Orion could not believe the security around the Merchant Guild Tower. When Larsen sent him a message saying they needed to talk, he expected Larsen to visit him. He nearly always did. It was one of the things that Orion enjoyed—Larsen thinking that he was appealing to Orion's fragile ego by visiting him and that taking on the minor inconvenience was one of the things that helped Larsen get his way.

The reality was that Orion let Larsen get his way because Orion took the long view. He let Larsen win every minor disagreement, knowing full well that Orion himself was arranging all the pieces for him to eventually rule Ness, not Larsen. In that eventual major conflict, Orion would come out on top.

Yet he was was visiting the Merchant Tower at Larsen's request. Not only that, Orion and his guards had to go through a series of security checks that were absurd in the care they took. Orion finally barked, "Fine. If you question the weapons of my own bodyguards tell Larsen to come visit me in my tower." As Orion turned, the Merchant guards changed their minds and let him through.

As he walked into Larsen's office, he found out why Larsen had finally made Orion go through the effort of being the one to travel for a meeting. Larsen stood up and walked briskly toward him.

"Ah, so great to see you old friend." Orion had to suppress rolling his eyes. He was hardly an old friend of Larsen's. As Larsen approached, Orion almost didn't recognize him. He looked gaunt, almost fragile, and he had deep circles under his eyes.

"By the shadow of the mountain, Larsen, what has happened to you?"

As they shook hands, Larsen said, "I have been threatened with assassination."

"Certainly such a threat is not credible. Who would want to take your life?" Orion could think of a large number of people that would want to cause harm to Larsen.

Larsen laughed. "Polo for one." Larsen sighed as he turned and walked back toward his desk. "He wasn't fond of our plan for our guilds to merge."

"Yes, but his opinion didn't matter until your younger brother ruined our plan." Orion was still bitter over how Ralan had destroyed their work, but he also enjoyed Larsen's squirming over every reminder of it.

"Well, that was unexpected, but as you know Ralan was only one 'no' vote."

"If you believe Polo is trying to assassinate you, then I doubt that he is open to changing his vote," Orion grumbled.

"There are other solutions to that problem." Larsen sat down and gave Orion a hard stare.

"I'm afraid I'm not following you," Orion replied, playing his role of the bumbling stupid guildmaster. He knew exactly what Larsen was saying.

Larsen shook his head slightly and leaned back in his chair. "I will be blunt, because our interests are aligned. I've been trying to assassinate Polo for some time."

Orion scratched his chin. "That does seem to solve the problem."

"Yes, yes. I know that." Orion liked that Larsen was getting impatient. Impatient people made stupid mistakes. "The trouble is that Polo is safe in Harvest House, and there appears to be no way to reach him."

"And you feel that Polo knows you are trying to kill him and has sent an assassin after you?"

Nodding his head, Larsen replied, "There was a message on my nightstand when I awoke a few days ago. It said, 'If Polo dies, you will die next.' Do you see my difficulty here?"

Orion had to suppress the surge of joy he had just felt. If he could have his Blade assassinate Polo, and the Harvest Guild then assassinated Larsen, his entire plan would come to fruition without any risk at all.

Still, he had to play a role and express concern for his 'friend.' "Indeed. But what about Ralan? You could just kill him." Orion was trying to do just that with his own Blade.

"That's a lost cause. The Wretched Quarter is too dangerous. I've already told you that. We would need to take an army through, killing everyone as we cleared it."

"I do not have a problem with that."

"It won't happen, Orion. We need another plan."

"Well, I'm not good at planning, Larsen. You know that. I'm afraid I can't help you." Orion enjoyed the suppressed anger on Larsen's face. Larsen actually thought that he was dealing with a simple mind, when Orion was already putting the pieces in place for Larsen's fall.

"Yes. I appreciate your humility. Thankfully, I have a plan that is not so different than your plan to clear the Wretched Quarter."

For the first time, Orion was intrigued. When he entered, he had expected Larsen to complain about Polo and ask for assistance in killing him. This was new. "And what is this plan?"

"We shall clear the Flats and Lower Triangle of Harvest guild members. They will be forced to relocate across the bridge. We will limit residency to members of the Knight, Merchant, and Trade guilds."

Orion tried to make sense of the plan. He understood the strategy right away—by moving all the Harvest Guild members to the Wretched Quarter, they would be miserable. The idea of merging with the Merchant Guild would be something that the members of the guild would embrace whole-heartedly, as that would allow them to return to their homes. Larsen was effectively creating a guild merger from the ground up, with Polo left powerless to the will of his guild members.

"That's a fantastic plan, Larsen!" Orion exclaimed. He noticed that Larsen breathed out as Orion spoke. He was nervous I wouldn't go along with him. Of course, the plan was disastrous. The Harvest guild members wouldn't run to the arms of the guild that kicked them out of the Flats. The idea that they would merge with the Merchant Guild out of necessity was absurd. Beyond that, the entire idea of relocating hundreds of Harvest Guild members without violence or other major problems was similarly absurd.

"Thank you, Orion. I'm glad you see the wisdom in it." Orion could not believe Larsen actually believed his plan would work. It would effectively make him the most hated man in Ness.

Thinking it over, Orion decided that he didn't need to assassinate Polo. This was even better for him. Larsen would undoubtedly lead the city into a disastrous civil unrest, and in the midst of it all, Orion would come in and squash Larsen, illustrating his own wisdom and leadership. As he picked up the pieces, he would put them back together with one person the undeniable emperor of the city—Orion.

"Yes, Larsen. This is a plan that I can support whole-heartedly." Orion stood up and reached across Larsen's desk. Scrambling to match Orion's sudden movement, Larsen stood up and took Orion's hand. "I will always be there for you, Guildmaster Merchant."

"Thank you, Orion. With the city united under us, we will usher Ness into a golden age!"

As he smiled and nodded, Orion saw a different future: A fractured Ness united by Orion hanging Larsen from a tree in Founder's Park. "Yes, Larsen. I see a golden age ahead."