Chapter 89: Avarice, The Sovereign

Subject: Inis Location: Otemrest Borderlands - Atumen Village

"The Wendervine Purge Incident:

Shield Paragon Remeris's Personal Log:

'However, the Guild’s funding has been stretched thin, and requests to the Theocracy for emergency assistance have been blocked internally because of the hooks that come with receiving support from the government. On a base level, I understand their hesitance. On another... I can't come to forgive this... My brave Defenders will do what the others are afraid to do.'

Aftermath:

'Upon returning to the Headquarters, Shield Paragon Remeris's detachment was short five bodies. Interrogation of the returnees revealed that, without approval, they had used the best equipment available and set out to purge the festerfont in question. The Shield Paragon has been put on temporary leave, and all the Defenders that followed him have received the same treatment. If we punish them for insubordination, it will blow back on us. The seekers wouldn't understand the fine-grained economics associated with planning a purge. They only saw the deaths, not the economic impact to the Guild as a whole. '

'I recommend we cut our losses and play to this result. We didn't order the purge, and it's obvious. We will have to burn longstanding Grey associates to play the villain, and pay them for their service. I am already writing the script. When I'm done, you will instruct them to do as they are told and only as they are told. In exchange, we will overlook their activities in our territory from here on out, after making a show of ejecting them from the Guild for refusing to order a purge. Prop up an innocent-looking, naive-minded Council nominee to be the hero. Do not tip them off to our intentions. They should believe their idealism is being rewarded. We will use that idealism as justification down the line.'

Relevant Excerpt From Support Talks:

'The deal is struck. Shrouded Theocracy support, to a lesser capacity has been pledged, and the first wave of payments has been distributed. However, despite legal protections and steps taken to prevent this, this dependency will hinder the Guild’s long-protected independence from standing governments. I have hopes that the Theocracy has offered such support because it acknowledges the danger of the Blight and wants to protect its citizens, but my experience tells me a different story. Only time will unravel my knotted suspicions.'"

Inis finished reading the long excerpt, exasperated. Mertalo was not convinced.

"It just sounds like the talking that normally goes on. Politics, yes?" Mertalo muttered dismissively.

At the start, she found his disbelief offensive. It was somewhere in his tone. The experience with the bandits had changed his mood, and perhaps changed how he felt about making this trip. It hurt.

Inis still hoped joining up with a convoy would help him feel better... because this hurt was touching on her last nerve.

"Outpost Laboratory Sarderious - Blight Research Logs:

'Curos remains a troubling substance. To those who know why we buy it and any information about it from seekers and contractors, I do not have to convince you of why research into the blightsource is crucial. We must understand the mechanism behinds its appearance and proliferation, and find out if preventing it from forming will prevent the terrors that follow.'

'We do know that storing vast quantities of curos together does not act as a catalyst. Only when it has been generated "naturally", and perhaps applied to some unknown entity, that the chain reaction occurs. If we could use that reaction for ourselves, somehow tame the source, it would not only solve a problem... It would allow us to tap into the blight as a source of vivacious energy.'

'To dedicate ourselves to our studies, as well as to marshal resources, we have begun building a lab. The below diagram is a draft blueprint. This complex is to be the foremost curos laboratory in Shroud. The researchers have taken to naming it "Curiosity's Cage".'

'Once interred, we will leave our former lives behind and dedicate ourselves wholly to research. No contact with the outside, no distractions. Only science.'

'Awaiting funding approval. Give us a chance to deal this blow to our foe, and we just may gain something else from it.'"

On the page was Inis's attempt at transcribing an architectural map of a laboratory building and diagrams detailing the findings of the researchers there.

She would have loved to read these. She really would have, but they had not been transcribed properly. Though words were copy visually, images were not effectively replicated. It truly was a disappointment.

Inis decided not to rely on the recall of imagery until she had done more research and improved her skill.

"Don't you see? They are trying to tame the blight. They don't want to just eradicate it, they want to use it. Everything we know about the Blight is that it infects everything it touches. It spawns blightbeasts and consumes land. It can't be controlled."

"How do you know that's what they are actually doing? Your little drawings here are all messed up. They don't even explain what this curos stuff is supposed to cause, but they are obviously trying to stop something terrible, right?"

She was frustrated, but it wasn't like he was entirely wrong.

"They are supposed to focus exclusively on purging the Blight. This is disgusting behavior right here..."

Little by little, his replies became a little less hurtful and little more understanding. His words carried fewer barbs.

Inis searched for more, unwilling to let this go.

"The Violet Crown Incident Reports are are as follows...

Day 15: 'On the eve of the third night of...<> Intelligence Scouts came across a peculiar variant of festerfont. They claim to have instantaneously understood they'd stumbled across something special. Whether they truthfully realized it so soon or not, they were right.'

Day 18: 'We have hidden the location of this critical festerfont, given the designation "Violet Crown". Its riches are beyond measure, but only a Seeker Champion could possibly hope to survive its depths, and not without the best equipment the Guild has to offer.'

Day 24: 'The flow of Blightsources to our newly constructed outposts is unending. Violet Crown remains... generous.'

Day 27: 'Sacrifices. For every life given to the blighted land, a person could live a lifetime of modest means. Seekers cannot keep dying like this, but we won't overlook these... gifts.'

Day 45: 'Analysis of the sol-51 structures reveals that they are not, in fact fully crystallized remains. Knowing what they looked like before the change, one can almost see a resemblance to the crystalline structure growing upon the jungle floor on the following days, but it is not them. It is something else. It is valuable.'

Day 93: 'We've...<> with the festerfont. It isn't angry like some presupposed it to be. A kind of... pragmatism, leaks from it's tendrils, pores oozing promising subtext.'

Day 153: 'Sol-72 structures are even more valuable than any previously-discovered samples. Inexplicably, rare Blight Ichors appeared where the dead once lay.'

Day 159: 'Is it negotiating with us?'

Day 171: 'I've taken over the responsibilities of my predecessor. For all her genius, she should not have attempted what she did. Now, how am I going to explain all these blightsources to the council?'

Day 192: 'Oh, how my past self has sinned. My deepest transgression was labelling my predecessor's actions as such. She was not reckless... She was brilliantly innovative. My course now is clear. Do not stop the flow of <> to our host.'

Day 201: 'We've begun to...<> civilian sacrifices. A life, to the festerfont, is only the experiences of the vessel. Whether that person be a seeker, a Defender, or a farmer, their biological resources are valuable to our... <>'

Below are selected statements made by...<> They where particularly...<> of project Violet Crown:

Subject 2: 'First, we didn't do anything wrong. We were hungry.' -- In reference to the Crown-3 incident

Subject 9: 'She told me to drink of her essence... so I did.' -- In reference to the Crown-6 incident

Subject 48: 'I didn't want to be alone. It felt like this was the way to become one with something great.' -- In reference to the Crown-18 incident

Violet Crown remains active to this day."

Inis stopped reading, not by choice, but because the pages ran out. These pages were transcribed from what she saw in the lockboxes. They must have been.

Mertalo was frozen stiff. Breathless. Deprived of excuses. He studied her as she studied him. Each of them understood, in that moment, that they felt the same about what Inis had just read.

Oh, yes. I was trying to prove something... wasn't I?

"You didn't make that up?" he asked, the color drained from his features. "He didn't believe she had, but he wanted to."

"See?! I told you the Guild has been doing disgusting things behind closed doors!"

"It's... terrible. You're telling me they did this and told no one? Are they still doing it?"

"I don't know, but it's all taken from their written records. I couldn't question anyone who knew anything of any import. Do you finally believe me?"

"Yes... I think I do..."