Pandora Unchained - B1C79: Clan Politics

Mr. Primrose's coffee awoke Sorin to a whole new world of possibilities. "I just – I just can't stop thinking about it," Sorin confessed in an all-too-quick voice. "Poisons. Lots of poison! And no side effects!"

His four companions blinked, sipped coffee from their mugs, then turned their attention back to the wall. They were officially on standby but were free to do whatever they liked as long as they were equipped with their armor and weapons and were physically within 500 meters of their assigned position.

"I know I've said this before, but you really need to calm down," said Gareth. "Yes, we understand that you're poisoned. And yes, we understand that you can take care of it. But some of us aren't awake yet – Daphne, for example." He flicked his fingers in front of the mage's glazed eyes and elicited no response.

Sorin, frustrated by his inability to gesticulate what he'd figured out, took in a deep breath and processed an additional portion of bone-forging strength caffeine. This pushed him back from the brink of losing his mind and allowed him to slow down just enough for everyone to understand him."

"Sorry about that," said Sorin. "It's tough to digest two-star poisons. Mr. Primrose makes really strong coffee – much stronger than I expected, at least."

"Isn't he an apothecary?" said Stephan. "Don't they only make poisons?"

Sorin shrugged. "Coffee can technically be considered a poisonous stimulant. Also, it's for personal use, not for sale."

"So what did you figure out during your caffein-induced fever dream?" asked Gareth. "We picked up bits and pieces here and there but weren't able to figure it out."

Sorin took a moment to organize his thoughts before continuing. "Mr. Primrose's coffee enlightened me on a few things. Namely, poisonous potions and poisonous pills. They aren't usually made since their downsides are often extreme, and most cultivators won't dare use them. My thoughts are as follows: since I can absorb and digest poisons, shouldn't we be carrying such potions with us?"

"That's… not a bad idea, actual," said Gareth. "Though I can't think of such medicines off the top of my head."

"That's because they're not standardized," said Stephan. "At least most of them aren't, anyway. The most common type on the market are potential burning pills. They fill you with strength for a short moment, but they exhaust your talent and make it difficult to break through in the future."

"Those wouldn't work," said Sorin. "They damage your system to get you that extra energy. But what about something like a mana potion that instantly replenishes a lot of mana but results in an exhausted state 1 minute later? Or maybe a potent healing potion that leaves you weakened? A potion that increases your power for a short amount of time but leaves you too exhausted to fight once the effects run out?"

"It's definitely worth investigating," said Stephan. "But like I said, such things aren't standardized. Apothecaries sometimes produce them, but they're only used as a last resort. I think they get more common at the two-star level? Now, since you're back to normal, let's get this meeting started. Daphne, your book is on fire!"

"What? Fire!?" said Daphne, rousing from her half-asleep state. "Hey, there's no fire. In fact, my books are all fireproof. How dare you trick me."

"I just wanted you to wake up so we could ask young Mr. Hero here about how he managed to defy the odds," said Stephan. "Also, it looks like I owe Gareth money."

"Same," grumbled Daphne. She and Stephan handed over a small pouch of gold to the smug-looking archer. "Now spill it, or we're going to get Sorin to tell us the real story."

Lawrence set down his breakfast and let out a satisfied sigh. "It's a wonderful day, isn't it, fellow heroes? And fellow non-heroes."

"It seems I have no choice but to risk my life," said Gareth with a sigh. "Otherwise, there'll be no stopping him."

Daphne shrugged. "He can keep acting smug. If he takes it too far, I'll set him on fire until he begs for mercy."

Lawrence shuddered slightly but continued grinning smugly. "I suppose that, as the newly inducted hero, it falls to me to tell the story.

"It was late last night when Sorin and I infiltrated a villain's den. It was a risky thing we did, and there were dozens of bone-forging cultivators with specialized senses keeping watch. Sorin wanted to retreat, but I knew that for the good of the outpost, we had no choice but to put our lives on the line. We used everything we had at our disposal – poison, steel, and my wondrous good looks. Many female villains were seduced over the evening until finally, we arrived at a grim dungeon."

Sorin, unable to take it anymore, cut him off. "We snuck into the governor's manor."

"You what?" Stephan hissed. "You're – you're serious?"

Lawrence shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal. I've done it before when I was much weaker."

"Just because you survived once, it doesn't make it not risky," said Stephan. "Gareth, tell him!"

"According to the outpost's laws, the governor has the right to put anyone but a bone-forging cultivator or a hero to death," said Gareth. "It's a right that can only be vetoed by a vice guild master or someone higher ranking."

"Seriously?" said Lawrence. "That's… that's ridiculous. I've never heard of this ever happening to anyone."

"It's a little obscure because, generally, the outpost governor doesn't use this power except in extreme circumstances," said Gareth. "But he could probably say you were a spy for the demons or something if he found you sneaking around his manor in the middle of the demon tide."

"Wow," said Lawrence. "Am I ever glad we didn't get caught? Wait, did you know this, Sorin?"

"Obviously," said Sorin. "The first thing I did when I moved to the outpost was look up the rules and regulations."

"And you didn't tell me?" said Lawrence.

"I thought you knew," said Sorin. "Apologies. I thought you were just brave. Turns out the ignorant know no fear."

"Anyway," said Lawrence, glaring at Sorin. "We snuck into the first basement through the kitchen, then made our way to the second basement where Marcus's secret laboratory is hidden."

"Wait, you were doing all this to spy on Marcus?" said Stephan. "This just keeps getting better!"

"We had no choice," said Sorin. "Based on the poisons he's having me concoct, I had strong suspicions that he might be carrying out live human drug experiments."

"If that was the case, you should have informed the guild master about it," Stephan scolded.

"And why would I do that?" Sorin challenged. "If there was an official investigation, that would leave Marcus more than enough time to clean up after himself. Moreover, I wasn't sure about it. Until last night."

Stephan frowned. "Are you saying you caught him in the act of performing human experiments?"

"I was just as surprised as you were," said Lawrence. "I just thought Sorin was being paranoid. But there I was, looking in on a group of volunteers strapped to beds. Orpheus was one of them. I think they called it meridian opening trials?"

"Meridian opening…" muttered Stephan. "So it's not just Marcus, but the Kepler clan that's involved. Wait a minute. Sorin, you're part of the Abberjay branch of the family, aren't you? Your parents… ah. This all makes sense now."

"What makes sense?" asked Sorin. "What do you know?"

"Not much," said Stephan. "But based on what I overheard from my father speaking to the clan's elders, the Kepler Clan's meridian opening formula and method are a carefully guarded secret. According to my lessons, the Abberjay branch controls the formula. But only the formula for the first eight primary meridians is widely circulated within the Abberjay branch. The higher level formulas are passed on from clan leader to clan leader."

"My father was the former clan leader," Sorin directly admitted. "But my parents passed away three years ago. I'm not sure about the specifics."

"I'm not too sure either," said Stephan. "But what I do know is that three years ago, just after the Kepler Clan experienced an internal upheaval, they started limiting advanced meridian opening procedures. My father inquired about obtaining one for me but was outright refused. He was so angry he broke a family heirloom."

Sorin frowned. "So you're saying my parent's death is related to this sudden change in attitude."

"Undoubtedly," said Stephan. "The consensus is that the late clan leader kept the advanced formula on his person. With his death, the formula was lost."

Sorin suddenly thought of his ransacked residence and Marcus's confiscation of his assets. The experimentation, combined with the carrot and stick approach the Kepler Clan's council of elders was taking with him... all of it made sense now.

"I would appreciate it if no one spoke of treatments I've been providing you all," Sorin said with a sigh. "Otherwise, things will get troublesome."

"Why would you hide it?" asked Daphne.

"Um… because I'm a weak blood-thickening cultivator that they could capture with little effort?" said Sorin. "Do you have a different take on it?"

"To be honest, this has a lot of story potential," said Daphne. "And if I was writing the story, I'd get you — obviously the main character — to blatantly use said formula and make it known to your elders.

Sorin massaged his brow. "Can you explain the logic to me, please? I'm still dealing with the after-effects of Mr. Primrose's coffee."

"I think I see what she's saying," said Gareth. "It's like in warfare. Sometimes, famous generals expose a secret weapon since its greatest value is not to be used, but to serve as a deterrent."

"That's right," said Daphne. "If everyone knows that I can cast a meteor spell to destroy the entire outpost, will they dare antagonize me on the off chance that I pull it off?

"Similarly, you hold a lot of power if you possess the formula and they don't. While they could try to torture you and obtain it, there are risks to that approach. Keeping you alive and bargaining with you is safer. In fact, they might protect you in secret in case another power decides to abduct you to obtain the formula."

"Um, can we get back to the real important stuff?" said Lawrence. "Like me being a hero?"

"One second, Lawrence," said Sorin. "So you're saying I should find a way to expose what I know, but in a subtle way?"

"That's right," said Daphne. "That will give you a level of what I like to call 'plot armor.'"

Sorin nodded. "Fine. I'll give it some thought. But I'd appreciate it if everyone kept quiet about this for the time being. I'm not sure about the exact situation, and I don't want to take any unnecessary risks until I confirm a few things."

"Our lips are sealed," said Stephan. "Now cough it up, Lawrence. You obviously did some life-risking peeping, which is why your heroic meridian was unlocked. What enhancement did you receive? What heroic ability did you get?"

Lawrence, excited about all the attention he was getting, insisted on having Stephan buy everyone a round of drinks before continuing. "That hit the spot," said Lawrence, sipping on a hot chocolate. "It's not as good as my dad's, but it'll do. Now, where was I? Ah yes. My wonderful ability." He proceeded to explain the details and limitations.

"Three-dimensional vision within 50 feet that detects traps, magical or otherwise?" said Gareth. "Useful. Especially if you can share the vision periodically."

"Only for a bit," said Lawrence. "It's very tiring. But activating the ability itself doesn't take a lot of energy. It's just mentally taxing."

"A peeping ability for a peeper," said Stephan. "How fitting. What bout your enhancement? What kind of ability increase did you get?" Sorin's ears perked up because Lawrence hadn't yet told him about this part.

"It's lame," said Lawrence with a sigh.

"It can't be that bad," said Gareth. "There are no useless abilities."

Lawrence shrugged. "My reflexes just got better. That's all. And they were already pretty good."

Gareth frowned. "So you're saying you didn't see a big improvement in your overall abilities?"

"It's not a bad improvement," said Lawrence. "Just underwhelming."

Sorin was also confused. His own increase in mana throughput was extremely powerful. He refused to believe Lawrence's enhancement wasn't equally impressive.

Maybe it's not just his reflexes that improved. Maybe… Sorin had a bold hypothesis he decided to test out. He covertly took his whip out of his belt pouch and controlled it to loop under the table. Then, after winding up slowly to avoid alerting Lawrence, he directed the whip to crack towards Lawrence's head.

"Hey! What was that for?" said Lawrence, jumping suddenly. "Sorin, what the hell? I thought we were friends!"

"We are," said Sorin with a grin. "I was just testing you."

"I think I see what's going on here," said Gareth. "Your reflexes didn't improve. It's your senses."

"And why don't I feel that way at all?" asked Lawrence. "My eyesight didn't change. Neither did my hearing."

"I think Gareth's right," said Stephan. "Except it's not your basic that got enhanced. Instead, you gained an extra sense. A sixth sense."

"That…" said Lawrence, raising his finger. "Huh. That's pretty cool. And it explains why I was able to avoid a skillet to the face when I walked into the kitchen this morning. Don't ask."

"A sixth sense ability," muttered Daphne. "Aren't those rare? Sorry, I spent some gold to read up on heroic abilities and stuff. Found some statistics."

"Very rare," agreed Stephan. "And only useful for certain types of cultivators. For rogues, it's an especially valuable skill."

"There you go!" said Lawrence, once again very smug about his newly acquired title. "Hero Lawrence is at your service. Please try to keep up."

"Does shooting a hero in the rear with an arrow make you a hero?" asked Gareth.

"Unfortunately not," said Stephan. Then he turned towards the wall and frowned. Lawrence did the exact same thing.

"Trouble?" asked Sorin.

"Most definitely," said Stephan.

"Wait, you have a sixth sense, too?" asked Lawrence. "Didn't you get a huge strength enhancement?"

"That's just a part of being a beastshift warrior," said Stephan with a wink. "Try to keep up, Lawrence."

"The soldiers on the walls are scrambling," said Gareth. "There's no bell, but –" His words were cut off by a loud toll.

"Looks like things are heating up," said Stephan. "No time to finish. Drinks are on me." He tossed two gold coins on the table and picked up his gauntlets and helmet. Sorin followed, looking worriedly towards the dark clouds rolling in from the forest.