Jack turned his attention back to the mask, the sleek, blackened steel one he was already holding. That’s enough for now, he thought, returning to the counter. “Alright, I’ll take this mask, gloves, and the arrows,” he said, placing the items on the counter.

  The merchant gave a satisfied smile. “Good choice. That mask’s enchanted, you know; runes worked into the inside.” He flipped the mask over to show Jack the rune enchantments. “Durability and improved sight runes, plus a handy little air filter rune.” He drew his finger along the various runes as he explained. “Keeps out airborne poisons, blinding powders, it combats anything unpleasant floating in the air.” He sniffed. “I used to use one just like this. Not bad for 40 silvers, eh?”

  Jack blinked. “Wait, 40? That’s… that’s a lot for a mask.” He’d failed to look at the price tag and had assumed it would cost no more than 10 silvers. It was a plain mask.

  The merchant gave a shrug. “Quality’s quality, friend. You want some flimsy tin plate? Go to the market stalls. You want something that’ll stop you coughing your guts out after someone tosses a blinding powder at your face?” He spread his arms wide. “You shop here.”

  Jack exhaled through his nose. “Fine. Mask for 40 silvers.” He gestured at a small display to the side. “What about those smoke pellets?”

  “10 coppers each,” the merchant said. “Cheap batch. Don’t expect fancy effects. They’ll give you a little cover, a few seconds of distraction, that’s all. If you want better.” He pointed to a similar box of pellets. “Those would fill a room this size for over thirty seconds and irritate the eyes of anyone without protection.” He tapped the mask. “Only 1 silver each.”

  Jack grabbed some cheap smoke pellets and set them on the counter. “Five of these.”

  The old man shook his head.

  “And those blinding powders?” Jack asked, eyeing small leather pouches tied with black cord, stacked behind the counter.

  The shopkeeper’s grin widened. “20 coppers each. They’re the weak hallucinogenic ones. Won’t do much against seasoned warriors, but toss it at a common thug or guard? They’ll be seeing double for a minute or two. Might even run screaming to their mommy if they’re the jittery type.”

  Jack chuckled at the imagery. “I’ll take five.”

  “We’ve a batch of stronger blinding powders due in tomorrow, 30 coppers each, stronger hallucinogen,” the old man explained.

  The merchant raised an eyebrow as Jack’s hand drifted to a pile of rolled maps.

  “Local underground routes of Lundun,” the man said. “Sewers, hidden alleys, and old smugglers’ tunnels. 50 silvers for the set. And before you try to haggle, no, I don’t sell them piecemeal. And no, they’re not copied cheaply. I pay good coin to get the latest updates. You won’t find better outside the great noble houses.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Jack frowned, calculating in his head. “50 silvers just for the maps?” He’d purchased maps in his past life, and they’d been invaluable for tracking Greaves. He had the future maps and routes memorised, but he needed the current maps, not ones of Lundun twenty-five years in the future.

  “Knowledge saves lives, friend,” the merchant said, his voice a little softer now. “I’ve seen more people get themselves killed stumbling blind through this city than I can count. You don’t want to be one of them. Knowledge is power.” He tapped his temple.

  Jack bit his lip, groaning at the cost, but nodded. “Knowledge is power,” he echoed.

  The total cost rattled through his head.

  Maps, 50 silvers.

  Mask, 40 silvers.

  Leather gloves, 5 silvers.

  Dozen arrows, 1 silver, and 44 coppers.

  Five blinding powders, 1 silver.

  Five smoke pellets, 50 coppers.

  97 silvers and 94 coppers.

  Damn it… That’s almost a gold. I only came here for a cheap mask. Jack tried, of course. “If I’m buying all this at once, can’t you give me a little discount? 85 silvers seems fair.”

  The merchant chuckled, shaking his head. “Nice try, friend. If anything, you’re underpaying. The mask’s worth the price for the runes alone. You’ll thank me the first time someone tries to gas or blind you. Or you blind yourself; it happens, I’ve seen it.” He chuckled at the irony. “And the maps. They’re what people kill for. No discounts.” He pointed to a sign on the wall which read: No Discounts. No Refunds. Unattended Children Will Be Put To Work.

  Jack grimaced. “I’m going to be broke again.” He was exaggerating. He still had over a gold; plenty of coin left over for Arman’s wraps and archery training for weeks.

  The merchant smiled. “Better broke and breathing, eh?”

  With a long, reluctant sigh, Jack counted out the coin, watching his hard-earned silvers and coppers vanish into the merchant’s pouch. I need to loot more large swordsmen, he joked in his mind. He’d gotten over a gold from the one kill. I’ll grab his sword and sell it later. He added the dozen arrows to his quiver as the merchant wrapped the mask and tucked the smaller purchases into a black cloth bag.

  The shopkeeper leaned across the counter. “You know, friend, you’ve got the look of someone preparing for something big.”

  Jack gave a thin smile, sliding his purchases into his pack. “Something like that.”

  The merchant chuckled again. “Come back if you live through it. I love a good story.”

  He gave a little nod, adjusting the weight of his bag on his shoulder as he turned towards the door. “Thanks,” he said. “I just might do that.” Of course, he had no intentions of sharing his tales.

  And with that, Jack slipped out of the shadowed shop, stepping once again onto the cobbled streets of Lundun. His purse lighter, his pack heavier, and his next move weighing on his mind.

  “Time to track some adventurers,” he sighed.

  The moment Jack left the shop that catered to assassins, thieves, and rogues, he pulled his new mask from his bag.

  “Time to become an anonymous shadow,” he muttered, slipping the mask over his face. He took a deep breath to test the rune filter and noticed the air smelled cleaner. “That’s pretty good…” The distinctive smell of spent aether-steam was gone. “Still not sure if it’s 40 silvers good, though.”

  The price he’d paid still stung.

  When he realised what the improved sight rune did, he murmured, “Now that’s a good feature.” Jack glanced around, blinking. His view was crystal clear.

  A full-face mask with small eyeholes should’ve restricted his vision, narrowing it down to two narrow slits. But with the improved sight rune the shopkeeper had mentioned, it was like he wasn’t wearing a mask at all. “Okay… maybe it is worth it,” he conceded as he headed towards Royal Library Square, feeling much better about the 40 silvers he’d spent on the mask.

  Walking through the city streets, he pulled on his new leather gloves. “They’ll do,” he said, flexing his fingers to loosen the stiff leather.

  Chapter 099 The Moment Before The Kill