"I'm just saying I don't get why we have to tell everyone!" Said Bethy stubbornly as we approached base camp. "Why can't we just hide her or something? There's no reason to call a big meeting and put her in front of the group like she's on trial. She's so weak right now, it's a huge risk." She gestured at Satala, who was currently being pushed in a shadow construct wheelchair.

"It's our only option." I repeated in exasperation. "We already decided as a group to minimize the involvement of the locals. The chances of there being hidden loyalists embedded is too high. Since we agreed to that, how the hell do we explain where she came from?" I pointed to the ethereal, silver haired girl. "Oh, this is my cousin Suzie, her parents sent her to study in this ISOLATED DUNGEON SPACE? Or do you think they just wouldn't notice us coming back with a new team member?"

Callie sighed. "He's right Bethy. Besides, like we said, it's not as dangerous as it sounds. We don't just represent the thirty people on our teams, we also represent all our allies and other groups from our factions. Templeton will probably try to mobilize those opposed to try to squeeze us for resources, but there's no way the majority of people will be stupid enough to kick off a civil war amongst the only group we have that can stop the ritual."

"The Church represents a solid third of the current outsiders." Said Gabriel soothingly. "They'll side with us, and the WCP factions and those related will side with Shane and Natalie. Shane is right. If we do it this way, we can leverage our majority to have her actually protected instead of having to hide her away. She'll ultimately be safer that way."

We'd even discussed sending her to the locals, but the thing was, while some of them might be loyalists and willing to shelter her, most people didn't worship Suvaya anymore and would probably resent the assumption of authority. Not to mention by siding with us and helping she was effectively turning against her mother, so even the loyalists would probably want her dead. Once Suvaya was gone, we could work on smoothing things over, but at the moment we didn't have the time.

"Bethany." Said Satala weakly. "It's alright. I owe you all so much already. If Shane and Gabriel think this is for the best I trust them. Besides, I'm sure you wouldn't let the others hurt me after going to so much trouble to save me, would you Shane?"

"Of course not." I said with a wave. "This is all a formality, but an important one to establish a precedent we can refer to after the defenses on the dungeon collapse. This place will be crawling with high rankers trying to figure out what's going on. As the only agents on scene, the current lineup of outsiders are acting on behalf of their factions. If we get the green light from them you'll be safe from the higher ups."

I didn't think there was any threat there, given she was effectively crippled now, but it was best to take thinking out of the equation.

Bethy looked skeptical. "You don't honestly think the factions will honor what their heirs say? My daddy wouldn't let what I said bind him to anything." She paused. "Unless he felt like it. Then he probably would."

"Your dad is the strongest S-ranker in the universe." I said bluntly. "He's also mostly independent, which puts him in a good spot to ignore what people think. Factions have political agendas, and lots of agreements and contracts between them. Involving this many forces mean tons of red tape, and unless the gods bother to get actively involved chances are good they'll keep this a local problem." I glanced at Callie. "At least that's my read."

She nodded. "Agreed. Any big sweeping moves against public interest would piss off way too many people. Better to let sleeping dogs lie. This is, of course, dependent on us stopping the ritual. If a bunch of high ranking faction members get their Impact ripped out and die of soul collapse the six will probably glass this whole planet."

Which begged the question how Suvaya planned to survive her ascension at all, but that was her problem. Mine was making sure WE survived it.

"Templeton is our main issue." I said with a grimace. "His weird power makes him a nightmare to negotiate with. What do you think he'll try to get out of us?" I asked Gabriel, who seemed to know the most about him.

"Anything he can." He said unhappily. "I suspect the details will depend on exactly how the sides play out. If it's close to fifty fifty in his favor he'll have more capital to squeeze us. If it swings more in our favor he'll have less leverage. He'll take a mile for every inch we give him, but less inches means less miles."

I nodded. "Well, fair enough. We can make a binding contract for everyone to sign with a wish. I can get one from Nat or Alistair. I'm already going over some possible legalese to shield us from any of the higher ups as much as possible. I'll probably mention my mom and dad too. Having the shadow of two A-rankers behind me will probably help." I glanced at Gabriel. "You willing to back me up about my mom? Or are you still not sure."

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He shook his head. "It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that you're asking me to put my reputation on the line for hearsay. I can stay silent, which is an endorsement of its own, but I won't forswear myself. It isn't in my nature."

"Close enough." I said with a shrug. "Now everyone put your game faces on, we're about there. This will be much more crowded than last time based on what Benny said on our call. Be prepared for an audience." I glanced at Satala cautiously. "About the other thing...are you really willing to help Yvette dismantle your mother's ritual?"

Not approving of her mother killing off the descendants of their worshippers was one thing, but actively helping us prevent her mom from coming back...I was worried that was too much to ask.

She smiled sadly. "My mother is already gone. Her spirit has been soaking in hatred and malice for millennia, just like my brothers and sisters. Moreso, even, because I truly believe she was shielding me from my own portion of that influence. I believe the person she was before wouldn't want to see this twisted approximation reach divinity. Not at this cost. This is my responsibility, and I will see it through."

My heart broke for her. Not least because of my own family's role in all this. But I could tell she was being honest. My divination class, had very few tangible benefits, but I'd been able to sense honesty a time or two. Having stepped onto a Path, I was even more in tune with my role as a Fatewalker, and given the importance of Satala's help, this was very much a turning point in a great many fates.

It felt weird, sort of like my fate sense, but like...the other hand? A secondary ability I wasn't used to using. I could feel that this was more in tune with what I should be doing with my Path, not just stabbing things.

As we approached the base camp, I noticed the density of powerful Ascendants, and couldn't help but tense. They watched us go. Some I knew, most I didn't, but they didn't speak, didn't glare, they just waited. Templeton stood in the center of a ring of people, and he raised a brow imperiously as we approached.

"Was it necessary to call us together like this?" He said lazily. "We've all of us important work to do if we wish to survive. Too many of our own have partaken of this poison. Now you call us away from our work for the sake of the enemy?" The attention from his side of the circle seemed to redouble, and I felt ranks close behind us. There seemed to be a line in the sand, our side versus his, and to my delight we were edging him out.

Of course, that could change if we didn't present a strong case. Callie had been extremely clear that conclaves like this were fickle. Momentum mattered, if opinion started to swing too far to one side it could snowball, and we would be in trouble if that happened. Bethy wasn't going to let anyone hurt Satala, and neither was I. She'd trusted us, was still trusting us, and I could feel how important she would be.

"We've come across new information." I said solemnly. "Information, and a new ally." Satala had agreed to let me talk. She had good reasons to hate the factions, and getting her involved in the politicking when someone like Templeton was arguing for the other side was a bad idea.

I gestured to Satala, and filled them in on a simplified but still technically accurate version of events. I'd been tweaking my retelling the whole walk back, just to make sure not to give Templeton any openings. I wasn't clear on his exact relationship with truth and lies, but I suspected spewing bullshit during this little negotiation would be a mistake. Whether this was my Path, my fate sense, or just my gut I had no idea, but it didn't hurt to be careful.

My biggest priority was making Satala sound like an asset. She was, of course, but I needed to highlight the upsides and minimize the risks. My mind wandered back to a lesson with my dad as a boy. I asked him why anyone would ever sign an uneven contract. If it wasn't fair, what was there to be gained? I knew why the person who come out on top would sign, but why would anyone sign a contract that benefited the other person more.

He'd told me something I hadn't really remembered until recently. "Contracts are a manifestation of compromise, and compromise means both parties get what they want. The trick is to convince the other person that the things that you want are the things that they want."

I didn't need to convince these people to help me protect Satala. I needed to convince them it was the best way to help themselves. Yvette was called up to testify as to her usefulness, and I realized that this little argument had devolved into a legitimate trial.

That was fine. We'd considered that possibility. Templeton wanted to wring some benefits out of us, which meant he needed to put us on the defensive. We didn't need to talk to him, we needed to talk to the others.

When I finished speaking Templeton opened his mouth again, but to my surprise, Annalise cut him off. "Enough. From both of you. This isn't some casual decision. We're not idiots. If we come to a quorum here it will represent the will of all of our factions if we all survive this. You've said your pieces. Let us talk amongst ourselves. Regardless of the decision, it's clear we'll need documentation."

She glanced at Nat, who nodded. No one here had the contract Skill at Intermediate as far as I knew, and even if they did, a lot of the teams seemed to have partaken of the Dew. A normal Intermediate contract wouldn't work. If we were going to come to an accord here, we'd need a contract with a powerful geas. A wish was the best way to manage that.

No one seemed put out by that, but we hadn't figured they would be. After all, we were going into battle against a goddess together for the sake of all of our survival. Having everything spelled out as a real binding agreement would put everyone at ease. This wasn't just about Satala anymore. This had just become a competition to accrue influence over who would draft the agreement that would set the stage for the rest of our time here. I groaned internally. This was why I hated fucking politics.