45 - Chapter 44 - Day 2123
Adya left her family estate for her second visit to the city. This time she was accompanied by Evelin, Dexter and Philipa. A quartet of tier 5 cultivators shadowed her carriage from a distance. They had not brought any other guards. The only other person with them was the driver and he would stay with the carriage upon entering the city.
As everyone in the carriage was a trusted retainer, Adya decided to use the time to question Evelin to get a better understanding of how her plans would work in practice.
“So Evelin,” asked Adya, “what exactly is the process for setting up a new sect.”
“I see, that makes sense,” mused Evelin. “Creating a sect would force the council to deal with your family officially, granting you additional protection. It could work. At the least it will buy you time. The process for setting up a sect, or in your case a clan, is reasonably straightforward.”
“I should have known you would be able to see my intentions,” replied Adya. “So what are these processes and what challenges will I face?”
“Well, you need to declare your intent to form a sect, and describe the structure,” replied Evelin. “Then you send it off to the administrative offices of the council of sects.”
“Ok, that seems straightforward enough,” replied Adya.
“Then the council will send out an agent to validate that you meet the qualifications,” continued Evelin. “They will check that you have access to cultivation methods and actually have cultivators, either as part of the family or as retainers. Once that is confirmed, then the council will certify your family as a clan with the appropriate sect status.”
“Damn,” replied Adya. “I knew there had to be a catch. It really was too good to be true.”
“What’s the issue?” asked Evelin.
“What happens when the agent from the council turns up and finds my retainers are all agents of the council?” asked Adya. “It will not only confirm to those in the know that I have a way of breaking the council's hold on its agents, but also likely out me as a potential target. I would be lucky to survive the month.”
“You can just convert the agent they send,” replied Evelin. “That way they will only report what we want them to.”
“No Evelin, I can’t,” replied Adya. “Well, I obviously can, but I won’t. It’s one thing to target those that are hunting me, but I will not target those that are just doing their jobs. I am not a fan of slavery. I have been left with little choice in my actions so far, but that does not mean it is something that I will do on a whim.”
“And where do you draw the line?” asked Evelin. “Also, don’t forget that the agents are slaves already.”
As the back and forth continued, Dexter and Phillpa looked on, wide eyed. They had not been brought in on the secrets, and were shocked to learn that Adya was not only able to control the mortals but cultivators too.
“Yes, but I did not enslave them,” responded Adya. “The council must take responsibility for its own sins. I can’t free them as that would reveal my secret. I am not even sure if I could truly free them. And I won’t take them over as a matter of convenience. I am happy to target those that are targeting my family, or me and any bandits. That is where I draw the line.”
Adya left unsaid that she had plans to experiment with changing the soul mark from enforcement to protection to provide a degree of freedom. She just did not understand what that would do to the augmentation formation that was woven through the bodies of the agents.
Evelin was surprised by Adya’s stance on the matter. In a world where might made right, a world where it was possible to gather one’s secrets against their will by using skills, intimidation or torture, Adya’s views seemed to be childishly naive. Of course Adya’s actions so far had shown her to be ruthless and pragmatic. Maybe this was just a test, or maybe there was more to Adya than she had seen in her actions forced by circumstances. She would have to wait and see.
They continued to talk until they approached the city. Once again they entered via the noble entrance. This time there were no additional guards to leave at the guard house. The cultivators shadowing them would make their own way inside. They started to make their way towards the artificer’s quarters.
“So what do you plan to do?” asked Evelin, picking up their original conversation.
“I think timing will be everything,” replied Adya. “I will send my request directly to the Elder, with my offer, and ask them to assign some agents as permanent retainers. If she agrees, then I can pretend that the agents are just seconded to my house until we are strong enough. She would need to send protection in any case, so it should not stand out at that point.”
“All of this is dependent on the elder agreeing to protect you and go along with your plan,” replied Evelin. “If she wants to force the issue, that would leave you vulnerable.”
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“No different from now,” responded Adya. “If pushed into a corner, then I can push back hard. Hopefully the elder will not want to push me that far, though I expect her to try to test my resolve. We will see how much I am forced to reveal.”
As they had talked the carriage had wound its way through the city and arrived at their destination. The four disembarked from the carriage and made their way into the shop.
The same attendant that had served Adya last time came up to greet them.
“Greetings Miss,” she said. “It is good to see you again. Don’t tell me, but you want to see the artificer again?”
“I do,” responded Adya. “Also please excuse my rudeness, but I was most remiss in not asking your name last time, or that of the artificer.”
“Don’t worry about it Miss,” replied the attendant. “I am Maya and the artificer is Rory. Let me check with him if he is ok for you to go back there.”
“Thank you Maya,” responded Adya, then spent time perusing the items in the shop while she waited for her to return.
Maya was back just a few minutes later, and gave Adya permission to go into the workshop. Adya left her retinue and entered the back.
“Greeting Rory,” said Adya. “Thank you for letting me back here again.”
“So you enjoyed yourself so much last time that you just had to return to watch me again?” asked Rory. “Or did you want something different this time?”
“Well you really helped me out last time,” replied Adya. “I need your help again, though I would suggest you allow one of my retainers to join me this time.”
“Do you need an adult to help you with your request?” teased Rory.
“Not really,” replied Adya. “Though you may not believe my request is genuine without checking the credentials of an adult.”
“Oh really,” responded Rory. “You know I have nobility coming in here all the time begging for my time, and you think one of your retainers will be enough to get me to agree to your request? One that you have not even made yet?”
“How about a friendly wager,” replied Adya. “I will give you 100 tier 1 mana stones to allow my retainer back here, and bet you a further 200 tier 1 mana stones that you will want to jump at my request.”
“Put the mana stones on the counter first,” replied Rory. “And you will have a bet.”
Adya placed three pouches on the counter and waited for Rory to check them. Once he nodded, she went back out to bring Evelin back with her.
“Greetings Rory, I am Evelin,” said Evelin once they were back in the workshop. “My mistress has a request to make of you, and I would like for you to take it seriously.”
“And why should I do that?” asked Rory. “And who is your mistress?”
At a nod from Adya, Evelin continued. “You have already met my mistress, Miss Adya. As for the reason you should do that, it is because I am a tier 6 cultivator and report directly to the council of sects. Also, I hope you will be discreet. I will be most unhappy if details of this meeting were to be shared outside the three of us.”
Rory was shocked at the assertion. If true, then just who was this girl who had a tier 6 following her around and taking orders from such a young girl. This was all just too fantastical to believe.
“Do you have any identification?” asked Rory. He was feeling anxious, but was doing his best to hide it. He was struggling to believe that the situation was anything but a prank, but if it was real, he was challenging a high tier cultivator. Yet his scepticism won out. “Anyone can come in here and claim anything, without proof it means nothing.”
Evelin produced her council tag from her pouch and showed it to Rory. It was an artefact, and could be validated by pushing a little mana into the sect symbol.
Rory extended his hand and tested the tag. He was shocked that it was genuine and identified Evelin as a tier 6 agent. “My most sincere apologies for not believing you. How may I serve the council?” Rory was mortified that he had challenged Evelin. Those in the know were well aware that the agents of the council had as much power as mortal kings, and could requisition anything they needed to pursue their orders.
“As I said,” replied Evelin. “I am just here as a retainer. My mistress is the one who has the request.”
Rory turned to look at Adya with new eyes. It was like he was seeing her for the first time. “All right, you won our little bet,” he replied, still not able to take her seriously. “What is this request of yours?”
“Oh you can keep the mana stones. The request is in three parts,” replied Adya. “I need you to create the pieces of an artefact. However, before I can let you see the designs, I will need to sell me your business and let me place a loyalty protection formation on you. I can’t have our secrets leaked, and working with me will put you at potential risk.”
Rory looked on with incredulity as the little girl made outrageous demands of him. How would a girl be able to buy him out, and how would she be able to place a loyalty protection formation on him. It was an extremely complex formation that would take a master time to draw, especially on skin.
“So do we have a deal?” asked Adya cheekily, seeing the look on Rory’s face.
“Do you have any idea how much my business is worth?” replied Rory. “Just because you have some mana stones, does not mean you can afford to buy me out!”
“Name a fair price,” responded Adya simply.
“My business is worth at least 250 platinum,” smirked Rory. “That is 250,000 tier 1 mana stones. Your allowance of a few hundred won’t even be a start.”
“Does that mean you are agreeing to the deal if I can pay you 250,000 tier 1 mana stones today?” asked Adya. “It also means you are agreeing to the loyalty protection formation. Once you have agreed, I will not allow you to go back on your word. Providing proof will require you to learn some of my secrets. Once you learn my secrets, there is no way out. This is your final chance to choose.”
Rory looked between the serious Adya and stoic Evelin. Was this for real? He had just quoted an insanely high price for his business, not expecting anything to come of it. If the deal went through, could he be in trouble with the council for price gouging? He really didn’t know what to think.