Chapter 120 Partners and Power Plays
It was only when his eyes began to grow heavy, tired from distracting himself with appraising and cataloguing the various items he had in the study. Slowly stretching he dragged himself to his bed only to find it already occupied. Angel, Aria and the others where nestled deep in the comfort of his mattress seemingly fast asleep. A familiar sigh escaped him as he considered the floor or perhaps a chair but a stubborn resolve asserted itself, this was his bed so why should he let them laying it be a reason not to still use it? Gently, he nudged them aside, creating a sliver of space in the tangled mass of bodies and limbs before carefully easing himself in, finding a strange sense of peace wash over him as he fell asleep.
His dreams though seemed to elude him as he found himself pulled him back into his mindscape where his inner circle as he began to name the always present members awaited him. They began by berating him, their collective disappointment manifest in playful but pointed jabs with the occasional physical one for not only his past actions in disregard for his life and attitude regarding his own safety, telling him it was proof he needed them to ground him mentally but also those around him, some like the witch and even Yami where quite insistent that he stop being so stupid and start trusting those around him more, going so far as to order him to start making full use of those he has. It was a harsh wakeup call the he felt he needed that soon turned into a learning experience with each of them teaching him whatever they felt he needed to learn from them, some like Braedon even commenting and pointing out the parasitic energy slowly working into him through the deal he had made along with something else he was trying to find and figure out, but how they had managed to keep it all mostly in check but even so he needed to be careful to not let his rage or anger control him, how whatever else was at play seemed to be feeding the darkness in him and causing the thing he kept locked to slowly stir again.
Each day that followed that seemed to be a blur of activity and before any of them realized it four full days had gone by in a blink of an eye. In that time on the second day, John had managed to make his own personal workbench filled with a few handmade tools, regulating most matters of his budding camp to Choi and the others. On the third his hands, well his usable one, was rarely still, alternating between working on his carving skills and the forceful rhythm of smithing with his new forge, having set it up between his home and green house, using chains as a substitute for his dead arm along with extra hands to hold or move various tools or materials. He did make sure though to talk with Elena and Cliff, who he told to focus their attention on fortifying the base and its burgeoning defences in preparation for what was to come. The recent returnees even though they seemed eager toc help would often be deflected by John who maintained a deliberate coldness toward them, leaving their integration and tasks to Saya and Ash after once more making his stance regarding them clear. His nights, were often filled with further study and training within his mindscape to try and improve what he could with the goal of carrying it over to the waking world, testing what could work and what could end up hurting himself if tried in the real world, what to try and what to avoid knowing at worst he would wake up feeling a bit sore if something went wrong and preferring it over weeks or even months long set only for recovery.
It was mid-afternoon on the fourth day when Z returned and she wasn't alone.
"Welcome back Z," John greeted warmly, his gaze shifting to the hooded figure accompanying her. "You to Kay, you're a rather pleasant surprise. Thanks for the forge by the way; it's far better than what I honestly expected but I'm probably going to need a lot more metals soon and perhaps different kinds of wood to experiment with in my other projects."
"Good to see you too, Investor!" Z chirped, her usual modulated tone laced with a hint of professional assurance. "Your amazing merchant will ensure you get the best possible goods for the best prices. But regarding the forge, Kay here has something to tell you, don't you, Kay?" She punctuated her statement with a pointed stare at Kay, her eyes glowing faintly beneath her hood with hints of anger and promising to make things unpleasant if she didn't tell the truth.
Kay shifted, a nervous smile playing on her lips. "Uhm, well, you probably already know I'm a black merchant, given I've bought people from Z for you right?"
"Yeah, Z's mentioned a little about how your kind operates, things not acceptable by the Merchant Alliance or something along those lines, like slaving and other unsavoury dealings that they have laws against, and what people are you talking about? Z is an upstanding merchant and you just happened to find some people, no sales or the like happened." He replied with false innocence making Z sneaker. "Why?" John asked slowly, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes as he felt he already knew where this was going.
A flush of embarrassment touched Kay's cheeks. "Well, that forge... it had an owner before it was liberated and sold to me. And the person it was liberated from isn't exactly the friendliest. He might try to hunt you down if he realizes you have it or learns it's in your possession."
John's expression remained unbothered, surprising the pair with how calm he seemed to be about it. "So another price on my head? another hunter added to the growing list? Jeez, I seem to be collecting them like Pokémon cards these days, just without the added value." He tried to joke.
"How can you be so calm about this?!" Z practically shrieked, her earlier composure shattering. "She just told you someone is actively going to be hunting you down to kill you and instead of worrying your making jokes!" Her voice was more of a demand for an answer than a question.
John just sighed well rubbing his temples. "Well for starters, the 'gods' are taking more notice of me and my group if their recent actions are any indication, probably just the lowest rung among them but it's still enough notice that the system manages took action. They've even sponsored and pushed for a small war to happen with us being the underdogs. I'm not entirely sure how many we'll be up against but it will easily over four hundred by now. Luckily, we still have." He paused, looking at the sky where a large countdown slowly ticked down. "Eleven days and twenty-one hours until we actually have to fight. That's plenty of time to prepare, especially if I can bring in aid."
A heavy silence descended upon the merchants. They exchanged a brief look among themselves, seemingly having a full conversation before turning back to him.
"I could maybe hire some help," Z began, her voice subdued. "But it won't be cheap and they'd reserve the right to flee which is likely to happen due to the number difference. Very few would join the losing side since the strength difference will make almost everyone believe it to already be a lost fight."
"I could contact some of my own associates and organize... fodder," Kay added. "But like Z said, it wouldn't be cheap and it would draw a lot of attention to me, attention that I don't need or want right now. I'd face a lot of trouble down the road from it aswell since they would be thrown into a meat grinder making my own reputation bad among my contacts. I mean, I don't mind helping my friend here, but I do wonder if it would truly be worth it to help you."
"Stop stop, I mean I appreciate how you both seem to be wanting to try and help but there's no need for any of that," John waved off their offers. "I have a way to acquire and build my forces. But if you both want to help then what I will need is finances and a steady supply of food to feed them along with possible equipment. The greenhouse farms are decent under Elena's management but it's still early and they won't produce what we will probably need yet, if we're talking large numbers, what we have would be gone within a week at most even if we rationed out to give everyone the bare minimum of all we have."
"That's why you asked me to get all those different foods and large amounts of food!" Z exclaimed, a flash of realization in her eyes. "But does that mean you already know a black merchant to buy people from?" she added, a hint of confusion returning as she thought she was the first merchant he had met, if he had met a black merchant before why would he still have had her contact her friend to sell people.
"Exactly right on the first point, but way off on the second," John clarified. "My source is the same place I got Angel, Aria and the others, but that's all I'll say on the matter right now to avoid it being made known to unsavoury sorts who I'm sure are probably listening in. It's also why I need some of our finances, an advance of our shared profits and a up to date list of what counts as profitable items that you can sell easily without drawing to much of the wrong kind of attention, maybe rare or hard-to-acquire stuff that you could pass off as luck or, if you need to pinning on me as being where you got it from to help you go under the radar till you're ready to make a big splash, also there estimated prices you could charge for the stuff, I'll see about getting them for you so we can both make even more coin to eventually have my merchant become a king or higher."
Both merchants stared at him with bewildered expressions for different reasons, one due to the clear conviction and trust the other in surprise at his sheer self-confidence and belief that he could do something like that easily.
"You really believe you can get me rare items or materials to sell?" Z asked, hesitant but hopeful. "Like the statues or clockworks you gave me? Or even some of those cores and odd stones?"
"Yes, well within reason I mean, I can't flood you with all sorts of very rare and valuable items that would crash the market or making others far too suspicious about you so it would be in batches or whatever you feel would work best for us till your confident that you have made strong enough connections that others can't touch you, that messing with you wouldn't be worth it." John confirmed, deep in thought. "It's why I need estimated prices along with the items. I need to ensure we make a good profit from the items when you sell them for us and why it would need to be things you could explain away. After all, there's no point in acquiring something if it doesn't benefit us both and this is part of my role as your sponsor."
Right as he finished speaking he saw Z pull a sheet of paper and practically thrust it into his chest. "These are highly desired objects and their current price tags for what there going for, each marked and detailed along with a small note on how easy or hard it would be for me to sell. Further down are weapons or objects with effects, also listed with their price next to the effect and further divided by category. It also has materials and ores listed with their value per kilogram for bulk sales."
John took the sheet well raising an eyebrow. "And you just... always have this with you?"
Z puffed out her chest, radiating pride. "As a marvellous, super awesome merchant who will someday be a merchant king, it's only expected to be prepared for anything, including being up-to-date with everything and knowing how much attention the sale of items would draw towards me."
"She also just likes to keep it around because she's always hoped that one day she would get a bunch of the highest-priced objects and make a killing from it," Kay quipped, earning an immediate smack from Z.
"Like you don't have one!" Z fired back instantly.
"Wait, she?" John started pretending to be surprised. "You know what, never mind. You probably have your reasons for keeping your gender hidden." He had enough complexities in his life and enough girls gravitating towards him, without adding another and wasn't sure if they knew he already knew Z was a girl.
"Hmpf," Z huffed, a warning in her voice. "You better have her words leave your mind, or else! And it better not change anything."
"Don't worry, it will change nothing between us and our partnership. " John assured her, waving off her concern.
From that point, things seemed to flow far more smoothly and later as the sun slowly began to sink everyone gathered for a hearty supper, enjoying the hot food Z had brought and proudly proclaimed to be a 'free sample'. The small talk was lively as the initial tensions dissipated as they openly discussed plans for the coming war and how to prepare.
After supper as the group began to disperse well John turned to Kay and Z, a question that he had wanted to ask no longer being able to be kept back. "I don't suppose either of you knows of a medicine, a spell or something that could help a person who was mentally controlled and broken return to how they were before?"
The conversation hung heavy with the grim reality of their situation.
"I suppose it depends on the situation," Kay's analytical mind immediately sought clarity. "Was their enslavement externally imposed? A spell, a slave brand or a potion? or was it a deeper, emotional and physical conditioning?"
"The latter," John confirmed, his voice devoid of humour despite a small, grim laugh. "Emotional and physical conditioning along with something else, possibly a mix of drug and magic. The bastard shattered them, reduced them to play things or tools. One of them seemed vaguely aware, yet the conditioning was so absolute they'd likely smile even as they took their own lives, all thanks to his unique 'skill.'" He paused, a muscle twitching in his jaw. "Three of them are in my dungeon right now, alongside their tormentor. One of my people makes regular 'visits' to ensure he fully comprehends the gravity of his transgressions."
"That's far more complex and a lot harder to undo," Z acknowledged, her brow furrowing in thought as Kay's mirrored her concern. "A spell or potion we could probably purge, it would be unpleasant but it would get it out their system and they would just need some time to learn to ignore the muscle memory or trained responses deepening on how long they were controlled. But ingrained conditioning through various abuse? It's not a substance to be flushed out or a spell that can be broken, its pretty much imprints set deeply into there psyche. I'm at a loss on how to help besides recommending some therapy."
"We could 'reprint' them," Kay suggested, her words measured. "Essentially, overwrite the associative links that bind them to his commands. Reroute their ingrained obedience from him to you, subtly altering their minds and memories without erasing the trauma he inflicted, just changing the image from him to be you and then over time you slowly break them from the conditioning yourself. It's a delicate and difficult process though but I believe I know someone capable of it, but that would be the best I could do and no real chance of really getting rid of all that. The scars would remain regardless of what method is used or what you try and to get rid of all of it would leave a blank spot that would rip their minds apart in a rather painful manner leading to really bad breakdowns."
"Is there no other way to genuinely help them that doesn't involve just changing the person in there mind to me?" John asked, a note of desperation in his voice. "To break the conditioning or to properly heal them?"
"Not without years of intensive psychological rehabilitation," Kay replied, her tone grim. "Otherwise, the only definitive solution is... termination. Unpleasant but sometimes it's the best thing to do."
John's face clouded. "I'll consider it," he finally stated, the weight of the decision evident as it brought forth some painful memories. He resolved to personally assess the victims and Rebecca first thing in the morning with Saya.
The heavy conversation lingered for a moment before he decided to change the focus. "On a different note," John shifted, "how many coins can you spare for immediate use?"
Z paused, calculating. "I can manage a flat 4,500 but that would include using my funds added to your share from what ive managed to outright sell, more should come down the line when I get proper buyers for everything else, I want to get the most coins possible for our goods after all." she replied before pausing. "That's after accounting for the provisions and other goods I've acquired so far. Even so ive kept a small portion of that separate for myself for any emergencies." John nodded, extending his hand.
To his surprise, two heavy bags, one accompanied by a slip of parchment and the other with the dagger he had originally given Z in trade landed in his outstretched palm – the parchment one clearly from Kay.
"Hey!" Z exploded, her hand snapping out to grab Kay's arm. "What do you think you're doing? He's my partner!"
Kay merely smirked. "Best friends share everything though and naturally I'll be investing in our mutual... investor. Perhaps he can procure some unique items for me too. And who knows," she added, her gaze challenging, "he might even find me to be a more capable partner, given my access to things you simply can't acquire because of your 'rules' and being a goody goody."
Z let out a low, frustrated growl.
"Alright, break it up, you two," John interjected, attempting to defuse the escalating tension. "Z, I'm your investor and that's not changing any time soon especially due to our agreement and mutual goals, this coin is so I can get the goods on the list you gave me along with other stuff that you will get a large return on it and for the war effort, I know I'm supposed to invest in you and it seems reversed right now but I promise it will be worth it once I bring you goods, they will be well worth the coin. And these extra funds? While it is unexpected, they could prove to be useful not just in gaining forces to swell our own numbers to face what's coming but also turning a good profit for us, as a merchant you can't say the idea of extra money given by others is a bad thing. I'll ensure You're repaid though Kay, so we don't incur any obligations from this along with a small amount extra as compensation and items from your list. For now, consider it an opportunity to acquire even more valuable items for your market, leveraging a rival's... generosity against them."
John's logic seemed to placate Z, at least for a moment only for Kay chimed in, a mischievous glint in her eye: "And it provides me a perfect 'in' to discover what makes him so captivating to you, perhaps even 'sniping' him from you entirely when I prove to be a better partner. Then, you'd have to work through me to get anything from him."
Z's brief calm shattered at that, giving way to another furious outburst.
"While you ladies sort out your... partnership dynamics I want you to please be aware that Z is my personal merchant who I will always favour in any and all deals and agreements." John announced, already turning, "I'm going to do one last round before heading to bed. Feel free to use one of the spare homes in the underground if you'd rather not use your packs. I anticipate quite a night ahead of me and if things go well should prove enlightening for me." He walked away, leaving Z in a fresh fit of rage, attempting (and failed) to strangle the perpetually elusive Kay.