Jjhutto_Son of Flame
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B3. Ch. 37 Contingencies
🕑 Added 2024-09-16 13:00:14 +0000 UTCTilly looked down at the seed trying to work through the possibilities it represented, thinking through the hint the Auctioneer had just given him. Many of the older denizens of the plane seemed to have an idea of what the Contested Lands were, but details of how the conflict would play out were scarce. Now that he knew there would be a way to “claim land” he needed to get as much information out of the unpredictable Faction Leader as possible.
“Why should I agree to setting up a neutral trading house on land I will probably be bleeding to take? It is just as likely to benefit my enemies as myself.” Tilly fished.
“Yes, yes. We can all see how tenuous your chances are.” The Auctioneer answered, seeming to mull over Tilly’s answer for a moment before continuing, “The best I can do is provide free one-time transport from your Factions chapter house the newly created location for as many of your allies as you can convince to come to your banners call.”
“I don’t know…” Tilly hedged remembering the line about claiming treasure from the world announcement, “I think there is some significant money to be made by whoever gets to sell whatever loot is discovered long untouched lands. A single instance of fast travel does not seem like much in the light of such profits, and likely a monopoly for some time.”
“Tch, Infant!” The Auctioneer spat, gesturing violently with the sleeve that still held out the offered Chapter House seed, “The system prevents almost all kinds of teleport in and out of these Contested Lands, they are the fulcrum by which new Epochs are made. What I offer you has unparalleled worth, now take it, or I will go and offer to the other side!”
Tilly looked into the dark hooded visage, visualizing the figure's eyes as he did his best to ooze dissatisfaction at the deal. He was obviously the riskier choice, and the fact that they were still here had to mean something significant. He just had to hold out in silence slightly a little longer-
“Was the gold not enough? It is four times what I should have paid you. I must remain neutral, anything more and the weave undergirding our charter would break!” The Auctioneer whined.
Tilly watched the powerful figure carefully. Just an hour ago, a group representing the possible new rulers of the plane had casually violated the Auction House edicts at the very center of their power. Something like that was meant to send a message. One that Tilly was just beginning to understand from the robed figure’s point of view… They were afraid.
“You know I go to face the group that just spat upon your honor. There must be something, anything more you can tell me to even the odds without violating your neutrality.” Tilly pushed a little harder, lifting his hand to hover over the seed just shy of taking it up.
The Faction leader looked around, struggling to think of something else to add to the deal. Then their gaze fell on Tilly’s hand, and the world ring-
“Ah, perhaps there is one more piece of information that would help your cause, but neither of you will share its source, with anyone… do we have an understanding?”
Both Tilly and Mochizuki nodded.
“Very well, I am not sure how you convinced them to give you one of those, but it is far more powerful than most realize. The bank prefers you keep your wealth in gold or platinum, it is by far the most common bullion on the plane. You can loot with it, but all the items stored in this way will be automatically converted to gold at guild rates, and they make a tidy sum doing it.”
“But that is beside the point, the true power of this item lies in your ability to convert the wealth within into any form of currency currently recognized by the Guild. Some of these idiots may soon realize that you plan to register Dragon Glass ingots as currency and will drive up the price as they attempt to convert all you offer to the bank. But very few of them have the means to discover the full list of registered currency with the Guild. One would have to have millennia of plane-wide economic experience to gain-” Tilly fought valiantly not to roll his eyes as the Auctioneer continued to play up the value of their information.- “such rare information.”
“I share this strictly to secure our business arrangement and for no other reason. There is a remote Faction called the Ascendant Pulgasari Tribe. A few hundred years ago, they began an immensely profitable exportation of some very rare herbs that grew high up in their domain and were guarded by their semi-divine patron. The Commerce Guild caught wind of the amounts of money these tribesmen were making after I sold more than a few of the incredible specimens at a premium. They met with the Tribe to try and negotiate money-changing rights, and were successful, with one caveat. The guild had to recognize the Tribe’s traditional currency and back it against gold. The Guild reluctantly accepted, agreeing to guarantee a certain amount for the next five hundred years. The Tribe was destroyed fifty years later, and the guild still stocks one hundred thousand golds worth of this currency-”
Maybe it was the almost-not-stop exposition from the last twenty-four hours or the overwhelming variety of magical creatures that had surrounded and in some cases tried to kill him over the course of the auction… But Tilly was burned out, not at all following how this sort of information could be useful. His eyes must have given away some level of this incomprehension because the Auctioneer’s smug lecturing voice dropped off and they sighed,
“Gods save me from the edge cases of this world… I will make this easy for you. Guild exchange any currency. Currency of old tribe; iron filings. Fey no like iron. Understand?” They concluded in a mocking tone.
For some reason, the tone and simple information summary reminded him of the many dress-downs he had received from senior guys in his years at the fire department, and he couldn’t help but smile. If he had a nickel for every time one of the guys explained something to him in a baby voice, he would have retired… or, rather, died, a wealthier man.
The smile must have communicated something else entirely to the robed figure, who tilted their head in confusion, taken aback by the relaxation their mockery caused.
“Yeah, I get it. I have access to practically endless amounts of instantaneous iron, and if I use it properly, the fey are going to have a very bad day.” Tilly said snatching the seed, which felt completely stable in his hand even as he watched it sickeningly twist in on itself over and over. He quickly stuffed it in his breast pocket, “Well, better get going if I am going to spit in that guy's face for you.”
The Auctioneer scoffed, but if Tilly wasn’t mistaken, the muffled sound from under the layers of cloth could have easily been a snicker before it was bitten off.
“Very well, get out of my sight, and do not fail to plant that seed. I can just as easily make the same offer to the other side.” They said, waving their sleeved hand in an activation of one of their abilities.
The space all around Tilly began to fold in on itself and instead of looking directly at the mind-bending magic, Tilly closed his eyes and pretended to yawn, “Yeah- Awwwhh- Good luck with that.” He said as he disappeared.
…
Auctioneer, Level 164 Laundress
Talia glided into the room, as the spacial magics faded, and watched the spot the strange pair had just inhabited with interest, “Your eminence, is it wise to back such unlikely victors? Surely these Corrupted will catch wind of our support one way or another.”
“They chose to cross me in my own domain, not once… but twice, making a fool of me in front of the others. I will not let them get away with a simple exile. I doubt the human will live long enough to do anything of significance, but I have given him everything he needs to be exceedingly annoying in the near future, and I can do the same with any of their other opponents if they continue to try my patience. This rising alliance seems to have cozied up with the Commerce Guild. Perhaps they think they can finally cut me out of plane-wide trade… We will see how they feel after a few more nudges on my end to level the playing field in the Contested Lands.”
Talia paused, glancing over at her superior with a thinly veiled posture of disbelief, “I wouldn’t call One point five million gold a ‘nudge’. Surely the Guild will inform them of the deposit.”
This elicited a laugh from the Auctioneer, “Oh, I am counting on it! Why do you think I told the boy about the trick with the world ring? Let's see how well the new bedfellows get along once he starts burning through a significant Faction in their ranks with iron provided by a World Ring. I am discrediting a competitor and exacting retribution in the same stroke, all without violating our charter.” Then their voice took on a more somber tone.
“For anyone with eyes, it is clear to see that the balance of Light and Dark is finished. If I am not mistaken, at this point the Church has completely emptied its coffers and is running on lines of credit with the Commerce Guild, something I am sure Clarence is tickled about. We must position ourselves in a place of power if we want to carve out any space of worth in the coming Epoch. We have weathered such things before and we will do so again.”
Talia bowed respectfully and gracefully exited the room, returning to the task assigned to her personally. For there part the Auctioneer continued to stand in the booth, looking out over the arena long after the lower members of the House finished their menial chores and returned to other areas of their domain.
As they stood there, their clothing slowly repaired itself, moving far slower than normal as it struggled against the magic of wild destruction that Oberon now embodied so recklessly. They had failed to protect 6 members of their own Faction in the very center of their power… The insult once again racked the Auctioneer with fury, and they struggled to control the trembling that reverberated through their small body under the many layers of cloth.
“Power indeed…” They muttered to themselves clasping one hand in another to still their trembling,
…
Tilly Level 37 Son of Flame
He stumbled as space regurgitated him out into the courtyard of the Auction House Chapter that has grown up in one of the Alliance’s central squares. The sun was setting and he quickly triggered his armor change, returning to his primitive leathers.
The boost to Endurance and Dexterity was more noticeable than ever and he felt his entire physical form solidify as the superiority complex that he had worn like armor faded away, leaving him feeling weak in the knees as the events that had just transpires settled more fully into his awareness.
Mochizuki, unsurprisingly, took the transfer much more gracefully and reached over to a branch to pluck an oversized robe that seemed to have been hung there just for her. She draped it over her outfit and looked over at him. Her expression had returned to the flat professionalism that he was used to, but he noted the stiffness in her posture as if she was standing straight more by force of will than any sort of confidence.
Today hadn’t been easy for anyone.
“You two have surpassed expectation at every turn… I am always pleased to see a recommendation of mine benefit so much from our institution!” Talia’s voice rolled smoothly across the courtyard as she emerged from a doorway accompanied by two other robed individuals, each pushing a cart laden with their goods.
“Here are your winnings, feel free to visit us any time if you want to make more mundane purchases or sales, you will be of course informed when the next plane-wide event is to take place…” The unspoken ‘if you are still alive’ hung for a moment in the air between them until Mochizuki filled the gap with a warm-sounding response.
“We look forward to it Talia. May I say, you are a credit to your Faction and I hope the unpleasantness experienced by our party and others is not a sign of future disrespect against your institution.” Mochizuki replied, moving toward the cart on the left to inspect its goods.
Her response had been perfectly measured in its effect, and the Auction House representative stiffened momentarily before covering the motion with a bow, “Rest assured. No such dishonor will stand for long.”
Tilly looked briefly between the two, wondering if he was supposed to say something, and then just shrugged, before moving toward his pile of goodies. He was done playing politics. It was time to return to something he was far more familiar with; Fire.
