“I think we all know why we are here, so instead of beating around the bush, we can get straight in,” the Patriarch of the Oren Merchant Family, Max, said, addressing the individuals gathered around the table.
“Come on, Max, we all know we are here for the same thing, but instead of diving right in, why don’t we discuss matters that are equally of importance first?” Daven of the Axel Family chimed in.
“We all know what happened to the Ashlands and the Alderfords. Aren’t we going to discuss that first?” he stated.
“Indeed, we have to talk about that first. I believe something is going on, and from what I have seen and heard, whoever did this is perhaps very dangerous,” Norlon, the Patriarch of the Otto Merchant Family, said.
“Then why don’t you tell all of us what you think? I believe your input will be valuable, don’t you think?” Max said, his tone slightly laced with anger and disdain.
Clearly, it appears the Axel and Otto families are still not on friendly terms. The Pill and Herb Market is still a point of contention between them.
“As it stands, I only know that whoever has done this to the two families may be a threat to all of us. It will be best if we all focus on understanding that before going deep into whatever we came here to do,”
Norton said before turning to Cyran, the Patriarch of the Valen Merchant Family, known for information gathering and espionage.
Cyran looked at everyone’s faces before sighing.
Truth be told, he already has information on both families, the Ashlands and the Alderfords. However, his family treated that information as a high-paying commodity.
They dealt in information, so sharing something that grand for free didn’t sit right with him. However, under these circumstances, he could compromise and say something small.
“I do have information on the two. However, you should know I don’t plan on dropping names. That said, I will tell you this: the two families didn’t die at the same hand. Though they were not on good terms, they both died from completely different causes.
They both fell to underworld organizations I can’t name. If you want names, you’ll have to buy them.”
Everyone looked at each other’s faces before sighing. Truth be told, they had all expected as much. They knew it must have something to do with the underworld for a noble family to fall.
However, they never anticipated that two families would fall at the same time and at the hands of two different underworld organizations.
Although Cyran hadn’t named any names, they all knew his words were 100% true. They just hated the fact that he knew something but wouldn’t share it without compensation.
“I think we all know why this happened. Now, can we focus on yet another factor before diving into the way forward?” Patriarch Max said.
“What else is there to talk about? We know who the culprits are. Though some people are too petty to name names, we now understand this is the work of the underworld. From where I stand, we move forward with deciding who gets to become the noble,” Patriarch Ender of the Basil Gold Mining family said.
“I think so too. Max, what else is there to discuss?” Patriarch Norton asked.
“I think, because of the recent incidents, you’ve all forgotten something else. Have you forgotten about the recent perfect pills that have appeared in the Athea Kingdom? I believe it’s something we should address, don’t you all think?”
The faces of the twelve gathered seemed to shift upon hearing the mention of the perfect pill.
The sudden appearance of the Perfect Pills threatens the current status quo. This is why they all want to get to the bottom of things.
“I believe Patriarch Lorian is the best person to answer this. It was your auction house that got hold of these pills. I believe you have something to tell us,” Patriarch Daven of the Axel family said.
Right now, he runs the risk of losing more if these Perfect Pills start circulating. His family, being alchemists specializing in making pills, faces significant consequences.
If, suddenly, pills without a strand of impurity start appearing, things will go badly for them.
He needed to know what was going on, and since Kent’s pills first appeared in the Silver Leaf Auction House, which belongs to the Zephyr Family, Lorian, the patriarch, was the best fit to answer.
“Like I said before and the last hundred times, the worker who got hold of these pills said the alchemist behind them doesn’t want to be known by anyone just yet.
Also, she said the alchemist warned that if we start poking around, he will stop making the pills. Now, I don’t know about you bastards, but my family cannot let such a rare chance like this go to waste.
So, before you start pressuring me, know that I don’t even know the identity of this alchemist. Also, it would be best to assume he or she will soon make an appearance, so be prepared to make contact. That is all I can say.”
In truth, even Lorian had been pressuring Manager Alina to reach out to Kent, who had chosen to remain anonymous for now.
The recent developments prompted Kent to build his strength first before taking any bold steps that could send him face-to-face with danger.
“I guess it’s only natural. From where I stand, we can’t force someone who doesn’t want to be known,” Max said, turning to look at everyone.
“Now that we have addressed these two things, I will go straight to the point and voice my proposed plan for which family gets to become noble.
Since we all deal in different fields, it’s only natural for us to not have a common ground to decide. So, I propose we make this huge decision five months from now during the King’s Martial Competitions.
We all have sects we support. While it might be good to go to war, we can refrain from that and use the competition to decide.
Whoever’s sect wins will get to become the next noble of this kingdom,” Max said, making everyone enter brief contemplation.
“I think supporting an entire sect is good. This will make things much easier. My Zephyr Family and the Divine Palace Sect will accept this,” Lorian, one of the major contributors to the Divine Palace Sect, agreed to the offer.
“I think this is a nice way forward too. My Axel Family and the Everlasting Alchemy Sect will also participate in this enterprise,” Daven said, looking rather smug.
Just as there are twelve major merchant families, there are also twelve major sects that vie for fame every three years in what they call the King’s Sect Competition, which will take place five months from now.
If they want to pick the next best noble family without much bloodshed, it would be best to use such a method. And because they will present this to the king, there won’t be any disagreement later on.
The other families accepted the offer to use the sect competition to determine the next noble family. After a few more discussions, they left.
Since they all came to the same conclusion, all that remains is for them to pump their resources into the sects they support and hope that in five months, these sects will become their swords and wands to determine their future.