The Third Life of Helena Blackmoore

9. Information Guild

Angles Street was a big area. The population consisted of more than a thousand people. As a result, Helena was not familiar with every inch of the place. She never visited the west part of the street or the small dark alleys since Helena had no reason to do so.

Helena followed Adham to the mercenary guild. They went from an alley to a small street. It was different from the Angles Street she knew. Their surrounding was quiet, dingy and shabby. The further they went, the shadier and scarier the people she met. Helena felt uncomfortable by the deadly glare from the resident.

She had expected this side of Angles Street. A place where the law did not reach was a common occurrence and existed everywhere. Even Noble Street had its own shady business going on.

"Don't stare too much. It is a sign of your first visit here. You might get robbed or kidnapped."

"My decision to bring Violet on this trip was correct," Helena stated inside her mind. She stopped looking around and asked Adham a question. "I thought you were just a normal mercenary. How do you know the location of the information guild?"

"Mercenary is a job relying on information. It is common for us to know one or two information guilds. The outcome of our job sometimes is valuable intel. We got additional income from getting new news for them."

They arrived at the destination. The information guild building appeared like a tavern. It was a two-story building made from bricks. The wall had a few cracks and looked worn out from the outside.

Helena went inside with Violet and Adham. It was full of a bunch of rowdy people. Many men were drinking, eating or talking while some women accompanied them. While Helena and Violet looked around, Adham walked to the counter and greeted the attendant.

"How do you do, Lisa?"

Lisa was a woman in her twenties. The brunette wore a waitress outfit and stood behind the bar. Her green eyes sparkled when she saw Adham. "It's rare to see you on holiday, Whitesmithe. I see you brought some friends. Is one of them your girlfriend?"

"Stop teasing me. I am here for some meal."

Lisa chuckled at him. "What is your order?"

"I want a medium rare steak and a blue grape tonic. These two will have the same order."

The woman nodded at his request. "We will serve you in the back. Please come in."

Helena did not understand why she must have a meal in a separate room, but she and Violet followed Adham. Unlike the tavern, the backroom had no customers. Lisa pushed some bricks off the wall and revealed a hidden door. Helena was amazed and applauded the instrument. "Wow, I thought such a mechanism just existed in fiction!"

Adham grinned. "The blue tonic drink is real anyway. It uses lemon instead of grape. You should try it."

Lisa held the door and turned her head toward them. "Are you going to be their guide, Whitesmithe?"

He shrugged his shoulder. "I've already received the payment."

Behind the door was a hidden stair in a narrow space. The stairs led them to a room upstairs. Helena guessed they used the structure of the place to hide the meeting place. Adham knocked on the door and spoke his name before entering the room. "This is Whitesmithe."

"Come in."

They stepped inside and looked around the room. The meeting place of the information guild would have couches, fancy carpets or expensive decorations in the story Helena read. Yet, that room was akin to a workplace rather than a room to receive a guest. There were two wooden chairs, cupboards filled with files, a desk and a single lamp on the ceiling.