“Seriously?” Ryka asked, voicing everyone’s thoughts.
“It’s none of your-” Solus’ words died in her mouth as she noticed Lith’s worried look. In a fight, a mage out of shape would easily become out of life. It wasn’t just a matter of daily health but also survival.
“I’ll have just one slice. For the investigation’s purposes.”
Lith turned the Eyes of Menadion on and off for a moment, hoping to catch a glimpse of his mark but to no avail. There were too many powerful residual energy signatures inside the Association and they all vanished once out of the door.
Mages would rarely walk or use carriages. The weak ones would fly while the powerful ones would Warp to their destination. The Eyes picked up several energy trails going up but they were either too weak or going in the wrong direction.
The group had to reach the Crystal Cauldron by flight since none of them had ever visited Xaanx.
Lith exploited the opportunity to activate the Eyes again. Away from the crowd, it was easy to record the residual energy signatures of powerful mages who had flown near the local branch of the Association without getting a massive headache.
Reaching the restaurant was easy, getting inside, however, was not.
“I’m really sorry, assistant Constable Strudel Fan, but we are all booked up.” The concierge was a man of grand stature, presence, and ego. “Come back in five, six hours tops and you’ll have our full cooperation.”
“It’s Strider Vahn and we don’t have so much time to waste!” The now-human Zouwu still managed to growl.
“You also don’t have a warrant so unless you are going to compensate our clients for the disturbance and our staff for the lost tips, I respectfully invite you to come back later.” Each word oozed his contempt for the public servants who earned in a month what most of his clients did in a day.
“Please, we just need you to look at one picture and answer a few questions.” Ryka conjured a hologram of Phanil/Adria but the concierge pushed her amulet away without even looking at it.
“I’m sorry but our customers expect a certain degree of privacy that our establishment is glad to provide. We’ll gladly report anything illegal we have witnessed but if we had, I can assure you that person wouldn’t be our client anymore.”
Based on his nametag, his name was Vonam, and based on his attitude, he was a snob.
“Please, we just need a minute and something to eat.” Solus said, managing only to make him curl his thick lips up in disgust.
“Time is money and we don’t have discounts for Royal Constables. Again, we are fully booked and we’ll see you in six hours. Goodbye.”
“You just said five!” Strider snarled.
“And now they are six!” Vonam snarled back. “And if you don’t get yourself a warrant and some manners, they might become seven. Good! Bye!”
In all that chaos, Lith remained calm and collected as if the matter didn’t involve him.
“See you later, Mister Vonam.” He gave the concierge a bow deep enough to express respect but shallow enough to remark that he deemed the concierge below a Constable.
A quick stop high in the sky and five minutes later, Vonam discovered that the six hours had already passed.
“I’d like a table for me and a few answers for my friends.” Back to his real appearance and wearing his Supreme Magus robe, Lith received a very different welcome.
“Of course!” Vonam gave him a bow so deep that his head almost touched the floor. “Please, follow me.”
“Wait, five minutes ago you said the restaurant is fully booked!” Ryka could barely contain her annoyance.
“And it is.” The concierge replied with the tone he would use for a dumb kid. “But every establishment worth its name always keeps a few VIP tables available for emergencies like this.”
He said while looking at Lith like he was a jingling sack of gold. Because he was.
‘Verhen can afford the whole restaurant a few times over and his presence alone will do wonders for our image.’ The concierge inwardly rubbed his hands at the thought of the rich bonus he would receive if he played his cards right.
He personally led them through the dining area.
The floor was made of a smooth, dull grey marble that gave the place a refined look while preventing stains from standing out too much or reflecting what was below the gowns of the female customers.
The tables and chairs were made of solid cherrywood painted with the same white hue of the silk napkins and tablecloths. Large crystal chandeliers hung to the ceiling, lighting even the innermost corner of the restaurant as day, no matter how far from a window.
Each table had on its centerpiece a short but large vase filled with different kinds of fresh flowers to give color to the place. While walking through the dining area, everyone noticed how the place was split by wooden fences into three different sections.
To keep the pickets from looking like prison bars, they were decorated with garlands and climbing plants that produced delicate flowers. Together with the lights the fences not only gave the impression of dining in an open garden but also guaranteed privacy.
The restaurant was divided into a public section, another reserved for the hotel’s clients, and the last one, where Lith’s group was headed, was the VIP section. The floral decorations blocked the sight of those in the public section which was cramped compared to the other two.
The VIP area occupied the same space as the public section but had half the tables to give the guests plenty of room and an intimate allure to every meal. The light from the chandeliers didn’t reach past the tall fences because there was no need for it.
During the day the ample windows facing the garden provided abundant natural light. At night, instead, alchemical candles would ensure that the people sitting at the same table could see each other but not the other customers.
Strider was stunned, turning back and forth from the middle of the wooden gate.
“It’s like walking into a different place.” He said while observing how the white chairs of the VIP area had gold inlays and the tablecloths were hand-woven to form a different floral pattern for each table.
“I’m glad you noticed.” Vonam said, barely repressing a sneer. “Our Camellia table was made specifically for you and your lovely wife, Magus Verhen.”
He pointed at a table covered by a cloth embroidered with countless bright red camellias of different sizes.
“Thank you. I’ll bring Kamila here as soon as I can.” He said, making the concierge squeal in joy.
‘This guy is a piece of shit, but the place is nice. If the food is also as good as Urza said, Kami is going to love it.’ Lith thought.
‘And people called me crazy when I had that tablecloth embroidered on my dime.’ The concierge thought. ‘What are the odds of a Magus coming here, they said. Now they can all suck my fat, golden bonus!’
“And you two will be our honored guests.” He actually said, giving Lith a deep bow.
