Chapter 010

Alvin was waiting for the clock to turn 3. He thought the encounter with the boy was what he was waiting for, and could leave, but when he tried to divine again, the coin still recommended him to stay till 3. Hence Alvin decided to wait for the information report he was expecting.

Alvin had set up quite a web of networks in the Backlund over the past year. He did it mainly by winning the loyalties of some clever and resourceful young people, and cultivating them as informants and having them do the same. He now had some young people in the police station, universities, companies, other bars, houses of nobles, and even churches. He had them under a variety of jobs, from staff to janitors. While he couldn't get them to do any difficult things due to their lower positions and the chance of getting exposed, he could still get a lot of information if he wished.

The Coin of Wonders worked wonders in disrupting divinations not only directly related to him, but anyone in its direct presence. Hence, those working in the churches easily passed the basic identity checks.

The use of the Coin of Wonders this way had been discovered by his father, and he worked tirelessly to make and maintain such a system. Alvin inherited part of the system from his father, and partly made some additions of his own.

Grayson used to manage the network for his father, and Cheryl did do for Alvin. She was trained by Grayson for this purpose since long ago.

The network's presence in Backlund was complicated, with some parts probably exposed. But the network as a whole remained mostly intact, as most of its work was done through a communication mystical item directly with its manager, Cheryl and the Coin of Wonders. The Coin of Wonders completed the communication mystical rather well, as it could disrupt divinations by interested parties from the other end, and could be used to confirm the authenticity of the information, and its provider's malice.

But despite the edge in information, Alvin's father died miserably. Hence, Alvin was not only keen on maintaining the information network, but also enhancing his personal strength.

When the clock was almost at 3, and Alvin was about to leave, the door swung open forcefully. A man in his forties with soft facial features and long hair walked in. He looked around at the bar, and then rested his eyes on Alvin.

He walked up to Alvin, "Are you Alvin Jonas? Owner of this bar? You can call me Captian Gordon. I am a member of the Red Gloves of the Church of Evernight. I would like to have a conversion if you don't mind" he said softly.

Alvin's eyes widened in panic, and subconsciously went for the gun at his waist. He had left the sword and cloak at home just in case of an enquiry by the Nighthawks. He had expected them to come, but did not expect them to send the Red Gloves, much less a captain.

"No need to panic. We can have a conversation, can't we?" said Gordon, while showing off the revolver in his hand.

Alvin calmed down, and then looked at Soest and asked, "What do you want to know?"

Soest looked at him calmly and said, "You have quite the reputation around here Mr. Hunt. Many people tell me that while you are not a Beyonder, with your extraordinary fighting abilities and vast information channels, you have completed many exceptionally difficult tasks. You even have replied and escaped from Beyonders on a few occasions" he said.

"Just lucky and careful" replied Alvin cautiously.

"Well, I am not here to talk about all that. I have confirmed that you weren't involved in what happened last night. You also aren't yet a Beyonder. But I have heard from several sources that you might know something. Would you please share?" asked Gordon.

Alvin secretly cursed at Frank. That subtle glace at him while talking about the incident the previous night earlier was probably noticed by people other than Xio. And they probably went to the nearest bar to boast about it, and by now the whole town knew he had some information.

Alvin didn't think this would expose him though. He was well known as a great source of information around town, with a great network. And when Cheryl sent repeated enquires asking for updates the previous night, she pretended to be him. And both she and him were deeply protected by the Coin of Wonders, as they frequently used it and smeared it with blood.

Now he could only hope that the Nighthawks hadn't found some additional clues.

"I was keeping an eye on the town, as were all my information channels. I knew that something big would go down, but I had no idea that they would burn down the whole town. Thankfully, according to the newspapers, the town had a low population and very few people died" said Alvin.

"Tell me about them" said Gordon leisurely.

"They call themselves Iron and Blood Cross Order. They found me and asked me to supply them with information about the town and the rumours of the treasure of the Hunter Pathway. They gave me a main ingredient I was missing for the Hunter potion in return. I collected all the rumours floating around and fact-checked them before delivering them. I also gave them names of some ruffians and people with influence in that place" said Alvin.

"I see. Can you tell me about your contact with them?" asked Gordon.

"A flame would go off in the distance at certain times in the evening. As long as I followed the flame, I would be able to meet with a guy wearing a silver and red robe. I gave him all of the information I collected. Last night, he gave me the final ingredient I was missing, a Crimson Wolf's core. I followed up on my own, just in case. If I could get something they wanted, I could try to get further formulas and ingredients" said Alvin.

"Is there anything else about them which you don't tell me?" asked Gordon.

"No" said Alvin.

"Very well then" he said, as he looked at Alvin and smiled. "Now that I have gotten what I want, let's talk again, this time a conversation instead of an interrogation," said Gordon.

Just as Alvin was about to ask him what he meant, the whole world seemed to shatter, and Alvin was startled off the chair he was sitting on, as if he was suddenly awake from a nightmare.

He looked around, to see Gordon just sit at the chair he previously seemed to be occupying.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Soest Gordon, of the Red Gloves. A Sequence 5 Beyonder.