John looked intently at the piece of paper and grimaced at the straightforwardness of the boy. It was also obvious that the other people weren't the same, and knew how to use tact to deal with unfamiliar situations. He, being the one in the room.
Reading the letter and listening to the rather smart Star-3, he begins
"I trade things... I am a merchant. Taking things from me is quite a sin to even think of!"
Thinking deeply, he realizes we have looking at the unexpected kindness of the people ahead of him, and as a return of favor he decides to tell them the truth. However, what they chose to believe and how incomplete the truth was.. was quite hard to figure out.
"A few moons of travel away, there is an ancient temple. The temple is said to reside of ninja monks who keep care of the area and preserve it. However.. it was come to my attention that they also kept something much darker. The records of times where, in the name of their gods they tortured; men and beasts alike.. or even something else. I have a friend, he is.. he is...different. He might not appear the friendliest but he isn't deceitful. He is honest. It was his people who were victim to the temple years ago. He wanted me to investigate so..." John pauses before revealing the key,
"This is the key to the treasury of the temple. I have acquired it through difficult means. I have already prepared a letter for my friend alongside an envelope to carry this letter. I was leaving to drop it off at our rendezvous but.. I guess the ports are closed. "
Setting his gaze onto Star-3's eyes, he finishes his story,
" This profession means I don't have many friends, kind shinobi. But my young friend.. he deserves a better life. He deserves the truth. It is absolutely essential he gets this. And I will do my best to keep my word "
Astra’s mind wandered as the merchant told his story. His words didn’t reveal nearly as much as they wanted to hear and left the specifics of his mission very open to interpretation. If he wanted to keep his business a secret he would have told them as little as possible. Instead he told them everything but in the vaguest terms imaginable. What a mess. No amount of theorizing was going to help them now. They snap back to reality, finding Ryuu looking troubled about their guest’s dubious story. Star-3 kept her composure and faced the man. If anything, the part about him having few friends seemed genuine enough.Ryuu listened intently to the man's account of what he was doing, but he still did not know why the man was covered in blood when he arrived. Did he have to fight to obtain this key? The boy looked over at Astra, wondering if they would say anything. They were obviously more mature than he, being a child after all, and so he trusted what they would say more. He had already inadvertently acted too bluntly, and what they needed at the moment was the man's trust. He wondered if the stranger was a good man, for if he was, Ryuu could offer later to help him with the delivery of his letter. After all, he was an ink user, and so he specialised in spying and delivering information to places discreetly.
“Going so far for your friend’s sake...i think it’s admirable.” She said smiling gently. ”You two must be very close. Though i wonder if he cares about you as much as you care about him. He sent you off to infiltrate a group of so-called torturers for what sounds like a very personal reason. Either he’s as unfriendly as you say or he had faith in your skills. Maybe both. I wouldn’t trust an amateur with that important a task.”
While she spoke, a small red blur shot toward her head and she caught it without breaking eye contact with the man. She glanced at the apple in her hand and lowered it, glaring at the one who threw it. Star-2 was sitting at a table holding another one of Ryuu’s apples which he was almost tempted to bite into.
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“Don’t give the guy too much credit. Remember, he could barely reach this village in the state he was in. Even if he did find a ship he could board i doubt he can cross the Gulf without getting discovered by a gang of greedy pirates. I hear they can smell a merchant from a mile away.”
As Star-2 two spoke, the apple came flying back at him but was pierced by three table knives making it briefly stop in mid-air before dropping to the floor with a thud. After defending himself he gave Star-3 a questioning look, as if he was appalled she would do such a thing, then turned to the merchant to hook him in.
“If all you need to do is deliver a letter, there are plenty of ways to do so without putting yourself in danger. I happen to know someone who can help. I can assure you that he can send your message safely and discreetly, and you can be closer to fulfilling your friend’s wish.“
Star-2 picked the apple off the floor and grinned knowingly at Ryuu. Astra still wasn’t used to relying so much on their little friend when they were entirely capable themselves but it was the best option. It would be a missed opportunity if anything happened to the man when he had information they could use and a key to the temple’s treasury. Everyone knows secrets are more valuable than gold. They really wanted to know what was inside, hidden from the world.