Chapter 104: Lannis, the Explosives Prodigy
Hearing the name, a smile spread across Abyss’s face. “I know that person too.”
Lannis was indeed a renowned alchemist, known as “The Most Dangerous Halfling in the Eastern Empire.” Not because she was evil, but because her mind was both brilliant and somewhat unhinged.
Halflings were a sub-race of humans, similar in height to dwarves, adults averaging between 1.2 and 1.3 meters tall. However, they were much lighter, weighing only a third of a dwarf of the same height. They resembled human children in appearance, but their minds were sharp and agile.
Halflings loved to travel, and most of them pursued careers in commerce. They were shrewd, silver-tongued, and possessed exceptional business acumen. Even those who didn’t become merchants preferred professions that involved travel and exploration. It was rare for a halfling to choose the solitary life of an alchemist, spending their days cooped up in a laboratory, surrounded by beakers and flasks.
Lannis, however, was a halfling alchemist, and a highly skilled one at that. At seventy years old, she was considered one of the most accomplished alchemists on the continent. Yet, instead of pursuing lucrative ventures, she dedicated her talents to waging war against criminal gangs.
The Eastern Empire, despite its military strength and economic prosperity, suffered from rampant gang activity in its outlying cities, far from the capital. These cities were plagued by numerous gangs, some with histories spanning centuries. They fought amongst themselves for power and wealth, operating outside the law, with their own set of rules.
The Eastern Empire tolerated these gangs for three main reasons: First, although they weren’t law-abiding citizens, they generally avoided harming innocent civilians and respected the authority of the city lords. Second, their income wasn’t solely derived from theft or extortion. They also ran legitimate businesses, contributing to the Empire’s tax revenue (or perhaps, bribes). Third, some of the larger gangs had financial backing from Eastern Empire nobles, providing them with powerful connections.
However, gangs were still a menace to society. Their activities often involved violence, brutality, and cruelty. Law-abiding citizens avoided any association with them, leading to a strained relationship between the common folk and the nobles in these outlying cities.
Lannis was often hired by various gangs to create specialized explosives, using her skills to blow up their rivals.
With her talent, she could have easily aligned herself with a powerful gang, becoming their ace weapon and enjoying a life of luxury and influence. The larger the gang, the greater her rewards would be. However, one of the reasons she was considered eccentric was her refusal to pledge allegiance to anyone. Today, she might accept payment to blow up someone’s enemies, and tomorrow, she might accept payment from those enemies to blow up her previous clients.
She had two principles when accepting jobs: First, she only targeted gang members, never harming civilians or animals. Second, she never worked for the same organization twice. After completing a job, she would immediately move on to a new client, regardless of how much her previous clients offered.
This made her both a valuable asset and a hated enemy among the Eastern Empire’s gangs. City officials, constantly dealing with the aftermath of her explosions, despised her, arresting her multiple times. But she always managed to buy her freedom with hefty fines, rarely spending more than a week in prison.
This notoriety made her a household name. To the gangs, she was a powerful mercenary. To the common folk, she was an amusing eccentric—after all, she never harmed innocent people, and there had never been any collateral damage from her explosions.
Abyss’s knowledge of her wasn’t due to her legendary status, but because of her past.
Forty years ago, she had been the assistant to Rebecca, the Adult Entertainment Queen of the Eastern Empire.
She was the one who announced Rebecca’s death and the one who burned all her blueprints and formulas. Therefore, she was the most likely person to know where Rebecca’s body was buried.
“That’s quite a coincidence. We’re also heading to the Eastern Empire to visit Miss Lannis. We have some questions about alchemy we’d like to ask her,” Abyss said to Givia with a smile. “As for her ability to help you with your Outer God problem, could you elaborate?”
Abyss wasn’t lying. He did have questions for an alchemist, specifically about the location and preservation status of a certain alchemist’s remains. If Rebecca hadn’t been properly preserved, he might have to find a way to reconstruct her flesh and skin.
“You have questions for her too?” Givia asked, surprised. “This is… quite a coincidence. Perhaps we can continue traveling together after we reach the Eastern Empire.”
“I would be delighted. We’ll offer any assistance we can, as a token of gratitude for your hospitality and the comfortable wagon,” Abyss said, not mentioning his other motive for accompanying Givia: to capture one of those strange creatures Leona had encountered and dissect it.
He wanted to examine its insides—its organs, bones, nerves, blood vessels, and muscles—before it could turn into goo.
How exciting!
“It’s a bit embarrassing, but I learned about Lannis’s ability to help me from a fortune teller…” Givia continued. “I was desperate, so I decided to try anything. After being plagued by nightmares for a while, I went to a nearby city in disguise to purchase some supplies. A mysterious fortune teller stopped me on the street. He easily guessed that I was having nightmares. After I paid him, he told me that meeting Lannis Consten would solve my problem. I didn’t take his words seriously at first, but since I’m heading to the Eastern Empire to acquire potions for my soldiers, I thought I might as well visit her…”
“I see… A mysterious fortune teller?” Abyss asked, intrigued. “He could make such a specific prediction?”
Fortune tellers did exist in Hai-Teweru(Haitville), but most of them only predicted general fortunes for a short period, and they were either con artists or amateur psychologists. They didn’t actually see the future, but simply deduced their clients’ personalities through observation and then made educated guesses.
“It does sound suspicious… But I was wearing a veil and had taken a stimulating potion. He still guessed that I was having nightmares, so I believed him… It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? The leader of the Restoration Army, believing in such things…”
“Not at all, Your Highness,” Abyss said, shaking his head seriously. “I must visit this fortune teller myself. He’s as intriguing as an ancient giant’s heart.”
***
海·特维尔: (Hǎi.Tèwéiěr)
I’ll use ‘Hai-Teweru’ from now on instead of ‘Haitville’.
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