When A Mage Revolts

"So you’re saying, you previously met a woman in her twenties with blond hair, blue eyes, a sharp chin, and a very weird voice?" Varys and Benjamin stood together in the biggest Potions Shop in Garter. They repressed their excitement as they asked the slightly baffled shopkeeper.

Since they arrived in the city, they worked separately as merchants. Varys gave them a simple briefing on ‘How To Be Travelling Merchants’, so there was not much problem in the acting department. Thus, they could communicate with the locals naturally, and carefully prod information about the ‘dame’ and Augustine without exposing their identities.

Varys and Benjamin ended up in the Potion Shop in the city. The shop was opened specially for mages and mercenaries, and they went there to find clues and also to deal with the stockpile of beginner potions that were produced by the two new potion masters. Originally, they did not have much expectations. The mages did not get anything despite their efforts on the way here, and they were starting to suspect the ‘dame’ of using some sort of disguise to cover all the features that they managed to interrogate out from the bandits. That could maybe explain why they could not get anything.

They never dreamt that they would come across the long-awaited clue here in this beautifully renovated Potions Shop.

"Ah…. Yes, she was a very beautiful lady." The shopkeeper nodded, his eyes questioning. "Don’t you have a bunch of Healing Potions to sell at a low price? Why did you ask this out of the blue?"

"She’s a niece of mine," Varys answered, unfazed by the question, "One of my merchant ships went missing some time ago. She went missing too, so we are very anxious to get her back. It is not easy for us to get any news about her, so we couldn’t help but ask more. Did you really see her before?"

Varys even looked pained when he said that. Benjamin hurriedly performed in tandem and patted Varys’ shoulders sympathetically to comfort him.

"Is that so?" The shopkeeper looked troubled after he was presented with the piece of information. "I did meet her, but you’re probably going to be sadder after you heard what I saw. I think she might be intentionally avoiding contact with you."

Varys shook his head. "It’s fine. Just say it, I know who she is."

The shopkeeper glanced around before he spoke softly, "So you did know that she eloped with someone?"

…..Elope? Benjamin and Varys shared a look.

"I know, I know. This matter is unpleasant to the ears, and you’re definitely devastated by it." The shopkeeper sighed, but his voice was laced with gossip when he asked, "That lady first got into a fight with a man in our shop before chasing him. They ran down the street and caused quite a ruckus."

Both Benjamin and Varys looked even more mystified. At that instant, Benjamin had a fleeting suspicion that this shopkeeper might have mistaken the lady. Was the lady in his words a different woman entirely? Why else would the development of events be so bizarre?

"I have a question," Benjamin asked after some thought. He briefly described Augustine’s physical appearance. "Was the man with him a middle-aged man nearing his forties, with average height, brown hair, and a hump on his nose?" If the shopkeeper was indeed describing the ‘dame’ and Augustine, Benjamin will be required to carefully consider the situation, and if there was a need to continue their pursuit.

Thankfully, the shopkeeper shook his head. "No, he looked very young," he said, "His has ash brown hair, and he’s quite tall. If he wasn’t radiating laziness in his every move, I would’ve thought that they look quite compatible with each other!"

Both of them frowned again. What happened here? They were relieved when they confirmed that the man was not Augustine, but consequently, they now have an unidentified person to deal with.

Who is he? The woman’s accomplice? A partnership was involved now, what exactly did they want to achieve? All of these questions added another layer of mystery to the events.

"Then did you find a huge box or a sack with my niece?" Varys hesitated for a moment before he posed the question.

"Yup!" The shopkeeper cheerfully answered, "Both of them had a cart with them, and on it were loads of sacks that were filled to the brim. What, are those goods that she stole from you?"

Varys nodded in understanding, looking pained by the information. There was a high probability that Augustine was stuffed into one of the sacks after he was knocked out. He was probably gagged too, which rendered him unable to cast spells and use magic.

Suddenly, Benjamin’s face changed slightly as he asked solemnly, "The man with her, does he have green eyes, a really short haircut, and a light scar behind his ear?"

The shopkeeper’s eyes grew wide as he nodded, "Yeah! You know him too? To be honest, if he had not been arguing with the woman in the store for quite a long time, I wouldn’t even notice the scar."

Benjamin looked conflicted after that. He did not say anything after that. He smiled politely at the shopkeeper, while he chuckled darkly to himself.

That’s right. He would not be able to discover the scar if he did not take his time to observe the person while he was frozen in ice.

Varys, who was listening to the conversation, gazed at Benjamin. He looked confused, and it was evident that he has no idea why Benjamin asked this question out of the blue. Who were they talking about? Did he make an appearance before this? He had no way of asking those questions in the present setting, though.

No one was speaking all in a sudden. It was awkward for a moment, and Varys immediately put on his professional smile, "Thank you so much for providing us these information. If I manage to find her, I will definitely show you my appreciation. However, we shall move on and discuss about the potions now."

The shopkeeper was taken aback for a moment, but he smiled right after. "Alright, I’m glad to be of help. Now, about the potions, the price we offer in this shop is…."

The topic of the conversation was successfully steered away just like that, and Varys adopted his merchant self and started a price negotiation on the potions with the shopkeeper. Meanwhile, Benjamin stood by the side, a diplomatic smile still on his face. His eyes, however, were focused on an empty spot. No one had any idea what he was pondering.

The deal was made approximately half an hour later. The Healing Potions were probably too basic for any arguments to be made for the price. Thus, no matter how many years of merchant experience Varys had under his belt, he had no power to boost up the price. They settled on selling all of the Healing Potions for around 100 gold coins. They left the shop right after that.

When they left, the shopkeeper happily wished them a good luck in finding the ‘niece’ as soon as possible. What a nosy, virtuous man.

Soon, Benjamin and a confused Varys returned to the inn.

"Sir Benjamin, what happened? Do you know the person the shopkeeper was describing? The accomplice?" Varys blurted after he made sure that no one was listening, no longer able to keep his bewilderment in check.

Benjamin heaved a sigh as he shook his head.

"I wouldn’t be so troubled if I really did know him," Benjamin explained after some thoughts, "This person….. When we just arrived in Icor, there was a person who showed up within the troops of the Queen at night. We had not reached the Town of Hank at the time, and he disguised himself as a lost merchant. He came to our camp grounds and…"

Benjamin briefly explained the situation at that time, and told Varys about how easily the man struggled out of the ice seal before disappearing without a trace. Varys was very surprised by the amount of power he had, and he looked scared by it.

However, Benjamin did not tell Varys about the content on the piece of cloth that the man left behind.

The mysterious youth who appeared with the dame was the only person who knew to address Benjamin as ‘Benjamin Lithur’ these days.