Vivid Stars Online

“Excellent,” Duchess Milena said with a broad smile. “I was already overjoyed to have three ritual chambers of the same kind. Having four would be exceptional.”

“Because of the upgrade you can choose at level three?” I asked as a hunch hit me.

The Duchess nodded before responding. “I thought I sensed something different about you. Yes, having three chambers allows you to choose between advancing your ability to Master or upgrading it into a greater ability. With four chambers you don’t have to choose, you can upgrade at the third and then advance it at the fourth.”

“Is there nothing beyond Master level then?” I said, suddenly even more glad that I had gone for the upgrade to Technokinesis.

“Nothing you can get to just by using a chamber,” she responded with a shrug. “There are rumors of a Grandmaster level, however, using another chamber on a Master level ability does not unlock it.”

“In any case,” she continued. “We have gotten somewhat off track. I would ask that you give me the location of where you believe the last ritual chamber to be located.”

I paused for a moment as she finally asked, trying to figure out the best way forward. Getting the last ritual chamber was still important to me, particularly now I knew it would push me to the highest level I would be likely to reach in that ability.

The trick was managing that without offending her or getting myself killed. After a few seconds of waffling back and forth on the matter, I eventually realized that just asking was probably the best way forward.

“If I give you this information, I want to still be able to use the ritual chamber,” I said at last, tensing as I waited for her response. If needed I would even be willing to take that in lieu of any other payment if needed, as this would likely be the only way I would get that power up.

“Oh, of course,” she responded with a smile that sent shivers down my spine for some reason. “I have no intention of preventing you from using the chamber, Jared. Why, on the contrary, you will be the very person uncovering it.”

What? I thought as I stared at her in shock. I had thought this was leading up to her taking the information and sending another set of guards out to secure the last facility. That made by far the most sense, I couldn’t see why she would risk putting it all on me again.

“I could, of course, send my own men to secure the location,” she continued as if sensing my confusion. “This would be the minimal risk option to securing the last facility. There would still be a chance that someone on my staff would leak the information, however, I deem that the chance would be low.”

“While this is the safest option, it would leave my opponent to fade into the background until the next time they find an opportunity to strike at me. Alternately, I could send you.” She finished, smiling at me unnervingly again.

My mind swirled through the options until the answer came to me in a flash. “You want to use me as bait,” I said accusingly. “If you leave me to go out for it, then whoever this backer is will probably strike again with even more force this time.”

“Exactly,” she responded, her smile only broadening at my accusation. “You won’t be alone, of course. I would expect you to take at least one mercenary, along with one of my operatives.”

“It will be my operative’s job to capture the leader of any attack against you for questioning. While I’m glad that you managed to kill your attacker and survive, it has left us with many unanswered questions.”

“Surely they would be suspicious about me going out again after being attacked?” I said, still unsure if I was trying to talk her out of it or not. On one hand, it would be highly dangerous, while on the other it would allow me to see the entire expedition through and access the last ritual chamber.

“There are ways around that,” she responded with a shrug. “I will have a rumor spread about how annoyed I am that you refused to share information with me. If you leave at night, as if trying to avoid attention, that should weave a tale of you sneaking out to the last facility.”

“They may even show up to recruit you,” she finished with a grin. “Either way, it will give my operative a chance to strike. While the person they send is unlikely to know everything, I’m sure we can get some useful clues out of them.”

I could almost see that working. After having failed once, whoever was behind this would look for other options. If word got out that I had more information, but had refused to give it to the Duchess then buying it off me themselves would be a logical thing to attempt.

While I was leaning towards agreeing to get that all-important last chamber, there was something I had to discuss first. “That sounds dangerous for myself and my team, however.” I started cautiously.

“We haven’t even discussed payment for the last facility yet, let alone what this kind of risk would be worth,” I finished, trying to portray a strong front.

For a moment I thought I saw her eyes narrowing in annoyance, before it was gone, leaving only her normal smile behind. “Of course,” she responded. “Let’s discuss the last facility first, then.”

“First, I am willing to pay you double what we did last time for location. I am also willing to match what we paid you last time for recovered artifacts in compensation for asking you to return early.”

That felt like a reasonable deal at first, however, I was realizing just how important these ritual chambers were. Given that, it rather felt like I’d been underpaid for each of the first two. The only question was how to phrase that at this stage.

“Surely,” I started, trying to sound as certain as I could. “Given how rare and contested these chambers are, the information is worth a bit more than that.” It was hard to say since I wasn’t used to confronting people like this, however, I felt like it was time to speak up.

This time I was sure I saw her eyes narrowing before the expression was once again gone. Seconds later, she burst out laughing while shaking her head. “It seems I have told you too much,” she said as she finally calmed down. “Very well then. Two hundred and fifty thousand credits for the information and the same in compensation for the unrecoverable artifacts.”

I tried to avoid sighing with relief externally, though I was very much doing so inside. That was over four times what I was paid for at the last facility and was also quite a significant amount of money. I was happy to take that deal, though there was one more thing I wanted to ask.

“That sounds very reasonable,” I responded with a smile. “However, is there any chance I can obtain some of the artifacts your team recovers? In particular, I have a team member who is interested in any robotics that are recovered, working or otherwise.

“Of course,” she responded with a wave, seemingly unconcerned by that. “It will have to wait until you have returned, however by that point they should have been brought to the palace and sorted. You may exchange your compensation for them as you wish.”

That will make Elana happy, I thought, glad to be keeping up my end of the deal there. I owed her a hundred thousand credits’ worth of robots for her help, and this would allow me to acquire them.

“I will also provide you with another elixir, as usual,” the duchess broke my thoughts as she spoke up again. “I’m sure we can agree that is a very reasonable deal, all up, for the most recent facility.”

I nodded in response, having almost forgotten the elixirs during the bargaining. I was very glad to get another, as I would need every advantage I could get to pull this off. At a wave of her hand, a servant ran off, bringing out the elixir a moment later.

“Then let us discuss the final facility,” she continued. “I grow tired of this bargaining, so I will give you a single offer you may take or leave. Given the increased danger and the increased value of the fourth chamber, I will double the reward for the information again.”

“Five hundred thousand credits, plus we will purchase any artifacts you do not keep as usual, and I will provide a final elixir.” She finished, fixing me with a piercing stare.

I almost accepted immediately. That was a crazy amount of money that would pay for my expenses for more than half a year on its own. Even hiring Linnea to accompany me on the mission would leave a large sum of money remaining.

I had grown a bit wiser, however, and spent a few moments in thought while the duchess called for refreshments. In the end, I still agreed, however, since it really was a good deal.

“OK then,” I nodded. “However, I need some assurances, in case we get attacked with overwhelming force. What do we do if they send a dozen, twenty, or even more troops after us?”

“I doubt whoever is behind this could bring that many operatives to bear in a short period,” she responded with a small frown. “And the sooner you leave, the less they should be able to muster.”

“If it happens, however,” she continued her face lightening. “I will provide you with an emergency beacon to summon the fleet. On my authority, they will launch drop pods in response.”

“After all,” she finished with a smile. “That many armed troops in the same location are a potential threat to the province’s security.”

“OK then,” I responded with a nod. That felt fair, though it would hopefully not come down to that. Being caught out in a large shootout like that would be dangerous just on its own. I would have to leave as soon as possible, as she had suggested, to avoid that.

“When will your operative be ready to leave?” I asked, trying to slot everything together.

“Tomorrow,” Duchess Milena responded with a wave of her hand. “She will contact you at the guild, posing as another mercenary looking for work.”

“OK then, I think that’s all I need to know,” I said, my mind already whirling with plans. I would try to bring Linnea along again, and maybe Elana as well if she was still interested. That would bring us up to either three or four people, depending on if Elana wanted to come.

More would have been nice, but after Adam, I wasn’t sure if I trusted any other mercenaries that we might hire. The extra firepower would be nice, however, being betrayed at the wrong time would be catastrophic.

I almost asked for more troops from the Duchess, however, I realized it wouldn’t match with the story she was trying to sell. We couldn’t fake an argument if I was then seen with some of her troops afterward.

This operative of hers had to be an off-the-books, one that she could deploy without worry about that. If she had any more of them she was willing to send, then I suspected she would have already offered.

It still felt a little weak to me, but perhaps she was going to organize something else she wasn’t telling me about. Either way, I could only work with what I had so far.

Thanking her, I stood and strode out, making sure to look angry as I was escorted out of the building. It would only help sell the argument if I looked like I’d had a bad time in there.

Once I was out of the building, I messaged Elana and Linnea to see how they were going. It was time to tell them the situation and see if they were willing to come.