In around two weeks Haley, Yosef and Joan arrived at Brehmen the capital of the nation of Brahm. It was a large city on the coast with a large harbor. The coastline of the nation was almost entirely sand beaches, ideal for raiding parties from the northern Harldrar kingdoms. This was the reason why many of the coastal cities were adequately defended and fortified with thick and high walls with many towers.

They had around ten gangsters with them, handpicked by Joan as the toughest and strongest gangsters of the new black rat gang. They had a crucial role in gathering intel about the politics and nobility of the nation.

~~

The three of them rode through the gates with ease passing the guards. As they entered the city they all were surprised.

The mood of the city was not hostile which surprised them. They were not burning the flag of the Fairfax kingdom. People were not calling for war. The regular people of the kingdom would not care less about war.

“Who rules here again?” Haley asked.

“You don’t even know that!?” Joan almost yelled.

“Great. This seems more and more like a suicide mission,” Yosef sarcastically said to himself.

“The nation of Brahm is led by a council of nobles. Around ten nobles are in the council, but most of the power is most likely in the hands of one individual. Diedrich Verstappen and the Verstappen family. They have ruled the council and have a lot of influence in the entire nation. He also is the loudest warmonger in the nation. If we just place the collar on him everything should work without a hitch,” Joan explained briefly.

They stopped at a local bar at the harbor. There also was located a similar kind of gravity ship tower that they had at the city of Sofia although slightly smaller.

They entered the rowdy bar and went straight to the counter. The rest of the gangsters were waiting outside and were ordered to gather useful information.

They ordered three ales and looked around the bar. They tried to look not suspicious, but it made them stand out even more.

“You are not from here, are you?” the bartender asked.

“How did you know?” Haley asked with an uneasy voice.

Joan was readying her sword under her cloth. Yosef was touching his necklace that housed his puppets.

“This is a harbor. No one is from around here. Everyone is from somewhere else,” the bartender laughed.

They put away their weapons.

"So where are you from?"

"We are from...uhmmmm," Haley thought but was very knowledgeable of the other nation.

"We are from the Elis colonies. This is our companion, an Eichi. He is ugly but he is a good cook so that is why we allow him to travel with us," Joan said.

“Can you tell me something about the Verstappens? More specifically about Diedrich Verstappen,” Haley asked the bartender.

“What are you? The kingdom of Fairfax’s spies, Hah. Just joking. He owns most of the companies such as trade companies here in the harbor. With them, the Verstappen family has gotten filthy rich. After they went into politics, they saw themselves wanting to make a name for themselves by constantly talking about war and conquest. If you ask me war is stupid but what can you do. When the council commands we people answer. Always has and always will be,” the bartender explained.

“Where does he usually stay at?” Joan asked.

“He is a very closed-off person. He lives on the east side of the city in a large villa guarded by soldiers all day long. He only leaves his home to meet with the other councilmen. Other than that, he is a complete hermit,” the bartender explained.

“We need to get Diedrich’s attention somehow and get him in a secluded place, so we can place the collar on him,” Haley whispered to the two of them

At the corner of the bar, a man was harassing three plain-looking girls. He pushed them around with the girls just wanting to be left alone. Haley felt irritated and stood up.

Haley got up and started walking towards the man.

“What the hell do you think you're doing. Don’t release your divinity here! You will cause a scene if you fight him,” Joan said and grabbed Haley by the arm.

“Fighting in a bar is normal and besides, I don’t need to use my divine power to take care of one asshole,” Haley said back and winked.

She walked toward the man and tapped on his shoulder.

“Hey, either leave them alone or cry and then leave them alone.”

“Go away, little girl before you get hurt,” the man said and pushed Haley.

Haley grabbed the arm and threw the man over her shoulder onto the floor breaking a chair as he fell.

The man passed out instantly with everyone being surprised. Very few girls had such strength and skill.

“Hey!!!!" The bartender yelled angrily.

"Good Job,” the bartender then said and showed a thumbs up with Haley lifting her thumb as a response.

Yosef and Joan looked silently as the ex-barmaid and bartender raised both their thumbs at each other. Mutual respect from one bar worker to another.

“Thank you so much. He wouldn’t leave us alone,” one of the girls said.

“Oh no, no need to thank me. Beating up assholes is one of my favorite things to do,” Haley answered back.

One of the girls whispered to the girl talking to Haley as they were getting up and leaving the bar.

“As a thank you, let me give you some advice. The man likes to meet up with his mistress on a villa surrounded by suns,” the girl whispered into Haley’s ear.

Haley stared and confused at the girls as they left the bar. She had no idea what she meant by the advice and what it was supposed to mean.

“Haley, I think we should leave as well. We need to collect more information about Diedrich and find him,” Joan said and took Haley outside.