Miriam Manganese was not a woman who regretted much. In her business, you had to act swiftly, without second-guessing yourself. Therefore, regretting turning on her niece and the boy was something of a unique feeling.
When it came down to it, she was more regretting that she had failed. That made it easier to deal with, as it was a tactical problem rather than a moral one. Should she have ordered her men to fight with intent to kill? Joshua, whatever his real name, was at least expendable. She could deal with Mary's glares if everyone else was captured and alive.
She sighed as she finished healing the last of her guards. At least they had all survived. One of the advantages of preferring the Mender class was that she had a rather low rate of attrition, especially among her own elite guards.
“Where is that Beastmaster?” she asked to the room at large. Her guards, bless them, were already cleaning up the mess without being ordered. “My niece is liable to be halfway across the City by now.” If she ended up going to the government, of all people, the girl's parents would never forgive her. They would rather Miriam capture her than let her talk to the government, Miriam knew.
One of her guards saluted. “Ma'am! She was in the northern sector. Dealing with the dockworkers union, if you'll recall. She should be here soon.”
Miriam sighed. “The wonders of modern technology,” she muttered. “We can call anyone in the City and know instantly that they'll be too late.”
“Sorry, ma'am.”
She waved the comment away. “When she gets here, set her on the trail regardless. Send some of our other guards right now. The ones who have assisted her in the past.” It wasn't as if Beastmasters were the only people who could track, they were just best at it.
“Already done, ma'am.”
Well, that was something. “Good.” She was still hoping to turn in that quest. It wasn't about the money—though ten million credits was nothing to sneeze at, even for her. She could buy almost anything with what she already had. Anything, that was, except for Quest Giver authority, a guild charter, and a town charter. The government didn't hand those out to criminals, no matter how much money they had. “With luck, we'll at least know what direction they went in.” She drummed her fingers on the edge of her chair. “Which direction will that be, though?”
The guard didn't say anything. She was talking to herself, anyway.
Miriam still wasn't clear what Mary's little band actually wanted. Coming to the City was an obvious opportunity, of course. This was the center of the world in a very real sense. But every part of the City was closed to them now. Operative Moore had turned the government against them, and they wouldn't be stupid enough to use any underworld contacts now. There were other criminal kingpins, but Miriam was the only one with any inclination to be kind to them.
If they had any common sense, they would find somewhere to lay low. They were reclaimers, so they knew how to survive in at least the shallow edges of the Jungle. They couldn't go north because of Moore, but south was a good option. They could find a little farming village or something, use their unique talents to quietly survive until the end of the year. After the reset, they'd be in a better position to negotiate with Moore. Assuming that was what they actually wanted.
The problem was their story about a dragon. She had exaggerated her disbelief. No, she did not believe that there was a dragon hiding in a dungeon within a week's walk of the City. That was insane.
But then why tell it? The rest of their story made perfect sense, lies or no. Either Joshua found a bloodstone or dug up a cache, but either way he immediately went to the nearest authority figure for protection, was betrayed, and went on the run. Maybe he kidnapped the girl, but Miriam doubted it. She had seen what a Slaver's power looked like, and that wasn't it. Most people weren't as familiar with forbidden classes.
The dragon was the part that didn't fit. It had nothing to do with why they'd run from the operative, it didn't provide a convenient explanation for how he'd found the bloodstone. It was also easy to disprove, making it a fragile lie. The only way the story of the dragon made any sense was if there was something important in that dungeon.
It could be something dangerous. If not to the City, then at least to whoever went inside the dungeon. Surely Mary hadn't been trying to get Miriam killed? No, of course not, she wouldn't have warned her at all in that case. Just told her there was treasure to be had.
She snapped her fingers and one of her men stepped forward.
“Organize a team,” she ordered. “Fast fighters, scouts who can get to a location quickly and survive anything they find there. Skilled in running away. It's possible that this is a trap, but I want to be sure—”
Miriam heard a sound she was uncomfortably familiar with: The sound of a man gurgling as he choked on his own blood.
Miriam jumped up from her seat and spun around to face the new threat. She stepped backwards to stand behind her guards, ready to heal or empower them at a moment's notice. Her guards, in turn, had their blades out in a heartbeat.
They faced someone wearing leather armor that covered every inch of their slender frame. Slender, but tall. Whoever this person was, they were at least seven feet from their scuffed boots to their face-concealing hood. The height made Miriam think the intruder was male, while the slender build made her think they were female.
On one of their shoulders was a large bird of prey with glowing blue eyes. It watched Miriam and her men, not attacking, just ready. A small monkey climbed up the intruder's body even as she watched, settling on their other shoulder. Once it settled itself down, it stared at Miriam with its own glowing blue eyes.
It also had a bloody knife in its hand, and one of her men was dead on the floor.
Many people would find the monkey to be silly, knife or no. Miriam was not most people. She employed a Beastmaster, and had taken that class herself once. Any animal that survived in the Jungle was dangerous, and they would only become more so when controlled by a Beastmaster.
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This wasn't Miriam's Beastmaster, of course, not even in a disguise. Putting aside the question of the girl's loyalty, she wasn't seven feet tall. Still, Miriam gave the animals a quick scan just to give an idea of what they were dealing with. She couldn't scan the Beastmaster, since their face was covered, but she could scan the monsters.
Avian Aesalon Seeker Level 30 Monster You ever seen a bird pluck a berry off a bush, and kind of flail around a bit until it gets that whole mess down? Picture your eye as the berry. But messier.
Primate Ateles Knifer Level 30 Monster Yep, this adorable little guy has a knife, and he knows how to use it. Isn't he cute? Look at him just running around shanking everything! Shank your ankles! Shank your spleen! Why, the only thing that could make this guy more fun is if he was the pet of a Beastmaster who knew exactly how to use him for maximum effect.
Level 30. A Beastmaster had to be the same level or higher to control a monster. That was one of the reasons why the class was growing more unpopular, but also why it was growing more important. Still, that was high for this early in the year. Miriam and her men had stockpiled a few dozen monsters each to level as fast as possible, and then they'd learned dozens of abilities for the experience. She wouldn't have thought anyone could have outpaced them. At least not without doing something dangerous like artificially raising a monster's level.
The intruder just stood there, watching her from under their hood. They didn't move, didn't twitch.
“You have my attention,” Miriam said bitterly. She had lost a man because this Beastmaster had an overinflated sense of drama and had decided to kill someone to announce their presence. If they wanted to kill Miriam, they would have done so already. “I suspect we have business to discuss.”
“Indeed we do,” the intruder said. The voice was refined, aristocratic, and male. “I must say, I appreciate a businesswoman who is able to move onto what is important even in a stressful situation.”
Miriam thought she detected a trace of a Japanese accent in the man's voice, but it was faint. “You have me at a disadvantage, Mister...”
“Mizuno Masahiko.” She could sense a smile in his voice, and she suspected he was genuinely enjoying this conversation. Though his monkey was still cleaning its knife and staring at her intently. “Lord Mizuno, if you don't mind, Lady Manganese.”
Well, that was a bit presumptuous, but fair was fair. “Very well, Lord Mizuno.” She gestured at the chairs. “Would you care to sit?”
He chuckled. “A generous offer, but no. I am afraid that I am on a bit of a short timetable. You understand, I am sure.”
She cocked her head and pursed her lips. “You're after them as well, then?”
“I am afraid that I am.” He bowed his head. “I do apologize for getting in your way and damaging your property. Alas, my master is more demanding than you are.”
It took Miriam a moment to realize that the “property” he was talking about was her guard, who was now dead on the floor. It took an effort of will for her not to clench her fists. Show nothing. “And your master would be...”
“Concerned with his privacy.”
Of course. She was tempted to order her men to attack right then and there. His level was surprisingly high, but they had him outnumbered, and they knew how to handle Beastmasters. Take out the man himself, and his beasts would be easy prey.
But there was still a chance that they could end this without further bloodshed. If they attacked now, they would take further casualties.
“You want to know where they went,” Miriam said flatly. It was the only reason he would have decided to talk to her.
“All I need is a direction.” His voice was reasonable, almost cheerful. “Point, and you will save me an hour's work. I will be most grateful.”
Miriam nodded. “And what happens when you catch them? I don't suppose you'd be willing to share the bounty?” As long as she could get the charters and the authority, she didn't care about the money. Hell, she'd pay almost as much if that was what it took.
If she could build her own town out in the Jungle, everything would change. Let the City government keep their little fiefdom, with their absurd rules and regulations. She'd have everything she needed. She even had a perfect spot in the mountains to the east picked out. It had a brilliant view of the dawn.
But Mizuno cocked his hooded head to the side. “Bounty?” He paused, then nodded. “Ah, yes, I saw the world quest. I suppose that would be quite a temptation. Well, I certainly don't need any of that. I would have no objection to giving you the corpses for your own purposes.”
“Actually, I would prefer they remain alive,” Miriam said. “One is my niece.” She affected a polite chuckle. “And of course, you can't kill Miss Moore.”
He waved his hand dismissively. “Unfortunately, that is not an option. I have to kill all four of them.”
A shard of ice shot through her heart.
“Wot's that supposed to mean?” she asked. She carefully moved her hands behind the backs of both of her men, where Mizuno couldn't see her doing anything. “You do know why there's the bounty on them, yeah? You don't have to kill any of them, and you can't kill the girl.”
He chuckled. “I think you misunderstand. My quest is quite different than yours. And yes, the death of all four is required.” He shrugged, sending the animals on his shoulders bouncing up and down. Neither broke their stares at Miriam. “As I said, I see no reason for our goals to be mutually exclusive.”
Miriam swallowed. “Why would your master place such a requirement? If he's not after the bounty, then why are you even—”
She stopped.
This had something to do with the dragon.
“...ah,” Mizuno said. “They told you, then.” He sounded genuinely regretful.
“I'm sure we can still come to some sort of arrangement,” she said, even as she silently placed damage buffs on both of her men. Casting spells without speaking wasn't hard, though it did require a bit of practice. Casting spells while speaking normally was significantly harder, and she was proud of her ability in that regard.
Her guards leaped forward before she even finished speaking; giving them damage buffs was the prearranged signal for them to attack, no matter what else she was saying or doing. People so rarely expected you to attack during your own speech. It had caught many of her enemies off guard, over the years.
Mizuno Masahiko was not caught off guard. He blocked one strike with his own sword, moving with a fluid grace that she would have expected of a Rogue, not a Beastmaster. He disabled the second man with an elbow to the gut, slowing him just long enough to press the attack on the first.
Then three wolves the size of bears crashed into her home, their eyes glowing blue. At the same moment, Miriam realized that she had lost track of Mizuno's other pets. She felt a sharp pain in her ankle, and collapsed with a cry. She looked up, and saw the bird swooping down, talons outstretched for her eyes.
Her last thought was of the view of the dawn from that mountain.