106(2) – Zenyo! (II)
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PART 2 – Information!
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Neszka is a vast and dangerous land. About four hours after leaving Froos, they were approached by bandits.
In reality, it was a mercenary group that saw a beautiful warrior woman, accompanied by a tiny, handsome femboy. Naturally, they wanted a piece of her and, confidently, went to take her.
They were brutally beaten by Verna.
Three hours later, explosions echoed from a frozen river, buried under a lot of snow. From it emerged dozens of bluish corpses; every movement was accompanied by the crunching of bones and ice, the guttural howls of these Frozen Zombies echoed.
Verna annihilated them with her axe. Zenyo helped a little, using gold coins to explode frozen skulls.
About five hours later, Verna detected another Coliquer and killed it easily, just like the previous one. She kept its entire body; it will be better for future research.
As night fell, they arrived at a village.
…
“I wonder how the people in this place survive. In less than 50 hours we fought more times than in a week in our world. Not to mention that 2 of those fights were legendary level.” – Zenyo smiled bitterly, exhausted after the last few hours.
“The Demon Realm was worse.” – Verna said.
“And you’ve already explored it? I thought you only visited to cast forbidden spells.” – Zenyo scoffed.
“That place literally has 5 demons per square meter. You throw a rock, and it hits 100 demons. Almost infinite legions massacring and devouring each other, to the point where they can’t even sleep or rest; the slightest moment you lower your guard, you’re abused or devoured by something worse.” – Verna laughed; she had studied that place extensively, understanding its enemies and ways to use its nature against them.
Zenyo decided not to ask any more questions, simply raising his hands in surrender. They arrived at the village, entered without problems, and the first thing they saw…
*Plap~* *Plap~* *Plap~*
It was a chubby woman with her hands on the wall of a house, being hit from behind by an older, strong man.
“It seems the people here love the cold,” Verna said, laughing.
Zenyo rolled his eyes and they went in search of an inn.
……
It took them 5 days of constant walking to finally leave Neszka. To be more precise, the weather started to warm up a little, even though there was still a lot of visible snow.
They arrived at a border town, one of the many before anyone enters the lands of Neszka.
Upon arriving here, Verna and Zenyo went to an inn, rested for about 2 hours, then went out to gather information.
…
Verna, accompanied by Zenyo, walked through a very busy commercial area. Here you can buy everything and there are many restaurants and… judging by the vigorous thud of the meat and the moans, it's obvious how much the people of this place like to fuck.
Verna thought her world was perverse; it's clear she grew up in a tribe that had no laws. But here… they are more civilized individuals and take advantage of every opportunity to fuck.
In any case, the duo's objective is not to observe the promiscuous customs of the people of these lands, even though it would be quite interesting. Much less to take advantage of the unique and commercially available resources of the region/world.
The duo found three deep claw marks in the wood of a busy bar sign, where in the center of each mark there are slight traces of gold.
That's what they were looking for, so they went in. Quite busy, several waiters and waitresses walking around, serving tables, being harassed by their customers, ignoring them or going along with it.
Entering, they went to one of the tables in the back, waiting patiently for a woman of about 1.6 meters tall, small but with a strong physique, exposed torso, large and soft breasts that were quite attractive, with bite marks on them.
“What do you want?” – She asked with a cheerful smile, the stench of sex was persistent on her; if it weren't for her crumpled panties, she would be dripping semen at that moment.
“I want an iced drink with red honey, an emerald smoked buffalo steak, and a triple claw marinated in pepper.” – Said Verna, the code she had learned.
From whom did she learn it? During the last days of their journey in this icy desert, they had encountered many bandits/mercenaries, as well as hordes of monsters and other high-level dangers.
Since they wanted information, they obtained it from these individuals, which wouldn't be necessary to provide a general context. Not to mention that they all attacked them, so there's no reason to worry about their pathetic lives.
Information about the Black Market and Informant Organizations were Verna's main targets. Now they are here, the Informant Organization – Golden Claw.
“Understood.” – The waitress smiled, then placed a note on the table. – “Go to the back in 2 minutes.”
Verna nodded and the waitress left, showing them where to go. Time passed and they stood up, then went inside and followed the path. A young man was sitting, playing with wooden blocks, and simply pointed in a direction.
Stairs leading to a basement. They descended and arrived at a dark room, with only a table and two chairs facing each other in the center; the only light came from the candle on the table.
Verna, of course, could see the entire environment in detail. She had already detected 3 secret passages, tunnels connecting to others throughout the city, secret rooms with several people, one being the vault… Verna had already detected practically everything that was here.
“Great Warrior Verna and your faithful follower Zenyo. What do you seek?” – Asked a hooded and masked figure who sat down in the chair.
Verna sat down, Zenyo standing beside her. – “Do you know me?”
“You killed a Coliquer, an incredible feat, it couldn’t go unnoticed.” – A playful tone echoed from the man. – “But let’s not dwell on such facts, but rather on what you came to us for.”
‘They aren’t neutral…’ – Verna sighed inwardly. An information organization that uses power games is worrying; it means they have something to protect or maintain.
“I want information about a Demigoddess.” – Verna said calmly, the other party remained silent.
“That’s the most valuable information, but searching for Demigods isn’t advisable, but who are you talking about?”
“I don’t know her name, I’ve only heard rumors. A woman, she holds the title of archmage and healer. They say she has a Special Ability that allows her to undo any curse. She’s the one I’m looking for.” – Verna said.
“You’re looking for someone very powerful and influential, it won’t be cheap. Do you think you can afford it?”
“Instead of asking, how about stating the price?” – Verna snorted, hating dealing with parties that should be neutral but aren’t.
The other party raised their hands slightly, laughing subtly, and said, “It will be 400,000 Gold Zyrps!”
Zyrp, the term used for copper, silver, and gold coins.
Verna calculated and nodded. “Okay, I’ll pay!” – Verna said.
“Are you sure? The reward you got from Zord is great, but not even close.” – The man said mockingly.
Verna reached into a bag and pulled out a large red crystal the size of a football. It radiated an intense and precious glow.
A Bloodied Diamond, extremely rare in human worlds, where it is normally found in the possession of Vampires or in natural mines with gems that have absorbed death for centuries.
Naturally, this came from the Demon Realm. It is necessary for demons; they can use it for rituals, improve their own bloodline, and reach high levels of power in a short amount of time.
For beings that are not demons? It is an extremely valuable jewel with countless magical properties. Even Demigod Mages covet it.
Bang!
Verna slams it on the table. – “That should be enough, can you give me the information?”
The man observed and nodded slightly, taking the crystal and standing up without saying anything. Verna waited patiently; in 5 minutes they returned with documents and handed them to Verna.
She took it; only 2 pages, which made her frown. He saw details about a woman named Ariel Horça, a demigoddess Archmage said to be able to cure any disease and curse. Extremely powerful and influential, approximately 2,000 years old.
He mentions several feats and allies, but… - “I paid dearly for this information and you're only citing things from your past? No details about your approximate location or appearance?”
“There are none—” - The man's words ceased as his neck was grabbed and his body lifted.
“Don't treat me like an idiot.” – Cracking sounds echoed from the man's choking neck. – “I paid dearly for real information, not this superficial garbage! Give me something concrete, or my axe will take the answers.”
Verna threw the man to the ground and glared at the wall; the person on the other side felt terror.
“You know who—” - The man screamed, and moments later blood spurted, his head flying off.
“Get out now!” – Verna said coldly against the wall. The door moved and a large man emerged, looking at the corpse.
“Was this necessary?” he asked.
“You are a group of informants, your only job is to receive the damn money and give the information. Nothing more and nothing less. Don't be arrogant with me or try to deceive me. Now bring me the information I paid for, or I will kill everyone here until I get what I paid for!”
Silence was her response.
“Okay, I apologize, it seems our agent offended you.” – A female voice sounded from behind.
Verna remained calm. A half-elf smelling of alcohol walked past her, not even glancing at the body that began to be dragged.
“Do you want information about Ariel Horça? Okay, they’ll bring everything you need.” – She said, and less than 10 seconds later someone brought a thicker document, which they handed to Verna.
Verna received it and read it. The document details Ariel's activities over the last 100 years, her approximate appearance (it turns out she doesn't keep the same face for very long, it's said she's quite paranoid).
It roughly states her region of birth, the nation she was born in, followed by where she is apparently located, but it's not precise, she tends to move around a lot.
Verna read and nodded. – “Now that’s information! It would have been easier and less irritating if they had done the job correctly from the start.”
“I apologize for this; we don’t conduct business this way. I believe this young man got too excited, thinking he could make easy money.” – The smiling woman said.
Verna nodded and turned, handing the document to Zenyo.
“Is that all you want? I heard you came from one of the smaller continents; you must be thirsty for information, places to level up, and more.” – She smiled slightly.
“I don’t need it!” – Verna said coldly; she no longer wanted to do business with these people. They are anything but professional.
As she left, the smiling woman looked to the side and said calmly, – “Search for details about Verna, but I doubt we’ll find anything among our partners; there are no records of her arriving on any ship. Perhaps she’s from another world.” – She smiled, licking her lips as she looked at the Bloodied Diamond. – “What other treasures do you have?”