It was evening of the next day, and Gram sat impatiently at a meeting table. Beside him was Cane who was equally uncomfortable. They were waiting for the other higher ups in the Gallery to arrive. Gram and Cane had planned on an evening meeting so that any business the other members needed to finish could be done, but by this point they worried that someone called their bluff. Cain had to make a lot of promises, some of which he didn’t know if he could keep, and Gram in turn needed to deliver something incredible to make up for the shit storm this could devolve into otherwise.

The Heights, being maintains and taken care of by the Gallery, had its share of covert places to hide to meet in. In this case, they were sitting in a refurbished basement located under an old guard station.

Their worries were lessened by the sound of a knock at the door, a moment later the door was opened and a man a few years older than Gram himself walked through.

“Gentlemen.” The man said, he was an otherwise ordinary looking man, the attire of a merchant was clear to see, and the only sign of him not being one was the small tattoo under his eye.

“Vault.” Cane said, addressing the man and motioning for him to sit down.

“It’s been a few years, I’d have bet on you being dead by now.” Vault said.

“None of you are lucky enough to outlive me.” Cane said. Not all the Gallery had bad blood, as Gram came to understand, but the group mentality he was familiar with was long gone. Cane and Vault spoke for a while longer before their next guest arrived.

Gram didn’t recognize him, and he was much younger than himself, probably closer to Andromeda’s age. He had the look of a street tough, and from the look of the scars on his arms and face, he seemed to have the scraps to back it up, but his eyes were what surprised Gram. They had a cold, dead, and utterly detached look. He knew men back in the guard with that look, and those men never came out the other side the same.

“Are you Capter?” Cane asked.

“Yes.” The young man said, he sat down without a word and stared into the middle distance. No one felt much reason to draw his attention for small talk. Gram wanted to ask what his deal was, but knew it wasn’t the right time to ask. The mood was dropped by Capter’s appearance, so they sat in silence until the next man came in. In perfect contrast, the door swung open fast enough that everyone thought someone was breaking in. Only to reveal a man whose face looked as though it was five seconds away from snapping, two hours ago.

“Damn old coot, dragging me down here with pretty words and promises. You're lucky I was feeling charitable.” He said, these were literally the first words out of his mouth on walking in. He even started speaking before the door was all the way open. His mood seemed to even out just a bit by seeing Gram. Gram, on the other hand, felt a headache coming on. Fittingly, the man’s name was Riot.

“Hmm, Grey is here. I guess this can’t be a raw deal.” Riot said.

“You can call me Gram, I’m not a part of the Gallery anymore.” Gram said.

“You can toss yourself, I’ll use the name you earned.” Riot said. Gram was about to argue again, but Cane put a hand on his shoulder and told him to save his strength. “So, what kind of mess of shit needs the whole Gallery here?” Riot said.

“We’ll talk once we’re all here.” Cane said.

“What’s it to you, old man? I’ll talk about whatever I want.” Riot said, for the first time since he arrived, Capter turned to look at Riot. He didn’t say anything, and his expression didn’t change, but something about it made Riot back down.

They waited in silence again, then after a few more minutes of waiting the door opened once more. A tall man in an equally large coat stepped through the doorway, needing to duck his head slightly to not hit the frame.

“Sir.” Gram said. The man shook his head instantly and refused Gram who tried to stand at attention.

“None of that, we aren’t allies anymore.” The man said.

“Welcome Fort.” Cane said.

“Before we speak, I need you to understand that I am here solely due to the benefit Cane’s promises might bring my group. I will leave as soon as my interests are not being served.” Fort said.

“Of course, I wouldn’t promise anything without being able to back it up.” Cane said.

“It is that knowledge that brought me here, don’t make me believe you are a liar.” Fort said.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Cain said,“ Gram, are you ready?”

Gram stood from his seat as Fort sat and cleared his throat.

“Alright, I’ve gathered you all here today because I need a favor.” Gram said, Fort almost stood, but Cane eased him, and he sat back down. “I need to arrange a meeting between a man named Entai Algoer, and a young woman named Andromeda Noelle. I need it to be in a neutral location, and I need it to as secure as possible.”

The group chewed on his words, and surprisingly the first to speak was Capter.

“I need context, who are these people?” He asked, the rest felt similarly and nodded in agreement.

“Entai is a man of some renown in New Town, a mage of some kind. Andromeda is a bit more difficult to say.” Gram said.

“If you feel that your nerves aren’t strong enough to withstand describing this girl, then you shouldn’t have brought us here.” Fort said.

“I’m not being a coward, I am being careful. She isn’t just any random girl.” Gram said.

“It’s not really my thing, but I’m willing to hear him out. Grey isn’t someone who shies away from trouble.” Riot said, his tone almost calm.

“If I wasn’t willing to listen, I would not have come.” Fort said. Gram cleared his throat again to get everyone’s attention.

“I am going to be brutally honest when I say this, I have not 100% verified this fact for myself, but she has done nothing to make me believe she is lying. I believe that this girl is an Arch Mage.” Gram said.

The room was silent, no one even dared breathe.

“An Arch Mage?” Vault said.

“Yes, if you haven’t heard of them, they are the direct underlings of a High Magister. However, she isn’t just any Arch Mage. If you were reading the papers a few months ago, you might have read about it.” Gram said.

“Arch Mage White.” Capter said.

“That is what she claims.” Gram said. Everyone was driven into deep thought, with the exception of Riot who just looked bewildered. Fort cleared his throat and locked eyes with Gram.

“I am aware of the existence of Arch Mages, but I have to question something about your story.” He said, Gram nodded and Fort continued. “If this girl is an Arch Mage, what reason would she need to ask for help?”

“By her account, she locked herself in a Mage’s Oath with the former headmaster of Cylas College, a man who desired to have her killed. Due to this, she can’t leave the area until she fulfills the requirements of her oath.” Gram said.

“That is absurd. Never mind her being an Arch Mage, even a normal mage would be foolish to do such a thing willingly. Mage oaths are not something you just agree to.” Fort said.

“I don’t know the full circumstance behind it, but that is what’s happening.” Gram said.

“Let me get this straight,” Vault said. “You need us to set up a meeting between this girl, an Arch Mage, and the man who I am assuming is her potential assassin. How exactly is this in her best interest, or ours?” Vault said. The table hummed in agreement.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Put aside your doubts about her being an Arch Mage if you have them and think about it like this. She is legally within the borders of Skysea Adalay, but she is the Arch Mage of King’s Grove.” Gram said. Everyone chewed on this information, but it wasn’t until Cain suddenly bounced in his seat when he realized what Gram was getting at.

“If she died here, then there would be political fallout.” Cain said. Vault turned to Cain in surprise.

“How do you suppose?” Gram asked.

“If she’s the Arch Mage of King’s Grove, then she would work under High Magister Ferdinand. If she died here, then that would become the business of our High Magister and our Arch Mage. The circle of High Magisters would demand an explanation, I shouldn’t have to explain how thorough magisters can be when they start an investigation.”

The next man to clue in was Capter.

“They would find out that Cylas’ Headmaster had something to do with it.” He said.

Gram continued the train of thought.

“King Alasander is a violent man, and if he got a golden opportunity to avenge one of his subordinates by crucifying the Magi as a demonstration of rule, he would take it.” Gram said.

“Knowing what I do about military institutions, he would pull back the army out of Halth and turn inward to face the incoming civil war-” Fort said.

“He wouldn’t do something so stupid,” Riot interjected. “Halth would turn around and launch a counter-invasion, the Medea would smell blood in the water and start another war.” Riot said. Fort clicked his tongue at Riot.

“If he didn’t, and so early into his rule, the country would take it as a sign of weakness and public officials would start dropping like flies. If he hadn’t started a way so soon after taking the throne, then this wouldn’t have been an issue.” Fort said.

“All of that is true, but there is an even more important detail I need everyone to keep in mind. Who are the first people they are going to look into when they hear that someone was assassinated?” Gram said.

The atmosphere grew grim, and they all knew why.

Years earlier, before the Gallery became hostile towards itself, there was a turf war between them and the Sewer Crowd. The whole thing was a bloody affair and almost threatened to tear Old Town apart in the chaos. That was, until one day a hit was put out on one of the heads of the Sewer. Not just any hit, but a Harspiece Favor. The Sewer Head was dead within hours, and the number one suspect was the Gallery Crowd.

If anyone was going to be investigated for the sudden and mysterious murder of an Arch Mage, it would be them personally.

“Oh god…” Riot said quietly, any hint of bravado gone from his voice. It was a fitting representation of what the rest of the table was feeling.

“Alright, now that I know you all understand the gravity of the situation, we need to talk about my plan-” Gram said. But he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Everyone tensed, no one besides themselves knew they were there at that moment, and worse than that, no one should have been allowed through the door because of the guards posted above.

Without waiting, the door opened up.

“Hey folks, sorry if I’m interrupting anything.” The young man said. No one but Gram recognized who this boy was, he was barely an adult and had a head of blonde hair on his head. One of his employers

“Grey! Who is this kid?” Riot said.

“Grey?” The young man said, surprised by the name.

Fort slammed his fists on the table hard enough to crack the wooden surface.

“We've been set up!” He bellowed.

“H-Hold on!” Gram said, trying to calm the rapidly panicking table.

The young man waved his hand and a cloud of black vapor erupted from it. Cain, Fort, Vault, Riot, and Capter were all gripped by this cloud and went limp in their seats.

“I have to say, I literally could not have chosen a better person to pick as my failsafe. If I had known you had these connections before, then this wouldn’t be happening.” The young man said. Gram tried to shake Cain awake, he felt his pulse and could tell he was still alive, but just not moving.

“What did you do?” He asked.

“I assimilated them… Well, actually that implies they aren’t themselves anymore. It’s more like I introduced new ideas in their mind.” The young man said.

“Why?” Gram said, he tried to understand what was happening.

“It’s all a bit complicated, and honestly I’m not happy about it myself.” The young man said. He told Fort to stand up, and he did so, standing in front of the door while the young man took his seat.

“First, I should introduce myself. My name is Albert Nedely, among other things I was a classmate of Andromeda. I learned the same thing you did, and then some. I stepped into the exact same mess you were about to, and now I’m being forced to make sure she dies.” Albert said.

“What? No… That’s impossible, I’ve been working my job for weeks. Long before she got here. She would have still been in Cylas when I started.” Gram said.

“It’s true, I actually started up your little venture a few days before she left. Have you heard the name Martin Blue?” Albert asked. Gram froze, he heard whispers about someone calling in the Dante Favor. Even with as far as Betel was, that resonated throughout the country, not only that, it was a few weeks ago as well…

“I originally set up your office to get covert news about the happenings here, but things got all twisted up, and you lost your purpose pretty quickly. I was hoping I might be able to wiggle out of my situation through you, but I made a mistake and got caught out.” Albert said.

“So, What? Is this where you use me to get at Andromeda? You say she was your classmate, how could you betray someone like that?” Gram asked.

“Don’t go pointing fingers at me, I had ABSOLUTELY no idea you would get involved with her. It wasn’t until I heard from a magister at the courthouse about seeing her that you two were connected at all.” Albert said. Gram felt his stomach drop.

“No…” He said, weakly.

“I don’t want to do it, but there is a major issue if we don’t. Not only will I die, these folks here will too, along with half of the city.” Albert said.

“How?” Gram asked.

“I can’t say that, or everyone dies regardless. I do need to say this though, I absolutely not not want to kill her, but if I step even an inch out of line then I die, along with everyone else. As bad as I feel about it, I won’t be responsible for killing tens of thousands of people on account of my own conscious.” Albert said.

“Don’t you understand what’s at stake? The whole country could go up in flames if she dies. The Magisters will tear the city apart trying to find answers, who or what ever is making you do this won’t live through the year.” Gram said.

“Yeah, I get that, but it’s like that old riddle. Say there are five people on one track, and one person on another. If I do nothing then five people die, and it’s not my fault, it was fate that put them there. But If I pull that level and switch the track, then I’m a murderer and made that one die.” Albert said.

Gram felt a moment of pity for the young man before him. As Albert spoke, Gram could see the conflict in his eyes, as his mouth spoke words that his heart didn’t feel.

“Son, I have killed before. Through action and inaction. There is nothing that lessens the pain you see when their lives are turned to carvings on stones in the ground. Don’t pretend this is for the greater good, it’s death. Plain and simple.” Gram said. Albert turned, whether because he had to leave or because he didn’t want Gram to see his face, he didn’t know.

“The plan will go as you intended. They’ll meet in a neutral location. Then it will happen.” Albert said, said, his voice was cold. “I don’t like it, but the people she has snared are only here because I was an idiot.”

“She?” Gram asked.

There was a moment of silence

“Effective tomorrow, the office is being closed, your final payment will be delivered to your home address at the end of the week. I don’t know what you’ll tell her, but Andromeda needs to be there. Otherwise, she’ll break her oath. You’ll know where to take her.” Albert said, he walked out the door and the door shut behind him. As soon as he was gone, the members of the gallery started to rouse around him.

“What… Happened?” Cain said.

“All of you were attacked by someone because of me, this was my fault.” Gram said, there was no use in hiding the truth, seeing as how it already sunk him in the hole.

“What? No… That’s not the case. We were just tired as well.” Cain said, to Gram’s immense surprise, it seemed like the rest of them shared the same sentiment.

“Yeah, tired is all.” Riot said.

“No, listen, you were attacked, he did something to your minds its-” Gram started. But he was interrupted by a loud yawn from Fort.

“I will leave now and allow myself some proper rest. I’ll have my people deliver the girl in the coming days, you simply need to call for them.” Fort said. The rest all nodded in tacit agreement and filed out the door in silence.

This was wrong… They all seemed to act normally, but their minds were completely against the idea that anything had happened at all. Gram remained still in the room, alone, he didn’t know what to do. Why did Albert tell him those things, and why was he left unaffected? Unless he was affected, and just didn’t know.

Only a few days ago, Andromeda told him that if she told him what was going on with her, it might ruin his life, it seemed she was telling the truth, and that might have just ruined hers.