Nine people marched across the bridge towards Jason’s cloud pace. They were clearly uhe people Jason had beeiating with, although they were from the noble houses currently missing people. These were not articute servants or refined aristocrats. These were adventurers. Their gear was worn and practical, their ons carried with the familiarity of years. They were slung ready for use, not dispyed for the decorative value of their bejewelled hilts.

  They stopped in front of the rge doors, which turned into mist and vanished. Behind them was a garden atrium with sunlight spilling from above. In the doorway was the dark figure of Shade.

  “What I do for you, gentlemen?”

  “My name Ben Headingway, of House Headingway,” the man at the front said, his voice as gruff as his appearance. “Each person here represents a noble house of Cyrion; I think you guess whies. We want to speak with Asano.”

  “Of course, Lord Headinglease e in.”

  “We’re not going in there,” Ben said. “He has all the power in there.”

  “If his power in here is your , Lord Headingway, I’m afraid you have some bad news ing about out there. I’m sorry we couldn’t aodate you today.”

  Mist started to form new doors, then dispersed again.

  “Hold on, Shade,” Jason said as he floated into view from above. “These people are clearly adventurers. Good adventurers don’t walk into pces filled with unknown power and uain threats.”

  “If that is the metric, Mr Asano, wouldn’t that make you a mediocre adven—”

  “That will be all, thank you.”

  “Very good, Mr Asano.”

  Shade vanished into Jason’s shadow as he nded just ihe doors. That pced him right in front of Ben, who was signifitly taller. He had the dark skin of a Cyrion native, his long hair woven with beads which Jason could feel radiating magic.

  “I hope you’re not here to fight,” Jason said.

  “I don’t like fighting other adventurers,” Ben said. “I like fighting monsters. Proteg people, providing for my house. Being the foundation holding it up, as my aors were before me. But you came into that house, and you took my family away. I don’t like fighting people, especially when there are stories around them like the ones around you. But I will, if that’s what it es to. You took my nephew.”

  Jason nodded.

  “Without admitting to any a on my part, I’m sure you could uand why I might do such a thing.”

  “I do,” Ben aowledged. “The thing about noble houses is that when they get old enough, most of the people in it start tet things. Bee entitled. Fet that the money and power and influence doesn’t e from some i greathey were born with.”

  He rested a casual hand on his sword hilt.

  “It es from this. From the people willing to get dirty and bloody. To die for the family, if that’s what it takes. They fet that if they try to exploit the wrong person, it’s people like us who bleed to set things right.”

  “You see, this is where you’re losing me, Ben. Your problem seems to be who your family exploited, not that they were exploiting people at all.”

  “Ideals are all well and good, but power is what brings about ge. Your ideals around svery, for example, mattered to no oil you took away the System.”

  “I ’t argue with that.”

  “The us set aside wishful thinking and deal with the practicalities. Our families thought they could extrae cheap bes from you. They were wrong, and paid the price for that. As we speak, all of our families are absolving the tracts for the people from your world. We’re even giving them generous severance bonuses.”

  “Yeah, I see the warm glow of having dohe right thing radiating out of you.”

  “Asano, you know that we won’t back down until our people are returo us. You took them, leaving only two things: a letter from you and poisoned food that would rehem unscious, rather than kill them. You wanted us to know they were alive and that you took them.”

  “Allegedly.”

  “I’m not here fames, Asano, or the cheap words of politis. I don’t want to fight someone like you, but we will not allow you to keep our people. You are powerful, and have powerful friends. But you have made a lot of enemies by taking away the System, and the noble houses of Cyrion also have many es. If we move against you in ear, we will find no she of allies.”

  “You say that like your families won’t e looking for reveer they have their people back.”

  “You came into our homes and took members of our families.”

  “I didn’t start this fight. The people from Earth mean very little to your families. Even though I find the iure system ws unsable, I offered to buy their tracts at more than fair prices. Instead, your families used those ws to hold them hostage. To try aort me. Because they had the power to do so and, as you said, power is what mattered. In fact, you’ve been right about everything. Ideals aplish nothing alone, and you did try to exploit the wrong people.”

  “We have moved to rectify this situation and make amends. Yes, I am certain that my family will try to make you pay for what you have dohat was iable from the moment you chose to do things this way, and you’re smart enough to know that. And that the enmity between us will be very different if our people are not returned. Give them back, and you’ve delivered a political humiliation. Don’t, and you’ve started a war.”

  “I holy don’t have your people,” Jason said. “I did hear something that may be relevant, though. A friend of mine popped over to Sadi Andali retly. She’s very fast, even without portals, and she had a few things to sell off. She heard that some unusual products are moving through the sve markets there. What seemed to be aristocrats, from their rank and bearings.”

  The people behiirred, but didn’t speak up. Ben’s gaze became even more flinty, as if it could bore through Jason’s head.

  “The Sadi Andali sve markets.”

  “That’s what I heard.”

  “Whie?”

  “Split between them, from what I heard. Not sure whies, so I suppose you’ll o hit them all. Simultaneously, or you might find yourself dealing with hostages. You should probably call in some favours from those many es you mentioned.”

  “This is your price, then? The destru of the Sadi Andali sve trade?”

  “I’m sure this won’t stop it. The fact that the try still exists at all tells me that. It’s too ve a pce for powerful people in need of dirty deeds but hands. Not that I’d exploit that to make some kind of point. You have a good day, bloke.”

  The mist doors reformed, removing Jason from view.

  ***

  The desert town was a ramshackle pce, mostly tents of washed out brown and yellow, pitched alongside a river. Some crude mud brick buildings were scattered around, and a few rge colourful tents stood out from the others. The town was never meant to st, and the people in it were clearly used to adventurer raids. Those that could, fled. The sves would normally refuse to gh portals with rescue at hand, but few could tolerate the pain colrs.

  Ben watched the adventurers swarm over the town. This was not his first time on such a raid, and he khe routine just as well as the residents. Asano was right about the long-term efficacy of the operation. Even hitting every sve market iiny nation at once would only slow them down, ultimately stopping nothing.

  There were churches here, although the nomadiature of the tow they were not actually sanctified. These were the rger and more colourful tents, not holy ground or, in most cases, unholy ground. Dark gods, their temples hidden away in civilised society, were openly worshipped here. They could funt their existe least until adventurers came calling. Evehe clergy mostly escaped. The dark gods made sure that their thralls were elusive.

  Not every church tent beloo a dark god. Deities like Strength ae weren’t sidered evil, but didn’t care about the morality of their followers. There was an agreement with such churches that they wouldn’t shelter residents during adventurer raids. In turn, the adventurers would leave their tents in peace. Most such churches were of lesser gods, the exception being a bright red tent in a prime position upstream.

  The operation was rgely ed up, with none of the family members found. Ben made his way to the rge red tent, as it never hurt to pay respects to Dominion. To his surprise, he sensed a gold-rank presehin. He was clearly sensed in turn as a priest came out to meet him.

  “Priest,” Ben said iing, not knowing the man’s name. “I am Benjamin Headingway, of House Headingway.”

  “I have heard of you. I am Brian, priest of Dominion.”

  “What is such a high-ranking priest doing in this pce?”

  Bria out a chuckle.

  “Our church is an anisation built more on doing what you’re told than asking why.”

  “We are seeking members of the noble houses who have supposedly been sold here.”

  “I thought it might be something like that. As it happens, I did e across a noble sve in the market here.”

  “Do you know what happeo them?”

  “I do. I suspected that something like this might happen, and that it would be best to keep him safe until someone like you arrived. So, I bought him.”

  “You bought him?”

  “Yes. He’s inside.”

  Briaured in the dire of the tent.

  “Please.”

  Ben followed Brian into the tent. While the rich, crimson fabric of the tent was ented against sun bleag, the interior in and funal. There was an altar with kneeling mats set out in front of it, and a private living area, seed off with standing ss. Off to the side was a thick wooden post, driven into the hard earth floor. Ben could sehe reinfort magic that prevehe man ed to it from freeing himself with silver-rank strength.

  Ben reised Patterson Kennington. They had no acquaintance, but all of the rescue teams had been shown images of the targets. He was on his knees, forced into hugging the post with his arms ed together oher side of it. He was unscious, slumped against the wooden pole.

  “You left him like this?” Ben asked.

  “He’s a sve, and a disobedient o that. Most owners faced with a sve like this would whip him and throw him in a hole until he learned his pce. By disobedient sve standards, this is dht patial.”

  “He’s not a sve; he is a nobleman of Estercost.”

  “I think you’ll find, Lord Headingway, that svery isn’t a volunteer position. If someone has the power to make you one, you are one, and you don’t get a say iter. It’s not fair, but while ideals are all well and good, it is power that brings about ge.”

  Ben’s gaze snapped from Patterson to Brian.

  “Asahis all up,” he realised. “Even this, and you.”

  “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Why would your church agree to be ckeys to Asano? Isn’t Svery a subordinate god to yours? Why would you work with someone w to destroy it?”

  “The irony of our church, Lord Headingway, is that those most favoured by od will never be in it. We guide them, and sometimes we serve them. I am a priest of Dominion. We do not vee power itself, but the establishment of power over others. Rulership. The exerg of authority. Yes, svery is one form of power and trol, but it is a small thing. A petty tyranny. My lord looks higher.”

  “Higher?”

  “Look at what’s happening out there, and all across Sadi Andali. Someone has set the great and noble houses of Cyrion dang to his tune.”

  “You truly think that Asano is so grand?”

  “I never said a name.”

  Ben snorted derision.

  “If he’s so great, why py political games? He has what he wanted. Why make enemies by humiliating us like this?”

  “Because you tried to put him in his pce. He no longer has time to educate small s like you, o a time. He is busy figuring out how to not quer a world. My god values that far more than auing off shackled victims. Speaking of which, will you be taking this sve?”

  “Of course I will.”

  “Excellent. Will you pay in spirit s, or a promissory o the church?”