Splendor was known for its ostentation. The night club was a common name on the streets, but few had kind words to go along with it. The theme for this month was Victorian Era fashion which meant heavy gowns, colourful vests and one man who had taken it upon himself to sport what they called “Mutton Chops”. Liam knew he did not belong here even without the looks he received from the clientele; he wore a simple black dress shirt with dark jeans, but fortunately he was not there for the festivities. As he walked down the maroon carpet bisecting the middle of the golden room floor, Liam was stopped by a tall, dark-skinned man in a red and white striped vest.

“Your business, sir?” he said with a stoic expression. Anil, according to the name tag, was quite a sight. Light grey eyes that looked almost like cream in contrast to his dark brown skin though Liam doubted any part of the man’s appearance was natural.  Employees at Splendor were altered by Tuners in order to please the perpetually fickle clientele. Anil could have been yesterday’s Fabio. Or Naomi. He didn’t like the idea that his eyes could not be trusted. Only one of his issues with the Gifted of his city.  Liam flashed the golden card that served as his invitation.

“I apologize for my disrespect. Please let me show you to your room.” Anil said as he quickly bowed and started moving towards the back rooms. The change in demeanor irritated Liam, but he wasn’t surprised. Only a high ranking Gifted could give out invitations like this.

“Same one as usual.” Anil said as he flashed a loaded smile before proceeding to walk to the back of the room, motioning for Liam to follow.

What the hell was that?

Anil led him through the black door at the back of the room.  Behind the door there was a small corridor with more doors lining both sides of the walls; The VIP rooms. Liam was led to a dimly lit room that had two silk sofas facing each other with a small brown walnut table in the middle. On the table lay 3 bottles of wine and 4 glasses.

Oh, are the rumours tr-

His thoughts were interrupted as the door to the room was thrown wide open as a hulking figure confidently strode in; Hugo, his contact at Wild Magic. He did not seem like the type for conversation, but once you got him started, he could talk your head off. He wore a lavish golden vest over a black dress shirt with sleek black trousers. Liam wondered if he had to get his clothes tailored since there were not that many giants around.

Hugo settled into his seat opposite of Liam, pushing his glass to the side. He was all business as usual.

 “A challenge has been issued for the eastern part of our territory by one of Kogram’s people. A girl named Shawna Haisley leads them. You said you were a trainee at the Security Bureau in that region. Do you know what she can do?” he asked, his tone light.

“Lets just say that keeping her powers hidden among her peers isn’t her strong point. Do you have what I asked for? “Liam said almost casually. Act too hungry for the profit and they always find a way to hold it over your head. Gifted would exploit any weakness they could find. Well, maybe that was something they had in common.

Hugo paused and took out a small pouch and tossed it on the table. “Ten thousand credits if your information is correct. My boys have some doubts about your information” Hugo said.

“Tell your boys that the last person who doubted me is still nursing wounds from the Arena or did you all forget about how you beat Fenria because of me?”

“That speedster wouldn’t have won regardless.” Hugo said defensively. “Wait, what do you mean Fenria doubted you?”. He had let that one slip. He may have given both Fenria and Hugo a chance to know the abilities of the other for a cost, but in any good business you have to cater to a wide variety of people.
“Is that why you gave me a ‘discount’ on the information? Because he doubted you?”

“He may have called me a Mundane and I may have called him a weed. Look, if you don’t want the information, I’ll leave and you can just call me again when you lose though I imagine I’ll be speaking to someone else if Wild Magic loses another Arena battle. Merrick isn’t known for his forgiving nature these days” Liam said as he began to stand and walk towards the door. Truthfully, he didn’t want to have to meet with someone else. It took weeks of vetting to finally find a gifted that wasn’t unbearable to be around.

“Wait.” Hugo said with a grimace. Liam couldn’t help, but smiled at the truth of it all. Whoever wants something more always loses. He walked back to the table and sprawled across the sofa.

“Shawna Haisley is a caster that uses water and air. She brings along 2 people with her whenever she trains; Terry Vicrim, a short pale boy that can physically boost his strength and Harriett Simcoe, a third-rate speedster. They both have around 20 magical veins. Magical output is nothing special.” Liam matter-of-factly said as Hugo pulled out a notepad to write down all the information.  As Liam reached for his payment, Hugo spoke again while still jotting down his notes.

“You’d be easier to trust if you picked a side” Hugo said.

“I’ve been on the same side since I was born” Liam said his light tone gone as his eyes narrowed. Hugo paused at that and shook his head.

“No man is an island, Liam. Eventually, you’ll come across a challenge that you will need help with.” Great. He was quoting dead people now. He was lucky that he couldn’t be hurt.

“Fortunately, I haven’t come across such a challenge yet, but I will let you know when I do.” Liam scoffed.

“Leo wanted me to ask you to join Wild Magic.” He continued. “We can help you find the person you are looking for in exchange for only supplying information that is favourable to us.” He said smoothly. Liam’s eyes shot up from the payment, his attention completely focused on Hugo. Jotham was being chatty again.

“What did Jotham tell you about my reasons for finding her?” Liam said frustratingly.

“He just said you have a bad history with her and want to find her. Anything else I need to know?” he said as he tucked his bought information into his smooth vest.

“Nothing else. I haven’t asked for your help and that won’t change. She isn’t in this district and you can’t exactly send anyone in your group to another district without provoking someone.

“We don’t need to send anyone. One of our people can locate others just by getting an image of their face from someone who knows them.”
Useless.

“Like I said, I won’t be asking for your help with this. She isn’t that much of a priority. If you need anything else in terms of information, have Jotham let me know. Otherwise, it has been an experience.” Liam said distastefully as he left the room and proceeded to walk out of Splendor. Now he had to go beat the crap out of his best friend.