“I should ask you, one of these days, how you do that little trick of yours,” Felix said as he sipped on the drink the man had offered him.

“Nothing special, really,” the man replied as he shrugged. “Anybody can do it once they know how it’s done. Compared to some of the things you’ve done, it’s barely worth mentioning.”

Sofia’s ears perked up at the mention of Felix’s past, listening intently, hoping the man might shed some light on some of her doubts.

“Enough with the pleasantries,” the man added as he crossed his arms. “You aren’t one to come here for old time’s sake. What do you want?”

“Must everything be about business?” Felix replied with a slight smile.

“With you? Of course. I haven’t seen you take an interest in the lives of others, ever since I’ve known you.”

Felix shrugged.

“That was a long time ago. A lot happened since.”

“I heard,” the man said as he went to prepare another customer’s order. “You made quite the commotion, four years ago. There are still people looking for you, hoping to tear you to shred. By the way, I haven’t congratulated you for becoming a traitor.”

“Thank you,” Felix said as he raised his glass while sporting a slight smile, as if all this traitor business didn’t matter much to him. “This is also why I’ve come to see you. I need to get into Redwaters.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“What could I possibly offer you?” Felix said, dismissively. “Just put it on Crimson’s tab.”

“You really think she would pay?”

“I’m sure she would, if you were the one asking.”

“Probably,” the man said as he shrugged. “But then again, give me a reason why I should help you.”

“By the way, why did people laugh when I mentioned The Black Death?” Felix said, changing the subject. Still, the man didn’t seem flustered by it and answered.

“There’s rumours that The Black Death is a guest at one of Redwater’s Chancellor’s estate. They probably thought you were just another wannabe thug trying to ride on his coattail.”

Felix frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“How’d they verify his identity? Don’t tell me they just believed him because he said so?”

The man scoffed.

“They had him prove his skills, of course.”

“In the arena? Why would they take the risk, knowing that the Kingdom wouldn’t take that lightly?”

“Reelections are coming up,” the man said as he shrugged.

This was like the light at the end of a tunnel. Much of Felix’s doubts were answered. Redwater’s governance was somewhat special. The city was led by three chancellors who oversaw the entirety of Redwaters’s three branches of governance.

The legislative branch was in charge of the law, whether it be the drafting of new laws or the implementations of them. They dealt with criminals and their punishments as well as disputes between the countless merchant companies trading within the city. They also insured the citizen would follow said laws through the use of their police force.

The executive branch would make sure the city would run like a well-oiled machine. They were the administrative heart of the city, issuing sales permit, residence permit, building permit. Whatever permit you could think of, they were the ones to issue them. Without their input, nothing could be done within the city.

Lastly, there was the foreign branch which dealt with sending ambassador to their neighbours as well as the emissaries sent to Redwaters. They also possessed their own armed force, which managed the borders and were in charge of import and export. In short, whatever happened outside of Redwaters which involved the city, was their business.

Redwaters’s governance was more akin to a nation than a simple city-state. Furthermore, the chancellors weren’t hereditary titles, but were chosen amidst all the different merchant groups as representative of the city. Still, giving a single merchant group monopoly would result in nothing more than tyranny which would in turn lower the mercantile power of the city, which would be unacceptable.

To remedy this problem, chancellors were limited to a four year term, and then would be ineligible to run again for the same position for another four year. However, becoming the chancellor of another branch was acceptable.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

The method they used to elect chancellors was also quite novel; it wasn’t decided through democratic means but through mercantile ones. Money was king in Redwaters, and the ones who could most prove that power, would become chancellor.

Still, money alone wasn’t enough. One also needed the proper connections. Which is why, a long time ago, the numerous merchant groups came together and hatched up a way to determine who would bring the most gains to the city. This was in the way of a martial tournament.

As you may know, Redwaters had a long history of bloodshed. The city had been stuck between two superpowers for much too long and it had shaped its ideology. Only through bloodshed could the city stand strong and achieve profit. Still, merchants weren’t expected to participate themselves in the tournament, but they would use their capital to entice proxies who would willingly fight and die for them.

Every four year, the city would hold this tournament in the coliseum. Only the top hundred merchant group were allowed to participate and they could choose up to three representatives. Those representatives would fight to the death until the top three groups were decided. Then each group could choose which branch they wished to head based on the order of their standing.

While some might think this system was barbarous and antiquated, it had served the city well for ages. The method was tried and true. Many were willing to fight on behalf of the merchant groups, if not more than for the handsome payment they were promised.

Furthermore, placing highly in the tournament would do wonders for the reputation of the various mercenary company participating in the event, ensuring continued business coming their ways.

“What’s your business in Redwaters?” the man asked.

“Since when do you take an interest in your customers’ business, Johnny?” Felix replied, looking the man in the eyes.

“I usually don’t if they don’t involve me in them, but I know you too well. Trouble always follows you around,” Johnny said as he shrugged. “Still, I don’t mind mind helping you if you do me a favour.”

Felix frowned, letting the silence linger between the two, before finally saying, “If you’re hoping for the return of The Black Death, you’ll be sorely disappointed. I’ve washed my hands of that business.”

“Nah, why would I ask you if I wanted someone dead, when I could just do it myself?” the man said.

Sofia listened attentively to the two’s conversation as this was several times more information about Felix than he was ever willingly to share. She was finally able to piece together shards of the man’s past.

While she was deep in thought, the man added, “Rebekka is in town and someone asked me to deliver something to her. I figured you’d be willing. For old time’s sake.”

Felix eyes grew wider as his pupils dilated. Sofia noticed the shock on his face seemed genuine at the mention of this Rebekka.

“That fool...” Felix said under his breath before adding much louder, “Doesn’t she know that they’ll kill her on sight if they ever were to find her identity? What could be so important that she would come here, despite knowing the dangers?”

“She’s looking for you, what else?” the man said helplessly. “Rumours of The Black Death being in Redwaters has spread quite far by now. There’s a lot of people converging here hoping to catch a glimpse of the legend. You’re quite the celebrity.”

“Even so, I warned her not to look for me”

“Was she ever the type to listen?” the man said, shrugging. “Four years ago, you left so abruptly that everyone thought you’d died. If it wasn’t for the mess you made in the Northern State, they too would probably believe you had fallen.”

Felix tilted his head back, looking at the ceiling before letting out a long sigh.

“Who’s Rebekka?” Sofia asked, trying to understand the flow of events. The information she had was so sparse that she struggled trying to understand the timeline.

“Who’s this?” Johnny said, showing his most professional smile. “Did the lone wolf finally find himself a wife?”

Hearing this, Sofia felt conflicted, but couldn’t hide the slight shade of pink rising to her cheeks.

“That’s also another reason I’ve come to see you,” Felix said, ignoring the remark. “She’s looking for her brother. I figured you or your connections might know something.”

Sofia felt touched; she almost believed that Felix had forgotten about her quest as they had been swept into unrelated trouble this last month. Sofia didn’t waste anytime and told everything she knew about her brother to Johnny, hoping to receive whatever information he had to offer. Still, she didn’t hold much hope as there wasn’t much clue to his whereabouts, only what the leader of the Raging Beast Gang told them as he died.

“You’re in luck, young lady,” Johnny said with a slight smile. “I do possess some information that might help you in your quest, but why should I share it with you?”

“Cut the crap,” Felix replied in a stern tone. “What do you want?”

Johnny’s smile grew somewhat eerie for a moment, but his professional expression soon returned.

“It’s simple, really. You just have to meet with Rebekka.”

Felix frowned.

“Why would you go so far for me to meet her?”

“A long time ago, her family did me a favour. Now, I’m just trying to repay them. Her father asked me to clear the misunderstanding between you two,” Johnny said as he shrugged.

“Misunderstanding?” Sofia said puzzled.

“She thinks Felix killed her mother,” Johnny replied as if this didn’t have anything to do with him.

Felix expression was calm as still water when he replied,” It’s no misunderstanding, I am responsible for her death.”

“Semantics,” Johnny said dismissively. “You made her think you killed her with your own hands. While I know why you did it, that wasn’t your brightest move.”

“I know,” Felix said. Sofia could hear the sadness in his voice. This felt jarring to her, since she only knew him as the ever confidant man who didn’t care about anybody’s opinion. While she had seen him multiple times sporting an expression of nostalgia and melancholy. She had never seen such deep-rooted sorrow.

Felix sighed once again, regaining his calm.

“I was too young and brash back then. Besides, that was what her mother wished for. I couldn’t deny her her dying wish,” he said.

“Even if you would be remembered as a butcher for the rest of your life?”

“Since when did I care about reputation? Besides, I’ve always been a killer. Ever since I picked up the sword, I’ve always been ready for such an eventuality.”

“Haven’t you ever thought of being a hero?” Johnny said with a slight smile.

“Heroes are simply mass murderers propped up by the state. I’m no hypocrite. I know exactly what I am... Alright, enough of this dreary subject,” Felix said as he shook his head. “What’s your plan to get us into Redwaters.”

“As I said before, elections are coming up. There’s going to be tons of mercenary group going to Redwaters in order to participate. You just have to join one and you can pass the inspection without much hassle.”

“Do you think I haven’t thought about this?” Felix replied as he scoffed. “Where do you think I’d find a group willing to take the two of us strangers in on such short notice? They’d have to be mad to allow such an uncertain factor.”

“Haven’t you forgotten that you were once a mercenary yourself?”

“You don’t mean?” Felix replied, frowning deeply, still unconvinced.

“Indeed, it’s time to bring back the mercenary group The Crimson Edge!”