Chapter 568: Sufficiently Shiny Bait

Later, with all kinds of stress melted away, Kai was able to truly relax in the baths. He still felt a bit sad about Orillia's memory, but knew the indefatigable old woman would be glad that her name was being used to build a better Krysal. Newly refreshed, Kai settled back against the marble to confront his problems, this time with backup.

"The problem is the factions that will undermine Krysal," he began. "Even though I think Krysal would be better off without them, if we eliminate any side we don't like, we're just running a dictatorship."

"But is letting them run free any solution at all?" Omilaena asked. She sat back and manifested a pipe, which she began to smoke, her subtle poison joining the steam. "Equality and fairness, rah rah, but these people have a good chance of destroying Krysal altogether."

"Eliminating them personally would send the wrong message, but what if we let them incriminate themselves, then have Krysali authorities handle things? They're doing plenty of illegal things, we just need to give them enough rope to hang themselves."

"It could be difficult." Zae Zin Nim settled lower in the water, only her head peeking out. "They're accustomed to working in the shadows, and paranoid about one another."

"Assuming they aren't being manipulated," Omilaena said. "Do you know anything more about what Yuinafal is scheming?"

"No, and I agree that's a high priority." Kai rubbed his chin as he considered all the angles. "How about this... I'll look into that side of things and check our plans with the elites. Meanwhile, you two prepare a prize that the radical factions won't be able to ignore. Something that will make them come out of the shadows to seize power for themselves."

"Well and good, but who are we targeting?"

"I think it has to be those we know. There are the reactionaries who want to reestablish the crystallier system, and the nativists who want to seize power for Krysali. Can we come up with a prize that will put those two groups in conflict?"

"That part isn't so hard." Zae Zin Nim reached out of the baths to her spatial bracelet, which lay just behind her, and then revealed a gleaming gemstone he hadn't seen since the Brightwind vaults. "I've been studying this and it should be compatible with crystal cultivation. It should be too tempting for groups to ignore, provided they know about it."

"Let me handle that part." Omilaena reached across Kai's chest to pick up the gemstone and hefted it in one hand. "Krainuun's administration is filled with semi-radicals who leak information to more violent factions, and that will actually work in our favor for once. We can pretend this is a new discovery - maybe from Boreas's corpse - and make sure they hear about it, without even using contacts like Maggle or Cragrila."

"Very good. Then we can leave discovering Yuinafal's schemes to Kai."

That all sounded good, but Kai had been back in Krysal long enough that he saw the political fallout. "Unfortunately, that's not enough," he said. "If the worst factions incriminate themselves trying to steal the gemstone, it will become public knowledge and everyone will want it. Who receives such a powerful item will become a political issue."

"I see." Zae Zin Nim frowned over at the gleaming crystal. "I imagine it would be better to evenly divide the items among various sides, but have nothing as valuable as the gemstone. Unless you can duplicate it, Omi?"

"Afraid not," she said. "I can create a set of crystalline pills that can be distributed evenly, which should soothe some feelings, but the fight will be over the prize."

"Hmm. You two... please leave this to me. I will consult with others and find another treasure."

It was unusual for Zae Zin Nim to take that sort of initiative, and Kai had no idea what she had in mind, but he decided to take her at her word and trust her. He thought they had a good outline of a plan, though actually arranging all the parties would be difficult. Of course he'd need to approve the idea with Krainuun as well - it was more clandestine than the administrator usually liked, but how were they going to deal with shadowy factions if they didn't work in the shadows themselves?

Here in the baths, surrounded by steam and smoke, Kai actually felt hopeful. He knew that soon enough, he'd need to get up and actually execute the plan, which included a lot of nasty unknowns, and the results would be much colder than this warm paradise.

But he stayed a little longer.

.

..

.

Unlike Kai, who had grown up on Deadwaste, Zae Zin Nim had never really venerated the elites. In the beginning she had been wildly dismissive, thinking of them as little more than arrogant Earth Soul equivalents. Now that she better understood phases, and the difficulties they faced, she respected them more, and it felt surreal to reflect that she had an alliance with this faction.

Regardless, it felt stranger yet to summon them to a meeting, but summon she did.

The two who arrived were those she requested: Sheiri Kagskan and Aeglien of Torleen, the two Krysali elites she knew. There was also a woman who was a former crystallier, who Zae Zin Nim did not trust and might well be one of their enemies. But there would be time enough for that later.

"Thank you for coming," Zae Zin Nim said with a polite bow. "We wish to do something in Krysal, and we would prefer to have your approval..."

As she explained the outline of their plan, the two elites didn't look exactly pleased, but they didn't object. Now that she understood Deadwaste better, Zae Zin Nim realized that this wasn't deference to the more powerful - they actually considered the plan on its own merits and spoke as if equals. Strange as that was to her, she tried to meet them with the same attitude.

"Alright," Aeglien said once she was done. "It could be messy, but it has our approval."

"Really?" Zae Zin Nim blinked at him. "You don't object?"

"You're baiting them, but it's not exactly entrapment: if the factions choose to try to steal this treasure of yours, they're robbing from Krysal itself and proving they aren't legitimate groups. They've been sapping Krysal for a while, so extreme measures are necessary."

"You've already manipulated a lot," Sheiri added. "This is just cleaning up some of your legacy."

"I did not expect that to be so easy." Zae Zin Nim looked between them carefully. "Then the Frontier organization is largely supportive of our work in Krysal? I understood that it was more controversial."

They didn't respond immediately, instead trading glances. Sheiri had always been supportive of their work, but Aeglien was more of a mystery, and Zae Zin Nim found herself oddly interested in his opinion, because he had saved her life so many years ago.

"Some people think the new Krysal is a bunch of peasants running rampant," Aeglien said, then shrugged. "I was a crystallier, but not noble, so I wasn't so attached to the old system. But it's been years now, and even the die-hards know that trying to go back would be even messier than going forward with this new factional system."

"Kai believes that the incursion will unify them," Zae Zin Nim said. "I don't know if that's true, but I hope so. There is one other issue... do you know if Yuinafal is involved here in Krysal?"

Another glance, then Sheiri spoke carefully. "After he left Irun, he did mention that he was going to deal with trouble in Krysal. But I don't think that he would be supporting one of these radical factions - Yuinafal has always supported unification."

"Can you be absolutely certain of that?"

"Not absolutely certain, but at some point we have to trust one another."

Maybe they did, but Zae Zin Nim absolutely did not. She determined that the issue was best set aside for Kai and others to resolve, because she had an assignment of her own. Reaching into her spatial bracelet, she revealed the gemstone.

"This is the treasure I mentioned," she explained. "We intend to donate it to Krysal, once the scheme is complete. But any faction that receives it will implicitly receive favor, which we do not want. I hoped that you might be able to help me come up with an equivalent treasure."

Aeglien whistled as he examined the gemstone. "That's using qi in a way I never learned, I'm guessing Cloudspire techniques. I definitely can't copy it."

"Something politically equivalent would be sufficient."

"We can help with the politics, but when it comes to power, you're actually the expert here. Let me show you what I'm working with, then we can figure something out."

And, to her surprise, Aeglien dropped his highly efficient shroud and she was able to see his soul for the first time.

<

Name: Aeglien of Toreen

Total Power: 867

Edgedancer Advanced Class: 18 (354)

Crystal Cultivation: 10,000 (125)

Crystal Keeper: Amber Rank (100)

Physique: E-9 (107)

Soul Level: 8 (81)

Hybrid Essence: Crystal Chakra (+50)

Hybrid Essence: Shimmering Fist (+50)

>

It seemed that Aeglien was one of the stronger elites, having built up his power with chakra as well as a Class. But what drew most of her attention was his crystal cultivation: even though he hadn't broken the unfavorable curve of power, his armor was far denser and more potent than any of the others she had examined. Many of the crystalliers formed hulking suits, but Aeglien's was actually elegant.

"This is a sort of phased crystal, yes?" she asked.

"More or less." Aeglien removed one crystalline glove to demonstrate. "The general consensus is that it's nearly impossible to condense matter in a phase, but there's nothing stopping you in theory, so half-phased crystals are possible."

"Some believe that the wall around the Frontier is phased stone, which is why it is denser and more powerful than can otherwise be explained."

"Maybe so, but I can't do that. So this armor is a combination of phased qi and highly condensed crystal: not really phased, just compressed by decades of experience. I'm guessing that you're wanting me to make something like that?"

"Yes, if possible." Zae Zin Nim nodded, glad that they were not being slow or unreasonable. "I would ask for a weapon, but that might not send the right message. Could you create armor?"

"It wouldn't be equal to mine, but I can make something usable by weaker crystalliers. It will take me a good while, but it's probably worth the investment." Aeglien regarded her strangely from within his crystalline helm. "It's a good thing we saved your life, last incursion."

So he did remember. Zae Zin Nim gave him a proper bow. "Yes, thank you for doing so. I hope my work in Krysal partially repays that debt."

"There were some who argued against it, you know. We were facing an apocalyptic threat, and even the aftershocks created an incursion that nearly destroyed us. Just reaching into the devastated zone and pulling out two young warriors... it took more power than you'd expect, and some thought it wasn't worth it. Guess it goes to show that kindness pays off, sometimes."

"Sometimes," Zae Zin Nim said neutrally. She wasn't sure if he said that as a lesson to her or not, but since he had saved her life, she wouldn't discard his words.

"Sometimes it feels all too rare." Sheiri frowned and stared out toward Krysal. "I think the revolution was for the best, but we always knew there would be a price to pay later. Guess we're about to find out if we can pay it."