After arriving at the Thieves Guild, Rhode had intended to quickly ask his questions and obtain some key information. But when he saw the way the Guild did things, he changed his mind.
Rhode moved the parchment from the middle of the table to his side, wrote "Situation in Krulord" on it, then pushed it toward the old man opposite him.
The old man picked up the quill in front of him and quickly wrote something on the parchment. Then, with both hands, he slowly pushed it back toward Rhode.
Rhode took it and looked at the parchment. It read, "Hero's return, 3."
His experience from his previous life told him that the first part of the parchment contained the answer to his question, while the number afterward was the total number of gold coins he had to pay.
The Thieves Guild guaranteed that the information it sold was accurate, but it only provided one piece of information at a time. Anyone who wanted to learn more, or get more detailed information, had to ask repeatedly and pay a large number of gold coins.
Rhode trusted the Thieves Guild's reputation; it wouldn't easily sell unverified information. He pondered the old man's answer.
Rhode had asked this question to determine which period of the game he was in.
As Rhode remembered it, the first expansion pack, Warlords of the Wasteland, which launched when he first entered the game in his previous life, told the story of Tanan, the barbarian leader of Krulord. After obtaining the Artifact Orb of Magic Sealing, Tanan fought against the wizards of Brakada.
After seeing what the old man had written, Rhode had some idea of the period he was in, but he couldn't be certain.
Rhode picked up the quill, wrote "Hero's name" on the parchment, then handed it to the old man.
The old man took the parchment and wrote, "Tanan, 5."
A hero's name alone was worth two gold coins. That was the value information could bring. Rhode knew this wasn't even expensive; learning a hero's approximate combat ability would cost far more.
Seeing the name, Rhode was now certain of the period he was in: the game had only just begun, and it was the early stages of the first expansion pack.
Earlier, when he had obtained Alot's pendant, Rhode had already suspected that he might have returned to the very beginning of the game, when all the players had just entered it. But he hadn't been sure.
Now, after asking his questions, he had only gained scattered pieces of information, but his experience from his previous life was enough to confirm that he really had arrived in the early stages of the first expansion pack.
At this point, the hero Tanan had just finished his adventures across the continent. Carrying all his treasures, he had returned to his homeland of Krulord and begun uniting all the barbarian tribes there, building up their strength to oppose the wizards of Brakada.
That was what the old man meant by "Hero's return."
Quickly reviewing the other events of the first expansion pack in his mind, Rhode wrote on the parchment, "Free Professional Merchants Guild in this city, natural-born hero."
He asked this question to obtain information about his soul quest. According to the map, Alot had sold Rowan at the Free Professional Merchants Guild in this very city.
The old man took the parchment. His eyes narrowed slightly, then he wrote, "Already transferred, 10."
Generally speaking, the Thieves Guild in a city knew what the Free Professional Merchants Guild was up to. The Thieves Guild's practice of selling information about its fellow guild was also what led to a war between the two factions later on.
The old man had deliberately written only a few brief words. If Rhode wanted to learn more, he would have to ask again, which would cost him even more gold.
Rhode paid no mind to the old man's little tricks. Instead, he wrote, "Destination of transfer."
After taking the parchment, the old man didn't write down the answer right away. Instead, he looked at Rhode.
Rhode understood what he meant. The information was more secret than the previous answers, and more valuable too. The old man was worried Rhode might not have enough gold to pay once he learned it.
Rhode nodded to the old man. Seeing his signal, the old man quickly wrote down the information and returned the parchment to him.
Rhode looked down. It read, "City of Wailing, 60."
A mere place name cost 50 gold coins, far more than any of the previous answers. Of course, a place name alone wasn't worth that much. But in response to Rhode's question, it was highly valuable. That was the profit to be made by combining pieces of information.
Perhaps because of its location, information about the Free Professional Merchants Guild in the same city was clearly more expensive than information about Krulord, which was almost on the other side of the continent. If Rhode hadn't obtained several thousand gold coins from Alot's Space Ring, paying for this answer would have been a problem.
As for asking his questions and then refusing to pay, using force to leave—Rhode had never even considered it. In his previous life, everyone who tried that ended up being hunted by the Thieves Guild.
With the high bounties on offer, and detailed information provided by the Thieves Guild, plenty of high-ranking assassins were willing to accept these kinds of jobs.
A memory flashed through Rhode's mind. As if he had thought of something, he drew a symbol on the parchment, wrote "Meaning, location," then pushed it toward the old man.
The symbol came from the badge in Alot's Space Ring. Rhode had also seen it in Alot's Spellbook.
Taking the parchment the old man handed back, Rhode saw the answers to his two questions: "Black Crow Necromancy Magic Academy, 62" and "Dya, City of Wailing, 65."
As if to tell Rhode what each answer was worth, the old man had listed the required payment after each one. But Rhode's attention clearly wasn't on the prices. It was on the place name: City of Wailing.
Seeing the same place name appear twice, but at completely different prices, Rhode fell into deep thought.
The events of the first expansion pack, the identity of a necromancer, the City of Wailing, the soul quest...
The old man opposite him could see that Rhode was thinking. He didn't rush him; he simply brought his hands back in front of him and waited for Rhode's next question.
Before long, Rhode finished thinking. He reached into his clothes and took out the 100 gold coins he had already packed into a pouch in his Space Ring. In front of the old man, he quickly counted out 65 coins and placed them on the table.
Then, following the usual custom for inquiries in a private room, Rhode put the parchment in his pocket and walked out.
Outside, the attendant from earlier was still waiting, ready to guide Rhode back to the Thieves Guild's main hall.
The old man stayed in the private room. With a sweep of his hand, the gold coins vanished. He then took a fresh sheet of parchment from a hidden compartment beneath the table and waited for the next customer to come in with questions.
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