The proprietor grinned. “That’s alright. The ladies like the grizzled look. Says it makes me look distinguished.” His attention fell on me. “Speaking of them, who do we have here?”
“Give me a glass of water, and I’ll properly introduce her to you,” Marc requested.
“How about I just do this?” I suggested as I puckered my lips together.
A melodic whistle came from my mouth and floated around the room. The metal vibrated, and the leather straps flipped about. My disguise also collapsed.
Marc’s old friend lifted an eyebrow. “That’s quite an interesting whistle you have there, miss.”
“You should hear her sing,” Marc suggested as he used a hand to gesture at each of us. “Tinker, may I introduce you to Miss Rose Larkin. Rose, this is the Tinker.”
I held out my hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He chuckled and raised his hand even with his head so the palm faced me. “We had better skip the formal greeting.”
I could see why. His glove was torn to bits, and the gashes revealed a hand coated in scabs, sores, and old wounds that had poorly healed, leading to bump flesh.
“Still trying to get as much time out of those leather gloves as you can?” Marc teased.
Tinker tilted his head down and looked at Marc over the top of his spectacles. “I would have better luck with my gloves if you would give me some of that hide of yours.”
“I’m still using it, but I’ll trade some coin for some information.”
Tinker lifted an eyebrow. “What sort of info?”
“We ran into a Manager with a large mallet that’s capable of smashing magic. Could you give us any idea how we can handle him?”
The more Marc explained the weapon, the darker the cloud on Tinker’s brow. “You’re talking about Swinger, aren’t ya?”
“We’ve heard that was his name. He isn’t much to look at.”
Tinker’s eyebrows shot up. “You saw him?”
“Unfortunately,” Marc admitted as he folded his arms over his chest. “That’s why we wanted to know as much about that weapon as we could, and about the other two with him.”
The weapon master wrinkled his nose. “Those three are nothing but trouble in a business with nothing but trouble. I didn’t make any of their weapons, but I can tell you their leader doesn’t need anything but a dagger and that wind magic of his. Swinger has his mallet, and the third one, Tick-”
“Leech,” I corrected him.
“The bug uses leeches and some sharp needles to drain the blood out of his victims. It’s always slow and painful, or so I’ve heard.” He held out his hand. “Time to pay up.”
“You haven’t told us how to defeat them,” Marc pointed out, though he drew out his coin pouch.
Tinker held out his hand. “Stay out of reach of Swinger and dodge Leech and the other guy’s daggers. That’ll be ten silver coins.”
Marc lifted an eyebrow. “That’s a lot for some information.”
“You’re asking for information about the Managers. I’m risking my neck telling you what I know.”
“You’re already on their death list. What do you care about another line?”
“I care about enjoying life before my name’s crossed out, now pay up.”
While they bickered, I strolled over to one of the nearby shelves. A variety of guns lay on the wood, and one of them looked suspiciously familiar.
I turned to the pair. Marc was counting out the coins, and Tinker was repeating the process with every coin in his open palm. I caught Marc’s eye as he finished, and I pointed at the weapon. “Isn’t this what Jaeger had?”
Marc strolled over and studied the weapon. “It does look like it.”
