It was evening; the light of day was fading as the dark of night approached.
Jace stood before the dressing table's mirror as he adjusted his suit.
He looked at his own face in the mirror. The face was not his own, but in a way it was; he was wearing 'Jake's' face and appearance, which had plain but good-looking features with sharp eyes and short hair.
It had been about a week since Natalie had found out about his act. What came after was a long session of pleasure and satisfaction; just thinking of it made Jace's heart beat faster.
But he kept such thoughts aside and focused on what he was supposed to do.
And what he was supposed to do was meet Catherine in the East Boroughs.
A day ago, her letter had arrived at his house. Through her octopus messenger, she had asked him to meet her in the East Boroughs at a particular inn.
'I gotta get me one of those messengers', he thought.
As he looked in the mirror, he pulled out a piece of paper which was Catherine's letter; the address noted on it was a place Jace was familiar with.
The piece of paper burst into bright yellow flames, burning away in a second as the ashes flew into the air.
Jace wore a brown coat and a hat, put on the Polymath Ring, and teleported into a silent alley of the East Boroughs.
Jace sighed at the miserable place. The environment here was even darker because of the smog and the polluted air.
Nonetheless, he walked out of the alleys and walked along the somewhat crowded street.
Soon, he was in a shabby inn, standing before a door.
Knock, knock.
Jace knocked on the door and waited for a moment until the door opened and revealed Catherine in a state different than he had ever seen.
She wore a shirt and pants, with her hair tied back in a low ponytail; her appearance was quite similar to how Natalie dressed usually.
But he didn't quite like it, as Catherine was a beautiful, mature woman with sharp and refined features, and the current clothes on her body didn't quite match her face. But she looked good nonetheless.
Seeing him, Catherine smiled. "You're early," she said as she opened the door and gestured for him to come in.
He was currently wearing 'jake's' face, but Catherine was familiar with this appearance of his, so she recognised him in a instant.
Jace walked in as he removed his hat and looked around the basic room. "I suppose," he replied.
Catherine, meanwhile, helped him remove his coat and hung it on the wall nearby.
Seeing that Catherine was pretty relaxed and casual, Jace removed his suit, put it on the chair near the table, and sat down.
Catherine sat down at the same table before him in another chair and looked at Jace with a smile that gave Jace a strange feeling.
"What?" he asked with a confused smile.
Catherine shook her head with amusement. "Nothing," she replied, as she pulled out something from her pocket and handed it to Jace over the table.
Jace recognized the rectangular paper packet immediately; it was a bar of chocolate.
He was a sucker for sweets, especially chocolate. He took it with a smile, and just as he was about to tear the pack, he froze.
His smile disappeared as he looked at Catherine. He set the chocolate bar aside.
"Why did you call me?" he asked with a serious tone, as he figured Catherine was trying to butter him up with chocolate.
Catherine sighed. "I need your help in killing a sequence 5 Beyonder... and perhaps a few mid-sequence Beyonders as well," Catherine spoke as she took on a serious demeanor.
Jace stayed silent for a moment. He tilted his head slightly with an eyebrow narrowed in amusement. "And you thought a bar of chocolate was a way to convince me?" he asked.
A mischievous smile appeared on Catherine's face. "Oh, I thought our 'nightly endeavors' were more than enough to convince you. The chocolate was just a cherry on top," she said with a seductive voice as she leaned in.
Jace narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but it couldn't be denied. He sighed, "Fair enough... Ah, but I do expect a fair share of the spoils."
Catherine smiled in satisfaction. "Of course."
Jace nodded and put his hands on the table. "Now, elaborate on the whole situation. I'm not going into a fight without being prepared," he said with a solemn expression.
Catherine nodded. "Well, as you know, I've been searching for potion ingredients for my sequence 4 potion for about over a half year now. I already found one of them a month ago—it's the tail of a Violent Man-Ape. As for the other one, the heart of a Black Mountain Lord, it's been proving difficult to find."
She stopped for a moment and then continued, "Until... an acquaintance of mine from the sea contacted me. It turns out there was a sequence 5 smuggler of the Sailor pathway who had the ingredient. His name was... well, his name is irrelevant. So I contacted the smuggler and confirmed it. While I was at it, I also asked him to bring the main ingredients for Natalie's potion... While researching, I also found out that the smuggler used to be one of the Mandated Punishers from the Church of the Lord of Storms..."
She took a moment while looking at Jace and spoke, "...The ingredients are quite expensive... and the smuggler has quite the bounty on his head as well, so I thought—"
"—Thought why not just kill him and take the ingredients and the bounty on his head?" Jace interrupted and spoke the words she was about to speak.
"Yes," Catherine said.
Jace, meanwhile, sighed. "Do you know about the powers of an 'Ocean Songster'?" he asked as he looked at her.
Catherine felt a bit enlightened as she found out that the sequence 5 of the Sailor pathway was called Ocean Songster.
"Just a little, but I suppose you know about them," Catherine replied to Jace's question.
"Well, up to the sequence 7 Seafarer, there aren't many special powers other than some dangerous physical capabilities and some minor water spells. But sequence 6 Wind-blessed has many powers related to wind, and as for their sequence 5 abilities... they are the most dangerous ones. The lightning manipulation and the singing..." Jace explained in detail the extent of each ability to Catherine.
Catherine listened carefully with focus.
After explaining things to her, Jace asked, "How many other Beyonders will there be with the smuggler?"
Catherine thought for a moment. "I'm not sure, but I think there will be a couple or more, likely of sequence 7 or 6 level," she said in a thoughtful tone.
Jace nodded. 'That might be troublesome unless...' He looked up at Catherine. "I suppose Natalie will join us?" he asked.
"Yes, she should be here any minute now," Catherine answered.
'Hmm, that might work out,' he thought, and asked another question, "When and where is this exchange happening?"
Catherine smiled. "There is a warehouse at a pier near the Tasock River, down below in the East Boroughs here. As for when... well, it's tonight."