It felt weird, walking back across the threshold of the library. It was liberating, to know he could do it over and over again without losing his memory. At least for the next two moths, anyways. He retrieved his table and chairs and brought them back outside, sitting on one side of the table while Zachary sat beside him. Zachary had so far greatly enjoyed his time as Viktor's ally, and he wasn't looking to end their acquaintance any time soon. As a show of his returned loyalty, Viktor had proposed that they conduct the negotiations together so that Zachary had an accurate idea of their resources.
A dark-skinned man sat down across from the pair. Viktor recognized him as Ellis, one of the adventurers who'd visited the library previously. Viktor had helped him out with a unique fighting style, one that focused on using a towering sword the size of his body, a Zweihander.
"Viktor, Zachary," The man nodded at them both, "I appreciate the invitation here. All it took was 2 months of my new life for potentially nothing to gain," Viktor remained silent, and he signaled Zachary not to say anything yet under the table.
"But I will admit, I've seen an immediate increase in my combat ability since I started practicing with the book you gave me," he continued, patting the book hanging from his waist, "and since I traded for one of the swords from that orc tribe you directed me to. So, because of that, I find myself with a favorable disposition when it comes to you. I want to know what you're offering."
Viktor leaned forward and snapped his fingers, Varkul placing the requested items on the table: a wooden circle the size of a poker chip, a book emblazoned with a large sword, and a map.
"I appreciate that. Because I've already dealt with you, I don't have an exceptional amount to offer you at the moment. What I can offer you is a promise: if you align yourself with my interests, I will help you to grow alongside me. I will reward your loyalty with mine. I won't abandon you, and I will go out of my way to support you." He paused.
"Right now, I can offer these items. This wooden chip corresponds to a matching one that I possess. If you press the center, mine will glow and I can cast a communication spell to turn it into a communication device so we can talk. Additionally, I have a supplementary guide for using large swords and a map to a deposit of Teostrium, a metal of higher quality than star iron. You can join an expedition I'm putting together and claim it with an equal share. You'd be in charge of security and ensuring the group's possession. All I ask is that 20% of the refined ore is reserved for my use."
Ellis digested the information.
"Hmmm. 20% is way too much. I mean, think about it like this. If it would take us 4 weeks to outfit a regiment in armor and weapons to defend the encampment, it would take us an extra week or so with your tax. That's a big risk for monster attacks or hostile groups. How about 5%? If it's as lucrative as you say, that'd still be a lot of material," he countered. Viktor engaged his soul sight. In the past numerous months, he'd gotten a phenomenal amount of practice reading people. Ellis' signature fluctuated, and Viktor got the sense that the man was merely posturing. He was still very pleased with the deal. Still, it would be bad form not to let him haggle a little.
"How about 16%, AND you can outfit four squads of guards before my cut comes in? That way the remainder can be split amongst you and 3 craftspeople equally, and I still get a fair cut. You understand, this is the only way I can get in on the ground floor. If someone wanted to buy shares later, it'd take an exceptional amount of math and figures that wouldn't be available for quite some time. Not to mention, without this map, it's much more likely to be claimed by someone other than you." Viktor laid his cards out, gauging the man's silent response by his soul.
After a moment's hesitation, Ellis leaned forward and shook Viktor's hand. A contract appeared with additional terms: what constituted fully outfitting guards, how many guards made up a squad, etcetera. Luckily, the magic of the contract was unfathomably binding. If they tried to break it or circumvent it, the location would be wiped from their minds and the minds of those they told, and everyone nearby affiliated with them would walk 100 miles in a random direction away from the mine.
A flash of blue light, and Viktor was on to the next deal. If each conversation took as little time as that one and was half as easy, Viktor was really looking forward to the rest of the day.
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"Fuck you, and fuck your little slave deal," the blonde woman across from him said angrily. Her name was Vera, and she was a magic user that specialized in ice magic. Go figure.
"I would hardly consider it a 'slave deal'. I'm offering you a very fair arrangement. I have a spellbook with numerous spells that utilize ice magic, as well as a staff with the spell formations for 3 ice spells already input into it. It even functions better in cold temperatures! All I ask in return is that you join me for an expedition to help me get two items of my choice. I'm saving you time, effort, and risk." Viktor rebutted, careful not to lose his cool. He could tell Zachary was getting anxious besides him at the unfairness of her outrage, but it was important that these people knew he was being honest. If they didn't want to cut a deal, he wouldn't be striking back against them. Right now, anyways.
"Okay, great. So I go out and get my staff, then I help you get an item of your choice, and then I help you get to another item of your choice, die on the way there, and you get to keep everything I've helped you get. Yeah, that's a great deal," she responded angrily.
"Well, there's no way I can assuage your fears without just reiterating what I've already told you. Each temporary contract I make has a built-in nonaggression pact for one week after the item is retrieved or the mission is concluded. That means, in no uncertain terms, that I can set no traps, order no assassinations or robberies, or do anything else that might be construed as an act of aggression unless you deliberately attack, injure, steal from, or do something that might be construed as an act of aggression against me or one of my subordinates. The contract clearly defines who are labeled as my subordinates at the time of the mission. It is, if I may be so bold, ironclad. If, at the conclusion of one week, you decide you want to use all the resources I've provided you with to attack me and my interests, you are welcome to do so. That doesn't sound like slavery to me, does it?" Viktor said, his voice as cold as her magic. Vera didn't visibly react, but her soul bristled with indignation. It sputtered even as she leveled him with a cool glare, and she stood.
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Viktor knew he'd lost this one, but he wasn't feeling too bad about it. She didn't have anything he particularly wanted, and there were plenty of other combat-capable individuals here in the caravan that he could rely on to help him attain powerful items. As Vera walked away, Zachary raised a hand to stop her.
"Vera, wait! I've dealt with Viktor for months, and he's not been anything other than honest. He's been helpful and supportive even when he hasn't had to," Zachary tried, but she waved him off.
"Yeah? He definitely didn't have a vested interest in keeping you alive and powerful enough to get a caravan of people all the way to this fucking library," she said mockingly before turning back to the caravan. "You can all sell your souls to this devil, but I'm out."
Viktor turned to Zachary, intent on keeping the mood light.
"Well, that went swell, didn't it? Who's next?" He laughed.
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Over the next few days, Viktor lost track of how many contracts he'd made with the caravan's participants. He'd traded favors, affinities, spell knowledge, books, locations, languages, and more. Overall, he was extremely happy with the caravan's success. If each expedition he'd put together succeeded in their mission, he'd have teostrium, iron, silver, adamantium, and even shadow iron flowing in. He'd have rare plants being grown, creatures being raised or farmed, and he had a variety of crafters he could get discounts from. Not only that, he had a small band of individuals that wanted to latch onto his star for more than just one or two missions.
Over a hundred contracts, and Viktor felt like he was walking on air. The power surging through his body from making so many deals was intoxicating. It actually took all of his willpower to continue to make fair deals and not start slacking with negotiations just to keep getting contracts signed.
As many of the expeditions prepared to leave, Viktor gathered the dozen or so individuals who'd truthfully pledged their loyalty to his interests. There were a couple crafters or supporters, a few combat specialists, and a few well-rounded explorers. He had a smith named Elliott who was interested in special metals that could be used for slaying monsters. He would provide Viktor with 8% of all silver mined and a few silver-edged weapons per month. A man named Tobias would be providing Viktor's group with three young drakes hatched a few months ago, and would train one drake out of every brood for Aurumal, their newly founded alliance.
Anatoli was an ex-special forces soldier from Russia. Viktor had given him the secret to firearms production, and so Anatoli would be making Viktor numerous custom firearms. He had Hogar, an Earth mage. He had Kate, a thief who could make or break arcane locks. He had Caden, his secret weapon, an exceptionally skilled warrior using an unconventional weapon, and he had Felix, an alchemist/crafter who was very interested in using monster materials, and a few others that didn't stand out quite as much.
"Well, I first would like to thank each of you who have expressed a desire for closer contact and continued communication. As the first members of Aurumal, I wish to clarify that we are in no way an exclusive organization. I fully encourage each of you to go out and join other organizations. Make other alliances, take advantage of other resources, whatever. Do everything you can to make yourself more powerful; that's what we're all about, after all. Just remember that the men and women here now are your rocks: people you can count on to always support our shared interests," He said confidently.
Zachary raised a glass of wine. He'd been the first to suggest an increased level of involvement or commitment. "Hear hear! I personally would like to say how pleased I am to have found allies in this god-forsaken world," His toast got a few chuckles and murmurs of assent. Natasha and Sofia stayed beside him, and he sighed in mock exasperation.
"Ladies, please! Drink up, eat! Timothy and Hooch got all this food for us, it's only right that we enjoy it. It'll vanish in a few hours, anyways," Viktor groused lightly, cursing the nature of the library's food to disappear after being prepared. It made sense, though-- otherwise people would be able to raid the library's food before leaving its protection.
The two women shared a look before sitting down. They still didn't touch any food, but the slightly reduced formality was good enough of a result for Viktor. The girls were also from Russia, but they'd had a much more secretive backstory than Anatoli. Zachary had found them and sent them Viktor's way, and the fighting manuals he'd provided them with had served to give them the discipline they seemed to crave. He'd get them to open up. Eventually.
"Ayy, I'll second that," Tobias said, clinking his glass against his neighbor's, "I don't know how I would've discovered drake taming without Viktor, ha ha! It will be nice, in the future, to have allies to share resources and knowledge with."
"Exactly," Viktor jumped on, "That's exactly right. There will be many groups coming for our heads. Success is a target painted on our backs. It is important that we can support and defend each other from all exterior threats. And as time goes on, our alliance can grow until we're an organization that maintains its individuality even nine years from now."
Zachary slapped Viktor on the back and conversed with the people beside him. Varkul kept the wine and food flowing and the new members of Aurumal chatted with each other, the subtle feelings of suspicion subsiding as friendliness took over. It was good they were suspicious. Viktor only extended the offer of increased commitment to people whose greed he felt was manageable but consistent. It had to be low enough that they wouldn't betray his interests short-sightedly, but high enough that they wouldn't squander his resources or give away information or items 'out of the goodness of their hearts'.
It had been a long few days. Fruitful, and even enjoyable, but long.
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Viktor stood with Zachary as they waved off everyone climbing into the caravan carriages, setting off on horseback, or even just on foot.
"I think that went well," he commented to his friend.
"Yeah, I think so too," Zachary agreed, "I don't know how confident I am in the quality of people that we've attracted, but the potential is definitely there."
"Yeah, I've been watching their souls closely to make sure we didn't get anyone too violent or anything like that. It's no guarantee... you know, because they weren't actually doing anything wrong or getting a strong temptation to do anything wrong..." Viktor trailed off. "Honestly, the moral monitoring went a lot better in my head until I said it out loud."
Zachary chuckled. "Well, my mundane people watching skills see that we've got a lot of shifty-eyed guys and girls, but they're not the worst sort of people overall. I think we'll do fine for some time now. I am a little worried about a few of the people that declined..."
Viktor waved the concerns away.
"Yeah, I thought about that. I put Agatha on the intelligence-gathering for each of them. I'm expecting a week at least two to three times a month with immediate notice if any of them approaches a hostile party or starts to make a move against me," he explained.
"Fair enough," Zachary shrugged, "you're the bossman, Vik. You ready to get out of here in a couple months? Do you want to go now?"
But Viktor was shaking his head before Zachary even finished asking.
"No. No... For reasons that aren't very important--I'll tell you some other time-- it wouldn't make much sense for me to leave early. It would be exceedingly dangerous for me and I wouldn't get any stronger. Plus... A year and a day, you know? Besides, it has a sort of storybook quality to it, doesn't it? A cursed librarian, locked in a tower for a year and a day, carefully planning and orchestrating a grand escape from the gods to strike out on his own fortune? Timothy says there's a certain magic that legends have... I'll see you in a couple months."
Zachary clasped arms with him.
"I'll see you in a couple months."