House of Amarin

The meeting took place in a restaurant at a prominent point in the city of Deliah. It overlooked the main street, heading to the City Lord's palace, and was a two-story building decorated with beautiful statues of fair maidens. Right now, the establishment was closed for the public to give place to the meeting that was taking place inside. Ferrah, their host, was also the restaurant owner and welcomed them with a broad smile, seating the group of Misfits on the second level, facing the pleasant view of the city thanks to the panoramic windows. Looking at his features and what the Misfits learned, he fit the bill perfectly. The only difference was his slightly longer hair and trimmed beard than the original description.

"I'm honored to meet such famous and noble people!" He smiled, introducing himself. After being seated, waitresses appeared, serving appetizers and drinks while preparing the lunch they chose from an exotic menu.

"Please, we are just doing what we can!" Lia chuckled, sitting between Rinzen and Ceiline. "It is our duty as part of the Houses! The one who is commendable here is you!"

"Please, you are flattering me! I'm just doing what anyone in my position should! This region needs to get united in times like this! We are between multiple Houses, and although we enjoyed big freedom until now, times are changing!"

"You are speaking as if you, the multiple city-states here, already agreed to join forces and create a new kingdom." Lia smiled, enjoying her drink.

"It will happen." Ferrah nodded, turning serious, glancing at them individually, setting his sights on Rinzen in the end. "As part of the Six, Your Excellency, I think this region needs to be unified!"

"We never involved ourselves so deeply with the inner politics of others." She replied, but Ferrah simply shook his head.

"That was then. Now that the Undead is ravaging the continent so openly, everyone knows what we have at hand! Only the stupid and the ignorant don't see the writing on the wall! Generations went and lived in peace, but now we face our second hurdle as all living beings on Meriath!"

"What do you suggest?" Lia asked, surprising Ferrah a little. He knew she was the daughter of Reyra, but she was not part of the Six… Rinzen was. Yet the woman didn't seem bothered; she was more interested in munching on the appetizer and letting Lia deal with the rest.

"A coalition at first." He continued, masking his surprise with a smile and quickly adapting. He wanted to meet with Lia because, through her, he could talk with one of the continent's decision-makers, Rinzen Berison. Well… it seemed now that the Amarins had more influence than he expected. "Uniting the cities who are not under quarantine as allies, no matter which House they are close to! They should form a cooperative coalition to help us work together and alleviate your burdens." He explained, glancing at everyone present while speaking. "The continent has billions of people, and even with your resources, you can't be everywhere at once! Not even if you keep delegating your forces to every spot possible… Sooner or later, your line will turn too thin, and the Undead will punch through it! They always find the weakest link."

"I do not wonder why you are a successful businessman!" Lorin chuckled, measuring him, leaning back, and letting the waitresses bring out the mouth-wateringly delicious lunch with different kinds of meat and side dishes.

"Thank you!" He chuckled, taking up a fork and a knife, slicing into her medium-rare steak, and looking at it with a pleased expression, "My parents said I always had the gift of speaking my thoughts and selling them! If they would see me now, I just hope they would be proud that I didn't use it for bad but for the good of everyone!"

"That raises a question of mine!" Lia interjected, holding a chicken drumstick, pointing it at him, "What is your background, exactly? Lorin here told me you are a merchant, but other than that…"

"Ahaha, yes, yes, my main profession is that!" After gulping the meat down, he answered, "I also have multiple interests in many things! In this city, I run this restaurant, have two warehouses that I lease out to other companies, and also have an adventurer group, the Claws, that take on contracts related to protecting caravans while traveling through the jungle!"

"Hmmm…" Lia nodded, smiling, listening, and looking into his eyes while talking. Ferrah never broke eye contact, not until Lia herself looked away and his words came out fluently, without any stutters or shakings in his voice.

"But I have businesses established in many cities here! For example, I have an artisan guild in Rubiar called the Golden Touch and had an auction house in Cathalica." He sighed, shaking his head, "I was most devastated to hear what happened to the city. So many good people lost… they would have been someone I would love to have in our coalition! Alas…”

"Yes, they had great leadership." Lia agreed, her voice sober and no longer melancholic. "All my Undead kills are a tribute to their sad fate… and I will exterminate them all."

"To that, I raise my glass, Lia Amarin!" Ferrah saluted, clinging his cup with hers. "This is why this coalition must work! We have five cities under quarantine! Three other I know is still being investigated, and people there are restricted to travel! Only four cities are untouched by this madness… Yet, even us, these cities are going to be making reports to a new governor."

"Is that a problem?" Celine asked, raising an eyebrow as the one arriving in this city was part of her family. Literally, as it's one of her, albeit distant, uncles.

"Of course not!" Ferrah answered at once, "But it shows the insidious side of the Undead! A region that experienced the stench of theirs needs strict supervision! The delegation from the Houses will monitor the cities they are placed in… but can they monitor the whole region? I think the answer is a no."

"Your plan is that your alliance will do that for them?" Lia asked, tilting her head and taking a sip from her drink.

"It would be a good and organized structure with sharing resources and information between the cities! They would also be the contact point with the quarantined cities under the Houses' supervision! The Respected Envoys from the Houses would always be up to date and can focus on their own task while we deal with organizing the region on the micro-level!"

"And I guess you want to have a seat in the council if it is formed?" Lia questioned nonchalantly, wiping her mouth clean with a napkin while waiting for his answer.

"Not really. For multiple reasons!" He did the same, mimicking her, leaning back in his chair, "One, the city's leadership would feel completely closed out of their long-running reign and power. First by an envoy from a House, now from some upstart merchant? I'm not stupid, and as I told our mutual friend, Lorin, here, I want to help. Not to divide the region! Let the council be formed from the lords of the cities! They are better at politics and used to it anyway!"

"Then what is it that you get out of it?" Lorin interjected. As the Misfits' leading supplier of materials, potions, and information, he already knew his answer… but wanted to hear it from his lips.

"Same as you! When I heard about you and finally had a chance to meet you, I knew exactly what I wanted." Ferrah turned towards him, "Your family's name became famous, you know. You tied yourself to a great chariot, and now many kings and rulers invite your family to do business… because you have the backing of the Amarins! Of course, my aspirations are not that big!"

"I still would like to hear them!" Lia urged him, waiting patiently, glancing to the side where Rinzen was still munching, completely ignoring the whole conversation, more interested in the desserts than what Ferrah had to say.

"I want to form this region's artery, so to speak! One city is going to be the beating heart of this place, I am sure of it… I will form the routes between them and ensure we supply enough 'blood' to those points that are closed off from the outside! We can't let them 'rot!' My real goal is to help us all survive this! We could employ all the different adventurer groups and transform them into a local militia, giving them an organized purpose. The Undead threat is not gone, only suppressed! If we do not stand together, we will fall! Then all my accumulated wealth is worth as much as dirt!"

"This is nice," Rinzen spoke out of nowhere, presenting a fork to Lia with a creamy, yogurt-like cake on it.

"Mhm! Yes, it is!" She chuckled, biting on it, saying it in a way that was true in multiple senses, just like Rinzen's sudden comment. "It is an interesting proposal and something that I am personally quite interested in!" Lia continued while munching on it with a pleased light in her mismatched eyes, "Tell you what! Let me make a report to the other Houses and bring this before everyone, hm? Speed it up a little!"

"I would ask for nothing else!" Ferrah nodded, smiling from ear to ear, victorious light dancing in his eyes. "I am staying in the city; Lorin knows where to find me! I am ready to welcome you at my residence anytime, whether night or day!"

"I thank you for it!" Lia nodded with a happy look, and their meeting slowly came to an end.

When the group was back in their room in the palace, Lorin couldn't help but furrow his brows.

"His ambition is more than getting his hand into the region's decision-making... He wants to be the one who controls what is going on here from behind the scenes! More so than any of the envoys could achieve it!"

"If he controls the trade, he can control everything." Rinzen agreed, realizing it very early, losing all interest in their meeting. The main reason why she was focused on eating instead. Now, she was sitting on the couch while Lia was seated in her lap, leaning back, feeling content after eating a good lunch, fighting the urge to fall asleep. "And it is pretty clear he wants to set himself up as the sole person doing it."

"What do you think?" Ceiline asked, watching Lia, who was relaxing with eyes closed, wearing a small smile. "Did you notice anything weird about him? I felt nothing. He looked and felt like a human."

"Same." Rinzen agreed, and Lia only nodded, nestled between her breasts.

"He is human. Born and raised, for sure! I watched him eat, watched him drink… the Undead are dry. No matter how you look at them, they are only husks. Ferrah had blood flowing in him! If it was an illusion, then he is in a Tier that only the Silly Fox or my Mother could deal with! But… I think that is not the case."

"So… is he nothing but a greedy human who wants power? In the long run, he will hemorrhage money, left and right, but if everything ends… he will have the chance to have his own little empire." Lorin murmured, walking up and down in the room.

"How does this connect him to what happened with the four adventurer groups? Why send them on that hunt? Why pay along with their backstabbing plans?" Celine asked multiple questions that baffled her. "Does he have an interest in old antiquities?"

"I don't know yet, but something else must be going on that we are unaware of. There is something in that place that he wants! We will be smarter once Aurora and Sion get to the bottom of it!" Lia moaned, stretching and yawning loudly before checking her bracelet as a message popped up. "Simbad has arrived! He will tail our new friend! I also called upon Melody and a few of her fairies… we are going to spread out and investigate his background and every business he operates in the other cities!"

…
….
……

At a different courtyard, Ferrah was relaxing in a gazebo, holding a cup of tea while a woman was standing beside him, wearing elegant, black clothes. She was Icura, the present City Lord of Deliah. Currently, she barely had anything to do as the Houses stripped her of real power.

"So…" She asked, her voice calm and evenly measured, "You met with her?"

"Mhm. She is the one we need to train so Sect Master has a good enough body to reincarnate into. Did the groups I sent on the trail succeed yet?"

"There are complications with them, Master," Icura answered, lowering her head a little, explaining that they were exterminated.

"Tsk… greedy fucks." Ferrah rubbed his head with a moan.

"There is a chance your appearance was also relayed to the Houses, and we may have been compromised."

"Maybe." He shrugged, "Well, we can arrange our death once again and disappear if must… but I'd like to do that after we managed to push the girl to her limits. We need to keep track of her… we can't afford to lose her like her ancestor! That did set us back… a lot!"

"We have alternates." Icura answered, "Like her mother."

"Mhm." Ferrah nodded after thinking for a little.

"What should we do about the ruins? Even though they have been eradicated, they didn't manage to acquire a token. Without it, we can't access the treasury of the Eternals. I would have gone myself, but… their crafty system would recognize my soul and eject me even after these many years. Only fresh recruits are worthy of their trials…"

"I will notify the disciples to keep watch. The girl's group is still there… I think they will attempt to go through it. They wouldn't sell it if they acquired it, so that is a problem..." Ferrah murmured before smiling a little, "Herd some Undead to their way," he ordered after emptying his teacup. "In the chaos, we can steal it! Even if we fail to set up a base here, we can do it elsewhere… The token is more important."