Greed God chapter 181

April 4th 2016 Brightedge City, Undercity, 3:00 PM EDT

Tamlin didn't physically react to my words, no clenching of the teeth or  tightening of the jaw, but from one breath to the next the air around is  shifted into an almost suffocating pressure. I called on my Primal  Force, letting it sing through my veins to blunt the edge of his power,  but even I was having a bit of trouble standing up under the weight. The  two poor dryad girls were smashed into the ground, whimpering in  confusion, as Tamline's stormy brown eyes bored into me.

"Explain."  He said, voice cold. "Or you will not walk from this place." Despite  the naked hostility in his voice, I could sense a flicker of something  he hadn't been showing since I got here. Interest. I grinned internally.  Good old appraisal, always came through for me in a pinch.

I  raised both hands, putting on an aggrieved expression (which was really  hard with a dragon face) "Peace, my friend. I tell you no lies. I can  really offer you this chance. I've long since heard of your name, and  heard of your sad circumstances. Losing your woman and your child simply  for your humanity. I understand better than you know, you see...I too  was once human." I said it dramatically, allowing the news to wash over  the man and awaiting his derision.

It came as expected. "A  cruel joke, master dragon. I should choose my words carefully when next  I spoke, were I in your place." His frozen tone was clipped and clearly  on the edge of violence, and the oppressive power seemed to redouble,  grinding the dryads deeper into the grass and bending my knees slightly,  though not enough to make me drop.

I... might have  slightly underestimated the distance between C rank power and D rank,  even for someone like me. But hesitation was way more likely to get me  murdered than fucking up at this point. I reached quickly into my pouch  and slipped out a pair of gems, each one a different kind but obviously  mundane, then I merged the damn things instantly right in front of him.

This  was an extremely risky thing to do. If I hadn't been worried he might  legitimately butcher me, I'd have lied or come up with some kind of  excuse for my ability. Sadly I didn't have that much time, but it was a  manageable risk. Metas weren't exactly unknown, and the ability to  combine things wasn't unique. The Greed System also didn't really  produce any obvious tells aside from the actual merge, which was pretty  generic, so as long as I was vague he shouldn't be able to suss out what  it was, even if he'd heard of it before.

As expected, he  pulled up short, his eyes narrowing. "I am not sure how that is supposed  to help me regain my family, but I admit it is novel. You may say your  piece." The pressure abated, and the two dryads slumped onto their  sides, gasping for air completely unnoticed by their lord. As far as I  could tell they still couldn't hear us. They had literally just been  nearly pulped for no reason they were aware of. I made a mental note not  to piss off Tamlin if I could help it.

"Right." I said,  regaining my momentum. "Of course. I'm what mortals call a metahuman. I  have access to a unique ability to combine objects." I stayed away from  the word merge, just in case. "These objects need not be limited to  items, but can even include people or animals once certain conditions  are met. I know Titania cast you aside for Oberon himself, and from what  I heard your mortality may have played a role. With enough time and  resources, I could aid you in matching or even surpassing Oberon,  becoming a fae yourself, and one even stronger than he."

His  eyes were locked to me. "That...is that true?" He glanced away,  murmuring to himself. "Could there be hope after all this time?" He  shook off his reverie, refocusing on me. "Your claims are certainly  outrageous, but I have heard these 'meta-humans' can possess strange and  inexplicable powers. Your words lead me to believe you cannot provide  such an outcome at this time, but I am...open to giving you time. That  said, you have only mentioned the favor you offer, but not the  information you seek. To necessitate such a boon, I can only imagine  what secrets you must wish to uncover."

That was better  than I'd expected honestly. Immortals were patient, and this one was  basically broken inside from what had happened to him. Helping him get  his woman back was certainly plausible (though who knew if his son was  alive anymore, so that wasn't up to me) and he was clearly willing to  wait. I just had to hope that offer would keep me alive when I asked  this next part, because I NEEDED to know more about my mom.

"I  seek information on a potential enemy. An ancient fae long since  imprisoned. I have been warned she may pose a danger to me, and seek to  prepare for her attack should it come." I swallowed hard, here went  nothing. "Her name is Tsaritsa." I braced for a potential attack from  the ancient bard, ready to resist lightning or force or fucking plant  whips or some shit. To my relief none of it was necessary.

Tamlin  certainly didn't seem HAPPY about the question, but with the favor I'd  offered and my clarification that she was an enemy he also didn't try to  slaughter me right off the bat. His expression was severe as he  responded. "The information you seek is forbidden. Do you understand  that which you ask? By conveying this knowledge, I endanger not only the  world as a whole, but myself specifically should my part in its  dissemination come to light. What guarantee have I that any of what you  say is true."

I had to resist the urge to smile. I loved  that question. In any negotiation, the phrase 'how can I be sure you're  telling the truth' or a variation of it, essentially means you've won.  Truth can't be ensured, and everyone knows that, especially fae. The  only people who ask for evidence of truthfulness are people who want to  believe you and are looking for a reason to justify that to themselves.

Tamlin  might not TRUST me per se, he wasn't an idiot. But he'd already decided  that the possible gain of working with me outweighed the possible  consequences. Many people used this feint in negotiations as a way to  attempt to extract better conditions, but any decent negotiator  recognized it as an empty gesture that weakened their position. Someone  as old and as connected the fae as Tamlin had to know it too, and the  fact that he STILL chose to give in to the temptation to ask the  question meant he'd given up almost all pretense.

Still,  it was no trouble to reassure him a bit. "I gain nothing from her  return. Tsaritsa is a notorious despot, even other fae are not safe from  her wrath. Only a fool would seek to restore her. What benefit would I  see from such an action? Gratitude? To trust one such as her would be  pure foolishness. I seek only to prepare for a possible assault be  herself or her agents. As for my ability you will naturally witness it  during our cooperation. "

He stared at me hard for a  minute before sighing. "Aye. You are not wrong. Fine. In exchange for a  binding oath sworn by your power to do your utmost to grant me what you  have promised, I will give you the knowledge you seek. I assume you wish  a similar oath from myself? A promise to abide by the terms of our  agreement?"

"I do." I responded instantly. "As well as  your word to keep our dealings and the information you learn about  myself and my abilities a secret. I will be forced to expose many of my  hidden assets to aid you, and it is vital that these pieces of  information do not spread."

He nodded. "Of course. I do so  swear." A pulse of magic exploded out from him, and I mirrored his  oath, outlining the terms mentioned. This was perfect. His oath would  bind him not to tell anyone about the origin of my power if he found  out, or to disclose the Brand, but more than that, it would prevent him  from telling anyone my parentage if it was revealed to him, which was  another huge potential problem.

With the oaths out of the  way, I relaxed slightly. Tamlin had been easier to deal with than  expected, mostly because I'd found his weak spot and applied pressure.  With the right lever you could move the world. It was a nice reminder  that brute force was far from the only way to bring people under  control, even if it was more an option for me now than ever.

Tamlin  took a minute after the oaths to think over what he wanted to say, but I  didn't rush him. I was kind of reeling from my first magical oath. I'd  heard of them before of course, magic users relied on them to ensure the  validity of transactions. There was even a whole branch of magic  dedicated to contracts, which were a more specific and less dangerous  form of that same path. Binding your power itself to an oath could have  big implications, but it was generally considered a sign of good faith  to be willing to make a deal like that.

Of course, I was  less in danger than most. I could fix any damage from the backlash with  my ability by ranking myself up, and even if my power somehow got  destroyed I could just start from the bottom. As long as it didn't kill  me I'd be fine, and I had no reason to break the oath anyway.

Eventually  Tamlin seemed to decide where to start. "Tsaritsa was...complicated.  You must understand that the far are traditionally an amoral people to  begin with. They're kept in check by duty, habit, and in some cases  honor, depending on their origin."

His brown eyes  flickered over to focus on the far reaches of the glade as he lost  himself in memory. "Keep in mind I was not alive for her rise. But my  lady spoke on some few occasions of her predecessor. Tsaritsa as I have  heard it, initially rose to power by being gifted. Not gifted in such a  way that some use that word, a minor talent. Tsaritsa was an artisan in  the ways of magic even amongst a people as steeped in its use as the  fae."

"To put that in context, several stories of her  survive even to this day in some form or another. Mortals even tell them  to their children. They refer to them as 'fairy tales'. When you hear a  fairy tale about an evil queen or a wicked enchantress, it is most  likely about Tsaritsa in some form or other. She had a gift for magic in  a way few fae have before or since."

Left unsaid was that  far society tended to naturally select for power. The more amazing my  mom had been the more terrible she must have been to be ousted. Fairies  were known to be capricious and brutal, especially the ones in charge.

As  he went on, repeating the story that Bridger had told me with some  extra details, I felt my stomach sink deeper and deeper. I'd come here  to prepare, to learn how to be ready, and hearing about her now, I  wasn't sure I even could. My mom was the literal evil queen from every  scary story parents told their kids to get them to behave. She was a  fucking deposed fairy queen from before the current regime. I was going  to need to step up my preparations to even have a chance of surviving.  My first step to that was getting the Court of Owls under control or at  least getting a truce in place. Good thing I had a meeting with them  tonight. I had to get this new city in order fast.