The man hurried into the alleyway without waiting for a response, leaving Nolan and his friends looking at one another with wary eyes. Still, Nolan shrugged it off and followed after the man, leading the others as they made their way through the back alleys in silence.

They arrived at a hole-in-the-wall tavern a short while later, one that was so well-hidden that it would be impossible to find if its patrons didn’t already know where it was located. Once inside, they were seated at one of the many empty tables in the small, single-room establishment. The area behind the bar was empty, with not a serving girl in sight.

“Delia. Keep an eye on us in case anything happens.”

Okay.

His unwilling bodyguard didn’t seem keen on using her sound transference talisman, opting to transmit her voice directly into his head.

“So, where’s your master?” said Ian, who was eyeing the hooded man with suspicion. “And you view this dump as a villa?”

Their guide took off his cloak, revealing a portly figure that was dressed in fancy, gold-trimmed clothes. The CMA logo was prominent on his breast, of similar shade to the one embroidered on Connick’s clothes.

“My apologies,” said the man, who introduced himself with a bow. “My name is Welson Telis, and I’m the consul of this city. That is, I rule it in the stead of its owner, who happens to be the son of the merchant king himself.”

Nolan and the group took turns introducing themselves, the girls a bit shy with their introductions.

“Well met, all,” said the man, who produced an impressive array of dishes from his special bag, all of them piping hot as if he had stowed them away as soon as they had been prepared. He also brought out several bottles of golden spirits, all of the utensils and dishes made from star gold.

“Why so secretive?” asked Nolan, who scanned the food with his spiritual sense before digging in without worry. “Kind of weird that the leader of the city has to slink around alleyways in a cloak. The meeting place is also…”

The windows were all boarded up, with holes in the floor and dust covering almost every surface.

“I have my reasons,” sighed Welson, green eyes idling on the contents of his chalice. “Which is why I felt the need to contact you. Don’t worry, however, for this building is sealed off to the senses of those outside.” When everyone remained quiet in anticipation of a further explanation, he continued. “Even though I’m the leader of this city, I don’t have the most authority here. The man with the most power in Tallgate would be Connick Sorus, who I overheard you talking about while I was sneaking a few drinks in at that restaurant. The reason for the cloak is…well, I have my fair share of targets on my back these days.”

Nolan saw a good opportunity to learn more about the Continental Merchant Association, and inwardly cursed at having agreed to letting the girls attempt to manipulate Connick for information that he now had a good chance of gathering himself. “I don’t know much about the CMA, but serving the son of the merchant king himself seems like a pretty high-profile job. How could someone with your position be in such a shady situation?”

“Our organization has its own internal politics. There are many factions amongst the merchant lords, and it’s very common for us to assassinate one another. Especially during times like these.”

“Times like these?” asked Esteban.

Welson looked a bit taken aback. “Do you not know anything about the CMA?”

“Literally nothing,” said Sean, whose eyes lit up as he took a sip of the golden spirits. Nudging Ian’s arm with a shoulder, he lifted the glass with raised eyebrows. “Drink some of this, man. This stuff is great!”

The consul let out a light sigh. “The CMA dominates most businesses on the continent. Being an incredibly vast and immensely wealthy organization, it’s very difficult to establish a working hierarchy, so we eventually settled for a mock-feudal system. There are thirty merchant lords, each of which rule a province on North Island, and it’s from these thirty that the merchant king is chosen. Only, the way our king is selected is through total war between the factions, the most recent war for the throne having only ended a short while ago. Since the position can’t be handed down hereditarily, this is the best method of determining our leader.”

Nolan found the concept ridiculous. “I can’t see that being good for business. What’s the point of having scheduled civil wars when you can just hold votes?”

“It’s just the way that it is. Now, the reason why I contacted you was because you seem to have some sort of enmity with Connick. He and I are in rival factions, and I’ve received word that those on his side aren’t happy with the outcome of the previous war for the throne, so I’m worried that he might try something drastic when the lord that he serves comes to visit this city in the coming weeks.”

“You want us to be your body guards or something?” said Ian, a short silence ensuing.

Welson seemed contemplative, choosing his words with care. “You in particular, yes. It’s no offense to your friends, but all of the stronger members of our faction have already returned to North Island, so I find myself in need of capable cultivators whose presence would make Connick and his men think twice about making a bit for control of the city. Normally this wouldn’t be a worry, but since the dust has barely settled from the war, I wouldn’t put it past them to attempt to make a move.” Taking a deep, heavyset breath, he added, “I only request your assistance for the duration of Merchant Lord Kalvin’s stay—that is, the merchant lord that Connick serves. I’m willing to pay you any amount.”

Ian looked over at Nolan for his opinion, which didn’t go unnoticed by their company.

“How much manpower does Connick have in the city right now?”

“As far as I know, at least three Genesis-staged cultivators, and a few hundred at the Integration stage.”

“And this Kalvin guy. What about him?”

“That’s…most likely around five or six people at the Genesis stage. Perhaps 500 at Integration.”

Hearing these numbers, Nolan became hesitant to accept the man’s proposal. On one hand, doing so would give him and his friends a top-class connection to the CMA leadership, so long as Welson wasn’t lying about his affiliation. Since they were planning on being active in CMA territory for the foreseeable future, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to earn the good graces of the merchant king and his faction. On the other hand, it wouldn’t do them any good to antagonize another faction that held just as much power, if not more, than the king’s.

“And you? What’s your side look like?”

“I’ll be honest. I had two Genesis-staged bodyguards, but they were bribed over to Connick’s side. They usually keep him company whenever he goes out in public, so you might have seen them around.”

Ah, thought Nolan. He must be talking about those guys that he walked into that restaurant with. Both had been wearing a fortune’s worth of star gold, so they had clearly received a great deal of benefits for switching sides.

“And Integration?”

“About eight hundred, though I’m not sure how many I can trust. This city used to be the property of Merchant Lord Harvor Deen, but after he was killed in the war for the throne it was inherited by Markham’s son.”

“Markham being the king?”

“Yes,” said Welson, glancing at Ian as if wondering why a third-level Integration youth like Nolan was doing all the talking. “What I need now are powerful bodyguards that I can rely on. If I have a strong enough bodyguard by the time that Merchant Lord Kalvin arrives, then he might simply move on to Frostport and leave me be.”

“How much are you willing to pay us?”

“That’s…please don’t take offence, but I’m more intent on hiring young Ian here, as well as the two lasses.” He tapped a golden ring on his hand, which had strange symbols carved around its breadth. “I might not be too capable myself, but this allows me to sense the cultivations of others. The moment I heard that you lot had conflicts with Connick, I felt that it would be foolish not to attempt to hire you.”

Ian was at the second level of Genesis, which was unheard of for people his age, while Alicia and Aine were both at the seventh level of Integration, which was also very impressive. That left Nolan, who was at the third level, and Sean and Esteban, who were only at the peak of Profound Entry.

“Just to let you know,” said Ian, whose face had become much more flushed after a single glass of golden spirits. “If me and Nolan were to fight, it’s uncertain who would win.”