Invent ~ 43!

“Before we begin…” Aten addressed the room at large as the two groups of leaders for the Elves and Dwarves remained standing on their respective sides of the table. “I would like to address the deal that was made by each party represented here today. Representing the Dwarven Oligarchy, the Council of Five is in attendance.”

Even Joe, with his Perception score being... perhaps not the highest in the room,  could see that the hand of the Guild Commander was shaking slightly from the pressure of being in an enclosed space with such high-ranked, high-leveled people. Joe was standing in a viewing room, and even there he was being buffeted by the power coming off of the people in waves. It wasn't the same as being in the presence of King Henry and Queen Marie, which had felt like the power of an overwhelming force on the way to slaughter you.

No, coming from the Dwarves was a titanic wash of relaxation, a heady buzz that made him feel like he was three drinks in, accompanied by a burning desire to let his guard down and make a deal with them. All Joe wanted was to give them anything they wanted. He wanted to work for them, no… he wanted to serve them.

Conversely, the leaders of the Elves in the room emitted a sensation of piercing light, as if he had been adrift on the ocean in a row boat with no protection from the sun for days. It was a feeling of deep scrutiny, as if the surface layer of his body was scorched away in order to allow the Elves to see deeper into what made him tick; as if to delve into his most hidden self and ascertain his true thoughts about… everything.

“I can't tell what’s worse, feeling like I would give in to anything demanded of me with no questions asked, or rapidly boiling away just because someone glared at me.” Joe’s low comment gathered agreement from everyone else in the small room, no matter whose side they were on.

“Representing the Elven Theocracy: the King, Queen, Crown Prince, and Princess Royal are in attendance.” Aten continued speaking formally, ending the introductions by placing a sheet of parchment carefully on the table. Lightning was playing across its surface, and the relief on his face when he released it was evident to all. “The Armistice order, which you have all signed, guarantees us all a small period of peace during which all of us can let down our guards enough to have a conversation. From myself and my guild, may I say… we are incredibly honored that you would work with us to engage in a dialogue such as this. Truly, it is a monumental event for the entirety of our people.”

“Yes, yes.” One of the Oligarchs waved his hand lazily, “We all know what the Armistice says. None of us may attack the other through direct or indirect means. Any attacks carried out by our forces that we have any knowledge of whatsoever, or that we approve of either directly or implicitly, will result in a painful, permanent death. Can we move on?”

“I see that the Dwarves are still picking and choosing which traditions they should honor,” the Crown Prince commented ‘quietly’ to his family. “Thank you for this opportunity to observe our enemies, Mother; Father.”

“Just like old times,” one of the Oligarchs wheezed to his compatriots. “This conversational zone on the table, though lovely and well-made, simply allows the most rigorously tried and tested art form of Elven culture to thrive. Nothing they say can be called a direct insult, and yet…”

“If I may finish.” The fact that Aten was able to interrupt over the mounting pressure of the two hostile forces, forcefully and with meaning directed at both, stunned the groups into silence. “The Armistice will end either when one side shows not only hostile intent, but takes action to put it into effect; or whenever both parties have removed themselves a minimum of fifty miles from this location and each other.”

There was a short pause, which the Guild Commander refused to allow someone else to fill. “While we may not be able to reach an agreement immediately, as you are both able to speak for your entire respective races, we might be able to start finding some neutral ground. Speaking of neutral ground, that is our first issue of the day. My guild desires the ability to offer succor to both the Dwarves and the Elves, in addition to those aligned with either faction. As a gesture of goodwill, the Theocracy has moved to request that this town be resettled in a different location and set as a neutral territory for the benefit of both countries.”

“Nope, don’t like that,” Joe growled to himself, inadvertently and preemptively  mirroring the stink that was raised by the Oligarchy in the next room over. The next several hours slowly devolved into ‘you did this’ and ‘well, you did that’, while not even a single point had yet to be agreed upon.

Joe was starting to doze off in his chair when he felt a light hand on his shoulder. He turned bleary eyes up to find Daniella’s worried face looking down at him. “Can I speak to you for a moment? Privately?”

“I’m really not supposed to leave the building, I'm pretty sure.” Joe's brow furrowed as he processed what he had just said out loud. “Actually, I don't know why I said that; that was never discussed with anyone. Can I come back if I leave? Yes? Great. Yeah, let's step outside. Everything okay?”

“Oh, absolutely, everything is perfectly wonderful. I just think we need to talk.” Daniella’s tone made even the people suspiciously listening in shudder and turn their attention and eyes away from the duo. Joe's eyes narrowed; as certain as the sun produced light, he was not about to let someone chew him out for some unknown reason. He stiffly stood and marched after the lovely architect, a few people glancing over at him just to smirk.

Once they were fully outside of the building, Joe crossed his arms and glared at her. “I don't know why you’re mad at me, but I will tell you this right now… you don't get to talk to me like that. Yes, you are highly skilled and strangely alluring, really good at your job, every report about you that comes back is glowing, and all of your co-workers really like you, but I'm still-”

“Let's pause while you’re still giving me oddly nice compliments.” Daniella met his gaze with a tight smile. “My apologies for acting like that in public, but I needed to have a good reason to get you out of there without raising any suspicions or making people nervous. Something is going on; I noticed a lot of people I've never seen before coming out of the Guildhall. None of them went in, which means they’re coming across the teleporter.”

Joe blinked at the sudden shift, then his eyes narrowed and his jaw firmed up. “Who were they? Did you see anyone you recognized at all? Did you follow them? Where were they going?”

“Easy on the interrogation, detective!” Daniella started jogging, waving for him to follow her. “There was only one person that I somewhat recognized from rumors. Apparently, you got in an argument with someone in the market area? Tall guy, blond, black trench coat?”

“Herr Trigger,” Joe growled as he pulled up the town administration tab in his character sheet and turned off spawning and teleportation into the area. He also ordered the system to take a screenshot of all the people with access to the teleporter, and anyone who had been activating it in the last few hours. “Let's grab a couple of guards on our way.”

“No!” Daniella’s quick reply instantly raised Joe’s guard. “If we make a mess out of this and everything gets blown out of proportion, there won’t be a second attempt at negotiations. Probably not ever. We can't miss this opportunity. Think of the technological advances the Theocracy could achieve, and the magical advances the Oligarchy would be able to put to good use. Both sides have so much to gain, and so much to lose!”

Double-checking his defenses, Joe grabbed three of his Ritual Orbs and set them to orbit around his head. He slowed down slightly, allowing Daniella to pull ahead so that he could keep a close eye on not only the surroundings, but her. Something about the way she had listed the Theocracy first in her point about gaining benefits ruffled his feathers.

She didn't ever look back, fully expecting that he was with her. Taking a hard left, the architect skidded to a halt as they came to the side of a building. Specifically, a warehouse for dry goods that had been smashed into. Joe glared at the hole, wondering why he hadn’t gotten any notifications of damage to his buildings. Then he realized that he hadn’t even seen the breach until he was standing just a few feet away from it. Something was fishy. He muttered under his breath, “Essence Cycle.”

The area lit up to his senses, and sprinkles of mana that were already dissipating could be clearly seen. A light ringing also sounded in his ears, one that was different than anything his magical synesthesia highlighted. Joe spoke so quietly that even he couldn’t hear himself speak as he pushed a rock aside and settled into a combat stance. “It's my Hidden Sense… what is this? A used spell scroll?”

There was more to his Hidden Sense than just the remnants of a destroyed parchment. Now that he was focusing on things that were hidden, the area around him began to chime with the sound of magic. Muffled magic. “It's a spell… to hide spells?”

“Looks like the game is up, gentlemen! They found us, so let's go quietly.” Herr Trigger’s words were met with sardonic chuckling as people began materializing out of the darkness of the warehouse. A darkness that Joe should have been able to see through with his Darkvision, but the spell clearly had messed with his senses as well.

“Why are you people trying to ruin everything?” Daniella took the initiative to bellow at the group of mixed humans and Elves. “Our peoples have a chance at peace! A real chance! It might take a while, and both of them will have to concede small points for negotiation, but the end of this war is in sight!”

“You think your little boyfriend here can just invent a magical table that forces people to be ‘nice’ around it, and expect that social politeness is enough to get past millennia of war? This is not what is best for the Theocracy!” Herr Trigger’s hand blurred, and a revolver appeared in it. Without hesitation, he put three rounds in her chest in under a second. Not missing a beat, Joe caught her as she started to fall and sent a pulse of Lay on Hands into the wounds. “We are going to make sure this travesty of a negotiation dies as the horrible idea that it is… along with everyone else who was involved.”

Daniella gasped with pain, then relief almost in the same instant. “You’re a monster! Why are you just showing up and, and… not even condoning, but planning to continue perpetrating war crimes?”

“Woo, war cri~imes!” a Dwarf walking past the area called as he heard Daniella’s outburst. He waved at Joe and Daniella, then continued walking. “See ya later, teamkiller bro!”

Clearly, the Dwarf could only see the architect and Major General Pyrrhic through whatever spell was affecting the local area, and he didn’t want to interrupt whatever had allowed Joe to catch a swooning lady in his arms.

“I will even happily monologue to tell you what we are planning.” A wide grin on the assassin’s face informed Joe and Daniella that Trigger believed that they could do nothing to stop him. “You do not even have an inkling of why the Theocracy chose this place as their secret base, yet you moved right on in as soon as you found it and forced our people away. As if the Theocracy has ever not had a backup plan behind their contingency plan, or had to put in place a final option behind their plan B and C.”

Herr Trigger’s people had slowly started to fan out, prepared to attack as soon as they were given the signal. The bounty hunter simply raised his hands as though everything he was explaining was a foregone conclusion. “Right now, we are only waiting for the bait to take effect. Your pathetic little Guildhall has already been coated in the most delicious smell of meat… and it is coming for all of them.”

“You’re going to wipe out your own royal family?” Joe demanded with incredulity, “That will set both of our people back for months at the minimum!”

“Oh, it would…” Trigger started laughing as he raised his hand, “If a Royal family could truly ever be in charge of a Theocracy.”

“Abyss, the real ruler of the Elves is some kind of priest.” Joe had heard enough. One of his Ritual Orbs opened and unraveled with a metallic *twang*, instantly forming into the Ritual of Remote Activation. His mana touched it, and the wire-made ritual diagram activated. Moments later, klaxon calls began clattering all around the city. He stared hard into Trigger’s eyes. “Now the entire Oligarchy knows you’re here.”

“Excellent. Nothing draws out my pleasure like observing someone who knows death is coming… and making them wait for it!” Herr Trigger and his team opened up on Joe, who pulled Daniella close and used Omnivault to jump onto the wall of the building, then flipped and vaulted to the top of the next structure over.

“This… is pure…” Just before they were out of range, Joe heard Trigger’s voice and looked back, only to lock eyes with the gunslinger. The man had lifted both of his pistols to his nostrils and inhaled deeply, then shuddered with pleasure as he shouted, “… ecstasy!”