Like all great plans, Lukas’s current scheme began with walking into the enemy territory willingly.

The day was finally there, and Lord Naowa, true to his word, had held the Shogun Meet in Pinefell, a city on the other extreme end of the Llaisy Kingdom, bordering Thornblandt and Luthar. Which meant Mujin Shimizu had left early, and would be stuck there for quite some time.

“Remember,” said Olfric. “They probably don’t know about the deal, so they can refuse entry. Just try not to lose your mind, and be diplomatic. We need them to authorize a carriage for us to step through the perimeter wards.”

“Sweet,” said Lukas, as the trio stood outside the first checkpoint. The moment they crossed the ward line, half a dozen guards accosted them, their enchanted blades pointed at vital points of their bodies, while one of them approached them, spine rigid, shoulders squared, and manners relaxed with the lean athleticism of youth and weather-beaten edges of experience. A quick analysis pointed out some strong enchantments on those blades, increasing their sharpness and strength by a magnitude. He was sure each of those swords could easily deflect a Level-2 elemental attack with ease.

Interesting, but nothing fancy.

“Can I help you, sirs, and lady?”

He didn’t even bother with a friendly smile or the kowtowing reserved for noblemen, not that any of them counted for one.

“Swordsmen,” Lukas commented, a thin smile spreading across his face as the swords in question shifted slightly in his direction. “Inside a mana-disruptive ward no less. Someone sure is paranoid.”

The man shrugged. “Can I help you?”

Lukas gave a quick look at Olfric and Elena. “I’m Lady Kandra’s representative. I believe I’m expected along with….” Lukas gave a quick look at Olfric and Elena. “These two.”

“We have no information about a prior appointment with the Lord.”

“Really?” Lukas gave the soldier his best condescending look. “Shows how much he values you, doesn’t it?”

Both Olfric and Elena went pale.

Lukas sighed. “Look, Ultaf Shimizu contacted my Lady for her services. About getting these two,” he grabbed Olfric by the collar, pulling him next to him forcibly. “To your big guy. I told the Lady that he’s going to rat out of paying us. I know a rat when I see one.”

The blades edged closer.

Ultaf Shimizu contacted my lady for her services,” said Lukas calmly. “So much for traveling all the way to this place. I should’ve known he’d just rat out of paying. I know a rat when I see one.”

“What are you doing?” Olfric hissed.

“We’re gonna die,” said Elena, sighing.

Lukas was unfazed. “Pick a fight if you must, but I’ll tell you this. If Ultaf Shimizu doesn’t get them today, you lot won’t even have a job to come to tomorrow.”

At least one of them had to sense, as was proved when a soldier pulled his sword back and rushed to the camp. A few anxious moments later, he walked back out with a most peeved expression.

“Prince Ultaf wants to meet them. Now.”

But the swords did not move away.

Instead the man doing the interrogation pulled out a small vial from the pocket and uncorked it.

“Your names?”

“Lukas Aguilar,” he said. “With Olfric, formerly of Bergott Clan, and Elena, a changeling.”

“Your palm please?”

Lukas eyed the vial, but said nothing.

“This is Okuninushi’s Resolver,” said the man. “We need to confirm that you are you, and not some imposter under enchantment. Security protocols, I’m afraid.”

Tanya was right, thought Lukas, as he gauged the soldiers. Nobody can tell if they’re enthralled, Charmed or otherwise. Not even a quick analysis of their souls showed any difference, which was more than mildly annoying.

“Your Prince might take offense to this delay.”

“Then he’ll have to take that up with the Lord,” said the man off-handedly. “You can deny taking this, and I’ll have to deny you entrance.”

What a load of crap. If they resisted, it would automatically raise flags and they’d be all over them before Lukas could cry unfair. He would’ve been impressed with the man’s steadfastness. He’d have called him loyal if not for what he knew about the Initiation.

“Alright,” said Lukas, pushing Olfric first. “Whatever gets you off.”

“I’ll pour a single drop of this elixir into your mouth. Kindly remain still, for another ten seconds. I wouldn’t want any of my men to become alarmed at some furtive movement and slice your head off. We do not follow the Empire’s rules here.”

The guard poured a single drop of the resolver on Olfric’s tongue, while looking up at a pocketwatch. Olfric stood perfectly still save for bitter shivering before the man finally put his watch away.

“All clear,” said the guard into what looked like a receiver. “Initiating interrogation.”

Olfric swallowed.

“Who are you?”

“Olfric… formerly of Clan Bergott.”

“What is your reason for coming here?”

Lukas observed how Olfric had gone all stiff, his throat constricting, and when he spoke next, it felt like someone had forced an answer out of his mouth.

“I am here to negotiate with Ultaf Shimizu for Zuken Banksi’s safe return.”

Lukas exhaled. Softly. They had prepared for this. Okuninnushi’s Resolver was an elixir that enforced a compulsion upon the drinker to speak the truth. It was standard procedure to drink one drop of the elixir before finalizing deals between kingdoms, high-net-worth individuals and corporations. Unless he was woefully wrong, their conversation was being observed by personnel inside the camp. He didn’t have the slightest doubt that the ‘All clear’ and ‘Initiating Interrogation’ were key phrases without hidden commands within them. Had the guard said anything else, a force of aeromancers and more would be upon them.

For that reason, Lukas had to play his cards really close to his chest. It had been funny, seeing Olfric work on believing that his sole job was to meet Ultaf Shimizu, negotiate with him, and do his utmost to get Banksi out. He would not be taking part in the infiltration, nor physically or magically try to harm anyone within the compound. In fact, he was supposed to surrender just in case Ultaf tried to imprison him. Knowing what they knew about the man, the chances of that were at least sixty percent.

Seeing Elena obscure Olfric’s memories and implant false ones was frankly, terrifying. Doubly so, when she had done the same to herself.

Yet again, Lukas took a moment to remind himself that he was in a strange world where people sometimes felt the need to give themselves amnesia in order to forget dangerous truths.

It was Elena’s turn next. As per the plan, Lukas would tell her a mnemonic password that would undo the obscuration once they were inside, and she, in turn, would utter the password that would restore Olfric’s memories and they could get things rolling.

It made him wonder. If Elena could self-obscure her mind to this extent, then who was to say that her bubbly, somewhat air-headed personality was also not a result of some self-obscuration? And if that was the case, just what sort of person was Elena truly beneath all of that?

And finally it was Lukas’s turn.

The guard poured one drop upon his tongue, and Lukas felt it burn his insides for like a second and then —

Living Anomaly Resisted Alien Truth

He couldn’t afford to smile, so he just waited for the customary ten seconds, before the guard put his watch away.

“Name?”

“Lukas.”

“Where are you from?”

Lukas remembered the cold, impersonal manner in which Olfric had answered the questions. “Maluscion.”

“Objective?”

“To meet Ultaf Shimizu, collect my payment, and offer him a new deal on behalf of my employer.”

That raised some eyes.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Who is your employer?”

“Lady Kandra.”

And that was that.

“All clear,” said the main guard again into the receiver. “No signs of enchantments. No immediate signs of mental resistance, no immediate signs of hostility. One security personnel and three approved visitors will accompany me to the fourth dome. No action until ordered otherwise, or unless there is a Level-3 or higher deviation from protocol. Security code SINK - FIVE - ORDEAL - SEVEN - BLACK! CONFIRM!”

The man turned to them. “All of you shall have to go through the rest of the checkpoints on your way to meet the Prince.” He smirked at Olfric’s look of crafted dismay. “Security protocols. I’m sure you understand?”

They passed through the rest of the checkpoints. At some point, the guards checked his and Olfric’s fractals for proof. His original pair had gotten damaged during the fight with Meynte, so he had gotten a fresh pair from Haviskali. It wasn’t the same as the ones Zuken had gifted him, but it did increase his mana production by thirty percent. Not that he needed it, given his capacity, but not having a fractal would likely attract attention. Make it too expensive, and it would attract a different kind of attention. Blob was conveniently ignored as body armor draped on all three of them.

Even then, they were made to wait for another fifteen minutes, while a whole range of enchantments did all kinds of cursory scans of their bodies, and for all he knew, their souls.

Again, not an issue. A ‘bremetan’ prototype had done the job. After all, they had been studying the Peak’s defenses thoroughly over the last two weeks. Their plans demanded it.

At a closer look, the Peak was closer to an army camp, only with large stone-walled constructions instead of tents. The place was infinitely old, and infinitely horrible, full of passages and high ceilings and cobwebs. That it was so brightly lit with not a single shadow to be seen only brought forth the utter alienness of the edifice. Between the sigil-carved stones, and the rotting smell of corpses from the other side of the walls, this was precisely the kind of place where all kinds of gothic nightmares came to life.

Only, a tad more bright.

Lukas and crew had followed the guard into one of the buildings, slowly descending into the heart of the mountain, and the festering madness within it. A single stone slab, an eight by eight square, that slid down to the lower levels, friction manipulation at work. There were no sudden stoppages from the structure, their descent occasionally punctuated by the occasional scream or plea for mercy from beyond the walls, which only made it feel longer. It was like walking through a murder scene, while said murder was being committed.

His fingers twitched, an urge to burn this place to the ground surging within.

Finally, they were down to the fifth floor, and this one had several rooms filled with enough weaponry to win a minor war. Racks of metal spears stood side by side with long, double-handed greatswords, quivers filled with sharp arrows, and other items of assault. Lukas mentally reminded himself to do a quick scan of this place before he went back on his plan of burning it down.

“Guess your Lord Shimizu likes being prepared for an attack.”

The guard gave him an eye-smile. “This is the fortress of a Warlord. You would be foolish to attack this bastion.”

“Oh you know,” said Lukas as casually as possible. “Just curious.”

“Don’t be. It will get you killed.”

He snorted. “I agree. Back where I’m from, we’ve a saying, "Curiosity killed the cat…”

He noticed Elena stiffening from the corner of his eye.

“And satisfaction brought it back.”

Elena opened her mouth to say something. But then, she paused suddenly, blinked her eyes repeatedly, and slowly closed her mouth. It was the passphrase that would click something within her changeling-brain and remind her of what she had chosen to forget.

Neither of them looked at each other after that.

Finally, they were led down through a winding, almost serpentine tunnel that further led to an open, spacious foyer, with a humongous chandelier hanging above, and large, arched doorways marking the periphery of a massive, circular hall. Lukas counted twelve guards, all of them wearing different shades of fractals. He didn’t risk analyzing them, but it was safer to believe they were Level-3 and skilled at their jobs, and would barge into the room the moment they sensed the slightest hostility inside.

Inside, sat Ultaf Shimizu, just as arrogant and disappointing as he remembered. The aeromancer’s eyes widened instantly at seeing Elena, before his eyes darted at Lukas.

“You’re almost late,” he said in a tone so dismissive that he absolutely had to have practiced it. “Lady Kandra has gotten sloppy.”

Lukas decided that it took a special brand of conceitedness to look down at one’s own lifesaver.

“It was a rush job,” said Lukas.. “Also, Lady Kandra asked me to offer you a deal.”

Ultaf lifted an eyebrow. “A deal. I hope it is worthwhile, vagrant. My guards will be most displeased if I find you’ve wasted my time.”

“Hmph,” Elena frowned at his tone. “How rude,” she murmured.

Ultaf sneered, and Lukas couldn’t help but wonder at the source of his confidence. True, he was in a room surrounded by guards outside, but surely he couldn’t have been moronic enough to think that it meant he was safe from all harm.

Right?

Putting his hands inside his pocket, he focussed on creating a tiny orb of lifeforce. Nothing useful, just to serve a test.

Instead, nothing happened.

He wished he could say he was surprised. But at least, it proved that Ultaf was more than just an arrogant moron.

Let’s see. What exactly does the ward inside his office interfere with?

Starting from the beginning, the passive flux of lifeforce within his body was still there. He had half-expected these guys to chain them up in lifeforce-restraining manacles, or at least interfere with him using lifeforce actively. That or take away their fractals. Then again, such direct interference was easy to detect, and was more likely to piss off potential clients that came to meet him here.

So if his inner functions weren’t being hindered, then there must be something that was hampering the execution of a lifeforce-based skill or attack. His lifeforce must be being disrupted somehow while casting, preventing it from taking proper form and concept. Normally this would be an easy workaround for him, since it did nothing to keep him from using mana or just raw anomalous energy, but that was neither here nor there.

At the same time, this ward acted like a double-edged sword, for this would also prevent Ultaf from using any lifeforce-based attack either. Which was why Ultaf had those enchanted tools and weapons, just in case things went messy. Objects with a physical medium to enact their enchantments.

Amateur.

Oh well. It wasn’t like he was going to call him out on it like a brash idiot.

“Look, I know why you’ve been hunting Elena,” said Olfric without wasting time. It was one of the things Lukas liked about the guy. The best part was that he recognized his own lack of diplomacy and never claimed otherwise. From someone with a stick so far up his ass, Olfric was surprisingly genuine in that sort of way.

No wonder Banksi kept him around. Finding hard working employees was difficult. But hardworking employees that weren’t yes-men? Rare.

“You want her because you think she can help in unobscuring Zuken’s memories. But I’ll give you a better deal. Let Zuken walk away with us, safe, and in return, we’ll tell you where Tanya is.”

Ultaf threw his head back and laughed. “Your bluntness is refreshing, if a bit crude. I was surprised by your letter. Bold of you to walk into my garrison and demand things of me. I still haven’t determined if it’s bravery or stupidity.”

Lukas agreed with the sentiment. Well, mostly. He too couldn’t determine if Ultaf Shimizu was being brave or stupid. So far, the more he spoke the more Lukas leant towards ‘stupidity’.

He glanced at Elena, and found an obvious look of hostility in her features, a narrow eyed glare leveled at the person before her. Her expression was a trap, an illusion to keep Ultaf from noticing what she was really doing.

“Tell me,” said Ultaf. “Where is she?”

Olfric stood his ground. “Not until I have Zuken with us. And Lady Kandra promised—”

“Lady Kandra isn’t here,” said Ultaf, sniffing in disdain. “It seems you don’t understand the situation you’ve found yourself in.” His smile turned smug as he continued. “You are at the Peak. Just a gesture, and my men will relieve you of all of your heads.”

“I’m hoping that your men know how to extract memories from a decapitated head then,” Olfric retorted. “For I ain’t saying anything until I see Zuken.”

Ultaf sighed. “Pity. A little humility could’ve gone a long way for you.”

“It’s easy to talk of humility when surrounded by guards and protected by a mana-interference field. But I suppose that’s the only way the Shimizu have been taught to behave.”

“You dare…” Ultaf began to stand up.

“I’m sorry I simply cannot admire people that stand on other people’s shoulders and call themselves tall,” Olfric retorted. “You brought your entire army, in the dead of the night, to attack my friend by surprise. That’s the coward’s way.”

Ultaf bristled.

“But I’m not here for that. I want nothing to do with you or this woman Zuken’s so intent on protecting. Let Zuken walk away with me, and I’ll give you Tanya’s location. As promised. For once in your life, try being a little honorable.”

Ultaf took a moment to regain his voice, still slightly caught off-guard from Olfric’s outburst. No doubt the aquamancer had gone from the ‘current focus’ of the meeting to the ‘most interesting person in the room’. The significance and attention he held over Ultaf’s attention was now unquestioned.

“Honorable?” spat Ultaf. “Banksi has lied and kept information from me.”

“And you’ve destroyed his mansion, slaughtered his people, and imprisoned him,” Olfric shot back. “I think as far as felonies go, yours is much worse.”

“Have care how you speak to me, Banksi’s dog!”

“I’m no one’s dog. I just have a short temper for cowards and backstabbers.”

“Big words for a man without a family name to call his own.”

“Better to be confident in one’s power and stand alone, than play a king while clearly being a jester.”

Despite how placid Lukas kept his face, his mind was frantically scrabbling since the moment the altercation between the two spiritists began. Olfric’s bluntness was a natural grindstone to Ultaf’s arrogance. It was one of the reasons why he was chosen to do the speaking. That he had passed Okuninushi’s Resolver before getting here only made it further confusing for Ultaf, because he clearly knew that Bergott was not planning some kind of surprise attack.

He glanced at Elena from the corner of his eyes, and found her softly stroking her thigh with her fingers. She was already done allaying the guards. They weren’t asleep or anything, merely distracted. Perfect.

“Could you just move this along?” He interrupted. “I don’t care whether this deal gets accepted or not. But I do care about getting the payment for my Lady’s services.”

Ultaf lazily picked up a small envelope and slid it across the table towards him. Silently, Lukas grabbed it, and a brief analysis that lasted no longer than a fraction of a second indicated that there were no spells of any sort within, and the only thing inside was a piece of paper. Ultaf didn’t look like he was going to speak anytime soon, so Lukas slowly opened the letter, and went through the contents, comprehending what was given inside.

It was a check for his ‘hard-work’, and given the sheer number of zeroes that followed after the single numeral on the left, he had a good idea why Solana targeted the Sacred Eight for her information-broker business.

“Thank you,” he said, putting the letter back into the envelope and into his pouch. He’d have to make sure not to lose that or worse.

“Now get lost,” said Ultaf absently. “The guards will show you the way out.”

“I will… there’s just… one more thing.”

His eyes flashed green.

Ultaf’s body spasmed, as his entire nervous system went haywire. After all, the human body, or bremetan for that matter, was run by electrical impulses traversing through countless nerves connecting every end of the body. Manipulating that electricity into acting oddly was enough to paralyze the man within two seconds of contact. The man opened his mouth to scream…

But no sound escaped his lips. Instead, when Lukas let his hand go, Ultaf collapsed back into his chair, vainly opening his mouth, but nothing save gurgles escaped his throat.

“Yeah, don’t bother,” said Lukas, as he pushed the chair back and slowly walked over to the fallen man.

“Aguilar!” Olfric hissed. “What are you doing?”

“Just accelerating some parts. That’s all.”

“Yub—sss—tard!” Ultaf tried to speak, only for the pain to overwhelm him. He paused as he felt Lukas’s steel-like gaze crushing his windpipe, as he looked up and met his furious eyes.

“Now then,” said Lukas Aguilar. “What were you saying?”