Deathseed: Chapters 5-6 (Patreon)

For me, it's release weekend! Please check the links in the previous post and consider supporting the omnibus release with reviews and the like. While a large part of this release is a response to past requests, obviously I'm crossing my fingers that this omnibus will help the series find some new readers.

For patrons, this is another chapter weekend! These continue the book's theme of consequences for past actions and the setting building on itself. There will be books of TWC based on exploring new regions (like Wakespire or the ninth book), but a major part of the reason I've paced it like I have is because I want to keep building on past events.

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Chapter 5

Theo slept terribly, nightmares and real fears churning together. Even though the Landguard had been innocuous so far, he could still remember how they had tried to hunt him down. There could be some deeper trap laid by Vistgil, Dominion-tier soulcrafters coming to kill him in his sleep.

Somehow he managed to sleep enough to wake up first in the morning. Theo sat up and looked over at Fiyu and Nauda, who had turned toward one another in the night and were now practically sharing breaths. He'd let them sleep and deal with any awkwardness on their own time.

What he wanted was to spend the early morning hours soulcrafting, in particular because he anticipated another rematch with Esaire. But he barely had a chance to get started before several Landguards flew up to the room and roused them.

"Your actions in Nlukoko have been forgiven," an older woman announced. "However, the Landguard will not accept your assistance at this time. If you truly have nothing against our community, you will depart Tatian and not return."

"You carried us into the center of it," Theo objected, but the older woman shook her head.

"As a courtesy, we will escort you to an exit of your choice. Once you depart, we expect you to continue your journey. Returning to Tatian will make you subject to a reprimand, and doing battle against our communities will result in death. We hope you understand that we do not want to level these consequences, but we have few choices in these difficult times."

That meant they were being frozen out. Theo accepted it with a false smile but stewed as he considered their options. Even if Nauda was willing to abandon Nlukoko, it wouldn't sit well with him, since it was running from a fight. It might even be his fault that the Deuxans had come through and taken over. He didn't want to be the naive boy he'd been before, running through the Nine Worlds and ignoring messes left in his wake. That meant accepting that the Nine kept moving in his absence and taking responsibility.

"Because we don't want you to spread the word that Tatian is a hostile world, we have a few more courtesies to offer you." The old Landguard gestured to Nauda. "It appears your dress was damaged in the battle; we have prepared an equivalent for you. We also invite you all to break your fast in our community as you consider where you would like to exit our world."

Theo begrudgingly accepted the gifts. While he was escorted to breakfast, Nauda changed into her new dress. Soon enough they were all eating sublime food in the same room as before. It tasted good, but from a soulcrafting perspective it was redundant with the meal from the previous day, so Theo ate with a side of annoyance.

One half of the room was open to the air, letting them look out over Tatian below. Ignoring the threat, Theo wished that he could have acquired information. If he could understand how the Landguard saw its duty from this vantage point, he would be a step closer to coming up with a solution.

"Why threaten us and then offer a meal?" Theo asked Nauda. "Do they really think this papers over how heavy-handed they've been?"

"No, you're missing the nuances." Nauda glanced around the room and then lowered her voice. "The Landguards are in conflict, but they can't express their opposition openly. Unstructured time like this gives them an opportunity to say something unofficially."

"You mean an implication of the meal, or someone will show up to talk to us?"

"Mark my words, someone will join us to 'partake of the food' or something. They likely proposed the meal because none of the others can refuse such a gesture. This kind of working around the official rules happens all the time."

Despite her words, no one showed up as they continued eating. Theo was just beginning to think that Nauda was wrong about this one when a Landguard walked into the room. He had the oddly smooth face of an immortal and, unlike most Tatians, had shaved his head down to stubble. Though he looked extremely serious when he entered, when they turned toward him, he beamed.

"Hello there! May I join you for this fine repast? They only break out the best food when we have guests."

Nauda glanced at Theo and he shrugged in acceptance to throw it back to her. She gave the Landguard a very Tatian smile and gestured at the table. "Please, feel free to share our company."

"Thank you! I look forward to knowing you a little before you depart our world. My name is Bimanu, by the way."

Bimanu sat down opposite them and tucked into the food, filling up his plate as if he really intended to eat. But once his plate was full, and the corridors around their chamber empty, he looked up at them somberly.

"I feel that it is wrong of me to beg your help, but I have no choice." Bimanu's hand trembled as he held his fork and for a moment he looked much closer to his real age. He soon gathered himself and looked directly at Nauda. "Sister, I sense that Tatian has wronged you in the past, but it desperately needs you now. I beg you, if you hate what you saw in Nlukoko, listen to my words."

"We're listening," Nauda said. "How could you let something like this happen?"

"Ariano had been peaceful for years: decadent, but not truly harmful. Developing relationships with the other side of gates is usually beneficial, so we welcomed Deuxan Authorities who could protect the entire region. We never imagined that they would twist their community into something so horrible."

Theo sat back and folded his arms. "So why can't you deal with it yourself? If you got a few of your Strongholds together, they could end this in a day."

"We can't afford a day." Bimanu stared at him grimly. "I cannot tell you of how difficult our task has become, but we need all our strongest constantly working. Truthfully, we need more than that."

"That's not good enough. If you want us to get involved, we need more than vague phrases."

"Some of it is beyond me, but... the number of demon attacks across Tatian has been increasing. Not merely first stage incursions, but titans and other demons who could easily destroy entire communities. On top of that... harvests have been failing. Not here, not yet, but increasingly in the richest heartlands. Entire crops wither, or decay, or grow corrupted, and no one knows why."

"This is beyond normal variation?" Fiyu asked.

"The normal variation is almost nothing. Harvests have been stable for centuries. Now... you can imagine how both our strongest combatants and greatest experts are desperately needed. To continue to protect all of Tatian, we have had no choice but to accept unfortunate compromises."

"I think I understand your problem." Nauda pushed a piece of fruit around her plate as she spoke. "But the others made it very clear that we need to leave and not come back. Unless you can countermand that order, what do you expect us to do?"

"That is what makes this request so unfair of me." Bimanu shook his head slowly. "If Ariano and the Deuxans were to be defeated, everyone in the Landguard would be pleased. But not a single one of them can formally condone such actions, and supporting any battle would violate our agreement with the Deuxan courts on the other side. Surely you understand the difficulty?"

Nauda went on to ask about other details, but Theo thought he understood from the beginning. What the Landguard needed was what he'd call a fait accompli - Theo didn't use the phrase because he wasn't sure if it would translate. They would object to anyone fighting for Nlukoko right up until the moment when it was free.

Which meant they wanted all of the rewards and none of the risks. Judging from Nauda's questions, it sounded like the Landguard would be rather slow to muster their forces against anyone trying to free Nlukoko, giving them time. But if they couldn't end things in one battle, they would have an utterly overwhelming force coming down on them.

"I know this is unfair." Bimanu had actually eaten some of his food, but joylessly, and he stared at another spoonful as he spoke. "I tried to fight for Nlukoko myself, before the other Landguards stopped me. I'm helpless except to beg help from strangers."

Fiyu whispered something to Nauda, who voiced her question. "What about Tatians? Soulcrafters under Authority, I mean. Would the Landguard come down on them for fighting in Nlukoko?"

"They would still be breaking community, technically, but there would be more leeway. The problem is... who could summon enough Tatians outside the Landguard to stop them?" Bimanu looked up hopefully. "Does that mean you might accept my selfish request?"

"Not yet." Theo was willing to accept the long odds, but he couldn't let the opportunity for more information pass. "I have a question about the past actions of the Landguard. Do you remember a time when the Landguard was assigned to hunt down outsiders?"

"When Myufuru was heavily damaged, yes. A sad time."

"Why? Even if you weren't stretched so thin then, why would that be worth the Landguard's time?"

"To the contrary, outsiders can be a grave threat." Bimanu looked directly at him but didn't show any recognition that Theo was one of those outsiders. "The matter is debated, but some say that they draw demons to them. And there are whispers of worse..."

"What, exactly?"

"These matters are decided by others, you must understand, but the strongest in the Landguard communicate with the wisest of other worlds. Some of them have whispered that outsiders bring with them manipulation. At the time you spoke of, we received a tip that particularly dangerous outsiders may have entered, ones who needed to be eliminated before they could cause trouble."

The answer wasn't much better than uncertainty. Even though Theo couldn't be confident, he guessed that Vistgil had a hand in this: he knew that people from Earth had gotten into the Nine Worlds without his control and set forces in motion to kill them. It sounded like there were more variables than Theo knew, but Vistgil could easily develop systems to eliminate outsiders before they became a problem.

Especially because it really was true that outsiders brought demons with them.

"So you'll help?" Bimanu asked plaintively. Nauda reached across the table and clasped his wrist.

"I've wanted to help Nlukoko for most of my life, but you're putting us in an impossible position. You can't offer any help? Just a few Landguards would make the battle winnable, then Nlukoko would be as free as everyone wants."

"Almost no one would take such a risk, not with so much at stake. But I can offer a few things." Bimanu pushed aside his plate and began to make invisible marks on the table. "The forces occupying Nlukoko have no fewer than four Authorities: Ariano of the Golden Wings, a fallen Tatian, and two Deuxans."

"Yes, we fought them. Beyond that?"

"Ariano keeps a council of nine Rulers who obey his commands. Seven of them use a weak blueprint, because he fears giving them any power they could use against him. Two are Rulers worthy of the name, and the Deuxans have also brought an elder Ruler of great strength. Beyond that, he has been building up his local Farmguard and has more than a hundred Archcrafters, not to mention other soulcrafters."

That was a significant military force anywhere in the Nine Worlds. Four Authorities, three real Rulers, and seven more who might be weak but could still cause harm. Most likely Theo could suppress the entire rest of the army with a single gravitational field, but he didn't have a solution for the strongest opponents.

"If there are difficulties, I will advise the Landguard against acting." Bimanu looked over his shoulder, though there was no one there. "I cannot shield you for long, but I will do everything I can. We will be distracted by our greater difficulties, so you should be able to sneak within Tatian if you avoid combat."

"So," Theo said carefully, "say that we do the impossible, defeat an army on our own, and free Nlukoko before you all come to kill us. What do we gain in return, a friendly smile and a ribbon?"

Nauda scowled at him and he refused to meet her gaze. Bimanu didn't seem to be upset by the question and answered quietly. "I can pledge nothing, but believe me when I say that if you resolved this intractable problem, the Landguard would be grateful. Especially if you can do it without great loss of life. You can be certain that we would give each of you a gift of gratitude."

"Do you have a weirkey to Aathal?"

"Aathal?" Bimanu's eyebrows rose. "I will not ask your reasons. Our weirkeys are too few to give them out, but I pledge to you personally, if you can do what I could not, I will transport you anywhere in the Nine Worlds."

Theo had been planning to help anyway, but it didn't hurt to have a promised reward. Tatian generosity could be slippery and he didn't want to end up risking his life for nothing. Especially because of what went unsaid: the Landguard would be happy if Nlukoko was magically freed with no casualties, but they would be significantly less happy if things didn't end idealistically. Given that any solution was likely to be messy, Theo wanted to set his terms early.

After a few more exhortations, Bimanu departed the table. That left them with only a short time to discuss their strategy before the Landguard came to take them away.

-

Chapter 6

In the end, even though Theo didn't want to go back, they agreed that they had no choice but to return to Fithe. Since they were facing an army backed by an entire noble family, by far the best strategy was to recruit Blacksilver allies and lead an army of their own. Theo hated to go crawling back to Dhan, but persuading the Stronghold to help them would have been by far the fastest solution.

For a brief moment he even entertained the fantasy of not having a rematch with Esaire at all, just having Dhan flatten him. But nothing worked out like Theo had wanted.

Dhan and all the Blacksilver Authorities were absent. Weirkeys were thin on the ground. Navim and Krikree mysteriously absent. The House of Coin was overextended and Kathina traveling. Not a single worthwhile sublime material being sold. No leads back at the House headquarters. Even though Theo could technically just ignore the problem that had been going on in his absence for months, he didn't want to admit defeat, so he was feeling increasingly desperate.

Given his weirkeys, he always had the option to go to a random place on Siata, Noven, or Slest. But that was a risky gamble in the best of times, and it seemed even less likely to offer the power they needed to take on an army.

As one of House Blacksilver's few Authorities, Theo was paid a wealth of merits and Fithan Discs just for being aligned with them. He recalled when he'd first joined, his salary had been only 150 Discs minus fees and he'd needed to scrape together funds to prepare to fight Esaire. That had increased to 350 Discs at Ruler, then a flat 1000 at Authority. More importantly, the requirements to pay merits per month were entirely waived, and all House services were provided gratis. Now that they were Authorities, it was assumed that their investment in Blacksilver was more than just a salary.

He couldn't help but calculate out the totals as they considered their resources. The granitebile operations he'd pioneered years ago had expanded, so now he received 225 Discs per month from his stake. While they'd been traveling he'd earned 7,350 Fithan Discs, which was enough for serious purchases. The three of them combined would earn over 34,000 Discs every year, which was enough to live a luxurious life in the rich parts of Norro Yorthin. 

The problem was that fewer and fewer sublime materials at their tier could be purchased for any amount of money. In the absence of those, he considered other options to increase their efficacy before thinking of something that he'd never contemplated before.

Mercenaries.

They might not be the most reliable, but they also didn't come with any baggage. He knew that even Ruler-tier mercenaries could be bought in Norro Yorthin and they'd be more likely to work for an Authority. So he headed out to the Yorthin Coliseum and tried to see if he could find anyone willing to travel to another world. It seemed more promising at first, but one by one, options didn't work out.

Eventually he decided to just consult with a bored-looking mercenary who sat in an office with his feet up. The man was a typical enough Fithan wearing a stiff uniform with a sword across his lap. When Theo approached he looked a little cautious, but he wasn't about to ignore an Authority.

"Are there any mercenaries left here?" Theo asked.

The man shrugged with more hostility than seemed necessary. "You should try the Yorthin Irregulars, down that way."

"I already asked. They're shipping out with the House of Coin."

"Ah, yeah, there's a lot of good work these days, what with all the business between the Ruling Cities. What about the Mudmasks? They wouldn't work for any local cities."

"No good." Theo had already investigated them and discovered that they were nothing but a bunch of mediocre Archcrafters. He decided to go with a more politic explanation. "Most of their numbers are being hired out in Norro Yorthin expansions."

"Yeah, lot of that too." The mercenary leaned back, further away from Theo, and regarded him coolly. "You'll have a hard time finding mercenaries strong enough to help an Authority who aren't already taken. You might be better off heading through one of the gates and flying around."

"What about you? Your operation doesn't look busy."

"We're the Norron Graystones." The mercenary dropped his feet back to the ground and sat up straighter. "I guess we're about what you're looking for. We have two Rulers in our ranks who haven't been taken by a House yet, and some Archcrafters who might ascend with a little funding. But I don't think it would work out."

"Money isn't a concern." Theo pulled out a pouch of Fithan Discs and shook it. "I'll pay your fees and help you with some ascensions if y-"

"You killed my brother."

Theo froze, techniques at his fingers, ready to stop an attack. But the mercenary didn't move like he was planning to draw his sword or even yell, he just looked tired. After staring into Theo's eyes for a long time, he sighed and dropped back.

"Yeah, I thought as much." The mercenary picked up his sword, but just turned it over in his hands. "It was years ago, before you were a notorious Authority. My brother was hired to attack you in a quarry outside the city, and you killed him."

"I remember. Like you said, he attacked me." Theo stared down at the mercenary, and his eyes must have been harder than he thought, because the man immediately raised both hands.

"I'm not out for revenge. I'm not even saying you were wrong to defend yourself. But all he was going to do was rough you up a bit to stop you from fighting some duel." Abruptly the man stood up, meeting Theo's gaze and speaking as if he planned to throw his life away. "And you slaughtered him. Sucked him up into that vortex so there was nothing left. I'm not going to swear revenge... but I'm not going to help you. If you're not going to kill me, just leave."

Theo searched his memories for that day to see if he could remember the mercenary's brother. Mostly he just remembered being furious that Esaire was breaking their agreement to attack him. He'd been concerned about his own plans for the duel and barely even considered that the mercenaries attacking him had been people.

If he was honest with himself, he mainly remembered being happy that his singularity had worked so well. Nauda had needed to stop him from killing all the mercenaries because they were in his way.

"I'm not going to kill you." Theo took a step back and tried to make his face completely blank. "I'm sorry your brother died, but I can't apologize for defending myself."

"Didn't ask you to. It's a rough job, and that was a sketchy operation he shouldn't have taken." The mercenary set his sword down on the table heavily. "All the same, I'm asking you to leave."

That might be all there was to it. Theo turned away and started to walk out, but twisted back after several steps. "What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I do mind, but it's Jontorak."

"And your brother?"

Jontorak let out a slow breath and rubbed his eyes. "It was Hartolemo."

Theo nodded and walked away. There was nothing he could do there and even asking for their names was probably a useless gesture. It still meant something to him.

Back then he had been obsessed with his own power, and if he was honest with himself, in some ways that hadn't changed. It was so easy to come up with illusory "lessons" and believe that he'd changed when in fact he was still a chaotic mix of different goals. Too many people he had been, too many he might be in the future.

At least he could remember that the world didn't revolve around him, and hopefully this lesson wouldn't slip away from him. He'd deal with Esaire and Nlukoko, no matter what it took.

~ ~ ~

Even though their circumstances were difficult, and her efforts largely futile, Fiyu was content as she moved through Norro Yorthin. Fighting with her companions was important, but this was something more. Now they were planning to fight for the sake of Friend Nauda's homeland. This was an endeavor suited more for relatives than for friends.

Perhaps she was moving too quickly, still missing Relative Guchiro. But despite the odds stacked against them, Fiyu felt certain that they could come up with a solution. She merely needed to do her part.

After a discouraging meeting in the Ichili sector of the city, Fiyu ventured back toward familiar parts of Norro Yorthin to meet with Friend Nauda. She wished that they could visit the State of Rest together and relax, but concerns were too high. Even if there was no imminent threat, the challenge facing them was difficult enough that they required as much time as they could obtain.

At last she met Friend Nauda, who gave her a dour look. "Nobody in Ichil?"

Fiyu shook her head. "I fear not."

"I checked on Tythes even though I didn't want to, but he seems to be involved with conflicts against his father elsewhere in the Ruling Cities."

"It would be useful to have more loose allies. Not close companions, but those who would use a weirkey to help us."

"On Tatian we'd call that an extended community, but I agree." Friend Nauda chuckled humorlessly as they began to walk back toward House Blacksilver's original compound. "Actually, it's remarkable we have as many powerful friends as we do, considering we're only now getting to Authority."

"Unfortunately, remarkable is not sufficient to win a battle." Fiyu realized that this might be perceived as too negative and hastened to change the subject. "What is most strange to me is that Navim has not returned. I was greatly desiring to speak with him again and wondered if he would not want to visit Noven and meet their craftspeople."

"He might also be one of our best allies, not to mention Krikree. Strange they'd be gone so long."

"But there are other things we can do to prepare, Nauda. Perhaps you could visit the sublime tailors allied with Blacksilver and acquire an armament dress? We could design something suited for combat, that would repair itself when it is inevitably damaged."

"I'd like to do that, Fiyu, I really would." Friend Nauda gave her a strange smile and her muscles relaxed in a way that was difficult to interpret. "Maybe we can go together, when we aren't trying to wage a war on our own."

Fiyu smiled and nodded while sadly accepting the truth. She and Friend Nauda could continue as companions, but her friend was clearly too saddened by the enslavement of her homeland for more courting. It was regrettable but not unreasonable. Now that they had made their feelings clear, Fiyu was willing to wait as they came to know one another deeply.

They returned to House Blacksilver in good time and headed to the administration building, which had been their agreed-upon meeting point. In their absence, it had been partially rebuilt, now featuring three different levels. The lowest contained the arrangement familiar to Fiyu, and part of her wished they could enter and consult the books of merits and sublime materials again. Instead, they would be going to the top, so Fiyu picked up Friend Nauda with her cantae and floated upward.

"You know, we should get together with Antha and her family sometime," Friend Nauda said. "I think you might like them, and they wouldn't be overbearing with you."

"I hope that we can, Nauda, but don't you think she would be especially busy during this time?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's true..."

Friend Nauda trailed off as she saw what Fiyu had already noted: Friend Theo sat on the edge of the balcony on the third floor. His body was relaxed with some tension around his neck, as it often was when soulcrafting, yet he appeared to be deep in thought. When they floated to his level he nodded to them but didn't even smile, which was quite odd.

"You haven't had any luck either, huh?" Friend Nauda stepped onto the balcony and leaned beside him with a casualness Fiyu couldn't match. "I know you don't want to rely on Blacksilver or stay in Fithe, but I think they're our best-"

"They're our best option, I agree. Let's go speak to them."

It was strange for Friend Theo to agree so readily. He was always amenable to reason eventually, but Fiyu had expected to need to convince him. His body remained unnaturally relaxed and his words were oddly subdued. Yet he finally smiled at them and gestured toward the entrance as an invitation.

They entered the archway and Fiyu investigated the room she had already examined from the outside. It was an office, similar to the lower levels, but this one was clearly designed to work with more important members of the House. Instead of creating ranked lines or inner courts, they had simply made the floor most accessible to those who could fly. Fiyu could feel a staircase for the Blacksilver workers, its entrance cunningly concealed so the top floor appeared a single unit.

At the moment their goal was to speak with Ally Antha, who sat behind a large desk. She appeared to be in the middle of important business, and she carried great stress in her lower back, but when they arrived she pushed aside her work to smile at them. It felt strange to Fiyu to be treated this way until she reminded herself that she was now one of the most important Blacksilver soulcrafters.

"I know you're in a hurry, so I won't waste any of your time." Ally Antha spread her hands flat on her desk as she looked at them. "Any resource that House Blacksilver can buy is available to you, but if you want people to participate in your private war, that's going to be difficult. We're growing too fast and taking on too many responsibilities."

Because Friend Theo said nothing, Friend Nauda stepped up to speak. "Earlier you hinted that there might be some way we could help each other?"

"Yes, there's an upcoming event preparing for the war that Blacksilver leadership puts great stock in. If you can help, it would ease the pressures on us enough that I'm sure leadership would be favorable. I think I can promise you weirkey transport anywhere within our range, if that's helpful."

"What's the event?"

"It's a Ruling Cities tournament called the Clash of Aspirant Leaders. This isn't about the distribution of powerful sublime materials, at least not directly, it's about which cities should be given the most authority if a war breaks out. It's essential that Norro Yorthin, and especially House Blacksilver, have a good showing in this tournament so that we can take a leadership position later."

"If it does not require too much time," Fiyu said, "we can participate in this tournament."

Antha blinked at her as if she'd suggested something absurd, then quickly raised her hands. "No, no, we're not asking you to participate! Authorities would crush the competition and make everything unfair. As Blacksilver Authorities, we were hoping that you could find us treasures or sublime materials to help fund the competition. After all, how do you think the tournaments you used to participate in got their rewards?"

For some reason that got through Friend Theo's mood and he chuckled to himself. Fiyu glanced over at Friend Nauda, who smiled at her before looking back to Ally Antha. "I'm willing to help, but I'm not sure we can get much that you don't already have."

"I think you underestimate yourselves. We can get Fithan materials easily, yes, and materials from connected worlds at greater cost. But you have access to places we haven't touched. Exotic materials, even ones not particularly useful to you, would be considered extraordinarily valuable. If House Blacksilver can provide many foreign awards from other worlds, it will go a long way into convincing others that we aren't a provincial little House anymore."

"We can do that," Friend Theo said, "but I don't think weirkey transport will work for our purposes. We already have access to where we need to go."

"Actually, I have something else for you." Ally Antha removed a thin piece of paper from a drawer and toyed with it in her hands. "Someone left a message that you've been too busy to pick up, but it might give you a new opportunity."

Friend Theo stepped out to take the piece of paper and Fiyu regretted that her senses were not precise enough to read the ink by density alone. Since reaching Authority, her capabilities had expanded greatly, but her awareness of what was possible had expanded even more. In any case, Friend Theo gave an odd smile and then handed the paper back to them.

Fiyu read the brief text quickly:

Ivo sister. Krikree wait. Navim what have hive problem. What. Sad. Krikree help scout.

It seemed exceedingly unlikely that Associate Krikree had written the note, or indeed was capable of writing. Most likely it had been transcribed by Ally Antha, who now leaned forward to speak to them.

"That note is probably incomprehensible," she said, "so I tried to get more information. It seems that Navim received word of some difficulties back on Arbai and decided to return home. For some reason, Krikree decided to go with him but wanted to leave a message. She insisted I write down exactly what she said."

"So you're saying that if we help fund the tournament, we can go meet up with them." Friend Nauda shifted her weight and tapped her chin as she considered. "I suppose it might work, depending on-"

Friend Theo snapped his fingers, suddenly more alert than he had been since they returned. "That's perfect. We can get materials through one gate, then travel to the School of Emerald Indulgence via Blacksilver. Presuming we can recruit Navim and Krikree, then we can enter Tatian where the Landguard would never expect."

Ally Antha blinked in surprise at the sudden burst of energy. "I'm glad that seems to work for you. I take it you already have ideas about sublime materials? All of our Fithan weirkeys are still in use, but if you need transport back to Fithe from another world, it might take a week, but I can get it."

"Probably not necessary. Are the local Tatians providing many resources?"

"Only those already on the markets. This isn't their war, after all, and they're a secretive bunch. I thought you were having troubles on Tatian, but I suppose that's none of my business. Just remember that these need to be materials that Archcrafters would be eager to win in a contest."

"We can do better than that." Friend Theo turned on his heel and gestured for them to head back to the balcony. "Get an Arbaian weirkey ready, because we'll be back sooner than you think."

On their way out, Fiyu was pleased by the sudden transformation but still puzzled. She thought that this was the officious mode of Friend Theo and still sensed the odd tension within him. This theory was supported when he and Friend Nauda spoke on the balcony.

"I'm surprised to see you agree so quickly," Friend Nauda said. "Just receiving transportation isn't that great a reward."

"No, we should support House Blacksilver for its own sake." Friend Theo hesitated and glanced back. "What's her name again?"

"That's Antha. How have you talked to her dozens of times and not learned her name?"

"Well, it's not like she's constantly repeating her name. It wasn't relevant."

Something was definitely unusual and Fiyu could not unravel it. Fortunately, there was no real animosity in her companions' words and they appeared ready to move forward. She decided that perhaps it was best if she nudged them back on track and they could discern all the rest later.

"What is your idea for sublime materials?" Fiyu asked. Friend Theo immediately turned back with a smile.

"We just need to leverage our unique advantages."

-

I haven't read everything in the genre, but I feel like there are always tournaments and grand prizes being set up for protagonists, but they're never on the opposite side of that equation. Well, they are here. Readers might be able to guess what resources will be deployed, both in the next chapter and the book as a whole.