First contact (1)

Sara walked into the Alexbrook Tavern, mind clouded by endorphins. It was intense, but she had fought shit-faced, riddled with wounds through vital organs (the six below the lungs that screenwriters presented as disposable bullet fodder in movies), so she was more than capable of handling an endorphin cocktail that could tranquilize a grizzly bear.

God, she needed to fix herself this cycle.

Inside, businessmen chatted over glasses of Colored Tres, a naturally sweet distilled brandy made from leeka fruit that grew in the southern region of the Escaran Kingdom. When Sara walked in with her pretty face, she caught some interested glares, but these people had better things to do than flirt. If she stayed long enough, two people would offer her drinks, and one would offer her cold, hard cash. She'd refuse them both, but it'd end with a stern threat of violence, and the cowards would go back to discussing logging operations in the north or… whatever the fuck these people talked about.

Sara walked to the counter where a man with long brown hair in a ponytail was polishing glasses. "Hello, Ubis."

Ubis furrowed his brow. "Do I know you, young lady?"

"You don't, but I know you."

He narrowed his eyes. "How?"

"I'm a part of the royal circle," Sara replied, taking sharp breaths. Suddenly, she coughed and let her eyelids droop.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Ubis panicked, hearing she was part of the royal circle and then seeing her current state. His face was saying, Please die somewhere else! but he rushed to her.

"I'm fine Just feeling a bit sick. Like I was saying, I'm here on orders from high up. We have a problem."

"A problem?" he asked, his hands fidgeting.

"Calm down. You're not in trouble. We need you."

"For what?"

"We know about your auction."

Ubis's face paled, and his hands gripped the bar. "Listen, I—"

Sara coughed, swaying slightly. "Shut up, dramth, and listen. We know. We don't care. On the contrary, we let it operate because we need certain things from time to time. This is one of those times."

He swallowed.

"There's been a breakout of tyrexis. High up. We don't want to show weakness. Do you understand?"

He nodded, trembling. People like Ubis thrived on information, but there was some information they didn't want to know. Information that was bad for their health. "Yes."

"Good. Now listen. I have a silverbloom. Fresh. We need you to sell it. The highest buyer? That's our man. You can keep the money. We just need you to make up a backstory about where you got the flower and sell it. Do you understand?"

Greed spread across his face, expressed through heavy breaths, shifting body posture, and clenching hands. Silvermoon bloom went for 1,000 griffins. More if it was fresh. Keeping that kind of money was a serious haul. "Yes. Can I see it?"

She nodded and walked to the other side of the bar, convulsing slightly.

"My lady, are you sure you're alright?" Ubis asked, reaching for her.

Sara swatted his hand away. "If you want to help me, hurry up." She reached into her cloak, subtly showcasing her royal insignia as she pulled out the container. When she unwrapped it and showed him, his eyes widened in shock.

"W-When was this harvested?"

"Last night," Sara said, handing it to him. "That's why you should—" She started convulsing, threatening to wretch.

"This way, My Lady!" He grabbed her hand and led her to the bathroom, where she started gagging into a toilet.

"Leave!" Sara demanded. "And don't come back until I come out. Get back and pretend like you didn't see me. Do you understand? I'm fine. Now go!"

Ubis heard her voice and panicked. "I'm taking this to my—"

"I don't care what you do. Go!"

He ran away, leaving her in the bathroom dry-heaving. Once he was gone, she sent out a divination spell and watched the blinding mana signature in his hand move through the tavern like a beacon. It was so bright that even mid-level divination spells couldn't see anything but mana in a ten-foot diameter unless someone was really powerful—and she was not. Even Edico couldn't tell where she was so long as she was within that area. That's what she was counting on.

Closing her eyes, she started chanting in her thoughts. I zória arkhízoun na milán, dídoun epístoles apo éna xaméno kráto. Graspa, mes' ti symfonia, akoloutheí ta ichnē tis epistímis. As she chanted, her body disappeared, and her mana signature spread out, making her look like a strange cloud that stood out when she was alone but blended in crowds. When she did, her mana channels burned, and she felt icy chills crawling through her spine. If I keep this up, I'll need that flower… Sara thought sardonically. With that grim thought, she left the bathroom and moved through his tavern, exiting the backdoor.

Once she left, she casually strolled into the crowd, chuckling at Edico, posted outside the tavern, body trembling in frustration that he couldn't read where Sara was. Sorry, Edico. I'll apologize later for being such a bitch. And she meant it, but for now, she had better things to do.

Under the cloak of invisibility, she walked to the beggar she saw earlier and stood before him, silent, unmoving, slightly warping the air. His body trembled. "W-Who's there?"

"I am Delina. Tell me, Beggar. Do you still not believe?" Sara didn't know if he believed in her or not. But the best way to pretend to be a god is to deliver wrath to those who lack faith. Absolute faith. And this man would learn the wrath of Delina.

2

Kryritus stopped reading a book aloud when Tiber started wheezing, causing tears to trickle down his cheeks. He carefully closed the book to hide it. It was the only one they had, and books were expensive. Everything was so fucking expensive. And even though he'd trade the tavern and everything he had for Tiber, it wasn't enough. It was making him sick. As he sat there, Tiber was deteriorating. He didn't know how long it'd take the sickness to kill her. Probably a few years if she was untreated. Many lived for a decade with medicine, but those people were rich enough for regular treatment or curing. Regardless, she'd soon reach a point where the effects were permanent. It'd start slow, but it'd get worse month after month, over and over again, breaking her down….

Suddenly, there was a serious commotion breaking out downstairs, and Kyritus's eyes shot open, feeling the need to go. It was just hollering now, but there'd be a fight soon—or something worse. That feeling… it multiplied in his skin, taking over his mind with primal fear and—He shot up by reflex, but Tiber cried. "Don't go!"

It must've woken her up! Kyritus thought, turning to his sister, who was trembling. She probably felt it too, whatever It was. That, or she could feel it through him. They could talk without speaking. Most nights, when the sound of rowdy adventurers got too much or things got dangerous, they had to.

"Tiber…."

"I'm scared!" She gripped his arm, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please…."

Kyritus swallowed hard and sat down, praying, praying it could wait until she went back to sleep. An hour wasn't enough in her state. It was getting hard, but he'd placed faith, faith in his people. Unfortunately, those people were the people roaring down below. This was bad. So bad…. Please….

3

Sara's mind was hazy when she stared at the crowd of people around her. It had started out routine enough. A good-looking girl holding a silver spoon walked into an adventurers' bar—it was a joke. Some started whistling and calling out, others said she might be rich and they shouldn't act up, and most everyone warned her she was in the wrong place. But she replied, Get me a twalla and leave me alone. I'm having a shit day. Hearing her ask for a heinous adventurer brew sent people into a frenzy, and for a moment, everything seemed like it would work out.

The real trouble was when she got to the bar, got her twalla, and had asked, Where's Kyritus? I need to speak with him, to Jant, and he said, He's out.

Sara looked the rugged bartender in the eye. No, he's not. He's with his sister. Where is he?

That's when all hell broke loose.

What do you want with him?

I'm a friend.

Bullshit.

Look. I've got fifteen minutes to speak to Kyritus before hell breaks loose, and I'm in a real bad mood. Call me a liar or question my intentions again, and I'll kick your teeth in.

That was a classic Sara Reece response. Magic may have equalized the playing field when someone looked like an adventurer, but only the smart people knew that, and there were more dumb people than smart ones. That's why releasing crushing mana pressure to send a message was a go-to, but Sara forgot that wasn't an option when she opened her big fat mouth.

You need to leave, Jant had said.

I'm not leaving until I talk to Kyritus, Sara replied.

Forget this chit-chat, a brunette adventurer said, putting her hand on a dagger. Let's just throw 'er out.

Stay out of this, unvet, Jant said. We'll handle it.

Then do it already.

Sara scoffed at the bickering and looked at the adventurer's dagger, then at her friends who were following her example. Look, I don't know who the fuck any of you are, but I'll tell you one thing. Pull those toys out, and Kyritus will be wiping your blood off that table for a week. She needed to work on her temper.

Oh, yeah? the brunette asked, unsheathing her dagger. Let's see it! She thrust forward, kicking off the commotion that destroyed her prized reunion.

Sara dodged and punched the woman in the jaw, releasing a sickening crack. Then she used the momentum to grab her twalla mug and threw it into another attacker's face, making it shatter on contact. Which break was worse was debatable.

The chaos made a group of adventurers grab their swords, but Sara acted first. Krymméni droméni ákoungan, me skíes! Sara chanted aloud, waving her hand. A massive gust of wind ripped through the hall and slammed into a group of fighters, sending them crashing into tables sending booze and glass raining everywhere.

It all happened in three seconds.

Jant was stunned, trembling in disbelief. And just as he fumbled for a dagger, Sara unsheathed hers and touched it to his throat.

"I'll repeat myself because you didn't get it the first time," she said in the present. "I'm here to speak to Kyritus on urgent business. I don't have much time, and I'm in a very bad mood. I went through a hell of a lot of trouble to get here, and if you fuck with me, I won't hesitate to kill everyone here to speed up the process."

Jant gulped. "They're good kids—"

"I'm not here to harm them, you fucking idiot. Now point!" Time was ticking. Any moment now, her mana could give out, she could start going through tista plant withdrawal, Ubis could come to check on her, or Edico could burst through the door of Alexbrook Tavern and start doing what she was doing. Sara was late the moment she talked to Ubis. She didn't have time for diplomacy.

Jant swallowed. He pointed.