On the far side of Hildegarde's territory, Kino Vanden sat at a table in a rather more upscale establishment. The chairs were padded with cushioned velvet, the air was filled with soft harp chords and the drinks were outrageously expensive. Lesser nobles and dilettantes of the arts quietly chattered in the distance.
The man across from Kino - who had simply identified himself as Cedrick - wore a filigreed tunic of deep crimson and swirled a glass of absinthe in his hand. Kino herself wore a lilac silk gown, her trademark "plague doctor" mask adorned with paint to make it look as if she had just returned from a masquerade ball.
"Your runner was in quite the hurry. What ever have you gotten for me, Mr. Cedrick?"
The information broker thrice clicked his tongue in mock disapproval. "You know that's not how this works, Mademoiselle Traya." Kino had, naturally, given the man a false name.
"Of course, of course. Wherever are my manners?" Kino set down her own drink and reached a gloved hand into a pocket carefully hidden in the frills of her dress. She daintily slid her hand across the table then withdrew it, leaving three large gold coins behind. Sliding her mask up above her mouth, Kino's full lips curled into a slight smile as she took a small sip from her fluted glass.
The man gracefully pocketed the money, unaware of the fast-acting, skin reactive opiates it was laced with. Coin loosened tongues in the shadowy underworld of secret-dealing, but a dash of jade lotus always helped. And if Cedrick became too intoxicated to recall what he had let slip, then that was just all the better.
"Generous as always, Mademoiselle. A little sparrow..." Cedrick trailed off, caught himself, blinked and then carried on. "A little "sparrow" has told me that a crew is moving in on the house we had previously discussed."
"And did this sparrow tell you when they plan to act?" Kino's normally harsh and raspy voice was silky smooth. The tonic she had gargled burned at her throat like a bitch, but her natural voice was far too distinctive. In this world of grey subtleties, anonymity was key.
Checking the sorcerous timepiece on the gilded wall, Cedrick said "Three hours and..." he paused, double-checking the ornate clock as his vision swam. "Three hours and seventeen minutes from now."
"Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful, my dear man. I knew I could count on you." Kino leaned forward, planting an elbow on the table and resting her chin on her hand. The low-cut dress revealed more than a little cleavage from this angle. Kino never enjoyed the "sultry seductress" act, and she knew that she wasn't particularly good at it. She also knew that by now Cedrick would be far too tipsy to care.
"Now... could you help me with one last eensy weensy detail?" she asked. "Could you tell me whose crew it is?"
The man swallowed hard. Kino could practically see the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. "She'll... she'll kill me if she ever finds out. That's as much as I can give you. I'm sorry."
"It's quite fine, my dear man. I've no wish to see you harmed and sometimes these things simply can't be helped." Kino stood up to leave. "You look rather tired, Cedrick. Perhaps you ought to go home and take yourself a quick nap."
Head held high, Kino briskly walked away. Beneath her mask, she grinned. Jade lotus had yet to fail her - the man would never remember his careless choice of pronouns. There was only one "she" in all of Zantaric with the proverbial balls to target the magi's mansion. Kino would head back to her inn to change apparel and arm herself, and then she would set out to meet her.