Planet B

Ch.9

With Yank in the fold and quite a few notes guaranteeing a lot of resources now in Yank's possession, Draxta made her way to her second meeting of the day. The mercenaries were needed for the journey to the Lowden ruins, yes. They were needed for a secure presence to ward off the roaming beasts. But more than that they were cannon fodder. The city beyond was dangerous, everyone knew that. Draxta knew exactly how dangerous. From the old world, the city's builders had installed defenses that were beyond the comprehension of today's people. Traps and pitfalls littered the giant ruined city and while most were submerged beneath the marsh, there would still be plenty to deal with. Sacrifice was necessary for the betterment of all, but better to lose ignorant grunts than anyone valuable. She'd done enough of that already. Thank goodness for mercenaries.

Once they reached their destination though, in the heart of the ruins, it would take someone else to gain entry, someone with a particular skillset that would be able to access the talisman's holding room. As the wizard arrived she found her tool waiting.

Inside one of the city's taverns Draxta seated herself across the table from a young woman, studying her target. Of average height the woman was not an imposing figure. In fact she was rather slight, her tight fitting outfit allowing for minimal rustling during movement or chances for snags on random objects. Her fire-red hair was cut short, maybe a week's worth of growth after a clean shave. Very professional looking. Good. Draxta had heard Kyver took her work seriously and this was a good impression.

She noticed the woman was doing the same thing to her, sizing Draxta up and forming base opinions. Yes, those opinion were likely to change as their working relationship progressed, but each had had their fair share of dealings in their lives and there were certain personality traits that were easy enough to discern from initial encounters.  Draxta did her best, which arguably wasn't far from the truth, to mimic Kyver's businesslike demeanor.

"Kyver, I presume?"

Kyver nodded.

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. And, for trusting me enough to meet so suddenly."

Kyver only nodded again. Draxta paused, not used to the casual silence. She and the mercenary leader both seemed to hold their words hostage. Most people were more than eager to engage with her, either in the academic setting due to her station, or with her crew wanting to gain favor or deter punishment.

"I wanted to speak with you to offer you a job, one that I expect only the highest caliber of performance with. It will be dangerous, but the reward is worth the risk."

The edge of Kyver's mouth twitched slightly, the hint of a grin, and Draxta was not sure if the slip was intentional or not.

"You wanna go to Lowden."

Draxta's eyebrows rose in surprise. How could she know that? What else did she know?

"How do you know this?" she asked.

"You said you want the uh, highest caliber performance, I'm giving you a demonstration."

Indeed it was a good demonstration. The meeting with Kyver had only been set up three days past and that meant either Kyver had been spying on her for a long time, or that she'd been able to covertly discover at least part of Draxta's plans in the last three days, a feat very improbable given Draxta's penchant for tight lips and tighter security. Perhaps she'd talked with the mercenaries. Possible, but improbable given the short time between that meeting and this one. Kyver did indeed seem to be a good as advertised.

"You are correct. I am leading an expedition to the drowned city. There is an artifact there I wish to retrieve."

"One that you weren't able to last time ya tried," Kyver interrupted.

How could she know that? Draxta did not let the surprise reach her face.

"That is also correct." Draxta smiled. "I'm starting to feel like this meeting was not necessary, that I could have just expected to see you show up when we leave fully prepped and more ready than any of us."

Kyver returned the smile, though less as a jovial gesture and more of an expression of knowing, her thin lips lending themselves well to the aloof look.

"That's probably true. But it's easy to learn of places and dates and things like that, it's harder to know why. I like the money, yes, but I ain't gonna take a job where I don't like the reasons. I've lost quite a few gigs this way and some say my ethics get in the way, but it let's me smile and have pleasant dreams. So why, High Councilwoman Draxta, a crazy powerful wizard, do you require a thief on your little quest?"

Herein was the true test for Draxta. Any thief worth their salt would know when a person was lying. Either Draxta had to rely on her skills of deception, which were nothing to scoff at, or she had to tell the truth. She had a feeling that her overall tactic should be to appeal to the thief, if morality was a driving force within her, but the full truth of her plan and what was to happen was morally questionable. Draxta chose a similar path as she did with Yank, a partial truth.

"I need a thief to break into an ancient stronghold to steal an artifact that I believe has the power to save the world." She paused, waiting for a reaction, but saw none. "I need a thief, as opposed to a wizard, because the stronghold is warded by powerful, ancient magics that I cannot dispel. I tried once before with a company of magic users and many died because we did not understand the place we entered. Now I know, and I know that in order to save our world, and all the people in it, I need your help."

Draxta mentally held her breath. Admittedly she laid that on a little thick, but Kyver seemed to be a to-the-point kind of woman and so that's what Draxta gave her. She watched as Kyver analyzed the new information presented to her. The terms of payment had already been determined as Kyver had a flat rate, it was only a matter of Kyver's acceptance of the goal. Draxta was impressed with the thief, and hoped she'd say yes, not just because of the considerable skill she'd bring, but because if Kyver said no Draxta would have to kill her. She realized she was putting the thief into a no-win situation, join me and risk a grizzly death or say no and get an instant death. But their world was in a no-win situation and something needed to be done about it.

Kyver's emerald eyes re-focused as she resolved whatever debate waged within her.

"I will join you. I need what info you have on the stronghold and the artifact you're looking for so I don't walk in blind. When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"Have your people deliver them to me at The Stout Hog, I'll be staying there tonight."

"You shall have the information within a few hours, and thank you," Draxta said, not having to feign gratitude. She was truly impressed by the thief and would be glad for the company. She couldn't see Yank and herself having much to talk about. "If all goes as planned we will bring about a better life for many, many people."