All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 260: Gully Ball

A short while later, Beatrice walked out of a clothing store sporting a brand-new set of white robes, not like the ones the street preachers wore, of course. She wasn't trying to be a copycat. White was just a nice color.

These robes boasted quite nice gold edging and a few additional accents that really matched her eyes. We also made sure to pick up an overcoat to protect her clothes from the city's filth when I wasn't around to keep watch. All in all, I thought we did pretty well. Beatrice seemed pleased, at least.

After our little shopping trip, she left to go to some meetings. I avoided meetings since I didn't know enough about politics or business transactions to help her out. I figured that my presence would only hinder any negotiations, as I found that I proved quite distracting to humans who did not know me. Even some humans who didn't know me could be very put off. But that was okay. Beatrice was plenty capable on her own.

So, instead of tagging along in the shadows, I found something else to do. It wasn't in my purview to clean the city during the day, as that would just be too disruptive. I'd have to make do with my nightly escapades and cleaning frenzies. Fortunately, those were more than enough to satisfy me. I had already gained one level from the ordeal. I wasn't at 80 yet, so I hadn't earned another skill yet, but that was okay. So, instead, I followed the children. Children always found it easy to accept me as I was, and I was hoping that the not-Nighty Knights' new friends would be no different.

I found the trio not too far from the manor, slipping out another house's ivy-coated back gate. They exited into an alley instead of out into full view of the main road. I slipped through after them, dropping my disguise now that we were out of sight. Irene noticed me and gave me a wave, which I returned happily.

"Void!" Irene called. "Do you want to play gully ball with us?"

I gave an affirmative beep. I had heard about the enigmatic game over dinner the night before but didn't really get it. Perhaps it would make more sense when I saw it.

As they walked, the kids tried to explain the rules with no more success than they had last night. When we rounded a few more corners, we saw a group of five other children holding a ball of rags tied together with twine. It was quite gross, and half of it was sodden with dirty water. After a few calls of greeting, the two packs of children circled each other slightly, testing each other out and hashing out some sort of agreement. It reminded me of Cliff and her cubs, in a way.

Eventually, some terms were met. The groups split up into two teams of four, with Bradley and Irene on one side and Tanu on the other. They took positions, and right before they went to start, I swooped in and snagged the ball out of the air as one of the Team leaders was tossing it up and down.

"Hey!" A boy with ratty clothes yelled. "That's our ball!"

"No fair!"

"Ah, Void!" Bradley hesitated. "Uh, we hadn't started playing yet. Did you want to join a team?"

"Void?" Another girl with freckles asked. "Who's that?"

The not-Nighty Knights calmed the others down and explained who I was.

I examined the ball carefully. There is no way I would let them play with something this disgusting. I popped it into my dustbin for just the briefest instance to remold it. I stripped all the dirt and grossness out and rearranged the "ball," stretching the cloth into neat and tightly packed layers. Within moments, I had a nice little sphere that didn't resemble the original wad of cloth at all. There. Hopefully, that would help keep water from seeping in, too.

I thought about spraying my sealant on it, but I was afraid it would be too firm. The coating had far less give than cloth did, after all, even as tightly packed as it was.

Satisfied, I popped the new ball out. A perfect sphere of blue and white cloth appeared in my claw. I was done so quickly that it didn't even glow. Swooping down, I returned it to see the boy less than a handful of seconds after I had seized it.

He looked at it suspiciously, then tested it. He threw it up and down, kicked it with his foot a few times, then smiled. He, too, seemed satisfied that the ball was even better than before.

"Thanks, mister, for the new ball." He said, giving me a chipped-tooth smile and a cheeky grin. I chirped happily. With that, I let them go about their game and simply watched. After carefully observing the first few rounds, I still had no idea how the game worked. Most of it seemed to involve arguing and yelling at each other, ferociously exclaiming about rules and stuff as the ball flew around the small alley they played in. But they seemed to be having fun.

Every once in a while, one of the Not-Nighty Knights would ask a question about something Beatrice had mentioned and get some sort of response as they waited for the game to progress or some argument to resolve. Slowly, they teased the information that they were looking for out. I relaxed a little, sitting on top of one of the walls forming this alley, and just watched, enjoying the children having fun.

---

Bee was disappointed that her master hadn't come with her to the business meetings. She could have used a distraction to help smooth over negotiations rather than having them all be focused on her. But she hadn't spoken up quickly enough, and there was no way that she would tell her master that it was wrong after he had made a choice. Especially if that choice was trusting in her.

So, as she went into her first meeting, she was a bit nervous. Her only saving grace was the fact that she had set up some of the easier ones first, ones where people didn't know anything about her. It would allow her to get into playing the role.

Most of these meetings were held in neutral locations. Her manor wasn't ready for guests yet, and she wasn't about to go to some stranger's manor all alone for them to impress her. That would happen in a later meeting.

No, this time, she found herself in a basic tea shop. It apparently hosted merchants and other businessmen fairly frequently. At one end of her table sat a pudgy man with far too many rings on his fingers. Flanking him were two other figures, one an equally pudgy mirror of himself and the other a thin waif of a man holding a folder of papers.

They were rather energetic and insistent on ordering lots of food and wine that Bee only nibbled at and sipped on. They ate heartily as the three traded pleasantries. She scraped together every bit of knowledge she could recall of her father's business and tried to only say things that wouldn't give away too much. Fortunately, the other two liked to talk.

"Aaaah. Finally." The ring-wearing man finally put down his fork after several plates of food. "Now we can get down to business."

"I know your father has contacts over in the Wall Islands, and I can see that you know what they're worth," he said in a blatant attempt at buttering her up. "I would like an introduction, and I'm more than willing to pay for it."

The man smiled with surprising honesty. She hadn't expected him to be so direct, but perhaps it was clear that she would be just a messenger. Or maybe that's what the man thought.

She nodded and pulled out a piece of paper to take a few notes. "Mm. Yes. Those are quite valuable contacts, and I'm certain we can reach some sort of agreement about making an introduction. Of course, if we are unable to, I'm sure that my father would be more than willing to act as a middleman."

She actually had no idea about that, and unfortunately, the contacts were one thing she, using her father's name, couldn't get. If she remembered correctly, they were old friends of his. Personal friends, ones that wouldn't just interact with anyone besides him. But that wasn't something she was about to let slip.

The meeting continued on as the man tried to angle for some advantage, and she kept deflecting, letting him know that there would definitely be a way to do business, but the costs were unknown until more information was disclosed.

The man left, not wanting to give away yet what his goals were for getting access to these contacts. But they left on good terms, promising to meet further after they each had some time to think. After taking a moment to recover, Bee groaned, got up, and walked towards another meeting location not that far from here. Her stomach complained a little bit, and she had to be careful not to eat too much more if all her meetings were going to be like this. Otherwise, she would become even fatter than the merchants who had just left.

Her day continued like this. One meeting after another offered food and drink, but she quickly learned how to take the smallest of samples. Many of the meetings were actually not about anything directly but rather about setting up another meeting for the future. It was rather bizarre, and by the end of it, she found herself grateful for the first man's directness.

Overall, it was exhausting. Despite what it felt like, though, it wasn't all for naught. She was able to actually make a few purchases that would be useful. She even got a nice contract with the owner of a Wagoneer's company for a few weeks, one that was flexible enough for her to exercise right when she needed to.

She needed more meetings like that and fewer meetings in general. Many more contained poorly alluded-to secrets and political maneuverings that she had no understanding of. Eventually, though, it was time for her to meet with the leader of the preachers. While she was going between one meeting and another, one of the men in white robes had left his spot on the corner and had slipped her a note with a date and time in a simple message. "I would love to hear more about our lord."

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