To Rule In Shadow

Alexander gestured, and a thin semi-opaque wall sprung up around them, cutting off the sounds of the exhibition hall and obscuring them from view. Privacy secured, he regarded Adrian for a moment before speaking. "I take it you've picked up the Nixie that escaped from me."

"She referred to herself as a Nokken, but yes." Adrian replied with confidence. A part of him was a little annoyed that the practitioner chose to have this discussion out in the open like this. At the very least, he would have liked to have a chair to sit in. It made it much easier to project the right tone.

Alexander sniffed disdainfully at that. "They are merely two terms used for the same creature. It matters not. I assume you want some kind of reward for returning her to me, yes? I do not wish to question your intelligence, but you should be aware, that is foolish. So long as she is bound in a Geas, she can never escape me. In time, she will return to me or she will die. I can afford to wait."

The dry, matter-of-fact way he delivered that line was rather impressive, but Adrian supposed that such a lack of emotionality was common amongst the older members of the Underworld.

"You misunderstand me. I've actually come here to bargain for her freedom."

The practitioner stared at him for a few moments before replying. "It seems I was mistaken about you in many ways. I am indeed capable of releasing her from the Geas, but tell me, what do you hope to gain from such a bargain? The Fae are treacherous and inhuman creatures, adept at trickery and deceit. Any boon she promised you will go unfulfilled, once she has been granted her freedom."

[I see his opinion of me keeps falling the more he continues to misunderstand my purpose. Perhaps its time to give him a glimpse of the truth.]

Briefly summoning the power of the Hall, Adrian caused the shadows around his legs to grow and solidify, forming into an ornate throne that he promptly sat in. The momentary presence of the icy, alien force was enough to cause Alexander to take a few steps back, a look of wariness on his face.

Adrian grinned at the man's discomfort before waving dismissively. "Sorry about that, my legs were starting to get tired. I have my own reasons for wanting to have her freed, but do not be concerned, I will be receiving payment for my efforts."

He clapped his hands energetically, before rubbing them a few times. "Now, lets talk price. What do you want in exchange for her freedom?"

Alexander once again resorted to mute silence for a few moments, mind obviously working through a number of lengthy calculations. Finally, he spoke in a measured tone, as if to display that he'd overcome his momentary loss of composure. "It cost me the better part of a year to prepare the summoning and binding rituals, not to mention the multitude of expensive reagents that were used in the process. Unless you can offer me something of equal or greater value, there is no reason for me to agree to your trade."

"But of course." Adrian replied, crossing his legs and folding his hands in his l.a.p. "It would hardly do to have your efforts go to waste, so let me ask in another way. What do you think is fair compensation for your troubles? Wealth, power, information," Adrian gave the man a slight smirk, "…souls. Whatever you want, I can probably acquire it."

"Very well. Then I would like a favor from you in exchange for her freedom."

Adrian sighed. "That's hardly a fair trade, don't you think? You're asking me to write a blank check that you can cash in at any time. Surely you see why this could be a problem for me."

"Now it is your turn to misunderstand me. I merely wish for you to assist me in a small matter. Should you prove successful, I will be willing to release the Nixie from her Geas. Is that acceptable?"

"That's more like it. Of course, I would need to hear what this problem of yours is, first."

Alexander nodded, then glanced around at the shield, momentarily causing it to thicken into a solid gray wall, completely hiding them from the crowd of onlookers outside. "As you may or may not be aware, the current president of the Esoteric Order is on the verge of retiring from his position. It is rumored that he plans to step down after this Conclave. Traditionally, he will do so after nominating his successor. The general assembly will then vote on the candidates, but it's largely a formality at that point. The former president's nominee has always won."

"I take it you want me to ensure that you are selected?"

"Hmph," Alexander snorted, "I care little for the petty politics. No, I simply want you to ensure that a particular individual is not selected. Currently, the leading candidate is Gavin Maldris, a follower of the Draoithe school of nature magic. He's made some rather idiotic statements about the rights of beings from other realms, and should he come to power, it will make my own research far more difficult."

[Ah, there we go. Now its starting to make sense.]

"Simple enough. Tell me though, how would you like him dealt with? It will be difficult to have him eliminated while he is still attending this conference, and our best bet would be to wait until its conclusion. While that would certainly be sufficient in the long run, I got the impression you were more interested in preventing from even being selected."

The practitioner's lip curled in distaste. "I ask that you put aside such barbaric thoughts. Whatever my disagreement with Gavin, he is still a fellow member of the Order, not some savage beast from one of the feral realms. I have no d.e.s.i.r.e to see him 'eliminated' as you put it. No, my goal can be accomplished much more easily by simply embarrassing him."

[Ah, nothing quite like the self-righteous hypocrite.]

"Oh?"

"You see, Gavin has earned himself a reputation as a duelist within the Order. Despite his reputation for benevolence, he has been undefeated for decades. Unsurprisingly, this has made him quite popular with the younger practitioners. When combined with his ingratiating approach towards the non-human elements of the Order, this popularity has also allowed him to build a coalition of supporters with enough influence to potentially force the sitting president to nominate him. So long as he appears as the undefeated champion, that will remain the case. However, should he lose, especially to an outsider, much of his support will simply evaporate."

Adrian chuckled, "Funny how these sorts of things always seem to devolve into fights. No matter, I suppose. To be clear, you will free the Nokken if I agree to defeat this Gavin in a duel. Is that about the long and short of it?"

Alexander gave him another long, hard looks before nodding. "I will free the Nixie, but only if you win."

Standing up, Adrian offered his hand, "Great! Then we have a deal."

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Abby had spent close to ten minutes waiting for the privacy screen to fall, and in that time, all she could think about was what Cornelius was going to say after hears what Adrian did.

[Seriously! All he had to do was keep his head down and not cause any trouble. Instead, he comes right here and picks a fight with one of the most influential members of the Order. Damn it! I'm so getting my pay docked for this.]

Just as she was on the verge of breaking down completely, the screen dissolved, once again revealing the two men inside. They were exchanging a handshake, albeit a slightly frosty one. Adrian let go first, and then simply turned and started walking away. Abby had to squeeze through the crowd to catch up.

"Hey! What the hell was that?!" She demanded once she could grab his shoulder.

He turned to regard her, then tilted his head to motion her to follow. As they walked, he said, "It's a bit complicated, but I had some business with Alexander."

"Business? What kind of business?" She asked suspiciously. Legends about the Hall of Shadows were riddled with instances of deals and trades. So much so, that it was assumed that its current form of existence was tied to making them, for some reason.

"An exchange of favors, nothing more. I don't suppose you know anything about a practitioner named Gavin Maldris, do you?" He murmured quietly once they'd exited the exhibition hall.

Abby frowned, this whole situation was setting off alarm bells in her head, but she didn't see any good way of putting a stop to it. She couldn't exactly force him to do anything, and even Cornelius would probably have a hard time. If she tried to push the matter, he would simply begin acting on his own. Without any supervision.

[If I go along with this, at the very least I can step in before it becomes an incident…hopefully.]

Sighing and folding her arms, she began relating what she knew. "From what I've heard, he's some kind of bigshot practitioner that's in the running to be the next president of the Order. Besides that, all I really know is that he's pretty strong for someone of his generation, and has apparently beaten a lot of older practitioners in duels. Even higher level ones."

"Level?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

[I forgot he's still a newbie to all this.]

She shrugged dismissively. "Yeah, practitioners apparently have some kind of level system in place to differentiate themselves. I'm not really sure how it works, but the higher your level, the more powerful you are."

It was a bit more complicated than that, but the details weren't important. She knew from personal experience that a practitioner's level rarely matters when it came to fighting strength. It was much more reasonable to simple ignore it completely, and treat all practitioners as dangerous.

"Do you know anything about the way he fights or the nature of his abilities?" He asked, having taken her dismissal as a sign to move on.

"He specializes in nature magic, and is supposedly good at enhancements and summoning. I think he's won most of his duels by simply overwhelming his opponents with a combination of numbers and physical strength."

Adrian suddenly grinned. "Perfect."

Feeling suddenly uneasy, Abby had to ask. "Hey, you aren't thinking about attacking him or anything, are you? You do realize that would cause us a bunch of problems, even if you could got away with it."

"Of course not. Do you really think I that foolish?" He asked with a chuckle.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I can't even imagine how much trouble that would cause me."

"Well, don't worry, I fully plan to duel him in accordance with the established rules of the Order."

Abby almost missed a step as his words sank in. "What?! That's not any better!"

He just laughed in response.

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"Well, don't you worry a bit, lad. As soon as I'm president, I'll make sure you get the promotion you deserve." Gavin explained with a smile. He was gratified to see his natural charm was having the usual effect on the young practitioner sitting across from him.

"Of course, that's only if I win the election, so I'll be counting on your vote."

The youth nodded deeply. "Although I can't speak for the rest of my family, you can depend on my support."

"That's wonderful lad, I'm truly grateful. Now, I hate to cut this meeting short, but I have a lot of other folks to talk to. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of old fogies that get all riled up unless I make time for one on one chats. You understand, right?"

"Oh…Oh! Of course, Mr. Maldris. I don't want to take up any more of your time. I-I'll just be going then. Thank you for seeing me." The man bowed again and took his leave. Walking through the door Malcom, Gavin's secretary and bodyguard, had opened for him.

As soon as the youth was gone, Gavin's smile vanished. "Can you believe him? The sole heir of his family, and he can't provide anything more than his individual support. Mark my words, the Carters are on their way to ruin. No doubt about that."

"Of course, sir." Came Malcom's measured reply. His tone betrayed no real interest in the matter.

Long used to his servant's lack of emotionality, Gavin pressed on regardless. "Doesn't matter, I suppose. I never depended on them in the first place. Who's next on the agenda? I should have enough time for a few more meetings before dinner."

"Of the petitioners, there are only two of any real importance. Madame Daeris, the Unseelie Court representative, expressed a d.e.s.i.r.e to speak with you at your earliest convenience. I believe she was interested in discussing a joint expedition into the Umbral Wylds."

"Shocking." Gavin commented sarcastically. The Unseelie Fae had been trying to get that expedition off the ground for close to a decade, ever since their independent enterprise failed spectacularly with massive casualties. He had no interest in taking involving himself in the doomed mission, and honestly just wanted to tell the woman to shove off. Unfortunately, the Unseelie Court was a powerful faction in the Underworld, and Gavin could ill afford to openly insult the pushy ambassador.

"Delay her until dinner, I'll arrange a seat for her at my table. Hopefully, she won't be so crass as to press the matter in public. Anyway, what was the other one?"

Malcom gave a rare frown. "Sir, I've received a letter of challenge addressed to you. A member of the Bureau is interested in a duel."

Gavin blinked, and then laughed. "The Bureau?! Really? That's grand! I can't believe they'd have someone foolish enough to try me. Alright, let's go see this idiot. I could use a good workout before eating."