The soldier led John toward the old mansion in the middle of the shelter where two guards stood at attention in front of its main entrance. Upon noticing their presence, the one on the right—a woman with short-cut hair and tired eyes—dismissed his escort and turned to face him.

"Before you can enter, I have to ask that you leave all your weapons with me. Don't worry, all will be returned after the meeting, but the policy is, no weapons are allowed inside."

Hearing that he frowned, but remembered that his weapons were actually safely stored inside his new pouch so he only lifted his hands in a non-threatening gesture.

"Do you see any weapons on me?"

Caught a little off guard, the woman muttered softly under her nose, "I was told he would be carrying weapons, what is…" and she pointed at the stiletto sticking to his side. "I'll hold onto that."

"Ehh, sorry but that is part of my Ability, I don't think..."

"No exceptions! The little dagger stays here with me." She immediately pressed, making John chuckle.

"Well, then take it…" He lifted both hands palms up to his sides, giving her clear access to his right hip.

Frowning, she eyed him with distrust for a couple of seconds before nodding to her fellow guard. "Watch him."

Grasping the golden handle, she attempted to pull it away, but John immediately willed for it to stay put, creating a comical tug of war.

She seemed to be making some progress as she pulled it an arm's length away, but the small handle suddenly slipped from her rough gauntlet and lightly tapped John's side as it returned, making him lift one eyebrow in amusement.

"I… what am I supposed to do?" She looked around, silently asking for help from the other guard who merely shrugged his shoulders. After quickly patting him down and not finding anything else, she also shrugged.

"You… may enter. Please follow me."

Leading John toward the stairwell to the second floor, through a lavishly decorated guest room, they stopped in front of another ornately carved heavy wooden door with a man sitting on a chair in front.

"Come, you are expected." He replied in a rough but welcoming voice. He was a man with few streaks of grey in his short well groomed beard, and also surprisingly wearing a crisp military uniform.

The woman left after giving the man a military salute, leaving John in the hands of this new charismatic person.

Opening the door with a click, the man led him inside a private study, where the wide table carved out from deep brown wood and polished to perfection immediately pulled John's attention. It was filled with piles of documents and behind it sat two other people currently in the middle of some argument.

"...said that it wouldn't be a probl… Ah, finally! Sit and let's get that over with." The man sitting on the right said and gestured toward the opposite chair with his pudgy hand.

He was in his sixties, overweight, and mostly bald, but to compensate for his unimpressive physique he wore over a dozen different jewelry pieces, an expensive custom-made suit, and golden glasses. A type of man John despised at the first glance.

The woman, roughly in her early fifties and wearing a short practical but very expensive dress, was sitting to the left and immediately gave the man he entered with a polite nod.

John took the offered seat but watched in surprise as the man he met outside took the prominent seat between the other two.

"Let's begin with short introductions. I am Colonel Reeds, this gentleman on my left is our negotiator Mr. Farsworth, and on my right is sitting my aide lady Jarwire."

"It is pleasure to meet you, I am John Miles."

"To get the talks up and running, do I assume correctly, you are representing the other shelter, the…" the Colonel rustled with some papers before nodding, "the Valiant's stand?"

Shaking his head, John replied to clear up the misunderstanding.

"No, I am afraid I do not. I spent a night there and helped them with the three waves of Restless Assault, but I am strictly independent and am not interested in changing that. I can offer knowledge about their special buildings, some useful tips, and a couple of cards I obtained but found no use for."

"Oh, and in return, you want what?" Asked the older gentleman with an inquisitive stare, making John smile.

"Simple, specific information and piles of ash."

"What? Preposterous! The ash is far too valuable to be traded away. We can offer you food and water… maybe some equipment if your information and cards prove worthwhile."

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Huh? Is he mad? Keeping his emotions in check, John replied in a forcefully calm tone, "Do I look like someone who is desperate for food and water?"

"Maybe, maybe not… but what about in a week? A month? When we unite the people in this city, we will remember who worked with us and who against us, so think carefully about which side you choose."

Fools…

John couldn't suppress the short smile of contempt blossoming on his annoyed face, which was immediately noticed by the Colonel whose ice-blue eyes watched him like a hawk.

"You don't believe we would succeed, why?"

The negotiator remained silent and all three were awaiting his reply.

"Well, from what I've seen, your people are…"

Wait a minute…

Frowning, he stopped mid-sentence.

Is all of this a ploy? Let's see…

"Hmm, that is a valuable insight, Mr. Reeds… Tell you what, I want to know if your people came across any monster more powerful than the Zone guardian. Tell me that, and I'll give you my honest opinion."

This time, Colonel Reeds wasn't the only one paying attention and what John lacked in experience was covered by his evolved body. The two men were able to keep their stony expressions, but the lady slightly reacted after the mention of 'more powerful than zone guardian'.

Another useful piece of information was the nearly imperceptible exchange between the two men. The overweight gentleman slightly lifted his pinky finger and kept it up until the Colonel audibly tapped his finger on the wooden table, and a second later, the gentleman half-yelled out in an outburst, "Do you think you are…" when suddenly, as if unplanned, his tirade was stopped by the Colonel who lifted his hand in a calming gesture.

"Please excuse Me. Farsworth, he can get a little overzealous… Can I know why you are looking for monsters more powerful than the zone guardian?"

Coincidence? Not likely…

"That would be for me to know," John grinned, leaning more into the character of the mysterious stranger he was currently playing. "I will tell you about one building I believe you should get as soon as possible, and a warning about something I sincerely think is putting you at a significant disadvantage. You in turn will tell me where I can find this powerful monster."

The Colonel looked first at the woman and after a short nod he turned toward the gentleman and following the same light nod agreed to the exchange under the condition of John giving up the information first.

The first part was about the bounty board, which John noticed they were lacking, and the warning was about the sentiment the alien trader was holding against his people. It took him a few minutes of explaining, but he was able to eventually convince them about the importance of good relations and also about the rule of never haggling over the prices.

He in return obtained knowledge of two strange undead monsters staying in the inner courtyard of Charles' castle which was a dominant sight of the city situated on the boundary between the gilded district and the city center.

With that business done, it was time to go over all the cards he dropped today during his bounties, but before that…

"With this out of hand, are you interested in some cards? Strictly for ash piles though, I don't care about…" John was interrupted by the Colonel's deep sigh.

"We are not in a position to spare any. I will apply the advice about the alien traders to you and be honest. We are barely holding off the waves from Restless Assault without casualties, and need to funnel all ash we have into our shelter. I must say, the advice about the bounty board is exactly what we currently need so once again, thank you."

As he spoke, the Colonel earned a few surprised and confused glances from his two advisors, and John watched their strange interplay in confused intrigue.

Funnily enough, after thanking him, Mr. Reeds turned to them and chuckled.

"We don't have to pretend, he saw right through us and didn't even bother to call it out…"

It was as if a curtain fell, and the masks were put away. The permanent scowl and aggressive posture of the pudgy gentleman morphed into an embarrassed smile, and the woman's stone-cold expression turned into a much friendlier expression.

"You John are a very sharp man. If I could, I'd try to convince you to work for us, but I am not foolish enough to believe we have much to offer and neither am I stupid enough to try and force you. Just one last thing as a small favor, may I ask if you know how many people made it to the Valiant's stand?"

"I think around two thousand," John replied with a nod.

Grunting, the Colonel mumbled something about so many people dying under his breath before offering a firm handshake.

"Once again, thank you for your information, and sorry about the little charade. It's a difficult time, and we need any advantages we can get."

He was escorted out by a different soldier waiting for him behind the door, leaving him conflicted about the whole interaction.

Was their friendly demeanor also a ploy? Could all of it be? Maybe they planned for someone seeing through it and that was their response… Or what if they let him notice their tells, maybe it was all a test to…

Noticing the rabbit hole he was driving into, he decided to simply ignore it altogether and act in accordance with their behavior. They proved themselves to be untrustworthy, but parted ways amiably, meaning he wasn't opposed to making more deals with them later.

Oh fuck, I forgot to ask about the other shelter… Whatever, what matters more is Charles' Castle.

After hearing about the strange pair of undead in a place that used to be associated with a place of power, John already knew where to go next.

The way south was similar to the streets on the western side of town with them filled with zombies and occasional Rothounds, but there was one stark difference. Throughout the whole journey south, he hadn't encountered a single skeleton.

It was true that the gilded district was significantly less populated, but it also painted a good picture of the groups venturing out.

I guess there is something about the whole army spiel of no man left behind…

Taking his time and making sure about not being followed, John arrived at the foot of the hill in roughly thirty minutes, and after clearing out the increased density of Rothound packs patrolling the perimeter around it, he carefully started his ascent of the many cobblestone steps in front him, because at the top was the main gate leading right into the Charles' royal gardens and the middle-age castle hiding behind them.