The man called Blue Tiger appeared in a cloud of smoke. The colored gas dissipated rapidly when the invisible sphere that was holding it all in suddenly disappeared. The blue haired man had an annoyed look on his face as he stood up and stepped back from the table. He glared down from his now higher position, then turned on his heels and stalked away. At the same time, the golden eyed man still sitting at the table looked perturbed while calling after the fleeing Blue Tiger, “I hope you’ll live long enough to regret your decision!”

Around the open air market area, four men in the quilted green and gray half-capes started walking, surrounding Blue Tiger from a wide distance and moving with him. Unlike someone that was trying to secretly tail someone, the Shadow Capes did not get their name from moving in the shadows or being hard to find. Instead, they would stick to you just as tightly as your own shadow. They didn’t care if they were noticed and this boldness meant they could stick close enough that they became very difficult to get away from. Anything short of a blatant footrace was countered by their close proximity and large numbers. Even if you were fast enough to completely leave them in the dust, the commotion of your passing was usually enough for others in their group to take note of you and pass the word along.

The Shadow Capes were notorious in the Depths, specifically because of the strict no fighting rules. They made their living by keeping track of people and informing others when and where a target left the city. They didn’t care if you escaped their tail while also making a spectacle in the process. Their goal was to prevent a person from going into hiding and sneaking out of a city. If you got away from them by running really quickly and making a commotion then there was bound to be someone else who took notice along the way. If you use that moment to go into hiding they notify those stationed at the exits of the city and make note of everyone leaving. Due to their vast connections within the local populations ‘hiding’ in the city becomes extremely difficult. They will either find your trail again or send along the list of possible targets to their employers.

The best one can usually hope for when targeted by the Shadow Capes is having a few hours lead time on one’s enemies. Usually, a target will just allow the Shadow Capes to follow them while they contact all of their allies and hire others to help them fight back against their enemy. In fact, many of the permanent residents of the Depths are actually those who are helpless against their enemy and decide to never leave the city they’re in for the rest of their lives.

A few hours later, the light diffused into the water from above started to grow dimmer, signifying the coming of night. At this time, Blue Tiger had already returned to his Inn, a five story building that looked to be made out of a pile of seashells mortared together with some form of gritty white cement. It was a very kitschy architectural style, yet in the form of a tall rectangular apartment building like one might find on Earth. The outside of the building had four individual balconies hanging on the outer wall of each floor, making it possible to roughly count the number of apartments from the outside, only in this case they were not apartments but hotel rooms. Due to the scale and amenities in the rooms, it really seemed more akin to an upscale hotel with strange decor, but the name over the door said ‘Seashell Inn’ and the locals also referred to these places as inns.

The blue haired man was sitting on a chair made of extremely smooth but gnarled driftwood, upholstered with woven seaweed. He was leaning forward, with his elbow on one knee and his chin against his hand in the classical ‘thinker’ pose. This look of consternation was broken by a set of short knocks against the door. He stood and walked over, using his own methods to check outside before opening the door and letting in a figure wearing a heavy cloak and a wide brimmed conical straw hat.

The cloak covered the person from the neck down and dragged on the ground hiding even their toes. The conical hat was steeply angled so only someone of shorter height approaching within a few feet could see under the brim and get a peek at their face. The mysterious figure pulled off the hat and revealed a westerner with a pasty complexion, a shaved head, and scrunched up facial features.

“Who are you?”

“Since you let me in, there’s no need to pretend. Are you going to take me up on my offer? I assume you’re uneasy about putting trust in a complete stranger, but desperate enough to entertain the idea. Don’t worry, I’ve prepared something to assure you.”

Blue Tiger’s eyes narrowed as he connected this very suspicious looking person with the man he’d met in the open air market. Such a look was like shouting to the world, ‘I’m up to no good’, but there was also the fact that he was in fact feeling a tinge of desperation. Bartok was no small fry and he didn’t have enough allies or money to make up for the difference. He felt that he could put up a fight against Bartok and come out on top on an individual basis, but in a comparison between all of their allies and resources he was severely disadvantaged. This man had come out of nowhere offering him a lifeline, which he suspected to be a plot, but this terrible disguise confused him. As a plot who would ever fall for it? If it wasn’t a plot, why would he put his trust in such a fool? What was the angle here?

Sage, in his strange disguise, brought out a Blood Contract and offered it to the blue haired man, “This should prove my sincerity. An oath to bring you out of Deep Shore and safely into another city without robbery or injury.”

Blue Tiger looked over the document and found the wording to be only slightly more complicated than what the man said, but for a Blood Contract it was also exceedingly simple. In this world, Blood Contracts had become a complicated art akin to contracts on Earth and spawned whole businesses devoted to hiding and uncovering loopholes in their wording. It was extremely unusual to have such a bluntly simple contract, which was basically a show of good faith.

“You have no reason to trust me, so I had to give you one. Note that any payment on my part is not on the Blood Contract. No guaranteed benefits for myself, and harsh penalties should I fail. Is this enough to show my sincerity? You will have to make one last determination: am I insane and throwing my life away on a whim, or is this ridiculous disguise merely part of my plan?”

Sage had no idea whether or not Blue Tiger would take him up on his offer, but it didn’t matter all that much to him. He was quite confident of his chance of success and wanted to use the Blood Contract to give himself some pressure. He had no idea if he could even get any benefits from this man, but he’d sensed something unusual and that was enough for him to create this exciting little challenge for himself.

Hmm, I also have to admit that I saw a little bit of myself getting pushed into a corner in the past. If the same thing happens to me here, would I be able to get away from the Shadow Capes?

Blue Tiger stared at him for a while and the man’s dark eyes changed colors. The iris shifted from a near black color to an icy blue, releasing a bright light and extending up and down to take a vertical slit shape. The dark iris and pupil turned into a neon cat’s eye. He stared deep into Sage’s eyes and that glare caused the brown eyes of Sage’s disguise to revert to their golden color. Then a moment later, those golden eyes shifted into their ‘true’ appearance. Three parts stacked on top of each other, with a pseudo pupil for each. These pseudo pupils had a sort of wave-form look to them, with three circular parts bouncing up and down. Blue Tiger’s eyes glowed brighter and brought out even more from Sage’s eyes. The pseudo pupils were rimmed with red and then released a soft golden glow. Despite the Hypnotic Eyes activating, Blue Tiger seemed unaffected.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity, everything disappeared. Their eyes were suddenly in their original states, and Sage’s disguise had returned to how it was before. Without saying a word, a dagger appeared in Blue Tiger’s hand and he sliced it across his palm. Then he slapped his hand down upon the Blood Contract. The smeared blood glowed and then was absorbed into the ‘paper’, which was actually a special type of writing material made of Demonic Beast hides mixed with certain natural treasures.

Just like that, the contract was sealed and Sage’s scrunched up face twisted into a smile, “Excellent!”