87 Finding the Factory

Tyr scoured the streets of Marseille for over a week and did not find a drug dealer who dealt with Purple Rain. He found a few drug factories, but none of them handled the drug he was looking for. The factories would be raided later, but for now, he needed to keep the dealers unaware that they were being watched.

Tyr grew tired of dealing with the scum of Marseille and wanted to go home. He spent the past week in bars and back alleys making contacts and buying drugs. All of it grew tiresome and left him homesick.

Adding to Tyr's weariness was Aži's temper, which increased with each day that passed. The wyvern became annoyed after being cooped up in the motel they stayed in. The lie he told Macha, forced Aži to come along. Which would have been fine, but only the wealthy were able to afford wyverns and Aži would not help the persona he created. Therefore, he forced his wyvern friend to stay in the room the whole time.

Although Aži understood the importance of what Tyr did, the whole situation annoyed him. He agreed with Luna that Macha should have been informed of the situation. In his opinion, if Tyr had been honest with Macha, then he could have stayed at home while Tyr searched for the Purple Rain drug.

After a few more days, Tyr finally met a dealer who mentioned that a new drug was entering the market. He ended up finding the dealer, Ava, in a middle-class bar. She was a small blonde-haired woman who pushed drugs on the side to help pay for some of the nicer things she liked. He had bought a few drugs from her and now she offered to give him a free sample of this new drug.

The flat cap from Dianne's shop sat snuggly on his head. It changed his appearance so he had blonde hair and blue eyes. With this cap, his skin color became lighter and his beauty mark that was under his left eye was removed. It also made his eyes appear sunken in and smaller.

Tyr recognized the trick that Ava tried to pull on him. She wanted to get him hooked on it and acted like she was doing him a favor by providing him with a free sample. Despite knowing the gimmick, he needed to accept it so he could make sure it was Purple Rain. He scratched his blonde hair and shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, lemmie try it. What does this shit do?" Tyr slid a few coins across the table to pay her for the Psilocybin he originally ordered.

After seeing the coins, Ava tossed him a small blue leather pouch that contained the fungi and slipped him a small purple pill. "Take it when you go to bed tonight. It's supposed to make your memories more intense and realistic. So think about something good." Not wanting to stay longer, she smiled and left the bar.

After a little while, Tyr left and headed back to the motel he was staying at. He tossed the drugs into a large bag that contained a pile of other drugs that he bought. Yanking the cap off of his head, he laid down on the bed and thought about how Macha's pie shop should be opening today or tomorrow. He wondered what she was doing now and stared into the fire. In his loneliness, he reached over to pet Aži but immediately had his hand swatted away by Aži's tail.

The next day he went to the same bar to meet Ava. She conducted most of her business there. Today she was talking with a young teenage boy. While he waited, Tyr bought a drink and sat at the counter to watch the transaction. The young boy picked up a small leather pouch after paying and left. Tyr's sipped an ale as he approached Ava. "Hey. I liked that new thing," he said in a hushed voice. He made his voice sound a little excited when he asked, "Can you get more of it and how much?"

Ava nodded. A few other people wanted to get more of the Purple Rain pill. She listened to the guitarist play in the corner. The man played one of the folk songs she enjoyed. "That stuff is pretty new but easy for me to get. Remember, I like to buy locally so you don't have to worry about waiting. I'll charge four gold a pill, but if you buy nine I'll throw in one for free."

Tyr looked at her and pretended like the price was high. "Four gold a pill? That's pretty steep," he complained. One of Ava's claims was that she buys locally to support the economy and get orders done by the next day. He failed to see how this was a good thing but kept his mouth shut as far as that idea.

Ava shrugged. "It's new. I got connections with the factory, so I'm giving a better price than what some other people are doing. I gotta make a living too." She knew that only one factory in Marseille produced this drug, for now, so Purple Rain was not a drug every dealer had. This made her able to drive up the price.

The upbeat music played in the background and Tyr took another swig of his ale. Nodding, he shrugged his shoulders, "Fine, can you get it by tomorrow? I have a party I'm going to and wanted to share it. I'll need thirty." He asked for a big amount, with the hope that she would need to pick up more.

Ava smiled. This was a good customer. He pushed drugs for her and paid for it. "Sure." Ava looked out of the window and noticed it had gotten dark. If she wanted to get the pills, she had to hurry. "See ya tomorrow."

Tyr nodded. He knew Ava hung out selling her drugs and taking orders at the same time every day. When Ava left, Tyr followed. He jumped to the rooftops and followed her silently. The moons were waning, so it was a dark night. While the middle-class neighborhood had many lights, they did not direct them to the rooftops. This allowed him to easily keep hidden in the darkness.

Ava made her way towards the docks and turned into a small building that had no signs on the front. Tyr jumped to the roof and took out a faceted crystal cone from his jacket. He held it against the roof and a soft brown aura surrounded the cone.

Tyr heard Ava call out, "Arawn, I found a guy who liked that Purple Rain stuff so much he put in an order for thirty pills. This guy is going to a party and wanted to share it with some of his friends." The mention of the name Arawn, caused a frown to form on Tyr's face. It was a name that had many memories associated with it.

There was a small rustle and a familiar voice exclaimed, "Great. Sike, pack that up for her." After a small pause Arawn added, "Ava, I'm going to be out of town for a few months. Did you need anything else before I go?"

The sound of coins being placed on a table drifted into Tyr's ear. Ava's voice followed, "Nah, I'm good. This new stuff is going to be a hit with my clients." The reaction had been positive so far and she expected many more orders to come in.

A little while later, Tyr watched her leave the building, and he waited on the roof. His complexion was pale, and he felt cold. He was confident he knew which Arawn this was, but he needed to see the man's face to confirm it. Many emotions raged in his heart while he waited on the rooftop in silence. Hours passed and eventually, the door opened.

A tall man with broad shoulders came out. He wore a dark brown trench coat and smoked a rolled cigarette. A wide-brimmed hat hid his face as he faced the rising sunrise. The wind whipped his trench coat back and his long red hair blew in the wind.

Arawn let the morning sunlight shine on his face to help wake him up. It had been a long night, but he finished all his work. He summoned his steel horse and hopped on it. He had a hard month of traveling if he wanted to make it to Soacha on time. The time it took to set up Purple Rain's production took longer than expected. Now he needed to travel quickly if he wanted to keep to his schedule.

Tyr stood gazing at Arawn. He did not see the man's face clearly because of the wide-brim and light of the sun. Every time he almost caught a glimpse, a puff of smoke would hide the man's face. Tyr followed the man as he rode through the streets, running on the rooftops to catch just a glimpse of Arawn's face. He needed to confirm if it was the same Arawn that had dated Frigg.

When Tyr realized that the man headed to a city gate that led to the Outer-Reaches, he took a shortcut. He got ahead of the man and his body froze in place as he watched the grey horse make its way down the cobblestones. It was still early morning, so no one was on the streets except for the town guards. The clop-clop of the horse's hooves against the stones drifted in the air. As the man came closer, his face became clearer.

Arawn glanced up and recognized a man staring at him from a rooftop. He smiled. Tyr might disguise the way he looked, but he could never hide the way he stood and carried himself. The killing intent that radiated from Tyr was easily felt from the distance. He called up, "Tyr, let's not hide behind masks. How did I raise you guys? If you have a problem, come at me like a man."

A million emotions crossed Tyr's face. He wanted to jump down and fight Arawn, but he knew it was not his fight to fight. Freyr needed that closure and he could not take that away from his cousin. His body shook with anger as he stood and let Arawn pass through the gates and leave town. His mission this time was not to kill Arawn but to destroy any trace of Purple Rain in the city.