Drinks had turned into food as Lydia found her stomach once more that turned to training as they returned to the Blue Manor.

Once people found out they’d returned there were dozens of guards that had come through signing contracts and getting their first gates opened.

The veterans they’d already assisted took them away to begin their training somewhere else.

Rick had worked Lydia over, pushing her bladed skill higher while Len checked their gear and prepared it.

Finally Rick had worn out Lydia enough for her to get some sleep. Rick and Len walked back out of the house, the night’s star’s in full bloom.

“We need to deal with the Hunter team,” Len said.

“Hmm?” Rick asked as he turned over the sword in his hands.

“We should deal with them while they’re here,” Len said. “They’ve probably passed word back to their branch that Lydia is stronger than a normal person.”

“With the screens there are going to be a lot of people becoming stronger soon. I’m hoping that will give us the smokescreen we need to have people worried about all of the other ripples and worries.”

“Though she hasn’t been allowed to participate in any of the mercenaries fighting,” Len said.

“Crap,” Rick said.

“Right, and we don’t know if they know how to use cultivation and tempering,” Len said.

“Well that’s a can of worms.”

“There is a solution but we’re going to have to act fast,” Len said.

“What you thinking?”

“Catch up to them and put them under contract before they can do anything about it. That stops word of Lydia getting out and it turns them into our agents instead of the Hunter’s Bureau. We can use them to break them down.”

“Turn them against their masters. Use them to tear apart their own group as they tried to tear apart the Isendia,” Rick’s smile took on an ugly side. “I fucking love it.”

***

Velas and the other people from the Hunter’s Bureau were collected inside their accommodations. They’d kept it simple so they wouldn’t draw attention. There were rough wooden tables with benches on either side down one side of the room, with a hearth and chairs nearest the door across from the tables. Then cots for them to sleep in down the other end and a slatted window at the other end to allow wind through.

Most of their people were at the cots of the second table.

A knock rang out on the door in the set pattern they’d picked. Velas rose with a dagger and moved to the door, opening it slightly.

He moved to the side and pushed the door open, letting Markil step inside. He checked behind him to make sure there was no one else watching the doorway up or down the side street before closing it.

“Any word?” He growled.

“Nothing captain,” Markil shook his head.

“Then why the fuck are you back here?” Velas yelled.

“This is not according to the plans we made before but the path is set,” Alexi said.

Velas ground his words down into his chest. Alexi had been specially sent down by the hunter’s bureau to oversee the Isendia handover. With the heiress sold off to the merchant son, and the son making a fool of himself in the academy. Lycos had all he needed to pull the rest of the family with him and take true control of the Isendia Merceanries, His brothers and remaining suster, deployed across the nation and too far away to return and counter his orders.

There was a knocking at the door, in the right pattern.

Markil looked at the door then the others in the room. Velas threw his hand towards it.

Markil opened it as Elvin staggered in, looking haggard.

Didn’t cover the door right, someone could’ve kicked it open and he’d get the door to the face and be thrown on his ass.

“What’s wrong?” Alexi demanded.

“All of the Isendia Battalions set out two nights ago. They’re returning to the city,” The man panted.

“What in the hells is going on?” Velas growled. He was supposed to show up, beat everyone in this shitty little competition. Show off the strength of the hunter’s Bureau and use that to push the rest of the family into joining them.

They wouldn’t be true hunters. Though they’d be good shields against the stronger beasts and they could use the family name to spread into different areas, get the nobles working for them.

If they were able to control the nobles they controlled the country.

Velas sniffed, and blinked hard, why does it feel so dry in here?

“Were you able to find out what’s happening in the Isendia Hall?” Alexi asked.

“Rick, his sister Lydia and his unknown friend left the place earlier today and went to drink but there was no other reports.”

“They didn’t head out of the city?” Alexi asked, taking a seat.

“No, they were just drinking,” Elvin pulled out a canteen and drank from it, finding a place to sit and leaning against a wall.

“Were they celebrating?” Alexi rested his elbows on his knees.

“I didn’t follow them, I was watching the hall instead,” Elvin said.

Velas shook his head a headache creeping in on him. All of thi was such bullshit, he just wanted to be out there fighting. This fucking around politic bullshit was stupid.

Though they’re paying me for it still. He kept his grumbling to himself.

Markil drifted off a bit, staggering to the side and a seat where the other five members of the hunter’s bureau were sitting on chairs or on their cots.

He’d correct that tomorrow. He shouldn’t be getting tired already and to show that to Alexi. He was from administration. Half of the useless fucks with him were.

Velas found it harder to open his eyes, it felt like he was swimming. He tried to take in a deep breath to wake himself up, though his vision only swam more. Someone collapsed in their chair, they started to try and get up.

Light caught something at the door. Velas looked over as a blue blade cut through the door’s lock.

He rose up, his head swimming as he tried to plant his feet, drifting from one to the other as he staggered forward.

“Ah, hello Velas, has been some time.” One of the two men said. Velas tried to focus on the man’s face it was just beyond him as he saw the man punching him, the flash of pain and falling to the ground. It was so much easier on the ground.

There was a prick on his finger, a flare of mana, then something threading into his body and core, then rustling and movement with random ignitions of mana.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Velas opened his eyes to find two men sitting on the tables, using the benches as footrests.

“Ah, looks like the dogs are waking up,” Rick said.

Velas reached for his dagger, he had been on a chair, why was he up against the wall now?

Pain ran through his channels as he gritted his teeth, falling to his side. He hissed out breaths as his thoughts of inflicting pain on Rick faded and he pushed himself upright.

“Looks like there’s some fight in you lot,” Rick laughed.

“You try to harm us in anyway or plot to do so then you’re going to feel pain. You get close with those thoughts, you die,” the other man said.

“I’ll fucking,” Pain, stronger than before tore through Velas as he dropped to the ground. He forced himself to think of his halberd, the way it felt in his hand, pulling his thoughts from the duo as he spat blood on the dusty stone-set floor and pushed himself upright again.

“Good, now we’ve got those murderous tendencies fixed up. What is the Hunter’s Bureau looking to do here? We’ll go with you the official looking guy,” Rick pointed at Alexi.

Velas felt his heart jump, he’d felt compelled to tell them everything with the offset of promised pain if he didn’t.

Alexi’s veins popped out as his eyes widened in pain.

“We’re here to take over the Isendia Mercenaries!” He said in a rush.

“Talk me through everything,” Rick said.

“Lycos Isendia sent word that he would be able to consolidate the Isendia Mercenaries under his command because you had messed up in the Academy and he was able to sell off your sister to a merchant that we work with. We were going to use the competition to show off our strength and ability, defeating everyone easily.”

Velas sat back, it was happening anyway, there was no changing it. I can’t think of murdering them and if I try it then I can die?

“What did you do to us?” Velas asked.

“Ah, all in due time Velas, all in due time. Now speak up again and you’ll be in pain.”

Velas felt his mana working against him to keep that rules adhered to.

The hell? He also knew Velas’ real name, instead of the name he’d used in the competition.

Rick turned his attention back to Alexi. “Keep going.”

“The agreement was to be signed after we won with Lycos.”

“And what would be this agreement?” Rick asked.

“They would become a subsidiary force of our Hunter’s Bureau.”

“All the details and your plans,” The other man with Rick said.

“We were going to use the Isendia name as our own to spread throughout the kingdom, getting into places that don’t trust an outside force. We’d use their connections and their name to bring the nobles onto our side. We’d push the Isendia mercenaries into situations that would kill our own people. Those among our ranks that were suitably interested by rewards and funds we would hire into the Hunter’s Bureau. In a few years we would have them ‘officially’ join the Hunter’s Bureau and by then we would have the largest fighting force in all of Plynthia and the nobles in our pocket. We would effectively control the kingdom,” Alexi was sweating by the end.

“They weren’t able to get that far last time,” the other man said.

“Got interrupted with everything happening. Had the Isendia Mercenaries spread out all over the place. When they left they gutted the mercenaries leadership that they’d installed and left them to fend for themselves,” Rick said.

“So, what are we going to do now?”

“We’re going to set up something new. Your turn Len.”

“First, how much do you know about mana?” Len, the other man asked and pointed at Velas.

Velas felt his mana turning against him and opened his mouth. “You kill things and you get mana. The stronger the thing that you kill, the stronger you become.”

“Anything else?” Len asked.

“If you kill a beast with a group it is broken up by the group and whoever gets the most damage in and the one that gets the final blow get the most increase in mana.”

“What does mana do?”

“It increases the strength of your body beyond normal limits. You can heal, using the mana inside yourself and you can become stronger infusing that into your body. What did you do to us?” Velas asked.

“Got you to sign binding contracts that make you our puppets,” Len said. “What are the aims of the Hunter’s Bureau in Plynthia?”

“Find all the dungeons in the area and pull out everything we can find inside them. Kill beasts and harvest them for the different businesses connected to the bureau to use.” Velas said.

“And you?” Len pointed at Alexi.

“Use the fighting to build up connections that will lead to us controlling Plynthia’s market around mana based creatures.”

“Isendia was just a stepping stone. You are working with other mercenary groups?”

“Yes,” Alexi said.

Len nodded. “How deep have you reached into the nobles and the mercenary groups?”

“There are three of the mercenary groups under our control. We have not been able to bring in many of the nobles that manage their estate’s directly. In Plynthia we have ways to influence most of the nobles, through bribes, blackmail, greed and other means,” Alexi said.

“Basic understanding of mana, using what you have to hollow out the country and take over the mana beast trade throughout. Are there any competitors that you have within Plynthia?”

“Possibly, there are rumors in different areas of people creating mana based gear and potions. That is not what I deal with.”

“What are your jobs?” Len pointed at Elvin.

“I’m a runner, I pass messages.”

“Useful, should be able to get a better understanding of what’s happening within the bureau.”

“Where are you from?”

“Renholdt.”

“Controlled by the Hunter’s corporations,” Rick said.

Velas leaned against the wall, studying the two men, they knew a lot. “Are you from the hunter’s Bureau too?”

“No,” Rick ground out.

“So you hate them,” Velas raised his knee and rested his arm on it.

“Why do you work for them?”

“They pay well,” Velas shrugged.

“Tell me all.”

“They step all over you arrogant noble fucks that crushed my family because we started doing better. I’m rewarded for killing creatures and people alike.” Velas grinned.

“So you do it for the power it gives you over others and to get some part of revenge,” Rick leaned on his knee. “You’re a very good dog.”

“Woof,” Velas bared his teeth and grinned.

Rick laughed and slapped his leg. “Well we can use a mad dog like you.”

Len raised his eyebrow.

“Seems that you’ve already got the collar and chain,” Velas said.

“Trying to make us feel bad?” Rick grinned.

“You’re the slaver,” Velas shrugged.

“Pulling at my heart strings,” Rick’s smile was just a bit too wide as he looked into Velas’ eyes. “Though I know what you are. The creature you truly are. If we were to point you in a direction and unleash you. You’d kill to your fill. It doesn’t matter to you if its parents, children, babes or beasts, right?”

“Blood is blood,” Velas said.

That made a few of the hunter’s shift away, others, the ones that had come with Velas lowered their heads in shame, or shed their sheep’s clothing and watched Len and Rick.

“Oh, don’t worry I’ll be giving you lads plenty to kill. Dogs need to be fed after all.”

Velas’ heart sped up as his smile stretched. “I thought you were going to be all horrified by what we’ve done.”

“You’re not allowed to harm people in anyway, unless their crimes would have them condemned by a court of law,” Rick’s eyes were merciless as his words bound all of those within the room.

One of Velas’ hunters clicked his tongue.

“You sure?” Len asked.

“The binding is rock solid?”

“I’d like to see a devil that can create a more binding contract,” Len promised.

“Good, then we can use them. Carve out the Hunter’s Bureau from the inside,” Rick said.

What difference does it matter if he feeds me people to eat up? Isn’t that just the same as the Hunter’s Bureau?

“Alright you lot, listen up to Len, you’re going to have some new orders,” Rick said.

***

The door closed behind Lilah as she walked to the drinks cart, fixing herself a drink before she moved to the window, the rain had come but the training square was filled with soldiers, fighting, tempering, eating and recovering.

It was much easier, cleaner the accounting she’d gone through would leave the family changed forever. Len’s contracts had come in plenty of use, securing people to the family and her.

I’ll need to figure out how he did that.

She would bring Isendia back up to their old position and beyond. She took a drink from her glass. She’d worked everything to make Rick the leader of the family.

It wouldn’t take much to position him as such.

“Be careful Lilah.” Lilah whipped around, drawing her blade and lowering herself into a fighting stance.

Len stepped out of the shadows of the her drawing room, his footsteps silent as he looked through the window as Lilah lowered her dagger.

He had not an ounce of fear for the blade. He held her with as much regard as a soldier might a child playing with a stick.

“Sneaking into my room, what do you want?” Lilah asked, her tone cutting.

Len paused, collecting his words. “Rick has been betrayed many times before, by his family, by the nobles of this country, by the woman he was engaged to. When I met him he was little more than a wild beast that was willing to do anything to earn some coin.

He worked in the forge, using that rage and anger to beat the metal into shape. Along the way he reshaped himself. Though that anger, being used by others. It was not something that happened again.”

“I will be careful.” Lilah promised.

“Seven thousand, one hundred and thirteen.”

“Hmm?”

“That was the number of people he killed when a sect betrayed him last.” Len said with the roteness of someone measuring the year’s harvest.

“Why didn’t you stop him?” She growled.

She stepped back at the coldness in his eyes. “I was there beside him. Their betrayal led to the death of his daughter.”

Sadness, anger, loss, it came as a punch to her stomach and spread through her chest.

“We are not pawns Lilah. No one is.” Len turned and walked for the door.

“Do you think yourself big for killing all those people?” Lilah asked.

Len stopped at the door. “No, we were just merely the survivors. I wish we didn’t have to kill anyone this time.” His eyes looked at her with a dead weight. “Though I’m not the young man I once was.”

She felt the fatigue in Len’s voice, that of a man worn between the boulders of time. “Cherish the family you have left Lilah. Trust is a commodity rarer than water in a desert and more valuable than a health potion on the brink of death.”

He opened the door and closed it behind him.

Lilah put her dagger away, suddenly feeling weak and tired. The plans and ideas in her head at a still as she looked out at the training yard. Rick and Lydia sparred with one another Rick calling out to his sister as she clashed with him again again till he flipped her into the sand.

He put his sword to the side and grabbed a water skin as she got up to sitting.

Lydia said something, making him laugh as he tossed her the water. A smile spread across Lilah’s face. How long have I missed this? How long had she focused on the things she was held back from?

She had held all the cards, kept them all to herself. Was that why her children had turned out the way they did?

She looked back to her desk and walked over to it. For the future of her family’s smiles she’d lay the groundwork for them. A foundation so strong not even the apocalypse would shake it.