In the daytime, Tivian is shrouded under thick clouds, the entire city cast in a gloomy overcast. The light drizzle has just stopped.
On a street in the East District, the road remains damp from the rain. A few pedestrians passing by still hold closed umbrellas in their hands. The cold, wet streets are sparsely populated with carriages, and the chilly wind has discouraged many citizens from venturing out. The once bustling streets are now unusually quiet.
Inside a high-end restaurant on the street, seated by a window with a view of the outside, Marx, a man in his fifties with a long beard and dressed in a proper brown suit, sits with a solemn expression.
On the table in front of Marx is a lavish feast—steak, roasted chicken, sausages, cake, fine wine, and other delicacies. Yet, he remains unmoved, his eyes fixed on the figure of another man sitting across the table.
This man, appearing to be in his early thirties, wears a trench coat and has a pale complexion with sharp features. His low-brimmed hat rests beside him. Unlike the serious Marx, he appears relaxed, enjoying the meal before him. He occasionally sips wine or takes a bite of tender meat. After finishing a biscuit, he turns his gaze to Marx and speaks.
"Mr. Marx, there’s no need to be so tense. Let’s eat first."
Hearing the man’s words, Marx pauses, takes a deep breath, leans back, and responds.
"Let’s hold off on eating for now. Sir, I think it’s better if we discuss business first. You said you wanted to buy my goods?"
Marx asks, and the man nods in confirmation.
"Yes, a total of forty-five crates of premium tobacco from the northern shores of the New Continent, currently en route to Tivian by sea. I want to purchase them now."The man repeats what he had said earlier. Hearing this, Marx, a seasoned merchant, looks at him curiously and continues.
"How do you know I have goods at sea?"
"That’s none of your concern. If I know, I have my own channels."
"If you want to buy my goods, I have some in stock. There’s no need to wait for the shipment."
"No, I don’t need the stock. I want the shipment that’s on its way. Mr. Marx, name your price."
The man says firmly. Hearing his unusual request, Marx grows wary and responds.
"To be honest, sir, you don’t seem like a businessman. While I am a merchant, I don’t engage in just any transaction. I’m sorry, but your behavior makes it hard for me to trust you. A deal without trust carries risks for me..."
Marx speaks seriously, finding the man’s insistence on buying a specific shipment highly suspicious. However, the man shows no change in expression and calmly interrupts Marx.
"500 pounds."
"What?"
"I said I’ll pay 500 pounds for your shipment, Mr. Marx. Is that enough?"
The man speaks softly, and Marx’s face shows disbelief. The reason is simple: even at the current market rate in Tivian, his entire shipment would fetch no more than 300 to 400 pounds.
The price offered by the man is tempting to Marx, a merchant driven by profit. Even at the best market rate, his goods wouldn’t sell for this much.
"500 pounds... Are you serious?"
Marx asks, still harboring some doubts. Seeing Marx’s hesitation, the man says nothing more but silently pulls out genuine Pritt pounds from his pocket and places them on the table.
The nature of a merchant is to seek profit. Faced with the cash, Marx’s reservations almost vanish. His previously cautious expression brightens into a smile, and the rest of the meal becomes a pleasant affair.
…
At this moment, far from the restaurant, a seemingly ordinary carriage is parked by the street. Inside the carriage, Dorothy, who is sensing the scene from her distant marionette, lets out a soft sigh and looks out the window, murmuring.
"It’s done. Ordinary merchants—just offer them enough money, and everything becomes easy."
Dorothy speaks softly. The merchant named Marx is none other than the owner of the tobacco shipment Dorothy used to swap the spirit containers in the New Continent warehouse. Dorothy had obtained Marx’s information from the labels on the crates and used it to locate him for this transaction.
The shipment, labeled as tobacco but actually containing the sealed Black Hoof and dozens of spirit containers, is currently being transported across the ocean by Endeavor. It will soon arrive at its destination. Dorothy needs to officially become the owner of this "tobacco" shipment so she can legally transport it once it arrives. After all, forty-some large crates aren’t something one can simply pick up and leave with. Becoming the legal owner is the best option.
“Forty-some crates of premium tobacco... settled for 500 pounds. The market price would have been around 300 pounds, roughly the cost of a mystical text. Indeed, money spent on mystical matters is a bottomless pit…”
Dorothy thinks to herself. This kind of transaction is bound to raise suspicions. To dispel Marx’s doubts, she opted to pay a premium of 500 pounds to secure the deal. Now, Dorothy’s cash reserves have dwindled to 1,850 pounds.
"Sigh... I initially thought I was just helping out that kid Kapak, but I didn’t expect to invest so many resources into this. If I can’t squeeze more out of the Nether Coffin Order, this will be a huge loss."
Dorothy murmurs to herself. To help Kapak escape, she used three Devouring Sigils, costing her 3 points of Chalice, and controlled the living marionette Tom for an extended period, costing her 2 points of Chalice.
Additionally, Dorothy has provoked the Nether Coffin Order. After discovering the swapped goods, they immediately resorted to divination to locate her. They attempted divination three times, and after failing all three, they realized they were dealing with a formidable opponent. To conserve their spirituality, they stopped further divination attempts, but Dorothy had already spent 3 points of Shadow to counter them.
In total, Dorothy has invested 5 points of Chalice, 3 points of Shadow, and 500 pounds in cash. She has already poured significant resources into this matter and now plans to recoup as much as possible from the Nether Coffin Order.
“It’s been three days since the shipment set sail. If they’re serious about making a deal, they should be contacting me soon. I’ll head back and check with Beverly…”
Dorothy thinks to herself. As she ponders, she continues to manipulate the marionette to finalize the deal with Marx. Once the contract is signed, all she needs to do is wait for Endeavor to dock safely.
Dorothy isn’t worried about the Nether Coffin Order tracking the spirits. The only information they have is that their goods were swapped with tobacco. Without the labels, they have no way of knowing the specific details of this tobacco shipment.
The New Continent has numerous tobacco plantations, and trade between the New Continent and the mainland has always been thriving. In the warehouse where the swap occurred, there were many shipments of tobacco destined for the mainland. It would be nearly impossible for them to determine where this specific shipment was supposed to go. For now, the spirits are effectively lost to them.
After some time, Dorothy’s marionette finally finishes dealing with Marx. She then drives the carriage to a secluded spot to retrieve the marionette and heads north.
After several hours of travel, Dorothy finally returns to Green Shade Town in the northern suburbs of Tivian. During this time, a light rain begins to fall again. Upon arriving in Green Shade Town, she doesn’t rush home but instead heads to Beverly’s place. As she steps out of the carriage and approaches Beverly’s house with an umbrella, she sees Beverly also holding an umbrella, preparing to go out.
"Well, I was just about to go look for you to see if you were home. Perfect timing—I hate the rain, so it’s good to avoid going out once."
Beverly says with a raised eyebrow upon seeing Dorothy. Hearing this, Dorothy asks.
"Looking for me? What’s the matter?"
"The postal service we set up is getting more popular. Someone sent a telegram addressed to ’Thief K.’ You mentioned before that if there’s any mail or telegrams addressed to Thief K, I should contact you."
With a hint of amusement, Beverly explains. Hearing this, Dorothy realizes the moment has finally come and smiles at Beverly.
"Ah, I’ve been waiting for this. Let’s not stand around—let’s go inside and talk."
With that, Dorothy walks into Beverly’s house as if it were her own, leaving Beverly to mutter to herself about how it feels like Dorothy is the one inviting guests into her home.
Once inside, Dorothy skillfully uses Beverly’s automatic coffee machine to brew a cup of coffee, then sits in her usual spot and starts drinking. Shortly after, Beverly walks in, holding an envelope, which she places in front of Dorothy.
"Here you go~ Detective and Thief, Miss Mayschoss. Next time, will you be a Sheriff or a Pirate?"
Beverly teases, and Dorothy sets her coffee down, shrugs, and picks up the envelope. She opens it and begins to examine its contents.
The words on the paper are not handwritten but printed by a machine. Dorothy knows this isn’t a letter but a telegram—a transcription of a message sent via telegraph.
Dorothy had instructed the Nether Coffin Order to contact "Thief K" through the White Craftsmen’s Guild within seven days. Sending a letter would have been too slow, so they opted for a telegram.
Thanks to Beverly’s efforts, the White Craftsmen’s Guild has expanded its postal services to many major cities. These guild branches can communicate and share information via telegraph and other means. To specifically receive messages from the Nether Coffin Order, Dorothy opened a second account with the guild under the name "Thief K."
Dorothy examines the telegram. Its content is simple, with just a single line:
"To the despicable Thief K, may your soul be cursed for eternity! We are willing to offer a certain reward in exchange for the spirits you shamelessly stole. Name your price."
Seeing the message, Dorothy feels a surge of excitement. Clearly, after failing to locate the goods through divination, the Nether Coffin Order has finally decided to negotiate for the return of the spirits. This is exactly what Dorothy wanted.
Without hesitation, Dorothy sets the telegram aside and asks Beverly for paper and a pen. She quickly writes a response.
"Respected members of the Nether Coffin Order, I am pleased that you have seen my message and reached out. Your goods are safe in my possession. Simply pay me in Pritt pounds, and I will return them to you without fail."
After writing, Dorothy hands the paper to Beverly to send as a telegram. Beverly, with a playful expression, asks curiously.
"Well... you’re quite something. You just learned about the Nether Coffin Order from me, and now you’ve already provoked them... 12,000 pounds? That’s quite the appetite. What did you steal from them to demand such a high ransom?"
"Who knows?"
Dorothy picks up her coffee again, sipping it with a mysterious smile. She doesn’t expect the Nether Coffin Order to actually pay that much—she’s just setting a high starting point for negotiations.
Dorothy knows the final price won’t be settled in one round. Since the Nether Coffin Order is willing to negotiate for the return of their goods, and she has already established contact with them, she has plenty of time to haggle.
…
After sending the telegram to the Nether Coffin Order, Dorothy bids farewell to Beverly and heads home to rest. Just a day later, she receives a reply.
The reply is simple: amidst curses, it states that Dorothy’s demands are too high and unacceptable, and they propose their own terms. Dorothy isn’t in a hurry and uses the White Craftsmen’s Guild’s telegraph to continue negotiating with the Nether Coffin Order.
Over the next couple of days, Dorothy and the Nether Coffin Order engage in multiple rounds of bargaining via telegraph. Messages fly back and forth, and by the time they reach an agreement, Dorothy has spent around 100 pounds on telegraph fees.
The final agreed-upon deal is as follows:
The Nether Coffin Order agrees to pay Dorothy 6,000 pounds in cash and provide three mystical texts as compensation in exchange for the forty-some crates of spirits. Among the mystical texts, one must relate to King of the Underworld, and they must include a holy symbol of King of the Underworld.
The specifics of the transaction were also discussed. At the Nether Coffin Order’s insistence, the exchange must be conducted face-to-face, ostensibly to verify the goods on the spot and facilitate the handover. Additionally, both parties must be present in person—no proxies or puppets are allowed, and neither side may use any mystical means to conceal their identities.
During the negotiations, the Nether Coffin Order made numerous specific demands about the transaction details. In response, Dorothy secured the right to determine the time and location of the exchange. She ultimately decided that the transaction would take place in Tivian on the 15th, whereas the Nether Coffin Order had initially wanted it in Dankt.
Thus, on the 15th, the two parties will meet face-to-face in Tivian for a direct exchange.