"Bring him here immediately!" Arbarth could hardly believe his ears when he heard the soldier's words from the other side of the door, but he reacted quickly all the same. Moments later, the sound of hurried footsteps faded down the hall, leaving the office in silence.
"Who is this Magnus Wright, dear? I don't think I've ever heard of a person or noble family with that name before." Shilve's curiosity was clear as she turned to her husband, a Major General of the Batis Military, wondering who could have him so eager for a meeting.
Arbarth's expression shifted slightly as he answered, "It's not surprising you haven't heard of him. To be honest, we don't know where he came from. He was a rescue—picked up by Mia. As far as we can tell, he's not of noble descent, and outside of Takerth Academy, his name isn't well known yet. But… you'll notice the oddities about him when you see him. What matters is that he's someone I'm planning to invest in heavily for the future. And, if there's any luck on my side in this world, he'll have news that might get me out of this City Council mess."
Someone worth investing in despite being a student at Takerth Academy? Interesting…
With her curiosity piqued, Shilve straightened her dress, adopting a more refined air. Though she wasn't a noblewoman by birth, it was clear that noble etiquette wasn't lost on her. Before long, another knock echoed through the room.
"Come in," Arbarth called.
One of the double doors creaked open as Magnus stepped inside with a friendly smirk. He crossed the room toward Arbarth's desk, passing the topographic map spread across the table at the center.
The door clicked shut behind him.
"It's been a while, Arbarth. Sorry I didn't come to see you right away when I got back—I wanted to relax for a bit. You wouldn't believe half the things that happened these past few weeks." Magnus lowered himself into the chair in front of the desk.
Arbarth and Shilve exchanged a glance, both surprised—though for slightly different reasons.
She kept her expression neutral, not wanting to be rude, but her thoughts raced as she studied the young man.
He's much younger than I imagined… If I hadn't heard his name and listened to Arbarth address him, I might not have realized he was a boy at all. And yet… there's something odd about him.
It was hard to put into words. In this world, there wasn't a name for it, but what she felt when looking at Magnus could only be described as an uncanny valley effect. At a glance, he looked like a normal person. But the longer she stared, the more subtle irregularities she noticed—details that didn't quite line up.
Arbarth had already known Magnus's age, so his surprise didn't come from that. No, it was the same unsettling feeling his wife was experiencing. Magnus looked different than he had the last time they met.
Noticing the way they were both staring, Magnus let out an internal sigh.
Looks like my appearance is going to be an issue down the line, the more I change. The things you have to sacrifice for progress…
Clearing his throat, he broke the silence.
"A lot happened while I was away on my assignment, as you can probably tell. I won't bore you with the details—it's not really why either of us is here." That snapped Arbarth and Shilve out of their fixation. Arbarth straightened in his chair, placing both hands on the desk.
"Ah, right. Sorry about that," Arbarth said, but Magnus waved it off.
"It's fine. But if you don't mind me asking, who is this?" He gestured toward Shilve, giving her the perfect opening to introduce herself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Magnus. I'm Arbarth's wife, Shilve Emory." Magnus blinked in surprise, glancing at Arbarth before responding.
"Oh, I didn't know you were married. Congratulations. It's nice to meet you."
They exchanged polite nods before Arbarth added, "Thank you. In that case, would it be alright if she stays for this?"
"Sure, I don't mind if you don't," Magnus shrugged.
"Perfect." Arbarth's expression grew serious, shifting the tone of the room.
"So, what exactly happened? After you left, we didn't hear anything back from you. Even when that girl, Seraline Sostenza, returned, you weren't with her. It made me think something might have happened." Magnus made a mental note of that—Seraline was back in Arlcliff City. He'd have to find time to check in on her and figure out what was going on. But that could wait.
"Well, like I said, I won't bore you with the details of my assignment. After I handled everything, I made my way to Larter Village to meet up with Mia and the others as planned. But when I got there, I realized just how bad things were. There really was a creature behind all the trouble near the border—and it wasn't ordinary. It took me, Mia, Marcos, Gerald, and two of the Adept-level platoon leaders you sent just to bring it down. Even then, Gerald lost part of his hand and heel, one of the platoon leaders… died, and two others will never walk again."
Arbarth looked stunned at the news and so did Shilve.
She wasn't deeply involved in her husband's affairs, but she knew of Mia and her company—they had a reputation. More importantly, Mia, Marcos, and Gerald were all Master-level knights. For them to suffer those kinds of casualties? Something about this wasn't normal.
The question was written all over their faces, but Magnus didn't try to explain. Instead, he pulled out the bundle of letters Mia had given him from his storage ring and set them on the desk.
Arbarth eyed them.
"What are these?"
"I left a bit earlier than Mia. Since she and the others had to move at the horses' pace, she gave these to me, knowing I'd get back first. I imagine they're the reports on everything that happened in Larter Village. They should give you a clear picture of the situation, as well as all the logistics." A flicker of anticipation crossed Arbarth's eyes. This was exactly what he'd been hoping for—evidence.
Proof that whatever was happening near the border was beyond his control. These reports could be the shield that kept him from losing his position when the City Council meeting took place. Taking the bundle, he handed them off to Shilve, who immediately began undoing the bindings and sorting through them for easier reading later.
Meanwhile, Arbarth turned back to Magnus and lowered his head slightly.
"Thank you. I had no idea it would be that dangerous, and I know you put yourself at risk helping Mia and the others. You have my utmost gratitude, Magnus, and I promise I won't ask for anything more until our written contract is finalized."
Magnus waved a hand dismissively.
"Eh, as much as I hate to say this—given how tragic it was—but helping Mia and the others helped me improve. So, in the end, we both got something out of this. Though… I do need your help with something." Arbarth's eyes narrowed slightly.
Calling in favors already?
Well, it wasn't unexpected. Arbarth had practically begged for his help despite not having an official agreement. He was going to be in Magnus's debt for a while—no avoiding that.
"Sure," he sighed, accepting his fate.
"What is it?"
"The organization that Zeth is a part of. I've been trying to avoid them, but like you said in that letter, that's not an option anymore." Magnus leaned forward slightly.
"I'm sure Alwen and Kolten already told you what happened during the raid, right?" At the mention of it, Arbarth let out a small sigh. Of course, he knew about the raid—it had forced his hand, making him launch large-scale operations across the city before everything was in place, without even having time to inform anyone. The chaos it caused among the populace was bad enough, but it also painted an even bigger target on his back.
Not just from his enemies in the City Council, but from a few noble families involved in less-than-moral dealings. Still, once he learned the details, he understood why Magnus had acted. That was why he hadn't brought it up with him afterward.
So, after a brief moment of thought, Arbarth nodded.
"Alright then. Like you said, you need to know if they're going to put your life—and the lives of those around you—at risk. First off, from what we've gathered, the name of the syndicate is Nightshade. We don't know exactly when they were formed, but they seem to have been around for a long time. Nothing noteworthy—until a few months ago. Then, out of nowhere, their way of doing things changed. We have no idea where they got the resources, but they underwent a complete structural overhaul. Anyone with a less... honorable disposition was immediately recruited, and any smaller groups in their way? They got swallowed up." Arbarth paused, his hands lacing together tightly, a conflicted look on his face.
"It happened right under our noses. I don't know how, but it did. Before we knew it, nearly every other syndicate in the city was absorbed into Nightshade. Now, they have their hands in nearly every criminal trade imaginable. The largest groups they took over were turned into branches under them—like the Jackals, for example. I'm sure you're familiar with them."
Magnus gave a small nod as Arbarth continued.
"They were one of the groups that surrendered willingly and became part of Nightshade. Before that, they ran the biggest human trafficking ring in the city—hell, maybe even the whole region, before the monster influx started isolating settlements." The inability to trade or travel between villages, towns, and even major cities affected more than just official businesses. Criminal networks had been hit just as hard. Syndicates with branches outside the city had suddenly been cut off from them. In most cases, those branches either collapsed from a lack of leadership or broke off and became independent groups.
Magnus frowned.
"But what about the raids? Didn't they take out a bunch of the Jackals' branch cells? Even if you didn't get all of them, I can't imagine they're still operating as they were—not after how hard you cracked down on them."
"I'm afraid that's not how it works," Shilve chimed in, having finished organizing the letters.
Magnus turned his attention to her as she spoke.
"I don't know much about criminal syndicates, but trafficking is something you run into no matter where you are. There are only two things they need. First, suppliers—the source of the people they're moving around. Normally, trafficking rings pick people out from places that are out of the way, like some random village near the border. But ever since the war worsened, people have been flocking to Arlcliff City. That means there's no shortage of people they can snatch up without anyone noticing. Second, they need buyers..." She hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"Trafficking is illegal, but slave trading isn't. As similar as they are, one is legalized by the Royal Court, while the other is punishable by death. But it's no secret there's overlap. Officially, slave traders can't force people into slavery—there's a legal process to it. That's where trafficking rings come in. They break people down, drug them, move them around, and help erase any hints of tracing their origins. That way, by the time they're sold, no one can prove whether they agreed to it or not. And since official slave traders conduct business in the open, they make the most profit. They don't have to hide in the shadows." It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The Jackals captured and sold people, and the slave traders bought them to resell to the highest bidder.
Right... I had considered that when I heard Blair and his family got caught up in something and missed the celebration. But I didn't think it would be confirmed outright like this.
"In any case," Arbarth said, drawing Magnus back to the conversation, "what Shilve is saying is that as long as they have a steady supply of 'products' and connections to the slave trade, it doesn't matter how many of their branches we shut down. They'll just go underground for a while and resurface later. My men can't be everywhere, and this city has plenty of dark corners for them to hide in."
Shilve nodded in agreement as Magnus muttered to himself.
"I see..." The only real way to deal with the Jackals would be to take out the people in charge—the ones who held the connections with the slave trading businesses. Otherwise, they'd just swap out leadership and continue elsewhere.
I guess I should count myself lucky that I have a pretty good idea of who that is now...
Magnus's mind flashed back to the memory of the vampiric woman he had encountered and the so-called lord behind her. If he had to guess, the vampires were the ones running the Jackals' side of Nightshade. In that case, his goal hadn't changed. If he could eliminate them, the entire human trafficking ring could collapse before it had a chance to start back up again.
Though in the end, that's just one branch of Nightshade...
That same thought was echoed in Arbarth's next words.
"And the Jackals are only one piece of this whole mess. Taking them down completely would require the City Council's backing, which, as you can imagine, isn't likely. Since the nobility runs most of the slave trade, they won't openly support Nightshade—but they'll make sure no one can come down too hard on the Jackals either. And that's not even mentioning Nightshade's other branches. We don't know all their names or roles, but we do know there are six in total. The Jackals are just one of them." He leaned forward slightly.
"Then you have the Ravens. From what we can tell, their main job is gathering intelligence and acting as an underground hub for criminal activity. That bounty that got put on your head? That was them. You wouldn't believe how deeply they're embedded in Arlcliff..." Arbarth went on to describe one more branch—the syndicate's drug operations. They didn't know who was running it or what it was called, but there was no doubt that all the drugs being used to keep trafficking victims docile enough to be sold into the slave trade were coming from them. Unlike other criminal trades, these drugs weren't openly distributed, at least not in the more guarded areas of the Lower and Outer City.
Keeping things too public would draw unwanted attention. It was one thing to use drugs within the organization, but get too many people addicted, and even the City Council wouldn't be able to ignore it.
By the time Arbarth finished, Magnus sat there, his expression tense.
"I knew it was big... but I didn't think it was this big—or anywhere near this bad. Arlcliff City looked peaceful on the surface," he muttered.
"I thought the same when I was first stationed here. Believe it or not, it was even worse back then. But Nightshade… they're too dangerous and too well-connected for me to make a move. Not until I know exactly who's at the top and where to find them," Arbarth admitted.
In that regard, he and Magnus were in the same position. Although Magnus had captured those two vampires, whether or not he could learn anything from them depended entirely on whether he could get them to talk.
Unlike Arbarth, I plan on dealing with Nightshade from the shadows, so I don't have to worry about pissing off the wrong people. But that doesn't matter if I don't know who or what I'm supposed to be targeting. Running around shutting down trafficking rings or hunting Zeth's people won't change anything. I need the heads—all of them, including the one controlling the vampires and leading the Jackals.
As for how he was going to do that... he could only think of two options.
Noticing how deeply Magnus was lost in thought, Arbarth let out a short sigh.
"I won't tell you not to worry about this. You're involved now. But it's not completely hopeless, even if I made it sound that way. My hands have been tied because of whatever was going on at the border, but thanks to the letters you brought from Mia, I have a way to keep myself from getting pinned down in the upcoming City Council meeting. Once that's handled, I'll be able to make a case to the Royal Court and request aid from the capital. Not to mention, Mia and the others will be back soon, which means we won't have to deal with this alone. It's not an ideal situation, but it's not unsalvageable either."
"Hmm, right," Magnus replied, though it was clear he wasn't entirely convinced. He didn't know much about the politics of this world, but if things could be solved by simply appealing to the Royal Court, then they wouldn't have gotten so out of hand in the first place.
"Anyway, if you want more information, I can arrange something," Arbarth offered.
"Really? That'd be great," Magnus said, a little surprised at the offer but not about to turn it down.
"Alright, I'll have someone handle it. The draft for our agreement should be finished soon, so I'll send them both together." Hearing him bring up the draft, Magnus paused for a moment before standing up and flashing a smile.
"Sounds perfect. Well, that's all I really came here to talk about, so unless there's anything else, I should be heading out. I have a few more errands to run."
"Right, right, I'm sure you're busy since you just got back," Arbarth said with a nod.
"It was nice meeting you." Magnus directed the comment toward Shilve, who bid him farewell in return. With that, he turned and left, the door swinging open before clicking shut behind him.
Once he was gone, Shilve let out a low hum.
"Well, he's certainly something special. He solved one of your biggest problems in a single trip."
Arbarth leaned back in his chair, exhaling as he replied, "Exactly why I want him on my side. But first, we need to clean up this mess inside the city..."