quite loved by the adventurers here.
Holding the glass, I casually sipped on it, letting the taste and froth of malt travel down my gullet.
In the meanwhile, I was strengthening my sense of hearing to listen to any particular pieces of information I may catch from the few conversations.
After about half an hour, I put down my empty glass, and left the bar.
It seemed like the news of the Great Smog of Backlund had finally reached Bayam.
Next, I headed to the Teana Inn, whose location I remembered from Lorenzo's memories, and got a second class suite. After having breakfast at the inn's restaurant, I went up to my room.
It was time to wind down, relax, and plan.
So far, I had come up with a rough plan, first, I would hunt the two pirates who had offended Mithor King, since they were not beyonders, nor did they have any particularly strong backing.
Then, I would go after the suspected Marauder, Big Nose Freddy, who'd once stolen the Second Mate, Allen Bower's pocket watch.
It was only then, that I planned to go after the Sequence 8 Swindler. I was also hoping that by doing the hopefully easier hunts first, I would save enough Assassin points to buy a few charms from the system.
After formulating the details of my plans, I gradually fell asleep.
By the time I woke up, it was already 4 in the evening. My next step was to have a late lunch, then head back to the Swordfish bar to hopefully find something more useful this time, since the crowds would be gathering now, with the evening coming.