The Heavens Shall Fall

Handling the confidentiality contract was easier than Siu had expected. They only had to walk back to the Nine Hanging Bells, find the appropriate desk about contracts, and the two were led into an empty room, where a formation activated under their feet. Siu only had to lay out the stipulations, and when Toban agreed to it, the whole ordeal was done in a flash. The servants didn't even ask about the details, and when they came out of the room, no complaints or strict elders came down to talk to them about the stipulation that one disciple might be punished by becoming a servant of the other.

Apparently... it wasn't rare. Or the elders thought it was a proper way to make their disciples learn real hardships.

With it done, the actual hard part was introducing Toban to the others. One more time, Siu had called for a meeting, arriving at the Reed a few hours later, where Joren and Vael had already set up the privacy screens. It was a busy moment inside the teahouse, and clearly, Joren was already getting tired of the whole thing and was now looking between Siu and the newcomer with a tired expression.

“So.” He started, raising a brow and nodding toward Toban. "Who is he?"

“Yeah, about that,” Siu answered, "We have a new member joining our ranks. He is Toban, and will work with us from now on. As founding members, you are allowed to know that he himself is an information broker and will be with us because of it, providing us with future intel and warnings if anyone decides to move against our group. Anyone else coming after him is just one of our recruited members."

"It will be a pleasure working with you all." Toban smiled pleasantly as he cupped his hands.

"Ooooh? That's a good call!" Ruben hummed, looking interested rather than bothered. “You really got us our own broker? Nice... I wasn't even thinking about that being an option.”

“In a manner of speaking.” Siu nodded with a slight shrug.

"The only free service I provide," Toban began, already advertising himself, "Is the warning system for the group. Whenever I pick up anything that may threaten us, I am going to share it. Anything else, you can buy from the group I work with. You will have access to them through me, for a discounted price."

“I like him,” Ruben said the moment he finished speaking, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"..." Joren immediately turned toward his half-brother, holding back a grimace. “Of course you do. And I already fear the future, because now there are two of you.”

"I'm not a broker," Ruben answered, while Toban remained silent but clearly was amused by the comparison. "But yeah, he has a certain style about him, which I appreciate."

"Guys," Siu finally raised one hand. "Take your brotherly love-hate relationship outside. Thank you."

"The what?" Both Ruben and Joren asked at the same time, but Seloryn's voice overshot above theirs.

“Welcome to the Spirit Wardens.”

Her voice was perfectly courteous, so much so that Siu and Toban both knew it was fake. There was no warmth in her smile; however, in that moment, she wasn't showing open hostility either.

"Mhm," Toban inclined his head. “Thank you, Senior Seloryn. Don't worry. I'm not like Darius.”

"..." The smile remained on her face, but her eyes flashed, and her hair even fluttered. Siu thought about asking who the hell Darius was, thanks to Arya already nudging him mentally to do so, but he held back. Instead, he elbowed Toban to stop playing around, but otherwise decided not to interfere.

"We will see," Seloryn said very quietly, and although the others looked confused, too, nobody asked any other questions. Well... almost nobody.

"Who is Darius?!" Arya blurted it out, unable to hold it back.

"Paragon Rank 33." Seloryn said simply, "A Core Disciple."

Even Arya felt the warning in her voice, no longer daring to ask her second question. Some things were not to be talked about, apparently.

“So!" Ruben clapped, changing topics, "What kind of information are you specializing in?”

"Hm," Toban looked toward him, ready to help everyone out by lightening the mood, yet he was acting as if he had to think. “What kind do you need?”

"Ohohoho!" Ruben smiled at once, “Good answer. We are going to get along...”

“I thought so.” Toban nodded toward him, probably sensing the opportunity to earn back the first month's fee he had already paid to Siu, for being a Warden just by selling info to Ruben. With that in mind, he took it upon himself to pull a chair out and sit down almost next to him. “I primarily deal in information brokerage, but that covers a broad range. But if you actually need me to name a specialty, I'm best at knowing people. Mind you, there are still limits, and I am not ashamed to acknowledge them. Currently, I can't really get much info on Core Disciples. I have some... snippets, but that department is pretty woeful. Naturally, that will change in the future, but for now, I'll only be able to help out with regular disciples. As for the Paragon list... I'm working on that, too, but I need time. And your help.”

As he spoke, he mostly looked at the three Paragons sitting at the desk. Besides Seloryn, the other two looked interested, and he felt it, deciding not to push it too far just yet.

"So we can also sell you information?" Nokoh asked as he rested one arm against the table.

“Naturally.”

“What about false information?” Seloryn suddenly asked, and it was hard to tell whether she was being sarcastic or asking a genuine question.

“I sell information, not rumors, Senior.” Toban shook his head, trying to be as courteous as possible. "All the information you sell me has to be verified. I need proof, and I do my own verification, too. I may take a risk with you so that we can trust each other and work well together, but I don't deal in lies. Bad for business, you see."

“That wasn't what I asked.” Seloryn pressed on, "If we want to use you to deceive others... Are you going to do it?"

“If something is uncertain, I tell the buyer it is uncertain." He said after a bit of thinking, "If something is... rumor-like, I decline the sale or charge them for further investigation. I can't sell lies outright, not even if it is to YOUR enemies, as they are not MY enemies. Everyone is a client... I can't go against that. However...” He added before anyone could say anything, "I can always sell you information about people who are willing to be your mouthpiece. I told Siu, I also can help with influence, and I can direct you to people who are willing to do things, well... differently."

"Heh..." Nokoh chortled, shaking his head. Even if he was the last on the Paragon list, he had spent enough time among Paragons to understand how to play on loopholes. This was just like this, at least, hearing it coming from Toban's mouth. “How useful would you have been for the Prismhide mission?” He asked out of curiosity.

"Hm," Toban glanced toward Siu, tapping the table. “Siu had filled me in on a little bit of the mission to obtain your home... Well, I would have pointed you towards a different spot, because I have knowledge of a newly discovered sinkhole that apparently became a breeding ground for those types of creatures. Some disciples had returned with unhatched eggs and were selling them without going through the Companions. It is not exactly illegal but... I guess the Companions are also a bit unhappy about it. I am monitoring the situation, but I guess it is no longer something you are interested in."

"..." They just looked at each other, shrugging in the end, because indeed, it meant nothing by now.

“However, because I am now a Warden," Toban continued with a smile, "Your future mission-related details will be ready and help you decide how to approach them. Of course, only if you inform me about them, that is. I can't collect knowledge for what I don't know about.”

“At what price?" Joren asked, but Toban just kept smiling, making him groan. "This one looks like he could convince me to sell my own teahouse and somehow make me thank him afterward.” He grunted, pointing a thumb towards him, speaking to Siu, "Why did you recruit him?"

"You know," Toban thought out loud, “How attached are you to the property? I may have a buyer that would pay handsomely for it.”

“...” Joren just looked at him, twitching an eyebrow.

“I was only asking... You would need permission from the others, although I may also be able to help you get full ownership of it, if that is what you want.”

“You... can? I mean... is that possible?” Joren asked, changing his tone at once.

"Hah!" Ruben laughed, slapping the back of his brother. "See? I really do like him.”

While they were talking, Vael had remained silent throughout it all, and Siu eventually looked his way. The former Stormglass disciple stood with his arms folded, a step away from their table. His expression was relaxed enough that anyone unfamiliar with him might have assumed he did not care or listen at all, but... Vael had been watching Toban from the moment he entered the teahouse. Siu could sense the immediate wariness and animosity in Vael's eyes, even more than what he could sense in Seloryn's body. Whatever his actual thoughts were, Vael was keeping them to himself, as he saw himself as just a guest member. It was not his place to voice anything, at least not openly.

“Senior?” Toban suddenly spoke up again, looking at the other silent part of this meeting, Quillian.

“Hm?”

“You have been unusually quiet.”

“I already met you this morning.” He said simply, only looking at Toban for a brief moment. "I said what I thought then. I don't even know why I'm here. Ah, I remember... I need to drag Siu to a meditation chamber after this.”

"I see..." Toban's smile remained the same, not pushing it any further. "If you have plans, please, go ahead. I am not here to interrupt anything; I'm just glad to make the proper introductions as the newest Warden."

Quillian nodded approvingly and stood up, leaning on his cane. He was about to say something when Siu felt heat washing over his entire body, making him flinch. At first, he thought it was Arya, but then he realized the warmth came from his silver sash. His hand automatically went to it, running his fingers over the piece of cloth, and everyone was now looking at him.

“What?” Ruben asked, moving his eyes back and forth between Siu's face and his sash.

“Wait.” He answered sharply, as suddenly, before his eyes, the room kind of disappeared, and for one strange instant, Siu's awareness seemed to be displaced from the present into a weird, limbo-like space.

"Come to your new home." Orzimar's voice echoed in his mind, "It's ready."

"Master?" He heard Arya's voice as the presence vanished, returning everything to normal.

“What happened?!” Everyone asked, already guessing at the answer, watching Siu's body shiver, then blink his blue eyes.

“Apparently, he's done with the construction.” Siu blurted it out without making them wait. "I never got contacted like this... brr. Is it always this cold?"

"Probably it's his affinity..." Seloryn muttered, then shook her head. "So the place is back in its original spot?"

"Whoa," Arya's ears shot upright at once. “Our new place? Done? Let's go! We can live in our own castle now!”

“I don't think it's a castle, but oh well, I agree.” Seloryn stood up at once. "We should go! If we can, we should move over everything and become an actual, official association for real. Then... we can start recruiting openly."

“FINALLY!” Joren exhaled the loudest. "It was bloody time! I can get my teahouse back!"

"Fully back?" Ruben whispered, and apparently, the answer may have been yes, because Joren was very much eyeing Toban for his previous offer.

"I guess," Quillian grunted, shaking his head in defeat, "We can skip a day of meditation to check it out."

“He did tell us, I mean, told me, to come.” Siu said apologetically, "I don't think it is wise to refuse his invitation."

“Well, then why are we sitting here?” Nokoh asked with an excited grin while Cho'Wa barked agreeably, wagging his tail.

However, as the group left, probably the most excited person was none other than Toban himself.