“So you did decide to go the team route after all. Huh. This should be interesting.”

  Asher could only roll his eyes as Donvath peered over his desk at Moxy, looking her up and down as he set down the sheet of paper he was holding. It seemed Donvath couldn’t help but rub it in all their faces that he had future knowledge nobody else did anytime they spoke with him. While it was remarkably useful when he deigned to actually share any of it with them, it got grating rather fast.

  “This is the High Prince?” Moxy asked, peering right back at him as she crossed her arms. “I thought he’d be taller.”

  “Nice to meet you, Moxy,” Donvath said, not waiting for Asher to introduce either of them to one another. “Have to say, big fan of how many different timelines contain your death when you throw yourself at an opponent far too powerful for you to handle. Never gets old, honestly.”

  “Timeline? Is that the name of your self-help book you write in your downtime?”

  “No, it’s my skill that allows me to see the future. Something just a little more impressive than being able to bring a dead dog halfway back to life.”

  “I don’t think they like each other,” Samantha whispered as the two of them kept bickering. Moxy didn’t even flinch at the declaration that Donvath could see into the future, indicating she’d probably figured if Asher had weird skills that could do impossible things, the High Prince would as well.

  “I could see why Moxy wouldn’t like the High Prince, seeing as he’s not really any sort of fighter. But I wonder why Donvath doesn’t like Moxy,” Asher admitted, deciding he should probably interject before the two of them came to literal blows. “Donvath, we were hoping you could lead us to one of the Guild’s Fingers. Any chance you can help?”

  Taking a deep breath, Donvath turned away from Moxy and the rude gesture she was flashing at him, choosing instead to smile at him. “You want to take down one of the Fingers? Now that is something I would be more than happy to help you with! At the moment, there are two who my truthseekers have managed to pinpoint the location for, though we’re still in the preparation phase before making the call for them to engage with either of them. Your help would be quite appreciated.”

  “For starters, which Fingers are we talking about?” Asher asked, happy Moxy wasn’t continuing to throw out any more barbs unprompted. “If they’re in any of the cities I haven’t been to yet, I won’t be able to Recall us there.”

  “Good point. In that case, that leaves you with only one option. The Finger in charge of Vildelph.”

  “I’ve actually heard of that woman,” Moxy chimed in, her face slowly morphing into her usual excited grin. “A rather ‘hands-on’ Finger who isn’t afraid to get down and dirty with her hits. Rather than skulking in the shadows, she’s a strong warrior, and her elements are well known. Bone, Raven, and Steel, if I remember correctly.”

  “Indeed. Talon, or Nine, as she’s now called, prefers to grab her targets and fly them away from the city where she can take her time and enjoy killing them,” Donvath said. “She only cares for stealth up until the point when she can snatch her target. After that, she makes no effort to hide what she's up to or where she’s going.”

  “She doesn’t really sound like that much of an assassin,” Samantha pointed out.

  “Being an assassin simply means killing your target,” Donvath shrugged. “The most famous assassin in the Eight Crests is a horrifying warrior who is supposedly invincible. His method of assassination is to walk straight through the front door of his target’s home and kill them, regardless of who is around or what they do to try and stop him. Once he’s done, he turns and walks away, killing anyone who dares to follow him. When it comes to being an assassin, stealth is largely optional.”

  “I tried telling The Spider something similar, but she refused to join my sparring sessions and never learned how to actually fight,” Moxy said, shaking her head. “Maybe she’d still be alive today if she hadn’t been so stubborn.”

  “I mean, I stabbed her in the heart while she was sleeping. Not sure how well any amount of sparring would have helped with that,” Asher admitted. “Anyway, you said you know where Nine is?”

  “Indeed.” Fishing through his desk for a moment, Donvath pulled out a detailed map of Vildelph and laid it flat. While he hunted for a particular section of the city, Asher placed a finger on the edge of the map and used Incorporate, memorizing it in an instant. Having a sudden thought, he then placed his hands on Samantha and Moxy’s foreheads as well, pushing the knowledge of the map into their minds as well.

  “Woah, that’s a rush,” Moxy said, laughing as she rapidly blinked. “Strange how that differs from one of your memories. Almost harder to digest is the best way I can put it.”

  “She’s right, sharing something you’ve incorporated is definitely harder to go through,” Samantha said, frowning as she rubbed a hand against her temple. “Maybe don’t try giving us anything more complicated than that without warning, alright?”

  “Got it, thanks for the heads up,” he said, thankful they’d figured that out now before he tried shoving the entire contents of a book into their heads and knocked them out. It was a shame the tier 2 effect of Incorporate could only be used on willing targets, otherwise, that would have been a fantastic nonlethal attack to have in his back pocket.

  “Here it is,” Donvath said, placing a finger solidly within the second ring of the city. “From what the truthseeker assigned to Vildelph has gathered, the Guild is run much more loosely than many of the other cities in the kingdom. There isn’t really any sort of official structure or designated sections for the senior assassins, it’s largely a free for all, entirely based out of this one building. If you three are looking for a fight, it’s definitely a good place to start.”

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  “Thanks, that sounds perfect,” Asher said. Though as much as he wanted to take that information and immediately start planning their attack, he couldn’t help but give the High Prince a questioning look. “I know you said you were busy preparing… but why exactly haven’t you taken Nine out yet? Or this entire Guild, for that matter. If they’re all based out of that one building, surely launching a small assault against it wouldn’t be that difficult, right? Couldn’t you just grab some pegasi and fly a handful of truthseekers over there for a raid, or something?”

  “Remember how I told you I don’t exactly have as much rule over the kingdom as most would assume?” Donvath asked, thankfully ignoring the snort that came from Moxy. “The noble family in charge of the city would throw a fit if I tried sending any additional truthseekers over there, for any reason. Remember, most nobles want the Guild to have a spot in their backyard. Noble families use the Guild more than anyone else, sending hits against one another for all sorts of stupid reasons. If I were to try and snuff out Nine and her portion of the Guild through brute force, the Weller family, the nobles in charge, would use that as an excuse to declare independence from the Noala Kingdom. It’s a ridiculous future, and even I’m not sure what their long term goals are after doing that, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes time and time again.”

  “So what?” Moxy asked. “If they don’t even want to be a part of the kingdom, why try to keep them around?”

  “Just because the Weller family wants to secede and set themselves up as official kings and queens, doesn’t mean it’s what the people want,” Donvath said, giving her a deep frown that even Moxy seemed to realize meant he was serious. “I’d do just about anything to protect the citizens of my kingdom, even if that means putting up with the Assassin’s Guild until I can take it out quietly.”

  “So because we’re not truthseekers…” Asher started.

  “You can go after the Guild without giving the Weller family the opportunity to throw a fit about it,” Donvath finished with a nod.

  “Wait, didn’t you make Asher a national asset?” Samantha asked. “So wouldn’t it still look like you were the one ordering the hit?”

  “There’s a reason why Asher can’t just waltz into any city waving his fancy new title,” Donvath said, unable to stop himself from grinning. “The only ones who know about his status are the truthseekers, Richard, and everyone in this room. And maybe a royal guard or two. Nothing says I have to publicly reveal my national assets to anyone, after all. I’m sure it will come out eventually, but I can always say I made him a national asset after he took out the Guild over in Vildelph. Many of them can’t lie, but you’d be surprised at how good truthseekers are at keeping a secret.”

  That’s an understatement, Asher thought, thinking back to Bordan and the man’s seeming inability to tell a lie. Bordan was so honest he flat out told Asher time and time again that he was going to kill him as soon as he got the chance, yet somehow managed to remain entirely cordial, as though they were acquaintances through work.

  “Hold on… I know you can’t give us any supplies or shards to deal with The Council of Death, but if it was to help us better take down the Guild…” Asher ventured, looking hopefully at the High Prince.

  “Unfortunately, you and I both know the real reason why I’d be giving you that assistance,” Donvath said, shaking his head and causing Asher to deflate. “At the very least, Nine isn’t known to be a large spender or care for the finer things in life, which means she will presumably be quite the payout when you take her down. Though I’m not sure if it will compare to the bounty the two of you are about to have dropped on your heads from the Grand Auction.”

  “You think we’ll get that many shards?” Asher asked.

  “Are you kidding? I’ve received missives from countries past even the Eight Crests and the Lambit Republic informing me that they would be sending representatives to participate in the auction,” Donvath said, laughing at Asher’s shocked expression. “Greater demon corpses don’t grow on trees, you know. Honestly, people have already put two-and-two together and figured out that you, our continent’s newest Spatial element holder, are the one who put the greater demon corpse up for auction. They’ve most likely come to the wrong conclusion that you’re capable of traveling down to the nine hells and are hunting down greater demons yourself, which is both good and bad. Good in that some of the idiots who no doubt were still debating whether or not to try and force you to join them have realized attempting to do so would most likely result in you simply slaughtering all of them, and bad because it means you’re going to get even more attention from other countries who want to bring you to their side.”

  “I didn’t realize throwing the junk in my Spatial Rift up for auction was going to have such a big impact,” Asher admitted, suddenly feeling incredibly small as he thought about all the different powers that had to be taking notice of him right about now. Normally, he’d welcome any sort of challenge, but he had enough on his plate as it was. While he wasn’t exactly tied to the Noala Kingdom by any means, he needed to finish off the lich here before he even entertained the thought of going anywhere else.

  Ideally the Head of the Assassin’s Guild as well, but that was more for fun than anything.

  “Regardless of all that, here is where you need to strike,” Donvath said, tapping the building on the map once again. “Nine will almost certainly be there, along with a number of her senior assassins.”

  “I guess anyone willing to give us the location of powerful people to fight isn’t all bad,” Moxy said, tilting her head toward the High Prince in what could almost be mistaken as a sign of respect. “I’m going to go try and practice a few ideas for taking down flying opponents that Samantha helped inspire me to come up with. Grab me when it’s time to kill the Finger.”

  While she showed herself out, Donvath let out a weary sigh, shaking his head once she was finally gone. Asher felt like broaching the subject might not be the best idea, but he just couldn’t help himself.

  “Is there something we should know about regarding Moxy and the future?” he asked, watching Donvath carefully. “I know there are certain things you don’t tell us for whatever reason, but she doesn’t end up betraying us or anything like that, right?”

  “No, nothing quite so simple as that,” Donvath said, collapsing back into his chair and rubbing his temples. “Far worse, in fact. There are a good number of futures where she and Christian, the captain of my royal guards, get together, and I have to be the chosen for their wedding. You would not believe how much of a pain the two of them are when it comes to wedding planning.”

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