Hugo nodded. The man led the trio into a long, narrow room hidden behind a thick covering of curtains. The place was air-conditioned and adorned with fancy lights. The siblings noticed many powerful mystical charms on the shelves on either side.
Eventually, they noticed the man sitting behind a table at the far edge of the room. By the lines on his face, whiteness in hair, and the receding hair line, he looked more than half a century old. He was wearing a burgundy three-piece suit and had glasses on. A derby hat was hung from a hanger on the wall behind him which had the name of the establishment written on it – The Constellation. There were some books on his table, but all the covers had been hidden with tapes. There was an ashtray on one edge of the table beside a telephone.
As Hugo, Camille, and Neil approached, the suited man placed the cigarette in his hand on the edge of the ashtray and subtly pushed his chair back.
The salesman went and whispered something in the senior man's ear and then quietly walked outside.
"Good day, folks," he said, getting up. "I am the owner of this shop. My associate tells me you are in need of a levitation charm?"
"We are," Hugo said with a nod. His siblings noticed that he talked in a different, lower-pitched voice. "It has been a while since I last visited the bazaar – more than half a decade actually."
"Ah, I see now. A lot has changed since, sir. Common commodities have become rare jewels and rarities have become extinct."
"What do you mean?"
The man walked over, walked past the Zeta Squad members, and picked a box up from behind them. As he blew on it, a puff of dust rose from the top. After further dusting it off with his handkerchief, he opened it and showed it to Hugo. "This is the last one I have."
"That's a charm alright," said Hugo moving closer. He picked it up and examined it closely. "How much did you say you want for this?"
"I didn't say anything, sir."
"Hmm…" Hugo showed it to Neil who nodded. It was an actual charm of levitation which could give its wielder the powers of stable flight by creating Ki-charged air pockets.
"I don't remember coming here before," the Zaatsu said, looking at the shop owner. "But I did hear about a man by the name of Moro who always had charms of all sorts for sale."
"You are well informed, my friend," he replied, smiling, and extended a handshake. "Moro Gonzalez, at your service."
"Then tell me the price of this charm, Mr Gonzalez."
Moro smirked. "Only two thousand…"
The Zaatsu jerked his head forward, eyes wide. "What?! Levitation charms are not that rare."
"You really need to ask around, wizard," Moro said with a loud chuckle. "Back when you last visited, yes, they were not that rare. But I alone sold more than five thousand levitation charms in the period between '03 and late '05!"
"How come?"
"I am but a humble collector and a profiteer, sir. I don't ask such cumbersome questions. My business flourished in the period, and I couldn't care less about anything else."
The trio began looking at each other.
"So, will you pay the price?" he asked further.
"Mr Gonzalez," said Hugo, turning towards him. "I hear you also deal in information."
"Hmm… I do actually."
"Then tell me how many charms in total were picked up from your outlets in the bazaar in that same time period?"
"Ha-ha-ha," Moro laughed and took his glasses off. "Thousands upon thousands of 'em."
"And why did the sales go up so fast?"
"Oh, I'm afraid I cannot tell you that. My hands are tied, sir."
"I am willing to pay you."
"Even if you pay me ten times more than the amount for the charm, I will still not be able to help."
"Then perhaps that will be all," said the senior Zaatsu and put his left hand out. Leaning ahead, Moro grabbed it with both his hands.
Standing on the captain's right, Neil could not see, but Camille saw the shop owner putting away two peculiar-looking gold coins in his pockets.
"A token of thanks," Hugo said, smiling. "Just don't tell anyone that someone came looking for a levitation charm."
Half-bowed, Moro nodded. "You are too kind."
Leaving the Constellation, the trio moved farther into the bazaar and stopped and sat at an eatery called 'Chai Ki Dukan'. It was a busy tea shop. From the English breakfast, the Japanese Sencha, African Mint tea, Chai from the Indian subcontinent, and the Chinese Jasmine, all varieties were served and were highly acclaimed by all visitors. The outlet also sold cakes, pastries, pies, and other baked items.
Hugo ordered three cups of mint tea and some doughnuts.
"Keep the cloaking spells on, guys." The captain removed his scarf and pushed himself back in his chair.
Camille and Neil slowly sat on the two other chairs around the small table in front of their brother.
"So, we're just having tea," Neil quietly said. "I thought we came looking for the Hearth."
Hugo shrugged. "We just confirmed their presence. Did we not?"
"But why are we drinking tea?"
"Ah." After a sigh, he chuckled. "Memories… terrible little things."
Camille leaned ahead, smiling. "You used to come here with Lana, didn't you?"
Hugo looked away. "Her favourite tea spot in the world…"
Neil pushed himself ahead and placed both wrists on the table. But before he could say anything, Camille placed a hand on his knee and squeezed hard.
He met her eyes; she mouthed, 'shut it or I will kill you!'
The tea and doughnuts were served soon. Neil took a sip and nodded. "No surprises there. This is good stuff."
"Alright." Hugo took a sip and placed the cup of tea on the table. "Let's get down to it."
"Right."
"When I fought him, Derek was wearing the Charms of Zeke and the Minotaur." He leaned in. "His wizards were wearing charmed attire as well. Faris gave me a few details."
Camille nodded. "Yup. Their defensive strength was amped up."
"Well, we need to gather intel about all these charms and we'll have to ask around for the stuff. But we're looking for similar items to see if they have or had the things we are actually looking for. Have a doughnut."
He pushed the plate towards Neil who picked one. Camille was already having one. He turned to her and said, "Cami, you have learned a lot about magical artifacts. I want you to roam around and see what you can find. Don't ask specifically about any particular charm. The market has many different outlets but functions pretty much as a single entity. The moment you start looking for something, many sellers get notified of it. So, you need to ask for the best defensive charms at one shop and then for a Ki repellent at another… just nothing specific. Understood?"
She nodded and said, "And strength enhancers or Ki multipliers, I get it."
"Hold on a minute." With a narrowed gaze, Neil stared at his brother. "Weren't we looking for Vincent?"
Hugo took another sip. "They looked for Vincent for months, Neil. Nothing. Couldn't even find a trace. The Order tried their way to allow two Zaatsus to finally book a meeting with him but what happened? He beat the living daylights out of them and escaped. The only way we were able to get him was by understanding what he wanted and then standing in his way. Right now, we don't know what he wants. But I think there is a good chance that if we learn more about the Devil's Hearth, we'll end up in his way again."
"Is that why you're looking for the Devil's Hearth?" Camille asked.
"That too. Primarily, we're looking to understand how a bunch of wizards were able to acquire so many charms, illegal enhancement charms without alerting the Eye."
Looking at Neil, the captain said, "You can also look for the charms and stuff but first, find a man who goes by the name of Argus Spencer. Tall, slim as a toothpick, bald at the top, and whatever hair he has on his face must have gone completely white by now – the guy is of Northern European origins and sells more defensive charms than anyone I am aware of."
He waited a few moments and took a few sips. "And one more thing." The senior Zaatsu looked around for a few moments before turning back to his siblings. "You might encounter a man by the name of Samir Haddad – a short gorilla."
Camille smiled. "Gorilla?"
"Mm-hmm. He's one of the hairiest men I've ever seen in my life."
"Oh… yikes."
"He's hardly five feet tall, usually sells lies, but he knows a lot about the business in this bazaar. He will be wearing a Keffiyeh and an old Hawaiian t-shirt. If you find him, without saying anything else, offer him exactly three small coins and one large coin and ask him 'Where is the Devil's Hearth?'... If he knows something, he'll cough it up. Got it?"
"Small coins, large coins?" Camille raised just one eyebrow. "What does that mean?"
"Look behind you…"
The siblings turned around.
Hugo leaned closer. "Do you see that square shop with the sign on top that says the Obol Vault?"
They nodded. The shop was busier than most but was the only one with an actual line and people being served one after the other.
"Do you know what it is?"
The duo looked back at him. "What?" asked Camille.
"That's a currency exchange. All the currencies of the world are accepted there on the day's open market rates and are exchanged for Obols – gold coins with a silver centre and a drop of water engraved on them – the currency of the Moving Bazaar."
The Zaatsu then brought out a bag of these coins from his pocket and placed it on the table. "Take it," he said. "There's 10 large coins and 18 small ones in it."
Neil observed the bag and then looked at his step-brother. "But you didn't go to any exchange…"
Hugo paused for a few moments too many, but then quickly said, "The last time I was here…" After taking a deep breath, he added, "Now, finish up your tea and get going."
"What about you?" asked Camille. "Where will you go?"
"I will look for an old acquaintance… he might have some answers for us. After that I will also look for Samir and Spencer."
Finishing up, the trio got up. "Stay alert and be careful," the captain warned. "And let's meet up back here in an hour."
They agreed, finished their tea, and disappeared into separate veins of the Moving Bazaar.