Wish upon the Stars chapter 526

"So...that's basically all of it." I finished, filling in the others in on our talk with Camden. "I didn't want to commit to anything without  consulting anyone. Being the leader is one thing, but signing you all up  for military service working on commission for gear without asking  seemed like a dick move." Benny snickered a bit at that.

Jessie,  who was the person whose opinion I was here for, nodded. "I appreciate  you checking, but yeah, I'm down for that. Helping people is what I'm  here for. You really think we could get a set of armor made for Randall?  Because that sounds crazy expensive." Despite her words her tone was  eager. Apparently it sounded as cool to her as it did to me to outfit  her giant animal companion with high ranking armor.

Everyone  else seemed just as eager for the new gear, and we quickly confirmed  everyone was interested. Once that was done, I moved onto the plan.  "That said, I think waiting a bit to get a better handle on the local  environment before we sign up. Training doesn't start for another three  days anyway, so it makes sense to make the most of our time. First thing  I want to talk to Anna about who exactly we're going to be fighting.  The rest of you can do whatever, just let me know if you learn anything  interesting."

We all split up, but rather than going with  Callie, I decided to spend some time with my sister. Chelsea and I both  headed downstairs to find Anna and ask about the local power dynamics.  "So...how is it to be out on your own?" I asked my twin as we headed  downstairs. "Must be pretty jarring."

She chuckled at  that. "You have no idea. I'm definitely still getting used to it. I've  been sleeping in the past few months. I'm always expected to be awake at  the crack of dawn back home for training. Here I can just...be. It's  lovely. I've also had a great time getting to know your friends. They've  been so welcoming. I really appreciate you bringing me along with you,  Shane."

"I'm happy to have you here." I said with a laugh.  "Though that sleeping in thing isn't likely to last. Military trainers  are pretty infamous for being strict about timetables."

As  we'd been talking, we were strolling around the inn, with the expanded  residential portion it was much bigger than expected. The place had five  floors and dozens of rooms. Luckily Anna was down in the main bar area,  so when we reached the first floor we found her easily.

The  dark haired proprietress of the inn was washing and drying glasses  behind the bar. I didn't see a bartender, though there had been one last  night. Maybe she took shifts. She smiled as we walked up. "Ah, well if  it isn't two of my favorite guests. What can I do for you?" I was pretty  sure everyone was her favorite guest when she talked to them, but it  was nice to get such a warm greeting.

"Hey Anna." I said,  sitting down at the bar. "We were hoping to get some info about local  politics. The movers and the shakers. We were talking to Tolbert and it  looks like we'll be working with him so we want to know what we're up  against."

She smirked at the question. "You sure you can  afford it? My services don't come cheap. I have the best sources on  Stratholme, and more than a few throughout the empire at large. Even a  basic information package from me is bound to be more than you can  afford."

"I'm sure we can figure something out." I said  with a laugh, thinking of my wish power. I hadn't used any wishes today,  so I was in a great position to bargain from. "Can we get some of the  Shepherd's Pie by the way?"

Since we'd prepaid for meals,  she didn't charge us when dishing out the delicious smelling meal, just  retreating to the kitchen and coming back with two heaping bowls of  potatoes, meat, and veggies. "So." She said, setting them down in front  of us. "What exactly do you think you could pay me that would be worth  my time? You lot aren't even Barons yet."

That drew me up  short as I squinted at her thoughtfully. I'd never actually checked what  rank Anna was. She didn't feel stronger than us, but I knew from Zeke  that it was easy for strong Ascendants to keep that suppressed if they  felt like it. Was Anna a D-ranker? I couldn't imagine her being any  higher than that. How the hell had we picked this place out of all the  others if she was high ranked? What were the chances? Fucking Fate  Sense.

Whatever rank she was, it wasn't higher than Zeke,  obviously. There was only one C-ranker on this planet, so we were safe  enough to negotiate. Especially if she was D-rank, since that was just  past the limit. "Well, that depends." I said smoothly, reaching into my  pocket to pull out my WCP card. Aside from giving me access to branches,  it also acted as a form of identification. "What do you want?"

She  blinked, eyes snapping to the logo on the card. "Ah." She said  thoughtfully. "That would explain the looker who came along with you.  Seemed odd for such a powerhouse to be puttering around with a group of  kids. Do you have a stock of scrolls, or can you actually grant wishes?"

"The  latter." I said bluntly. "Six per day. And I'd be willing to trade for  information, if that's something you're willing to discuss."

That  got a laugh from the innkeeper. "Of course it is. I can't think of  anyone sane who would turn down a wish. You're a bit young, so I'll need  to keep it on the lower end of extravagant, but I'd still be  interested. Though of course the limits will effect what kind of  information I'm willing to trade."

Her familiarity with  the process brought me up short. I expected her to recognize the crest,  but this was a bit much. It finally occurred to me to ask the question I  hadn't bothered to ask before now and probably should have. "Wait...do  we have a branch on Stratholme?" Realistically I should have assumed  that. We'd had several on Callus, and that was a much lower ranked  planet.

"Of course you do." She snorted. "Three of them  actually. Though one is in Crenwick, which is clear on the other side of  the planet, and another is in Velholm, which is in the ice caps. The  closest is in Roarfield, the capital. We don't merit an actual Wyndham  obviously, though there has been a member of the family passing through  now and then. Still, a resident Wyndham is bound to draw some  attention."

While some people might have considered this a  threat, or an attempt to gain leverage, based on her tone it was clear  to me that Anna was giving me a friendly warning. She was an information  broker, and I'd given her information. If I wanted to make sure she  didn't sell it to anyone I needed to make preparations to keep it from  spreading.

Luckily, I had an easy means of doing this by  virtue of my geasa. I'd already planned to include the cost of keeping  my bloodline to herself as one of her wishes, but I appreciated her  pointing it out for me just in case. At the moment though, I really  wanted to hear more about the local WCP. "I imagine the branch head is  one of the Viscounts?" I asked, trying to focus.

"One of  them." She agreed. "Though no one is sure which. The WCP operates a bit  more in the shadows in the Empire. They aren't an illegal organization,  but they keep a low profile because of the stricter legal precedent.  Makes things easier for everyone. The capital branch head goes by  Drelan. No one has seen his face that I know of."

That was  interesting, closer to the way they did things in Velan than in Rajak.  If anything it would keep them out of our faces though. No reason for  them to be all the way out in Saltzberg if they were laying low.

Knowing  there wasn't a time limit on that information though, I was more  willing to waif. "Alright. We can talk about that later. I need  information on who we're going to be fighting for Tolbert. If we're  doing wishes we could use a place with more privacy. Don't exactly want  to advertise."

Frowning, she turned to call back into the  kitchen. "MATTIE!" She bellowed. "Come work the bar for a bit!" After a  minute, a small blonde woman around my age in an old fashioned dress  stepped out, looking annoyed.

"It's my break." She said belligerent. "Why can't Lionel do it?"

Anna  rolled her eyes. "Because Lionel is unloading the kegs. Do YOU want to  unload the kegs?" Her glare made it clear that the question was not  rhetorical.

Mattie put her hands  up in surrender. "I was just asking, gods. I'll do it. But since I'm  working through my break I get to keep all my tips right?" Despite  backing down from the presumably backbreaking work of loading kegs in  this ridiculous exhausting planet, the girl didn't back down, her amber  eyes narrowed like she was getting ready for a fight.

"Fine."  Anna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Keep your tips. But I'm  checking the bottles when I get back. No freebies, and no pouting drinks  for yourself when you pour them for customers."

When  the blonde nodded, Anna gestured to us and escorted us to the back of  the inn, into a storage room packed with everything from glassware to  burlap sacks of potatoes. "Not afraid to mouth off to the boss, is she?"  I asked as we stepped inside. "I'd recognize that complete disregard  for authority anywhere. She your daughter?"

"Niece."  She said with a laugh. "Lionel is her brother, and neither of them are  nearly afraid enough of me. I take it you're related to your guardian."

I  shrugged. "My dad's best friend, but basically yeah, he's my uncle. I  suspect he gets just as exasperated as you by my own antics. So, here's  how this will go. You make a wish, I let you know if I can grant it, and  if I can get you offer the information you think it's worth as payment.  Assuming my power accepts, I grant the wish and then we move on to the  next one. Your last wish will be paid with a geas keeping you from  divulging my secrets. Understood?"

This  was a perfect solution to a lot of my problems actually. Because wishes  concerning secrets were so expensive, information was at something of a  premium to me. Since Anna had it to spare, we both got what we wanted  out of this. She mulled it over, then nodded. "Sounds straightforward  enough. Now, for my first wish..." She trailed off, clearly too excited  to pick the first one. Eventually her eyes lit up. "I wish for a copy of  Baron Clairdon's trade manifest."

Wish detected. Grant wish?

I  confirmed, and the values for the wish scrolled across my vision in  purple flame. I'd expected not to be able to grant it, since that  sounded like secret information, but apparently wishing for a physical  object was a way to partway negate the issue because it was just within  my parameters. I blinked in surprise at Anna, who grinned at me. "I told  you." She said with a chuckle. "There have been Wyndhams here before.  In payment I'll offer everything I know about Baron Clairdon's forces."

Assuming  he was someone relevant, I confirmed the wish, then held out my hand.  The building electricity in my body welled up and manifested in my hand  as a small leatherbound book. Anna took it gingerly from my hand,  flipping it open and then rifling through it. Snapping it shut, her eyes  returned to me. Thus began my crash course in Stratholme's local  politics.