The Deceitful One

Bryan who was about to take another drag of his cigarette, paused in his action as he was utterly flabbergasted, "What the fuck!?"

"Hehe, that's right! The person who holds this secret gathering is actually a Transcendent from the Church of Wisdom. Although no one other than the people from the Church know about it." Andrew chuckled.

Bryan was enlightened. If someone from the Church were to convene this secret gathering then this would allow the Church to covertly regulate and monitor the rogue Transcendents.

It would also allow them to restrict their growth. Furthermore, this would also allow the Church to immediately move in on any rogue Transcendent who they deem to be unstable and a problem to society.

Bryan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, 'As expected of the Transcendents from the Wisdom Path!'

While the rogue Transcendents were thinking that they were away from the eyes of the Church and the other authorities, hoping to secretly advance. In reality, they had never escaped the Church's surveillance at all.

He took a puff of the cigarette and then washed down the taste of tobacco in his mouth with bourbon. Then he looked at Andrew and inquired, "So where is this secret gathering?"

"It's a five-minute walk from here. But it will take us more time to reach there since we have to take a lot of detours. Let's have another drink and then we can leave." Replied Andrew as he took another sip of his wheat ale.

Bryan pursed his lips as he muttered under his breath, "Tsk, looks like no poker then."

Upon hearing Bryan, Andrew's lips twitched as he thought, 'This punk...'

After about thirty minutes the trio had already had at least two drinks each. Bryan signaled for the bartender to get the bill.

He took out a thick stack of notes and paid the bill by himself. It was mostly Bryan that paid for the drinks whenever he came out with Andrew and Elijah.

It wasn't because the other two forced him to but because he took the initiative to pay himself. Bryan didn't mind paying for his friends while they were out having fun.

He was frugal by nature but knew better than to restrict himself from enjoying, especially when he had a mound of cash, gold, and gems piled up inside his pocket watch.

Andrew looked at Bryan paying the bill again as he asked, "Bryan, you clearly have a lot of money. Why do you always insist on playing poker with me then?"

Bryan looked at Andrew as his lips curved up into a mischievous smile, "No one's ever had a problem with having more money. Plus, how can I say no to money that is so easily earned?"

Andrew grumbled, "Tsk, you scumbag."

He then looked at the middle-aged bartender with brown hair and gave him a 2-pound tip, "Rory, please get me my duffle bag."

Rory took the tip from Andrew's hand with a smile, "Right away, boss." 𝘧r𝗲𝑒𝔀𝘦𝙗𝓃oν𝑒l.𝐜𝗼m

"I already gave him a tip though," Bryan said in puzzlement.

Andrew shook his head and replied, "No, this is for storing my bag."

"What's in it?" Bryan inquired.

"You'll find out soon enough, hehe," Andrew smirked.

Bryan simply rolled his eyes at him. While they waited for Rory to get Andrew's duffle bag, Bryan turned to Elijah and asked, "Have you been to this Transcendent convention before?"

Elijah nodded his head, "Hmm, a few times. There are a couple of these secret gatherings in Damascus but the one we are going to is undoubtedly the best and also the largest."

Bryan was slightly surprised about there being multiple secret gatherings in the city. However, he thought that it made sense.

If there were a few thousand Transcendents living in Damascus then it was natural that there would be a couple of secret gatherings that would be convened from time to time.

Rory soon returned to the bar counter with a black duffle bag and handed it to Andrew. The trio then got up from their seats and left Kilroy's Bar.

After exiting the bar, they turned right and walked for a few minutes until they reached a secluded alleyway. Andrew then opened the zipper of the duffle bag and took out three black hooded cloaks along with three white masks.

The white masks each had different facial expressions. One had a smiling face, one had a straight face, and the last one had a crying face.

Andrew then handed one cloak and one mask each to Bryan and Elijah as he instructed, "Here, put them on."

Then he looked at Bryan and added, "Secrecy is of utmost importance at such gatherings. If you happen to reveal your identity by mistake, the greedy wolves will come after you."

Bryan nodded his head as he took the cloak and mask from Andrew. He wore the black cloak over his three-piece suit and then looked at the white smiling mask as he thought inwardly, 'Secret gatherings in the mysterious Transcendent world. How interesting!'

Ever since Detective Watson divulged the secrets of the Transcendent world to Bryan, he had always yearned for it. Being part of such a fascinating world hidden in the shadows brought him a great sense of exhilaration.

Andrew hid the duffle bag behind a garbage dumpster as he instructed, "Use your concealment spells and follow me."

Bryan put on the mask as he cast Shadow Concealment. Elijah too cast a similar concealment spell as they followed behind Andrew, running through the alleyways in the dark of night.

As they were sprinting, Andrew spoke without looking back, "Bryan, there are certain rules you have to follow at the secret gathering.

Firstly, under no circumstance are you to use your spiritual force. If you do, it will be taken as an act of violation. This is to prevent others from misunderstanding that you are using your spiritual force to launch an attack."

Bryan thought that this made sense. He covertly put his hands inside his pant pockets, injected his spiritual force inside his pocket watch, and took out another thick stack of cash.

It was better to take out the money now than to do it when he was at the gathering. If he took a fancy to any items at the gathering, he would buy them.

"Second, the way transactions take place in the gathering is through bidding, unless it's a private transaction. The highest bidder gets to take the item. 𝙛𝔯𝒆e𝔀e𝗯𝓷𝗼𝘃e𝚕.𝒄𝗼𝗺

And lastly, do not make unnecessary attempts at striking up a conversation. Speak only when spoken to, when you wish to make a bid, or if you wish to sell something." Andrew added.

"I understand." Bryan nodded.

After taking a few reroutes and changing directions multiple times to ensure no one was following them, the trio stopped in front of a three-storied building that was still under construction.

There were no workers in sight as it was close to 8 pm at night so the construction area looked abandoned and borderline spooky.

"Let's go. The Transcendent convention is going to be held in the basement here." Instructed Andrew as he entered the construction site.

Bryan took a deep breath and calmed the excitement in his heart. Then along with Elijah, he followed after Andrew.