Chapter 102 A Crime

After the encounter with Ewan earlier that day, and the news from Hargreeve that he couldn't leave as soon as he would have liked, Jeremiah had been looking forward to that drink. He practically dragged Aaron back to The Leaky Boat, and wasted no time ordering his first drink, pushing one towards his Cabin Boy as well. Everyone knew that a good drink was always better with company, even if he was attempting to drown his woes.

"Heard about Ewan," Arthur began, giving a glance at Jeremiah as he served another customer.

Jeremiah paused his drink just before it reached his lips, looking back at Arthur with obvious annoyance, "He already ruined my day, I advise you to not ruin my evening".

Arthur snorted, "He may be a right ass, but I think we both know you can handle Ewan".

Jeremiah snorted, tipping back his drink, "I hardly think it's a question of whether or not I can handle him. It's a question of how big of an ass he plans to be before I do".

Arthur nodded in agreement, "So for how long will you tolerate him? You're only here a couple of days".

"I'd rather not kill him if I can avoid it," Jeremiah sighed, "That'll really put a damper on my trip assure".

"Like he hasn't done that already," Aaron mumbled. The corner of Jeremiah's lips turned up in amusement. This was why he'd hired Aaron. Sure, a cabin boy should be loyal, and Aaron was without a doubt, but Jeremiah liked a bit of humour to brighten his day. As serious as Aaron was most of the time, he had his moments, small as they were. Aaron had only been a young boy when he'd been brought under Jeremiah's wing, but the orphan boy had stood out to him.

Mainly because he'd been daring enough to steal from the docks right beside the esteemed captain. That thievery had quickly come to an end after Aaron had been welcomed on board the Miranda. Jeremiah had simply told him that if he worked hard, he would never go hungry nor be lonely again. Jeremiah had yet to let him down.

"There'll be less talk of murder in this tavern thankyou," Arthur grumbled, "You know its not good for business".

"Unless you deal in such things, I don't think murder is good for any business," Jeremiah replied, "But that doesn't stop accidents from occuring".

Arthur rolled his eyes, then pointed subtlely to a table in the corner where three quiet young men sat eating their evening meal. Or more specificially, two of them ate while the hooded one sat still in the corner.

"They who you were on about earlier?" asked Jeremiah, "I still don't think they're worth the information you gave us. I think you should offer something more substantial".

"You want more information?" asked the Tavern Master with a grin, "Well, you're going to have to offer more than a story about a Goddess with the tail and ears of a fox granting wishes".

Jeremiah grumbled, turning away as he took up his drink again. Nothing else really came to mind, besides the fact that there weren't many things going on at the moment that was of any real interest to him. And even if something was apparent, Jeremiah highly doubted it would be related to Eldovia, the continent was not much of a threat to the Token Trading Firm.

"I heard the dwarves were in the middle of developing a new type of crystal weaponry," Aaron offered.

The Tavern Master raised an eyebrow in interest, "And how did you hear of that before me?"

It was a valid question, the Dwarves were native to Eldovia, they only had small colonies on other continents.

Aaron smirked, "I have my methods and you have yours".

Jeremiah didn't stop their conversation, instead turning subconsciously to look at the table of three individuals. He couldn't deny the possibility that they could be useful. Those who kept low profiles usually were if one used them properly. Only, there were no longer three individuals there, the one with the hood had disappeared. Jeremiah's eyes narrowed, he hadn't even seen the kid move, let alone leave. Looking down at the tankard in his hands, Jeremiah shook his head, maybe he'd been off the drink for too long and it now had a more profound effect on him than he'd been prepared for. He took another swig anyway.

As he drunk himself merry, listening to Aaron argue with the Tavern Master, time seemed to pass without a care in the world. Only, there would have to come a time when his merriment would end, and it eventually came in the form of one of his sailors, a burly man named Tank, burst through the doors of The Leaky Boat with a loud crash, rushing up to Jeremiah.

"A fire, Captain!" he said desperately, "A fire's broken out at the main warehouse".

Jeremiah sobered up in an instant, rushing with Aaron and the sailor back out the doors of the Tavern, leaving Arthur with two half drunk tankards.

By the time the two of them arrived, there were already plenty of individuals working to get the blaze under control. One after another they would take water from the harbour and carry it the forty or so metres up the bank to the warehouse which continued to blaze. Even with so many working to put it out.

Jeremiah took in the great blaze, his eyes immediately looking for signs of how this could have happened. The warehouses were guard day and night by the city guards, how would anyone have an opportunity to attack the warehouses? Let alone Token warehouses. No one dared to oppose them in the open, who would dare now?

As Jeremiah began working in the cold night air to attack the flames, his sobering eyes began picking up on strange occurrances. Why hadn't such a blazing fire jumped beyond this singular warehouse? His eyes moved to the adjacent warehouse, and while he couldn't see clearly in the shadows of the night, the flickering of the blaze next door allowed him to view a few burnt patches on the roof of the warehouse next door. Just then, he noticed another spark jump onto the roof and catch light. He opened his mouth to warn those fighting the fire, only to watch as a shadow seemed to detach itself from beneath the gutter and reach up to enclose the flame, like someone dropping a blanket on it. Jeremiah's eyes narrowed.

A Shadow Magician? No one else had abilities like that.

The only problem was that shadow magicians were a rarity because usually when they awakened, more secretive orgnaisations tended to jump at the opportunities to grow their influence. Shadow Magicians tended to specialise in espionage and assassination. They were the ultimate agents, why would one act indpendently in controlling a fire? Had the Token family hired one without his knowledge?

Jeremiah's eyes wandered, amongst the workers, trying to spot the Magician in question. But no one stood out to him. Eventually, as the fire finally began to die down, Jeremiah decided that regardless of whether or not a Shadow Magician had helped that night, it was better he didn't pursue the matter.

After all, even he, a famed Token, had no right to oppose nor question such an entity.