To Rule In Shadow

[Now that I think about it, I've been running into an awful lot of female underworld bosses. I wonder if there is a reason for that.] Adrian absently thought to himself as he was directed into a meeting room. He felt a momentary pulse of energy as he passed through the door. It was similar to the one he'd experienced while visiting the Bureau's break room with Cornelius and Abby. Presumably, this chamber was of a similar nature.

It was elaborately decorated in an eastern style that might have been popular forty years ago. Simple and straightforward lines were the basis, and all elements of the room were laid out in terms of right angles. The floor and furniture were predominantly made out of a dark wood, with a cloth accents in mostly white, red, and gold. Carvings of complex scrollwork could be seen in many parts of the room, giving it a refined atmosphere. The whole area was seemingly lit with some kind of ambient glow that had no discernible source.

At the room's center was a pair of brilliant red couches with a low wooden table between them. Reclining on the one opposite of the door was a lithe and youthful looking woman. A casual observer would probably say she was of Asian descent, but her features carried aspects which suggested a mixed ancestry. While not a traditional beauty in the strictest sense, she had a kind of casual sensuality which could make her irresistible in the right circ.u.mstances. However, this was not one of them.

By all appearances, Connor and Adrian had walked in on the woman right as she was waking up from a lengthy nap. She was currently wearing a pair of sweatpants and a battered white T-shirt bearing the logo of a popular pastry company, and was currently sitting cross-legged while clutching a large pillow. Her long, auburn hair was tangled and messy, nearly covering her eyes, which were glaring at him in what looked like groggy anger.

"Ugh...what the hell do you want, Connor?" She croaked in a hoarse voice.

"Hey, Boss. I brought the guy I mentioned in my message." The man next to Adrian announced cheerfully, obviously thinking nothing of his employer's current state of dress. "He was interested in negotiating with you about...Now that I think about it, what exactly were you looking for?"

Adrian resisted the urge to shake his head, and stepped forward to speak to the disheveled woman. "Hello, my name is Adrian Veldt, and I have asked to speak with you concerning a possible business relationship."

Something resembling a growl emerge from the woman's throat, but she eventually nodded, "Go on."

"What I am looking for is rather simple, Miss..." He paused, hoping that she would finish the statement for him. Instead she shot her follower an angry glare

"Ah! Almost forgot the introductions." Connor suddenly exclaimed, before moving over to stand next to his boss. He quickly started speaking in a more formal manner. "Adrian, this is the Chairman of the Joint Exchange and Acquisitions Committee of the Esoteric Order, Madame Long Wenqian."

After a few moments to let this sink in, he grinned. "Well, I say chairman, but in truth shes the only member, so she's more like a dictator, to be honest. She has the final say on anything to do with the Bazaar."

Wenqian gave him another warning glare, then huffed a little and looked at Adrian. "You were saying?"

"Right. I cam here today with the intention of forging a long-term business relationship that can benefit both sides." He answered smoothly while taking a seat on the other couch. No one had indicated that he should, but it wouldn't do to negotiate from an unequal position.

Ignoring the slight breech in etiquette, Wenqian rubbed her temples and muttered. "I'm not hearing any specifics. If you're trying to confuse me with roundabout language, then you're wasting your time. Connor brought you here, which means you must impressive in some capacity, but I am not a patient woman."

She turned and glared at Connor again while continuing, "Especially since a certain someone seems to have forgotten that I wasn't to be disturbed for another three hours!"

"Haha, my bad, Boss. I forgot." He replied with a grin.

"Honestly, you have such a bad personality. If you weren't so useful in other capacities, I would have disposed of you years ago. Anyway, I'm going to need more from you than generalities about benefits."

"Fair enough." Adrian said with a nod. "First of all, I should explain that I am currently at the head of an organization here in town that is in a unique position. As part of our operations, we regularly acquire unusual items and goods of the type you seem to be willing to sell, but don't really have a good outlet to trade them for things that would be a bit more useful to us."

Wenqian sighed. "If you are looking for a fence, you hardly need to negotiate with me. Talk to my subordinates in the business office and they'll get you taken care of. Ugh, what a waste of time."

"Are you sure you want to dismiss me so quickly? That was only part of what I was suggesting." He replied calmly.

She gave him a fed-up look. "Fine, what's the rest of your proposition?"

Deciding to lay a few of his cards on the table, he drew upon the Hall's influence and asked. "Tell me, Miss Long, what is it that you d.e.s.i.r.e?"

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The atmosphere in the room changed suddenly, becoming darker and more menacing. The origin of the malicious aura was clearly the young man in front of him, and it was taking a great deal of his concentration to resist the pressure that was now being exuded. As an experienced practitioner, this was nothing he couldn't handle, but a common mortal would have trouble even breathing under the effects of this kind of atmosphere.

[He's unleashing this kind of pressure without even moving? What the hell is he? Could he really be some kind of master in disguise?] He thought while reinforcing his mental defenses, just in case.

After a few moments of suffocating darkness, Wenqian stood and unleashed her own aura. "Enough!"

The air in the room was suddenly tinged in an amber color, and began to solidify under the weight of the boss's anger and the full force of her draconic heritage. Scales of a similar hue were now visible along her face and neck, and a pair of gently curving, alabaster horns had grown from beneath her hairline.

"You dare release that kind of sinister aura in my place of business! Although you may be a guest within these halls, don't think you can get away with shaming me in such a fashion." She growled, eyes alight with a rage that Connor had not seen since she'd found out that one of the Bazaar traders had been embezzling from Committee funds. He still remembered the sight of the scorched remains of the man after she'd been done with him.

[Ah, shit! I'm going to get blamed for this.] He thought as he looked at the youth, expecting to see him cowering in fear.

However, he was still seated calmly, as if the boss's aura wasn't effecting him at all. Standing himself, Adrian regarding Wenqian with a slight smile. Something flickered in the depths of his eyes, and suddenly the chamber darkened once more.

Twisting shadows emerged from all corners of the room, and began devouring the amber light. In a matter of seconds in was almost too dark to see, even for Connor's practiced senses, but that wasn't the worst of it. The tendrils of darkness seemed to be stealing the heat directly from his bones.

"That's enough. You've made your point." Wenqian said angrily, although Connor thought she sounded a bit subdued. "I will not engage in an brawl here at the center of my demesne."

As quickly as they appeared, the shadows retreated. Connor, feeling a little silly now that the danger had passed, quickly got up and gave an embarrassed cough.

[Looks like I've been slacking on my training a bit too much.] He thought ruefully, as he grinned in response to his boss's concerned look.

Once both parties were seated once more, Adrian took charge of the conversation. "Very well. I would much rather handle this peacefully. Have you given any thought to the question I asked earlier?"

"What I d.e.s.i.r.e, right? Although I have to admit that you are more powerful than you look, why should I believe that you could actually give me what I really want?"

Leaning back slightly, the youth regarded her for a moment. "Judging from your earlier appearance, I take it your path as a Practitioner relates to harnessing the power of your bloodline. One of your ancestors was some kind of dragon, unless I miss my guess."

Wenqian didn't bother to answer, merely waiting for him to get to the point.

He whispered something over his shoulder, as if speaking to someone behind him, before giving the boss a c.o.c.ky smile. "Unfortunately, I don't know enough about you to provide you something you might truly value, but perhaps I can offer something helpful nonetheless."

Reaching behind him, he pulled out an opaque, light blue orb about 50cm in diameter, and made out of some kind of crystal. Mottled bands of orange and yellow marred its otherwise flawless color pattern, as if raging flames were trapped beneath its surface.

He was so distracted by the manner of the orb's appearance, he only barely noticed the effect it had on his boss.

In a hushed voice filled with awe, she whispered, "It that really..."

Adrian placed the item on the table, which strangely remained in place despite its circular shape. "Indeed, this the spiritual core of ancient dragon. While I cannot tell you anything about its origin, I suspect that this would help you greatly in your own quest for power."

[An Ancestral Dragon Core?! How in the hell did he get his hands on something like that? I thought the last few true dragons had long ago left this realm.]

As he was still recovering from the shock, his boss was reaching out with one hand a briefly brushing the surface of the orb. As she did so, a faint glimmer of golden light appeared in its depths. She drew her hand back, and gave Adrian a sharp look. "What do you want for it?"

"You mistake me, Miss Long." The youth replied with a grin, "Think of this as a gift. Something to help pave the way for our future interactions."

"Something like this..." She started before trailing off, seemingly overcome.

"Its fine. I expect our future dealings to more than pay for it." Adrian waved dismissively. "In any event, should we perhaps get down to discussing the details?"

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[Hmm, looks like there are some social taboos I will need to learn if I want to interact with Practitioners. My aura, as they call, appears to be a sign of hostility, which I should save for the appropriate circ.u.mstances. Anyway, they were more accommodating than I expected.] Adrian thought to himself as he walked back through the Black Bazaar. He was still keeping an eye out for anything that seemed worthwhile, but he didn't have much hope of finding something.

It was clear from his experiences today, that the resources stored in the Hall were of a far greater value than anything for sale here.

[Judging from the way the Bureau was talking about them, I can safely assume that the Esoteric Order is a powerful organization within the Underworld, and should have the resources to match. If the chairman's behavior is any indication, then I am sitting on a pile of treasures the likes of which haven't been seen in this world for quite some time. It seems I am going to need to be a bit more careful with how I handle items from the Vaults from here on out.]

Putting the thought aside, he climbed the stairs back towards the other Bazaar, and began looking for Abby. It was about time he got down to the real reason he was attending this event.