Karith the glamorous colorful city with a fantastic view of the Zujiuchu Mountains, was a wonderful city, if you ignored the lower sections covered in mists that cause mutations. An invitation had been sent to Fiori Terrowin by magic from one of the wealthy artifact collectors that she occasionally did business with. Liú Zǐmò had supplied her with plenty of unique artifacts, such as dancing slippers or a hairpin to cause invisibility, all of which she used in her fashion collections for aesthetic purposes. Usually he would send an invitation and Fiori would write back with a vague excuse but this time, there were rumors that some particularly nasty upper class individuals would be attending. For once, Fiori accepted the invitation and prepared herself for battle. Usually she’d spend the time at home trying to design something for the new season or figure out the practicality of sewing tiny diamonds to make a sparkling effect into some dress.

Tonight she was out for blood and cash. She’d be damned if she wasn’t swimming in silver by the end of the party. Fiori’s battle armor was a dark red silk gown that trailed across the ground. Useless for any party where dancing is heavily involved but a celebration like this will have more gambling, gossiping and stationary activities. Plus, she had an enchantment added to the dress by a talented mage. Whenever somebody tries to step on her gown, the dress would magically move out of the way before the individual could. Truly, a lifesaver for the fashion focused. Fiori arrived at the party an hour late then began her hunt.
She first started with gambling some money out of a few wealthy merchants who were too drunk to even play and then focused on luring others into unfavorable contracts that looked very profitable. Despite the fact that it was a party, everybody was either socializing for the sake of a business or directly conducting business. Merchants were clever but they were drunk on riches and luxuries of the party, barely keeping their wits about them. Or at least, the newer merchants were. The older and more experienced were far more cautious.

Fiori usually left them alone but one in particular caught her attention. He had long red hair and almost reminded her of her brother Rex, only this stranger had a look of intelligence that her brother always lacked. Whether he was a merchant, a noble, or just a wealthy person was still unclear but she was willing to try him. She grabbed a drink from one of the servants and approached the stranger, handing it to him.

“Monsieur sends his regards.” She said, gesturing vaguely to a group of men playing mahjong in the distance. Her words were carefully selected.

She was looking for his reaction to the word monsieur, since it was a word rarely spoken in Karith. He didn’t appear to be a local.

“Who do you think the winner will be?” She asked, “I hope it’ll be monsieur.”

Fiori’s eyes were wide and excited, like a young woman who was going to a party for the first time. Red in many other places was meant to be passionate but in Karith it usually expressed happiness and good fortune. A good choice for the part of a youthful and clueless young lady. 

Of all the places he had visited before his unfortunate 'work contract', Karith hadn't been one of them. Unlike other places in Parvpora, entering the flying city had more complications for someone like him. But that was in the past, and now even he could mingle with high society having the right connections. Despite the luxury and opulence, this was more or less a business trip–this time for himself instead of a quota. Now that he was liberated from that person's grasp, he had to find his own customers. It had taken some time for him to familiarize himself with Karith's social structure as this was one of the few places where Shiloh didn't regularly do business with. The current state of the city's lower levels was deeply concerning, and it unsettled him knowing how the prosperity of the upper levels was achieved. Every place had its own unpleasant corners and unspoken secrets, however this was one of the rare cases where he couldn't see anything good out of it. But he wasn't going to rock the boat, no that would be suicide. Better to pretend and turn a blind eye here than risk joining the unfortunate where death even seemed merciful.

Tonight he was dressed in an elegant robe of black silk coupled with a deep crimson stole embroidered with gold thread. The high collar was close-fitting and simple, with minimal adornment. Instead of making an ostentatious display, Auron was going for a refined yet modest appearance to better court potential patrons. Steering clear of becoming inebriated or touching the rowdier gambling tables, he had invited himself to a game of mahjong with a table of more experienced merchants and members of high society. The nouveau-riche were excellent marks for making quick money, however what he wanted was a more solid, long-term inflow of customers. Also there was the fact that if Shiloh caught wind of him conning people again, there would be no place in Revaliir to run from her. He was still relatively green at the game, so his train of thought was interrupted by a waiter handing him a drink. Raising his eyebrows at the glass, the server spoke in his ear: "Monsieur sends his regards." He gave smile in reply. "Likewise."  As they left, he restrained the urge to scan the room. Apparently someone was watching him, and it wasn't someone he knew.

He didn't win his first game, but since it wasn't serious betting it wasn't something to worry about. A man with grey streaks through his hair and spectacles on his nose gave a friendly smile and reassurance. "A shame, perhaps you'll have better luck next round." Auron returned the courtesy, having lost any faith in luck since he met 'Luck' in person. As he slowly picked up the game, conversation started between everyone at the table. "So I hear the Madame will be celebrating her golden anniversary next month. If you don't mind me inquiring, would you be interested in a personalized gift to commemorate the occasion?" The spectacled man, patriarch of the Zhao family took a tile to add to his row. "What do you have in mind?" Auron smiled. "That depends. What matters most is that it suits the Madame's fancy." The second round ended with him being close to winning, but an improvement no less. As the tiles were changed, he took the chance to see who else he might have missed in the crowd and didn't note any new faces that matched a 'monsieur'. There was a striking young lady however; she likely came in while he had been occupied. He pretended to take a sip from the drink he had been given, stopping short of letting the liquid touch his lips. The glass had been tilted just enough to where his lips made contact with it, but he tilted it back before they became wet. Unless you were close enough, one wouldn't know if he had actually taken it in.

The young lady took a turn around the room, careful to keep her distance from Auron. She had small conversations with a few of the other women and men, even taking her time to watch one of the games. The likeliness of the man drinking what he had been given was random but he would be able to take in the aroma. Eventually Fiori naturally made her way over to Auron’s game, taking the time to watch with a vaguely interested expression. She wasn’t the only one. Two others had gathered around to watch. Not enough to hide her presence but enough to make her movements seem more realistic. Once the game was over, she approached Auron with impressed eyes. Even if he lost the game, she would still appear impressed.

“You played well. If I may ask, where did you learn?” She asked.

The first step to any scam was to get the individual to listen. If she was to get him to listen, she first needed to gauge his personality and feed his ego in a natural manner. After listening to his explanation, she felt comfortable enough to take a seat next to him in whatever chair was available. His body language while speaking indicated to a less egotistical sort of personality. Those with large egos would use their hands and larger gestures to take up as much space and attention as possible. His considerably restricted body language indicated a more reserved and cautious sort of person. The type of person who wouldn't go out of their way to grab the spotlight of the room. Still, Fiori had confidence in the drink she had sent. It had been a few minutes since she sent it over so she was more willing to give her trick a shot. 

"You know I could use a bit of help. I've been trying to find someone who would take on this agreement but they keep asking me to revise it for my own sake. I think it's fine as it is. I was hoping you would be kind enough to take a look at it?" She requested with begging eyes. 

From all appearances, Fiori appeared to be a naïve young lady devoid of confidence. Her age was pushed to her advantage along with her credible acting skills. Never pushing it too far but just enough for it to be noticeable. With careful movements, she took out a contract agreement arranged beforehand. The contract agreement involved funding a privately owned fabric trade. The language of the contract heavily implies the person funding the trade would receive a massive amount of money in turn, regardless of the success of the trade. However, if one read between the lines one would find several loopholes that would result in no payment to the funder if more than one silver coin was put into the funding. Only sharp eyes would catch this loophole as the language was carefully devised to look appealing to loan sharks. 

"What are your thoughts?" She asked. 

The game came to a close, and he had set himself up for a potential commission down the line. Naturally until a contract was written up there were no guarantees, but increasing one's exposure wasn't all that bad. The perks of being an artisan for luxury goods were that you didn't need to push sales as often compared to merchants selling regular stock. As long as he had a few returning customers he could afford a few lulls between projects. He had ended the game in third, however he had gained valuable connections. It was a win for him either way. Now he had little reason to stay, Auron was preparing to leave when he was approached by the striking young lady he had seen earlier. She looked about the same age as Yeva, though this girl had a cosmopolitan air that reminded him of his early days. When she complimented him, he gave her a smile and replied. "Just now. Seems I've quite the beginner's luck."

Also it had been a casual game with no stakes, so he could afford to make mistakes here and there. Cheating at games didn't require much skill, however cheating without getting caught did–and he wasn't planning on testing his. Someone like a certain individual could definitely pull such a feat off, but she had no interest in gambling anyway. She'd likely make all the players lose horribly just to make them suffer. 

To Auron, this young lady in red was quite forward despite seeming new to the scene. Part of him was curious as to what she would do next. Her next action came as a complete surprise, and if it wasn't  because he knew he was sober, he'd be questioning his ears. "Oh, I'm afraid I'm not the right person to ask when it comes to these sort of matters." He might've been a swindler in the distant past, however dissecting and writing up legal documentation was Shiloh's specialty. Still the document was thrust upon him and he chose to at least give this stranger the courtesy of attempting to help. Settling down, he read through the contract agreement not expecting anything. It began simple enough, a typical arrangement between two people for the investment into a textile business. But something felt odd as he continued reading. Going back over a section a few times, he confirmed he wasn't seeing things as the wording started to not make any sense. Surely there was some sort of typographical error, because if he was reading correctly–the investor would profit regardless if the venture was successful or not. He hadn't even gotten past this bit before he could tell something wasn't right. No one in their right mind would agree to pay money even if they didn't make any profit. At best they would agree to give the investor a full refund of the money that was initially put in.

He finished reading the contract throughly, and turned to Fiori with a calm expression. "I think it looks fine, except for the part where you're paying out regardless if the business succeeds." Since he was speaking with a stranger, best not to point out the more glaring issues in the agreement lest he hint that he knew more than he should.

Fiori had been hoping that his mind would have been dulled enough so that he would overlook any strange issues in the agreement. She had also been hoping that she had caught a loan shark since he had that air about him. Unfortunately he was a perfect gentleman who not only looked over her contract but had a humble attitude about it. Strange, her intuition was almost never wrong. If he wasn't the loan shark then maybe he was just the type who knew them. 

"I see. Well, if you aren't the type to go for this contract, then do you know some people who are?" She asked. 

Anybody listening into their conversation wouldn't be able to pick up on the traces of her double meaning. In one fell swoop she both inquired more information for his acquaintances while accusing him of knowing those types of people. There wasn't much point in keeping up a façade around someone who was either too intelligent to bite or too decent of a person. There were a few others who she'd been eyeing who she could tell were loan sharks but Auron appeared to have been the wealthiest one among them. Unfortunately he was a good person and she would simply have to prey on somebody else. 

"Of course, you could always help a girl out." She suggested, "It's difficult to have many discussions in one night. Having someone else help out would be nice. Of course only the type of people who would jump at this… opportunity would be targeted. And you would receive a fair share." 

Subtly was out the window, though she was still being careful in case there were listeners. Fiori had a feeling this man was more than just a nice person. He not only avoided the mind-numbing aroma but he also looked through the contract very quickly for a man with no experience in this type of thing. There was no doubt in her mind that he has some sort of history in either catching scams or causing them himself. Perhaps that was what she had caught onto earlier? 

Now that the jig was up, he had a feeling she wouldn't let him off so easily. In all of his years, Auron hadn't run into another fellow swindler as a mark. Partially out of an unspoken courtesy, he had never competed with others in the same business. There was also the risk of having his cover blown as well, so he usually worked alone. This young lady was quite bold however. Not only did she try to take him on as a mark, when her plan fell through she immediately shifted her position to ask for recommendations on potential targets. While he wasn't going to rat her out, it wasn't like he was in any position to help either. "If I did, I doubt I'd be acquaintances with them for very long." He couldn't afford to send any of his casual friends like sheep to the slaughter, not like Shiloh would ever let him get away with doing so regardless. It was extremely disquieting how she always seemed to know where everyone from Antikythera was at any given moment. He was sure she wasn't omnipotent, but it was unsettlingly close.  

The lady in red continued to persist, and Auron recognized she was still relatively green when it came to swindling. Her observation and acting skills were excellent, but she had the unbridled ambition all swindlers had when they were starting out. Since she had shown the decency to not push him into accepting her scam despite being found out, he figured there would be no harm in dropping a few names of strangers he wouldn't miss. The money wasn't the main draw, but her promise that she'd only fool those who genuinely deserved it. "Well when you put it that way, I suppose I might have heard some rumors down the grapevine." Perhaps in hindsight he would come to regret this, but at the moment he saw nothing wrong with naming names.

"There's a handful of stuffed shirts with old money still hanging around Adeluna City. They're always going on about their blood and lineage, making sure everyone knows whether they like it or not. They also believe working is beneath them–you know the type. If your surname isn't in their narrow social circle, they won't even look you in the eyes but they're perfectly satisfied with looking down their noses if you're an illegitimate child from those old families. I've never done business with them since I don't enjoy having difficult customers, but maybe you might like a challenge." He had already given her more than enough hints to find who he was talking about without explicitly saying so, even listing some of their habits and overall behavior. Since these people weren't past customers who had done business with Shiloh, Auron was sure he could avoid tipping her off right away. He knew she disliked the Adelunian nobility, so there was a chance she wouldn't hold this against him if she found out later.

Reading the room, she recognized that the gentleman was only willing to give out a few names and some information but was otherwise uninterested in further participation. It was a shame, as he clearly had experience in the field even if he wasn't a scammer himself. She could have used that experience but there was no point in holding onto anything further. Fiori listened as he gave her additional details, specifically on their location and how they choose to do business. They are the noble type who tend not to work with anyone other than purebred nobility. Certain names also had to be within the social circle so even reaching them or swindling them would be difficult. But all families had a weakness. Especially nobles. All it took was one idiot within the noble family to bring the rest down. Fiori knew she would have to be careful, as she would rather avoid sullying her own reputation in an attempt to gain silver. She would have to do further research before she fully decided on whether or not they were worth it. However, Fiori did appreciate being sent in a good direction. 

"Thank you for the information." Fiori said with a smile on her lips, "Here." 

She waved over one of the waiters to give the gentleman another drink, this time without the special aroma. As the waiter moved towards them and offered a drink to Auron, Fiori took the moment to slip out of sight and out of the conversation. The woman took time to mingle with other guests, even participating in a game or two herself. Eventually the party died down and Fiori took an appropriate time to leave. Chelsie, her servant accompanied her to an open portal to one of the Terrowin islands and she stepped through, thinking on how to track down her new prey. It would be so… interesting. 

Two weeks later….

In Adeluna, a noble home specifically suggested by Auron was having their furniture moved out from their massive mansion inside the city. They still held onto their lands, as it was illegal to sell them but their house was a different matter. Rumor around the streets was that a gentleman known as Monsieur had swindled the family's foolish heir into a bad deal. The result was a massive amount of debt to the family, practically bleeding them dry of their wealth. Fiori was busy shopping in the area and was listening to the rumors as she silently watched from afar. The nobles had not only been extremely unkind to non-nobles but she had caught them abandoning bastard children and being cruel to anybody who wasn't in their family. Of course, they didn't even know her name, only ever hearing about this Monsieur. 

Auron accepted a new drink, and soon the party ended without fanfare. He returned to Sularia without much thought about the incident, not expecting to ever run into the young lady in red again. Fate however had other plans, as soon he was in Adeluna City after leaving from Mamjaku having secured a supply of high quality gemstones and platinum ingots. Casually he passed through the boutiques to pick up a gift for Lily and his stepdaughter Yeva before moving to the upper class districts. It was there where he was met by an unusual sight–people moving furniture out of a moderately opulent estate without the delicacy of someone moving house. Rather, with the way the porters behaved it was more like the objects being moved were repossessed. Auron stood a little ways and stopped to watch. After all, this wasn't something you saw every day.

Taking aside a local walking along the street he asked what had happened. "Haven't you heard? Word on the street is the eldest son got into a bad business deal with someone over commodities. The other person bailed and he got left with the debt. Since he's the only other person responsible, the family had to pay up." 

"I see, well that's a shame." The offhand comments he made in Karith had slipped his mind and Auron didn't realize he had played a part in this series of unfortunate events. He continued to observe the steady line of possessions being removed from the house and didn't notice a certain familiar face was also nearby. As the old saying goes, a fool and his money are easily parted. However it was quite cutthroat for the other business partner to bolt and run like that. It was likely that this mysterious partner had intended to do so from the start… 

Fiori had been doing some shopping that day, mostly to excuse why she was in town today. She ranted to her maid about a cute little cafe that offered these cat pastries and another nearby shop that provided unique glass vases that she was thinking of buying for one of her many siblings. Today she was wearing a comfortable traveling outfit. Her blouse was black but the skirt was a deep wine red. Her hair was tied up in a simple ponytail. Beyond her impeccable fashion taste, she was able to blend into the crowds fairly well. As she was observing the area, her clever eyes caught sight of the red-head who had helped her previously. She casually made her way towards him with a joyful sparkle in her eye. 

"I believe I owe you a thank you for what you did the other day." Fiori said carefully in case anybody was listening besides him, "Thanks to your input, I was able to handle that little project." 

She knew better than to outright say what it was and she had carefully cut herself off from any involvement with the family. Though she wasn't the best at finding people to scam or handling her own ambitions, she always made sure she had a clean exit strategy. There had been a few moments where she thought she was about to get caught by the family but was able to avoid it. Fiori knew that she wouldn't have been able to do it without this man's help. 

"Here. A little gift of appreciation. Don't worry, its legitimate." She said with a smirk, "This time." 

The gift was a little napkin embroidered with a message saying, The napkin is worth 10,000 silver if you return it to the Terrowin household. Fiori unfortunately didn't have the money to pay back the man on hand. She had enough for some casual shopping, a few 6,000 silver pieces but to properly repay him she knew she would need more. The napkins were a convenient way to give out money in thanks without directly dropping it in the man's hands. 

They met again, and Auron hadn't quite put two and two together when Fiori greeted him. For socialites, traveling around to shop in major cities wasn't unusual. It was where he would frequent as well back in the day, albeit for different reasons. "Wait, what–" The young lady handed him a napkin before heading off, and he stood in confusion for a few moments until he saw what was written on it. Then it all fell into place. The house being evicted was the poor sap who he had 'recommended' unintentionally. He had no idea if he should believe what he was seeing, but it wouldn't hurt to see if he had a chance at ten thousand silver. He tucked the unusual redemption receipt away safely and prepared to return to Arri. There, he'd ask around if anyone knew where to find this family surnamed 'Terrowin'. Sometimes there were happy accidents after all.