Chapter 265 - The First Domino

The assassins made their move, answering Nate’s provocation. He sensed their movements as they dashed forward, using shadows to cover and co

The assassins made their move, answering Nate’s provocation. He sensed their movements as they dashed forward, using shadows to cover and conceal themselves, even the shifting of the sand beneath their feet muted by their Skills. They might as well not have bothered. Nate admired the synchronicity of their attacks as four daggers skittered across his barrier within a second of each other. Not a single one penetrated and with the attack Nate felt Reciprocity retreat into the background. They had attacked him and now he was free to do with them as he wished. Their ignorance of his status as a Lesser Divine was no excuse as far as The System was concerned. All beings, no matter the strata, were allowed to defend themselves.

The four assassins launched themselves away from him as their attacks failed to find purchase and he watched as they regrouped, fanning out once more so that one of the four was always in what would have been a blindspot for most combatants. Clearly the information they had on him didn’t extend to his sphere of awareness. He could’ve struck then, killing them all, but there were a few things he was more interested in than simply erasing his attackers. Like, who sent them and why?

After a quick glance and a pulse of shadow-affinity mana, they came at him again, this time clearly with the intent to wear him down. Their daggers crashed against his barrier over and over, each time being deflected as they failed to force Nate to move in the slightest.

 Weathering their attacks with ease he activated Conceptual Sight of the Runic Artist. The information returned was simple enough. They were all around the low eighties in levels. Good for Galle, but not extraordinary. Their Primary Class all returned the word Nameless within it, but not as an Embodiment marker like he would’ve expected. Instead it was the subject word, meaning it was in fact the Class itself. It was also an Epic Class, which meant these individuals had most likely started at Uncommon. He couldn’t rule out a Rare start and a failure to evolve the Class up a tier, but on Galle the former was far more likely than the latter.

Reviewing their Classes was only the first step in his information gathering sequence. Even as they continued to try and batter down his barrier, the blows of their daggers stopped utterly, Nate moved on to the next step. The paint of his robe swirled as he created a Shadow and Concealment Release rune. The swirling rune could have looked like anything, so long as it incorporated the appropriate Sigils in the appropriate places. But one thing Nate had learned from his time with Ankh’Aris was that Concepts were more powerful when the medium was also aligned with the underlying Truths of the universe. A shadowy image of a runic structure surrounded by yellow and white light formed on his Regalia. With a burst of mana he activated the rune.

An explosion of light flashed out from him, blinding in its fury, and where it touched the shadows were banished. For the first time since detecting these would-be-assassins, these Nameless, Nate got a good look at them. Wrapped in dark, black, loose clothes, their faces were covered in wrapped cloth that concealed everything except their brown eyes. The only skin that was showing was the bridge of their noses, which had been painted black. Nate had to commend them on their dedication to their craft. But he couldn’t allow them to continue to conceal their identities. At the same time, he was unwilling to use Divine Energy for dealing with this cadre of Epic Classers.

A new rune made from the Sigils for Wind and Control began slicing at them, slowly stripping away their masks. The only thing that surprised Nate as the assassins tried to dive and dodge out of the way of his cutting winds was that they didn’t flee. Something was whispering at him as he tried to determine who his attackers were. He was momentarily distracted from the whispers as he finally tore free one of the Nameless’s masks. As the dark cloth hit the ground Nate considered the young man before him. He was darker of skin and of eye than the Etruans, looking quite a lot like Karim and Ameera, the two competitors that managed to make the top-eight in the Guild Tournament over a year ago. 

Gashana then, he thought. 

The obvious conclusion was then that these would-be assassins had likely been sent by the Ambassador of Gashana. 

Mister Golchev, Nate reminded himself.

Well, he would deal with that particular issue tonight as well. But how? He couldn’t just barge in and capture or kill the Ambassador. Whether knowingly, or more likely not, the Ambassador had used the tried and true method of sending lackeys and Reciprocity determined that it was the lackeys who would take the fall. Nate couldn’t directly move against the Ambassador.

The thought had him grinding his teeth in annoyance and he ceased his wind based attacks on the Nameless as he considered his options. 

He could use Frick. Match lackey for lackey. He’d owe Frick something in return, but it was doable. Especially since Frick would probably be keen to go hunt down the Ambassador anyway. That pathway had the added benefit of building some debt between Nate and Frick. Debt which Frick could leverage to either focus on the Path of Ascendancy or if the little goblin decided he preferred The System, then Nate could look at providing resources to skip a tier. The problem with that plan, was it only solved the immediate issue of the Ambassador. 

Alternatively he could take the issue to Morgane. The debt that would incur would likely be satisfied through doing some civil service on the runecrafting front. Not intolerable, as Nate was more than willing to help improve the lives of the people of Etrua. Still, it wasn’t great and it could potentially reveal the truth of his Divinity. Something Morgane might already suspect, assuming the Royal family had enough information to even know what a Divine exchange might look like.

Then there was Luc or Aisling. Either would be enough to resolve this, though Aisling might baulk at such given her position. Politics and all. 

Luc on the other hand wouldn’t, but who knew what his old mentor would ask for in return. Probably a greater share in the Artist’s Emporium. Nate was kind of okay with that, since he could make as much wealth as he wanted anyway, and he’d never cared about being rich to begin with. But Kiri might not approve.

As he sorted through his options in the space of a couple of seconds the whispers finally reached a crescendo and he realised what Conceptual Insight was trying to tell him. While the Nameless had been concealed his Skill had only been whispering of Shadow and Concealment. Now that those Concepts had been dispersed, Nate could sense the Soul that lay beneath. Specifically, a Soul Binding.

The frown on his face turned thunderous. He’d known slavery was legal in Gashana, but seeing that they used Soul Bindings on their people made Nate truly angry. As someone who felt strongly about freedom, especially given the nature of The System, to see people bound by their own souls made Nate furious. 

Especially when those people were being sent to kill or be killed by others, used as little more than tools and discarded when they broke. So much so that he started thinking about what he would do to the rulers of Gashana when he finally removed his own Class Core and was free to act without Reciprocity punishing him.

Slowly, a wide smile bloomed on his face. He knew just how he was going to deal with the Ambassador and then Gashana. And, if his plan for the Ambassador didn’t work, he’d send Frick. Never hurt to have a backup, or three.

With a plan in place, he began his counter-attack. A small blob of paint separated itself from his Regalia, this time filled with a tiny amount of the Divine Energy inherent to the liquid. It would take a little while to restore itself but it was worth the effort. Into the blob of paint he shaped a complex rune that combined the Sigils for Soul, Release, Body, Protect, and Durability. The final form of the newly created rune was like a small disk of swirling black and white the size of his palm.

Then, shifting the paint on his robe he created a rune for Gravity Control and pressed down on all four Nameless until they were pressed into the sandstone. The Nameless struggled against his working, but gravity won out in the end. These assassins were built for speed, not brute force. They were trapped and at his mercy.

Walking among them, one by one, Nate pressed the Painted Disc of Soul Release into their necks. The rune needed to touch exposed flesh to activate and recognise the target. With each activation, another of the Nameless was released from their Soul Bindings as the Divine imbued artifact cleansed them of the foreign spiritual energy.

Once he was done Nate stepped back, releasing his Gravity Control rune to see how the Nameless would react. After all, not everyone bound under such restrictions would crave freedom, or react well to being given it. Like animals kept in a zoo, they might not know what to do once released back into the wild. 

Fortunately, the Nameless did not fall into that category. The group of assassins stood slowly, looking around half-dazed and more than a little bruised and beaten. But despite their wounds and haggard appearance, their faces showed signs of wonder as uncertain smiles slowly worked their way free.

Then, like a pack of lions, or perhaps wolves, they looked at each other releasing tiny pulses of shadow mana. In those looks Nate read an understanding that could only be borne of a lifetime spent together. As for the mana, it was some sort of coded language. At least, that was his best guess. 

As one, the Nameless nodded to Nate, before glancing at the Painted Disc of Soul Release that he had intentionally left on the ground. A Divine Artifact, albeit a weaker one, but on Galle it might as well have been priceless and Nate had simply left it in the dirt. The dark eyes of the Nameless asked the question without saying a word and Nate simply shrugged, walking away. 

His tool had served its purpose and he’d dealt with his attackers. Another loophole in The System. He could do whatever he wanted to those who attacked him with real intent. Even mess with their souls. And once done he could retrieve his tools, if he wanted, or he could leave it where it lay, after all, it was just paint with a hint of Divine Energy and his Regalia would replenish what he’d spent on it soon enough. To some it might have been the work of a lifetime. To him, it barely qualified as a creation.

Nate didn’t look back as he walked away. He could sense everything perfectly fine in his sphere of awareness. He saw how they picked up the Painted Disc of Soul Release and quickly fled, using the shadows to traverse the city at speed. 

Floating through the night air using a rune of Gravity Control and a rune for Wind Control Nate followed the Nameless back to a large villa.

Within the building he could sense servants packing everything up for travel. Clothes, food, even the furniture. Nothing was being spared. Nate smiled slightly as he felt the Nameless enter the building. He’d half-expected them to rush for the Ambassador, but instead it was the assistant that Nate felt them go to. He wasn’t sure what that was about but Nate had waited long enough to make his entrance. 

Painting a rendition of the house within the space inside of his Regalia took less than a second and then he was inside as he activated Life Imitates Art. As he did so, his location in Reality was rewritten and he found himself standing in a sparsely decorated office as the Ambassador stood nearby shoving paperwork into a spatial container.

“Evening Ambassador,” said Nate, announcing his presence.

Ambassador Golchev looked up in fright, the jowls on his chin immediately showing signs of perspiration.

Good, thought Nate. Let the bastard sweat.

“Evening Mister Weber. It’s a little late and this is very unexpected. Perhaps we could schedule a meeting for the morning? I’m assuming you’ve come to renegotiate the portal development contract?” replied Golchev.

Nate made a point of looking around the sparse room, missing almost all of its furniture except for a few sets of drawers, already being emptied of their paperwork.

“Seems to me, Ambassador, that by the time the sun rises you’ll be long gone. An Ambassador fleeing in the middle of the night? Pray tell who have you offended that you feel the need to disappear like a thief in the night?”

Golchev spluttered in response, “Those are some hefty accusations, Mister Weber, and as a regular citizen of Etrua far beyond your station to be making! You best believe I will be taking this up with Minister Morgane Etrua! Entering my villa uninvited and levelling accusations against me! I’d like to see you finagle your way out of this!”

“Finagle? What an appropriate choice of words. Means to obtain by dishonest means, am I right? Like dispatching a team of Nameless to kidnap an Etruan citizen as you prepare to flee in the middle of the night. Were the terms offered by The Artist’s Emporium truly so onerous that you’d risk offending not only me, but Etrua and Asmuisil?”

Antoine Golchev, Ambassador of Gashana, had gone deathly pale at the mention of the Nameless. His brown, sun-kissed skin taking on a pallid sheen like that of a corpse left to bloat within a pool of water.

“You’ve got no proof,” he hissed, though Nate could hear the fear in Golchev’s voice.

Nate smirked, beginning to pace back and forth as he spoke, though calling it a monologue would’ve been just as acceptable.

“Proof? What proof do I need? If I killed you now do you really think anyone could trace it back to me? Maybe if you’d done your research you would have known how foolish this attempt was. You were doomed from the start. But in some ways, I want to thank you. Truly, thank you. I’ve been so busy focusing on my own plans, goals and challenges that I had forgotten about you. About Gashana. When I first came to this world, one of my first exposures to the dark underside of Galle, was a slaving operation. Those slaves I helped free were destined for Gashana. Do you see where I am going with this?”

Nate smiled, though there was no happiness in it. Only the cold pleasure of seeing the dawning reality on Golchev’s face.

“I likely would’ve continued to forget about Gashana for years, had you not brought it to my attention. The fact that you even go so far as to use Soul Bindings made me truly disgusted with your country and the principles it is built upon.”

“Think you can convince Morgane do you? The Ministers of Asmuisil?” spat Golchev. “Even if someone like you could, any army you sent would die in the desert wastes. The Merchant Lords are stronger than you know. Stronger than most Guild Platinums. All you’re doing is sealing your own fate. You may kill me, but the Merchant Lords will not allow such a slight to go unanswered. You’ll join me soon enough.”

Nate raised an eyebrow, turning to fully face Golchev.

“Who said I was going to kill you?”

Antoine Golchev didn’t see the dagger that slit his throat, nor the one that stabbed him in the kidney. He felt the dagger that took him in the lung, and the second that ripped through his heart. Then he felt no more.

Nate watched the two Nameless kill their former master, staying long enough to make sure Golchev was truly dead. Then, with a hastily created painting, he rewrote his location in Reality, appearing back in his own home.

“All sorted?” called Kiri from the bathroom.

“Assassination-averted!” called back Nate, heading into his room to prepare and plan for dealing with a couple of Lesser Divines.

As for Gashana, well, Nate trusted that to the hands of those native to the desert wastes.