While they made the long trip home, Trella laid out the short and bloody battle he hadn’t even seen. “Here’s the hard part. Assassins are known to take advantage of opportunities. Did his party leader tell him to kill Eve? Did he just notice her and see easy experience? We know what the answer will be if we confront them, but finding the truth is near impossible.”


    Kaden’s experience said Assassins enjoyed the XP.


    Also that they enjoyed killing.


    Neither facts contributed toward understanding. “First off, how did Eve survive?”


    “My bracelet. It’ll be another twenty four hours before it functions again, but since it’s like your [Resilient Constitution] it left me with one HP, which was all I needed to begin draining his health.” Eve’s tone was grim. Then again, [Transfusionist] locked her HP at very low levels in exchange for mana and damage that made her a priority target.


    “And that was all the time I needed to drag him through [Shadow Step],” Trella said. “Like I said, chatty guy. He said they were being offered a hundred gold a month to prolong the conflict. And that we weren’t even the first Adventurers to arrive.”


    Sara stopped cold. “What does that mean?”


    “I think there was a standing agreement among the parties here. There’s always a few raids to make sure they’re needed, but it never got into full blown final-death battles. They didn’t trust us to keep quiet,” Trella said. “Any of us. Kaden does what Kaden thinks is right. Sara never met a rule she didn’t like. Eve, they suspect is a nobelman’s daughter. I got the impression all of the other parties had been vetted or hired by a single individual.”


    “Why would they agree?” Kaden asked.


    “Gold.” Trella’s tone cut like a dagger. “Everyone nurses the conflict. Everyone reaps gold. I don’t mind being here but I don’t want it forever. From their point of view, all they have to do is nothing, and they get gold. What happened to the parties before us? How many were there? Was any of this mentioned by your Mercari friends?”


    “Not my friends,” Sara answered. “I need to go see some of my contacts in person to learn things I should have been told at the start. Going clan to clan was easy. Acting as a deterrent was also fine. This is beyond the parameters of our Quest.”


    The Resyr village buzzed with activity as they approached. Three long sled-trains sat empty and everywhere, clan members bargained, arguing loudly in a way that would have meant bloodshed in any other culture.


    Now Kaden wasn’t sure. “Sara. Is there anything you need?”


    “The truth. I’m going to meet with several of my contacts and the Quest Broker and get the full story. This might have been a test, or perhaps it was an oversight. Centurions tend to view people at our level as interchangeable.” Sara handed him back Thorn Caster.


    “Anything else?”


    “Not yet. I do have a request for Trella. The negotiation for [Fire Soul] potions will be much, much easier if they observe her working and then the effect. I know, there’s always a chance of failure. I’d appreciate it.” Sara headed straight for the FarPortal.


    Kaden always considered that he could talk Trella into almost anything that didn’t involve sex at night on the roof of the Saint’s Hall. But as he relayed Sara’s request, Trella shifted from relaxed to uneasy. “I’d rather brew the first few privately. Just a couple, so I know how the [Alchemist’s Eye] works.”


    That was reasonable. Kaden sat with her as she began work. As she wondered and adjusted and tested, and finally began to brew.


    “I was doing this all wrong. It’s a miracle I succeeded at all,” she said. The first potion didn’t explode, it dissipated, becoming a dim cloud of blue and red light. “Can’t invert that many times. It’s a balance between quality and explody-ness.”


    The second potion was a success, if poor quality. The third came out low—which was good enough for Trella. “Let’s take this upstairs. Get Drokor, have her dig out a test subject.”


    Kaden searched far and wide to find the ex-[Beserker] deep in discussions with three other elders. “Trella wants to test her [Fire Soul] potions. Can you arrange it?”


    She might be old, but Drokor moved with shocking speed, barking orders to gather men and women. “We’ll bring two. I’m not supposed to be the only elder, and restoring the others will give the Resyr confidence.”


    Outside, Kaden fought his way through a crowd to join Trella, who worked in near silence, the clink of flasks the only sound. She’d shed her [Snow Stalker] gear for more comfort. Her hands moved with confidence, and the only betrayal of nerves was how she bit at her lip. “There. Average Quality, which is above average for what I’ve been making.”


    Through the crowd came Beserkers carrying the frozen figure of an elderly man. Trella dribbled [Fire Soul] into his lips a few drops at a time. “Don’t move, sir. Let the potion take effect.”Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Over the next few minutes, Kaden’s chest ached and he appreciated [Resist Suffocation], because holding his breath seemed the right thing to do.


    The old man spoke, a whisper that Drokor leaned in to hear.


    “He says his [Frost] is at forty points. He’s been frozen for six years,” Drokor repeated.


    Trella handed over another potion and a second. “Use this one first. Don’t use the poor quality one if you can help it.”


    She set back to brewing, this time two at once, this time, working with calm acceptance until she decanted a pair. “How is he?”


    “Cold, but that’s to be expected,” Drokor said. “I had to use both to completely purge Frost. Our other Elder has only been in the ground a year.”


    This was a woman who had curled into a ball and frozen that way, which made getting the [Fire Soul] into her more difficult. Two potions and she lay in a shivering heap until others carried her to a groundhouse.


    The ruckus around Kaden became a roaring din as people shouted offers and threats.


    “Calm down!” Trella shouted, slaming her fist on the table. “Each of these takes an essence. I’m brewing. I’m going to be brewing. In fact, I’m going back downstairs because I don’t like people staring at me.”


    Sara had wanted enthusiasm.


    What she had now was damn near a riot, as Trella disappeared into her own shadow.


    Kaden sent the [Falcrow] to Eve with an urgent request. The best way to avoid a riot was to start a different riot. “Listen,” Kaden called, using a shout meant to quell the arguments. “We have here an entire tree brought from the south. Fifty feet of lumber. I have a [Builder] friend who could process it into boards, but that depends on an agreement. We are from Verona, where Eve Black is a councilwoman. She’ll be negotiating the trade agreement between the Resyr and Verona, an agreement that will give them a portion of the wood.”


    “A little warning would be appreciated next time,” Eve whispered as she approached. “They’ve got nothing anyone truly wants.”


    “Didn’t you tell me once the amounts didn’t matter?” Kaden asked. “We’ve got fresh lumber, they’ve got…something. I want the [Makur] I rescued.”


    “For what?” Eve asked.


    “I don’t actually want it, but you make an agreement with the Resyr, you make an agreement with the Skan, it gets easier to make an agreement with anyone else.” [Negotiation] said Kaden was right.


    Eve’s entire demeanor changed. “Excellent. Yes, thank you, Kaden. I’d like to speak to representatives of all the clans. Drokor, do you have a moment?”


    If Kaden knew Eve, they’d need all day.


    ###


    Nighttime had come, and the crowd outside still waited. If anything, it had grown. Kaden, Eve, and Ashi met with Trella, who hadn’t stopped her work. “I need more essence. If you see my lips moving, and I’m unconscious, you can just assume what I’m saying is ‘I need more essence.’”


    “How are we going to distribute what you’ve made so far?” Eve asked. “I could broker an agreement, but understand that if not everyone buys in, we’ll still have a bloodbath. This won’t be a brawl. They’ll kill for [Fire Soul].”


    Kaden sighed. “I’ll go back into the Ice Domain with Ashi and the [Ulf]. You and Trella stay here. I need you to manage the crowd until Sara gets back.”


    “How many do we have?” Eve asked. “I don’t want to show disdain, but my idea may be safer. There are representatives from six clans. We give a set number to each, with a bonus to the Skan, whose primary ask was [Fire Soul] potions.”


    Kaden shuffled through Inventory, finding that last wasp, and handed Trella the essence and poison. “We’re not going to solve this overnight. We’re not even going to solve this in a week. We have to keep everyone calm and buy time.”


    “Are you certain you don’t have any more?” Trella asked. “Before I setup and brew this, are you absolutely certain you’re not hoarding some other corpse?”


    “Pretty sure.” Hoarding corpses was a hobby.


    “We’ve got nineteen remaining potions, but you need two to purge Frost,” Trella said. “Six clans, three potions each, the odd one we hold in case Kaden catches [Frost] hunting. Of course, we can’t give them away. The System won’t allow that.”


    Eve genuinely looked pleased. “What if we trade them for promises? Four days of absolutely no attacks for each potion? It doesn’t control the other clans but trust me, knowledge of your abilities will control them. You’ve worked hard for this, it seems disrespectful to trade for nothing more than time.”


    “Time lets me brew more,” Trella answered. “Time lets people grow more comfortable with how things are. Time is very valuable. How will you get them to agree?”


    “I’m Eve. If you want careful plans destroyed in improbable ways you go to Kaden, as Oberix learned. I was born to this.” She took the potions and headed up. “Gather around and listen, the decision is made. I’m going to extract an oath and then I’m going to give each of you a potion. The number of potions is directly related to how long you are willing to swear peace. Who is willing to trade days of peace for the return of their loved ones? Who is willing to rest and heal for a cure to the [Frost]? Speak up, fortune favors those who decide. If you cannot swear for your tribe, you will take only a single potion as proof of Trella’s skill. One will not be enough, sadly, to purge [Frost] but it will be enough for you to speak among yourselves and decide.”


    For a brief moment, the night was silent, then someone spoke.


    “I accept your oath. The Skan are naturally at peace with the Resyr, and I ask nothing else for now. Go in peace and may your loved ones find warmth.”


    Ashi listened and laughed. “For a woman with no dream of ruling, she does so well. I do not fear for her.”


    Now was as good a time as any to ask. “What’s been bothering you? You talk constantly and today you have nothing to say. Help me understand. What do you need?”


    “It is nothing—”


    “Lies,” Trella said without looking up. “I noticed it, too, but you’re a big girl and capable of speaking up when you need something. What is it—or who is it?”


    If Kaden had cast [Halt Speech] it wouldn’t have been so effective.


    “What of the scrolls you took from the Emporium?” Ashi asked. “I know Mother claimed the five, seven, and two by your permission. What of the others?”


    “They’re in a safe in the Holding that’s actually in another safe along with sixteen samples of different types of dung,” Kaden said. “Thieves are inevitable, but the spell scrolls I stuck on top are all [Detect Magic Dung]. Everything else will ensure no one wants to look further. Why?”


    The cache of scrolls was hundreds of the most basic spells one would use to start down a [Mage] path. Also waiting a few decades for suspicion to die off because selling a few hundred that soon after the theft would be highly suspect.


    Ashi considered his answer. “Because I have found something I wish to do. Look around. These people do not know magic. Fire spells would change their life and give them comfort. I wish permission to teach. I will train mages from every clan and teach them the joy of magic.”


    “Some of them will use that magic to kill each other,” Trella said.


    “Some of them will use that to try and kill you,” Kaden added.


    Ashi nodded, her face serene. “They are welcome to try.”