Chp.12: Finding the king's spy

"Goodbye and thank you! Come back soon!"

Baron Somadì observed some customers leaving a shop and a young woman who greeted them lovingly. The customers seemed quite satisfied, a sign that they had not only found what they were looking for but also that they had been served in an excellent way. After all, it was known that 'The dragon's shop' was an extraordinary shop both for the products it sold and for the sales assistants who worked there, all pointed out as nice and kind. Although recently some of those shop assistants were no longer present as they had had to travel for business, the shop hadn't suffered a setback and indeed had continued to work at full speed.

Somadì wondered how those satisfied customers would have reacted if they had known that the sweet and pretty woman who was greeting them was in reality only an extraordinarily realistic illusion and that the true appearance of that girl was that of a hideous monster, with claws and sharp teeth and decaying skin. He was more than sure that many of them would faint at the thought. Knowing that such creatures could enter the capital and even infiltrate so well among humans was terrifying.

Somadì obviously would never reveal anything. He wasn't suicidal and knew that his life would end along with that of everyone close to him if he tried to reveal the secrets of 'The dragon's shop'. His job was simply to obey the orders given to him and make sure he never angered those monstrous creatures, so they didn't decide to eliminate him right away.

Although he wished he were somewhere else altogether, he got out of his carriage and walked towards the door of the shop. Many people on the street turned to look at him. It wasn't unusual for a nobleman to go to the merchant district, after all it was better to see the wares in person than to send a servant to buy them, but still people were amazed when they saw one. Somadì ignored them and entered 'The dragon's shop'.

The inside of the shop was filled with customers. Many of them were in line to pay, while others were wandering through the shelves looking for something to buy, still others were asking the sales assistants for directions. As soon as they saw him enter, however, everyone stepped aside; it was a common rule that nobles were served first. The salesgirls, however, looked at him even more strangely, almost excited. Somadì knew that they were waiting for him and that they were happy that he had arrived. "I'm looking for the owner" he said to one of them, trying his best to not show any tension in his voice.

The woman bowed slightly. "Of course. I'll go get her right away" she said, and then rushed up the stairs to the upper floor.

Somadì didn't have to wait long: in less than a minute an extremely beautiful lady with a dazzling smile came down the stairs and greeted him warmly. "Baron Somadì! I've been waiting for you. Your order is ready. Please, follow me to my office; I'll have to get you to sign some papers, but I promise I won't take up too much of your time"

"Don't worry, I'm not in a hurry. Please, make the way for me" Somadì replied. Sisna nodded and gently led him up the stairs. The other customers looked at them for a moment longer, then went back to their business. They almost certainly simply believed that the Baron had bought some very rare potion, so such haste was normal. Which was exactly what Somadì and Sisna wanted.

Very soon they reached the upper floor and entered one of the rooms, which was very well furnished and comfortable. Sisna took a chair and motioned him to sit down; Somadì promptly obeyed. Ordinarily no noble would have behaved so subserviently to a plebeian, but he knew there was no mere plebeian in front of him. Facing him was Sisna Drachia, the real boss of the nation's most powerful criminal organization.

After the attack on the capital, Sisna hadn't been heard for a few days, therefore no one in the 'The spider' organization had known if she and her sisters were behind that assault, even if all those who knew what they were indeed they thought it very probable. Only after about a week had Sisna reappeared at the organization's headquarters and, with extreme nonchalance as if she were talking about the shape of clouds, had officially declared that she intended to make 'The spider' the hegemon of crime in the Jurao Kingdom. In the past, no one ever imagined that such a thing could happen. Even if 'The spider' ever decided to expand beyond just the capital, he would have taken a long time to conquer the crime in all the other cities. But on the contrary, Sisna had done it in a very short time. Somadì and the other nobles who governed 'The spider' had provided them with the necessary information on other criminal organizations, and above all on those who ran them. With that information, there was literally nothing that could stop them. Within a month all the most important cities of the kingdom had fallen under the yoke of 'The spider': simply, some of Sisna's sisters would go there and eliminate the old bosses and their supporters, and then put an expert member of 'The spider' at the head of that 'subsidiary' of the organization. The supporting structure of the various organizations was left intact, so as to avoid unnecessary imbalances, and only the command changed. The few fools who thought they could take advantage of the geation change to gain power or start their own business were quickly eliminated. As for the nobles who supported these organizations, they were assimilated into 'The spider' and became some of the branch leaders; and if anyone tried to protest, Sisna and her sisters quickly taught him to stand in his place. In a very short time, no one had dared to oppose 'The spider', so much so that in many cities the nobles and bosses of other organizations had voluntarily submitted as soon as they learned of their arrival.

Somadì had to admit that 'The spider' had experienced an unprecedented period of splendour. Sisna had restructured the kingdom's crime as if it were a business: she was in charge of everything, under her there were various people who controlled the various branches, which in turn were divided into various sectors controlled by individuals, and so on. Each person in the organization gave her all the proceeds and she then distributed them equally (or rather, they gave them to the nobles and bosses under her, who made sure to comply with her orders on the distribution of money to avoid infuriate her). In this way, the instances of insubordination and rebellion were greatly reduced, as now all members received what they thought was their due and weren't bound by fear alone. Furthermore, Sisna had initiated a sort of recruitment among the poorer classes of society; bums, prostitutes and orphans had become her employees and had come to replace the hotheads who had been eliminated with her seizure of power. In doing so, she had also earned the gratitude of her employees. Those people who normally had nothing had found themselves with a 'job' that gave them not only room and board but also extra money; how could they not try their hardest to satisfy their mistress and to maintain the new position they had acquired? And so, four months after this situation began, Sisna had long since gained total control of all crime in the kingdom, and any criminal who didn't respect her will was promptly eliminated. By now, she had a military power and an economy no less than that of a duke.

Even Somadì, in a certain sense, could be described as satisfied. His revenue had increased dramatically since 'The spider' had expanded. He didn't care much that he'd lost his role as boss; after all, any businessman knew that any given situation could not last forever, and one must always be ready to confront a more able enemy and, if it was impossible to defeat him, to submit to him. As long as such submission could bring him gain, that was fine with it. Unfortunately, however, he couldn't rest easy knowing who was in charge of the organization. He wasn't sure what could happen to him if one day Sisna got bored with him or thought he was ineffective, and this put him under enormous stress. Before meeting Sisna, he was a fairly tall man, handsome enough (though not too much), with a well-groomed beard and mustache and short hair. Now, from all the strain he was constantly under, he had gotten thinner, his beard and mustache had grown and his hair with it, and his face had become paler and more sunken. His wife, to whom he hadn't yet had the courage to confess the danger in which he had put her and their children, had repeatedly reproached him by telling him that he worked too much, believing that this was the cause of his sudden wasting away. Sisna obviously hadn't done anything to dispel his fear: on the contrary, it seemed that she often enjoyed threatening him even for the most trivial reasons.

Sisna had kept almost none of the profits from 'The spider', leaving everything to the nobles and bosses to distribute them and enjoy their part as they pleased. In return, she had asked for only three things. The first was that whenever she asked for funds 'The spider' would have to provide her with the exact amount she asked for. The second was for 'The spider' to purchase all the beastmen prisoners of war and put them on ships which, everyone knew, were being sailed by her sisters. The third was for 'The spider' to investigate the king's information network. And that was precisely why Somadì was there that day.

"I had definitive proof on the man I was investigating" Somadì said. "Gerard Utohr. I can confirm with absolute certainty that he is under the direct control of the king"

Somadì had personally investigated the king's spy network. He had started with the people already known to the organization and had worked his way up to the top piece by piece. And so, he had come to know about Gerard Utohr. An individual who apparently didn't even exist, and who for the few who knew him was just a simple wandering merchant. Apparently the merchants all had something to hide, Somadì thought ironically. However, Sisna wasn't satisfied with so little: she wanted to be sure that this man was really in the service of the king. Thus Somadì had begun to create a small network of information within the royal palace, replacing some servants or blackmailing others, and thus he had come to know that a man matching Gerard's description had been seen entering the sovereign's private study and he had met him alone, with only Thornag as a witness. That was overwhelming evidence.

Sisna was beaming when she heard this. "Wonderful" she said. Haku would have liked that information very much; now he knew exactly who to talk to without anyone other than the king knowing. "Very well. Where is this man now?"

"He left the capital three days ago, heading towards the Baudonia City Alliance" Somadì replied. "He's chasing the party of adventurers called 'One day' for..."

"What!? So that conversation with the king you described to me happened three days ago!?" Sisna's eyes flashed. "Why are you just telling me now!?"

Somadì began to sweat and his hands instinctively gripped the armrests of the chair he was sitting on. "I-It wasn't my fault! Unfortunately I was only able to meet the people who told me about it today. I immediately rushed here after..."

Something sharp touched his head and started digging into his flesh. Somadì didn't need to look up to know that those were claws. "You know..." Sisna murmured, as her face warped from being that of a young woman to that of a monstrous creature. "If you're so ineffective, maybe I should take matters into my own hands. Maybe I should just kill you and possess your body, and handle this delicate operation myself!"

Somadì swallowed. "P-Please, wait! I know exactly where Gerard is now, my information network has already informed me of his latest position. He has been sighted on a ship on the Terren River which will surely have to disembark in the city of Halbug for the necessary checks In two days at the latest! Even if he had a royal pass, the ship would still have to be in port for a few hours. You can intercept him over there!"

Sisna was silent for a moment, eyeing him as if he were prey, then she released him and her face returned to that of a human woman. "Mph. Okay, apparently you still know how to make yourself useful. Try to be more efficient from now on"

Somadì bowed his head respectfully. "Yes, of course" he said mentally breathing a sigh of relief.

"Good. You can go then. I'll take care of it from now on" Sisna said, then she took a large sealed bottle and handed it to him. "Here. So they'll think you bought a rare potion and no one will question"

Somadì reluctantly took the bottle. "What's inside?"

"Simple red wine. You can enjoy it on your way home" Sisna answered. "Now get out from here"

Somadì obeyed and stood up, following Sisna out of the room. The two descended the stairs again and she greeted him respectfully as befitted a nobleman. He did the same and then walked away. As soon as he got back into his carriage, he slumped back in the seats and let out a sigh. "That woman doesn't need to kill me. Sooner or later I'm going to have a heart attack" he murmured, then he uncorked the bottle and took a sip of wine. He wasn't a fan of drinking, but at that moment he urgently needed it.

Meanwhile, Sisna was back in her study, smiling with amusement. Maleficent joined her and asked: "Sister, do we have what we need?"

"Yeah. Tell me, Maleficent, you have an avatar somewhere in the city of Halbug, right?"

"Exactly. I was the one who led the crime conquest of that city, and as you well know we always leave an avatar in each of them"

"Very well. Excuse my request, but would you be willing to lend it to me? I have a business I have to take care of over there"