“Black has died?” Harlequin replied in disbelief. “How? Did someone from Four Element Sect come across him?”

“Yes,” Crow replied, “but that isn’t what killed him.”

“He was stupid enough to attack the new Baroness that has claimed the town we used as warehousing and to ship our goods, and stupid enough to do it within range of the Spirit Triad that had been established to protect the town and coast,” Skull explained in disgust.

“He was always too impetuous, too certain of his own power and cultivation,” Butterfly remarked.

“His death will be disastrous for our operation,” Harlequin pointed out. Her affections for Black were well known, but in this, she wasn’t wrong. Black’s death only cemented any proof that the seedpods and cores that were being smuggled originated somewhere in this new Baroness’s territory. This would not be ignored. Even if the new Baroness was willing to ignore these events, Four Element Sect would not. They would investigate.

“Most of the reasons we discussed earlier, the difficulties Four Element’s presence on the island will have for our operation, are still valid,” Butterfly pointed out. “The rift will soon be found, the Elementals that live within the rift have shown they can be reasoned with, treaties can be negotiated signed, and the exploration of tunnels and cave networks so vast they literally crisscross this world, will be conducted.

“The Sect will have no choice. To ignore the potential discovery of new resources would diminish their standing as a high-tier Sect. But that exploration will take time. The chances of being found anytime soon are almost impossible, but we do have to decide how we move forward.”

“That is all true, we do have time,” Crow agreed, “but time isn’t the issue anymore. Our ability to ship seedpods and cores to the mainland has all but been eliminated. We can’t use the warehouses, and the docks on the river or at the town have been compromised. There is no way to transport or store our product with existing infrastructure.”

“We can’t even risk transporting it out of the rift, at least for now, without increasing the risk of detection,” Skull agreed. “If and when they discover the rift things are only going to get worse. They will set up patrols and guards on the outside to monitor who goes in and out.

“Unlike Black, I know the limits of my cultivation. None of us are strong enough to contend with the Four Element Sect’s Patriarch and some of the Elders that have joined that Sect. Our success required anonymity. With our operation exposed, I don’t see any real option but to implement Armageddon.”

“It’s too late for that,” Crow said. “Armageddon might have been possible if we had discovered and closed the secondary deep rift before it had stabilized and grown so large. As it is, the lower caverns and caves have fully integrated with Shijie.

“Rift assimilation has advanced to the point that both worlds have fused. It is far too late to stop the merging of worlds. This rift with Shijie is secondary. At most, we could delay, perhaps by decades that discovery by bringing down the ceiling in the tunnels leading to the cave where the primary rift originated. But it would only be a matter of time before the changes to the planet below the surface are discovered and Four Element begins exploring from that direction.”

“So, we shut down operations and move to our backup location?” Harlequin asked.

“I see no other choice. Black’s death has forced our hand,” Crow agreed, “but we knew from the moment the Hindel had agreed to trade Delph Island to the Empire that we were running on borrowed time. We just didn’t expect things to move so quickly.”

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“How much of a loss are we going to be taking by moving now?” Harlequin wondered.

“The farms are a complete loss, of course,” Skull answered. He had been the person most involved in the production process, the other members of The Five more adept at spying, diplomacy, research, and fighting. Skull had an almost genius-level ability to maintain the farms and organize the work. He had chosen a cultivation technique that focused on logic and order.

Changes would have to be made as to areas of responsibility. Black’s death would require each of them to spend more time concerned with fighting, especially since the second location they would move to was near a colony of fire salamanders. But orchestrating this move would go much easier with Skull’s obsession concerning details and order.

There were benefits to moving. The land they would use for farming was more fertile and well suited for the seedpods to grow in than what they were currently using, but that benefit came at a cost. The acreage was much smaller, the land much more corrupted and poisoned, and there were salamanders they would have to guard against.

Lower-level beasts were guarded by a tier-six beast salamander. Most had reached tier-three beast level, but a few had strengthened even more. Which meant constant surveillance and daily skirmishes, an almost constant state of battle to guard and protect the new farm.

“We’ve already lost the ship and ship’s crew. We will probably have to eliminate most of the farmhands we have working for us now as well,” Skull continued. “The Alchemy Lab can be moved, but any experiments that are being conducted will be lost.”

“Some of those experiments have begun to bear fruit,” Butterfly reminded his comrades. “But maybe moving the lab might not be the loss we think it is. The people attempting to modify pill formulas and use the unique properties of the plant and pods have become complacent.

“Maybe it is time to shake up the people we have working on these problems. I know Duke Davis has other people working on creating new pill formulas, but his supply will be eliminated until we find a new way to ship our harvest to the mainland.”

Harlequin was startled at the mention of the Duke. Davis, as a member of Clan Dragon and the head of House Drake, was a power within the Empire. But he was not satisfied with remaining a Duke, he would be Emperor and his House and Clan elevated.

It was Davis’ hand that was behind this operation, his House that supplied the initial funds to create this operation. His people had recruited the Five and most of the underlings that engaged in farming or alchemy. And a minor relative from a secondary branch of his house that had discovered the plant and their wondrous ability.

Davis had been furious when Four Element Sect had been formed, and the Five had never been happier an ocean separated them from him as he released that anger. The missives he had sent filled with vitriol and fury had only increased until Crow was worried that the Duke was about to compromise everything.

That would have been fine if the Five were members of Clan Dragon, but they were not. And the Duke’s anger, his disregard for any repercussions they might face had changed the way they interacted with him.

And the types and amount of information they were willing to share with him.

Crow had already realized that time was not on their side and that he might need to activate an escape plan, even if that meant abandoning the others. The masks had been a good idea, they kept their identities secret even from each other, and he was beginning to believe it might be best for the remaining members of the Five to scatter and disband, rather than move and continue with plans that would only benefit House Drake.

He would wait for now. A missive would need to be sent to the Duke, one that detailed Black’s death, the smuggling operations discovery, the ship and crew being captured, and the creation of a Baroness that had claimed as her territory the land that included the area where the rift was located.

If the Duke managed to remain calm, if he was able to absorb these setbacks, their work could continue. But if he exploded into a rant-driven diatribe and began issuing orders that were fraught with insane demands, Crow, Harlequin, Skull, and Butterfly would vanish.

And the clues to Duke Davis’ identity would be left for Four Element Sect to find.

Let them contest with each other in a clash of titans. Crow was determined that he and the others would not be pawns or sacrifices in this game of thrones.