Lith spent his morning visiting the small bookshops located in the city's middle rim . Othre was divided into three areas . The outer rim, where Lith resided, was the biggest and the poorest one .
It was where the commoners lived and the warehouses were located . Unless one possessed many dimensional items, moving huge loads of merchandise required wagons and draft animals .
The former generated intense traffic that made it almost impossible to walk during the busiest hours of the day despite the large roads and sidewalks . The latter naturally produced a pungent smell that would make even a stable boy puke his guts out .
The houses were one or two stories high, made of stone or wood based on the owner's income . There was not a single empty space between them . Warehouses were easily recognizable by their huge size and double doors to allow carriages to easily get in and out at all times .
The closest a warehouse was to the city gates, the more expensive it was, whereas for housings the opposite was true . The smell was a big deterrent, that was why Lith's hotel was located in a small street were carriages couldn't pass, away from the warehouses .
The middle rim was occupied by merchants' shops, craftsmen's and artists' workshops . Only the middle class could afford a house there . They were all at least two stories high, each with a private garden .
The middle rim's streets were too narrow for carriages, only stagecoaches were small enough to pass . Small parks were present every few blocks, to give some space for the children to play and a place for the travelers to rest in the shade of trees during the hottest hours of the day .
The inner rim was where the rich, the nobles, and the mages resided . There weren't houses as much as mansions . Unlike Belius, the taller a building, the richer was the household .
Lith avoided big shops because they had the necessary staff to go through all their merchandise . They were bound to identify real books about magic and sell them to the Association that held the monopoly of the mystical knowledge .
Small shops, instead, would buy more books than they could handle . With a bit of luck, one could find a precious tome cataloged as a diary or even in the bargain bin . Many mages mixed research and personal life in their writings, others used such convoluted technical jargon that a layman would easily mistake it for gibberish .
It was the reason why unless those books had some drawings, no one would give them a second look . Lith could only once again curse at the city arrays when his communication amulet interrupted his fruitless research .
Normally, he would store a book in Soluspedia and search its contents in an instant before deciding if it was worth buying or not . The dimensional magic lock forced him to actually read them one by one in what he considered a colossal waste of time .
The first call came from the army . Kamila notified Lith that the Commander had agreed with the Association's terms and ordered him to talk with their representative .
The second one was from Mage Dorian Felhorn, who gave him an appointment at the local branch of the Mage Association, located in the inner rim . The building consisted of a three stories small castle built with reddish stones .
Each of its four corners was occupied by a small tower surmounted with a blue mana crystal .
A middle aged clerk led Lith in an office located on the ground floor . The room's walls were covered by bookshelves, the only source of lighting was a magical chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling .
Dorian welcomed Lith and invited him to sit on one of the armchairs in front of his black mahogany desk .
To Lith Dorian said: "First of all, know that you are currently relieved from your role in the army until the end of the conversation . I'm not speaking with the Ranger, but with the Great Mage . "
"Why am I here?" Lith asked while feeling more comfortable . The Association worked on a voluntary basis . They couldn't order around members that didn't seek an active role in their ranks .
Dorian explained to him the reasons for the Association's decline and how they hoped to solve Othre's current crisis to avoid being swallowed by the army .
"That's the reason you need me . " Lith shook his head . "I am asking you why I should accept . "
Dorian had yet to explain the nature of the crisis and felt already up against a wall . The Association could award merits, not money and Lith had no use for them . The knowledge he sought needed the approval of both the army and the Association .
He had already earned the necessary clearance level from the Association's side, which left them with a bad hand . Merits could be traded in exchange for noble titles and their connected lands . Usually, they were the Association's greatest bargain chip .
Unluckily, Lith had already refused a noble title twice, so offering him one was meaningless . They couldn't afford to offer him money off the books . If exposed, the scandal would bury them for good .
'He doesn't care for the power balance in the Kingdom . Judging from the invoice he submitted for healing innocents and how he left a dozen of people stuck in the concrete for hours, I'd say there is no better nature I can appeal to . ' Dorian inwardly sighed .
'It's time to let the dragon know we have his egg . '
"The situation is dire . Countless lives are at stake and if the news of it spreads, panic could make more victims than our invisible enemy . Someone is killing people for unknown reasons . We have lots of corpses but so far we've failed to understand what's happening . "
"If you refuse to answer, then I'll take my leave . " Lith stood up, tired of hearing nonsense .
"We need the best diagnosticians in the Kingdom . " Dorian grabbed Lith's arm and felt his hostility growing . A saner man would have jumped away, but Felhorn had no qualms putting his life on the line .
"That's why we have hired Professor Manohar from the White Griffon…" Lith freed his arm and walked away .
"…and Mage Verhen as his assistant . " Those words froze Lith in place and with him the mana in the room .
"What did you say?" There was no rage in his voice, yet the room felt colder and the lights dimmed like a setting sun .
"Mage Tista Verhen volunteered the moment she heard about the situation . If I'm right, there is a monster hiding inside the walls of Othre . If I'm wrong, we could be facing another plague . " Dorian put emphasis in each of his words yet he could tell that Lith wasn't listening .
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Lith clapped his hands while a creepy smile appeared on his face .
"Well played . Now I only have two choices . Either I walk away, leaving my sister in the hands of an incompetent paper pusher and a madman, or I help you . I accept the job . Beware, though, because this kind of tricks only works once .
"Once I explain Tista how you manipulated her, I can guarantee you that neither of us will ever help the Association again . Also, now I know what to ask the next time the King wants to award me with something . "
Lith slowly passed his thumb along his neck before slamming the door behind his back and alerting his handler he wouldn't leave Othre for a while .
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