Chapter 61: Totally Unexpected.

​After the encounter with the smiling gray-robed figure, both Finn and Althea lost the enthusiasm and eagerness to explore they previously had. To Finn, every gray robe he spotted made his vigilance subconsciously rise. Everyone that stared at him, he observed with distrust and assessment in his eyes.

Eventually, it became too much. Finn felt he was acting paranoid. He realized he needed something to distract his over-active mind. And thankfully, he had just spotted a good source of distraction.

​”In here,” Finn muttered, steering Althea toward a large, multi-story storefront that displayed garments from all three continents. The sign above the door was a shifting holographic image from Mechanus, cycling through the latest fashions of the season as the angle Finn observed it from changed.

​They stepped inside, and immediately, the sudden quietness of the shop offered them the brief reprieve they sorely required from the sensory assault of the street.

​Thirty minutes later, when they stepped back out, the two Initiate Ossuarists were gone.

​In their place stood two travelers who looked like they belonged to the chaotic bustle of the Trade City.

​Finn adjusted the collar of his new coat. It was wine-colored and typical of Mechanus commonwear, allowing him to blend into the colorful-clothed crowd more easily. He looked less like a ’monk of death’ now and more like a wandering tourist, or simply a suave young gentleman.

​”It fits,” Althea commented as she adjusted her own attire.

​She had chosen differently. Instead of something very simple, she had opted for a more dramatic outfit — A deep purple armless vest that she chose solely because it complimented her hair. It was made from beast-hide, giving her a ’wild Feraxian beast tamer mercenary looking for her next job’ kind of look that made Finn stare a bit too long.

​”You blend in,” Finn cleared his throat and quickly commented after Althea noticed his short silence. “Though I doubt anyone will mistake you for a local. You still walk very lightly with poise…”

​”Ingrained habit,” Althea replied dryly, scanning the bustling street outside. “More importantly, though… have you seen him again?”

​Finn shook his head and also scanned the crowd again. “No. But he’s surely still out there… probably watching us even now.”

Their short experience in the store had lightened their over-heightened vigilance from before, but that didn’t mean Finn was no longer keeping an eye out for the man.

​They drifted back into the current of the crowd and resumed their exploration, but this time, the stares they attracted were different.

Instead of the weird glances they got because of the funeral-like Ossuarist uniform they previously wore, the glances directed at them now were merely assessing glances from merchants gauging their wealth, pickpockets gauging their awareness… and hot-blooded young males giving Althea double-takes. Though Finn was sure she didn’t even notice that.

​As they moved deeper into the Middle District, the sights and vibrance of the city continued to blow them away.

​Suddenly, the crowd ahead of them parted just as a familiar levitation artifact descended from the sky. On it, were the two ’talents’ from the landing pad — the youth with the mechanical arm and the girl with the saber-toothed tiger.

​They were laughing, holding skewers of grilled meat, looking every bit the arrogant tourists they were.

​But then, the girl, Ria, spotted them.

​Her laughter cut off abruptly and she immediately nudged the Mechanus youth, whispering urgently and pointing with her skewer at Finn and Althea.

Here we go again, ​Finn rolled his eyes and prepared himself for another round of their gaudy insults. In fact, he primed his mind, ready to chant his Soul Edict again if necessary.

​But the insult he expected never came.

​Instead, to Finn’s surprise, the Mechanus youth offered a stiff, curt nod of acknowledgment — like the kind a lesser predator gives another when crossing territories. Promptly, he steered the disk to the far side of the street, giving them a wide berth.

Well, what do you know? Finn raised a brow in surprise. It seemed they both had common sense at least. Or maybe Finn’s expectations had just been skewed from the years of cultivation novels he’d read back on earth.

That was a proper faceslapping scenario. Finn chuckled.

“What are you laughing about?” Althea suddenly asked.

“Nothing.” Finn replied a bit too quickly, making Althea stare at him a bit longer in suspicion.

“Mister Finn, Miss Althea?” A voice suddenly drew both their attention, and they turned back to the voice.

It was a young lady that frankly, Finn thought had missed her way. She was dressed in common wear, but she surely wasn’t fooling anyone into thinking she was common.

First, her delicate bronze skin that glowed like it had a layer of liquid gold underneath betrayed her wealthy and maybe even noble origin.

And if one could somehow not notice that, the team of guards, who were actually doing a really good job of blending into the crowd in various locations, also gave her away.

Finn, who was already very vigilant, had quickly noticed their presence as they feigned being regular buyers, haggling prices, some reading newspapers, and some simply strolling slowly.

Yeah. This is someone very important. Finn mused internally but gave the girl a bright smile.

“And you are…?”

“Maeve,” the girl held out a hand for a handshake. “Maeve Feugeur.”

“Feugeur?” Finn asked, shaking the girl’s outstretched hand formally.

“Yeah. I don’t look like one, do I?”

“That’s not what I meant—”

“It’s fine,” the girl chuckled. “I know what you meant. I was just fucking with you.”

Finn reared back on instinct, shaking his head with a reassessing smile. “Those are… colorful words for a Feugeur…” In the first place, he wasn’t about to believe someone that randomly came up to him and said they were from the richest family on the Island of Xanth.

But now, whatever small trace of belief he might have harbored on the off-chance was telling the truth, was entirely extinguished.

Even without personally meeting any Feugeur yet, he knew they certainly did not speak with such vulgar language, especially not to someone they just met.

“Shucks. I let one slip again,” the girl hissed, before quickly apologizing. “Sorry. It’s a bad habit of mine to default back to how I normally speak. I assure you, I am who I say I am,” she reached into the plain robe she wore and brought out a medallion that, at first glance, was totally unfamiliar to Finn and Althea.

It wasn’t until she brought it up to their faces that Finn finally made out the unmistakable emblem of the Feugeur family.

But even at that, he still kept his face stoic and played dumb.

“Are we supposed to know what this means?”

If the girl was taken aback by the fact they didn’t recognize the Feugeur family emblem, she didn’t show it at all. Instead, she withdrew the emblem and dropped a statement that took Finn and Althea off-guard.

“Well, I can understand why both of you would be cautious. But I assure you of my identity… In fact, I’m surprised my name didn’t jog either of your memories, especially you, Finn.”

Finn merely raised a brow, clearly showing he needed more context.

“My brother. He should have mentioned me at least once… right?”

“Your brother…?” Althea asked this time.

“Micah,” she looked between Finn and Althea’s confused and shocked expressions. “Micah Fugger? Moss-colored hair? Lazy? Too playful? Smokes like hell? That Micah Fugger?” she drawled when both of them still refused to speak.

“In his last message he said he was a Caretaker-ranked Ossuarist now… He is, right?”

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