PftA Book 5 - Chapter 11 - Uncomfortable Requests

It took three days for me to find the first mana well on the Tier Nine planet.

I almost overlooked it because the Magma well served as the core of a magma lake beneath an active volcano.

I’d initially assumed the buildup of Magma mana was due to the volcano. It was only when I happened to notice the mana radiating from the center of the lake that I realized what it was.

That discovery shifted the way I searched, and I soon found two more – a Water well deep inside one of the larger oceans and an Earth well nestled inside the wall of a canyon.

While mana wells were arguably rare, most planets usually had a few. That wasn’t always the case, but based on the research Lisa had compiled for me, it was more common than not.

I made a note of the locations for mana well before moving on to the next and final uninhabited Tier Nine world in Collective space. There were only two, so I was hoping I’d find what I was searching for soon.

I had just appeared over the surface of the verdant planet when my interface alerted me to an incoming message. I sighed when I read the contents.

It seemed my break had come to an end.

While I hadn’t yet located the Arcane mana well, I wasn’t overly worried. Anya had mentioned it would be a good thing to find before the war ended, but it wasn’t like anything would be lost by finding it a little later.

And even if there was, it wasn’t like there was anything I could do about it.

I quickly teleported to the top of the nearest mountain and entered my demesne, ensuring I’d be able to return with little effort in the future. From there, I shifted my location to the arrival platform at Council Headquarters.

To my surprise, Anya was waiting for me when I arrived. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised to see her there, given her affinity. The [Fate Obscuration] artifacts I wore could only do so much to hide my actions from her.

“How was your search?” Anya asked when I stepped off of the platform.

“I found a few minor mana wells on the first planet, but none of them were Arcane.”

“That’s no surprise,” she said, motioning for me to follow her. “Still, mana wells are valuable, so you might want to keep track of where they are. When everything is said and done, maybe you’ll be able to benefit from discovering them.”

“You really think so?” I asked as I followed her through the double doors at the back of the foyer. “Aren’t there dozens of mana wells spread across the uninhabited worlds in Alliance space?”

“Sure, but it never hurts to be the one on record as discovering a new one.” She motioned me inside her office and closed the door behind us.

“I wanted to talk to you before the meeting,” Anya began before opting to sit on the corner of her desk instead of walking around it to her chair. “The Council has decided to send in several strike groups with Tier Ten assets. The goal is to take out the enemy’s leadership in one swoop. From there, the groups can work down the enemy’s chain of command until the Collective calls for a ceasefire.”

“Do they think that will work?” I asked skeptically.

I wasn’t so sure that the monstrous races would be willing to give up the war after suffering a few high-level losses. Then again, I wouldn’t have expected them to engage in gorilla warfare across multiple planets, either.

“Oh, it’ll work,” Anya said confidently. “Now that we know where they are, the only real issue is getting the strike groups in place. And that’s where you come in.

“Normally, the Council would never rely on a single Space Mage to transport multiple strike groups during a multi-planet offensive. However, you are the only one we know for sure can get in and out of those particular warded spaces without tripping any alarms.”

“I’m sure others could do it with the right gear,” I countered. It wasn’t like what I was doing was anything particularly special.

“Perhaps,” she conceded. “But why bet on a possibility when you’ve already proven yourself capable?”

“They’ll have to be put into stasis for the trip,” I warned, causing her to wince slightly.

“That will probably be fine for most of them,” Anya said before looking away.

“But not all of them?” I guessed.

The Fate Mage sighed heavily and raised her head, meeting my eyes. “One of them might be an issue. It’s less because of the stasis part and more because of who he is.” After tapping her leg a few times, Anya added, “Cin’Spector.”

I was floored.

Out of all the potential options, I had a hard time understanding why they would have chosen to involve an actual Assassin.

And not just any Assassin.

“How could the Council think that’s a good idea?” I asked. “He tried to kill me. Why would they think I’d work with him now?”

“I mean, you don’t have to, but removing him from the roster decreases the chances of success by a significant amount,” Anya replied. “Keep in mind, that whole encounter was nothing more than a job to him. It really wasn’t personal.”

“That’s supposed to make it better?” I asked, flabbergasted. “He stripped me naked and tossed me into a rift! It might not have been personal to him, but it was to me! Just because I don’t have any plans to hunt him down after I leave the dungeon doesn’t mean I don’t harbor ill feelings for what he did.”

“Can you please put those feelings aside for the mission?” Anya asked.

My knee-jerk reaction was to say no. To demand that they choose between the Assassin’s help and mine, even if it did risk the mission. But… I’d never really been that kind of person. I wouldn’t jeopardize the safety of innocent people because of the grudge I held against the Assassin.

Intellectually, I accepted that his actions were not personal. I understood that, to him, it was only a job – the repaying of a favor owed. But that didn’t make it any easier to accept the idea of working with the guy.

“This entire war could be over in a matter of days if our counter-offensive works out right,” Anya added as she rose to her feet. “While it’s possible to succeed without him, our chances are much higher with his assistance.”

“Why? Aren’t there other Assassins who can do the job just as well?” I asked with a raised brow.

“At Tier Ten?” she asked incredulously. “Not at all. There are only three of them that I know of, and Cin’Spector is one of them. The others aren’t the type of people that we’d want involved with this particular mission.”

“And Cin is?” I couldn’t help but scoff.

“He’s probably one of the better Assassins out there,” Anya replied earnestly. “Honestly, had he not tried to kill you, you’d probably get along with him quite well.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but it was probably just my biases skewing my perception.

“How do you know he’ll even agree to work with me?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. “Is he really going to trust me enough to let me place him in stasis?”

For that matter, could I trust myself if I had him in such a vulnerable position?

Technically, being placed in stasis would keep someone safe. But as Cin had already shown, the protective spell could easily be abused in ways that were detrimental to the target.

I could bury him in a Tier Ten volcano on Sira after stripping him of every protective item he carried, for one. Or I could set up a decapitating portal above his head and have it close as soon as Stasis dropped.

There were tons of ways I could injure or even kill him, given enough time and preparation.

So, how could he trust me not to endanger him? Hell, even just deactivating Stasis while he was in a compromising position in enemy territory might be enough to see him taken out if I set things up right.

“He’ll probably demand a system-enforced oath,” Anya replied. “And I don’t blame him. In fact, you’ll likely need to provide a system-enforced oath for all of the members of the strike team.

“It was one thing to transport a lone scout into enemy territory, but we’re talking about our entire counter-offensive. As much as I trust you, everyone else is going to need a little assurance that they’ll be safe in your hands.”

I supposed that made sense. It wasn’t like my demand that travelers be placed in stasis for the trip was normal, after all. No other Space Mage demanded such a thing.

“I still haven’t agreed to work with him,” I said stubbornly.

“But you will, right?” Anya asked with an air of confidence as she stepped around me and reached for the door. “Too many lives are on the line for you to refuse.”

I hated that she was right.

“Do they have Fate magic in the upper realm?” I asked suddenly. My question seemed to catch the Fate Mage off-guard.

“I don’t think so. At least not in the way we use it. Why?” she asked.

“No reason,” I said nonchalantly as I stepped through the now-open door.

Out of all the reasons I could think of to rush my ascension, getting away from the manipulations of Fate Mages was pretty far up there.

Even the [Fate Obscuration] artifacts I wore didn’t seem to be enough to prevent the woman from reading me like a book.

Maybe it was just normal manipulation, and her Fate manipulation abilities had nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, it was impossible to know for sure.

“So, you’ll do it?” Anya asked.

“I don’t really have much of a choice if I want the war to be over soon,” I replied with a sigh.

I knew most of the citizens were getting antsy about ending the war. Nobody wanted to remain in a perpetual state of readiness, especially when they were displaced from their homes and separated from their families.

My own family was suffering from the ongoing war, even without being actively attacked. If cutting the head off of the snake would put an end to everything, I’d deal with the discomfort of working with a potential enemy.

“Excellent,” Anya said with a brilliant smile. “Then I guess it’s time for you to meet the team leaders. Let’s hope we can get this war wrapped up sooner rather than later.”