Book 3 Chapter 17

Tirr’s steps were light and filled with confidence as they returned to Raife’s underground estate. He greeted Sera with a smile, chatting happily with Maria and Torvus as they passed the teen, leaving her to watch over the children at play.

They had spent a day watching the Man called Alloy, looking at his schedule and the people he had around him. With the information Raife had provided, along with Torvus’s skill at reconnaissance, they quickly set up a plan. Waiting until Alloy had left for the day, they had quickly infiltrated his mansion, setting up the ambush for when he arrived.

It had gone smoothly with Alloy’s and his guard falling quickly. After the deed was done, they slipped away quickly, down into one of the main entrances into the strange underground world and working their way back through the tunnels towards the estate. As they entered the house, Tirr had a thought.

“Torvus,” The young god started, looking over towards the white-haired young man. “You said you had done some work for him in the past, yeah?”

The young man nodded as they moved through the halls, “As I said, I was the tool of the council for about a year, so I did odd jobs for just about all of them. Alloy took over after the split and had me put down a lot of the other members of his guild that weren’t so happy with his sudden rise. Didn’t help that he was always an asshole either, the kind of guy that just made it easy to hate him. Still, he had a fairly good grasp on the smith’s guild so his loss should affect them pretty badly…”

Tirr nodded and they reached and entered Raife’s study. To their surprise, he wasn’t alone… There, sitting across from the older man, was a mature woman, probably not too far off from Raife’s age.

She glanced back at them with a languid smile, her body angled so that the deep neckline of her stylish dress showed off her still impressive figure. “Oh, this little one is the god then Raife?” She asked, smiling impishly…

Raife coughed, “Yes…” He waved at them to come in settling back down into his chair and he motioned towards the woman. “This is Tess Feri, one of my colleges and former member of the Confederation’s Council.”

“Nice to meet you…” she stood, curtseying delicately while still smiling widely, She stepped forward in a smooth glide reaching them in only a moment, “Look at you!” She squealed as she reached Tirr, catching him by surprise, “Aren’t you just the cutest god there has ever been. If you do ever grow up, you won’t be able to keep the ladies off of you!”

She leaned forward pinching his cheeks while she turned him this way and that. He shook her off with a growl, trying to give her his most annoyed look, but she just ignored it as she examined his clothing, “Hm not badly dressed, but I could fit you in something much better, Lutel has some good fabrics but their style is all off.”

Tirr finally freed himself from her, hiding behind Maria with disdainful eyes. She gave him an amused glance before looking over at Maria herself.

Seeing the woman’s predatory, gaze Maria gulped audibly

“Come girl straighten up, chest out!” She said as her hand helped fix Maria’s posture. “A simple dress like this might do but for some but with a body like that you need to show off a least a little bit. She pressed on hand to her chin as she thought… I could tighten the waist and hem up the skirt some… But too adult would just detract from your youthfulness, huh…”

Maria and Tirr both just stood in confusion finally looking towards Torvus and Raife for help…

Raife coughed once more… “Tess used to be the Leader of the Textiles Guild here in the Confederation…”

“When it comes to fashion no one knows more than I do…” She said proudly, finally leaving the two alone to turn with a disappointed look towards Torvus, “I see you're still wearing the same old dregs…”

“I happened to like them you know?” Torvus answered with a grin, “Makes it easy to replace when I get blood on them …”

She gave a grunt before finally heeding Raife’s calls for everybody to sit.

“Tess is here to help us with our next target…” The older man started, passing some papers to the rest. They looked over the documents as Tess continued…

“Yes, you did well with putting that brute alloy in the ground… Got all of the rest of them running about like mice…” She let out a giggle at the thought but soon grew serious, “Though your next target won’t be so easy.”

“Bennis Mardu, Aka Mead,” Raife went on, “Has run the Brewer’s Guild here in the city for going on 30 years. He’s an old hat in the game and his protection is no joke. However, the man refuses to let anyone but himself taste the first cup of any new batch of liquor and it just so happens he has several barrels of rum ready to come out in the next few days…”

“No matter where he’s hiding,” Tess picked up, “He’ll have to go to his brewery for the tasting, and that will be your chance. If you strike well enough you can get in and out without worrying too much about his guards…”

Tirr nodded, impressed with how quickly the woman was able to switch to a professional tone one business started.

“Old Mead huh, Torvus grinned, well at the very least I’m looking forward to the souvenirs…”