Aaron looked at the neatly trimmed garden that belonged to Elder Lorraine. It surrounded a modest villa just a block away from the Crafter guilds headquarters. The garden was still beautiful even in the last days of winter. Flowers started to peak their heads through the snow and a few of them were in bloom. The paths through the garden were perfectly straight and like everything about this elders domicile neat, orderly and artistic. Carvings adorned the house and on one wall was a giant painting depicting different craftsmen at work. Someone was really proud of their position and did not skimp on the decoration. That was sadly all Aaron had found out about this Elder Lorraine. She was a middle aged woman and wore expensive looking clothes and her home was to his annoyance almost entirely built to be soundproof. No, seriously. The craftsmanship displayed in this building was of ridiculously high standards and the walls, the windows and the doors all were somehow as good at hindering his senses as a meter of steel. Maybe even better.

  It had a sort of magical component to it. Enchantments were literally everywhere and some of the carvings were probably made with the enchantments in mind or were the enchantments themselves. The worst part about it was that Aaron seriously doubted this was intentional. To him it looked entirely like a showpiece, like a project to prove to the world how amazing the crafting classes and their guild really were. It did not look like she had anything to hide. Aaron had no problem looking through the windows and observing the woman and to him it seemed like she was just another middle aged woman. She had a cat, which seemed more like a lion cub that she doted on. She liked to drink tea in the morning and that was about it. Without his ears he could not really find out more.

  Guards patrolled the vicinity, again less out of a need for security it seemed, but to showcase master crafted chainmail, helmets and halberds. They were also Vessels and used to guarding the place. They must be well payed for their trouble or maybe they could keep some of the equipment they used. Either way it would be difficult to infiltrate this villa and even if he did, there was no indicator of the woman’s plans at all. She did not work here, for one. She returned to the crafters headquarter to work, which was, in an annoying consistency, build in exactly the same style and with the same enchantments as her villa.

  Aaron had taken a look at the two other guild headquarters out of curiosity while he was at it and had been impressed. While the crafters headquarter was a showcase of craftsmanship, the Adventurers guild was a showcase of money. Taller than the other two, massive and built out of imported marble and not the common dark stone the rest of the Town was built out of, it was basically a bank and fortress combined. Defenses and defensive enchantments were embedded into every nook and cranny but with forethought and strategy in mind. Aaron had been able to feel the enchantments. His mana sense had a deeper connection to spells than Aaron had thought and whenever he concentrated on an active enchantment he could get at least a glimpse of what it did. The Adventurers guild had reinforced walls and a whole array of nasty spells that he had not even the faintest idea of what they did besides being powerful. They were all placed around the obvious weaknesses of the building, so any windows, doors and the giant marble staircase leading into the building itself.

  The alchemist guild headquarters was by comparison a magical hazard. Every single block of stone had an enchantment on it basically and while its style was more subdued, it clearly put more emphasis on functionality as it looked like it had some of the best laboratories in the Town. Multicolored smoke drifted out of a multitude of chimneys at almost all hours of the day giving the surroundings of the guild an acrid stink, that was to Aaron’s senses incredibly disgusting. Once he had gotten a whiff of that he had turned around and put two more blocks of buildings between him and that smell. But in the end besides the deliberate enchantments and defenses of the Adventurers guild it seemed more like the enchantments were there as a sort of status symbol. Like every subsequent generation of elders had made it their purpose to improve upon their predecessors work.

  All of this put Aaron a bit in a bind though. Sure, he could probably break into and infiltrate the elders villa, but since she was not working there from what he had seen it seemed a waste of time. The wording on the task was also vague, too vague for his tastes. Intentions and plans were difficult to discern if they were not already under way. So what could he do? The “easiest” way to get at that information would be to find some blackmail material on this elder Lorraine and then just ask her about her plans. Aaron did not torture people, it was really not his style. It also did not work. People said anything to make the pain stop and unless you could confirm what they said it could be what they thought you wanted to hear as much as the truth. No, people were much more honest if they had an incentive to tell the truth. Blackmail worked much better, people still lied of course, but if the material he had on them was bad enough they would be shooting themselves in the foot by lying. Most people decided it was better to be honest at that point, especially if you dangled the destruction of the evidence you had in front of them like a nice carrot. But finding anything worth while could take months and Aaron did not really want to spend that much time getting to know this elder.

  Aaron paused on his rooftop as he got an idea. He smirked to himself. Yeah, that might work. But he would need some props for this. Which meant observing the alchemist guild for a while. Aaron frowned. He could really not stand that smell. But oh well, once he was done with this task he would make it his next target to talk to this Mars personally.

  Aaron returned to a post a fair distance away from the alchemist headquarters and observed the people coming and going. There was a warehouse close by with a lot of traffic, carts coming and going, but most of the people working there were not vessels, but normal people who took care of the beetles that carried the cargo. Aaron moved in the distance, observing stealthily and got a glimpse of some greenhouses that were part of the alchemist guilds compound. They exported what smelled like potions, but also food, wheat and grains. That sort of thing. He also spotted some mages coming and going, which was unique, since mages were exceptionally rare in the other guilds. Across a central square was where the mages were more frequent. The town hall and guards barracks were apparently the meeting places for the mages and Aaron felt distinctly uncomfortable to be within sight of them. So he always kept a few rooftops in between him and those buildings.

  While the alchemist guild felt like a magical hazard the town hall was the true nexus of mana in the area. It was filled with mages and if there were enchantments on the buildings, Aaron could not tell. It was all filled with thick mana being cast or shaped or absorbed. The sensory overload from that direction for his mana sense was another good reason to stay away from there. Aaron focused on the alchemist guildhalls entrance. There he watched the alchemists come and go in shifts. They had different uniforms according to their skill level, although there were one or two mages mixed in that did alchemy as well. No wonder that guild had become independent and powerful. The alchemists had sort of a dress code. Long dark robes were ubiquitous, although most were stained with a plethora of different colors and alchemicals. The more advanced alchemists usually walked around with cleaner robes and used more expensive material. All of them wore an emblem pinned to their chest that considering the different engravings he could discern depicted specialties and rank within the guild. Those were the truly irreplaceable parts of the outfit and what Aaron needed to steal to mime a real alchemist.

  Aaron deliberately chose one of the lower end alchemists and followed him through the streets on ground level. It was late afternoon and it looked like this man was going home. It was difficult to gauge the man’s progress, non combat Vessels showed barely any signs of being vessels at all. Not to his senses at least. Aaron stopped next to the alchemist at a food stand and then swiped the badge like stone without the man noticing. He was biting into a very delicious smelling sandwich filled with meat, chopped greens and sauce. Aaron let the badge vanish in his purse and bought himself one of those sandwiches himself. It was delicious and he enjoyed the different textures and flavors mixed into the sandwich as he walked away without hurry. The next step of the plan was to go to the next best tailor. There he asked for a new alchemists robe and got a cheap one. The vicinity to the guilds meant they had many alchemists as their customers. Aaron changed in the tailor shop and walked out an alchemist, badge pinned to his chest. With the spirit of the unfortunate rogue alchemist still clinging to his sternum this was as good of a disguise as he could manage. Aaron slouched a bit and walked over to elder Lorraine’s compound.

  He looked around guiltily and then quickly walked over to the guard who studied him impassively.

  “I need to talk to Elder Lorraine.” Aaron said and looked around again. “Its important.”

  The guard scanned him and his badge and then asked stoically:

  “You got an appointment?”

  “No! Listen, I really need to talk to her okay? And I would prefer not to stand in the street and being seen talking to one of Elder Lorraine’s guards!” Aaron looked around again for emphasis, before he looked back at the guard. “Please.”

  The man hesitated for a moment and then sighed. He called for another guard and that man led him into the building. The Vessels did not really feel threatened by him, especially not after the second guard had shown up. That man had nodded his okay after scanning Aaron so he was probably a few levels higher and stronger than the guards at the gate. The guard leading him wore a very elaborate lamellar armor where each of the metal plates was carved to make them look like leaves. So the man had the strange look of a walking hedge to him, but only if you squinted. It was still clearly armor, just very well made. The man unlocked the door to the villa with a key that had at least some magical signature and he locked it behind him as soon as they had both entered. Aaron was led through corridors filled with artwork and up a flight of stairs with carved animals making up the irregular handrail. Wolves and bears were the most common motive followed by stags and deer, but also the occasional stack of squirrels made an appearance and Aaron was once again struck by how needlessly opulent everything was. Opulent but artistic. The guard knocked on a door and opened it instantly for a smidgen. Then the guard told her in a bored voice that an alchemist was here to see her.

  Elder Lorraine was in her office. It was a large room with even larger windows looking out over the garden from the upper floor. The entire room was filled with decorative busts and statues. Some of them miniature depictions of beasts, others looked more like modern art. The woman quickly closed a drawer, but Aaron’s sharp senses told him there were glittering stones in there. He did not have enough time to see more than that, so he did not know if it was glass or gems. Elder Lorraine was clearly surprised to see him, but not overly so as she recovered her poise quickly. She seemed more curious than anything else to Aaron. She waved the guard out, but the man stayed right outside of the door. The inside of the building was not as perfectly built, there were gaps under the doors and so his senses reached further than a few feet. But it still felt constricting to him to be in this building that cut off his senses to abruptly. Not being surrounded by smells and sounds from far away made it feel like Aaron had stepped into a vacuum sealed room.

  “So, who are you?” Lorraine asked calmly and Aaron concentrated on her. She was middle aged, had barely concealed wrinkles in the corners of her eyes and mouth and she wore a delicate and expensive looking dress. From up close Aaron sensed far more now. She was truly as calm as she sounded, her heart beating slowly in her chest. It was surreal how easily he could focus on that sound with no sound from the nearby road filtering in.

  “My name is… Thanatos.” Aaron answered after giving himself a moment to think and calm down. He chose the name because if he remembered correctly Thanatos was Ancient Greece’s reaper. Fitting in Aaron’s mind as he worked for someone called Mars. Sometimes it was better to embrace ridiculous names instead of making up random ones.

  “I have come here to become your spy.” he said simply.

  Lorraine raised her eyebrows in surprise and then scoffed. She seemed genuinely surprised and amused.

  “Okay… What makes you think I need a spy in the alchemist guild, or that I don’t already have some?”

  “Nothing. But I have gotten the ungrateful task to find out what you plan to do by increasing the level of the crafters before they leave for Ambition. I don’t see a way to fulfill this request any other way but to give you information in return for you telling me the answer to that question. So, I either become a spy for you or lose my prospects in the alchemists guild.”

  Lorraine seemed even more amused and interested as she leaned forward a bit.

  “And why would they give you this impossible task?”

  “To get rid of me. Bias and personal grudges don’t just disappear once you get a higher rank.”

  “No, they do not.” Lorraine said considering his reply carefully but eventually she nodded.

  “Still a fairly risky road to take no?”

  “What else could I have done? I can assure you the information I will bring to you will be worth it.”

  “Its strange to me that the alchemist guild is so interested in my plans, but then again I understand why.” she hesitated and studied Aaron again for a long moment. Now her heartbeat increased and her posture shifted slightly. It was surreal but even before she opened her mouth, Aaron was fairly sure she was lying.

  “Its really not that difficult to understand. I want to make this branch of the guild stronger, increase my prestige and influence over the guild in total and as such get promoted.”

  “Promoted?”

  “Yes, to leading the branch in Climber’s Rest. The head of the guild there has announced his retirement at the end of the year and there are few others who could be considered for the post up there. So I plan to throw my hat into the ring. Being head of a Crafters guild branch, especially one so high up the tower is much more prestigious, a good step to lead the guild entirely once the spot is up for grabs in Ambition.”

  “That’s it?” Aaron asked, miming his surprise.

  “Not entirely of course. There are plenty of reasons to increase our Crafters level and more than one goal I can achieve by doing it. I won’t give you any specifics, for now. If you want to become my spy I want some information in return.”

  “What do you want to know?” he asked and here was where Aaron’s plan kind of failed. He did not have intricate knowledge of the alchemists guild. He probably could get it through Mars if he asked and if he could get the man’s cooperation. Still it was worth doing this either way. Because slowly but surely Aaron was getting a sense for this woman and she seemed to be far more than she seemed.

  “Who ordered you to spy on me?” she asked.

  “Elder Ventros.”

  “Mars, eh? Of course. This is very much his style.”

  Aaron studied the woman intently again and he did not believe a word out of her mouth. From the very start she had been not entirely truthful with him and the longer they talked the clearer it became. There was much, much more behind this. She had confessed far too easily. Aaron was not a specialist in this, not by far. But her body language and heartbeat had been hints to support his gut feelings. That she was a liar. That said, interrogation had never been necessary for his line of work, so he was truly not great at it. He had done Intelligence gathering almost exclusively over the web or through surveillance via cameras or bugs. If he wanted to find out more it looked like he would have to observe her for a while longer to get anything. This direct approach had not really worked to find out what he needed, but it had given him a plethora of information that was helpful.

  There were her physical reactions and then what she had said or hinted at. She had not been surprised that the alchemists guild was against the idea or that they would send someone to spy on her. Why? If the whole scheme was just going for a promotion then that would not hinder the alchemists guild in any way he could see, unless there was something more to the promotion he did not understand yet. No, it felt like there was a lot more to this than Aaron had initially realized. He did not have enough information to find a clue to what was really going on yet. Most or all of what she said could be a lie or a front, in fact he was sure that was the case. But like all truly good lies there was a bit of truth mixed in there to sell the idea. He just did not know yet what was the truth in all of this.

  “So what will you do with the information I have given you?” she asked him.

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  “That depends on how much credible, actual information you are willing to give me. If its enough I can go directly to Elder Ventros and give him my report.”

  “I see, so you don’t directly deal with the elder?”

  “No. I have never met him before personally.”

  “Then you must not be that high in the guilds hierarchy. What makes you believe you could obtain anything I would want to know in the first place?”

  “If I establish myself as someone who is directly under Elder Ventros then I can leverage that position to gain more influence and information. Which I can directly deliver to you.”

  “Hm. A lot depends on my information then. That makes you quite unreliable don’t you think?”

  “Quite the opposite. With this you have me in your pocket. One word of you and all of the information I gave to the guild is invalid and they would kick me out.”

  “Then why risk it?”

  Aaron hesitated a moment. The woman was ambitious that much was clear. She would not be an elder otherwise, nor scheme to improve her position. So he would appeal to that side of her. If he showed ambition himself then she would understand his motives he hoped.

  “This town, this guild. Its just a stepping stone to me. If I can level, if I can progress then I don’t really care what bridges I need to burn. I am tired of being ordered around and told to do menial things by people who barely have more than a month seniority or higher skill. So yeah if I can skip all the drudgery and get out from under that miserable cur, then why wouldn’t I?”

  “I see.” Lorraine said and leaned back in her chair, studying him closely. Aaron stayed silent and waited for her next move, which came after a minute of silence or so.

  “Very well. My proposal is probably going to go before the council and while I do believe I have the votes, if Ventros wants to block me he can make my life difficult. If he does though I will make sure to block any of his future proposals. Tell him that.”

  “I will, but this still might not be enough.”

  “I might have already started. I convinced a few crafters to stay here until the whole manhunt thing is done. Terrible for business that, but it did give me the pretext to convince some of our best to stay and continue their work down here.”

  “If you could give me names…”

  “Grix the smith and Carpenter master Lior are the most prominent names I can give you.”

  Aaron let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

  “That should be enough to convince Elder Ventros that I have a good source of information.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  “In return I will tell you anything about the guild I can find out. So what are you looking for information wise?” he asked and this question would reveal more about her intentions than his if she answered it.

  “For now just tell me what Elder Ventros is doing. A bit of an early warning would go a long way.”

  Aaron nodded and stood up.“I will not disappoint you.”

  “You said it yourself, you are in my pocket now. Be sure to remember who you really work for.”

  Aaron bowed, but he was sure she would for now just use him to give Mars bad or unhelpful information. That was fine. Either way he had an in into this villa and once he had done a more thorough investigation of her he might find clues to what she really was on about. Either way he doubted it would be done with just this. It was regrettable but in the end assignments like this took time and work. This would still be way faster than searching for blackmail material.

  He shook the Elders hand and was then escorted out of the villa with little fanfare. Once Aaron was back on the street he went straight towards the alchemist guilds headquarters. With his current disguise nobody gave him a second look as Aaron carefully stepped into the guilds lobby.

  It looked like a massive store. Potions were sold at many counters and there were big lists of different potions available to purchase. Ingredients and basic foodstuffs were also on the list along with remedies to most injuries or illnesses that a simple healing potion apparently could not cure. But Aaron did not enter the many rather short queues, but instead followed the stream of alchemists that entered the building proper. Aaron kept his senses sharp and on the lookout for traps and defenses he had to be wary of, but besides some guards there was not really much in that regard he could find. The enchantments on the outside had not repeated inside. It was almost barren here, utilitarian and sterile. It had hospital vibes to him as he entered the guts of the alchemist guild and found a helpful floor plan on a nearby wall at an intersection. It seemed alchemists were just as prone to get lost in this big building complex than anyone else. On the plan he found out that the elders offices were on the third floor and so he walked up a circular staircase and eventually entered a long corridor with plenty of offices and doors plated with golden names.

  Aaron walked down the corridor, checking the offices one by one until he came to a big corner office that had the name Mars Ventros in big golden letters carved into the wooden door. He was sure he had somehow escaped most of the guilds security measures. There had to be one, it was far too easy to get here otherwise. The badge he had stolen had probably something to do with that. But it was still ridiculously easy to get here. It looked like they were not really afraid of an attack or felt it was too unlikely for anyone to come here with ill intentions to have anything but doors standing in his way. Aaron knocked on Mars door and a tall man in a fine suit and with a notepad in his hands opened the door with a frown a moment later.

  “Yes?” he asked and Aaron smiled at him.

  “I am looking for Mars, is he here?”

  “Elder Ventros is in yes, but who are you?”

  “Thanatos, or Aaron, however you like it. I am here to finish the tasks the elder gave me.” Aaron said with a smirk.

  The man frowned and then his eyes widened in realization and he took a step back.

  “Very well I will tell him that you are here, wait a moment.” he said quickly and closed the door in Aaron’s face.

  Mars Ventros was studying the reports he had gotten over the last few days with interest. It looked like the Cultivator had gone straight to work after Iris had given him the tasks and although there were sightings he seemed to blend well into the urban environment. Too well actually. It almost seemed to be a deliberate move to show himself on the nightmarket now. His plan to have him monitored by sheltering him seemed to have failed entirely. But that was alright, considering what he had learned about the man. His conversation with Iris had been illuminating. The Cultivator’s name was Aaron, he was calm, and stoic. A man with a moral code, but no scruples. A killer after Mars own heart. An intelligent monster and those were the best weapons in the end. Dangerous weapons, yes, but also so effective at what they could do. The little rogue alchemist Mars had chosen had entirely lost his powers and served as another reminder for the people of the Town not to cross the alchemists guild or the district, not to cross him. Aaron had done a commendable job in spreading this news and he could not have done that better himself. He had shown mercy, had not killed anyone.

  It was a clear message reinforcing what Iris had told him. The Cultivator was a man of principle. Murderous principle, but principle nonetheless. He was a far cry from the ravenous monster the stories had made him out to be. Iris herself seemed to have come to a decision and had told him that the Cultivator had made her the official messenger, the go between between him and the district. It was a fascinating development. At first Mars had suspected she had succeeded in seducing him, but she had told him clearly that he had not touched her at all. Which was disappointing. Men who were slaves to lust were so easily manipulated. Sadly it did not seem like the Cultivator was one of them. The demands from Aaron had been expensive, but worth it if he wanted to nurture him to become the dagger he would plunge into his enemies hearts. Wealth was not a problem Mars had, it had not been for a long time. Ever since he had understood the significance of the first floor and its economic place in the grand scheme of the lower Tower.

  Tex knocked on is door and entered instantly, making Mars frown and look up. Tex was as white as a bed sheet and he hurried over to him with quick steps.

  “Tex? What is it?”

  Tex leaned in and whispered harshly.

  “The Cultivator. He is here.”

  “Here?” Mars asked confused.

  “He is right outside. Standing in front of the office.”

  “You sure it is him?”

  “Yes, I recognized him from the wanted posters, although he is in disguise.”

  Mars blood froze completely. This was outside of his expectations and made the man a lot more dangerous. He had come to him inside of the alchemist guilds headquarters. Brazen,in broad daylight, in disguise yes, but still. Intelligent monster indeed. Mars straightened and drew his best dagger and placed it on top of the stack of documents in front of him on his desk.

  “Bring him in.”

  “Are you sure sir?” Tex asked still pale and clearly afraid.

  “Yes, but alert Crassius and Oleg, they should be in the basement guarding the cargo. Tell them to hurry, but that I am not in any danger. Yet. Go.”

  Tex nodded quickly and walked stiffly out of the office. Mars meanwhile took a deep breath and loosened his shoulders. He was not defenseless himself, but it was better not to take any chances. He opened a hidden compartment on the desk with a precise tap of his wrist and put his right hand on a small crystal hidden in the secret compartment. The spell activated and Mars knew that if he released the spell it would summon ethereal chains all around the room and bind anything living not connected to the crystal itself. It was an expensive and difficult to create enchantment trap. One of the best he had ever seen and the most expensive item in his office. It had been a favor of an old enchanter from Ambition to install this here and Mars had never been forced to use it. But caution was better than being killed suddenly without any protections in place. Mars swallowed nervously and heard Tex talk to the Cultivator briefly.

  “He is expecting you, just this way.”

  Then Mars got his first glimpse of the Cultivator. The man was not as tall as he has expected, dark slightly unkempt hair that was almost shoulder length. Two piercing gray eyes in a totally unremarkable face that seemed forgettable in its plainness. He had a short equally unkempt beard and wore the long robes of an alchemist. A low ranking alchemist to be perfectly accurate, including the rank emblem depicting him as below lvl15 alchemist. An apprentice. He activated his skill that gauged the power of another, a variant of the classic identify and almost lost the grip on the crystal. The man was an alchemist? He blinked, looked again and was sure it was the Cultivator. But his skill did not lie either. It showed that this man was tremendously dangerous. Lethal and coiled like a spring. But it also showed him that he was a lvl13 alchemist, someone who could never in a thousand years hurt Mars, especially not when he had a trap ready. The man studied Mars with interest and then looked up to the ceiling above the door to Mars office. In a surreal moment Mars thought he could see the enchantment somehow, see the magic, but nobody could, not down here in the tower. But then he remembered that this man was a Cultivator, an unknown quantity.

  Aaron stopped right outside of his office and raised his eyebrows.

  “Nice to meet you, Mars Ventros. And here I thought this was too easy. If all offices are equipped with one of those spells I understand why it was this easy to get here.” he said and pointed up to the ceiling, much to Mars horror. A trap the enemy knew about was no trap at all. But Mars caught himself and smiled amicably.

  “Welcome Aaron, you understand I have to keep my finger on the trigger so to speak. You are quite a bit too strong for me to underestimate you.”

  “Of course, but If I read that mana signature correctly then this spell does not extend too far from your office, so I hope you don’t mind if I stay right here for our chat.”

  “Is that why you have come here? To chat?” Mars asked anxiously and his other hand idly grasped for his dagger. Aaron did not react to it at all and shook his head with a smile.

  “I have come to finish up my tasks, well the last one with Elder Lorraine will probably take more time, but I brought the deed you wanted and you probably know about the alchemist already.” The Cultivator got a scroll out of his purse looked around and then placed it on Tex desk, before he returned to stand before the opened door to Mars office.

  “You have finished that task already?”

  “Oh yes, although some brats tried to get into my way.”

  “Brats?”

  “Fairly strong, military trained, moved in a group, look like they are still kids.”

  “Ah.” Mars nodded. “You met a group from upstairs.”

  “Upstairs? Beyond the 50th floor?”

  “I see you have found out quite a bit about the Tower.” Mars said and relaxed his tense shoulders a bit. “But yes, the nations beyond the 50th floor send their foot soldiers down here to climb. They are trained from birth to succeed and have intricate knowledge about the tower, its layouts and know exactly how to build their classes. They don’t usually interact with people from the lower floors, but sometimes they do.”

  “Fascinating. You are a true well of information.”

  “Information, Knowledge is the most valuable commodity there is in the tower. With it you can even teach children to climb up to the 20th floor without any help after all.”

  “Is that part of what you are willing to offer me for my cooperation? Information?”

  “Indeed, that and more. I know much of what is going on in the Tower and besides information I can get you whatever you require to grow stronger.”

  Aaron paused and then smiled, changing the topic.

  “What do you think of my disguise?”

  “Its… much better than I expected it to be.”

  “So you suspect I do more with spirits then just kill them now, am I right?”

  “You steal them.”

  “Yes, I steal spirits and then absorb them and their power. While doing so most skills show just the spirit still clinging to life.”

  “So you could theoretically give the spirit back?”

  “I don’t know, I have never tried and I don’t really see a reason to do so. To put it in terms you can understand, imagine absorbing each spirit like gaining a whole level or more. They are valuable morsels of power to me.”

  “So if I were to give you a steady supply of Vessels to steal from, you would gain in power quickly?”

  “Probably, but why is that important to you?”

  Mars paused and took a deep breath.

  “Do you know the history of the tower?”

  “Not as much as I would like, so go ahead, enlighten me.”

  Mars did not miss the less than subtle sarcasm, but he ignored it and told his story anyways.

  “Your predecessor. The Ghostblade. She was a terror in Ambition. She came one day and took a small local organization of cutthroats and turned them into the predominant power in the vast and dangerous underworld of Ambition. She killed many people and I was in the unfortunate position of being part of one of those organizations she destroyed.”

  Aaron raised both eyebrows in surprise, but said nothing, so Mars continued.

  “But the organizations had been well connected with the true powers in Ambition, the old families of mages who own everything. They were displeased to suddenly have someone else to deal with and after a few years of tentative peace they managed to lure the Ghostblade into a trap and killed her. At that time I was already down here in the Town of Beginnings, an outcast and outlier of the organization the Ghostblade belonged to.”

  “Why are you telling me this? Its good to know what happened to her, but that is surely not the point of your story?”

  “No, the point is that the Ghostblade was foolish to take over the underworld without actually dealing with the people who controlled the city. I will not be foolish. I have planned my return to Ambition for many years and when I return I will destroy all other crime syndicates in Ambition and unify them just like I have done in this Town.”

  “But to do so, you need me. A weapon and a deterrent.”

  Mars smiled, not hiding his feelings at all.

  “Exactly. That is why I am interested in nurturing you, you will break the spirits and the bodies of my enemies.”

  “Hmmm, well remember that I am not your subordinate. I don’t get ordered around. I chose to accept my targets. I always have and I always will. Besides you have not done remotely enough for me to even consider joining your plan.”

  “Not yet, but I will. In time you will see the advantages of working with me. Don’t worry, I will not send you to kill children, I will not ask you to rape or torture, but I will ask you to kill for me.”

  “Just remember to pay me.” Aaron said with a cold smirk.

  “I always do. I can promise you that.”

  “Good, I feel like this is the start of a great partnership. But before we can really shake on it, I want the manhunt gone.”

  “That is already on the way, tomorrow morning I will speak to Aurix and get the hunt canceled.”

  “And he will just do that?”

  “I have what he desires and I know how to get him to do what I want. So yes, he will just do that.”

  “Very well, I am looking forward to it. In the meantime I have a few questions about the last task you gave me.”

  “About Elder Lorraine?”

  “Yes, she is a fairly decent liar, but not good enough. She told me she would bring her proposal before the council soon and warns you to not oppose her unless you want her as an enemy. She is also planning to do much more than just the obvious. She gave me some nonsense about a promotion. I am sure she wants it, but its not the real reason.”

  “And what is?”

  “I am not certain yet. I need to find out more about her to be able to guess correctly. She is a bit of a mystery.”

  “Well, I can tell you what I know about her. She has her own power faction among the elders, she is well liked and one of the highest leveled scribes I have ever heard of. She can inscribe even spells into stone like an enchanter, given that spell is made available by a mage.”

  “Wait, she is a scribe that can write on stone? Any stone? What about gems?”

  “Gems? I don’t know truthfully, but it should be possible yes, why do you ask?”

  “I thought she was not working in her home, since she did not have any paper on her desk, not even a pen or a feather. But….Well it looks like I have to go on a late night visit to her tonight. I believe I may have found some hints of her real plans. If not it might take a while, months at worst.”

  “That is quite alright. I can stall the council for a while if necessary. So, that means you talked to her?”

  “Yes, I introduced myself as Thanatos, an alchemist with a grudge and willing to spy for her. She does not trust me, but she gave plenty of information for free for that little deception. I would appreciate it if you gave this Thanatos some cover on your end if she were to inquire about him.”

  “I see. You are quite a bit more versatile than I had even hoped. I will ensure he is on our books and I will even give you access to a badge so you can come and go as you please” Mars said with a smile.

  “Thanks, that saves me the trouble of stealing one next time. You can send it along with my pay and supplies with Iris.” the Cultivator said and turned away to leave.

  “One more thing.” The man paused and turned back to Mars.

  “Why Iris?” he asked genuinely interested.

  “Because she was expendable to you.” he said with a sly smirk and then left. Mars could not hear his steps or sense his presence after he left his line of sight. The door opened and then closed and Mars was still tense, agitated and delighted. Aaron had been a more interesting candidate for his revenge than he had anticipated. He was quick witted and maybe a bit devious. Iris being expendable to him made her clearly disloyal and more loyal to Aaron. It was cunning to turn the little canary he had sent to his side and Mars did not really have an answer to her. She would probably still spy for Mars if he asked her to, but he could never be sure of her loyalty.

  He also had put his ability to steal spirits into perspective. If he could get a level from each one he stole… It was probably not quite as potent as that, but it was not even a question who was stronger, 100 vessels or a single lvl100 vessel. High level triumphed over everything else. Mars would make that trade any time, but it was most likely not quite as strong or simple. Either way it would be a good thing to nurture him and give him plenty of people to steal from. Already Mars thought about how to best arrange it, the logistics and who he could sacrifice to make this man stronger. So far he had done anything he had asked of him, as long as Mars paid him. A man like that was worth to be nurtured. His self interest made it more likely for him to stay loyal to his missions and in the end that was all he needed him for. At least for the foreseeable future.