"It was in his city again." - Cleaning My City Part 1
80 Ymiden 719
Virgil would have been able to live out his life in prosperity if he'd known where to draw the line but greed was Virgil's middle name. When a new group approached him asking if he'd be willing to add their product to the market- a purer form of the drug Pray. They offered him twenty percent for distribution and the potential profits blinded Virgil to the potential dangers. Drug addicts were not reliable customers. They couldn't be trusted to be quiet. Virgil sold Pray to a woman named Ingrid who frequently would use the Pray and then wander the streets of the city looking for entertainment. She often went to the Fractured Shield where Judith worked only to be shooed out and at least four different frequent fliers of Rocco's barber shop consistently argued over what had driven Ingred to madness.
After finding the bottle in the Temple of Raskalarn, Balthazar set about scouring every corner of Yaralon for another trace of the drug to track. He started near the Golden Gate and worked his way through the streets like the breeze. It was dedication and commitment that allowed Balthazar to find Virgil, not skill or a city-wide network of spies. Balthazar had only organized a few contacts within the city but he had the two who really mattered, Rocco and Judith. When he went to the Fractured Shield, Judith had no idea what Pray was and she certainly had no interest in digging any further into it. Drugs like Pray would be bad for her business. It was more addicting than the drink and she didn't have a steady supply... plus Balthazar left the Fracture Shield on a very clear note- if he found out she had Pray and was hiding it from him, he'd burn her world down.
Pray had ruined Balthazar's life. It had killed his master, his love, and even those poor souls he thought of as his parents who had taken pity on the boy they found and raised him.
He would not let it go further.
He would not let it ruin Yaralon, not now that he'd made it a home.
With the shreds of speculation and rumor that Judith had provided, Balthazar continued his voyage through the city so thoroughly that he was almost going door to door in search of the drug. Then he arrived at Rocco's barber shop. Rocco heard the men talking about Ingred but that wasn't particularly useful information to Balthazar who already knew that Ingred used Pray because Judith had been able to confirm as much. What was useful, was that Rocco knew Ingred frequented Virgil's shop but never came out with any new armor or armaments. So why did she pay the blacksmith an almost weekly visit?
Balthazar was keen to find out.
It was a hotter day than most were used to and the forge burned bright. Virgil hammered a long sliver of metal into the shape of a blade, each strike raining sparks around until he had to place the blade back in the fire to heat it again. The shop was empty because Virgil always closed around the middle of the trial so that he could take a lunch break but he'd take no break today. His orders had piled too high and work had to be done. He was to finish this sword for a six fingered man and then he could rest- or he would have been able to had Balthazar not walked into his shop.
The small Viden-made bell hanging above the door to Virgil's shop began ringing wildly in the wind that accompanied Balthazar as he stepped into the blacksmith's shop. Balthazar kept a breeze churning around himself using a small consistent amount of ether to keep his body cool on the hot days. Virgil- still hammering away at the chunk of steel, looked up for only a moment before returning his focus to his work.
"We're closed, come back in a break or two and I'll take down the details for your commission." Virgil spoke in a monotone- repeating the same line he fed to very passerby who walked into the shop during his break only Balthazar did not move from the doorway when Virgil commanded it. Balthazar stepped further into the shop, his golden eyes tracking the sword-maker as he worked.
"I'm not here to commission a weapon or armor." Balthazar spoke slowly, his voice moderate as to avoid betraying his feelings to the working man who looked up from his work at last to see Balthazar standing with his arms crossed. Virgil's eyes fell back to his work and he continued striking away at the sword while Balthazar continued "I'm actually looking for something a little bit more... unique." Virgil did not look up from his work but Balthazar could tell he'd struck something in the smith because the sound of hammering became louder and Virgil's strikes seemed to shape the metal just a little more effectively.
"I don't have nothing for you, Balthazar Black." Virgil said as he stood and moved the heated metal back into the flames which had begun leaning towards Balthazar. "They told me a man with white hair and yellow eyes would come around asking and they told me to tell you to shove off. " Virgil turned the blade in the fire and it slowly began to glow a bright orange again. He pulled it out, set it on the anvil, and began hammering again.
Balthazar stepped closer to the counter dividing him from Virgil and the forge he was using. "They? What they?"
"I haven't done nothing wrong now get out of my shop."
"You've-" BANG! Vergil struck the steel so hard it drowned out Balthazar's voice. Balthazar paused, wondering if it had been intentional only to decide it did not matter and try again. "You've started-" BANG! That was no accident. Balthazar grit his teeth, trying to keep himself composed as he placed his hands on Virgil's counter. Balthazar opened his mouth to speak and BANG! Suddenly fury filled the mage, sparks of electricity began to dance off of him as if he was some large tesla coil. Virgil raised his hammer again and Balthazar thrust his fist forward propelling a blast of wind that slammed Virgil into the back wall of his shop and cooled the sliver of metal he was working with almost instantly. "You've been selling Pray!" Balthazar struck again with a gust of wind that blew out the flames of the forge.
Virgil groaned in pain and rose slowly to his feet as Balthazar came around the counter and into the workshop itself. "There ain't no laws against that. I told you I've done nothing wrong." Virgil countered but Balthazar didn't care. He continued his slow walk towards Virgil with malice in his eyes.
"Pray debilitates you. In Yaralon that is as good as death sentence." Balthazar was inches away from Virgil now and he loomed over the shorter man with electricity arcing off his body, a lone light in the darkness now that the forge's flames had been snuffed out.
"I don't make them buy it and I don't bring it into the city. I just sell it."
"Not anymore. Tell me where it is coming from."
"I can't tell you, no one would trust me in this city ever again."
"You shouldn't worry about everyone else right now, just yourself." Balthazar took a step back from Virgil and picked up the roughly formed sword he'd been working on.
"What?" Virgil slid away from the wall and moved away from the mage. He backed into another corner of his shop but all he cared about was that he was backing away from Balthazar.
"One way or another, you're going to tell me who's bringing Pray into Yaralon." As Balthazar spoke blue flames burst forth from his hand, engulfing the blade. "I guarantee it."