Chapter 111. The Union's Informant (3)
They shoved the contact into an empty oak barrel.
Then, Bartol's men loaded the barrel onto a cart meant for transporting liquor and covered it so it wouldn't fall off.
The cart headed toward Perne's tavern.
Verden kept his distance at the rear, scanning the surroundings. There might be someone from the Union watching the contact.
Of course, it turned out to be nothing but needless worry.
Without incident, they managed to move the contact into Perne's underground liquor storage, and Verden carved a magic circle into the underground wall.
It was to keep the noise from leaking outside.
Perne's eyes widened.
"You, you can even use magic circles?"
"It's basic."
...Since when were magic circles considered basic for a Mage?
While Perne stood there blankly, Verden pulled the contact out of the oak barrel. He then sat him on an empty chair and manipulated the terrain to bind his body firmly.
"Can you cover his mouth too?"
"...?"
What needed to be done now was interrogation. If the mouth was sealed, no information could be extracted.
But Verden didn't question Perne and simply manipulated the terrain. After all, when it came to prying information, he was nearly an amateur.
The ground rose up like roots, wrapping around the contact's head and sealing his mouth.
Now the preparations were complete.
"Thanks. I'll wake him up now."
Perne splashed a bucket of water onto the contact.
Shaaah!
"...!"
The contact's eyes snapped open.
The icy cold made him thrash convulsively, but of course, he couldn't budge. Only then did he realize his entire body was bound, and he lifted his head.
Perne and Verden were conversing.
"What do we do in this state?"
"I'm not that much of an expert either, but when interrogating, there's one thing to keep in mind. Don't ask, instill fear first. That way, they'll spit out real information."
It was a reasonable point.
Before giving them any time to think, frightening them first was surely more effective.
"And the method?"
"I'll use one of the interrogation techniques the knight order employs, but rather than explaining, it'll be easier to understand if you just watch. If it doesn't work, we can just leave it to Bartol. He'll break him a bit too much though."
Break him?
The contact flinched instinctively.
He had been a worker in one of the Union's merchant guilds.
They paid just to pass messages back and forth, so he had readily accepted. Such a man had no endurance or loyalty to withstand harsh torture.
'I'll talk, so please just remove this gag...!'
"Mmmph!"
The contact was ready to spill everything he knew.
But with his mouth sealed, he couldn't convey his intent.
"He's resisting a lot. Guess it was right to gag him first."
'I said I'll talk!'
Ignoring the contact's wide eyes, Perne moved.
"Then let's begin."
And soon after—
"I'll tell you everything, just please stop!"
"See?"
Effective indeed.
***
The contact cooperated obediently.
Of course, they didn't forget to verify the truth of the information. They fired dozens of questions in succession, then asked them again in reverse order to check for contradictions, and compared the answers with what Perne already knew.
Perne's way of processing the information was smooth, almost flawless.
'He's certainly competent.'
No wonder Pale had recommended him with such confidence.
Once the contact had outlived his usefulness, they handed him over to Bartol to be locked away.
After gathering the intel, Bartol, Perne, and Verden convened in one place.
"As expected, a low-level contact like him didn't have any of the Union's classified information. But we did manage to find out who one of the Union's informants is."
Bartol asked,
"And who might that be?"
" 'Orland', of the secluded inn."
Orland.
Unlike Perne, he ran an inn alone not in the city, but in a shallow forest. That place was Orland's information hub.
Gray's mercenaries received requests or purchased information at that inn. It also doubled as a restaurant and lodging. In short, it was practically an inn belonging solely to the Kingdom of Gray.
Bartol furrowed his brow.
"So to obtain intel on the Union, we'd need to seize Orland? Nothing else?"
"That's all. The contact was just one of the middlemen handling communications between Orland and the Union."
"Things went awry right from the start."
Verden tilted his head.
"What's the problem?"
"Orland's inn is crawling with Gray's experts. Orland won't come quietly, so we'll have to drag him by force, and that means breaking through all of them. It'll be nothing short of war."
"On top of that, as you know, the Union is targeting Lord Asher. They'll be planning to hire people through Orland. If they've already moved, then we could end up facing more than a dozen men in that inn."
That was by no means easy.
Not all of them, of course, but some would be on par with Bajes or even stronger. To face them head-on would be nothing less than suicide.
Even if Bartol sent in every man under his command, they would be slaughtered before killing even half.
"Hey, Perne. You don't have some decent plan? Something like bait to lure only Orland out."
"Hard to say. He's an overly cautious man. But if the three of us put our heads together..."
"Where is it exactly?"
Verden asked.
On the map spread across the desk, Bartol pointed to a forest near a narrow path.
"He won't have moved his place, so he should still be here. But why do you ask?"
"Lord Asher, don't tell me you're thinking again..."
"I'll bring him in."
Verden declared.
Bartol gave him a look of utter disbelief.
"What, are you saying you'll walk to your own death? This is ridiculous... failure aside, do you even know what will happen if you're taken alive?"
"He, he's right! This is on a whole different level than Bajes!"
The two tried desperately to stop him.
Ignoring them, Verden pointed on the map at a small village near Orland's inn.
"Send a carriage here. We'll need to move Orland to Asern."
Leaving those words behind, Verden rose from his seat.
Before they could say anything, he grabbed the door handle and stepped outside. The sound of his footsteps quickly faded away, and Perne and Bartol stared blankly at the door.
"...Is this really the right way?"
"Don't ask me, I don't know either."
All they could do was wait.
***
The Union was a collective of various merchant guilds and informants, but of course, there were those who led them.
Gogon of the Gon Merchant Guild.
Beken of the Twilight Merchant Guild.
Regolo of the Englo Merchant Guild.
These three guild masters were the ones who ran the Union, puppets of the nobles. The three were gathered now, conversing.
"I hear lately they've failed to bring Perne down completely. Was it Asher? Seems he's clinging to life with a Mage backing him."
At Gogon's words, Beken furrowed his brow.
"All this over one measly Mage? Bartol, from the rumors I heard, was supposed to be quite capable, yet his handling of the matter is disappointing."
"Hmm? Our agreement with Bartol was that if Perne failed to pay his debt, the claim would pass to him, was it not? Strictly speaking, handling things was not part of the deal."
"That's the problem, Englo Guild Master. Acting with tact is part of the job, part of it. Do you know how much money we've invested to isolate Perne? How much effort we've spent to dismantle his information network? There's no way Bartol doesn't know that!"
Beken clicked his tongue.
"Tch, this is why people from the gutter are worthless. They only know how to do as they're told, no initiative, no initiative at all. As I said, killing Perne would've been the cleanest solution."
"You all know Perne's ability. Killing him out of inconvenience would be a terrible waste. We already agreed, did we not? Better to stop that talk and speak of solutions... though in truth, isn't it too simple?"
Gogon clasped his hands.
"In the end, all we need to do is deal with the Mage. Capture him first, then kill or sway him, and Perne will be isolated again. Orland is already gathering the right men. In two weeks at most, it will be done."
"Hmm, if it's Orland, then fine. Among those who work with him are many well-known names. A reckless Mage like that will be easy to subdue."
That was certainty.
They entertained no such foolish thoughts as " what if ". They firmly believed that the Mage clinging to dying Perne would be dispatched with ease.
"With that decided, let's put an end to talk of Perne. Now, the next matter. Whatever it is, the Third Prince requires enormous funds. The nobles say he urges haste."
"The Third Prince? He's only just begun expanding his power through dealings with the underworld... pushing the scale further now is dangerous."
"Can we refuse, though? Not when, due to that accident at the Blue Cloud Merchant Guild, we couldn't even properly supply the magic stones the prince ordered."
Beken fell silent.
Whether by choice or not, continued mistakes would soon endanger their own lives. They needed to find a way.
"For now, we must sell off the Blue Cloud Merchant Guild we acquired for cheap. We can't afford to invest in it."
From there, one suggestion after another came.
"Then let's expand the contraband trade..."
"And increase the number of illegal slaves..."
"Or make another guild the scapegoat..."
The three sank deeper into discussion.
In their minds, the Mage Asher no longer existed.
***
Verden headed straight for Orland's location.
Taking short rests for sleep and changing horses as he traveled, he soon neared his destination. Only one thought filled his head.
'It would be nice if there are opponents worth my time.'
The Gray experts Perne and Bartol had warned about.
He had faced such men even in the duchy, but none had ever measured up to his level.
They said the Kingdom of Gray was on another scale, so perhaps it was worth some expectation.
As long as they were enough to serve as experience, in numbers or strength, he'd be satisfied. Of course, the goal was the informant Orland, but fighting only small fry was boring, unfulfilling.
With those thoughts, Verden spurred his horse.
Cutting through the snowy field, he entered the forest. Following the mountain path marked with footprints, a large two-story inn appeared amid the snow-falling scenery.