After the disappointment that Invidia and the pathetic remnants of the Sanguine Communion had been, Ialu was not in particularly light spirits. His strength alone would likely be enough to slay Viscardi a second time and perhaps even see to the downfall of the entire empire of New Garakai, yet he was not so keen to expend his own efforts and energy. He already felt drained now, for just as the Well of Strength had reinvigorated and empowered the Zealots, it creation had taken a toll on the demigod himself.
There was also the matter of secrecy. For some five or six decades now, Ialu had been in hiding. There was great power in simply vanishing from the thoughts of others, for if someone knew nothing of your very existence they could hardly see you as a threat or attempt to cause any harm. He could still count on one hand how many he had revealed himself to in the past months...he had appeared before Invidia in flesh and blood and indirectly before his so-called prophet Tyke, and there had been that unfortunate time where Astarte had stumbled upon him with Ryak. That had been a callous mistake, and one that he did not intend to repeat. That incident had served to remind him to be cautious once more, and so now he always masked his presence and traveled in the greatest secrecy. Perhaps word would abound of his continued activity, yet there would still be none who could claim to know his whereabouts or claims.
So working in the shadows and indirectly destroying Vestec's little toys seemed a good option, and to do that he would need allies. Sending his own followers was an enticing option of course, but he had not failed to note that they were already embarked upon their own little conquest at the behest of Tyke, without any orders from him. Still, they could hardly be blamed for following in his footsteps, taking what they pleased and subjugating their lessers. Sending his own men would be too direct and his involvement too obvious, anyways.
Fortunately, there was still one final ally that Ialu had: Sauranath. While he had been there to hear the Dragon God's sentencing and knew that Sauranath had been forced into the body of a mere mortal and doomed to live like that for more than a century, where the dragon god was and what he had done for so long were as much a mystery to Ialu as anyone else. So busy had the demigod been that he had hardly thought of the Dragon God in all these past years, but perhaps now was the time for that to change...
It was in that moment that it was decided. The instant that Ialu sought out Sauranath, the Sight's power manifested itself and a golden trail appeared. Avarice Incarnate followed that glowing path of light at a blinding speed, traveling to the bounds of the earth to reach the light's end.
At last, he came upon Sauranath.
*Sauranath had been awaiting Ialu. . . "Ialu. How interesting to finally see you. I am glad to see that you are here. I hope you haven't come as a Conquerer. I regret that I am no longer one of the most powerful among us, and am instead the lowest of the weak. A shame, but it's worth it to avoid the fate that I had foreseen. I can only hope that Invictus and Fate had honored my request and at the end of my mortal life, I shall be granted full power." He sighed. "I can see you appreciate my aid towards you. IS your curse removed and gone forever?"
"Rest assured that I come not as a conqueror, and that my curse was lifted. But let us not reminisce while this land bleeds and our common enemy yet breathes; yes, New Garakai is ruled over by the warlord known as Viscardi. I killed him once for petty reasons, but now it seems that I must do it again before he conquers or destabilizes the entire continent. While you are losing this war, I believe that it is not too late to win, especially now that you have my aid."Ialu thought to himself for a moment, then spoke again, [color=Gold][b]"Tell me, Sauranath, do these people know who you are? Would they obey your commands?"[/color][/b]
"They would, but it is not my place to command them. If I am discovered and slain before the fruition of Invictus and Fate's promise to me, the fate of the universe would be compromised. I must be cautious and ever vigilant. However, I can rally the men at arms and provide counsel for the King of this land. The Serpent Men also fight for the Brightwood. They know that if the enemy spreads East then they are next in line for the slaughter."
[color=Gold]
"Indeed, you have powerful allies. They know that were you to organize your forces and have a fair fight, their victories might not be so easily gained. That is why Viscardi prayed for Vestec to aid his forces in battle and enlisted those assassins known as the Crimson Tears to kill your generals and best men.
Vestec will not be easily handled, but at least he seems to have lost interest in personally destroying entire armies. These "Crimson Tears" that haunt your land, however, can be dealt with. The best assassins are slaughtered like deer when they are found, rooted out of their hiding holes, and surrounded by soldiers. Of course, the hard part is finding them, but perhaps I can help with that..."[/color=Gold]
Ialu concentrated upon calling his Sight to locate these assassins, recalling the memories of the tales he had heard of their deeds...without fail, after a short moment he could sense numerous paths leading in all directions, the various locations of the assassins that were operating in Brightwoods and its surrounding region. Of course, they were all scattered in remote and faroff places, the assassins having wisely chosen to spread themselves out and make their camps well away from anything of note...The demigod had better things to do than find each and every one of the miserable creatures, but true to his word, he would still help Sauranath.
With some exertion he grasped the ethereal golden light of the Sight that only his eyes could detect, and conjured from it several very real discs of blinding light.
"As you may know, nothing can hide from me for I possess the ability to track anything that I can imagine. These Lenses of Sight are the physical manifestation of this power of mine. Each one of them has been attuned to the assassins that have been wreaking havoc in these lands, and any who gazes into a Lens will have the path illuminated to one of the wretches stalking these lands. Alas, this power is not meant for mortal eyes, and they will inevitably be struck blind by the brilliance of the light that is their guide. Still, they will be able to find the assassins before that fate befalls them.
So, you have the ear of the king and influence over military matters? Have each of these Lenses given to someone who will become a Tracker. It does not matter if they are the widowed wife or orphaned son of one of the assassins' victims, or simply a beggar forced into service. Have the Trackers each lead a band of soldiers to the location of their chosen assassin to kill it. Yes, this will blind them and perhaps the assassins will put up a good fight and kill soem of the soldiers you send, but the ends shall justify the means. with each week that passes every one of these assassins slays more and wreaks havoc, and the soldiers of New Garakai exploit this weakness. End the cycle.
Once the assassins are gone, I imagine that you will be able to mount a more effective defense. While you handle this, I will see to it that the snake's head is cut off. I may return soon requiring aid in this, or it may be years before we speak again. Either way, I bid you farewell."The demigod handed the Lenses of Sight to Sauranath, slightly fatigued from their creation. He had felt plenty of exhaustion over these past few months, ever since he had created the Well of Strength. But in any case, such weakness would not hold him back. He turned and left Sauranath as quickly as he had came, leaving to plot just how he would go about slaying Viscardi and causing the entire nation of New Garakai to crumble. It was not lightly that he had not promised to cut the snake's head off, he would be very thorough about his enemy's destruction this time...
~==--==--==~
While he had his misgivings about dealing with yet another one of Vestec's spawn, supposedly Sakimi's only master was gold. She sounded like his sort of person, and with any luck she'd be reasonable to accept an offer even if it meant betraying her current employer.
While shadow magic and the like may have kept most Anju and Crimson Tears invisible and nigh impossible to track, such trifles posed no obstacle for Ialu's mystic Sight. In fact, this time it would be Sakimi who would be taken by surprise, meeting with some other stranger on his own terms.
Garbed in a similar fashion as he had been while in the presence of Invidia and Sauranath, he looked for the most part to be an ordinary human, albeit a most peculiar one. A few decades of time had allowed him to hone the ability to mask his presence somewhat, though of course there was always an odd glow of energy about him...it was just hard to identify.
Ialu, as he approached, was confronted by two men who were made out of pure metal. They stopped him in front of the stone walled, large, compound. Before they could ask him anything, and likely get killed, a soft female voice rang out from above them. "That's quite enough. Let him through. He and I have...business to discuss." Sakimi eyed Ialu for a moment longer, before lightly leaping back behind the stone wall and out of sight.
Ialu was let through into the compound, though a group of Legionaires made sure he didn't wander anywhere but towards Sakimi's office. As the group walked into her office, Sakimi was waiting, leaning slightly against her desk. With a wave of her hand, she sent Ialu's guards away. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Demi-god?"
It would seem that his disguise wasn't nearly so immaculate as he had thought. Hubris be damned; he would have to see about improving that talent of his. Noting that she merely leaned against her desk rather than sat, he found himself a chair and carelessly fell into it with his characteristic carelessness. Sensing no point in staying disguised when it was clear that Sakimi knew well and good who he was, he threw back the hood of his robes to reveal the shaded visage that had been hiding within. Avarice Incarnate had eyes of the the most brilliant gold imaginable, two brilliant orbs with a stare that was both painful and intoxicating.
Fortunately he hardly even looked at Sakimi. If anything, his wandering gaze painted him as bored. After allowing an impressionably long silence, he finally answered her little question,
"You are going to betray Viscardi and slaughter his entire court. Of course, none of this is to be traced back to me, preferably not even you."Already smelling her next question, he gave a look as if to say that
of course the demigod of greed has gold and will pay you.Sakimi picked up a report on her desk, beginning to read it as the silence dragged on. She wasn't about to waste time playing games with Ialu. It had the added bonus of distracting her from his eyes. However, as he began to talk she put the report down, looking at him. Her lips quirked into a slight smile at Ialu's demands, and subsequent look.
"It's hard to betray someone who doesn't have the contract to your entire Order. I assume you want to buy a contract to send some of the Crimson Tears to kill the court. The only questions I have are; How much are you willing to pay and how public do you want it to be?" She tilted her head, studying the God of Avarice.
For more than half a century, the last of Arguilla's men had toiled in the mines of their mountainous lands. All of them were Ialu's faithful, and the Zealots that ruled left him regular offerings of gold upon the grandst shrine in the Mountain Crown. A few pounds every now and then for such a long time had allowed the demigod to create quite the horde, although he had little practical use for it save manipulating mortals. He was wealthy beyond the wildest imagination of any mere king or rapacious and overly dignified assassin, so he could without a doubt afford any price that Sakimi asked. That, however, would be foolish of him. When she had more wealth than she could possibly use in a hundred lifetimes, what then? Someone loyal to only gold would become wildly unpredictable and hard to control once they had no more need for wealth, and so Ialu had good reason to withold any notion of generosity that he might have entertained.
But it would seem that some clarification was in order; he couldn't afford to have any aspect of his plan go awry. So he began to speak at length,
"New Garakai will crumble: that is my decree. To that end, Viscardi must die. Any heir or remotely important member of his court must die. Anybody with the slightest chance of being able to maintain order and unity must die, and the bloodthirsty and greedy warlords must all live so that the realm splinters into a hundred petty states that attack and destroy one another. None of this is be be 'public'; pose as mere brigands striking in the night, use poison to sow suspicion and discord amongst the ruling class, make it look at if Vestec himself has decided to make this little kingdom descend into a chaotic bloodbath."As soon as that tirade was over, he moved to adress the dreadful part about payment. He fully expected a long-winded negotiation, but he had little stomach for such things.
"...that being said, I must wonder if you or your minions are capable of such a tall order. I will contract your entire order of assassins, and pay accoordingly. Two purses of silver for each of your lowest, ten pounds of gold for your five best, and as in for you..."Ialu's burning eyes narrowed a bit and his brows furrowed in thought. He suddenly recalled having once or twice received a prayer from a voice that had sounded quite a bit like Sakimi's, though he couldn't remember what she had asked of him then. Bah, if the memories didn't return soon or Sakimi didn't name her own price, perhaps he would just offer her a hundred pounds of gold and a a fistful of every precious stone known to men.
Sakimi raised an eyebrow. "Not public at all then." Her other eyebrow raised as Ialu gave his incredibly low price. The Female Anju gave a light chuckle. "Ten pounds of gold for each of my lowest. Thirty pounds for my top fifteen and an additional fifty pounds for my top five. You're asking us to tear down one of the strongest empires in the world, go into the deadliest capital in the world, kill it's leader who has survived death once already, and ensure it's surviving warlords are strong enough to put up a fight but weak enough that no one of them will emerge as the next leader." Sakimi tapped a finger on a small stack of papers. A curosy glance would reveal that they were equipment, transportation, and other costs.
"That will require quite a large amount of manpower and equipment. Especially when we have to go into hiding when he discovers who tried to kill him, and sends his Dragon Riders. Our Iron Legion is capable of many things. Resisting dragon fire is not one of them. We're going to need gold, lots of it, to even get this operation under way. Not to mention, Viscardi already has employed a handful of my men to help him kill Brightwoods. We're not in the habit of ending contracts before they're filled, or betraying clients. Bad reputations give little gold." The Anju paused, tilting her head with a strange smile on her face.
"If you want me to get personally involved, that's at least three hundred pounds of gold. Those are my only terms, and they are non-negotiable. You can afford them, God of Avarice. Before you start ranting about how unfair they are, and how you're going to leave or kill me, may I remind you that you came to me for one simple reason. The Crimson Tears are perhaps the only, and certainly the best, assassin's guild out there. If you leave, and try to get someone else to do the assassinations, perhaps your Zealots, they'll mess up. Fail. Viscardi will contact us again, and we will systematically destroy your assassins. Of course, you could destroy us all now. That'd be a waste. Not to mention, prove to Vestec that you're still under his influence, eighty years later."
Scoffing more than once as she went on, he nonetheless allowed her to continue uninterrupted. Mildly bemused, he responded as if she were a pouting child,
"You have already betrayed Viscardi utterly the moment that you agree to topple his entire little empire. And besides; your reputation need not suffer. Should you do your job properly and make this look like the result of infighting, rebels, and mere criminals, then your good name, if such a thing exists, will remain unbesmirched. So, you will terminate your little deal to kill the soldiers in Brightwoods, if only because your assassins in Brightwoods will be slain if they do not withdraw immediately.
((I'm assuming that Ialu will come to some arrangement with Sauranath about getting the assassins out of Brightwoods, hence the above line))
As in for your talk of 'dragon riders', spare me the nonsense. With less resources than you, I once raised an entire army of dragonslayers. I must question your abilities if you are so concerned about flying lizards being able to so easily hunt your 'Crimson Tears'. In any case, should they prove a nuisance I would extend a most generous offer of refuge for your entire order. I may need continual service, so prove yourself indispensible to me and I will keep your order alive and close, at least for the forseeable future."Then he remembered himself. Out of a fold in his robe he found a small leather coinpurse. A few flciks of his fingers and a gold vapor manifested itself in the air, the beautiful wisps of smoke all finding their way into the open sack. A seemingly impossible amount of the smoke forced its way in, staining the brown leather to a glowing gold the same color of Ialu's eyes, and then the demigod pulled a cord and tightened the pouch closed. His power of hoarding gave him the rather useful ability to summon and compress such obscene amounts of his own wealth into more manageable forms.
"Your payment in full. Upon opening, it will all burst out violently. Be sure to open it in a spacious room and back away, lest you find yourself crushed beneath your own prize. Needless to say, betray me or fail and I will come to take what is owed back to me, and perhaps then some."Sakimi laughed gently. "Betrayed? Oh no. He never paid me to protect his empire. He only paid me to kill his enemies. Unless you're hunting my men yourself, I highly doubt Dragon Adepts, Snake Men, or Dragons will be able to find my men." She frowned as Ialu spoke about dragonslayers. "You've been long gone from this world, Ialu. Dragons are no longer simply killed. Some of them have Riders to protect them from normal assaulters. The Crimson Tears aren't soldiers, nor are we demi-gods. Regardless, we have a deal. We'll figure out how to slay Viscardi. It will take time though. No one gets into that city without permission, and breaking the law immediately revokes your permission to be in the city." She took the pouch, a gleam in her eyes. "Contract accepted."
"Reasoning and excuses faze me little," he shrugged.
"Perhaps I will be the one slaying every assassin to be found in the Brightwoods. Best to not take any needless risks, no?" A moment passed and the demigod was gone, a sly grin his only parting gesture.
Sakimi waited a moment, then spoke into the silence. "All this gold is worth a mad demi-god for a client." She walked around her desk and quickly began writing down orders. There were empires to destroy, after all.
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