Thirstfall - Memory of a Returnee

Joseph comes in and closes the door behind him.

Up close, he looks young for the role a Deepwarden man usually carries. Early twenties, maybe. Blond hair falls in a careless mess over his forehead, his eyes are pale and alert, and there’s a lightness in his face that fits someone used to crossing ancient ruins out of curiosity better than someone in charge of the most powerful guild in Thirstfall.

His build follows the same impression. Athletic, no unnecessary bulk, protected by a short jacket of pale leather with gold detailing and flexible pieces that leave his arms and legs free.

The exception is the left arm.

A gauntlet of gold metal covers the hand and runs up near the elbow. The plates overlap in thin segments, following every movement of the fingers. On the back, a blue core gives off its own light, connected by small runic lines that flare along the joints whenever Joseph moves his hand.

That doesn’t look like protection.

It’s a weapon wearing the shape of protection.

The OXI signature arrives right after.

Rank A.

Wonderful.

I came into this room to negotiate with one Abyssal, and now I have two.

Rae stands.

"Joseph. Punctual as always."

"You complain when I’m early and complain when I’m late. I’m starting to suspect the problem is my presence."

The two of them shake hands.

Then Joseph looks at me.

Curiosity comes before recognition.

Rae opens a hand toward me.

"Dryden Sands. I imagine the name has already reached you."

Joseph smiles.

"It reached me before you decided to mention it."

He holds out his right hand.

I take it.

The grip is firm, controlled. None of that childish need to measure strength hidden in a handshake. Joseph already knows he’s stronger than me.

"The Hadal Ranking, the Team Battle, Silver Fang, that potion that annoyed half of Azure Prime because it ran out before it reached the line," he says. "You’ve had some busy weeks."

"I have trouble sitting still."

Joseph laughs and takes the third chair.

Rae stays on his feet a few seconds, watching the two of us with a satisfaction that bothers me before I even understand why.

Then I understand.

"Joseph spent a few years at this Academy," Rae says. "We still work together on certain matters when interests allow."

Joseph rests the gauntleted arm on the chair.

"He likes that description because it avoids admitting he treated me like a pupil."

"And you like that version because it makes it sound like you learned everything on your own."

Rae finally sits.

I look from one to the other.

The Water Strand hasn’t even reached Earth yet and Rae is already charging interest.

I’d expected my political support to start when Kaelen entered the equation. Maybe at a formal meeting a few weeks later, when the LDP distribution caught the Director’s attention.

Rae has decided to start earlier.

Much earlier.

He’s put two of his investments on the same table.

Joseph is proof that he can cultivate someone all the way into the Deepwarden’s structure.

I’m proof that he keeps finding people with potential before others notice them.

The snake is showing me off.

"Rae’s said quite a bit about you," Joseph says.

"That worries me."

"It should. He turns interesting people into political arguments."

Rae gives a discreet smile.

At least Joseph knows he’s being used too.

"We were talking about exactly that before you arrived," I answer.

"I imagine so."

Joseph leans back in the chair.

"Does the LDP really recover between six hundred and seven hundred OXI per dose?"

The change of subject is smooth.

The intent, less so.

"Depending on the batch and the user’s physiology."

"And without the digestive damage common to combat formulas?"

"So far, no relevant cases."

Joseph runs his thumb along the metal side of the gauntlet.

The blue runes follow the gesture.

"What’s your current capacity?"

"Lower than demand."

"That much I figured out. I was looking for a number."

"Then you’ll keep looking."

A smile appears at the corner of his mouth.

Rae steps in.

"Industrial capacity is the operation’s main problem at the moment. Raw materials, glass, space, trained personnel. Demand has already passed a hundred thousand units for the next period."

I look at him.

’Did Dean already sell my information that quickly? He really wants to screw me.’

Rae notices my discontent, but he continues anyway.

"Sands has a direct partnership with Leona Hartwell, so Silver Fang offers some protection while the structure grows. Even so, there’s a limit to what a guild focused on healing can do industrially."

Joseph turns his eyes back to me.

"Leona’s your partner?"

"Yes."

"Exclusively?"

The word comes out casual.

I don’t treat it as casual.

"My commercial priority is with Silver Fang, and she is the leader."

Joseph nods slowly.

"A safe position."

"It’s been working."

"Until demand outgrows her capacity."

The gauntlet moves again. Small points of light run between Joseph’s fingers before going out.

"The Deepwarden works with supply chains on a different scale, Sands. Lunaria, alchemical glass, protected transport, factories in other regions. Problems that look structural for a new operation are usually just problems of access."

Of course.

That’s the dangerous part.

The Deepwarden could solve almost everything Richard put in the reports.

And when it’s done, it would probably own almost everything it solved.

"I don’t doubt it," I answer. "That’s also a good reason for me not to mix structures right now."

Joseph raises an eyebrow.

"Explain."

"My production grew before my administration did. If I solve every bottleneck by accepting infrastructure from a different organization, in a few months I’ll spend more time figuring out who owns each part of the company than making LDP... and besides that, like I said, Leona is the leader."

Joseph keeps looking at me.

There’s no offense.

The opposite.

He seems to have liked the answer.

"Prudent."

"He has that habit," Rae says. "He tries to carry everything alone until the weight starts to break something. Then he accepts help and complains about it."

There it is.

Rae’s hand trying to land on my shoulder without actually touching me.

He wants Joseph to believe he knows me.

More important, that he can steer me.

I look at Rae.

"Instructor Rae tends to confuse advice I listen to with advice I follow."

Joseph lets out a short laugh.

Rae keeps the smile, but his eyes catch the message.

"A fair distinction."

Joseph shifts his gaze between us.

"Then let’s simplify. I’m not proposing an alliance between Silver Fang and the Deepwarden. Yet. I have a personal interest in the product."

’This is much better. Clients are easier to manage than recruiters.’

"What kind of interest?"

"I want access to some units once production stabilizes. I can pay above the current price."

"Get in line."

Joseph laughs for real but Rae doesn’t.

"I imagine a small priority could be arranged," he says.

I turn my head.

"It could. When I decide to arrange one."

The silence is brief, but the message stays.

Rae doesn’t own my bottles...

Or my company...

Or my decision.

Joseph seems to enjoy the little dispute even more.

"I think I’m starting to understand why the two of you work together."

"We don’t exactly work together," I answer.

Rae crosses one leg over the other.

"Even so, we produce results when our interests line up."

That sentence I can’t argue with.

Joseph rests his elbows on his knees.

"I can smooth the way with suppliers if you’d like to hear proposals. No guild commitment. There are people inside the Deepwarden who move volumes the open market in Azure Prime can’t keep up with."

The offer sounds clean.

That’s exactly why I don’t trust it.

"Commercial proposals I’ll hear."

"Only commercial?"

"For now, they’re the only ones I need."

Joseph spends a few seconds studying me.

The friendliness stays on his face, but the attention behind it has changed. He’s stopped looking at me like an interesting cadet introduced by Rae.

Now he’s evaluating something.

"Men with your trajectory rarely stay independent for long."

There it is.

Not an invitation.

Not yet.

But I know the path.

The Deepwarden starts by opening a door. When it really wants someone, the door ends up becoming the only exit available.

Refusing early could stir curiosity.

Accepting quickly could be much worse.

"Independence costs a lot in Thirstfall," I answer.

"That’s one of the reasons big organizations exist," Joseph says. "We reduce the cost."

Rae comes in right after.

"And we keep promising young people from discovering every mistake in person."

Two men offering shelter.

All I can see are the collars.

I bring a hand up to the side of my head, pretending to adjust the small communicator behind my ear.

I open a private channel.

[Veric Azurea — Connected.]

The voice comes at once.

"Sands? What is it? I’m in the middle of a—"

I don’t answer him. Instead I use a trick with OXI at my fingertips to muffle the communicator’s outgoing sound, not the incoming."

Joseph is still looking at me, so I keep my attention on him.

"Silver Fang already covers most of what I need right now. Leona also doesn’t tend to like it when someone tries to enter a commercial structure before she’s decided whether she wants to open space."

"Leona Hartwell is powerful," Joseph answers. "But even she understands there are levels of influence."

"She understands. That’s why she’s still alive."

In the communicator, Veric tries again.

"Dryden? Did you open this by accident? Why the hell am I hearing other people?"

Rae starts to speak.

"No one’s suggesting replacing Silver Fang. Joseph is offering paths for expansion. If your factory really means to serve the volume you showed Dean, it’ll need bigger partners at some point."

Veric goes quiet.

Finally.

Probably he recognizes voices, or at least realizes I’ve opened a channel without taking part in it.

Joseph turns the gauntlet a little on his knee.

"Rae also told me you’re negotiating the LDP’s entry inside the Academy."

"Purchase priority," I correct.

"Fifteen thousand units."

I look at Rae again.

He seems comfortable.

"You really do enjoy handing out my numbers. Dean must be just as thrilled as you are to sell my information."

"Public numbers soon stop being useful secrets."

"’Soon’ is doing a lot of work in that sentence."

Joseph smiles.

"I can respect discretion. But understand my position too. If I’m going to bring suppliers closer, I need to know whether there’s a deal behind the door."

"When there’s a concrete proposal, you get the numbers you need to evaluate it. Before that, no."

Joseph nods.

Once again, no irritation.

That’s almost worse.

Insecure men are easy to provoke. Joseph seems to enjoy resistance as long as he believes he can turn it into an advantage later.

The conversation goes on for a few minutes between industrial capacities, routes, and possible suppliers. Rae inserts himself whenever he finds room, offering my relationships as if he were helping arrange the board. Joseph looks for his own benefit before any institutional interest of the Deepwarden.

And I stay in the middle.

Rae wants to present a pupil.

Joseph wants to turn that pupil into an opportunity.

Neither seems interested in asking whether I like the role.

At some point, Joseph mentions that the Deepwarden has been expanding relations with noble houses and large commercial structures in Azure Prime.

That’s the opening I’ve been waiting for.

I rest an arm on the chair.

"What does Garen think about that?"

Joseph stops moving his fingers.

Just for an instant.

Rae looks at me.

"Garen Azurea?" Joseph asks.

"My operation already touches House Azurea’s interests. If we’re talking about expanding suppliers, influence, and distribution, I’d rather find out who I might annoy before I put my name on anything."

Joseph moves his hand again.

The blue runes of the gauntlet flare between two fingers.

"Garen is a difficult man."

I almost smile.

"That seems to be a family trait."

"But competent," Joseph continues. "The Deepwarden keeps relations with House Azurea whenever our goals don’t come into conflict."

In my ear, I hear a chair scrape.

Veric finally understands.

When he speaks, the voice has lost all its irritation.

"Joseph?"

I keep looking at the man in front of me.

I don’t answer.

Veric breathes on the other side.

"Right. Understood. I’m calling my father now."

The conversation in the room continues.

Joseph explains something about commercial routes north of Azure Prime while Rae adds possibilities for future distribution inside the Academy.

I nod when I need to, ask when an answer interests me, and keep the channel open.

A few minutes earlier, I’d walked in there knowing Rae meant to use my reputation as political capital.

I hadn’t expected to discover he was already trying to do it in front of a Deepwarden officer.

Joseph believes he came to meet a promising Rank C tied to Silver Fang. Rae believes he’s showing off one more person he’s managed to bring into his orbit.

Neither of them notices when a fourth person joins the conversation.

On the other side of the communicator, Veric is already looking for his father.

And Garen Azurea knows exactly who Joseph is.