Cultist of Cerebon

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Rizok leaned back against the alleyway sandstone walls and took a moment to appreciate the gorgeous sight of Tal’Qamar's star-filled night sky.

The city was still quite active despite it being midnight—a natural consequence of Tal’Qamar having a sizable population of ogres given how rarely they slept—but it was still quieter than the bustling daytime hours.

It was… peaceful. Like much of his life had been recently, between fighting off the occasional assassination attempt, flesh golems, and ogre cultists much less friendly than the [Cultists] he was used to. Even taking those occasions into account, life had been much kinder to him recently than it had been for the majority of his life.

No more marching constantly from battle to battle, leaving behind corpses wherever he went.

No more serving under naga officers who never missed a chance to remind him how grateful he should be for the rank he’d rightfully earned.

No more utter loneliness, unwilling to allow himself the luxury of completely trusting his fellow soldiers lest his true thoughts get back to the Great Houses.

Instead, he now enjoyed the chance to consistently sleep in a comfortable bed, aid the Tessik more than just by acting as a spy, and fight alongside people who he genuinely trusted.

He even had a lover! For the first time in… quite a while. He’d always found it difficult to relate with civilians and finding a lover in the military came with the same problems as finding friends, so Vidhatri felt like a blessing he hadn’t expected to receive.

She really was quite beautiful while tearing their enemies limb from limb. And more than a little captivating when she used her six arms to pick him up and…

Rizok shook his head to dispel such thoughts before he could grow too distracted. He did actually have a reason for standing in an empty alleyway in the middle of the night, and it wouldn’t do for him to lose focus. Zareth and his new allies had swiftly put together a scheme to deal with their enemies—understanding they had little time to dawdle—and Rizok was here to help see it through.

Stretching his [Aura of Perception] to its limits, Rizok quickly scanned his surroundings and confirmed that there was nothing amiss. To be more precise, the target who he was currently waiting for had yet to arrive and enter the busy building across the street—which was ostensibly a tavern but was in truth a Silk Serpent illegal potions den.

Rizok had to admit, the Silk Serpents were actually rather clever for a gang when they chose this spot to set up their illicit business. The ‘tavern’ was far enough away from the reputable parts of Tal’Qamar that it was extremely unlikely any foreigners or curious Adventurers would stumble on it by accident, but close enough to the Velvet District that wealthy patrons could enter without drawing suspicion.

There were only a few [Guards] who patrolled the area, all of whom were paid-off not to pay too close attention to the abnormal amount of traffic going in and out of the tavern at odd hours, and the locals knew better than to interfere with Silk Serpents business.

And to top it all off, Rizok could faintly sense some manner of foreign influence nudging his attention away from the tavern.

Probably a Skill rather than any kind of illusion. High Command’s [War Mages] would have noticed it at some point otherwise, Rizok mused as he swept his awareness across the nearby rooftops, ignoring the few Silk Serpents look outs that he’d already spotted earlier in the night. I wonder what Class the Silk Serpent’s leader has to be capable of something like this. [Crime Lord]? [Corrupt Aristocrat]?

Rizok forced those thoughts away and focused back on the matter at hand. He knew very little about criminal Classes, so it was useless to speculate.

The target was late, but Rizok didn’t allow himself to worry. Plans changed all the time, and the Tessik had gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the [Assassins] hired to attack them along the path to Jabal-Alma would be here tonight.

All he needed to do was be patient, and his prey would eventually arrive.

Unfortunately, his patience wasn’t exactly shared with everyone involved with tonight’s operation…

“Hey, Rizok. Why don’t you open your Eye of Cerebon? I gave it to you for a reason,” Zareth complained telepathically, using the same magical ring that he’d given to Vidhatri in Jabal-Alma. “It’s bad enough that you refused to allow me to participate, but now I can’t even see what’s going on when the target is late! Has something gone wrong?”

Zareth wasn’t usually one to show his nerves, but this operation was far too important for their plans and the near-term future of his cult. The Territorial Governance Division’s next meeting was scheduled to take place two weeks from now, and General Nasrith was expecting everything to be ready before then.

The Hierophant’s Council needed to have amassed sufficient influence by then to secure a seat on the Oversight Commission, enabling them to vote in favor of Nasrith’s proposed changes to Tal’Qamar's laws. Zareth had succeeded in getting his peers to agree to an alliance, but there was a rather paradoxical problem that had yet to be solved.

The group that Zareth had put together was wealthy and powerful enough that nobody could reasonably object to giving them a seat on the Oversight Commision, but the Great Houses had no problem being unreasonable. Unfortunately, the Commission needed to approve the new seat with a majority vote leading to a circular problem. Zareth and his faction obviously didn’t have the necessary votes given that the General needed them to secure the vote for his reforms in the first place.

Zareth had been working to solve this problem ever since he had returned to Tal’Qamar. But it was only after he convinced his peers to work with him and brought the issue to their attention that he managed to come with a plan.

One that was rather audacious.

There were many nagas whose expressions Rizok couldn’t wait to see once everything came together, but he would first have to succeed here if that was going to happen.

“Everything is fine, Zareth. It’s likely that the [Assassins] are simply discreetly scouting the area before they make their move,” Rizok said reassuringly, doing his best to project confidence. Anxious allies rarely made for effective support, and he’d long learned how to maintain his composure in difficult circumstances. “They’re not fools. The Tessik did their best to make it seem as if we just wished to contract their services, but the enemy will have no doubt correctly considered that this may be a trap.”

That was impossible to avoid given that the [Assassins] had recently accepted a mission in Tal’Qamar, most likely from House Khysar. No Assassin’s Guild that managed to survive in the Viscounty of Jelt was so incompetent that they wouldn’t suspect a possible set-up in these circumstances.

“Yes, I’m aware of that,” Zareth said, sounding somewhat annoyed. “I’m the one who ensured that you wouldn’t be recognized, after all. It’s just… it’s difficult not to worry when we don’t fully understand our enemy’s capabilities. How will we know whether or not Kassan’s precognition allowed him to see the threat to his interests? You could be facing a counter-ambush at any moment.”

Rizok couldn’t deny that such a risk existed. There were many Skills that allowed for some manner of precognition but the vast majority of those were narrow in focus and very short-term in nature, such as [Advanced Battle Intuition]. Kassan’s ability to see the future, on the other hand, was divine in nature and much more difficult to maneuver around than anything Rizok had ever dealt with.

“Since you’re the one who went through the effort of changing my appearance, maybe you shouldn’t recommend I ruin my cover by suddenly opening a third eye for any hidden [Assassin] to see,” Rizok said snarkily. He could’ve just replaced one of his natural eyes, but he was nowhere near as easy-going about removing body-parts as Zareth or Vidhatri. “And we’ve done everything that we can to prepare for Kassan. Your god went to great lengths to explain the probable limits of his precognition. So long as we execute our plan correctly, it is unlikely that he will see anything until after it’s too late.”

Rizok’s response was reassuring enough that Zareth only continued his fretting for a few more minutes before ending their conversation to speak with Vidhatri instead. She was a bit further away from the illegal potions den to avoid being spotted by any [Assassins] searching for hidden threats, but close enough that she could provide support in the event something went wrong.

If he was honest with himself, it was Vidhatri’s portion of the operation that caused Rizok the most anxiety. Not because his lover was going to be putting herself at risk attempting to neutralize those [Assassins] who would be waiting outside of the illegal potions den.

No, he trusted Vidhatri to take care of herself.

Rather, Rizok was worried about their barely acquainted allies who would be supporting Vidhatri. Considering the enemy’s relatively high-level and heightened alertness, Zareth had to recruit capable people from less reliable allies to assist in dealing with them.

General Nasrith needed plausible deniability from what was about to happen, so the military wasn’t an option. The Great Houses would be sending their best [Investigators] to scrutinize today’s events once it came to their attention, so the Tessik would be at too much risk of discovery if they sent any of the few capable fighters at their disposal. That meant that it was the Desharin and the Gruvulk who would be sending their champions to assist in neutralizing the [Assassins], both groups which Rizok knew far less about than he wished.

He would have had a good idea about the strengths and weaknesses of anyone sent by General Nasrith or Lore Guardian Othrik, so Rizok would have much preferred working with familiar faces.

Still, Rizok had enough pride in his own abilities that he wouldn’t allow his—

Rizok’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted as he suddenly sensed a dangerous presence entering the perimeter of his [Aura of Greater Perception]. It was extremely difficult to actually pinpoint their exact location and something made it hard to focus on them at all, but Rizok had experienced enough life and death moments that he’d developed a sort of sixth sense for danger that had nothing to do with his Skills.

Whoever he was sensing was powerful enough that they could actually kill him if he wasn’t careful. Which was a very bad sign, given that none of the previous [Assassins] from Jelt had given him this kind of feeling.

Rizok took a deep breath to calm himself down and waited until he could sense the presence nearing the tavern. Rizok carefully made his way to the end of the valley and peeked around the corner, while completely emptying himself of any threatening thoughts so as not to activate his target’s [Danger Sense].

Sensing such a small amount of hostility from such a far distance would be impossible for most people, but Rizok’s instincts told him that he wasn’t dealing with an average [Assassin].

Once there, he got his first look at the individual who had sent prickles racing across his scales. He’d been hoping that the person who triggered his Skill was someone unrelated to the [Assassins] he was supposed to be meeting, but the dark green shawl that served as the agreed upon identifier dashed those hopes…

“Zareth. We have a problem,” Rizok reported grimly as he covertly raised his hand and allowed the Eye of Cerebon embedded in his palm to open.

It was extremely strange suddenly acquiring an entirely new visual perspective, especially one that could see far more than he was used to, but Rizok was now immensely glad that he had the Eye of Cerebon. The target had at first looked like any other of the filthy-scaled lizardkin reside in the less reputable parts of Tal’Qamar, so completely unremarkable that Rizok wouldn’t have given them more than a passing glance if not for the current circumstances.

But with the Eye of Cerebon, Rizok could plainly see their figure blur into that of a middle-aged human man with surprisingly dark skin and features that were decidedly not Eldamiri. That caught Rizok a bit off-guard given that he was expecting one of the pale-skinned humans from the east, but his focus was quickly caught by the large number of heavily enchanted artifacts covering his body.

“Yeah… that’s not who we were expecting you to be negotiating with. The Assassin’s Guild should have sent that ogre earthbende—, I mean [Geomancer],” Zareth responded after a moment of silence, his tone tinged with worry. “One moment, let me check the information gathered by the Tessik. A high-level [Assassin] like that has almost certainly managed to pick up a reputation.”

Rizok nodded in agreement, forgetting for a moment that Zareth couldn’t see him. It hadn’t been particularly difficult for the Tessik to narrow down the exact Assassin’s Guild that House Khysar had chosen to attack Zareth, a Guild that called themselves the Echoes of Jelt after the Viscounty’s legendary founder.

Matriarch Sylthana was a creature of habit and had contracted the same cutthroats often to arrange the murders of her enemies.

This came with many benefits, such as reliability of service and a good degree of loyalty based on long-term mutual interests, but it also made it easier for well placed [Spies] to investigate and gather intel on her activities. The Tessik had little in the way of actual resources or combat capabilities, but they more than excelled when it came to gathering information.

Sure enough, Zareth’s voice soon returned with the information that Rizok needed. “Found him. His appearance matches reports made by Eldamari [Investigators] for a man by the name of Kasim Dhari. The Tessik speculate from his name and features that he was kidnapped to the Viscounty of Jelt as a child so that his Guild could cultivate an operative more able to blend into the Qahtani City-States. His Class is suspected to be a [Poison-Master Assassin] with a level in the high 40s and he’s known to be exceptionally sadistic, always choosing poisons that cause prolonged suffering in his victims. He’s… not someone to be taken lightly, Rizok.”

Rizok could hear the worry in his friend's voice and the implicit offer to call off the mission despite the significant problemsit would cause Zareth if he chose to do so.

It was heartwarming. High Command would never accept anything less than success regardless of the risks.

With the experience of a soldier who had faced innumerable dangers and many unexpected changes in mission parameters, Rizok quickly began analyzing the current situation.

In truth, very little had changed aside from the direct danger to Rizok himself. It was likely that the Echoes of Jelt were feeling cautious about being approached by a client from Tal’Qamar different from their usual contacts and had decided to send Kasim as a result.

That wasn’t ideal, and a [Poison-Master Assassin] with such a high-level was definitely an extremely deadly opponent… but Rizok was confident that he could win a fight. He himself was a level 48 [Aura Blade] who almost certainly had vastly more experience in a straight one on one combat situation compared to a coward who relied on poisons.

It certainly wouldn’t be easy. Especially considering that they needed to capture Kasim alive and escape without leaving any evidence for the Great Houses to trace back to them.

“We will move forward with the operation,” Rizok said decisively as he began making his way toward the tavern. “Tell the [Monks] to begin their ritual. Vidhatri and the rest of our allies should move to neutralize any other [Assassins] in the area as soon as the ritual takes effect.”

“...understood. Be safe, friend,” Zareth said before his presence receded from Rizok’s mind so that he could coordinate the rest of the team.

Rizok resisted the urge to activate all of his combat auras the moment he approached the building. They’d chosen this location specifically as the enemy’s [Danger Sense] would register a constant low threat level from their surroundings. Rizok needed to make himself as non-threatening as he could for as long as possible, so that all of the other enemy targets could be quietly dealt with before Kasim realized what was happening.

Rizok stepped into the dimly lit tavern, immediately hit by the pungent aroma of stale ale mixed with the faint scent of burnt herbs. The room was filled with a low hum of conversation, the patrons' voices blending into a monotonous drone. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, casting flickering shadows that danced across the walls. Despite the criminal activities that likely took place within, it had the appearance of a typical drinking establishment.

He scanned the room, noting a few telltale signs of illicit activities. A well-dressed naga and a rough looking human huddled in a corner, exchanging vials of what looked like Euphoria Elixir for a bag of gold. A heavily scarred ogre, standing against the wall and looking over the room with an air of feigned indifference. A scantily dressed lizardkin, wrapping her tail suggestively around a blushing young man.

Rizok ignored all of this and began walking toward the bartender once he saw that his target had already moved beyond the main room.

“I’m here for the special blend,” Rizok said as soon as he reached the bar, repeating the password given to him by the Tessik. It was a bit basic, but it made sense not to give mind-addled potion addicts an overly complex code. The bartender gave him a scrutinizing look before tilting his head toward a door at the back of the door and spoke curtly. “Through there.”

Rizok raised a brow-ridge at the casual security, but he guessed that the Silk Serpents likely had many other means of maintaining order that wouldn’t ruin the moods of their customers.

Rizok moved through the indicated door, entering a narrow hallway lit with dim, flickering sconces. The smell of incense mixed with the sweet, cloying scent of various potions permeated the air, creating a heady atmosphere that made his scales prickle with discomfort.

He barely took a step forward when a towering ogre, muscles rippling beneath his rough-spun tunic, blocked his path. “Don’t start any trouble, lizard. Spread your arms and stand still.”

Rizok nodded, keeping his movements slow and deliberate. He raised his arms slightly, indicating his compliance. The ogre's massive hands patted him down, searching for any hidden weapons. Satisfied that Rizok was unarmed, the ogre stepped aside after being handed an enchanted token that had been bought from the Silk Serpents a few days earlier. The ogre gave him directions to the private room that had been rented out to Rizok before waving him off.

Rizok continued past a hallway opened into a chamber so large that it could only be the result of a spatial-expanding Skill, similar to one Gurza used for her bakery. The ceiling was supported by carved stone pillars and various alcoves lined the walls, each occupied by patrons lost in the throes of their chosen poison.

One corner held a group of naga, their scales shimmering under the dim light as they inhaled a sparkling, iridescent smoke that left them giggling and swaying in time to some unheard melody. Another alcove hosted a pair of dwarves sharing a glowing blue liquid, their eyes dilated and unfocused as they mumbled incoherently to one another.

Rizok's eyes were drawn to a particularly gaunt naga who sat alone, his hands trembling as he reached toward a barely dressed human woman and buried his fangs in one of her breasts.

Rizok looked away in disgust at the sheer ecstasy on the naga’s face. He’d heard whispers of children taken by [Noble Cannibals] or powerful criminal groups and cultivated to acquire Classes that made them… fit for consumption. High-level individuals with such Classes were said to have Skills that allowed them to regenerate from nearly any wound, have flesh that tasted indescribably delicious, and possess blood that could heal better than most healing potions.

This wasn’t the first time that Rizok had seen the System exploited to such horrific ends—the [Slave Masters] of Arzuma were experts of their craft and he’d once helped intercept a shipment of such unfortunate souls. But it always seemed unspeakably profane to have something as personal and intrinsic as a Class twisted to such grotesque purpose.

Rizok shuddered and resolved to convince Zareth that something needed to be done about the Silk Serpents, after all of the cult’s current enemies had already been dealt with.

He forced himself to continue to the private room that had been rented out by the Tessik, where he could sense Kasim Dhari waiting for him.

“Rizok. Vidhatri and the rest of the team believe they’ve managed to locate all of the other [Assassins] in the vicinity. They were extremely well hidden, but not enough to conceal themselves from the Eye of Cerebon. The [Monks] estimate that with the amount of people in the kill-zone, they’ll only be able to maintain the [Ritual of Serenity] for around 5 minutes. You’ll only have that long to deal with Kasim before it wears off.”

Rizok returned a quick telepathic acknowledgement before decisively stepping into the private room and forced himself not to react as Kasim stepped out of the nearby shadows and placed a no-doubt poisoned knife to his throat.

“You’re late. We agreed that you would already be here when I arrived,” Kasim’s voice was a whisper, deadly and calm.

“I apologize. My employers wanted to ensure that everything was secure before proceeding,” Rizok replied evenly, though he did manage to inject a subtle shake in his voice. “They were worried that House Khysar may have realized we’d contacted you and set some kind of trap. One can never be too careful when dealing with the Great Houses. I’m sure you understand.”

Kasim remained silent for several moments, scrutinizing Rizok intently. Then, he stepped back, lowered the blade from Rizok's throat, and turned his back to him, clearly showing that the [Assassin] didn't view him as a threat as he walked to a nearby seat.

“You would be wise to suggest to your employers that they don’t test our patience with such unnecessary delays in the future,” Kasim said coldly as he gestured to the seat on the opposite side of a table filled with vials of generic mind-altering potions, powders, and other substances that Rizok couldn’t easily identify. “They spent a fair amount of gold simply to arrange for this meeting to happen. It would be a shame if that had all gone to waste due to a miscommunication.”

‘A fair amount of gold’ was a bit of an understatement. This arrangement would likely have been impossible without the Cult of Cerebon investing a significant portion of their fortune from aesthetic flesh-shaping and providing numerous assurances that the contract would not disrupt their relationship with House Khysar.

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Some of Rizok’s distaste must have shown in his expression, because Kasim hummed lightly and offered a comment. “I’m surprised that you seem to have no interest in partaking in these… delicacies. I see no reasonable motivation for you to choose a place like this for business if you weren’t planning to indulge.”

Rizok could hear the thin thread of suspicion in Kasim’s voice and immediately knew that he was dealing with someone too paranoid to be caught off-guard by a sudden attack.

A pity.

“This is the best place to conduct business without drawing undue attention and ensuring the safety of both parties,” said Rizok, lying through his teeth as he took a seat. “Once we’ve… gotten to know each other, we can proceed with private meetings in more comfortable locati—”

It was at that moment that one of the more unfavorable possible outcomes occurred. Rizok felt the very second that the [Ritual of Serenity] took effect, blanketing the entire tavern and all of the surrounding buildings if the plan had gone as intended.

It felt as if a blanket of enforced tranquility settled over the area, dulling his mind and urging Rizok to remain calm. He had no doubt that without his [Aura of Resolve], he would have succumbed to the same fate as every other individual within the ritual's radius, rendered so placid that he wouldn’t even react if someone were killed right in front of him.

Rizok raised the Order of the Serene Path’s threat assessment several notches in his mind.

Aside from ensuring that the strike team could act without worrying about witnesses, they had also been hoping that the [Ritual of Serenity] would render the [Assassins] too complacent to defend themselves or at least throw them off long enough for a surprise attack.

Neither was true in the case of Kasim Dhari.

Rizok hastily dodged to the side as the table was immediately flipped into his face, illicit substances filling the air. Pulling on the belt gifted to him by Vidhatri—crafted from hardened leather and interlocking pieces of bone—he activated [Temporary Blade] just in time to turn the belt into a weapon and deflect the volley of envenomed knives that pierced through the table.

Kasim acted immediately to exploit his distraction, sprinting across the walls in defiance of gravity almost faster than Rizok could see toward the exit.

[Lunge Strike].

Rizok lunged toward Kasim at lightning speed, his blade cutting through the air. It was clear from his widening eyes that Kasim hadn’t expected to be fighting someone just as fast or as high-leveled as himself. That was likely the only reason why Rizok was able to cut a gash through Kasim’s arm before the [Poison-Master Assassin] used a Skill to suddenly flicker several feet away.

Rizok immediately responded by dashing toward his enemy and throwing out a [Far Slash] that would have removed one of Kasim’s arms if he hadn’t easily jumped over the invisible attack. Still, it gave Rizok enough time to close the distance and engage Kasim in a flurry of close-range combat as the human pulled out a pair of wicked curved daggers.

Rizok’s makeshift weapon was a blur as the two of them traded blows. It only took a few moments for Rizok to conclude he’d been right that a straight between the two of them would fall in his favor. The only real advantage that Kasim had was his far superior weapons, the enchanted daggers forcing Rizok to dodge more than parry else his [Temporary Blade] be shattered by the deadly edges.

But even so, Rizok’s superior experience gave him the upper hand when it came to direct combat.

It was clear that Kasim seemed to have drawn the same conclusion. He feigned a stab toward Rizok’s chest, then abruptly snapped his wounded arm toward him. Rizok only realized Kasim's true intentions when several droplets of the human’s blood splattered on his face and began burning through his scales like acid.

Rizok let out a grunt of pain and instinctively stepped back just as Kasim opened his mouth and spit out a cloud of thick, dark green smog in his direction that melted the debris scattered across the floor.

[Aura of Repulsion].

Rizok dashed through the smog as it parted in his wake, unsurprised to see that Kasim had already begun fleeing. The human was clever enough to recognize that this trap would grow harder for him to escape with each passing moment. This was confirmed by the telepathic messages from Zareth informing him that the rest of the [Assassins] outside of the tavern were being successfully dealt with one after another.

But none of that would mean anything if Kasim managed to escape and report back to House Khysar.

Rizok chased after his target, using the Eye of Cerebon to track Kasim’s movements through the twisting corridors and [Aura of Bolstering] to enhance his speed. He growled in frustration as the human managed to avoid each of his [Far Slashes], leaping behind obstacles and cleverly using placid bystanders as shields.

It was incredibly frustrating, and made it difficult for Rizok to catch up to his target.

“Zareth. I need assistance. I won’t be able to intercept Kasim before he exits the tavern. Send Vidhatri if possible. She’s the most likely to survive the enemy’s poisons.”

“Can’t. She’s busy with her own target. I’ll send one of the others instead.”

“Understood.”

Rizok wasn’t happy about the situation, but he forced those feelings aside and focused on chasing down Kasim. Everything would be ruined if the human managed to escape the perimeter of the [Ritual of Serenity], and Rizok refused to be the one whose failure brought them all to ruin.

It didn’t take long for Kasim and Rizok to burst into the tavern's main room, where an eerie silence hung in the air. The patrons stared listlessly ahead, creepy smiles plastered on their faces.

Kasim quickly darted out onto the street and was about to jump onto the nearby roofs when Rizok finally caught up to him, instantly unleashing a [Triple Slash] that sent three blurs racing toward the human from all directions.

Such an attack aimed at an opponent's back was something that Rizok fully expected to result in a lethal hit. But Kasim proved himself exceptional when he used a Skill to kick off the air mid-jump, twisted himself impossibly between all three attacks, and left a gash across Rizok’s shoulder that he immediately knew was poisoned.

Rizok kept his focus razor-sharp as he charged toward Kasim, engaging the human again in close combat and refusing to allow him the chance to escape. He could tell that the poison was one of the worst that he had ever been exposed to, burning through his veins like lava and swiftly slowing him down with each passing moment.

He could also tell that the poison would be lethal unless Vidhatri managed to arrive and purge it soon.

But Rizok didn’t allow himself to feel fear. The only thing he felt was humiliation that he’d allowed himself to be caught off-guard.

That humiliation was only compounded when the bastard who he was fighting seemed to decide that Rizok’s rapidly slowing movements meant he was no longer as great a threat and decided to start talking.

Kasim's voice dripped with malice and satisfaction as he spoke, his movements now more calculated and less frantic. “You fought well, lizard. But your resistance was futile from the start. This poison is my masterpiece, a slow and agonizing death. It’s unfortunate that I don’t have enough time to truly enjoy watching my poison do its work, but I’ve never been one to allow pleasure to come befo—”

Kasim had obviously spent too many years killing civilians too weak to fight back or poisoning people before they even knew they were under threat, because the human had lost respect for the unpredictable nature of battle.

Rizok’s [Aura of Terror] only affected Kasim for a single moment before the human’s Willpower allowed him to escape its effect, but that was all that he needed.

Kasim almost seemed confused as Rizok’s blade cut through his stomach, causing his entrails to spill out with a wet, sickening sound. It was undoubtedly a lethal wound unless Kasim received some kind of healing. The human’s Vitality would have allowed him to continue on fighting for quite a while longer, which was why Rizok followed up his attack with a [Lunge Strike] that impaled Kasim through the heart and pinned him into the street.

That should have been enough. [Assassins] of all types were notorious for focusing on Agility to the detriment of the other physical Stats, so even if he had a level in the 40s, there should have been no reasonable way for Kasim to survive such a devastating blow for more.

Rizok could only assume that one of the human’s enchanted items was responsible for Kasim glaring up at him with hate-filled eyes and barely having enough energy to activate a Skill.

Time almost seemed to move in slow motion as every inch of Kassim’s flesh began to emanate the same dark-green smog that the human had spewed out earlier. It was clearly a Skill designed to kill a large crowd of people in a short amount of time, and would almost certainly cause a mass-casualty event if used in the middle of Tal’Qamar’s streets.

The only reason he didn’t use it before was likely because of my [Aura of Repulsion], Rizok mused dispassionately as he analyzed the attack that was very likely to kill him. But now I’m too close for that to make a difference, and my limbs have stopped responding due to the poison. Damn it all. Just when life was starting to become interesting…

Just as Rizok was about to use his Agility-enhanced perception of time to self-pityingly reflect on all the things he would miss, an absolute torrent of sand descended on Kasim and encased the human in a thick shell.

“Rizok!”

Rizok wasn’t sure that he had ever heard anything more beautiful than the sound of Vidhatri’s voice calling out to him at that moment. The next few moments were hazy. All he could remember was smiling up at Vidhatri while she fussed over him and began purifying the toxics from his flesh.

There was someone else there as well, a Desharin man wreathed entirely in sand who was pouring several different colored potions onto the captured killer, but Rizok really couldn’t bring himself to care.

Not when the most gorgeous creature in the world was cradling him with her six strong arms, eyes filled with worry

Zareth wanted to bang his head against the table.

“—hat little adventure of ours was very nearly a complete and utter failure! Had that damned killer escaped, the consequences would have been catastrophic. It’s only a matter of luck that we managed to get away with this. I sincerely hope for your sake that our future cooperation doesn’t end up looking like this.”

Zareth took a deep breath as he sat back in his seat and offered Cerebon a quick prayer, begging for patience. It was far too early for this. He had barely woken up and finished his morning routine before Farida arrived at his spire and demanded a meeting with him.

He’d expected to be able to enjoy a peaceful eight hours of sleep after the success of last night’s operation, but that was apparently too much to hope for! Worse yet, Farida wasn’t even really here to talk about what their alliance had done last night.

No, he knew her well enough to know when the old woman was softening him up with complaints so that she could bring up something else.

“Without suffering any casualties on our end, we managed to kill two experienced [Assassins] and capture three more,” Zareth said with as much calm as he could muster. “One of those captured being their leader, Kasim Dhari, who my close friend risked his life to ensure wouldn’t escape. Our plan would have worked just by capturing even the lower-ranking [Assassins], but Kasim will be a veritable gold-mine of information. He’s proven resistant to interrogation, but that won’t matter once the Order of the Serene Path finishes… compromising him.You have absolutely nothing to complain about in regards to last night’s events, so I suggest you stop wasting both of our time with your nonsense, Farida.”

Zareth’s voice was filled with steel by the end of his statement. He was willing to tolerate a lot from Farida, because he could tell that most of her unpleasant personality was either borne out of genuine care for her people or intentionally exaggerated to achieve some kind of goal, but he wouldn’t allow her to insult his friend’s efforts to his face.

Things had been extremely dicey last night. The [Ritual of Serenity] had ended literal seconds after Vidhatri and Rizok were swept off the street by a wave of sand thanks to their Desharin collaborator, and the Silk Serpents had almost immediately swarmed like a hive of disturbed System Spawn.

Liberal usage of healing potions, Vidhatri’s quick actions, and a decent amount of luck had ensured that the only casualties of the night belonged to the enemy. But things had been a lot closer than he would have liked.

Still, all signs were pointing to them getting away scot-free. It helped that the Silk Serpents were doing everything in their power to suppress news that would bring attention to their breach in security or compromise their illicit business. It also helped that the Order of the Serene Path was the least known of Tal’Qamar’s new faiths and very few people understood what they were capable of doing.

None of the tavern’s guests could remember the night’s events with any real clarity. The witnesses could only recall a hazy, tranquil night where nothing of significance happened.

All-in-all, things had gone as well as they could have with the exception of Rizok’s brush with death, so he hoped Farida had an actual reason to have woken him up so early.

He had planned to spend his morning eating breakfast while considering how he should best spend the Skill Point he’d earned last week. He had been taking his time since he wasn’t in any particular rush and none of his options were immediately applicable to his current plans, but he was starting to think that he should just get the matter done with if he was going to keep being so busy.

Zareth suddenly felt inordinately jealous of Rizok, who was probably still snoring while being enveloped by three pairs of arms.

Turning his attention back to Farida, Zareth saw a flash of respect in her eyes that indicated this bout of criticism was some sort of test rather than genuine disapproval.

“Good to see you stick up for your people, lad. Maybe you have what it takes to lead this little group of ours after all,” Farida said with a note of satisfaction. “As for my real reason for coming here, I wanted to talk to you about that expedition I proposed before you pulled us into planning last night. We’ve helped you, so now it’s time that you return the favor.”

Ah, that…

“It’s one thing to venture out into the Qahtani Desert along well-established trade routes. It’s another thing entirely to travel into the Shifting Expanse at a moment's notice,” Zareth said, stifling a yawn as he attempted to reason with the old woman. “When I said that the Desharin and the Gruvulk know the desert better than I ever could and agreed that you should be the ones to decide on a location for our shared settlement, I was expecting you to choose somewhere a bit less… utterly insane.”

It had been more than a week since Zareth’s meeting with his peers; aside from planning last night’s kidnapping, most of it had been spent arguing over a single topic. Ever since Farida and Borak had begun eagerly delving into their people's records, searching for the perfect location for their future city, they had been immersed in endless debates.

Though admittedly, that was likely reasonable given the circumstances. Capturing the [Assassin] would give Zareth the leverage that he needed to secure a seat on the Oversight Commission, but that wasn’t the primary reason why Farida or Borak had agreed to an alliance.

It was difficult to overstate just how important this city would be and the possible wide-spread consequences that could follow.

What Cerebon had given him had the potential to upend the entire geopolitical situation in the local region and potentially across the entirety of Valandor if Zareth ever managed to produce the seeds in large numbers. He had no doubt that General Nasrith would have already confiscated the ‘Seed of Creation’, as Zareth had taken to calling it, if they didn’t happen to be his political ally.

As it was, Nasrith had little choice but to discreetly and pre-emptively register the seed as a Critical Asset of Tal’Qamar. Doing so did mean that the Cult of Cerebon would need High Command’s prior assent to actually use it, but it would also notably limit interference from the Great Houses.

Critical Assets were simply too important, and many of the Great Houses who possessed one enjoyed significant privileges and protections. Nobody would want to set a precedent that risked compromising their own power.

But this meant that it was more important than ever that the Hierophant’s Council found a place that could satisfy the political objectives of everyone involved in this project, while simultaneously being somewhere that could sustain what would one day be a major city.

General Nasrith insisted that the prospective city be established somewhere militarily useful, Farida was insistent that they ‘get as far away from the snakes as possible’, and Borak would doubtlessly be very particular about how the local Ether affected his people.

Finding such a place proved to be much more difficult than expected, which said a lot given that Zareth’s expectations were already quite low to begin with. Every day had been filled with suggestions that were ultimately unsatisfactory for one reason or another, frustrating Zareth the longer this went on.

But that didn’t mean that Farida could just come up with the most ludicrous idea he’d ever heard and just expect to get away with it.

“Let’s… take a step back for a moment,” Zareth said with a measured tone, interrupting whatever surly response the old Priestess was about to give. “Please explain to me why you and Borak seem to think it’s a good idea for us to send a team to survey the middle of the Shifting Expanse? One would think that the most dangerous region of the Qahtani Desert—a literal desolate wasteland filled with nothing but hostile sand elementals—would be a rather poor place to build a city.”

No known sources of water, countless Living Sands for miles around, and an unusually large number of System Spawn nests made the place a veritable death trap. There was a good reason that not even the highest leveled [Merchants] dared to traverse the Shifting Expanse despite the amount of travel time they would save by doing so.

The risks were simply too great.

Much to his surprise, Farida’s fiery demeanor seemed to cool slightly at his question, her mouth curving into a smug smile. “Oh? Have I finally found the limits of the great Zareth’s ambition? Have you lost your nerve mere hours after arranging the murder and kidnapping of several people? How disappointing that you would pass over this opportunity. Was it not you who recommended that we exploit your miraculous seed’s ability to make previously barren lands habitable?”

Zareth used every bit of self-control possible to stop cringing at Farida’s phrasing. The old woman could sense weakness like a shark smelling blood in the water and wasn’t so proper that she would avoid using dirty jokes to get under his skin.

“I’ve no doubt that someone as power-hungry as you noticed immediately that such a location would place us in the center of every trade route in the Qahtani Desert,” Farida continued, thankfully not seeming to notice his momentary discomfort. “Almost every single city-state in the Qahtani Desert was established around the Shifting Expanse’s periphery. [Merchants] from Tal’Hadin, Fal’Ashar, Fal’Farakh, Anket, Dairut, and even the North Watch would fight tooth and nail for access to a settlement in the heart of the desert. Are you truly going to dismiss such an opportunity?”

For all her unpleasantness, the crafty old woman certainly understood him well enough to know what appealed to him the most.

“You’re right that we need to use every advantage that we can, but that doesn’t mean that we should settle in literally the most dangerous place possible. Besides, it would take time for any such trade routes to safely pass through this new settlement,” Zareth objected half-heartedly as his curiosity began to grow. “But both you and Borak are smart enough to know all of this, so I assume that you have an actual reason for barging into my spire barely after dawn and demanding I help you send an expedition into the middle of nowhere.”

Farida was silent for several long moments, a contemplative expression on her face. Zareth patiently waited for her to mull over whatever dilemma she was considering, before Farida finally nodded to herself as she seemed to reach a decision.

“Silvaris spoke to me recently, more directly than he’s done in many years,” Farida said, her expression indecipherable as she seemed to change the topic. “The God of Resilience and Travel is not so… coddling, as yours appears to be. He demands self-reliance among his followers, and I have never known him as one who would allow the kind of extravagant rituals that your own patron seems willing to tolerate.”

It was difficult to tell, but Zareth was almost certain that he could hear a thin note of… bitterness in Farida’s voice. But whether that bitterness was directed to Zareth for his perceived luxury or toward her own god was unclear.

“Why are you telling me this?” Zareth asked, confused as to how this related to their earlier discussion.

“I’m telling you this to make you realize just how extraordinary it is that Silvaris has chosen to grant us enough of his power to safely traverse the Shifting Expanse,” Farida leaned in, her eyes boring into Zareth’s. “Silvaris has never done this before. He’s a god who believes in the survival of the fittest, in testing the limits of endurance and resilience. For him to offer such a boon means he sees something of great importance in this venture. It means that whatever your god told him to agree to this little alliance of ours is far more significant than I realized. Care to explain?”

Zareth froze, his mind racing with the implications of what he’d heard. He noticed that Farida hadn’t explained the specifics about what her god had done, whether it be providing her with a new Skill, some kind of divine artifact akin to the Seed of Creation, or something else, but reliable passage through the Shifting Expanse changed a lot.

With this, placing their future city there would indeed become a feasible option and would be advantageous for all the reasons Farida had previously mentioned.

It didn’t escape his notice that it would also allow the Priesthood of Silvaris a greater degree of control and influence over the proposed city, if they were the only ones who could guarantee safe passage in or out.

This galled him more than a little, but he could hardly complain when the Seed of Creation would grant his cult near complete control over the city’s water and food supply. The only complication that came to mind was the risk that such an advantageously located city would garner more attention from rival factions than previously estimated.

However, Zareth had never been one to shy away from a challenge. He felt a surge of excitement building within him as he considered the possibilities, only to have it abruptly smothered when he finally recognized the previously unclear emotion on Farida’s face.

Oh. I understand why Farida had felt the need to demand a meeting so urgently instead of waiting for a more reasonable hour…

“You’re afraid,” Zareth said with no small amount of surprise. He’d never known Farida to be anything less than unwaveringly certain at all times, so this was… very unexpected.

“Afraid? No. I would say that I am… unsettled,” Farida said, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I imagine that you would be as well, but I can tell that you are not nearly as ignorant of our deities as the rest of us are. Am I correct?”

Zareth froze, carefully considering how he should respond. Cerebon had been quite explicit that he shouldn’t spread information about System War and that his fellow deities might react… poorly, if he was to do so carelessly.

Ultimately, it would be up to the rest of the Hierophant’s Council’s deities to choose what their followers should know about their burgeoning pantheon’s greater purpose.

But that did put Zareth in a bit of an awkward position…

It was hard to foster trust among his peers when he needed to blatantly keep secrets from them, and he’d been hoping that he would have more time before his peers noticed that he was withholding information.

Before he could come up with some sort of excuse, Farida simply sighed and nodded in acceptance, standing up from her seat a few moments later. “Very well. Your answer is clear from your silence. I will trust Silvaris’ judgment, and abstain from pressing you further.”

Much to Zareth’s surprise, Farida nodded to him and turned toward the door.

“Wait, was that all that you wanted?” Zareth asked, startled by her sudden departure. “What about the expedition that you woke me up at the break of dawn to talk about?”

“That? I already saw the greed in your eyes once you realized that I hadn’t lost my mind, brat. We can talk about the final details tomorrow, with the rest of the council,” Farida said with a dismissive wave of her hand, as she made her way to the exit. “I only really wanted to gauge your reaction to my accusation when I knew that you’d stayed up all night and that you were too tired to feed me nonsense.”

Zareth couldn’t help but scowl at the old woman’s cunning. “I see,” he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Well played, Farida. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Indeed you will,” she replied with a slight smirk as she reached the door.”

Just as she was about to exit, Farida seemed to suddenly remember something that caused her to turn back to Zareth.

“Before I go, I should warn you that the collective willingness of our group’s deities to expend Divine Essence in pursuit of this mysterious agenda of ours will not go unnoticed by the Conclave indefinitely,” Farida said, her tone serious. “Deities in general have a tendency to be… frugal with their power. Both because it is finite and to avoid escalation during conflicts like this war, that would see their Divine Essence spent and their followers slaughtered in large numbers. I’m not aware of the specific mechanisms of how the gods monitor one another, but it’s my experience that the Conclave was not entirely ignorant of anything Silvaris did while they still held control over Tal’Qamar. With you, myself, and soon the [Monks] performing major divine rituals in such a short period of time, it’s very possible that the Conclave will have taken notice and will react. You should inform the chief snake of this.”

Zareth immediately winced and felt a headache coming on. That wasn’t a conversation that he was eager to have. General Nasrith needed the Hierophant’s Council too much this close to his planned reforms, but he wouldn’t be happy to hear that his soldiers might be under greater risk of divine retribution because of their actions.

“Thank you for sharing this with me, Farida. I’ll be sure to relay the information to General Nasrith,” Zareth said, his voice strained. “Is there anything else?”

To his immense relief, Farida shook her head. “No there isn’t. Only that you should speak to the boy running your cult. I gave him a Potion of Wakefulness when I arrived. It’s best that you be alert when you confront the Circle of Ghisara. It’d be a waste of all this scheming if you failed the next step of our plan because you were too tired to think clearly.”

Zareth didn’t know whether to be grateful that Farida was thoughtful enough to provide him with the potion or infuriated that she was the reason that he needed it in the first place.

But before he could settle on either emotion, the old woman had already left with a smug smirk on her lips, as if she had known exactly what he was thinking. Alone again in his office, Zareth sighed and sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples as he tried to fight back his annoyance.

I should tell Tamir not to allow Farida into the spire unless it’s an emergency…

He now knew for certain that this alliance was going to be more troublesome than he anticipated.