Downtown Druid

Dantes gave Jacque a small kiss on the forehead as he handed him off to Alessa. He’d slept the entire time Dantes had him, but that was okay, babies needed their sleep. Dantes walked up to the roof, and shifted into a pigeon. He could’ve chosen to tree-walk to the nearest large garden to the Silken Sin for his meeting, but wanted to see the city and stretch his wings. His flying forms didn’t get as much use in the confines of the Pit.

He started by flying in a wide circle around Midtown, dipping into the docks and taking some brief glances at his gardens. Life in Midtown was flourishing. Roofs were covered in gardens, flowers sprang up in front of shops, and every single patch of dirt where the streets had broken was now filled with green. Dantes could sense cats and dogs hunting rats, and rats claiming their due in the restaurants and shops that had once been barred from them through enchantment. Dantes’s gardens were no longer walled off, but now sat openly flourishing, with only a few private guards hired by ‘Jacopo de Fosse’ watching them openly. Midtown and the docks had always been lively, but before they’d looked decrepit, and miserable. Now they were filled with life, Dantes even saw people walking through the streets without hands clutched to daggers.

He broke off from his small tour and began beating his wings towards Uptown, and the Temple district where the Silken Sin resided. He shifted into himself a few feet above the entrance and landed lightly on his feet in front of two guards who jumped and reached for weapons before realizing who he was and letting him inside. He walked the now familiar path toward the Finger’s meeting place and pushed open the doors to walk inside.

He was the last to arrive, Argenta looked up at him without batting an eye, but the others didn’t react so calmly to his arrival.

“How the fuck are you here?” asked Drake.

“I walked through the door,” said Dantes with a smile, taking a seat on the couch next to Diamond before leaning forward to take a deep inhale of the hookah in the center of the room, and blowing out a thick ring of smoke.

“Did you break the enchantment somehow? Did Fel-,” she caught herself, but she’d already revealed she knew Felix worked for him. “Did a mage in your employ find a weakness in it?”

Dantes hadn’t heard her talk about magic much, despite her place in the fingers, she mostly focused on business and flirting. It was interesting to see her so interested all of a sudden.

“I broke no enchantments and had no help.”

Fritz blinked his bleary eyes at him a few times. “Well, I know it wasn’t the Consortium. Did you develop something on the side with the guards without them noticing?”

“Doesn’t matter how I did it, I’m here.”

“I was wondering why Argenta was against us carving everything up,” said Drake cockily.

Dantes smiled at him. “Even without me there, none of you could take Midtown. Not anymore.”

Drake chuckled. “What, you think you men can take mine? Come on, I’ve got blooded mercs and adventurers under me. All you’ve got in some street rats. Competent street rats, I’ll grant, but still just rats.”

“It wouldn’t even take them a day to kill you and scatter all of your, ‘blooded’ men to the winds.”

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“The fuck did you say?” asked Drake standing and stepping toward him.

Dantes blew a large cloud of smoke into his face.

Diamond leaned forward, putting herself between the two of them. “As much as I love seeing two men give one another hells, I’d rather not need to get blood out of my new dress.”

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“The meeting is concluded anyway,” said Argenta. “Things are continuing to improve, deals are going through again. Small dip in trade from overland and by boat, but nothing unusual for the season. Everyone go, except Dantes, I need to catch him up on a few things.”

Drake shook his head angrily as he walked out, and Diamond followed closely behind him.

Dantes stopped Fritz before he was out the door.

“I have a gift for you,” he said, pulling two small pouches from his coat. “New herbs from far away. I’ve started selling a few on the street and thought you might want a sample. Once you’ve tried them I’d like to talk about wider distribution.”

Fritz took both pouches. “Two sets? One for me to give to someone else first, and if it’s safe one for myself?”

“Exactly, just be wary of the pink flower petals. Only death from that so far.”

“Well, we both know there’s uses for that too.” He slipped the pouches into the folds of his silk robes. “I’ll be in touch.”

Dantes nodded at him, and then returned to his spot where Argenta was waiting for him.

“I’m impressed. Part of me thought your claim I’d see you today was just bluster.”

“You know I’ve escaped every night since I was first thrown in. I’ve been exchanging letters with your daughter. There’s no reason to flatter me.”

“No, I don’t suppose there is. I’m glad you’ve kept your escapes subtle though. For the good of the city.”

Dantes shrugged, “There are things I need to do in the Pit, and I see no reason to antagonize the guard.”

Argenta stayed silent for a moment, pushing a single knuckle into the armrest of her chair. “There's going to be war, Dantes.”

Dantes kept himself from coughing on the smoke he’d inhaled, and managed to let it smoothly out of his nose.

“With who?” he managed to say.

“Viscent and Frasheid, though our neighboring kingdoms may ally themselves with them as well to enjoy a part of the spoils.”

“Even after they got Gavain?”

She shook her head. “The ships we took, the slaves he freed, all of it is just excuses. They’re attacking us because they want to control us. This is about greed, it always was.”

“Godfrey?”

“Yes. All of his manipulations here were to weaken us, to soften our position. While he was doing that, he or his agents were also working in Frasheid and Viscent.”

“Frasheid can spare the men even with their revolt?”

“The revolt is already on its last legs. Besides, they don’t want to give up a claim on it to Viscent.”

“How long?” Dantes asked.

“Two, maybe three weeks. Our navy is moving to engage Viscent’s ships now to try and sink as many troop transports before they can land. We’re hoping we can mitigate the damage.”

Dantes leaned back. Rendhold hadn’t gone to war in a thousand years, and a gold faced bastard had undone that in less than a decade. He thought about it. The idea of men marching in armor, with spears in hand, cannons on ships approaching to demolish the docks. Thousands engaged in battle.

I could win.

The thought came almost unbidden to his mind. He checked himself momentarily. He’d accomplished some long odds, beaten some powerful opponents, and grown in strength dramatically since he’d first spoken to Jacopo, but defeating armies? That was madness.

I could win.

The thought came again. Clearer and more forceful this time, and gods help him, he accepted it as the truth this time. In Rendhold? In his locus the center of his power? He could beat an army. In some ways, beating an army would be easier than much of what he’d already done. Still, he didn’t want to win for nothing. He didn’t want victory from the shadows. He wanted the city to know it was him. He wanted them to beg him for it. Not that he’d leave his own people in danger, he’d protect Midtown whether or not the rest of the city chose to burn.

“What are your plans?” he asked, keeping his thoughts to himself for that moment.

“We’ve already been preparing for this. The guard recruitment is higher than it’s ever been, weapons have been manufactured and distributed, the criminals pressed into work have been shoring up the walls, and our navy has been being expanded for years. We’re going to make more efforts to break through the seal on the Academy, though Diamond has been hesitant to help given how valuable she’s become.”

“You should send your daughter away somewhere,” suggested Dantes watching her reaction.

Her face didn’t show any reactions at all. “She refused to leave during the plague. I doubt she’ll leave now. You should send your son away.”

“His mother has an attitude similar to your daughter.”

They sat in silence for a bit. “Your pet demon, could he help?”

“He can, and will. I’m already gathering intel on who the leaders of the enemy will be. I’m going to have them kill them.”

“Do you think Godfrey himself will be among them?”

“He’s the kind that likes to watch his enemies lose. I am certain he’ll be here.”

“He is a dramatic sort, isn’t he?”

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t know that you are able to criticize anyone for that particular flaw.”

Dantes smiled. “I can if I’m a hypocrite.”