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I'm not a politician. I never pretended to be.

But it didn't take one to figure out that the birth of a second Turina was bad news.

Turina, the human supremacist empire built by humans and for humans. It was home to one of the most powerful religious organizations in the world, the Church of Light, Flame and Shield. As far as I knew, there was no religion in the world that could even rival the Church. Perhaps the worshippers of the Nine, if they could get the nine branches to unite under a banner. But as long as nothing changed, the dwarves, the orcs, the elves and even the beastman (the only other race to have an empire with power rivaling Turina) had that sort of power.

Maybe people don't understand why the church is so powerful.

Because it's basically a factory to pump out healing machines, AKA Priests and Holy Knights.

In MSS, healing abilities are rare and far few in between. Just the fact that Turina managed to systemize their Priest-producing capabilities into a Church so powerful that it actually rivaled the Great Houses was testament to their war fighting capabilities.

I'm sure people look at the Church as its own power.

Give me a break. You really think the Royal Houses would have let non-royalty and non-nobles get so powerful unless there was something in it for them?

Of course not. The Church existed because the nobility wanted it to exist. I'd bet my right arm on it.

And that's just the Church.

The Great Houses. The capability to produce Aura-wielding knights. True to their aggressive expansionist policies, Turina had everything needed to pump out soldiers and form armies.

It clicked for me just then. The Turina Empire isn't just a country. It's a factory, a war-machine whose entire resources gathering abilities –culture, agriculture, policies, infrastructure– centered around War.

And look where that got this continent.

A history filled with bloodshed, colored through the lens of racism with seeds of conflict sown throughout the years. Even now, we were suffering the repercussions of Turina's single decision to enslave all the other races.

And Bright-Ear just told me I was sitting in the middle of a maelstrom that could possibly lead to the birth of another one.

Here. Now. In the fancy castle, in this fancy ballroom.

So when I saw the dog beastman open his mouth to say something, I held up a hand, stopping him.

"I'm not interested."

His eyes grew large. "What?"

I stood up, noting that some of the other beastman tensed when I did so.

'If only there was a way to tell what kind of element they wielded.' Walkers, the beastman equivalent of human Knights, are a bit harder to tell what they do. The fighting-style of knights can easily be deduced by their weapons, after all, Aura doesn't do much than exponentially multiply your damage.

But the Beastman racial trait is a little bit finicky. A rogue who chose the Path of Flame can do drastically different things than a rogue who's on the Path of Water. Even if their weapons are the same.

"Councilman Bright-Ear, I appreciate your information. But you have to remember, I'm an adventurer." I shook my head, "I don't have ties to Turina, nor Zimmskar. This sounds like politics and the last thing I want to do is get involved in it."

"Wait, Lock Slaveborn, please-" He began.

Two of the guards got in my way.

Tch. Two warrior types. But they didn't have their weapons out, so I had no idea what kind.

My first instinct was to draw [Snow Scream] and start a fight right there and then. Looking around, none of my party members were nearby. Most of them were near the part of the ballroom where dwarves, humans and elves were. Of course, most of the information I asked them to gather could be found there.

My second instinct was to cause a commotion.

I relented to the third.

"Move." I said quietly.

No please. No manners.

A simple command.

The one in front of me, another lizard beastman just like Skaris except with royal-blue scales, narrowed his eyes.

"The Councilman, not finished." He hissed out.

Really? Four words? Talk about stereotypes of beastman being dumb.

This guy looked less like a beastman than Skaris. Where Skaris had patches of scales on his skin, this guy only had two scales, right above his eyelids. With a slicked back royal-blue hair, he was like a well-kempt version of my party's spearman.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Slaveborn, please. I haven't even finished yet."

"I'm an adventurer," I reinstated without turning around, "I don't want to be involved in this."

"Whether you want to be involved or not, you already are." Bright-Ear said, "Please… you haven't even heard my offer yet."

"Offer?" I looked over my shoulder.

Bright-Ear nodded eagerly, reminding me of an old dog. "Yes. Surely you didn't think I'd ask something of you without offering something in return?"

Even the promise of an offer was enough to make me hesitate.

There were too many things that my party lacked right now. Funds. Information. Connections.

A Black Curtain event isn't for everything. In the game of MSS, to get into the auction itself, many things played a role. Timing, your NPC connections, even the hidden stat: Fame. And depending on how well you played your cards…

'There's a possibility that I can get into more than one Black Curtain event.' I thought.

The fact that there were factions in the Free Trader's League meant there would be merchants who felt a certain way towards a certain faction. And those merchants were bound to have their own stocks and import lines. So each faction probably had the same access to general goods but the more esoteric goods would be reserved for their own side.

'There's bound to be a merchant who opens their doors to either one.'

Two.

Depending on how I played my cards, I could get into Two Auctions.

I needed that desperately.

Because at the moment, every single member of my party needed an upgrade. Badly.

Aurora, Stole and Skaris could use a new Core. Kyrian might not be able to get a Mana Core here (since those could only be received from Mage Towers) but I could find new equipment for him.

Right now, my party was at a critical juncture for growth. Especially me. Ever since my last Core, the [Royal Oni], I had been at a stand-still in terms of Cores. If and only if, one of the auctions had the Core I wanted…

'Stealing the Autarch's Key and getting out of Claw's Nest might not be impossible.'

I returned to my seat.

"Ah," Bright-Ear let out a satisfied sound. "Thank you, Slaveborn."

"I'll hear out the offer first." I said. "But it looks like you don't care who overhears."

"The only person who'd overhear our conversation is the War Prince himself. And he's not here yet." Bright-Ear reassured me.

Jared didn't strike me as the type to waste a Core slot on something that provides a boost to [Hearing]. Then again, I'd been wrong before. He could be a [Wayfinder] class or [Pioneer]. After all, I'd been wrong about Arrosh.

It didn't seem like Bright-Ear was worried, "Let's hear it."

"Rumors told me you were a straightforward man." He commented.

I just shrugged.

"First, let me lay out my cards on the table." He continued when I didn't reply, "As you know, I am a representative of Zimmskar. What do you know about my homeland?"

I went over what Skaris mentioned here and there. "Not much. It lies to the West, way further than the Mage Towers. I know that the knight-equivalent of your warriors are called Walkers. Those who walk the path of the Elements are named as such, Fire Walker, Water Walker, Earth Walker, Wind Walker, Lightning Walker. I know that historically, your kind was enslaved by the Turinan Empire."

"Spoken like an adventurer."

"Ngh." I grunted, "There aren't a lot of beastman from Zimmskar. Most of the beastman in other countries were both outside of Zimmskar, though their parents and grandparents can probably trace their roots to it." Picking up a glass, I brought it to my nose. Wine. I set it down. "The more powerful Walkers call Zimmskar their home."

"That… is true as well." Bright-Ear admitted.

It was information that I deduced from my gameplay. Though Zimmskar didn't exist during my playthrough, there were limitations to how much you could upgrade your Racial Trait as a beastman without ties to one of the tribes. Here, most of the tribes and their associated witch doctors were back in Zimmskar. Because the beastman needed the help of a witch doctor to receive and upgrade their elemental paths… well, I was pretty sure most of the Walkers outside of Zimmskar would need to return sometime, to receive the 4th and 5th upgrades.

It was something I needed to start considering for Skaris and Stole.

'Especially Stole. I need to get her to unlock a Path soon, but which one?'

I hadn't decided on a build yet for Stole, for her racial trait anyways. For Skaris, he was already at the 3rd stage of the Flame Path. Soon, we needed to find a skilled witch doctor or return to Zimmskar.

'Which means that it might not be a bad idea to have good relations with Bright-Ear.'

"It seems that you are well-versed in Zimmskar Culture, regarding the Walkers, to a certain extent. But you don't know anything about our ways?"

He was talking about the political side of things. "I don't." I confirmed.

"There are two ruling bodies, referred to as Circles, in Zimmskar." Bright-Ear launched into his explanation. "The Zimm Circle and the Skarr Circle."

"What's the difference?"

Where there were more than one ruling body, there was bound to be conflict. Trust me, I'm an american. Generations of division led to more extreme ideologies, leading us further and further away from how to actually lead the nation towards the future –but more towards how to disrupt the other.

Honestly, it was no different than Turina's treatment towards the other races. Just based on prejudice of political beliefs rather than the color of your skin. Not that racism wasn't part of my country either.

"The Zim Circle are those who believe that peace is the way towards the future, stabilizing relations with Turina, Jayu, the Mage Towers. Trade, cultural exchanges and more." He lifted his own glass, taking a sip, feeling at home in his own element now. "The Skarr Circle relies more on isolationist-militaristic policies. Strengthening our borders and military, advancement of war technology."

"And you are part of the Zim Circle."

He raised his bushy eyebrows, more fur than actual hair. "Your reasoning being?"

"Why would a Circle who believes in isolationist policies send an emissary to the Jayu States, across the continent?" I countered.

A puppy smile crept in his face. "Ah, yes. That makes sense."

I leaned in. "I get that you're from the Zim Circle. I even get why the Zim Circle is interested in making sure this region doesn't fall into peril. But what I still don't get is why you're speaking to me."

"That's exactly the point, Lock Slaveborn." Bright-Ear's voice turned quiet. "Think. Think."

I didn't get what he was pointing to.

There was a missing piece here. Something I didn't get.

"I'm… part of Zenom's fleet." I narrowed my eyes, trying to think. Like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. "So… what? Do you need an introduction to Zenom?"

"If I needed an introduction to Zenom Saintred, I would have met him, Lock Slaveborn. I wanted to meet you."

I wanted to slam my fist on the table. "Stop speaking in circles. Just get to the point."

"This region will fall into turmoil, one way or another. Whether the War Prince supports the Free State Merchants, or Turinan forces."

"Not Zimmskar?" I smirked.

"Even if he wishes, the Zimm Circle has no intention of partnering with the War Prince in the foreseeable future."

Bright-Ear's words made me nervous and I looked around. Just to see if anyone was listening in on us. These Beastman really weren't worried that someone from the Akka Xalud was listening in?

"So the Zimm Circle has no intention of being involved in this conflict. What's your angle then?"

"That's where you come in, Lock Slaveborn." Bright-Ear's brown eyes turned a shade lighter. "We were told of your deeds. Rumors, of an adventurer with great power, who was once a slave himself. Help us."

"Help you?"

"The slaves, Lock Slaveborn. The slaves. This is the second largest slave-trade hub in the continent. Help us take away our Beastman Bretheren to safety, and we will be forever in your debt."

God Damn, now I really wanted to make sure no one overheard.

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