It turned out that Os himself was about as big as his bodyguard. He was bald. The tone of his eyebrows was like his skin, and in the limited lighting the tent provided, it seemed like they weren’t there at all.

  Although Os was big, Hunter still had an inch or two on him. Hunter’s height seemed to impress the man.

  The merchant was standing behind a long table, stretching from one end of the tent to the other. A variety of baubles, some of which Hunter recognized, were strewn across it. From what he could tell, they were all artifacts from the Seedhans, but from Hunter’s limited understanding, they all seemed rather low-value.

  “Not impressed with my wares?” Os asked. His voice was mid-tone, and his accent was exotic. The translator eliminated most accents, which made most voices neutral and somewhat boring. Either the translator was running out of juice, if that was even possible, or Os was exaggerating the accent on purpose.

  Hunter shrugged. As he had approached the tent, he’d been reviewing what he could remember from the leadership modules. Not all of them were about leadership. Some lessons had been about how he ought to network with potential business partners. Although he hadn’t come up with much of a plan, he felt confident that he had enough of a toolkit to start this conversation off on the right foot.

  “I’m sure there’s a market for them, otherwise a man of your talents wouldn’t be wasting your time selling them,” he said.

  The bodyguard scoffed. An amused smile graced Os’s features.

  “You’re a charmer, eh?” Os said. He sat down his in his chair and held his hand out, gesturing to Hunter’s side. He accepted the invitation and sat down as well.

  “I assure you that these are some of the finest artifacts available on the open market. Now, if you’re a man of more discerning tastes, I may have access to something you’d be interested in. I’m sure you’re a busy man—ah, I never caught your name, by the way,” Os said.

  “Hunter,” Hunter said, embarrassed because he’d forgotten something so basic. Despite everything he’d been through, this wasn’t a controlled lesson. He lacked a convenient bullet-point list to remind him of everything he needed.

  Still, excuses aside, forgetting to introduce himself was the height of incompetence, and Hunter resolved to be better than that. He had to be.

  “Hunter is a potent name, and you appear to be a very strong lad,” Os said, his eyes squinting in something that might be an assessing gaze. It was hard to tell, but his eyebrows rose as he deduced the purpose for Hunter’s visit. “Strength can be expensive around here. Dangerous, as well.”

  Seeing no reason to deny it, Hunter nodded.

  Os pursed his lips. He leaned back, continuing to assess Hunter. He cleared his throat, but it was a very exaggerated.

  Obviously, it was a queue for his bodyguard to be ready to kick Hunter out. Hunter could hear the big guy lumbering behind him. He was close.

  Hunter resisted the urge to gulp. It was an old reflex, from a time when he couldn’t defend himself. From what he could tell, the bodyguard wasn’t much tougher than himself. Hunter felt sure of his fighting skills. He knew that he had little to fear from either of these men as far as a direct confrontation went.

  But he didn’t know how well connected Os was. The possibility of offending the Peacekeepers before he could justify that offense was something that Hunter wanted to avoid.

  “Just a precaution, Hunter,” Os said, “for my safety. People around here get desperate. I’m sure you understand.”

  “I do,” Hunter said. Os had a valid concern that made perfect sense. He let himself relax a bit.

  “I’m sure you’re a busy man, Mr. Hunter,” Os said. Hunter suppressed the reflexive smirk at the honorific. “So let’s get down to business. What can I do for you today?”

  “I need something to help me with my cultivation.”

  As soon as he spoke, Os lost his smile. Hunter got a bad feeling. Os glanced at his bodyguard, and Hunter felt a hand on his shoulder. He pushed away the urge to resist the grip and held out both his hands. A few calculations flashed through Hunter’s mind.

  He didn’t know what he’d said to offend the man, but Os was clearly unhappy with Hunter’s request. That meant that he didn’t openly advertise having cultivation aids.

  If the doctor recommended Hunter, it meant either the doctor was trying to sabotage him, or Os did infact have cultivation aids to sell. Given all of this information, Hunter could only assume that Os like to choose his clientele. He only sold to people he trusted. Since the doctor had mentioned that Os might give Hunter a discount, he could deduce that the relationship between the doc and Os leaned towards something more positive.

  Either the Peacekeepers were unaware of Os’s business, or Hunter overlooked other hidden currents around the camp. Rival merchants, maybe? Tension with loyalists? The dynamics at play were too vague for Hunter to grasp at, at least for now. He wished Aera was there beside him. She was much better suited for playing this game.

  “The doctor sent me,” Hunter said. He admonished himself for not opening with that.

  Os held up his hand again and the bodyguard's hand relaxed on Hunter’s shoulder.

  It was an opening. What would Os need in order for Hunter to salvage this situation?

  Was it context? Context could solve a lot of problems.

  Would giving more information away expose too much about himself? Was it even a problem?

  Did he even have a choice?

  “I was at the doc’s cabin earlier,” Hunter rushed to explain. “He had one more pill available. He said that he could only give it to a higher priority client.”

  Os sat back in his seat and folded his arms, considering Hunter’s words as he drummed his fingers against his tricep.

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  “Anything else?”

  “Some Peacekeepers showed up. They interrupted our appointment, demanding the pill. The doctor refused at first, but they assaulted him and took it.”

  Os’s faint eyebrows twitched. He sucked his teeth for a second.

  “What else did the doctor mention when he gave you my name?” he asked.

  “Well,” Hunter said, “he said that you might give me a discount if I mentioned he sent me.”

  “Ha,” barked Os. “He said that, did he?”

  Os glanced at his bodyguard once more and waved his hand as if he was brushing away dust. The bodyguard grunted, and his hand left Hunter’s shoulder, and he walked back outside the tent.

  “What did this pill look like?”

  “Like a pearl,” Hunter said. Os shook his head and muttered something under his breath.

  “Believe it or not you’ve done me a favour by sharing this information,” Os said, and Hunter felt quite hopeful about the direction the conversation was heading. “You only arrived about a week ago?”

  Hunter frowned and nodded. Did Os know him? How?

  “Don’t overthink it. I’m a merchant. It’s my business to keep track of things. Most faces aren’t worth knowing after a month, but if you find yourself in my tent after only a week, well, that might mean something. Or it might not, but as you said, a man of my talents needs to know how to make opportunities for himself. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Before Hunter could answer, Os tilted his head, and a strange look came over him. He pursed his lips and considered Hunter as if he were looking right through him.

  “Be at your tent later tonight. I’ll have someone come by to deliver what you need.”

  It took a second for Hunter to process what he’d just heard, much to Os’s amusement.

  “Just like that?” Hunter asked. “You’re just going to give me a pill? How much do you want for it?”

  He wasn’t sure how Os did business. He’d assumed that it would be like any other transaction, an equal exchange of value—

  Hunter paused that train of thought. Could it be that simple? Is this how Os did business? The pieces were clicking into place. His tent was nearly empty, and the trinkets on the table were cheap. However, he could afford a strong bodyguard and seemed to have the respect of the Peacekeepers. Hunter guessed that Os held most of his high-quality stuff somewhere else, safe from the roving hands of desperate slaves.

  It was unlikely that Os made a habit of giving merchandise away. That meant that Hunter had delivered enough value to the man to justify the exchange.

  “With the doc’s discount, and the value of the information you gave me about how the Peackeepers were acting, you’ve earned this pill. But that discount was a onetime deal. Now, if you want similar deals in the future, there are always things that need doing around here, if you catch my drift. Odd jobs, and the like.”

  Hunter nodded without thinking too much about it. It was an excellent offer, but he wasn’t willing to commit to anything yet.

  “I’ll think about it,” he said.

  “Mhm.”

  It was a casual sound. But the look on Os’s face told Hunter everything he needed to know about what the man felt about the decision Hunter would come to. There was something about the man that had shifted in the last 30 seconds. It almost felt like something etheric; it was subtle. But his sixth sense had progressed a lot. What was once unknown was now as clear as day. What was now subtle might one day shine as clear as day as well, with enough practice.That said, he didn’t have enough information to deduce what Os had just done.

  Hunter felt that his relationship with Os was off to an interesting start. After saying their goodbyes, Hunter left the tent satisfied he hadn’t had to dip into his savings in order to afford the pill.

  But he couldn’t shake the feeling that Os had gained some sort of advantage over him. He couldn’t place his finger on where that feeling came from.

  He shook his head and focused on getting back to his tent without attracting unnecessary attention.

  As promised, a messenger arrived outside their tent just after the sun went down. A handshake sealed the deal. Hunter hadn’t been expecting it, but he caught on fast enough to what was going on. Hopefully it all looked natural enough to anyone passing by.

  Hunter had little time to inspect the small pill once he was back in the tent. Jaspen was asleep, and so were the others. The pill itself was nothing like he attributed to the name back on Sanctuary. Like the pearl he had seen in the doc’s office, this one was spherical, with a circumference of a similar size to the nail on his forefinger. It was smooth, which would make it a lot easier to swallow.

  He was eager to use the pill, but he still had to wait for the doctor to show up. And he didn’t have to wait for long. Around the time that Jaspen woke up, muttering about how hungry he was, the doctor cleared his throat outside the tent. Hunter let him in. The man was carrying a large satchel. He seemed haggard, exhausted after a long day of work.

  “The client?” he muttered. Hunter gestured towards Jaspen’s prone form. The others began to stir and awaken, shooting questioning glances at Hunter. Most of them hadn’t met the doctor yet. He explained the doctor’s presence, and that put most of them at ease, but a remained suspicious of the stranger among them.

  Their time at the camp hadn’t been easy. Some of them would have a sudden windfall of high value materials and artifacts that they could pocket once they’d met their daily quota. But it wasn’t uncommon for stronger slaves, especially loyalists, to come around and take what others had found. To combat this, Hunter had encouraged them to stick together. Unfortunately, they couldn’t stick together all the time. In a flash of vulnerability, you become a target for the camp’s most sinister individuals.

  However, a limit existed on the amount of damage one could inflict. But that limit only applied to those who weren’t peacekeepers.

  Not that it stopped anyone from crossing the line. There were whispers of people disappearing, of others walking around with their stuff. They would claim that they found it.

  No witnesses, no crime. And the Peacekeepers didn’t care, as long as things didn’t spiral out of control.

  Just another in a long list of elements that made living on Seedha a nightmare.

  “His recovery depends on what you’re willing to pay,” the doctor said, breaking Hunter from his thoughts.

  “I thought I’d already paid for it,” Hunter said, narrowing his eyes.

  “No,” the doctor said, shaking his head, “that was the cost of getting me out here, and it would also cover any emergency first-aid I might need to apply. But treatment is expensive. This young man needs more than some common, low-efficacy medicines. And in order to get what he needs, I’ll need to negotiate with the Peacekeepers.”

  Hunter closed his eyes and breathed a deep breath before the frustration could take over.

  “How much?”

  “You got tickets?”

  Hunter shook his head.

  “Get your stuff converted into tickets. It makes trading with the Peacekeepers a lot easier. They use the tickets as well, from what I understand. Something like an internal currency system.”

  Hunter was silent as he thought about what the doctor was saying. Why hadn’t he heard of tickets yet? He’d only been in the camp for a week, but someone would have mentioned something. When he said as much to the doctor, the man shrugged.

  “Most of the people here would rather avoid dealing with them. You’ll find that most of our indentured brothers and sisters can get by with bartering their savings. Personally, I don’t have that luxury. When you’re dealing with the more expensive treatments I can give you, I have to go through the Peacekeepers, which means you have to go through the Peacekeepers. I can convert valuables into tickets for you, but that will take time. And during that time, your friend won’t be getting what he needs.”

  Hunter nodded, and didn’t trust himself to speak. The doctor didn’t deserve his frustration. It wasn’t his fault; he had to work within the system the Peacekeepers had designed.

  The doctor’s face softened, and he relaxed a bit. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a small package.

  “Lucky for you, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to treat a new arrival. Take this for now, follow the instructions I’ve written. I’ll take whatever you can give me now and covert it into tickets by tomorrow.”

  Hunter made a show of walking towards his sleeping bag and reaching into it. He brought his attention to his storage ring and extracted all of his savings. He pulled them out of his sleeping bag one by one. The doctor came over and took half of it.

  “You’ve got some good stuff there, Hunter,” the doctor said. “Be careful about showing anyone else.”

  After turning to leave, he stopped and looked back. “What I just gave you isn’t everything your friend needs. Come by the cabin tomorrow afternoon. You can pick up the rest once I’ve finished trading for it.”