Luc sat across the table from Minister Elect Gloria and tried not to smirk. The Minister’s aides were inspecting Nate and Jacque’s creations along with a few extra goodies that Luc had picked up on the way.

  In the past, he would have dragged the trip to Asmuisil out, spending some time on a mount or with a caravan. Spatial spells and skills were mana-intensive and he had focused his Skill evolutions on better control and reducing the mana cost based on the size of the arcane rifts he ripped open. For his battle-style it made perfect sense, since you didn’t need a big spatial rift to slip a needle through.

  Those choices meant that his ability to cross long distances with his arcane rifts were expensive in terms of mana usage. To make matters worse, his Mana Absorption Stat was basically garbage, especially in the context of his Mana Reserve and Magic Control Stats. His Stats were the reason that the first thing he had ever asked Nate to make him was the Mana Gathering Array. Mana Absorption didn’t function as some flat value that enforced a maximum absorption rate. Instead, it was influenced by the density of the surrounding ambient mana. So, having a large stockpile of full mana gems meant that Luc now could casually use his Controlled Arcane Rift Creation Skill to cross long distances and not have to worry about running out of mana.

  Of course, he hadn’t come directly to Asmuisil. He had made a slight detour. House Desmarais had crossed a line when they went after his mentee. They’d made an enemy for life when they had tried to kill Luc’s endless pot of mana and gold. So when his on-again-off-again paramour, Avery, had approached him about performing a calculated strike against House Desmarais, he had jumped at the chance.

  Luc was regularly hired by the Noble Houses of Etrua to perform dungeon clears and collect the processed mana. The reason he was hired so frequently was because of how efficient he was. As long as he knew what he was fighting, he could prepare appropriate toxins to coat his needles, then decimate a dungeon's population in a matter of hours. He was also a Mage Specialist, which meant most of the rewards he would acquire were Magic related. The result was the Noble Houses received exactly what they wanted, while minimising any risk to their own forces.

  Dungeons accounted for a large proportion of any Noble House’s power and income, so it was House Desmarais’ Dungeons that Luc and Avery had targeted. Within the Adventurer’s Guild upper echelons, it was an open secret that Avery specialised in removing individuals – permanently. Though she rarely showed the full breadth of her abilities and Skills, she was difficult to detect even when she wasn’t making an effort to hide herself. Luc had to acknowledge he probably didn’t even know what she really looked like. Sure, he had seen a face more than once, but he had no reason to believe that even in the throes of their passions that she had revealed her true appearance. If he was her, he wouldn’t have. Not that he minded, of course.

  However, what most people didn’t know was that Avery had incredibly refined hearing. Something about manipulating sound, Luc guessed. Coupled with the ability to create illusions, they made a truly diabolical pairing. They had taken not one, but two of House Desmarias’s Dungeon Forts by surprise. With a small application of sleeping poison, the defenders had been suppressed. Then upon entering the Dungeons, Avery had used her hearing to make a perfect map of the High-Rare and Low-Epic Dungeons. Creating an illusionary map for Luc to look at with identifying marks of the enemies down to the details of their appearance had gifted him the ability to simply kill everything within the Dungeon. Even the Challenges had succumbed to his toxins within minutes.

  After collecting the rewards, he had set up multiple mana gathering arrays all made for him by Nate, to further drain the Dungeon. In and out within a couple of hours and the Duchy would likely spend at least a month trying to recover.

  Avery had vanished then, as was her way. Luc had continued on to Asmuisil and the many rewards were laid out along with the creations of the Artist’s Emporium. The name was a work in progress, but Luc was confident that Kiri would bring Nate around to it. Luc would keep his cut for the work with the Dungeon loot, but he intended the rest to go back to the business. They tried to kill Nate and the least Luc could do was make sure the kid got paid for it. Though, it did hurt to part with the gold and mana. Never let it be said, though, that Luc was incapable of investing in the future.

  Luc looked up as the whispering finally reached a crescendo. It was finally time to make a deal.

  “Mister Crozier,” said Gloria, brushing a stray lock of grey hair behind her ear before focusing on him with her striking golden eyes. “Do you know much about my background?”

  Luc shook his head. Minister Elects were exactly what they sounded like – elected officials of the Asmuisil Empire. They came from all walks of life. Given Gloria’s role in handling foreign trade, he suspected she may have been a merchant. Assumptions could hurt him though, so he let Gloria take the lead in the discussion.

  “I was an Enchanter. A decent one, but never great. Lacked the creativity to come up with new designs, new ideas. But I was excellent at running a business. Perhaps you can see how that led to my current position. This,” she said, holding out one of the Barrier Bracers designed by Nate, “is clearly runecrafted. We have Runecrafters in Asmuisil, though their works are not as highly regarded as Enchanters. Do you know why?”

  Luc tried not to smile. If she had asked him that same question a couple of months ago, he wouldn’t have known. But Kiri was nothing if not thorough and had grilled Nate on the details of his creations and made sure that Luc at least understood the high-level stuff.

  “Mana efficiency. Enchanted items are considered more mana efficient and in a country like Asmuisil, efficiency is more important than any other factor,” Luc answered.

  “Well informed, I see. Good. I prefer to work with efficient things. That includes people,” replied the old woman, favouring him with a small smile. “Do you know how efficient this is when compared with an enchanted item of similar quality?”

  The Minister shook the bracer for emphasis.

  “I do,” Luc responded and this time he couldn’t keep the smirk from his lips.

  Nate had explained it very simply for both Kiri and himself. The material’s affinity was a very large factor in the mana efficiency of crafted goods. However, getting access to perfect materials for any project was something of a nightmare. Rare materials didn’t grow on trees and rare materials with ideal affinities were even less common.

  Now, Nate’s Skill to apply affinities to materials wasn’t unique. Enchanters often received similar, albeit significantly weaker Skills to do the same thing to gems. But because the Skills were of a lower tier, the mana cost of the Skill was higher. Then the quality of the Sigil used was a factor. The result was a far higher expense in mana to match what Nate could create. Those Enchanters also had to buy their mana, which meant they had to do things like a cost versus return analysis. In the end, it was just better business to make slightly inferior products that had a better markup. Since Nate was stealing mana from the Capital, he didn’t need to factor those thoughts into his plans, and the kid refused to half-ass his creations. As a result, his runecrafted Barrier Bracers were far more efficient than those crafted by his Enchanter contemporaries. Multiple times more efficient.

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  “The estimation I received was at least three times as efficient,” said Luc, the smirk still on his lips.

  Gloria glanced at one of her aides and Luc pretended not to listen as the man rushed forward to whisper something in the Minister’s ear.

  “Three point four times as efficient,” stated the Minister. “We do business honestly here in Asmuisil. Alright Mister Crozier, you now have my undivided attention. The Office of Foreign Trade is willing to enter into a trade agreement with…” she looked down to read a name, “the Artist’s Emporium. I do, however, have a few questions and concerns.”

  Luc waved a hand to indicate she should continue.

  “Given the current…tensions…between Etrua and Asmuisil, I have concerns about your motives. This is a very unusual time for a company based out of Etrua to open a trade agreement with Asmuisil. I’ll need you to lower your veil and any soul protections you have to answer the next few questions. On my word, we will not violate our agreements with the Adventurer’s Guild and ask questions not pertinent to this agreement.”

  Luc grunted in annoyance. He had known the request would be made. Asmuisil had an excellent standing with the Guild, but his ingrained paranoia reared its head. In the end, the only reason he agreed was because he knew they wouldn’t kill him. Besides, if they did violate Guild law and capture him, Avery would eventually break him out. She might leave him hanging for a few months. Maybe longer if she was annoyed at him. But eventually she would spring him. With a thought he focused inwards and retracted the Soul Barrier engraved on his soul courtesy of Kiri. At the same time, he placed the ring hanging on a chain around his neck on the table.

  “Thank you for your trust, Mister Crozier. If we reach an agreement, it will be factored into our proposal. First question, is this a ploy to infiltrate Asmuisil by the Etruan Nobility?”

  “No.”

  An aide in the back nodded her head.

  “Is this sanctioned by the Adventurer’s Guild?” asked Gloria.

  “More specific, please,” responded Luc. That one was loose. It was sanctioned by himself and Aisling. Porter would be fine with it too.

  “Is this sanctioned by the Prefects of the Etruan Adventurer’s Guild?”

  “No.”

  “Interesting. And by some Platinums of the Etruan Adventurer’s Guild?”

  “Yes.”

  “How many?” Gloria pressed.

  Luc did a quick count in his head. Avery had approved. Porter wasn’t in the know so he technically didn’t count.

  “Four,” he stated confidently and received a confirming nod from the aide. He believed it was true, which meant according to whatever skill they were using, he was telling the truth.

  “Can you continue to provide such goods while the war continues?”

  “Yes.” He was sure of that because he would make the deliveries himself. The Nobility of Etrua had posted a job request specifically for him, given his Skill against lesser opponents. But he wasn’t about to go and kill a bunch of commoners for the nobles. They could eat shit as far as he was concerned.

  “Will this cause problems for the Artist’s Emporium if discovered?” asked Gloria.

  “Probably,” he answered.

  “Very well. I have everything I need. Go ahead and veil yourself. Asmuisil would like to reach an agreement with the Artist’s Emporium. Are they willing to sell us weapons?”

  Luc shook his head. Nate had been very clear that he wouldn’t contribute to deaths in the war by selling anyone the means to kill. Defensive and Support runecrafted items only.

  “Understood. An interesting stance to take, but given the quality we’d be fools to argue the point. Can the Artist’s Emporium provide large-scale defensive items similar to these bracers?”

  Luc’s grin stretched wider, “We can.”

  He just hoped Nate would enjoy the challenge. Jacque was probably going to be the one who ended up doing most of the work anyway once the kid created the designs.

  Gloria smiled, stating Asmuisil’s desires and what they were willing to pay to see those desires met. Luc valiantly held back tears. Rich. They were going to be rich. He just needed to convince Kiri to let him buy a larger share in the Artist’s Emporium to make sure he got a fat portion of that wealth.

  *************

  Kiri looked up at the painting of Florence. The artwork had been one of Nate’s first pieces after reaching the Capital. Through One Soul Two Realms, she could sense the prostitutes approaching Florence’s room. Turning to face the door, she prepared to receive them. The door opened and three prostitutes entered. Florence, a dark-haired beauty named Natalia, and a lithe young man. All three had been painted by Nate at one point or another. There were a few others he had done paintings for but these three were the most positively disposed towards her brother.

  She waited for the door to close before pulling out a small runecrafted cube. The barrier that sprung up around the room should keep sound from escaping and alert her to any mana-based skills trying to cross it. She would need to rely on her own Skills to handle any soul-based skills.

  “Do you know who I am?” she asked the trio.

  “Nate’s Adventurer partner,” replied Florence, her eyes the most confident of the three. The other two looked a little unsure.

  “Nate’s sister,” Kiri stated, steel in her voice as she dared them to challenge the assertion. When none of them did, she continued, “Nate and I have been under threat of late. So, I have a proposal to make to all three of you. I want you to feed us information. The rumours you hear, whispered by drunken fools between the sheets. Anything you hear that you think might be useful to us. Anything.”

  Kiri waited a moment, letting them digest her words. Surprisingly, it was the young man who seemed the most worried.

  “I…I can’t,” he whispered, before rushing for the door.

  Kiri let him go. He was a loose-end now, but that was only a problem if he was going to do something with what he had just learned. Kiri would monitor him and see where he went and who he talked to. Deverell would help her.

  Looking back at Florence and Natalia, she raised an eyebrow.

  “I’ll do it,” stated Natalia hotly.

  Florence nodded her own agreement a moment later.

  “Good,” Kiri said, before pulling a box out of her Soul Palace. “This is how you will deliver me messages. Just open the box,” she demonstrated opening the lid, “and place the information inside. One of you will need to hide this in your room.”

  The box was one of Nate’s creations. Runecrafted to share a space with another box, it would mean Kiri could receive intel without having to visit the Den.

  “I’ve got a spot,” said Florence.

  “Good, and this is for you,” Kiri replied, pulling two small pouches out of her Soul Palace. They clinked gently as the coins and gems clashed against each other.

  She enjoyed their widened eyes as they saw the small mana gems inside.

  “There will be more of that to come. I’d also like you to give me the names of other individuals who might be open to such an arrangement,” stated Kiri.

  “From the Den?” asked Natalia, the woman's eyes still glued to the pouch’s contents.

  “No,” answered Kiri with a shake of her head. “You two will be enough here. Just keep it in the back of your mind, and if you can, focus your services on those in the Guard or who serve the Nobility. But write down anything that sounds interesting. Anything. Understood, girls?”

  “Yes ma’am,” they replied, reacting to the steel in Kiri’s voice.

  “Good. Hide the box. Send a message if you need me. Future payments will come through the box.”

  As soon as the escorts had agreed, Kiri vanished. It was time to see what the man would do. Perhaps he was already in someone's employ. Now, that, she thought, would be an absolute coup. Kiri’s smile might as well have been plastered on her face as she followed the Soul Tether she had placed on the man.

  Discord Channel

  Patreon with up to 20 chapters ahead of RoyalRoad.