Chapter 051

Alvin had the carriage he was on drive faster, so he could catch up to the man who left 5 minutes earlier. According to the carriage driver Hervent Street was a residential street 10 minutes away from their location. Alvin offered him an extra 10 soli if he could make it in 5 minutes.

Hence, the carriage sped along to Hervent Street. He noticed a few carriages on the path, and carefully observe them without stopping. He did not stop because the person who had just made some money in a Beyonder gathering may be skittish, and may be alerted if a carriage speeds along. On the other hand, someone in hurry was an everyday occurrence, and no one would suspect a carriage that sped past them.

Due the all the carriages being covered, Alvin could not see the occupants. However, he memorized the faces of the carriage drivers as he sped past them. Finally, he reached Hervent Street.

After paying the carriage driver, he waited for a while. 2 carriages he had noticed on the path earlier rode past him into the street. He hid discreetly as he reconfirmed that the drivers were ones he had seen on the path. He did not follow them, as he was unsure how alert and skilled the person would be at spotting a tail. Instead, he stood on the spot. After a while, one of the carriage drivers returned. Alvin quickly went up to him, and said "If you give me all the information on the previous passengers of your carriage, this 10 soli is yours"

The man gulped, and after getting for a short moment, reached out and grabbed the note.

"What do you want to know?" he asked in a low voice.

"Tell me the pickup spot, destination, and describe your passenger" said Alvin.

"2 young women, mid-thirties maybe. They both boarded at the north the edge of the Tussock River and asked to go to the residential complex on the west end of Hervent Street" said the man in a suppressed voice.

Alvin nodded and walked off.

He assumed that since he was participating in a secret gathering, and the exit was mostly random, he would be unlikely to have pre hired a carriage driver and have an accomplice. Hence, bribing the driver was perfectly fine, and even if he managed to disguise himself as a woman, there was no way there would be another woman with him. So he eliminated this carriage driver an this passengers, and waited for the second one.

Alvin waited for while, and the second carriage too came back. He went up the the carriage driver, and offered the same amount deal to him.

"A 20 year old man with a mole in his upper left chin, stopped at the No. 17 residential building in the west end of Harvest Street" thought Alvin recalling the description of the carriage driver, strongly believing that this was the man he was looking for.

He walked towards the building, and waited near an assuming corner nearby. He waited for around 15 minutes, after which the Ear of the Crazed was okay to be used yet again. After this, he snuck into the back of the building, and identified an isolated shed made out of wood. After confirming that it was empty, went to the building's gas valve and checked it out. After a while, he made a preliminary plan. He pulled out a saw from the shed, and used it to damage a wiry tree neat the building, leaving no obvious marks. He then used a pocket knife to damage the gas valve very subtly, making sure to leave no marks. He estimated the time the valve would take to burst, and went around to the front of the building and stood ready with the Ear of the Crazed.

After a few minutes, the valve which was damaged suddenly sparked and burst. The damage was not too much, and it looked like something that happened due to the age of the pipes, and the valve quickly closed and the fire would not spread. But Alvin had smeared some gunpowder on the tree earlier, and this the tree burst into flames shortly after the pipes burst.

The tree caught on fire, and due to the damage Alvin had made, the tree fell over in the direction of the shed shortly after.

In a few minutes, the shed was on fire, spewing an intense amount of smoke.

As expected, some residents of the buildings noticed the fire, and quickly went to put it out. One helpful person went door to door alerting the people who were inside.

Alvin used the Ear of the Crazed to listen to this person.

After a few minutes, the fire was put out, and two policemen and some members of the gas company came by to check it out. After examining the scene, they concluded that it was a freak accident from old and rusty pipes. Considering that no one was hurt, they quickly left after recommending the owner of ten buildings replace the pipes. After some more words, they all left.

The building owner spoke some words of comfort to the residents, and then went away.

Alvin, who was nearby blended in with the crowd that had come running to see the show also left as the rest of that crowd started leaving.

But as he left, he took another place at one of the tenants, who was now going inside. He was a young man, with a mole on his upper left chin, matching the description of the carriage driver. And Alvin confirmed that it was the lucky man he transacted with at the gathering based on his body shape and walking posture.

Not only that, he had confirmed that he was the voice he had heard hailing the carriage after leaving the gathering.

And as a bonus on all that he had overheard the well wisher who went to inform him about the fire.

And most importantly, he now knew his name.