Page 27 of The Study of Poisons
“Oh no. You’re my friend, I’ll give you a good deal. The best deal for the best herbs in town.”
Valek enjoyed haggling and soon purchased a bag full of crushed anise for a decent price. The spice resembled and smelled just like blackberry poison. Then he wandered around the stalls as if shopping, but he scanned the other shoppers. A number of young people wove through the crowd. They chatted with various shoppers and sometimes led them away from the market. No doubt they were the baiters for the black market dealers.
Stopping in front of a stall selling farm tools, Valek glanced at the collection. He picked up a scythe. It was rusted and dull. There were a few ancient butcher knives, small hammers, and chisels, but nothing that could be used as a proper weapon.
“Can I help you, sir?” the seller asked.
“Do you have anything…sharper? Longer? Newer?”
The man raised his eyebrows. “I’m not sure what—”
“Something I could…” Valek made a stabbing motion.
“Oh no, sir. That would be a weapon and they are illegal to sell and to own in Ixia.”
And yet Valek had confiscated plenty of them during the fire festival last year. He thanked the man and went in search of another dealer.
He didn’t get far before a man sidled up to Valek and said, “I know where you can buy some weapons.”
Valek studied him. Not as young as the others—maybe early thirties, he wore a worn merchant’s uniform. If he was a legitimate seller, he’d be paying taxes and be able to get new uniforms for free.
“I’ve no interest in wooden replicas or anything manufactured with cheap steel,” Valek said.
“I guarantee they’re all made with genuine Sitian metal. All high-quality goods.”
“And all illegal.”
“Not at all, sir. They’re leftovers from before the takeover.”
Valek allowed the man to lead him to a narrow alley. A cliché, but they were out of sight of the other sellers and Castletown’s guards, who were also referred to as the watch as they kept a close eye on the town’s citizens.
The man removed a long, thin knife from his cloak. “This is a Sitian blade made from ore mined from the Emerald Mountains. And if you don’t give me your pouch full of coins, I’m going to ram it straight into your heart.” His tone turned menacing.
Not a baiter, but a thief. Unexpected, but not unwelcome. The man faced him with his feet close together and the weapon held out in his right hand. A rookie. And considering the punishment for murder was death, the threat was empty. However, it was probably effective, as most people would see the sharp blade and hand over their money in fear.
“You can’t drive it straight into my heart, mate,” Valek corrected. “The sternum is a rather thick bone, and you don’t have the proper stance to generate the amount of thrust you’d need to pierce it with that weapon.”
“How about straight into your balls then?” He lowered the point.
“That’s a much better threat.”
“Come on,mate, hand it over.”
“And then what? I report you to the watch and they find and arrest you.”
A sneer. “You’re trying to purchaseillegalgoods. You rat me out and I rat you out. Consider your coins a bribe to keep me quiet.”
That was rather smart. “I’ll pass.”
“You’ll what?”
“Pass. I’m not giving you a single coin. What are you going to do now?” Valek was genuinely curious.
“I’m—”
“Hey!” a shout echoed through the alley.
The would-be thief glanced to his right. It was too good of a distraction for Valek to pass up. He grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted hard. Yanking the knife from the man’s now nerveless fingers, Valek swept the thief’s feet out from under him. He followed him to the ground and poked the tip of the weapon into the man’s abdomen. The thief froze.
