After his exchange with the Thunderbird, Leon returned to his meditations and continued reveling in his command of black fire. For hours, he gave all responsible parents everywhere a headache by playing with fire, and when he finally left his meditation chamber, he still had a few black sparks dancing around his fingers.

However, his jubilant mood was slightly marred when he heard what sounded like a whispered argument not too far away. Upon investigation, he found Alix and Alcander locked in what looked like a heated conversation next to the guest house’s main courtyard.

“… and I’m telling you, just because Tikos is a sprite doesn’t mean he’s a lady!” Alcander insisted.

“Tikos can grow seeds!” Alix countered. “Sure, she doesn’t ‘have babies’ like we do, but by definition, she’s a girl!”

“Not a chance,” Alcander insisted as he emphatically shook his head. “If he were human, Tikos would hang low, without a doubt. Like down-to-his-knees low. A real man’s man, that’s what Tikos is. The seeds thing is just because he’s like half-tree or something.”

Any worry Leon had about their disagreement being about something that carried deadly importance faded with every word they spoke, and he calmly walked over to them. As soon as she noticed his approach, Alix seized upon it.

“Leon!” she whisper-shouted. She glanced back into the courtyard where Exotikos had rooted itself, then turned back to Leon and asked, “Tikos. Boy or girl?”

Leon stared at her with mild amusement. “Why ask me? Also, why’re you calling them ‘Tikos’?”

“Oh, well, ‘Exotikos’ was a bit of a mouthful, so I asked her if I could shorten her name to something easier to say. She said it was fine.”

Leon nodded, then asked the more relevant question. “You can ask them about their name, but you can’t ask if boy or girl?”

Alix frowned and Alcander pointedly looked away.

“Well, you see,” Alix mumbled, “it’s embarrassing to have to ask, you know? Like, I get that Tikos isn’t human so it isn’t apparent, but what if that’s a sensitive question? I don’t want to offend her…”

“You don’t want to offend your newest comrade,” Leon said, “so instead, you’re just going to make an assumption? That’s… that sounds like a good way to offend someone. Who knows how they might take it?”

“Or, better yet,” Gaius said as he appeared behind Leon, “why not just get to know them, and ask later when you’re more familiar? Until then, don’t assume?”

“I can’t do that!” Alix replied, sounding scandalized. “That makes it more embarrassing! Imagine if I had to ask you right now if you were a man or a woman! Wouldn’t you take offense?”

Gaius shrugged. “I think I’d tell you, and only be kind of mildly amused. Maybe I might think of ways to make it more apparent, but offended? I don’t think I would go that far…”

“It’s still embarrassing…” Alix muttered.

“Hardly,” Alcander boastfully countered. “Why do we need to ask when the answer is obvious? If Exotikos were human, he’d be the kind of man who’d make the rest of us look like children! Muscular and handsome, and probably completely oblivious to the effect he would have on women!”

“Al,” Gaius wondered, “do you want to fuck the tree sprite?”

Alcander went quiet, though from shock or something else, Leon couldn’t quite tell.

“W-What? Of course not!” Despite his protestations, Leon, Alix, and Gaius all stared at him. Alcander didn’t even make it three seconds before he cracked. “Oh, come on! Don’t tell me all of you aren’t at least a little curious how these things do it!”

“I’m not,” Gaius said.

“Neither am I,” agreed Leon.

Alix paused, then conceded, “Maybe a little.”

“See? It’s fascinating, isn’t it?”

Leon stared at Alcander for a long moment. “The first tree sprite you’ve ever met that’ll speak with us, and you’re wondering how to fuck it?”

“I’m wondering if it fucks!”

“And if you can get a little action, too,” Gaius riposted.

Alcander shrugged.

Leon sighed. “All right, then why don’t I lead you all in a new mission? Follow me. No need to guess their sex, gender, or whatever else when we can just ask. Anything else you might want to do with them is between you and them. Just remember that they’re sixth-tier equivalent, so if you get pushy, you’ll be in for a world of hurt.”

“A little pain can spice things up, but I’m no masochist,” Alcander said mostly to himself. Alix and Gaius remained quiet.

Leon confidently strode into the courtyard and made a beeline for Exotikos. Alix and Alcander, each looking rather mortified, followed, with a curious Gaius right behind.

As he approached Exotikos’ tree, Leon called out to his newest retainer. “Exotikos! Do you have a moment?”

Without any apparent hesitation, the upper half of Exotikos’ body emerged from the tree like a strange roughly human-shaped growth out of the trunk. It held out its hand and a small piece of amber congealed in its palm again.

“Leon,” it said. “Is there something wrong?”

“Not wrong, per se,” Leon replied. “Just a tiny issue with regards to our differing biologies, and the hope that you could clear something up that we’re a little unsure of.”

“Anything I help to do.”

“Thank you,” Leon said. “I’d like to apologize first off if this is a sensitive question; it’s just that as humans, these things can be hard to determine in some cases without asking first.”

“Does this have to do with the speaking that Alix and Al had in yonder?” Exotikos asked as its leaves fluttered with the scent of something mildly spicy.

Alix immediately went beet-red and Alcander suddenly found the grass in the courtyard very interesting.

“Yes,” Leon replied.

“Then allow me to easy make,” Exotikos offered, and it exuded a scent of calming sweetness. “My kind possess parts that humans might call ‘male’ and ‘female’. We make no distinction. We are but growths of the main, budding each other with.” As it spoke, the tree sprite held out its left arm, the one that didn’t contain the amber piece, and a number of flowers sprang from the cracks in its bark skin.

“Tikos…” Alix muttered with both curiosity and concern, “are you flashing us right now?”

“I am using none light magic,” Exotikos replied.

“Not what I was asking, but I think that’s a ‘yes’,” Alix replied.

Something smelled slightly damp, but fresh. “I’m unsure of what you mean. My flowers are how I make new buds.”

“Interesting,” Leon responded, not feeling much embarrassment at the tree sprite showing off its equivalent of reproductive organs. “So you have no real defined biological sex?”

“No.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“In that case, do you have a preference for how we might refer to you?”

Sweetness again filled the air, and Exotikos responded, “Alix asked if she could refer to me as ‘Tikos’. That will do, but in other cases, it to me makes difference none.”

“Thank you,” Leon said as he looked back at the others. When he looked back at Tikos, he asked, “Have you been seeing enough from here? We can head out into the city if you want…”

“There are enough trees here to see,” Tikos replied. “If there are trees none elsewhere, then I would need to travel there to see. Here, I can see just fine.”

“All right. Well, if you need anything else, just let me know.”

With that, Leon left Tikos to its own devices, and Alix, Alcander, and Gaius followed him out of the courtyard, the former two looking beyond mortified.

“Oh, that was even worse than I thought it would be,” Alix moaned.

“At least it’s over,” Alcander croaked.

“Oh, come on,” Gaius responded. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“If I never do that again, it’ll be too soon,” Alix replied.

Alcander grunted in agreement.

“Well, now you know,” Leon said. “I get the feeling that we might have to get used to asking these questions if we make it a habit of encountering other non-human beings that don’t fit human archetypes. You didn’t have this much trouble with the stone giants, did you, Alix?”

Alix frowned and shrugged. “I never really spoke with them, I couldn’t speak their language” she reminded him. “Though, I have to admit, I was always curious…”

“They didn’t have any genders or sexes, either,” Leon explained.

Further down the hall, a door opened, and Anshu came strolling out, looking rather bored. However, when he noticed them walking towards him, he seemed to hesitate for a moment, then approached.

“Leon,” the Indradian said as he nervously stroked his moustache. “Mind if I speak to you in private?”

“Sure thing,” Leon replied. He glanced at the others, and when they told him they had nothing else that needed his attention, he went off with Anshu. Given that they were in a guest house for visiting Heaven’s Eye dignitaries, a private sitting room was easy enough to find.

As the two made themselves comfortable, Leon watched Anshu. The man seemed somewhat on-edge, and over the past few weeks, had been even more aloof than usual. So, recognizing that something was on his mind, Leon didn’t press him for information, and simply waited for him to get comfortable and finally give voice to what was going through his head.

He wound up waiting an almost painfully long couple of minutes.

“Leon…” Anshu slowly said, “do you have any plans for heading to the Raj anytime soon?”

Leon frowned lightly and replied, “No. My current plans are to shore up my support in Heaven’s Eye. Why? Has something changed that would make your business more time-sensitive?”

Anshu softly scowled and, after a moment’s hesitation, replied, “No.” He rubbed the back of his head and continued, “I just… nearly died out in that forest.”

Leon nodded in understanding. Anshu had been poisoned by a lesser tree sprite, which meant he’d probably experienced quite a bit of pain and possibly other symptoms before Helen was able to administer the antitoxin.

“I’ve been thinking ever since then,” Anshu said. “I have my own enemies in the Raj, and every day they continue to live brings shame upon me. I still have a few friends there, though, and I was hoping to try and make regular contact with them again.”

“You haven’t been in regular contact with them so far?” Leon asked.

“Not since you confronted me about my correspondence with the Prince of Tosali.”

“That was more than a decade ago. You haven’t gotten any word from your homeland since then?”

“Nothing from unofficial sources,” Anshu replied. “I’ve relied entirely on public news brought back from traders that have gone to the southwest.”

Leon felt some doubt, but he gave its benefit to Anshu. “Well, what are you asking for specifically? Greater leave to conduct your business? Or are you asking me to get directly involved in Raj politics?”

“I don’t think the latter would be necessary,” Anshu replied. “Besides, if you’re looking to shore up your connections within Heaven’s Eye, then getting political would hardly be the best thing to do, would it?”

“My concern exactly.”

“I won’t put you in that kind of situation. What I’m asking for is more from the former: a little more autonomy to act as I need to, with you and the rest of your retinue providing support and backup to me if I need it.”

Leon nodded again, then switched to a more negotiating demeanor. “For this support, what would be the benefits for me and my retinue?” he asked. “After all, we’d be losing you for at least some of the time, so what would be our compensation? You are still under contract with me, after all—unless you wish to formally end our contract?”

“No,” Anshu hastily replied. “Having your connections is paramount in my mind, even if I never actually use them. Having you in my corner will be critical for my chances of actually pulling off the revenge I’ve so long for craved.”

Leon smiled. He already had an idea of what he might ask in return for giving Anshu more leave and autonomy.

“Tell me, Anshu, you were a smuggler, yes?”

“Yes,” Anshu answered. “I was never a pirate. I never took part in piratical activities. I just moved things from place to place under the noses of governmental authorities.”

“Have you have ever heard of the Saltwater Road?”

Anshu stared at him in mild surprise, then nodded his head. “It’s not really a road—most of it is run by boat, as a matter of fact. It’s a smuggling ring composed of several allied groups that moves contraband between the Empires and the Kingdoms of the southwest—mostly the Raj. Their route mostly takes them along the western coast and goes through the Ilumerian Wetlands, though when Jormun called up the favors I owed him and had me travel to the Serpentine Isles, there was talk of them expanding south to include the southern coast of the Tam and the Pegasi States. I can’t imagine they’ve had much luck, though, as the Imperial Fleets plying the Argonaut Sea and the Veins of Vigilance between the southern islands are very hard to avoid.”

“I’ve heard that there’s been quite a bit of naval build-up down there, as of late,” Leon observed.

“That would make it even less likely that they’ve expanded that far,” Anshu said.

“All right. Have you, then, ever heard of a man named ‘Stelios’?”

Anshu’s frown deepened slightly, and he confirmed, “Yes, I have. A man named ‘Stelios’ is rumored to lead one of the bigger smuggling groups that compose the Saltwater Road. Once smuggled goods enters Imperial Territory, it’s usually handled by the Wings of the Tau smuggling ring, which would be Stelios’ group—or so I’ve heard. I mostly handled contraband on the other side of the road, moving goods from the Raj to the Wetlands where some other group would take over.”

Leon nodded again. “The reason I ask all of this is because, when I consulted with Emilie about what my next steps should be shortly before we left for this expedition, she recommended that I speak with this Stelios. He openly operates a handful of vineyards in Occulara. Given his rumored real occupation, she was sure that he would have information on vampires living within Imperial lands.”

It was Anshu’s turn to nod, and he concurred, “That wouldn’t surprise me. There aren’t many jobs that a vampire can get once their condition becomes too severe to hide. Their choices become either hide out in the brush where there aren’t many sacrifices to be had, or join an illegitimate business where they get more support in exchange for some of their demonic services. Given that slaves are one of the most common and profitable goods to smuggle, it makes some sense that vampires would choose to ally with smugglers and slavers who can get their hands on good sacrifices fairly easily.”

“Such was Emilie’s thinking, too,” Leon replied. “I’m, as I’m sure you can understand, rather reluctant to make contact personally. But… if someone else were to make contact in my stead, to act as a go-between so that any connections between myself and these smugglers can be easily denied, then we might be in better shape.”

Anshu smiled as the realization of what Leon wanted him to do became obvious. “And you want me to make contact with Stelios in your stead?”

“Yes,” Leon immediately answered. “You act my information gatherer within the Saltwater Road. Find me actionable intel on vampires, and in return, you can hunt down any information you need on your enemies within the Raj. You’ll still be considered part of my retinue, so I’ll continue to pay you, and you’ll stay in regular contact with me. If I ever need you for anything, I’ll recall you, just as I’ll be there if you ever need me for anything.”

“If I were to make contact with Stelios on your behalf,” Anshu began, “what authority do I have to negotiate for you?”

“Not much,” Leon replied. “For now, it’s just ‘making contact’. We can work on something a little more committed later. I’m mostly just concerned about vampires and don’t want to get drawn into Stelios’ work too deeply. If Stelios requires some kind of price for that information—whether monetary or as a ‘favor’—then you’ll relay that to me. I’ll tell you right now: I will not honor any promises made on my behalf if I don’t give the OK. OK?”

“I can roll with that,” Anshu said as he stroked his moustache in thought. “It’ll be good to check back in on some of my friends in other ports, too… I think this deal will work, Leon.”

“That’s fantastic to hear,” Leon replied.

He and Anshu went over a few more details, and by the time they parted ways for the night, they’d worked out a workable plan. Anshu would be attempting to contact Stelios when they returned to Occulara while Leon was busy with Heaven’s Eye.

Leon thought that this was going to be a good deal for everyone. He needed intel on the vampires, and it was clear enough that Anshu wasn’t fitting in well with his retinue. Giving the man some room to breathe and collect himself was probably for the best, and after more than ten years, Leon was fine with affording him a bit of trust.

Hopefully, once all of this was over and Anshu no longer had his vengeance weighing on his mind, he could integrate better with Leon’s retinue. And Leon did want the man in his retinue—he had a wealth of experience in a critical field that Leon was a rank novice at: naval matters. Leon didn’t know the first thing about commanding ships, and if it weren’t for the range of his magic senses, he thought that he’d get completely lost at sea and have little hope of successfully navigating anywhere.

Anshu, however, would be his answer. Or at least, Leon hoped that Anshu could be his answer. He needed someone who knew ships, regardless.

He felt good about the meeting, as a result. The deal he and Anshu had worked out had great potential, and he looked forward to seeing how much, if at all, it paid off. However, that good mood was spoiled slightly when he received word that the Empress had found the time to formally invite his people to the palace the following night. It didn’t seem to be an invitation to a party, feast, or religious ceremony, though, so Leon wasn’t sure what to make of it.

The only thing he was certain of, however, was that Anastasios was undoubtedly going to be there, too.