“I trust you’re going to tell me more about it than that?” Knell asked, cocking his head to the side. “Because I am not in the business of buying anything without knowing what it is.”

Joseph’s lips curled. “No, I don’t imagine you are. There are three pieces that I’m selling. The first is advice. The second is the location of a way to fix your broken crewmate. The third is a threat to you that is growing with every passing day.”

“And what would you ask for in exchange for this information?”

“An artifact,” Joseph replied. “One that I know the location of already, but I’m unable to retrieve it myself. The Shards know my presence too well, and they would take actions to interfere if I tried to claim it myself.”

“In some sort of dungeon, I presume?” Knell guessed.

Joseph nodded. “A fairly dangerous one, by your standards. You’re welcome to keep anything else you find, but there’s an artifact that I require resting at the end of it.”

Knell drummed his fingers on the table. “I’m going to assume that you’re dealing with me in good faith, as if you aren’t, we’ll never work together again. What dungeon is this? I will not commit to doing anything I am not confident my crew and I can accomplish.”

“I will not share the name of the dungeon before we come to an agreement, but I will not put a time limit on this either,” Joseph replied evenly. “You can scope it out and take as long as you wish to challenge it. It is not in the Shattered Sea anyway, so it will be some time before you grow strong enough to enter it.”

“And you don’t think the Shards will interfere with my crew if we attempt to do what you cannot?”

Joseph smirked. “Trust me, the Shards do not view you and I on the same level. Perhaps in many years they will – but not yet. I can tell that you’re growing impatient. Make your decision.”

Knell remained silent for several seconds. Then he nodded. “Very well. So long as I believe that you have not attempted to deceive us, I will try to retrieve this artifact for you. However, if I find that you’ve dealt unfairly, I will either destroy it or keep it for myself.”

“I expected as much,” Joseph said, extending a hand. Knell grasped it and they shook once. Ogurd belched, sealing the deal.

“Out with it, then,” Knell said. “You were correct. I am growing impatient.”

“The advice is to discover exactly what you are, Advent of Eternity. The sooner you figure it out, the less people will die in the process.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“That is possibly the least useful thing you could have told me. I don’t suppose you’re going to say more in that direction?”

“I could,” Joseph replied. “But it’ll cost you.”

Knell snorted. “Let’s move on to the next thing you owe.”

“You need a method for your crewmate to become useful again while she’s bound to a Boon, but you can’t unbind it without angering Dread, correct?” Joseph asked.

“You say that as if to pretend like you don’t already know all of that is true.”

“It’s only polite,” Joseph said, his lips quirking upward. “The girl needs to change her Path, but having such a powerful Boon bound to her, even if its powers have been broken, will severely limit her options. Your best bet is to locate a powerful Path Change Stone, as I’m sure you’ve deduced. I know of several locations that I believe possess such stones, but my information is out of date.”

He reached into a shadowy disk that formed before his hands and pulled out a thin roll of parchment that he handed to Knell. “I’ve marked the locations of where I think the stones may be. If you want to save yourself a considerable amount of time, you should talk to the locals carefully to determine if anyone has removed them before you go hunting.”

“Marginally more useful than the previous piece of information. Thank you,” Knell said. “And the last?”

“The slaver ring you broke up back in Silver Ridge and Brickvale. You killed a fair number of bandits, but the head of the snake has not been cut off.”

“I gathered as much,” Knell said dryly.

“Did you gather that the slavers are in chase of you, then? Your ransacking of Brickvale’s slave auction did not go unnoticed, and there is a bounty on your head.”

“That was the intention.”

“Then I’ll just warn you to be wary,” Joseph said, interlacing his fingers. “The leader of the slavers and his aides are all considerably more powerful than the average village buffoon. You would not fare well if you came against them now.”

Knell cocked his head to the side. By his measure, the bandits hadn’t been particularly strong, even for when they’d faced them at the time. But, if Joseph was warning him of them, the threat was probably more significant than he’d believed.

“I see. I’ll keep note of that,” Knell said. “Is there anything further that we have left to deal in?”

“You know, I could get used to this. Always to the point. Even if you’re a bit of a pain to work with, at least you keep things quick and direct.”

“I’m always pleased to be of service.”

Joseph grunted. “No, I don’t think you are. No matter. I’ve accomplished what I needed to. I’m not sure when we’ll next meet, but the next time you arrive here, make sure you maintain your wariness. This place is not always as safe as it is today.”

“I had no delusions that this place was ever safe.”

“Good,” Joseph said, glancing at Ogurd. The large man hadn’t stopped eating once throughout their entire conversation. He gave them a greasy grin and raised a half-eaten drumstick in greeting.

“I believe you promised to deposit us wherever we desired,” Knell said.

“I did. Do you want to return to the location I picked you up at?”

“I’d prefer if you put us down directly beside Rosewood. We have some business there.”

“A simple task,” Joseph said. He raised a hand and the stone behind them shuddered. Piece by piece, an archway built itself out of the ground, shivering itself into place. A pool of darkness bloomed within it, stretching out to form a portal. “I look forward to seeing how you’ve grown when we next meet.”

“As do I,” Knell said. He nodded to his crew and they entered the portal. The cave faded away behind them, and then they were gone.