213
The damp, faintly salty sea breeze swept through the port of the City of Generosity, flowing like seawater past the hardworking fishermen and dockworkers.
Richard Ernst arrived at the Bayam information broker Galan De had told him about, wearing his usual old, trench-coat-style wool overcoat, a neckerchief that was neither new nor worn out, and carrying his little suitcase. Besides selling information, this place occasionally played matchmaker between adventurers and pirates.
That extended only to making introductions, however, because the broker could not guarantee that both parties would cooperate in good faith. Adventurers being quietly disposed of once they were out at sea, or pirates being killed after reaching some secluded location, were all too common, so the brokerage service rarely saw any business.
With his rather Feysac-looking face and unremarkable appearance, Richard attracted little attention when he entered the tavern. Only a few Beyonders with greater spiritual perception gave him a few extra looks. After he gave the password and Galan De's name, a waiter led him into a hidden annex of the tavern under the pretext of showing him the liquor. In the brewery's basement, an elderly information broker with several scars on his face, his ferocity undiminished by age, looked him over twice, held out a hand, and rasped, "Deposit."
"I haven't even told you my requirements yet." Richard looked at him with a smile and continued without waiting for an answer. "I'm a member of a research organization. I need to conduct research and collect specimens in certain waters, and I need a ship."
"A Hidden Organization?" The information broker considered this briefly. "So you need a ship and enough hands. If you're not buying information, the brokerage fee is ten percent of the final hiring fee."
Richard began haggling with practiced ease. "Ten percent?