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Chapter 136: Wager
🕑 Added 2025-03-04 16:47:44 +0000 UTCWhite Tiger. He was one of Zinnic’s best. He was who they sent to take care of business. If I had to describe his fighting style, he was an anti-human specialist.
One of three cultivators under Zinnic’s wing who’d reached beyond wellspring. He could have been a hero. But as it stood? He was a killer.
I knew that much, because my master had fought him before. Back when they were both rising stars in Eden, and Zinnic wanted to get Rae under their thumb. It hadn’t worked. Of course it hadn’t, otherwise, he could never have been my master.
Yet, the fact that they’d tried already disgusted me. And now, to send their best duelist at us? I knew something had to be up.
“Hrmph,” White Tiger cleared his throat. Heads snapped, and cameras turned at him. He had waited to let us finish explaining what we had encountered within the gate. Now, though, it seemed that he wanted to make a statement.
“Lady Veil,” he spoke to Maria. “It seems your guild is making strong claims about ours, am I assessing this correctly?” he asked, his voice raspy. “If we are as strong as we say, we should close gates faster, so either we are too weak and you want part of our assets, or we are too strong and purposely wasting time, correct?”
“Sure,” Maria agreed.
White Tiger gave a sleazy smile, passing his steely eyes over the crowd. “How do you propose such a thing may be settled, then? Any display of strength we give could also be us underselling, right?”
Lyra leaned forwards, placing her hands on the podium. “Get to the point,” she said.
“Of course, certainly,” White Tiger smiled. “Why, we would simply ask to invite neutral observers into a gate with us. So they can see whether or not we deserve our spot. Preferably someone we do not need to protect, of course. Though if you do not have someone in mind, we would be happy to provide a choice.”
“It sounds like you have someone in mind?” Matt asked.
“Certainly,” he said. “A member of foundational exchange. You may know them, actually. They said their name was Chris.”
I had to work very, very hard to keep the surprise off my face. Chris? On Neamhan? “Yes,” I said out loud. “We’re familiar.”
White Tiger clapped his hands. “Splendid, then! An agent both parties are familiar with and trust to be impartial. How about it, lady Radiant Beacon? Is this something you would be amenable to?”
Thoughts raced through my mind. Somehow, Chris must have already agreed to it. What were they thinking?
“Of course,” White Tiger continued, “someone would need to take over their duties at Foundational Exchange while they engage in this little mission. Would your guild be willing to sponsor a few members for this?” he asked.
“Certainly,” Liam said instantly. “I volunteer myself, and I’m rather sure lady Shining Knight would be interested in coming along, too.”
Emilia nodded with a grin. “Right, right. I don’t mind a day or three of honest work.”
“Very well,” White Tiger said. “Then we shall do this the very next time a category four gate opens, right?” he asked.
Marie nodded. “Agreed, under one condition.”
“Oh?” White Tiger placed his arms behind his back and raised an eyebrow. “What condition would that be?”
“We would like to send a few of our guild members along,” she said. “Not to help, of course. Just to ensure the safety of our witness.”
At that, the warrior grinned. It was so wide it was almost a sneer. “Why, of course!” he agreed. “I would not have it any other way. We would be especially pleased to have humanity’s dear Saintess along, just to be safe.”
Reya gently smiled, and shook her head, then signed. Since this was official business, there was an actual sign language interpreted nearby. “The Saintess says that she appreciates the invitation, but thinks her services are more needed in the outside world. Especially given that treatment of Echo addicts is otherwise near impossible.”
“Of course,” White Tiger bowed his head. “Who would wish to accompany us, then?”
At that, Matt broke out into a smile. “I’d love to see a master like yourself at work,” he said.
“Me too,” Ann said. “It seems Zinnic’s mages are a step behind their warriors, so I believe my presence may be of assistance.”
Well, if our local prodigy and genius were coming along, I wasn’t going to miss out on the fun. “I’d come too, if that’s the case. I’m sure there is much to learn,” I said.
Again, White Tiger just bowed politely. “Of course.”
Lyra eyed us once. “We’ll trust this objective witness, then, if both parties vouch for them,” she said, receiving nods in return. “Well. Of course, we should first confirm you mean the same Chris. Afterwards, we shall see how this goes.” Then, she clapped her hands. “Alright! That’s enough for today, folks. Wrap it up.”
“Quite so,” White Tiger agreed. “Well then. I will be off. See you soon, lord Blossom Dreams. Lady Hurricane. Lady Radiant Beacon.” Then he stepped into the air, blurred, and disappeared with a flash of light.
Then, bit by bit the reporters turned off their cameras and dispersed. They had questions of course. Why we agreed, who Chris was, how we’d roped Foundational Exchange into this. To anyone in the loop it would already be obvious, though.
Foundational Exchange was the company most well known for trading goods between Eden and Neamhan. They had picked Ann up when she first arrived on Neamhan, providing clothes. They upheld bargains with Neamhan’s divines and the keepers, working as distributors and cashing in a part of it.
They were, in all meanings of the word, opportunists. But they were also a necessary part of the current ecosystem, and had become a codeword for anyone associated with Eden. If Chris was from F.E., then it was exactly the Chris we meant.
Chris, who the keepers had sent to kill me. Chris, who joined our guild. Chris, who’d become my friend, who was still part of [Transference]. Who would come to Neamhan to solve a problem for us, and we would send Liam and Emilia to Eden in order to make up for their lack of fighting power. It was a little bit like a trade.
I honestly looked forward to seeing them again… Even if this stank to high heaven.
- - -
“So this is a trap for sure, right?” Matt asked, draped over the couch, hanging upside down, his hair lightly touching the floor.
“Absolutely,” Marie nodded. “I’m almost certain. But Chris did agree to it, otherwise White Tiger couldn’t have brought them up so casually.”
Ann clicked her tongue. “Zinnic bastards are in league with the keepers and the usurpers. How do we know they didn’t just force Chris into it?”
“We ask them,” I said, dragging a whetstone over the blade of Astraeus. “We ask them when they come to Neamhan. One this mission is over they can even join our guild.”
“How do we know it’s them, though?” Matt asked. “Remember when… what’s-his-face, the avatar of Possession came after you?”
I nodded. “Yeah, hard to forget. But this is different. Chris is part of our network. I can tell if they’re the real deal.”
Marie nodded, softly. “Me and Reya will watch the guild, then. Liam and Emilia, you’re headed to Neamhan. Matt, Ann, Fio, you’re going with Zinnic and Chris, right?”
We all nodded. “Good,” she said. “That works just fine. But we want a contingency. A real one,” she said. Then she gave a conspiratorial grin. “And I have just the right idea.”
Matt raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”
“Oh, quite,” she said. “Hey, Fio. What about that ring we once got as a drop?”
I paused, thinking. Marie explained a little bit more, and slowly but surely, the plan took shape. In the end, Matt was laughing again.
“Hahahaha! That’s fucking brilliant,” he said.
Ann, too, couldn’t hold back a grin, and while not perfectly happy with it, the plan did still appeal to me. “Alright,” I said. “Let’s do it. They wanna set a trap for us? Let’s make it blow up in their face.”
