They ducked into a dozen more shops, Nancey asked at each one where she might find this curious knickknack or that, thanked the attending clerk for their time, and moved on.
The next shop was a restaurant that, according to the shingle outside, offered authentic delicacies at a better price. It didn't say better than what. Nicole noted that it seemed to be part of a downward trend in the literacy of the advertisements she had been seeing as they walked. She couldn't figure out how Nancey was navigating the streets, so she was trying to remember the signs and types of shops that she had passed, but that turned out to be equally futile.
After a few moments of standing inside the doors Nicole began to ask again, "Do you want to-" but was quickly cut off.
"No, I've changed my mind, I don't think I'd like to eat here either, something about the decorations, what I'm seeing just doesn't sit right, you know? Let's get out of here."
Of course Nicole opened her sight and scanned around the room and then followed Nancey out the door. The place was loaded with those flowers. Some times more than one per table, and they were the genuine artifact, not like Jack's fakes.
As they walked out into the street, she felt foolish for not looking sooner. There were seemingly random people whose auras were somehow obstructed by their clothing. Typically an aura will flow out from a person far enough that it reaches beyond any clothing they might be wearing, but it wasn't the case for many of the people she saw. All of the uniformed patrolmen she spotted appeared to have some sort of enchanted armor and some of the regular citizens also wore such enchantments. She also noticed that at any given time she could spot someone in the crowd wearing the bizarre armor and a pair of glasses or bracelets, both of which had their own enchantments.
Nancey paused, forcing Nicole to also stop for a moment. "When we resume walking, I want you to follow this street, just keep going straight. Whatever you do, don't channel. I'll catch up with you in a few minutes."
"Where are you going?" Nicole asked.
"To catch a spider," she replied cryptically, "I wont be long."
And when they resumed walking Nancey took an immediate left. Nicole sighed as she continued walking straight. The followers with the enchanted armor continued to follow Nancey. It appeared to Nicole that no one was following her any longer, at least, no one with the strange enchantments.
She had no money on her person and she was starting to feel hungry for some lunch. As she continued down the street she started paying closer attention to the shops and signs. She passed bakeries and del's, sweet shops, and street meats. She was about to cross again when another pedestrian stepped in front of her.
"Oh, pardon me," she said as she stepped to move around the other person, but they stepped into her path. Then she noticed the person's outfit, it was one of those obvious patrolmen. "Can I help you?" she asked nervously.
"Perhaps you can, what's your business in Basil?" he replied. This particular fellow was wearing the same patterns as the other people she had seen patrolling, but she had no idea what color the outfit was, she was still holding her sight open. He wasn't wearing the enchantment that the others wore, nor the odd glasses.
Before she could make up some sort of lie to provide her with a cover story her stomach grumbled loudly. "Uh, sorry, I-" whatever flimsy excuse she was going to provide was interrupted by laughter.
Nancey had caught up with her again, and was smiling at the patrolman. She had placed her hand on Nicole's elbow and asked her, "Did you find that bakery I was looking for?" Then she addressed the patrolman, "We're absolutely starving, but I refused to eat anything other than those pork and egg custard buns!"
"Ma'am. If you could come with me, I'd like to ask you some more questions-" he started to recite what was sounding like a polite arrest, but Nicole was too distracted by the silver veins that were suddenly visible in his aura. He didn't have the enchantments because he didn't need them, he was a sorcerer.
"No, I'm afraid we don't have time for that," she found herself saying. Nancey's hand on her elbow tensed.
"Really, if you could just come with me for a moment, it wont take long, we can get this whole situation straightened out." His demeanor remained calm but there was something off with his delivery. He was used to having people do as he said, or at least, he had expected Nicole would do as he said and he seemed uncertain as to how to proceed when she refused.
Nancey noticed it, too. She eyed the patrolman a little suspiciously, but remained quiet to see what Nicole was going to do. "I'm afraid we just don't have that sort of time, I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you might have right here."
"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but you need to come with me," he repeated his request a little more formally and a little more forcefully.
"I don't see the need. I've done nothing wrong, I see no immediate threats to my safety, so I don't see why you feel the need to arrest me. If you don't wish to ask your questions here and if I'm free to go, then I'm going to take my leave."
The patrolman didn't know how to respond. He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, opened it again, but Nancey and Nicole were already walking around him. The exchange happened fast enough that it hadn't drawn the attention of any passers-by, yet, but a few seconds later the patrolman called out, "Stop!"
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The image or "artwork" is my own.
