Whispers of A Dead Empire

Chapter 63

I stared at the man and bit back my tongue. How dare he pull the savior card to get something he wants. I mentally calmed myself as I started to try and work a plan to try and counter him. "Well, you have something that I want as well. I need outside resources and an envoy. If you get me that, then we can talk about your arrangement."

The redhead gazed at me. His blue eyes were a little hazy, and his face was still covered in a multitude of cuts that had yet to heal fully. He looked a little perturbed that I had laid a counter offer at his feet, but he wasn't the only one that needed something. "Fine. What do you need?"

I could feel a grin spreading my lips under my mask. Good, maybe I could still turn this situation back in my favor. "Stone, gold, metal, and tools. Whatever you can get your hands on."

"Why do you need those things?" He gazed at me cautiously, though I could understand what he was thinking.

"Because I want to rebuild. As you can probably gather, a lot has happened in my realm. Though, if you are worried, I'm amassing an attack on the outside world; you don't have to worry. I have no interest in getting dragged into a pointless conflict." Don't get me wrong, I do want to visit the world outside, but at the moment, I need to tread carefully so I can keep the situation under control.

"Can I have your word on the matter?" He asked as he regarded me with his eyes as he scrutinized me, attempting to figure out how serious I was.

"I suppose. Will a written contract do?" I wasn't sure how the world operated outside of here, but if there is magic, there were probably magical contracts or something of the sort. But I didn't have any experience of the sort in that department. So, for the time being, I am content with using good ole paper.

"Written? You don't have magical contracts here?" He rose an eyebrow at me, clearly shocked at the fact. But it did serve to further reinforce what I thought. So magical contracts are a thing here.

Now, all I had to do was throw something together that would make sense and give me wiggle room on the matter. "Here in Asteria, contracts are binding. We don't need magic to enforce them. As long as it is a valid contract, then they can be enforced by the law here." Not quite a lie, but also not the whole truth, since I'm technically the law here.

He mused it over before he gave me, he replied. "I can agree with that. Draft me up a contract, and then we can go from there. But on a side note, where are my companions?"

"They are in the safe area, with my troops guarding them. We killed the last assassin just before you woke up." I felt a little numb to their deaths. I realized while I was watching them fight that if I were to worry about every single person who died in here, then I would kill myself with guilt. But they made their choice, and they paid for it with their lives. Not that they are still dead. They ended up joining the ranks of my soldiers as undead assassins, though I was unsure of where their loyalty lies, so they remained locked up, and only Amari deals with them.

"Thank you for saving them. Words could never express what that means to me. I am forever in your debt." He bowed his head towards me, but really it irritated me. I saved your friends, and this is how you repay me?

But I held back the irritation that seemed to swell within me. "Of course," I replied, trying to keep my tone even and diplomatic. "However, I do ask that you leave now. I have a few things to attend to. But I will send a few of my honor guards with you, just in case there is something that we missed."

I still had to take care of some of the stat points I got from the four assassins being killed. In fact, I got such a swell in experience that I jumped ten levels alone from it all, and I was sitting on a class milestone. I'm happy that I got it, but at the same time, I wanted a little more time to jam a few more things in there to maximize my returns; but what can I do. That boat has long since sailed.