Jewels the size of oranges were slowly crushed into a fine powder. Trickling down, the powder was then caught by dozens of fine needles made of moon gold and transformed into glittering threads.

“Gem loom,” the general standing next to the large device that occupied half the room in the place of the gold sand garden. Dallion couldn’t imagine how much effort and money it must have taken to have all that gold dust carefully gathered and moved off to some other room that the general owned and probably never visited. “Latest generation. It can practically make thread of any jewel. Except for diamonds, of course.”

Nice to know it has some limitations, Dallion thought.

Only the imperial family are allowed to make threads of diamond, Nil said.

“Quite the device.” The general slid his fingers along the side of the massive machine. “And I have you to thank for it. The head of a rather large merchant organization bet that you’d fail in the first round. Needless to say that he was wrong. And a good thing too. You can’t buy this device with money outside of the imperial capital.”

“Glad to be of help,” Dallion said, keeping his cool. “You’ll be starting a clothing business, then?”

“Moons, no.” The general laughed. “It’s just something nice to have. To be honest, I can’t even make an outfit for myself with this alone. Gem tailors are so difficult to find. It’s not even about the money. Most of them won’t be caught dead in a place such as this, although every now and again there are a few that fall out of favor. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll be lucky enough to have them come my way.”

Spoken just like a true spider waiting for his next prey. Looking back, Dallion felt outright embarrassed that he thought that he could beat the general in his own game. Just because Dallion was awakened didn’t give him the decades of education and experience the other had. The time that Dallion got him to renegotiate his last deal was probably the first time anyone had argued with the general, catching him by surprise. Against competent opponents, the man was likely to take no chances.

“I was quite surprised to hear that you wanted to see me.” The general went back to the desk in his room. As usual, three furies were in the room as well, one never leaving the general’s side. “I assume your sudden visit has something to do with the whip blade?”

“In a way.” Dallion swallowed his judgement. As much as he preferred to be dealing with someone else, right now the mirror pool was even less trustworthy. “I’ve come for a new deal.”

“Ah, so you felt the rush of negotiating,” the general rubbed his hands, then made a sign to one of his bodyguards. On the second, the fury left the room. “That’s usually how it happens. A single spark is enough to light the fire. It’s a pity that more people don’t appreciate this art. Ask someone what they think of negotiating and they’ll point at marketplace haggling. No, the real art is knowing what you want, its precise cost, and how much you are willing to give to get it. It’s more than math, it’s more than psychology, and more than using your voice to change my mind. Normally, I would admire such tricks, but you’re beyond those games, aren’t we?”

Dallion had no choice but to nod. Moments later, the door opened. The fury had returned with a rather large tray of refreshments, including three bowls of what appeared to be nuts. The tray was glass containers carefully placed on the desk—on coasters of cork so as not to harm the surface of the desk—along with two glasses for Dallion and the general.

“I can’t say I’m surprised. Reaching the top eight is a difficult feat, even for you. I expect you want to reduce the number of rounds by half?”

“Something like that,” Dallion said cautiously. Initially, he was going to ask that he buy the whip sword straight out. However, given that the general was about to offer a better alternative, it was better to wait and see.

“Oh? Please, share your thoughts.”

“There are three things I wish to request.”

“Three?”

“And all of them are different in nature. I suspect the price will be quite high, which is why I want you to swear by the Moons, that nothing I’m about to say will be shared by you, your bodyguards, or any other item and echo in this room.”

The general stared at Dallion, then started clapping.

“Well done. You’ve learned quite a lot since last time. It will be fun playing with you. Very well, I’m agreeing to a sphere of silence during our negotiations. As long as you won’t harm me in any way during the negotiations, we’ll enter an item of your choice.”

Sphere of silence? Dallion asked.

It means that anything discussed between the two of you will remain secret, Nil explained. I wouldn’t recommend entering a realm, though. That might lead to further complications. You’re fine having that talk here. And given that the Moons were invoked, there’s no need to use blocking rings.

“Here will be fine.”

“As you wish.” The general shrugged, then put on a large golden ring on his middle finger.

“There’s no need for that,” Dallion attempted to wave the precaution away.

“Quite noble of you, but I’m afraid I insist. Since this is a negotiation, it’s to be between us. It’s less fun having echoes whisper advice in your ear all the time.”

That was sneaky, but expected. There was no way that the general would allow anyone to have an advantage during negotiations. Reluctantly, Dallion took out the blocking ring and put it on.

“Now, what exactly do you want? It must have been difficult for you coming here, given your strong opinions of our previous deals.”

“You’re better than the alternatives.”

Dallion kept his smile on. Just for the sake of it, he split into five instances, each continuing the conversation in different fashion. All the potential responses were identical. Apparently, the ring that the general had put on, didn’t just hide him from the eyes and ears of guardians.

“I want to keep the sword upon winning the next round,” Dallion said. “You’ve already made a comfortable profit. At this point I doubt that there are many who’d wager against you.”

“You’d be surprised. The more people lose, the more they think they’ll get lucky. Even experienced people believe in the concept of universal luck. That’s part of the thrill. True, we’re betting difficult to find valuables, but it’s the thrill that is important. Win or lose, the thrill remains. So, no. You’ll win your whip blade the moment you reach the top eight.”

“And there’s nothing I could do to change your mind?”

“Well, if you were to lose the weapon, I’m sure something will come to mind, but why be so negative? Who knows? You might win yet.”

Dallion considered asking for a special clause in case of a draw. However, that would be tipping his hand early. Besides, that was just the warmup. This small verbal spar had shown him that the general wasn’t willing to be charitable, so Dallion had to adjust his approach based on that.

“Let’s move on, then.” Dallion took an empty glass from his side of the desk.

Immediately, one of the glass containers rose in the air and filled the glass halfway. That was clearly an intimidation attempt, and it would have worked a few weeks ago. Given the stakes, however, Dallion found it rather amusing.

“There’s a Star cult in the city.” Dallion went straight for the throat. The general didn’t budge a muscle.

So, you know something, don’t you, Dallion said to himself.

For someone with the general’s connections, it wouldn’t be difficult to come by the information—many of the city guard officers knew. However, taking it so calmly and intently meant that he knew something that the city guard didn’t and was waiting to hear the full extent of Dallion’s knowledge on the matter.

“It seems they have been here for months, collecting artefacts, searching for something.”

“Dealing with cultists isn’t worth the risk.” The general took his own glass from the desk. As with Dallion’s, it was immediately filled to the brim. “The Moons don’t like it when the Star is involved, regardless of the consequences.” He took a sip.

“You had dealings with the Star himself and you seem to be doing well.”

“Ah, I see your point.” The general put the half full glass in front of him. “I suppose that it’s possible. Quite possible even. A lot of artifacts passed through me. Some of them were rather unsanitary.”

“That’s what I’ve come to ask about. You know where, when, and how the artifacts were moved. If I follow them, I’ll be able to find the cult.”

“And that’s a good thing?” The general arched a brow. “Most people do everything in their power to stay away from Star cultists, even when they have a substantial amount to gain. Trust me, I’ve considered the option once or twice. It’s just not worth it.”

“They are planning on unleashing a wild chainling within the city.”

Focus, Dallion thought. The blocking rings negated the effectiveness of his music skill, so he had to use alternative matters. Pain rushed to his temples as Dallion, increasing the intensity of his glance. Time seemed to slow down. Within moments, he was able to see thousands of micro expressions that were otherwise invisible. Barely noticeable, there were twitches—surprise, annoyance, uncertainty. Dallion could see that this was one piece of information the man didn’t expect. Even so, he was hiding it remarkably well, especially given how much he could lose.

“I see the news hasn’t reached you yet. Should we consider this a freebie?”

“How generous of you.” The general leaned forward on his desk.

“They have found a number of Vermillion’s Tears. I assume you know what the artifacts do?”

“Of course. I even had one in my possession, but had to let it go for another item. Looking at things, maybe it was a mistake to do so.”

Dallion was tempted to agree just to rub it in, but decided it would be better if he remained detached. He had come here asking favors, after all.

“I’m here to ask for information, and assistance, that will help me track down the cultists in question.”

“Is that all?” the general’s words were dripping with sarcasm. “Nothing major, then.”

If Nil were still able to talk to Dallion, he’d no doubt explain in great detail what sort of blunder he’d made. It was foolish that he wouldn’t make a few mistakes—neither of his lives were familiar with the goings on in the world. The former chief of Dallion’s village had gone to great lengths to ensure that. Seeing how complicated things were, Dallion was starting to see part of the appeal.

“I know this isn’t the game you wanted, but I don’t have the time.” Dallion decided to go for the direct approach. The closer he kept to the truth the better. “I could have gone to the overseer, but there’s no telling whether that wouldn’t accelerate things. Stopping the destruction of the city is in both of our interests. Knowing you, you already have a price in mind, so either tell me what it is or stop wasting my time!”

Dallion held his breath. This had come out far more forceful than he had imagined, almost as if it was someone else talking. Could it be that he had uncovered a new flaw? Or was this the result of him having dealt with one? Either way, his outburst had the desired effect,

“You’ll owe me an artifact of my choosing,” the general said at last. “Not a random trinket, but something specific I have my sights on.”

“Done.”

There was a long moment of silence. Both stared each other in the eyes, as if waiting for a sigh from the Moons to confirm the arrangement. Finally, the general took another sip of his cup.

“The cult doesn’t have a base of operations,” the man said. “Not even a meeting item. It’s far too risky. Instead, they are constantly in motion. All it takes is for them to be in sight of one another to exchange information. The overseer is the only one who can catch them in the act.”

“What about the kaleidervistos?”

“Useless. Sure, you might be able to spot one or two, but that only works once. You saw what happened when you uncovered one. Found any since then?”

“One.”

“Probably a new member. Now that they know about you, they’ll make sure to be in a different part of the city. That’s what makes them difficult to catch. You can spend day and night running through the city and the only thing you’ll know is where they aren’t.”

“I figured as much,” Dallion lied. He had no idea how star cultists operated. Even so, his plan never relied on tracking them in the first place. “The artifacts. They’ll need to use the Vermillion keys for this to work. If we can track those down—"

“It’ll take an empath to manage that,” the general shook his head. “Regardless of the nature of the items, they were acquired legally, so there will be no screaming from their guardians.”

Dallion bit his tongue. He was this close to sharing that he was an empath, before realizing that it wouldn’t do him any good, not at his current level of empathy. With his “range” of talking to guardians, he didn’t have the time to go search the entire city or to improve his stat. He was so close, and yet so far away.

“However, there is a way.” A smile formed on the general’s face. “I might have a way of tracking down the item that was briefly in my possession. Just that one, mind you. Would that be enough?”

“It’ll have to be.” Euphoria filled Dallion. “Given their haste we can hope that they don’t have spares.”

“I’ll have someone see to it. Anything else?”

“One last thing. I’ll need something that will help me break into a guild undetected..”