Xio had no idea how far the young man's thoughts had wandered. Having gathered basic information from Williams, she sized up Alaric and quickly formed an impression: he likely came from a well-off, middle-class background, his occupation unclear but not manual labor, and he harbored no ill intent.
No one else in the vicinity seemed to be with him. He appeared harmless.
Xio relaxed slightly. Though she didn't expect anyone to deliberately cause her trouble and had confidence in her abilities, she remained cautious of sudden visitors. Confirming he posed no threat, she nodded. "I'm Xio. You're Jack Jones, right? Let's talk outside."
If she weren't waiting for someone, she'd have left this bar long ago.
Alaric had no objections. They left the bar and headed to a nearby café, settling into a private booth.
After ordering coffees, Xio set down the menu and got straight to the point. "What job do you have for me?"
"I want to join some Beyonder gatherings and was hoping you could introduce me." Alaric said just as directly.
Xio's eyes narrowed, her hand slipping under her sleeve to grip a triangular blade. She studied him again, her voice cold. "Who sent you to me?"
"Miss Xio, you're quite well-known among East District bounty hunters." Alaric said, seemingly off-topic, before explaining, "My family once had Beyonders and left some records. Though we've fallen on hard times, I still know a bit about the Beyonder world... like the Arbiter pathway."
He didn't elaborate further, but Xio understood. He'd likely heard of her reputation and guessed she was an Arbiter pathway Beyonder.
Xio sighed inwardly, mulling it over before asking, "What pathway are you?"
"Seer. I'm a Seer. If you know anything about this pathway, you'd know I have little combat ability, so you don't need to be too wary of me." Alaric said, flashing a helpless smile as if it were the truth.
"Seer…" Xio muttered, recalling what she knew about the pathway. Her father had been an official, so she'd heard a bit about Seers... rare Beyonders often found among the Church of the Evernight's Nighthawks, known for their lack of combat prowess.
This eased her guard slightly. After a few seconds of thought, she said, "I can introduce you to some Beyonder gatherings, but what's in it for me? Helping you join comes with risks."
Alaric was prepared. "I'll pay you 50 pounds for your help."
Though he only had about 1,000 pounds to his name, Alaric wasn't stingy when it mattered. Making a generous impression would pave the way for future interactions with Xio.
"Deal." Xio agreed without hesitation. Fifty pounds was no small sum for her, and earning it just for an introduction was an offer she wouldn't refuse.
"Pleasure doing business." Alaric said with a smile, pulling ten pounds from his wallet and handing it over. "This is a deposit. I'll pay more each time you get me into a gathering. If any are particularly impressive, I'll throw in a bonus."
Generosity didn't mean being a pushover... showing some caution was necessary.
Xio took the ten pounds, unsurprised by his approach, and nodded. "How do I contact you?" She thought for a moment and gave an address. "If you need me, leave a message here. I'll get it."
Alaric provided an address of his own. "You can send letters here."
After settling their contact methods, Xio relaxed further. She was now fairly certain Alaric meant no harm and posed no threat. His Seer identity piqued her curiosity. "Can Seers divine anything? Can you predict the future?"
"Well, small matters are fine, but big events or powerful figures can make divinations unreliable." Alaric said with a smile, adding with a hint of complaint, "Even if a divination is accurate, it can be tricky. Say I divine whether investing in something will make money. The result might say I'll profit, but in reality, I could lose a fortune short-term and only see gains in ten or twenty years."
"That's rough." Xio said, sympathizing with the pitfalls of being a Seer.
"But it's not all bad. Divination helps me avoid most dangers." Alaric said, grinning. "For example, I divined before meeting you and confirmed this deal would be safe."
Xio raised an eyebrow, her curiosity growing. After a moment, she couldn't resist. "Can you do a divination for me?"
"Sure. What do you want to know?" Alaric nodded, happy to oblige.
"Hm, can you divine if I'll face any danger in the next two months?" Xio asked after a second's thought.
Alaric nodded, pulling a crystal pendulum from his pocket... a prop he'd prepared to play the part of a Seer convincingly. Since his Beyonder abilities included divination, he needed to master various techniques anyway.
He deftly performed the divination with the pendulum, observing its swing. Frowning, he said, "The result shows you'll face a life-threatening danger within the next two months."
This wasn't a lie... he'd genuinely divined a threat to Xio's life.
Xio's eyes widened. She glanced at Alaric, then at the pendulum, her first thought being that she might be dealing with a con artist trying to scam his money back. But she dismissed the idea and asked seriously, "Can you divine where the danger comes from?"
"I can try, but I can't guarantee results." Alaric said, his expression equally grave. Instead of the pendulum, he pulled out an astrolabe. After asking Xio a few necessary questions, he began marking the astrolabe, then said, "The divination suggests the danger is tied to money and the sea, but I'm sorry... there's too little information to pinpoint more."