Chương 140: Book 3 Chapter 18 - Uncle Bert

The carriage suddenly began shifting sideways, to shouts of alarm from the driver, followed by frustrated yelling. After the carriage stopped sliding sideways, everything was silent for a few seconds, after which the door to the carriage opened. The carriage driver bowed apologetically to them.

"Sorry, my lord and my ladies but there is a man out here who seems rather insistent that he needs to speak with you. Normally, I would ignore such requests for the privacy and safety of my passengers, but he asked for you by name, Lady Yountal. And, well, he simply won't let me pass." Confused, Kiara stepped out of the carriage. A stone slab had materialized under the carriage and all of the horses, and then been moved sideways off the road.

Other travelers continued passing by, giving them curious glances, but no one stopped to check on them. In front of the carriage, a tall, thin man in a tailored gray suit stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He wore a top hat, from under which long, black hair reached down past his shoulders. He had a neatly trimmed beard and mustache, and held a cane loosely in one hand that looked more for decoration than utility, due to its massive diamond pommel. He smiled when Kiara appeared.

"Lady Yountal?" he asked, striding forward. She cocked her head to the side. She had no recollection of ever meeting this man. Was there a chance he'd met the old Shian, before she'd died? That seemed unlikely, somehow. She hadn't seemed like anyone of consequence, based on the information the World Engine had given her at the time. He waved at the state of the carriage.

"My apologies for the interruption, but I simply had to meet you." Hmm. Someone new then.

"My name is Bert," he continued, placing a hand on his chest.

"I believe you've met my nephew, Choppy?" Ah, crap. She'd forgotten all about Choppy's request to visit his uncle while she was up here. She hadn't planned to actually follow through on the request, but the man appeared to be a powerful tier 5, and she didn't want to offend him unnecessarily, especially now that he'd sought her out. She nodded.

"I am Shian, yes. Choppy mentioned you before I left." He smiled.

"Ah, wonderful. When I heard you'd left Lakeshire, I thought maybe you were avoiding me, but now I see that you were headed back." She chuckled awkwardly.

"Avoiding you? Heh heh. Why would I do that?" He shrugged, seemingly oblivious to her awkward response.

"Some people think that just because I run a ruthless gang that spans multiple duchies I'm a bad person. I don't get it either." A short silence followed. Kiara scratched the back of her neck uncomfortably.

"So, um, nice to meet you, Bert. Did you need something?"

"Ah, yes, to business, then. Would you allow me to buy you a meal? I know a wonderful restaurant just up the road here." She was pretty hungry. She nodded.

"Sure, why not." The stone slab under their carriage slid back toward the road, then disappeared into the ground, leaving their carriage back where it had come from. The horses whinnied nervously, shuffling their feet. The carriage driver gave Bert a wary look, then climbed back into the driver's seat. Kiara climbed back inside. They stopped a few minutes later, and Bert showed them into a small, ramshackle building nestled in between a few others.

It leaned precariously to the side, using the building on its left for support.

"Don't mind the disrepair," Bert said amiably as they walked inside.

"They have some of the best food in this quarter of Lakeshire." They were shown to a table in a secluded section of the restaurant on the second floor, and Kiara suddenly wondered if Bert owned the place. Everyone was showing him considerable deference, and their food was brought out less than a minute after they sat down, as if they'd been expecting him to show up. Large dishes of different foods were placed in the center of the table for everyone to share.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He nodded toward Dustin and Zoey, then asked, "Would you prefer to speak in private, Lady Yountal?" She shook her head.

"I'd like them to stay. Dustin and Zoey both met Choppy as well, actually." Bert's eyes lit up.

"Oh! Wonderful, wonderful. It's a pleasure to meet you both. Please, dig in, the food is exquisite here." Leading by example, Bert dished up healthy sized portions from a few of the dishes onto his own plate, then tucked into it with gusto. Kiara shrugged, then followed suit. He hadn't been lying when he said the food was good, it melted in Kiara's mouth in unique and delicious ways. After a few minutes of silence while everyone dug in, Kiara turned to Bert.

"Do you own this place, Bert? They seem to know you pretty well." He laughed.

"Own it? No. I come here often, though, and the owner owes me a few favors. Powerful things, favors." He studied her for a minute.

"That's actually why I asked you here to dine with me today, Lady Yountal. It seems I owe you a favor, and I'd like to settle that debt." She gave him a curious stare.

"Why would you owe me a favor?" He sighed, setting down his fork, the bite of food he'd been about to eat forgotten.

"My nephew Choppy came to visit me, you see. Told me all about how you rescued him from the rival gang. They are based out of Duchess Azul's duchy, but they've been trying to encroach into our territory for decades now." He laughed.

"I suppose I'm encroaching on their territory, too, so I can't say I blame them. At any rate, the kind of service you rendered to the Edgeland gang deserves to be repaid." She shook her head.

"Nope. My actions had nothing to do with either gang. They kidnapped some of my employees, and I was simply there to rescue them. No thanks required." Bert nodded slowly.

"I see. You were just looking out for your own, I can respect that. Either way, Choppy is my nephew, so there is a measure of personal debt that I owe you as well, which I can't so easily dismiss. I admit that Choppy was the recipient of a happy coincidence, but you still saved his life, and you saved me a great deal of pain and embarrassment by doing so." He plopped a heavy bag of coins onto the table and slid it toward her. She narrowed her eyes. She didn't like where this was headed.

"What's that?" she asked warily. He raised his hands defensively.

"Nothing shady, nothing to be nervous about. It's five hundred gold pieces, a simple payment for the service you rendered to our family, no strings attached. You see, as the leader of the gang, I can't show Choppy any favoritism. We can't afford to rescue every gang member that gets caught by a rival gang, so I would have had to leave Choppy to the same fate, had you not intervened." Kiara shook her head.

"I don't need any money." Bert raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Everyone needs five hundred gold pieces, Lady Yountal."

"I don't." He nodded sagely.

"Hmm. I see that you understand the power of a favor owed." That was decidedly not what Kiara had been getting at, but if that's what he needed to believe, that was fine. She didn't want the money. He sighed.

"Very well, but I don't like owing anyone a favor. They tend to rear their heads at inopportune moments. What other areas could I possibly assist you with?" Kiara didn't really want him assisting her with anything. It was bad enough that Choppy was 'watching' her businesses and estate back in Portish, she didn't need his uncle doing the same thing in Lakeshire. In fact, she would prefer if he had no idea they were about to purchase a house in Lakeshire.

"The duke is hosting a ball in six months," she replied.

"Give me some time to think about it? When I come back for the ball we can discuss it again." Bert stroked his chin as he studied her for a moment. He nodded sharply.

"Agreed, on one condition." She raised a questioning eyebrow.

"When you come back, promise me that you'll seek me out, instead of me having to go out of my way to track you down."

"You knew that we'd left Lakeshire, and found us on our way back. You clearly had people watching us, it wasn't all that much of an inconvenience for you, was it? Won't you have people watching us again in six months?" He chuckled at her acute perception.

"Fair enough, you caught me. Even so, I'm a busy man, especially around the time of the Esborne's ball. Things all around the Capital get busy that time of year, so I won't have as much bandwidth to seek you out. Promise me you'll come to me?" She hesitated, then nodded in agreement. It was better than trying to deal with it right now. Bert smiled grandly and slapped the table.

"It's a deal! Once you return to Lakeshire, follow the instructions on the card I had Choppy give you, and I'll see you in six months' time." He stood, then gestured to the food on the table.

"Please, eat your fill. It's already paid for, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste." He stepped around the table and made his way to the exit, leaving them alone in the room. They had mostly finished eating by now, but they spent a few minutes cleaning their plates before making their way back out to the carriage.