Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Is Mr. Laurel living here? Is he home?"

There was no wind today, and the city was enveloped in thick fog. The morning sun couldn't effectively penetrate the clouds, making the entire street look gloomy.

The suspicious drunkard eyed Shard as Shard sized him up in return. Although Mrs. Lemer, the client, could not provide a photograph of the lawyer, this drunkard's physical features did not match the description she had given. He was definitely not the lawyer.

"Laurel? Go find him at the tavern at the corner of the street."

With that, the drunkard attempted to close the door, and Shard was suspicious that this fellow had just come out from a tavern.

Thinking so, Shard reached out to hold the door, rendering the drunkard's attempts to shut it futile. Shard's face sported what he thought was a very amicable smile:

"Sir, I would also like to ask, since when did Mr. Laurel move here? And what does he do for a living?"

He spoke somewhat muffled, as he didn't want to breathe through his nose to avoid inhaling an excessive amount of alcohol fumes.

"Him? He's been here since I moved in three years ago. He's a lawyer, you know, specializes in solving legal problems for people, handling stuff like inheritances, divorces, and the like... *hic*!"

The drunkard mumbled his answer, and after thanking him, Shard finally allowed him to close the door.

With his hands in his pockets, Shard observed the door in front of him, then turned to watch the bustling street. Carriages passed by, a newsboy looked at him hopefully, and a mother leading her child walked along the wall, scolding as she went. After declining the newsboy's offer, Shard looked toward the direction of the tavern at the street corner:

"Although I have some information, I can't trust it completely; I still need to meet the lawyer. If it comes to it, I'll break into the house. Since he's a lawyer with many years of experience, it's impossible that he doesn't have a ton of documents."

If it were the middle of the night, Shard could have used the Illusion Technique to confuse the drunkard and quietly break in when knocking. Unfortunately, Shard's Arcane Technique was restricted during the day, and as an Outlander favored by Silvermoon, he was stronger at night... although not by much.

The tavern at the end of Queen Mary's Street was called "Pig Head Tavern," a name indicating it was nothing special.

Although it was only nine in the morning, there were still quite a few people in the tavern. As Shard pushed the door open and walked in, he took a whiff of the strange smell of alcohol mixed with fermenting food, then saw that nearly half of the tables were occupied.

Because it was located on a busy street instead of a narrow alleyway, the hygiene here was at least decent. A young man in a hat even sat at the wall playing a lute, the sound fitting just right into the tavern's noise.

After surveying the tavern, Shard concluded that the fire safety measures were incomplete and made his way to the bar. He knocked on the countertop and, taking out his wallet amidst the noisy environment, he raised his voice:

"A glass of water... no, a pint of rye beer."

The busy bartender glanced at him:

"Five pence."

Shard laid down seven pence on the bar, and the bartender looked at him in surprise.

"Which one is Mr. Locke Laurel?"

The Detective asked.

"Just an extra two pence?"

The young bartender said in surprise but, seeing Shard about to take back the money, swiftly swept the small coins into his own hand:

"Two pence is still money... That one over there, the tall man playing Roder Cards against the wall with someone else."

The client described the attorney as a man with brown hair, deep brown eyes, taller than Shard, possessing a beer belly.

Looking in the direction the bartender pointed, indeed, against the wall there were five or six people surrounding a table. Among them, the man sitting on one side of the table, was the only one wearing a white shirt.

Although this place was not the slum of Tobesk Northern District, the people living nearby generally hovered between having enough to eat and going hungry. On a weekday morning, those hanging out in the tavern were mostly loafers, so their attire was very casual, which made the lawyer in the white shirt quite eye-catching.

"Do you know Mr. Laurel's situation?"

Shard didn't go over immediately but asked another question. The young bartender, whose face was speckled with freckles, revealed a cunning smile and made a pinching fingers gesture. Shard thought for a moment, then pushed the glass of rye beer toward him:

"It's on me."

"You..."

The bartender had probably never seen someone like this before, but still placed the beer on the shelf behind him, then took out five pence from the little cash box and stuffed it into his pocket:

"He's an attorney, comes here to play Roder Cards every Wednesday, Friday, and weekend."

"Has he always been an attorney for a long time? Does gambling here cost a lot?"

Shard asked again, and the bartender, after looking at him for a while and seeing that he had no intention of paying more, said somewhat reluctantly:

"Yes, he has been an attorney since moving to this street five years ago. As for playing Roder Cards, it's just a hobby, he's not even a gambler. Apparently, the educated can control themselves pretty well."

Shard leaned his arm on the counter and turned to look at the attorney playing cards with his back to him. From what he could see, the likelihood of Locke Laurel being a real attorney was high, and combined with the divination from the Prophet's Society, it was almost certain the man was clean. But Shard still needed to confirm it one last time in order to conclude the investigation.

And as it happened, Shard could somewhat pass as a Roder Card player himself.

After bidding the apparently bored bartender farewell, he rearranged his deck as he walked toward the group playing cards. Special Cards, of course, had to be completely removed and replaced with regular playing cards, as this tavern was not a safe place.

Then, pretending to be drawn over, he stood with the crowd of onlookers, watching the attorney play against a sweaty, rude middle-aged man. The latter was clearly out of luck; with every card he drew, he would curse with foul language.

In the end, he even angrily slammed his cards onto the ground, leaving all the change and playing cards on the table unanswered, as he stood up in a rage and headed towards the bar, looking like he had no money left to continue.

"Any more card players?"

The winning middle-aged attorney seemed very pleased with himself. People whispered to each other, discussing the thrilling details of the previous game, but it appeared no one was eager to play.

Shard, of course, didn't step up immediately; instead, he waited until Lawyer Laurel seemed to become a bit impatient, before loudly announcing from the back of the crowd:

"If you don't mind playing with a stranger, I believe I will give it a try."

The people made way for him to walk to the table's edge, and Shard placed his set of Old Roder Cards on the round wooden table.

The attorney regarded him with decorum, took a big gulp from the glass in front of him, and then gestured for him to sit down:

"Five pence a game, busts double the stake, twenty-one triples it, drawing a King and Queen quadruples it. Only the highest multiplier counts. I'll remind you, this isn't a game for youngsters."

Relative to some, the stakes weren't very high, but it would still be terrifying to keep losing.