Beam POV: Day 76

Current Wealth: 168 gold 47 silver 29 copper

Negotiating with a half-mad wizard had not been on my bucket list, but I surprised myself with how quickly I adjusted to the task. I figured everyone only had so much awe and shock in them, some finite amount assigned at birth, and that I’d already emptied mine long ago by spending those frantic first few weeks in Redacle. Maybe I was just resilient.

Certainly, the fact that we’d just beaten the wizard in question up had helped to mitigate the intimidation factor somewhat. Either way, he looked a lot more nervous than Solitaire and Xangô. A good sign.

“How do I know you won’t just kill me anyway?” Corvan asked us all, eyes flitting between us as he did. “The moment your friend’s healed, you don’t need me any more.”

Xangô’s eyes practically rolled out of his head at that.

“We won’t kill you because we don’t want to kill you, you fucking moron.” He snapped. “We never wanted to kill you, we just wanted to live our lives and not lose a friend because some bear came flying at us one day, you’re the one who tried to fuck us all over and you’re the one who chased us halfway across the country because we escaped.”

Corvan’s eyes narrowed.

“After trying to kill me with your magic powder.” He growled. Solitaire hit him again, and the magus glared up at him.

“I’ll try a bit fucking harder if you want.” The Scouser snapped. “We did that because you threatened to kill us with magic if we didn’t give you all the money that was keeping us alive you shit-heel.”

For a second the magus looked like he might argue, then, instead, he bit back whatever words had been foaming at the back of his mouth and just sighed.

“Well, anyway, what can you do that’ll make me certain I’ll still be alive after whatever deal you make me think we’ve cut.”

Xangô answered that, shooting back as quick as ever with a response so carefully worded it left me wondering, as always, whether he’d had it prepared an hour in advance. Given we’d been fighting for our lives not fifteen minutes ago against the recipient, there was perhaps cause to doubt it just this once.

“We’re going to be employing you from now on.” He said, confidently.

Corvan blinked at him, taken aback. Being honest I probably looked about the same.

Instantly the magus’ eyes moved to Solitaire, who was currently foaming at the fucking mouth glaring at him, eyes bulging and veins jumping out against his skin. Evidently, he wasn’t too fond of the idea that we might be working with this one, let alone leaving him alive. Fortunately, despite his currently ongoing impression of a feral wolverine, he didn’t seem like he’d be jumping the gun and lynching him.

For now, at least.

“Why would you work with someone you hate?” Corvan asked, wearily. Xangô sighed.

“Because we want to actually achieve something of worth, and you’re powerful enough to help us do it. And, believe it or not, most of us don’t actually enjoy viciously killing people as a rule, even ones we don’t like.”

Solitaire growled like a pitbull caught in a trash compactor, and I saw Xangô checking with a quick glance to ensure our friend hadn’t started closing in on the magus.

“Most of us.” He repeated.

“You want my magic.” Corvan sneered, and Xangô rolled his eyes as if he were talking to some screaming toddler.

“Yes, genius, of course we want your magic, it’s fucking magic. If that surprises you, you’re an idiot. If it’s not a deal you want, then you’re a dead man, and I’m afraid my brother won’t make it fast.”

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Solitaire took a step forwards, maybe for emphasis- the bad cop to Xangô’s good cop- and maybe because he really did just want to dismember the old man. Corvan barely glanced his way, though, seeming more thoughtful than concerned.

“Brothers?” He echoed. “You were friends when we first met.”

Xangô kept whatever surprise he felt hidden well, but mine must’ve shown, because the magus grinned.

“Interesting lie to tell.” He noted.

“Interesting time to get distracted.” Xangô shot back, Solitaire took another step forwards, and I swore he was actually drooling now. “Work with us, yes or no?”

Corvan’s eyes flickered between us as he thought about it, and it looked like he’d be taking his time in answering right up until Helena’s spear tip prodded him in the back again. His face wrinkled in a wince, he swore, then glared back at her.

“What sort of conditions?” He asked.

Xangô groaned.

“Fucking seriously?”

“I want a gold coin every week, whether I do anything or not.” The wizard pressed. “No less.”

“You get 40 silver.” Xangô replied, “And you get to keep your nuts.”

Solitaire didn’t say anything at all, just stared at the magus, who seemed to consider the lunatic about as carefully as was appropriate before answering.

“What exactly are your plans, that you still stand to benefit from having a magus join you in them, even now?” The man asked, carefully. Xangô met his question with the most severe, earnest stare I’d seen him give anyone yet.

“This world is wrong.” He said, simply. “It’s twisted, diseased, evil. People starve in the streets, die of easily treatable wounds, work themselves half to death just to keep a grip on the shitty slivers of land their feudal lords have decided are theirs to work and die on. It’s a disgusting, immoral ruin. We’re going to fix it.”

Corvan stared, then sneered, then in a few moments he was laughing outright, cackles echoing out in every direction, chest heaving and shoulders lurching. Such was his amusement that I actually saw tears threatening to form in his eyes and wet his cheeks, which was doubly impressive with the severe scald marks littering so much of his flesh. Apparently Solitaire’s little steam missile hadn’t quite seared the tear ducts closed.

Finally Corvan seemed finished with his convulsive chuckling, and his face grew serious, even as sporadic laughs still moved it a shade.

“I’d taken the three of you for fools.” He snorted. “Now I see I was wrong, you’re madmen. Fine, I’ll help with your fool’s errand, but don’t expect me to die for it alongside you.”

It was, I decided, about as good an offer as we could reasonably expect to have gotten from him. Xangô just nodded dutifully, as if he were simply recording Corvan’s help down as some relevant factor, without any particular emotion attached to it one way or the other. Solitaire, on the other hand, looked as if he might go into convulsions at not being allowed to tear him apart. I still wasn’t sure whether he was just acting for the sake of leveraging a better deal, and probably never would be.

It was Helena who broke the silence, punctuating her words with another spear-prod to Corvan’s back.

“We’ve been talking for a few minutes, shouldn’t be too much longer until you have the power to make another crack at healing, should it?”

The magus craned his neck back uncomfortably to glare at her.

“Who let the woman talk? Oh, god, and she’s a savage, too. I really-”

Solitaire interrupted him by dropping down to one knee, blood flecking from his mouth as a sudden cough seized him. We were all by his side in an instant, concern creasing our features.

“What’s wrong?!” Xangô demanded, Solitaire only shook his head.

“Threw myself into a wall using my powers.” He whispered, volume forced low and feeble by the strain of his injury. “Think I broke a few ribs.”

“Get back, idiots.” Corvan instructed. “Let me handle this.” The man’s hands lit up, and I saw them move to Solitaire’s side. Every instinct in my body told me to take the magus’ fingers off at the knuckles, but I curtailed them. He’d healed Argar, and he didn’t have the remaining power to fight the rest of us again no matter what. With luck he’d heal Solitaire.

We all watched as our friend’s agony slowly abated, and the strength slowly trickled back into him, but in less than a minute the regeneration stopped. Solitaire blinked, testing his ribs as Corvan spoke.

“Didn’t have the power to fully remove the wounds,” The magus explained, panting with exertion, “But you can treat this as about a week’s head start on healing them, he’s not in any danger now at least.”

“And neither are you.” Solitaire noted, eying him. “You’re oddly relaxed for a man standing around enemies with none of his magic available.”

Corvan’s face stiffened, but only a shade. The magus shrugged.

“As of just now, I think we’ve established my usefulness.” He retorted. “As I said, you’re all madmen. But you’re not fools.”