155 Join the Club (2/2)

The accompanying image was one of Ty sitting on the auction house's stage while a dark, unrecognizable entity floated above him.

It wasn't a very flattering image and it didn't properly convey the terror of that thing Ty had summoned.

\”We're not mentioned here,\” I noted. \”It just says he'd been purchased by Madam Kallista of the Three Rings Auction House as a third-party representative for the Trickster Pavilion…\”

\”That's a good thing, right?\” Luca asked. \”At least no one's going to immediately come after us to try and steal Ty.\”

I nodded in agreement. \”Yup… saves us the hassle…\”

Although it really was good that the Foolhardies hadn't been revealed, it kind of annoyed me that we weren't mentioned. This was the kind of thing that helped to increase our unit's popularity after all.

I sighed, letting go of my disappointment and opted instead to swipe the orb to see what other news had occurred in the Fayne.

\”Interesting,\” I said.

\”What is?\” Luca asked.

He glanced down at the orb in my hand. Inside of it was a 3D image was a walled castle with half a dozen spires being invaded by a group of soldiers. The headline of this image read; PILGRIMS INVADE ORDER OF JUSTICIAR ARCHIVES AND ESCAPE WITH PRICELESS RELICS FROM THE PERIOD OF THE LOST MONARCH.

\”I never realized how active the Pilgrimage was before,\” I told Luca.

\”They're the good guys though, right?\” Luca wondered. \”I mean, they even wanted to help us free Ty…\”

I shrugged. \”The way I see it, little brother, believing some big secret organization is altruistic is just going to bite us in the ass… the only ones we can really trust are us.\”

Luca stared thoughtfully at the orb. By the glint in his eyes, I assumed he didn't heard my last statement. But I guess for a slave soldier like Luca, the sound of a human-centric group fighting for human rights in the Fayne was very appealing.

I swiped the orb a few more times, but the rest of the news I received was your typical increase in hostilities among fairy clans which were the norm in this age of warring states.

\”Looks like the Scarlet Moon picked a fight with the Hermitage up north,\” I reported.

\”That's Varda's former dwarven clan, right?\” Luca confirmed.

I nodded. \”Man, these Scarlet Moon guys just don't let up…\”

\”Those bastards definitely put the 'war' in warmongering,\” Qwipps agreed. \”And we've brushed swords with them three times now, Dean… what kind of messed up luck do you have?\”

I almost laughed at his statement as I was wondering the same thing too. Still, I'd rather our enemies kept coming because beating them all was the fastest way to get recognized by the clan's leadership.

\”Oh, looks like Garm lost another oasis to the Sunspire Dominion,\” I reported after swiping the orb one final time. \”It says here that the oasis was one of the largest in the eastern region of the Westersand desert and that it had a mana pool too.\”

\”Losing a place like that's one heck of a fail on Garm's part,\” Qwipps laughed.

Qwipps was right, of course. The battle in the Westersand Desert between the Sunspire Dominion and the Trickster Pavilion was all about acquiring and controlling the many oasis found in the desert. These were highly strategic areas that could control the flow of supplies and trade in the area, and losing one with a mana pool in it was a big loss for our side.

\”Looks like we'll get to see some action in the Westersand Desert after all… no way the Council won't deploy more units to take back what we lost,\” I reasoned.

\”That means a ramp-up in military power in the region,\” Luca added, sounding almost like he didn't much like the idea. \”Which means another big war is coming… doesn't it?\”

I smacked my brother in the shoulder.

\”What? Are you losing your nerve, Luca?\” I joked.

He responded with a hard smack on my shoulder.

\”You wish… I'm ready,\” Luca said, although his voice didn't sound so resolute.

\”Good,\” I answered. \”Remember, we're—\”

\”—Fighting to rack up as many accomplishments as we can to attain a wish from the clan leader,\” Luca finished the line I'd drilled into him months ago. \”I know, Dean… I'm ready.\”

\”Good… let's go then.\” I gave the scrying orb back to Qwipps. \”Give this to Aura for me, will you.\”

Luca and I began walking away from our tent, but Qwipps called me back to ask where I was going.

I looked over my shoulder at him and said, \”I've got a meeting with the Lord of Stars.\”