To Kaiz’s relief, interrogating Geyser, master of the Eternal Oases mercenary group, was simple and straightforward. The man had no training or interest in espionage and especially had no loyalty to Ernst. Like his name, he quickly became an outpouring of information.

“I didn’t do much at all.” He laid down with his head in Kaiz’s hand, “We were hired to execute anyone the common sand couldn't handle on their own, but Heldermann never turned our way. I spent most days reading in my chamber.”

“How relaxing.” Kaiz held a rune to the man’s scalp. It didn’t cause any pain, it just interfered with spellcasting, “You said you were close to Silberg and?”

“The Steel Mound”

“That is?”

“His fort.”

Right. Viz did mention that. I wonder why it’s not within the town.

“Your group had eleven members, right? None of the others ventured out of their chambers?”

Geyser shrugged, “I wouldn’t know.”

“Didn’t check up on your own members?”

“I’m not their father.”

“A poor master then?” He just shrugged again at Kaiz’s comment, “No matter. So why step out last night?”

“To stretch my legs. It’s not in the contract to hunt down ratcatchers, but he was quite loud and agitated. I figured I might as well see the night sky again.”

“Very generous of you. Are you close to this rat’?”

“I wouldn't recognize his face if you put him in front of me.”

“Of course. Do you remember his name?”

“Never spoke to him.”

Kaiz shook his head, “How did you know our location if you didn’t speak with him?”

A snort, “There’s not a pair of ears in that building that doesn’t know you’re here. My assistant spoke to him.”

That’s not good.

They were leaving soon anyway.

“What did he have to say?”

“More about your friend than you.” There seemed to be some distaste, “Gave us a poor report of your abilities.”

That was no surprise, he had largely been out of mana in his boots when they fought. Viz was the one that really showed his cards. Kaiz asked for the details of those reports and Geyser confirmed as much. Every aspect of Viz’s chestpiece and sword was exposed, but all they really knew about him was that he was fast, had a kick-based fighting style, and could use runes. Red wasn’t even mentioned.

He brought the conversation back to the Eternal Oases, “How long have you been in Struleren?”

“Two months? Possibly three.”

“And when is your contract up?”

“First day of High Sun.”

“How much did he pay you?”

For the first time, Geyser got defensive, “What’s it to you?”

Kaiz chuckled, “Keep it a secret then. How did he reach out to you?”

“Night mirage.”

That surprised Kaiz, “I’m shocked you’d admit that.”

It was the old man’s turn to chuckle, “You’re young. Every merc of merit dabbles in it.”

Night mirage was the catch-all term for a network of particularly felonious undermarket groups that encircled the Screaming Sands. It wasn’t just a source of drugs and contraband. Kidnappings, hits, enslavement, even child trafficking was on the table. Participation or association with night mirage was a premier ticket to an execution.

“I suppose that’s why there aren’t many. On that topic, were there any other mercenary groups with you?”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“Nope.”

“Any groups as lethal as yours?”

“Lethal.” He scoffed, “You’re mocking me. But no.”

“I can assure you I wasn’t. I recognize skill when I see it, I’m simply more skilled.”

Geyser spat to the side, “The worst kind of insult.”

Kaiz just continued, “How many individuals would you say were more than ‘common sand’?”

“Ten?”

“Would you say your group would have been capable of killing everyone else in the hideout?”

“Easily.”

“How much do you know about the other hideouts?”

“Not a damn thing.”

“Alright then.”

Kaiz paused to go through what he’d learned. Ernst had hired the Eternal Oases, through night mirage, to better secure one of his hideouts. The hideout in question was a four floor facility nestled in a hollowed out sand dune roughly twenty minutes away. The inner structure was mostly unknown, but one floor could house up to a minimum of twenty people.

The Eternal Oases had occupied a floor mostly to themselves. They were an eleven man group, with Geyser at the top, and they all specialized in water-based spellcraft. They were particularly proficient at group casting, but each member was also above level [15] and competent in their own right. As a group, they’d wipe out the rest of the occupants, but they had yet to see any battle. They likely hadn’t done much of anything, aside from hanging around.

They were hired two to three months ago and their contract went up until High Sun. That meant a total duration of roughly half a year. It also meant that whatever Ernst’s, or Emmrich’s, plan was, it was due to be completed by the end of Low Sun. Even though Geyser was made aware of the spies, he had no clue where they were placed, who they were, or even what they did. He also wasn’t given any information about what the greater motives or plans were.

He and two of his members had come to assassinate Kaiz at the request of a ‘rat’, almost certainly Carlton, who announced that he was dangerous and knew too much. It was equally almost certain that the entire hideout had been made aware of his presence and vague skillset. It was less certain, but still highly likely that the hideout has strong communication with Silberg.

What else could he have to tell me…

A detail came to mind, “Where did you get your supplies? How did you eat?”

“How would I know?”

Kaiz furrowed his brow, “I don’t believe you're careless enough to be completely unaware of where your food came from.”

He waved his hand, “That’s what an assistant is for.”

“I see. This assistant is part of the eleven, correct?”

“Yep.”

“Are they back at the hideout?”

“He better be.”

Kaiz didn’t know what that was supposed to mean so he let the questions die for a moment. He took some more time to review any possible gaps he may have missed. There were two glaring ones, but they were very purposeful omissions. He wanted to make sure he covered all the easily extractable information before breaching those subjects.

After thinking it through some more though, he couldn’t find a line of question that would gain him anything new. So he quickly prepared himself for the two topics. His eyes locked in to every detail of Geyser’s face.

He started with the simpler question, “Is the contract ‘til injury’, ‘til death’ or ‘til done’?”

“Death.”

Quick, honest. Not bad either. Better than ‘til done’.

“How many?”

“One.”

“One?” Kaiz instantly understood the old man’s disposition, “So that’s why you’ve been so forthright.”

His job was done the moment Kaiz had killed the first of the two last night. That’s why he was so eager to run. They could have killed him if they stood their ground.

Though there was a bit of hindsight bias in that.

“Why did your swordsman sacrifice himself then?”

Murky spit hit the floor again, “Wasn’t supposed to be a sacrifice.”

Hm. You were going to call backup? I guess he was tough enough to believe he could stall for that long.

A part of him wanted to prod further, to confirm, but it wasn’t really necessary information. What was necessary..

“Would you retreat if I let you go?”

His face had the distinct exasperation of an elderly man, “What do you think, boy?”

That didn’t guarantee anything, but letting the man go was his best option. Carrying him along would guarantee that the rest of the Eternal Oases would stick around to free him. Killing him wasn’t a terrible option, but even then the rest of the group would want to know who killed their master. There were loose ends in either option.

Mercenaries killed each other all the time. It was just a part of the job. Usually, there were no grudges held after if two groups just happened to be on opposing sides. Kaiz killing the two should fall in that category. Now that their contract had been fulfilled, they should be able to part with no issues.

A lot of shoulds.

“Should I expect revenge before you get on your way?”

He scoffed, “For what? I don’t even know how you got me. No thank you.”

He thinks I got him? … I suppose that works as a deterrent. What did she do?

Viz was currently questioning her on that very topic. They clearly didn’t fully grasp who they were teaming with. Aside from that, he should also be poking her brain for her perspective on everything. They mostly wanted to gauge how much of their plans she’d picked up on, but understanding her thought process and views was also important.

Guess I’ll wrap up here.

“Final question Meister Geyser.” Kaiz carefully analyzed his face for any reaction, “Count Emmrich.”

He got one, but it wasn’t quite what he had expected.

“What about him? You want his boy or something?”

“Want his b—” Kaiz hastily caught himself before he asked the wrong question, “His boy was with you?”

“Pompous brat snored right next to me.”