The three of them stopped The tall woman who led them seemed to be the drunkest of them all and was completely flummoxed by the statement The lean old man next to her seemed strangely gleeful but she appreciated how his gaze flickered over her body but he had the presence to not linger overmuch on any of her
The final man was tall but was somewhat pudgy But his eyes were sharp and direct gazing with an innocent curiosity at her
She laughed in a self deprecating way as she spread her hands wide in invitation I mean it’s silly to say now isn’t it But I’m not talking about that boring magic I’m talking about the future Would you like me to tell your fortunes
Chapter 511
Randidly paused considering what a fortune of his might reveal If it was an actual Skill she was using it might be troublesome But then again it might also give him some warning of what was to come Perhaps the Creature had a trap ready and was waiting for him this whole time Wouldn’t knowing be better Could this woman really tell his fortune
Yes Sonya blurted out the desperation clear in her eyes The beautiful woman smiled sweetly then looked over their shoulders to scan the party Randidly noticed how her eyes changed then as she looked around Before she was out to charm them and draw them in But when she looked around the party there was only iron in her gaze Was she here in some supervisory role then
The woman’s hair was up in an intricate braid that oozed class and sophistication Curious Randidly attuned his senses a little more directly to her felt her heartbeat and the soft sound her skin made as it brushed up against the fabric of her dress It honestly made Randidly feel somewhat guilty that he was scanning her so closely But it did confirm that she carried multiple weapons on her person she was not as simple as she seemed
Her eyes refocused and the beautiful dark haired woman offered her hands to Sonya I’m a palm reader so all I’ll need is your name lovely and your hand
The word lovely left Sonya as gushy and melted as butter on a cast iron skillet With obvious excitement she spoke in a whisper trying her best to mirror the other woman’s flirty manner Mm uh it’s Sonya
With gentle fingers the woman took Sonya’s fingers in her own The woman’s gaze was careful going over the entirety of the skin and joints of the hand There was no haste in her movements and at that moment her focus was entirely concentrated on Sonya Waiting silently Sonya’s face slowly became increasingly red
There is a sharp branch in your future The woman said gazing down at Sonya’s palm Randidly remained silent Perhaps initially it will not seem like much of a difference but this decision will tie your destiny to another’s And it is not the individual that you think As time goes on you will either regret the decision or grow to realize it was one of the most important in your life
And tonight Sonya said swaying slightly Sudden boldness seemed to suffuse her and she took a step forward What do you see in my future tonight
Randidly looked over at Gregory and then winced The man’s eyes were sparkling with obvious interest This was slightly disgusting Randidly glanced around No one else seemed to notice their group isolated on the opposite side of the pool from the main part of the party But then Randidly forced his gaze back trying his best not to withdraw into himself
With careful hands the woman folded Sonya’s fingers back into her palm Then she spoke in a breathy voice Warmth
Then after Sonya had taken a second to take it in the mysterious fortune teller turned to Gregory How about you sir would you like your fortune told
Gregory waved his hand No no I’m much too afraid someone will tell me I’m about to die I prefer to ignore the future as much as possible I’d much prefer to watch
Nodding the woman turned and looked Randidly directly in the eye It was so sudden that he almost blinked Although he didn’t notice it at the time it had been quite some time since someone had met his gaze so directly and held it during a conversation And you sir Do you have a bright future you’d wish to share with me Tell me your name and let’s find it together
Inwardly Randidly was taking notes to try some of these techniques later in his own conversations But he still couldn’t pull away from the conversation itself So he cleared his throat and said How about a trade A name for a name Mine is Baloo Erickson
Tatiana She said with a smile Her lips were soft and sensual drawing across the air like brushstrokes to create her words Immediately she scanned over his shoulder again looking at the party and then reached for his hand But before she could take it two people broke into their circle
Inwardly Randidly was slightly disappointed Maybe it was the small trace of alcohol in his system but he decided to let her read his fortune What was the worst that could happen And he was very curious about this strange social creature in front of him that seemed so different than himself
I hope you are enjoying the party Ricky Stain said with a wide smile I see you’ve met Tatiana Such a charmer right She came highly ah she’s one of my favorite friends
Ricky Stain clearly was going to say something offensive so he changed his language at the last second Still he felt Tatiana’s stance shift slightly a wall coming up Her body language changed slightly
Randidly didn’t like Ricky The man was clearly willing to cut Randidly in on a larger share of the profits of selling steel but that was a small thing that would only affect him for a few weeks Stain’s integrity was not a small thing
It was bad enough to have a name like Stain but did he really have to live up to it
Tatiana Sonya growled raw hunger in her voice Only now did it seem that the name had drifted through the smog of intoxication to land upon her brain
And this Ricky Stain said pointing to the muscular man next to him Is Griffith Lipschitz a business associate He is a Tier II citizen so he helps arrange for all of my raw material ties
In this Zone there was a large emphasis on what citizenship tier a person was Randidly only had seen a small portion of it like being required to have probationary citizenship to work on the drones and scaled pricing for the train tickets based on your Tier In addition there were clearly caste elements emerging as the few Tier 1 individuals who came into the steelworkers part of town had smirks on their faces
Both Gregory and Sonya seemed to lose some of their tipsiness by the reminder of their lower station with wide eyes To a person without citizenship a Tier 2 Citizen was far above them Randidly supposed This was certainly the highest Tiered person that Randidly had run into He supposed most of the important people were exploring the borderlands
To everyone’s Griffith stepped towards Randidly and offered his hand My name’s Griffith it’s a pleasure to meet you Sir I couldn’t help but notice your bearing Did you serve previously I’d love to know how you ended up here
My bearing ’ Randidly wondered He suppressed an impulse to awkwardly scratch his head
Inwardly he could sense Lucretia’s amusement She spent most of her time handling the affairs of his inner world so it took him somewhat by surprise What was worse Neveah also sent a mental message
Bearing important Strong jaw firm resolve hmm hmm Inspiration
Then her consciousness went off Exasperated Randidly wondered what she had gotten up to in Zone 1 She was supposed to be acting as a distraction but he supposed it was good that he hadn’t heard any news of her doing anything catastrophic After all she was using his face while she was here At least he thought she was
Randidly refocused on Griffith Well the fact that he could recognize Randidly’s strength through the illusion was impressive Still Randidly had to admit that he usually was constantly utilizing most of his Yggdrasil Skills At that Skill rarity they tended to show through Yea I suppose you could say that I came here to learn more about the world There are some things you can’t discover from fighting
Randidly spoke slowly carefully checking his story mentally Then he turned to regard Tatiana My name’s Baloo Erickson This fortune teller was about to give me my fortune perhaps if you stay to watch we can both learn something