Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 30 How can the matter of a magician be considered stealing?
In this season on the continent of Faerûn, the desolate autumn moon with its falling leaves has long since passed, replaced by the increasingly cold and decaying moon that hints at winter.

Although the Sword Coast region, located on the Tropic of Cancer, has not fallen into cold darkness like Neverwinter or Icewind Dale, it has also entered the rhythm of winter time.

Although the Flame Fist Squad arrived at around four o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was no longer bright, and the clouds in the sky were gradually dyed red by the setting sun. Under the dim light, a figure walked straight towards the Feld Hotel.

The figure belonged to Zhang the Archmage Yuan. Since the group was going to rest and spend the night in Belgost, Skar simply told his men that as long as they came back to spend the night, it would be fine.

Zhang Yuan, who had politely declined the invitations from the dwarf shield-axeer Bard and the greatswordman Münster, was preparing to scout the enemy's situation alone when he unexpectedly ran into Lawrence, that old lecher, at the door.

Speaking of which, he and Lawrence were not strangers. The old lecher who was always talking nonsense met Zhang Yuan, a lecherous old man who had read thousands of erotic books and had no desire for sex. They were evenly matched, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that they were birds of a feather.

Lawrence, who had only ever heard of clichéd and dry literary works like the picnic adventures of noble ladies and the mysterious gardens of countesses, was utterly captivated by someone's retelling of classics like "Golden Scales," "The Lampwick," and "Ali." His words lingered for days, leaving him utterly mesmerized.

During casual conversations, Lawrence, who regretted not meeting Zhang Yuan sooner, answered almost every question Zhang Yuan asked, providing a lot of valuable information, though whether it was true or not was another matter.

Lawrence also saw Zhang Dawenhao and saw him beckoning him over. Zhang Yuan couldn't pretend not to see him, so he joined Lawrence's group and looked at the two companions he brought with him.

One of them was a rather thin and short young man who took the initiative to greet Zhang Yuan. The other, a taller man, was more robust and had a stern face. After Zhang Yuan took the initiative to be friendly, he nodded in response.

"Let me introduce you. These are two friends I met here before. This is Duncan, and this is Mal."

After exchanging pleasantries, the four of them entered the Feld Inn together. The inn, which looked unremarkable from the outside, was quite different inside. Its luxury was in no way inferior to the Elven Song in Baldur's Gate, only slightly less in size and liveliness.

The group ordered some drinks and sat down around a square table. While watching the beautiful dancers gracefully perform to the accompaniment of the seven-stringed zither, they chatted about all sorts of things.

Duncan kept pressing Lawrence for details about his experiences at Baldur's Gate, and the latter could only fob him off with some anecdotes or gossip from the Seven Suns Merchant Guild. It seemed that this old lecher wasn't as unreliable as he appeared; at least he had some sense of secrecy.

Mal, however, did not seem to care about this. Only when asked did he reveal a hint of unease about his surroundings and concern for his son.

Zhang Yuan, preoccupied with his own thoughts, gave a few perfunctory replies and then stopped participating in their conversation. Instead, he began to observe the hotel with his eyes darting around. It was indeed luxurious. Not to mention the soft and comfortable carpet underfoot, the bright red velvet cloth on the table alone was worth a week's wages for some poor man.

Not far away, several noblewomen dressed in gorgeous long dresses and adorned with jewels sat far away from others, quietly listening to a wandering poet's singing and playing. No one else dared to approach them, as if they tacitly acknowledged the existence of this VIP area.

Someone who thought the bard's level was not very good couldn't help but maliciously speculate: Could it be that he came here to keep a gigolo?

Suddenly, a small incident occurred. A middle-aged man with a tacky appearance and an obese body appeared. He was wearing a golden coat with a pink cape draped over his back. He had a receding hairline and his fat belly was sticking out of his coat, revealing a small gap.

Yet this greasy, unappealing man brazenly sat down in a chair next to the elegant ladies. While the ladies ignored him, they didn't object either. Zhang Yuan, marveling at this, inquired about the oddball with his companions. Lawrence and Mal shook their heads, but Duncan laughed.

"You mean this guy? His name is Eignon. He started out as a down-on-his-luck merchant who had even mortgaged his family fortune and could only stay here temporarily. Later, somehow, he won over and persuaded several members of the merchant guild to do business together and turned his life around. He's quite a figure in Belgost, and everyone is willing to give him face."

Hearing this, I roughly understood what was going on. It turns out that this Aijinon is quite talented. He used the Charm Cloak to achieve the effect of the Face Fruit. I couldn't help but have a higher opinion of this item, and of course, I also had more desire for it.

Having already made his plans, Zhang Yuan subtly inquired about the situation of those noble ladies from Duncan. As expected of the old lecher's friend, this little lecher had information about these ladies with ease.

After a while, having drunk a few cups of wine, Zhang Yuan excused himself to go to the restroom and temporarily left the table. Instead, he turned a corner and went to a waiter, taking out a silver coin:
"Lady Gerian's husband was somewhat puzzled by some recent events at the Field Hotel, or rather, the Sir was quite concerned about some of the businessmen who were always bothering the lady."

He pointed to Lady Garian, who had the most voluptuous and charming appearance, and handed her the silver coin.

Without a word, the waiter accepted the silver coins and whispered in Zhang Yuan's ear, "Go upstairs this way, on the left, the first room."

As if to justify the silver coin, he added, "Han Feizi's performance will end in about 45 minutes, at which time he will go back to his room to rest."

Three-quarters of an hour, that's about forty-five minutes, that's enough time!
After returning to his seat, Zhang Yuan first asked about the location of the clothing store in Duncan Town, and then calmly left under the pretext of buying clothes.

Leaving the Feld Inn, I went straight to the clothing store and, too lazy to haggle, bought a pink cloak similar to the Egilon's cloak, along with a gray outer robe.

Feeling the pinch of spending a full eight silver coins, Zhang Yuan could only consider it an initial investment. "Thinking about how I got a magic cloak for less than a gold coin, it's a steal," he consoled himself, finally feeling less pained.

Back in Feld, after showing off his new robe to his companions and receiving some compliments, he continued to pretend to drink and boast.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, and calculating that the bard's performance was almost over, he once again made an excuse to go to the toilet and slipped away, leaving behind only the two lecherous men with strange looks.

After wandering around for a while, the person arrived at Eguidnon's room on the second floor. At that moment, the room's owner was still downstairs, eagerly listening to the ladies' tunes. The person took the opportunity to make some arrangements.

Hiding in a corner of the room, Zhang Yuan released the key figure in this plan—Sherry!
Sherry is no ordinary ferret. As a magical pet, she is born with the ability to stealth, hide, and pickpocket, comparable to a professional thief. Coupled with her small size, she is virtually invincible when it comes to these dirty jobs.

It's strange, really, that such a master thief is a Lawful alignment summoned creature... Hmmmmm
Using the consciousness link between the magical pet and the mage, Zhang Yuan conveyed Sherry's next action plan through gestures and drawings. Everything was ready, and all that was needed was for the protagonist to take the stage; the show was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)