Steel and Mana

Chapter 313 – Sinister Plans

The city of Aldrim was waking up early in the morning, and the merchants were eager to start their day, looking to make a profit once again. Lyria, donning her alter-ego, was also out in the streets, walking briskly to her destination, wrinkling her nose as the air carried the pungent aroma of spices and oils, mixing with the damp scent of canal water that she was passing over on an arching stone bridge. As she navigated the yet-to-be-crowded avenues, her mind churned with strategies after the last night. As nightlife in Aldrim was also the turf of smugglers and underhanded dealings, her fingers were also dipped into it, ending with her receiving particular news from Avalon two days ago.

It was about their peculiar demand for more oil, which had ignited suspicions within her. Anything that Avalon wanted had to be for a reason, and a reason that was bad for Ishillia. Atuvia’s leaders, for now, dismissed it as simple barter—oil in exchange for Avalon’s increased engineering assistance, extending the railway towards the second city. Yet, for her mind, it was not as simple, not after being coupled with what she experienced while visiting that accursed city. Now, under the guise of Eira Shastan, she was ready to jump on the clue and wiggle herself back to that city, preferably to acquire a permanent reason to stay there. If she could secure control of an oil source within Atuvia, she would cement her position both with the Chairmen and, through them, with Avalon.

"If that Sovereign deems oil as a prime resource... I need to learn why..." She mumbled to herself, thinking of how to deal with the current holders of the working oil fields. These little enclaves of families were doing the extraction as most of the major players were uninterested in dealing with a useless resource. At least until they realized they were wrong and would scramble in a desperate hurry the moment Avalon turned it into literal gold under their cursed fingers.

Lyria’s spy network operated like a finely tuned instrument as she gave orders to approach these families. Each of her Ishillian agents began researching their targets' past, digging up anything they could to slander or threaten them. In contrast, her Atuvian subordinates, loyal to her persona as Eira Shastan, began helping her to establish proper connections with said families in the Atuvian merchant fashion of gifts and deals. They believed they were working toward prosperity under a young and ambitious Atuvian, not even realizing they were all being deceived and were operating for Ishillia and could lose their heads if it got revealed. Still... her actual hopes for dealing with this quickly were laid in someone else, someone only she had contact with.

Her most trusted Ishillian aid, Kaelis. By now, he served as a clerk for the Quickfeet Guild. He was invaluable, not only for his proximity to the Chairmen but also for his ability to falsify records and intercept direct communications. Unlike any of her other subordinates, be it Ishillian or Atuvian, he had an extra gift to infiltrate so far, only spending so little time in the city: magic. Even though Lyria was his commander in this operation, she never once dared to boss him around. Being a self-described, low-level Ishillian sorcerer, he was still somebody who was invaluable to her and to her masters, so Lyria made sure that proper respects were in order when they interacted.

Lyria made her way to a discreet teahouse near the guild district, a pre-determined meeting point, set only a few hours ago when the darkness of the night was still prevalent over the city. Inside, Kaelis waited at a corner table, shuffling through a stack of documents. He didn’t look up as she approached, maintaining the appearance of a clerk engrossed in work, enjoying a tea right before heading to work.

“Progress?” she asked, her voice low as she sat down at the adjacent table, bringing a cup of tea and biscuits with her for breakfast.

“The Quickfeet Guild is on the verge of committing to our sneaked-in proposal." Kaelis slid a ledger down behind the table, and she took it without looking, making it disappear inside her coat. "Chairman Vrynn has been privately voicing support for controlling the oil extraction. Even if not directly, then through contracted families.”

“And the Goldlight Guild?”

“They’re hedging. They suspect something unusual about Avalon’s oil demand but haven’t connected it to refining. That will be up to you.”

"Refining?" She muttered.

"The only possible reason why they are asking for more all of a sudden. They most likely came up with a use for it and probably managed to control its flames or how apply it without issues. We just don't know, but they found a use for it, I think. That is my conjecture, after all."

"Probably right. We must expect the worst with Avalon..." Lyria grimaced, biting into one of her dry biscuits, almost choking on it. “Then we keep them in the dark, at least until we secure an oil field for ourselves... Ugh!" She coughed, reaching for her cup of tea to wash it off. "We need to get it first before others wake up to the fact, too."

"I agree." Kaelis nodded, then hesitated for a moment. “There’s another matter. Avalon has been too silent.”

"What do you mean?"

"I expected them to come here and spy on Atuvia. Not on us but on their system. They are either too trusting or..."

"Or they are already here..." Lyria’s smirk faltered, replaced by a flicker of unease. “And we noticed nothing?”

“Not yet, no,” Kaelis answered. “Not if they are indeed here. Maybe they aren't.” He whispered, standing up after finishing his documents, ready to leave. "And I may just be a tad bit paranoid. But... somehow, my senses have been tingling since your return... Anyway, here." He dropped a letter from his robe's sleeve while dressing up, with one smooth movement, right into Lyria's lap. "Congratulations, Eira Shastan. You have been invited to a prestigious event tonight. Don't miss our prey... because he will attend."

"Finally..." She smiled, watching Kaelis leave the shop. "One foot already in... now I just need to push the door open enough to slip inside."

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That evening, Lyria attended a banquet hosted by the Goldlight Guild, her charm and guile on full display, along with all of the curves she could muster under her red, one-piece dress with deep cutouts. The grand hall glittered with opulence, from the crystal chandeliers to the polished marble floors inside the main Guild Building, true to its owners' namesake. She worked the room like a seasoned diplomat, exchanging pleasantries and veiled barbs with guild members and established merchant families, tirelessly planting her ideas into their ears. And then, she noticed someone she had to approach... One of the Chairmen in the Goldlight Guild, Chairman Beldrin, her mark for the night. Taking a sip from her wine, making sure her smile was as genuine as possible, she began approaching him while exuding the right amount of confidence and nervousness.

“Chairman, my apologies for disturbing you; my name is Eira Shastan.”

"I know. You are the newcomer, making waves in the city." Beldrin’s eyes narrowed as he nodded, looking her up and down. “Your name had been coming up on my desk three times in a row by now.”

“I hope it did so because of good reasons.” Lyria smiled, her voice honeyed.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"You are still young. I admire your no-nonsense attitude and push for what you want. I was like that once." Beldrin finally smiled as he stroked his graying goatee thoughtfully. “Gaining complete ownership over an oil field? Expanding its scale? An intriguing proposition. But securing an oil source, especially one that is under joint ownership with a Zortan-based merchant family, won’t be easy. We are allies with the Quickfeet Guild, cutting them out so suddenly...”

"I believe it would be worth it in the long run." Lyria leaned in, lowering her voice. “The ones we would anger were lower-ranking families, and it would be my clan that takes the blame, not you or any of the other chairmen. And... I visited Avalon. I know that those who did so from Quickfeet will think of the same idea as mine.”

"Maybe." He nodded, raising his glass of wine to his lips, his eyes already telling Lyria that the man himself was thinking what she was. Probably thanks to Kaelis's well-placed reports, which planted the idea in him ahead of time.

"I could buy them out. Oil is still a mostly worthless resource, but if Avalon starts asking for more and more, that won't stay like that. We need to get in early. I just need a little... loan."

"From me." Beldrin nodded, "What would you give for me in exchange?"

"40%."

"Oh?" The man stopped, looking at her with great surprise. "45%."

"..."

"I am still taking a risk here, young Eira. It may be you who buys it, but the moment everyone realizes the importance of oil, they will trace it back to me. I could be forced to relinquish my ownership of it if it indeed becomes way too important. Then, the two Guilds will handle it together as an asset to Atuvia. Then, I will be operating at a loss."

Lyria wanted to curse because he would not lose anything at all. He was a chairman, after all.

"43%." She answered with gritted teeth, making him chuckle.

"I accept. I like your attitude, young one. Here!" he exclaimed, giving her a small card. "Come to my office tomorrow. We will talk proper business there."

"Thank you, Chairman Beldrin." Lyria bowed, taking it, smiling genuinely because profit was, after all, unimportant to her. What she wanted was precisely this... A connection to the highest portion of Atuvia and a solid reason to get in touch with Avalonian higher-ups.

As the banquet continued, she noted subtle shifts in the room’s atmosphere. Conversations paused briefly when she moved past, and glances lingered just a moment too long. The other families had already noted their private exchange. They didn't know what it was about yet, but soon, there would be others like her trying to get in on the oil business.

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Across the street, in a modest apartment overlooking the guild hall, Kiwi and Melon observed the banquet through their own Mark II helmets, which were given to them directly for these types of occasions. They noted every interaction on the outside, every seemingly innocuous gesture as the people were coming or leaving.

“How the hell do our soldiers keep it on their heads,” Kiwi grunted while jotting down notes. “These are so big...”

"Their heads are bigger than ours, that is for sure. But they are also taller and more muscular... I would love to ride one." Melon chuckled. “Anyway, did you also notice?” She asked, holding the helmet on with two hands. "There is indeed a mage, as our latest intel said. He is loitering around the servants... Aaand he is heading in."

"Yep. I confirmed it." Kiwi nodded, almost making the helmet fall off her head.

Back inside the banquet, Kaelis had just slipped Lyria a folded note under the guise of refilling her wine. It contained details of a potential Zortan contact willing to negotiate a contract and willing to sell for a reasonable price, thanks to the sudden blackmail he was facing. She slipped it into her dress without missing a beat, continuing her conversation with other influential merchants around the room, mingling as usual.

"Should we interfere?" Kiwi asked once the banquet was over, and everyone left, but Melon didn't answer immediately.

"I think not. Let them do it; we can warn the others back home anyway. We still need time to mark and gather all their people and their identities. Plus, don't you think if we have dirt on a Chairman, working with Ishillians, we could have our own blackmailing opportunity?"

"Evil. I love it! Squeeze them by their balls..."

"And slurp up the tasty juice!"

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Later that night, in her private quarters, Lyria pored over Kaelis's note’s contents. If she secured the deal, she’d not only further her mission but also elevate her standing in both Atuvian and Avalonian circles as the first actual oil trader. Maybe it was her excitement, but for a moment, she completely forgot about Kaelis's fear of Atuvians watching or trailing them. At the moment, it seemed an impossibility.

By morning, she had assembled her next moves, creating a new plan. She asked Kaelis to prepare falsified contracts that would implicate the Goldlight Guild in monopolistic practices, ensuring their exclusion from future deals. She was preparing a backup plan for herself if the Chairman tried to stab her in the back, wanting to cry out for help from the Quickfeet Guild if it happened. Her Plan B was simply sowing chaos and breaking up the two guilds to hinder Avalon in the process. Meanwhile, she also directed her actual Atuvian subordinates to begin gathering all their assets as she moved in to secure the deal.

Yet, at the same time, the Avalonian Secret Service was doing the same, ready to take a dump right on the top of her plans if necessary.