Othai didn’t collapse to her knees in relief. She didn’t pound the earth or scream her triumph. I kind of wished she would.

  “Clean up the battlefield. Confirm there are no survivors. Usual reward for intel stands. Nobody get brave and jump into the water- We ain’t paying a death benefit if you die acting a fool.” Her voice was crisp, glancing over the mercenaries but keeping her eyes moving across the river. Towards Verton.

  “A job well begun but not done?” I asked.

  “Just so, my Lord.”

  “Any which way about it, I want to get the rest of the villages evacuated and pick up Mr. Bacciatio’s packages. Logically, we should have just broken the back of the invasion. However, I’m not buying it.”

  “Why is that my Lord?” Her voice was a touch wooden. Seems she was locked down by the system again. Although I will confess to a certain pleasurable jolt of spite. Now she knows how to play along? GOD I feel for Cid some days. The struggle is real. It’s so damn real.

  “Some day, I will be able to look down on a city and declare “I Am Atomic.”

  “Pardon, my Lord?”

  “Tower Master?”

  I was getting odd looks in stereo. Stay strong, Cid. I’m here in the trenches with you.

  “You know what we didn’t see in this battle? A second attacking force. I waved towards the gently rolling countryside. “I was expecting Hosk Raiders or some other lovely bunch to roll up behind us and try to pin us between two forces. Even attacking from ambush, they had to have assumed this village was defended. So… where are they?”

  “You don’t think they are in Verton already, do you, Tower Master?”

  “No, or at least, I don’t think that’s what’s going on. If they were running around in there, Miyuki or Rikka would have escaped to tell us. Miyuki’s arrows aren’t subtle. Depending on how many she skewered, we might even hear it from down here.”

  That might be a stretch. I hesitated, then shrugged. At the end of the day, I trusted my Awakened. They had their orders. They were doing their jobs. I just had to keep my head down and do mine.

  “Let’s clear the map as best we can. Incidentally, if anyone wants to tell me anything about anything, I’m always happy to listen. Amazing what you can think of when you hear something blatantly and completely unrelated.”

  Nobody had anything. We gathered everyone up and rolled out.

  Clearing the rest of the villages was pretty quick. The new mechanic meant that villages were clearing themselves once we made the linkages. Handy, that. I kept grinding on it. Miyuki dutifully signalled when raiders were incoming, and we worked from behind the stone walls to make sure they were the only ones who died.

  The more you bring, the less you lose. That little reminder was seared on my brain. Not like I was trying to deliberately keep my number of Awakened to a minimum, of course. But I now had an economy exploit going, Verton was going to get the Sky Realm moving in a major way, which meant that my only big bottleneck was going to be Resonance Crystals and the Awakened.

  These mercenaries were doing a great job. But they weren’t Awakened. The best crossbowmen weren’t as good as Mika. Their pikes weren’t as good as Dora. They were good, but my bet was that Mika and Dora represented the best of what Genuda could offer.

  I thought about that a moment longer, then hurriedly connected the words to the recruitment list available from Truso.

  “Othai?”

  “Yes, my Lord?”

  “Other than Mika and Dora, are there other Genuda Defense Force members who are summonable at the Tower?”

  “Couldn’t say, my Lord.”

  Sweet Christ. I could have my own matchlocks. Cav scouts. Hell, even Three Handers. I don’t know what I would use them for, except plugging breaches, but I could have them.

  “Let's get this wrapped up quickly.”

  We were met at the gates by Truso. Truso was standing all by his lonesome. The battlements above him, however, were filthy with crossbows.

  “Genuda-Verton Treaty of Mutual Support requires and declares that within all lands within forty leagues of Verton, only Genuda Defense Force Contractors shall-

  “Gonna stop you right there, Truso. Before you finish that sentence and say something you will regret, why don’t you take a look at this nifty chest we just happened to find. By complete coincidence. I do believe it has, well, had, a familiar lead seal on it.”

  He was staring me down with the confidence of someone sure I’d die a bare second after he gave the order. I was staring him down with the confidence of someone who had Emergency Exit teed up and ready to go. And I had Versai standing next to me with a big shield. That helped.

  I tried not to pay attention to all the Genuda mercenaries around me. Truso and I both knew that if things kicked off, they wouldn’t be on my side.

  Truso snorted and walked over with the kind of casual swagger I could only dream of. He looked at the broken hasp, shot me a hard look, got an equally hard look from Othai, then looked inside the chest.

  I swear his expression didn’t even flicker. His eyes didn’t so much as narrow. It had to be one of the most cold blooded things I have ever seen.

  “Decent little plot.”

  “That was our take, yeah. Or maybe it’s real. Maybe I should start loudly suggesting an open and transparent inquiry to determine the validity of the letter. That couldn’t possibly have any negative repercussions for any of us. But it will be quick. You have that code book on you, right?”

  He gave me a flat look. I looked straight back. I tried to imagine he was one of my scumbag clients who was threatening to ruin me unless I helped commit a fraud on the market for them. Don’t give an inch, and remember they have a hell of a lot more to lose than you do.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  It didn’t work great. But Truso was smarter than I gave him credit for.

  “I can’t let artillery slide. Almost anything else, but not that.” His lips didn’t move. They seemed to travel from the back of his throat directly to my ears. “I shouldn’t have to explain why.”

  “You don’t. And why let it slide? I’m the contractor. The military deployment occurred under the command and supervision of Genuda Mercenaries and a highly experienced Genudan commander. Sounds like a Genuda military deployment to me.”

  “Transparent.” He snorted.

  “But it gives you a way out. And, Truso? Count noses. I brought ‘em all back. I cleared the whole map, every village and stopped an invasion fleet and didn’t lose a single soldier. I am actively helping Genuda hang on to Verton. So you tell me. Do you want to make an enemy out of a really good customer? Especially since the schemes against you are getting really blatant and open? Or do you want to find a way we both can win?”

  Truso tapped his fingers on the hilt of his sword. Not a ripple of emotion. Not a flicker. All his previous piss and vinegar had been an act. I could see it now. He put on the show he needed to, to make sure things turned out the way he needed them to. The Mayor was a prick. Pastet was venal. Bacciato was phoney. Truso was an actual psychopath.

  I could feel the little prickles of fear running up and down my spine. Truso was a genuine article psychopath. He didn’t look scared because he wasn’t scared. He was just trying to decide what his job was in this exact set of circumstances, and how he could ensure he did it with the least amount of effort or risk. And I didn’t know if that made him more or less likely to be a traitor.

  “Final point, and sorry if this is something you already know, but, you know Wastet is dead, right? As is the Hosk confederacy. Don’t know about Hosk, but Wastet sure looks like they sold out Genuda in exchange for certain promises and guarantees. I truly do not understand why people keep saying yes to Ko’Ras. It never works out. Not even once. I think they make a point of eating the betrayers first, actually.”

  “Oh?” His voice was mild as milk.

  “Yep. I’ve seen the skinned corpses stuffed with straw, blowing in the wind.”

  “Interesting.” He made no reaction. I sighed internally. I’d done what I could. The silence dragged out. Eventually, he gave the nod. “Glad to see you are in compliance with the law.”

  Sure. Yeah. Me too. I sighed, crossing my fingers that Rikka or Miyuki found a clue.

  I delivered the packages to Mr. Bacciato first. Always hit the side quest before the main quest, that’s law.

  “Did you find my gift useful?” He stroked his little mustache with his ring finger.

  “Very. One wonders how you came upon such a treasure.”

  “Some couriers had an accident in a remote place. A local man, a person of good sense and reserve, collected what the invaders no longer needed. He then reached out to me.”

  Mr. Bacciato’s opinions on things were never particularly well hidden, and now they were right out in the open. A stray thought intruded. “Out of curiosity, do you know where Pastet is from?”

  “A merchant is a man of no nation, my friend. Rootless, friendless, and endlessly hungry. He took over management of the local Merchants guild about ten years ago. Before that, he was a caravan brat, who grew into a caravan rat.”

  Ahah. Keywords dropped. “And his parents?”

  “I don’t know that he had any.”

  “I will speak to you soon, my friend.” I smiled at him. He smiled back with equal warmth and honesty.

  “Very soon, I hope. There is much to be done, and few brave enough to do it.”

  I went straight over to Pastet. “Ah, the hero of the hour! And you seem to have reached an arrangement with Truso too- well done!”

  “Hoping you wouldn’t have to pay?”

  “No, I would have paid. The Merchant’s Guild exists in part to make sure contracts are enforced without having to take a case before a judge. I just would have waited to see if you were able to collect, or were willing to accept alternate terms.” He sounded impressively virtuous when he said that.

  “Pay no attention to the sudden clenching of my fists, just something that spontaneously happens. Let’s settle accounts, shall we?”

  “Rune Bones, Frozen Diamonds and the charter. Here, verify that it’s all correct.” He handed me two sacks and a scroll. It was just as it should be. I smiled.

  “Pleasure… well… satisfactory doing business with you.”

  “Likewise.”

  “Anything else I can help you with?”

  “Not at the moment. Speak to the Mayor. I believe he wants a word.”

  Ah, progress locked behind a cutscene, got it.

  “Will do. Random question- your name seems a little unusual. Where are you from originally?”

  “Rude. And my family was from Wastet. Pastet is a common metonym for traveling merchants from that city. Though I never lived there. Caravan kid.”

  He looked down his nose at me.

  “Thanks. Sorry. Talk to you soon.”

  Interesting. Very interesting. Extremely interesting, in fact. I wonder…

  “Tower Master?”

  “Mmm? Sorry Versai?”

  “You just stopped in the middle of the street, Tower Master.”

  “Oh. Thinking.”

  “About what?”

  “Hunger, in its many forms.”

  I waved her away. “Don’t worry about it. Let's go see the mayor and find out what’s the next thing Verton has for us.”

  It was difficult to concisely describe the expression on the Mayor’s face. The best analogy I could think of would be the person who dropped the slice of pizza that the pizza rat dragged into the subway, but who then took the picture and made sure to secure the commercial rights to it before selling it to the news.

  Kind of disgusted and dealing badly with sudden minor prosperity. Or something. It was all kinds of messed up in there.

  “You have completed your task.”

  “Yes, your… Grace?”

  “Honor. Mayors are addressed as ‘Your Honor,’ though I appreciate your good wishes. I do think I would make a good Duke.” His smile made me itchy.

  “Your Honor, I am happy to report that your citizens-”

  “Subjects.”

  “Your subjects have all safely made it to Verton with their goods. The roads are clear and secured, the guards are exactly where they should be.”

  “Yes. With some… additional excursions along the way. Incidentally, where did you get that artillery from? I know you didn’t hire it from Truso.”

  “Part of my retinue. Under the careful supervision of a Genudan officer, to prevent any unfortunate and fatal accidents.” I waved at Othai. The Mayor and I shared a look.

  “Oh how fortunate. Might we speak privately for a moment?”

  I hesitated. “Not to be rude, but can we?”

  He smirked. “Privacy is a relative term, true. But if you have your people stand back over there, and we stand over here, looing out over the countryside-” he waved towards the edge of the battlement.

  “Certainly. With the exception of Versai here. She is perfectly loyal, and my bodyguard. Please take her presence as my sincere respect for your personal lethality.”

  He gave me a cold look. “I take it as an insult to my honor.”

  “If you want to take it as a compliment, it’s a compliment. If you want to take it as an insult, it’s an insult. One interpretation lets us keep doing business.” I spread my hands helplessly.

  “Transparent.”

  “There is a lot of that going around.”

  He sneered and jerked his heat towards the wall. Versai and I headed over together.

  The Mayor looked out over the farms. There was affection there, I think. And grief.

  “I am beset by beasts on every side.” He murmured. I noticed his lips weren’t moving. “Truso, Pastet, Bacciato- you look at them and you wonder which beam is rotting, which beast is going for the first bite. I can tell you that it’s all of them. All of them. Not a single one has the best interest of Verton at heart.”

  “I thought Bacciato represented… local families.”

  “And he does. But that’s the families. Their interests, not Vertons. Same with Pastet. He wants to reopen trade, I’m sure he’s said as much to you.”

  “Yes.”

  “But what he didn’t tell you is that the very first shipment out of the city will be ledgers and instruments of debt. The city was forced to pledge its next five years of taxes to fund the “Emergency mobilization order” imposed by Genuda. So long as he gets those bonds to the next Merchant Guild Hall, they will be copied and transmitted across all of them. And that means we will never be free of the debt. Never.”

  I winced and nodded. That explained the sky high price offered by Pastet. It was totally worth it for the merchant.

  “Truso is, of course, here to…” I groped for a diplomatic way to put it “to look after Genuda’s interests.”

  “Politely said. And yes. It is in their interests that we survive, of course. Properly docile and obedient. Paying for the privilege of serving them.”

  “On the other hand, Hosk. And leaving aside the sock puppet of Wastet, the hand inside of them is Ko’Ras. Who also do not have Verton’s best interests in mind.” I nodded along.

  “They would murder us all.” His voice was grim, and cold enough to freeze water in August. “Don’t think I don’t know. I would no more open my gates to them than I would a plague. No, there is only one true answer. Set one against the other, and then ‘tidy up.’ Leaving only Verton on the field.”

  “Not entirely sure how you intend to exhaust all the forces at the same time?”

  “I think you do.” His eyes ripped through me. “I think you see the pieces on the board as clear as anyone. The only question is where, and how, will you move?”

  “No, not quite, your Honor. The city. How will you secure the city and cleanly put down both the merchants and the powerful families without dropping yourself into Hell a hot second later?”

  “Verton is in a bad situation, it is true. But she has always had her defenders. Patriots. Men and women of extraordinary conviction. I know your type. You don’t care about the city. But you will fight for us, if you believe the battle is winnable and the rewards are justified.”

  “Well. Yes. You could say the same about yourself, your Honor.”

  He snorted at that. “You know damn well what I mean. Wait a moment. I will call someone, and you will see why I am certain we shall win.”

  He waved his hand, and a handsome young man walked over. His clothes seemed simple, but his jacket was blinding in the sun. It had lots of bright brass buttons. And I could see one was missing from his sleeve.