“Can you tell me about her? Was she in distress?”
“Such information will cost you fifty karma.”
“Fine. Just tell me.”
“Very well. On the contrary, while she dressed in plain clothes, she flew into Daha on an Acira, and produced a seric coin to bribe our guildmaster there. Naturally, we declined. But I would say that this Maiya is doing quite well.”
An Acira! And Seric? Vir’s mind spun. How could she possibly have gained all that?
Now he wanted to know more. Where had she been? What had she done to have met with such success? The seric coin was incredible, but Acira cost dozens of serics, and only Sawai and royalty had access to them.
A sudden thought overcame him. Did she steal it? For her sake, he sincerely hoped not. Though I wouldn’t put it past her.
“I need you to leave a note with Zorin’s Brotherhood branch. Direct her to Avi when she visits there. Or, wait… has she visited already?”
“That information will cost another two hundred karma. The Brotherhood does not normally play messenger like this.”
“Fine.”
“No, she has not. For an additional hundred karma, we can leave instructions with her.”
“Can you contact her? Did she leave behind any information?”
“I’m afraid not,” the Executor replied.
“Alright. I’ll pay. And…” Vir paused. He desperately wanted to know if she was alright, but asking for too much information might be a risk in case anyone found out. “Ask her to leave a note saying if she’s alright. Or if she needs help.”
“Consider it done. Was there anything else?”
“Yes. Information on the Pagan Order. I want to know what they’re truly like. What secrets do they hide? Why do they hunt demons?”
The Executor paused for much longer this time, and just when Vir was about to ask him if everything was alright, he replied.
“I’m afraid this will cost you 5,000 karma, and is more than you will have, even accounting for your mining contract rewards.”
Five thousand karma!
“That’s absurd!” he blurted. “Why is it that much?”
“I’m afraid I cannot say.”
Vir sighed. “I understand.”
Looks like I’ll need to do some more contracts, after all. If it’s that expensive, then they’re definitely hiding something. Something big.
Vir returned to his room, both elated about Maiya and saddened that they couldn’t meet right away. Despite having slept more than he ever had, he still felt groggy, rousing before dawn and feeling like he’d just aged ten years.
He wasn’t the only one. Vason was already up, rustling up some breakfast for the group, while Tia sat at the dining table in a daze. Her hair was so disheveled that for a moment, Vir wondered what blonde tentacled monster had invaded their room.
“Ten mercs,” Vason muttered, handing her a cup of hot tea. “A heavy loss.”
“Would’ve been worse if they’d gone all the way down. They were right to understand their own limits. Even so…” Tia replied softly.
“What happened?” Vir asked, pulling up a chair. Vason handed him a cup of tea as well.
“The mining company hasn’t put anything out yet, but the Brotherhood did. Ten mercenaries died in the raid,” Tia said.
Heavy indeed. Fifty had entered. One in five was a startlingly high death rate. Then again, few knew exactly how powerful Ash Beasts were. Even weakened by the relative dearth of prana outside the Ashen Realm, they were horrors in every sense of the word.
“When are the rewards announced?” Vir asked.
“Later today,” Tia responded. “They’re tallying everything now. I know what you’re wondering, but I don’t have an answer. No one knows how powerful that Narapazu was. I think we ought to temper our expectations, just in case. Better to be happily surprised, right?”
Vir nodded. Between the Phantomblade, the Ash Biter, and the Raptor, his bounty would already be impressive. But with the Narapazu added to the mix? Vir couldn’t wait to find out how much he’d earned.
Maybe I’ll be able to afford some new gear…
It’d help overcome his disappointment with his newest memory fragment. Balancer of Scales was the ability Narak had used to manipulate the weight of objects. But unlike Dance of the Shadow Demon, Vir didn’t see any way of replicating that ability—he’d tried. Without the tattoo that slotted into the icon on his chest, it seemed all but impossible.
He couldn’t even get Blade Projection to work, let alone manipulate objects far away from him.
Apart from the knowledge he’d gained about giants and the way they moved… The memory was a bust. Vir didn’t know how many past incarnations he had swimming around in his head, but he suspected the memories from the others would be just as useless—corrupted by time.
“Param,” Tia said, staring directly into his eyes. Gone was her sleepiness—replaced by resolve. From the tone of her voice, Vir knew this wasn’t going to be a light conversation.
“You saved Haymi’s life.”
“I just—”
“No,” she said, cutting Vir off. “You did. If we’d waited for the lift, she would’ve perished. The Life mejai said as much. We owe you a great debt, Param.”
Vir didn’t know how to reply. The whole conversation was awkward for him. He’d done what any decent person would’ve done. In his eyes, he didn’t need any reward.
“I… know you rejected my earlier offer. But I’ve been watching you, Param. That Narapazu fight? We worked so well together. And… I get the sense that you enjoy it as well. It’s as if you’re searching for something, and every time you see us together, you get this look in your eyes.”
“I don’t—” Vir began, flustered at where the conversation was going.
“Look, I understand. You use strange Talents I’ve never seen before. You have secrets. As do I. I will never ask you to divulge anything you don’t want to, and I’ll never pry. I’m just… offering you a chance to fight in a party. To fight with mejai support, and all the benefits that brings. Enhanced armor. Enhanced weapons. A Life Affinity mejai at your side at all times. Plus, parties can take on more lucrative contracts than a solo operator. We split our rewards equally. There are a lot of benefits.”
As much as Vir wanted to deny it, she was right. He did want to fight in a party. He did want mejai support and mejai-enhanced weapons. And he’d always wondered what it’d feel like to fight while augmented. Plus… he was jealous. He also needed the contracts. The Brotherhood karma he’d accrue from the raid wouldn’t be enough to allow him access to the information he needed about the Pagan Order.
Besides, what were a few more weeks now that he’d come this far? Surely Shardul and Ekanai wouldn’t mind if he fought in a party. He’d earn coin, hone his skills, and learn more about fighting with others. Surely, that couldn’t be a bad thing?
The more he mulled it over, the more he came to believe it wasn’t a bad decision. The Pagan Order wasn’t going anywhere, and with the coin he earned, he could deck himself out in the best armor. The best weapons—possibly even seric weapons. Given how fearsome Ash Beasts were, he’d need every advantage he could get. He’d need those weapons if he were ever to venture into the Ashen Realm.
But the danger remained—if Tia ever found out he was a demon, he didn’t know how she’d react. Then again, he had saved Haymi’s life. Tia owed him a debt. Even if the worst came to pass, surely she wouldn’t turn on him?
“Alright,” Vir said. “But only for a few weeks. I have business I’ll need to attend to before long.”
Tia’s face lit up. “Anytime you want to leave, just say the word. But until then… Welcome to the Spear’s Edge. Now, let me tell you about this contract I’ve been eyeing.”