Chapter 35: Hard to pick

 

Unknown to hold it passed since entering inside the Market of Fiddler's City, but the atmosphere inside the city even if it was night continued on, having a strong night activity. However, unlike what he thought, Vlad exited empty handed from the Market, bickering to himself, sounding rather annoyed.

"It's not my fault. How could I know that the shops selling toys will be closed at 11 PM?"

From Vlad's pocket, a beautiful girl looked rather dejected, remarking to Vlad who was on the defensive.

"We'll visit the shop tomorrow in the morning. You've drunk plenty for tonight."

"That's not true, I've only spent some pocket change, nothing more."

A back and forth between Vlad whose breath was smelling of alcohol while Titania kept moving her hands to clear his breath, starting to make fun of him for not being true to his words.

"I couldn't get empty handed to the ship. Okay?"

"Sure, but you could at least just visit the stalls and not "check" on each liquor."

"You are wrong, there's still more of those various drinks to check. My head hurts a little bit." told Vlad, who moved toward the harbor without using his walking cane, and with his eyes wide open.

Overall, in this way, he was giving the impression he could see, something he decided to do since walking out of the Cathedral, in case someone might have gained some thoughts about him. Besides that, the whole process of walking without using the walking cane came in a weird way, requiring him to use his ears and isolate various sounds, and focus specifically on the people walking forward.

"Want me to help? Using your hair to point you toward the Harbor?"

"Let me try by myself. It should be easy since I have to move along with those people in front of me. From what they were talking, I can tell, they are sailors not from this Island, and are only stopping for a couple of days."

Saying that with himself keeping the distance from the sailors, he followed them walking in synchrony with their steps, getting a new feeling that resembled the moments he would know where certain hits might get to him.

However, this feeling lasted until he crashed into a building wall, hitting head first the building, later on getting confused by the situation.

"What happened? Wasn't I following those guys?"

"You did, but they turned around, and for some reason you decided to move forward. I didn't say anything, since you've told me to not interrupt you."

Titania was standing on his head, evading the impact where she watched Vlad rub his forehead from the pain he was suffering, which gave her some satisfaction, especially after what he had done this night.

"I think I got lost." confessed Vlad after spacing out for a brief moment.

"Want me to guide you to the ship?"

"... I have no other choice." mentioned the blind man with some dejection, suffering from not being accustomed with the new environment, unlike Picodras that he knew by heart.

Then, what followed suit was the Fairy beginning to grab hold of some specific strands of hair one from the top, back, and sides, which she started pulling, like a carriage driver would do with the horse reins.

"I think you got a lot of satisfaction nowadays, doing this, right?"

"Hmmm? It reminds me of the time we were inside Galena and you instructed me to use you like this." said Titania who pulled on Vlad's front hair a bit harder.

"Use me? What am I right now? A Horse?"

*Chuckle* "Mule."

Vlad gave off a small smile, continuing to move forward along with the path dictated by Titania, until he could hear the waves of the sea hitting on the stone of the harbor, a point where he breathed out in relief, finding himself back to a familiar place.

But then his relief didn't last long since he could pick on some conversations once he stepped on his ship coming from some younger voices.

"How was it? The description of Father?"

"The person he asked us to look for?"

"Long black hair, strong build, rather tall, heavy boots, normal pants and that he looks like a devil. Right, what does a devil look like again? I don't really give a shit about father's religious gimmick."

"You better don't say that in his face, about the religious gimmick. But I do remember his stories from his predecessor. The devil, like the ones from the Cathedral painted on the walls?

The one with two horns on his head and with a devilish handsome appearance."

"Ahh, correct, I remember those cool paintings with the devil sitting on his burning throne."

"That's called the Crimson Throne."

"Right, still, irrelevant. Let's get back to looking for that target and pick up the smaller mice to be placed to work. That cheap food is not for nothing."

They didn't bother with Vlad's ship, and moved to another part of the harbor, where some smaller kids were lurking, with some sleeping while others awake, keeping for a look out, immediately giving them the orders for their task.

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On the other hand, Vlad who listened to the initial conversation glanced in the direction those guys took, and with a serious tone, he remarked to Titania.

"They have begun searching for me."

"They only know some vague description of yourself. You can disguise yourself rather easily."

"How?"

"You make your hair shorter." suggested Titania, which made Vlad frown, turning around walking deeper in the ship, only telling the Fairy resting on his head.

"Out of question."

"Then … I've seen Mary use a method to make her hair look shorter. And it isn't tying your hair down, it uses hair pins."

"To be honest, I'll not waste my time with such cowardly acts. My hair, I value it so much that it is almost something sacred to me."

Titania, didn't follow up with any suggestions as she felt that it would only bother Vlad, and she took off to the Captain's Cabin leaving the tall young man to contemplate to himself those changes.

'Little girl, I can't abandon this tradition of growing my hair. Even if in this world, most people don't care about the length of their hair, especially men. To me, having long hair is a symbol of power and authority.'

'Such the conflict of interest. Sigh. Anyway, if those people start bothering me, I will depart the following days since I don't wish to be bothered fighting a lot of those peasants.'

He was playing in his mind various scenarios of what might happen with Captain Vane and the people he sent to search for him. Then thinking about the Mayor of this city, Ruebard Fiddler who could allow a pirate to terrorize people with his iron fist, and along the way the Marines of this island that worked hand in hand in this corrupt system.

'I am not even surprised about the marines. I knew it from the start when I learned about them. Their interests are anything but what they declare them to be. Justice? It would be better if it stays away from me.'

Taking in the breeze of the sea, which made the atmosphere around the harbor quite serene, Vlad too, walked toward the Captain's Cabin returning to his office after placing the books he picked from the Cathedral's Library into his own bubbling recreational space.

'I did well in not bringing my own Library from home and leaving it in Picodras. I got more space to fill it with books from all around the world.'

Seated on his chair, unbothered by Titania who was mumbling something inside her own bed, he opened his notebook and began writing on it.

『 27.04.1514 - Arrival to Bulge Island 』

[This new day was bound to bring me certain entertainment, but not everything went as I planned since I wanted to remain in anonymity and not kill any single soul of this place. Still, I can't blame myself, for that pig was waiting his judgment day and he only needed a small push from a carrier.

From my understanding of this new island, the power structure is centered around certain key players, from the Mayor of this City, Rhubarb Fiddler who seems like the front of this whole charade. Then, you also have the Commander of the Marines, someone called Broadhand who closes his eyes in the face of this lurking disease.

However, they seem to be only puppets, with two people acting like the de-facto leaders of the Island, precisely the old Priest inside the Cathedral and the one called Charles Vane.

My short investigation was rather successful and I didn't have to dig too much into dirt, such that I know what to expect from the following days of my stay in this place, if it ever happens.

The people have already begun their search for me, but I don't worry about any conflict. If worse comes, and they attack me, I will slaughter all of them, leaving only the mice.

Probably it will not lead to this since I initially expected the person Charles Vane to overreact and make a scene, sending his people to hunt me down while in the city. Instead, he went to the Priest for assistance, which makes me believe he didn't believe the fact that a blind man like me could actually kill his dog.

So, to not be disturbed in the following days, I will try Titania's idea of pinning my hair, making it shorter. I got to chip some wood to make those pins.]

If one could see Vlad in those moments as he was placing his mind inside those empty pages inside his notebook without even being able to see, they would be shocked. His calligraphy was immaculate and ordered, spot on what a nobleman of the 15th century would do.

After ending writing on his dairy, taking him about one hour to recall all the events and placing them on the sheet of paper, he, later on, took off his clothes, and placed on himself a pair of sleeping pants to get to his blanket.

"Good night, little Titania."

Closing his eyes, he quickly returned to the dreamland, and with an eventful day, slowly time flew by, bringing forth a new day without any major events to happen inside Fiddler City at night, even though an underground machinery was set in motion searching for a specific man.

The new day didn't bring anything out of ordinary inside except for a young man who had shoulder length hair walking using a black cane toward the Market of the city.

"You've listened to me. How come?" inquired a girl resting inside the young man's black overcoat pocket, looking up with her golden eyes at the man who changed into clean clothes that looked different then the last day.

"Lowers the chances of being bothered by some idiots. I don't feel like fighting anyone today." replied the young man, who looked like a rich merchant seeming to move about with important business.

"Hehe, see I wasn't wrong. You didn't even let me help you with your hair, instead, doing it alone. How did you know the technique?"

"Little girl, that isn't something Mary invented. I've heard of this method of shortening hair long ago. I just was never required to shorten my hair." replied Vlad with a calm voice, while Titania beamed with a satisfied smile.

She felt that her day started well, and it continued getting even better when Vlad stepped inside the Market and asked for the doll merchants, appearing before some women that were selling various toys.

"Young Sir, how can we be of help?"

"I want to buy some dolls for girls. They should be 10-20 centimeters, while the clothes, I would prefer them to be of premium quality."

"A big customer, please get closer. I will try to see if I can satisfy your requirements, young sir." replied a woman in her late 30s, who arranged her hair a bit when glancing at Vlad's noble appearance along with his styled shoulder length hair.

"Take your time."

"Young Lord, are you interested in our goods? Maybe we can find something to your taste." asked another lady, trying to take advantage of this situation and get Vlad's attention on her stall.

"Sure, as long as you can satisfy my first criteria. I don't mind checking." replied Vlad with a calm voice after turning his body to meet the speakers, looking as a normal person without any illness.

The atmosphere in those parts of the market shifted, turning animated, with each merchant lady trying to impress Vlad with each doll they had under their names, however, they weren't impressing Vlad, instead Titania who peaked from his coat's pocket to give her own verdict.

'There are some good dresses from the dolls. How can I tell Vlad about my choices?'

Thinking that, she returned inside the pocket and contemplated, until an idea came to her mind, beginning to kick Vlad into his stomach, getting his attention from his conversation with the ladies.

'Sorry, but you also told me to not appear in front of the humans since it will make a scene. Something is approaching?'

'His hand? Hey, I didn't kick you so you can tease me.'

Titania looked at Vlad's hand, and she noticed him move his finger, giving a gesture toward his coat's sleeve.

'You want me to climb the sleeve and get to your ears? I guess this is safe.'

Once she got inside his sleeve, Vlad gave her some assistance by pulling his hand from the sleeve for a bit, until she reached his elbow, afterwards, she was on a mountainous climb, reaching the summit by popping her head from his coat neck.

'Phew, finally air. I wonder what fragrance he uses after he washes his body. It smells nice. Ahh, I don't have time for such  things.'

She hid behind his neck, and slowly moving herself closer to his ears without being noticed by the ladies, Titania whispered to his ear.

"I want the green dress, the normal clothes, the jeans and shirt one,  the shorter pair of trousers and the orange undershirt."

*COUGH* "By numbers."

The ladies looked at Vlad confused but he just reacted as if nothing happened, pointing around at the dolls that were sorted on the table and in that variety of dolls there were also the ones Titania wanted.

When the Fairy got the meaning of Vlad's gesturing, she facepalmed herself, and made up for her initial mistake.

"Sorry, I want the 2nd doll, the 5th, the 6th and 9th doll."

She then saw Vlad nod his head a tiny bit, and settling down with the business buying the dolls, he later on engaged in a casual talk with the ladies, with questions about the origins of their dolls, before turning to simple gossiping, where Vlad began working on gaining various answers about "influential people" of the Fiddler City.

"Young Sir, so you are a merchant from Picodras. We heard of that place, isn't it quite far away from Bulge Island?"

"Close to a month of traveling from Picodras to Bulge. It shouldn't be that far, my ladies."

"Impressive, you've managed to travel so much on the sea without being attacked by those cursed pirates, bastards like Vane and his dogs." mentioned one of the ladies that stuck close to Vlad, trying to be flirty with him, before the rest of the ladies reacted in a sacred way.

"Shhhh, Mikayla, don't bring unwanted attention to yourself by talking about Captain Vane. You know that those guys are dangerous.

No one wants to do anything with them, especially in the Market. At least don't bring them on me, since I want to continue my simple life."

Vlad stroked his chin, and "looked" at both girls and with a curious tone, asked.

"I've recently arrived in Bulge, but does Captain Vane have a bad reputation for making life hard for the people of the city?"

"Hah bad reputation? Mister Vlad, I hope you don't have any interactions with those bastards belonging to Vane.

You seem like a fine gentleman, but those pirates are brutes. They think they own the entire city and can do whatever they like." replied the woman, Mikayla, sensing a secure feeling while being around Vlad which allowed her to open about the entire situation of Fiddler City.

She brought Vlad inside her booth and began telling him the general information each citizen was aware of, talking until Vlad stopped her, remarking with an understanding tone.

"I understand the general situation of the city. But, you are wrong about something here, miss Mikayla. You don't have only Charles Vane being a thorn in your backs, but many others."

"What do you mean? Captain Vane threatens everyone to do as he commands."

*Chuckle* "Maybe, maybe not. You guys just have to think about it. Anyway, I will take my leave, since I have other places to be."

Hearing Vlad suggest the otherwise, it made the woman think about it, and nodding at him, thanking for the patronage, leaving out on only this shopping spree 75.000 𝔅 which pleased and shocked the merchants simultaneously.

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"You like the clothes you picked?" inquired Vlad, who began walking toward the harbor, intending to return to the Cathedral after settling Titania's shopping.

"Mhmm, of course. Sorry for not understanding what you wanted to do by spreading out the dolls. I almost forgot that you had eye problems."

"Don't be, since we've got to borrow more of those books from the Cathedral."

"Won't it be dangerous to go to the Cathedral? Isn't the Priest looking for you?"

"I doubt he will even notice my presence from the manner I want to get inside."

After another 35 minutes since finishing Titania's shopping, Vlad returned again to the Cathedral, and this time he was prepared, bringing along with himself a bag that he kept inside his pocket.

"I tell you, the old mister will notice you Vlad." remarked Titania, who looked at the large building, as it got bigger and bigger in her sight.

And without getting an answer from the tall young man, she noticed how he moved around the wall of the Cathedral, until he jumped in a swift manner bypassing the "protections" of the building.

What followed next for Titania, was something she didn't expect Vlad to, without requesting her assistance in telling him where he landed, Vlad walked toward an isolated side of the Cathedral where a tall oak tree created a bigger shadow, and it was the location of the Cathedral that the Library was situated.

"Found it. Hold tight, Titania."

A brief warning, and Vlad jumped on the building's stone wall, beginning his climb toward the second level of the building, stopping at the windows that he checked, pushing gently on the glass.

"As I expected. It is clear."

Saying that, Vlad pushed on the window that opened, welcoming him back inside the neglected Library, and without him being required to spend his money, or having another interaction with the old man which might stir suspicions from his conversation with Captain Vane.

This Library became a free-for-all place, at least in Vlad's perspective, who got accustomed to the dusted environment full of various smells from the aged leather, to the paper, then what irked his keen sense of smell, the mold.

"This is the second round, Titania. Let's see if we can find something interesting from this place."

"Won't it be dangerous? What if the old mister finds us?"

"Nothing significant. I'll just tell him I spent my night here."