B2 Chapter 181: Mistakes, pt. 3

Sitting across from the guildmaster of Deadacre, Kaius felt the weight of the man’s gaze. It settled on his shoulders like lead—peeled him apart like a butchered rabbit.

Rieker’s curiosity was…palpable.

“What would you like to know?” Kaius said cautiously, taking the lead.

Rieker drummed his fingers on the top of his desk, each impact cracking loudly through the room.

“Not the how, before you get too worried. That would be improper for someone in my position, and I doubt that anything you did was repeatable.” the guildmaster started, meeting his eyes. “I also don’t care about the why. As Ro has already told you, scions seeking shelter within the guild is no new thing.”

Leaning forwards, Rieker put his elbows on the desk. “No, what I am most interested in is how far we can push you. How far can you go? How high is too high before you break?”

Impassioned as he was, a gleaming fire alighted in the guildmaster’s eyes, revealing a madness that let him climb to the upper reaches of power seen within the human kingdoms.

“I need—the guild needs—Steel and Silver, not Copper and Bronze, that has become only more apparent with this change of the system. You, in your uncautious idiocy, have revealed yourselves to be worthy of investment.” he finished.

Kaius paused, turning to meet his companion’s eyes. They looked back at him with trust. That he would lead them right, and that they would stand behind his decision.

“What, exactly, do you mean?” he asked.

“That is rather simple. Until you reach the end of the first tier, or preferably the second, you are too vulnerable to being picked off by your enemies. That, you know. What you may not have considered is that dynasties who would prefer to eliminate a rising threat when it is still in the cradle are a dime a dozen. You, Kaius, are in grave danger. Porkchop too, due to the simple value of his knowledge of legacy skills, and Ianmus is as well by simple association.” Rieker explained.

Kaius winced. He’d hoped that the general threat of the powerful would have been ameliorated by his membership to the Guild, but it seemed he had been naive.

Ro sighed from her seat beside the guild master. “Your growth has proven to be extreme, Kaius. Many would risk the guild’s ire to remove a simple Copper or Bronze with your potential. It would be easy to manufacture justification, or to hide involvement all together, with your current level of power.”

“What do we do, then?” Kaius asked. If their own lack of prudence had put them in danger, they needed a solution, and the guild’s assistance in their growth was too beneficial to deny.

“We’re going to need to artificially lower your rank and downplay your accomplishments, while feeding you appropriate contracts on the side—until you reach High Steel at the very least. Ro can run interference on any rumours that are already spreading.” Rieker said, commanding the room. “You’ll also have my personal assistance with selecting missions that are right on the cusp of what you can handle, as well as with skill training to make up for the time you will lose by levelling so quickly”

Kaius froze. He hadn’t expected that Rieker would be so willing to get personally involved. A test of their abilities, sure, but training from someone in the second tier? That was something money couldn’t buy. There had to be a catch.

“That…is a significant offer,” he replied slowly. “What would you need in return for it?”

Rieker grinned, revealing canines that came to overly lengthy points. It was an aggressive thing, full of glee.

“First, I will need to know what I am working with—the rough details of your build, your stat gain per level, that sort of thing.” he started, before holding up a hand as Kaius frowned. “Do not worry, I am in possession of a shard of one of the Bloodstones—a gift after a significant favour for a Hiwiann Clanmaster. I am willing to make a binding oath to take what I learn to the grave, to never make an attempt on your life—except in self defence— and never use what I learn against you. No one else will know.”

A Bloodstone? That was the first time he had heard of anyone outside of the trader-people having one. That…could actually work. With the potent natural magics that linked it back to the original spire, it would be a binding oath in truth—without any of the risks or flaws that came with using one of those vanishingly rare few that held an oath-making skill.

Still, it was the sort of decision he could not make alone. Even if he was willing to give up his own secrets, those of his party were not his to share.

“Is that agreeable to the two of you?” he asked his team.

“It is.” Porkchop readily agreed, though he was the most likely to find the term acceptable, given the culture of his people. Kaius turned to Ianmus, who nodded quickly – as if wary of speaking in Rieker’s presence.

“Then with my team’s agreement, I can accept that term. However, you said it was the first?” Kaius asked, watching the guildmaster closely.

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Rieker nodded. “The other you will perhaps find more contentious, but it is perhaps the most important. First, let me give you some background.”

The guildmaster stood from his chair, his hands resting behind his back as he paced back and forth behind his desk. “Everyone is focused on these fucking beasts. The number, the quality, the rising levels. It is a mask to the true threat, people. These…aspects have been denied to me, to most everyone with any real power on this continent.”

He stopped behind his chair, turning to face him. “That is dangerous. A new, unassailable, advantage that I would bet my life is as important as legacy skills. New powers will rise, emboldened by the chaos, bringing with them terror and bloodshed. You need only look to the histories of the empire to know what will come.”

Kaius caught Ianmus nodding out of the corner of his eye.