Clan Contemplation

The side room was small, meant for brief, private discussions to be had by one side of a negotiation before going back to the table. Now, it was host to more of a war council. Vel was certain their predecessors never thought a group like them would be using it for such a purpose.

Tamia shut the door and pressed her fingers to two points on the frame. A pair of runes glowed under her digits and Vel felt a small push against his senses as the room became sealed. Seemed like the time, effort and expense to make the sideroom private would be paying off today.

“Well, this meeting certainly did turn out as one for the ages,” Gin spoke first. “Tamia, I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but do you think any of our lapsed contacts could have fallen afoul of the faction they spoke about?”

“It’s possible,” the head of security answered. “The ones we’ve lost contact with were all small and loner types. It’s not the first time they’ve gone silent longer than normal.”

“But not all of them at once,” Lara chimed in, tablet in hand. Vel knew her well enough to know she was pulling up itemized lists of deals. “Most only deviated by a week at most for the duration of our partnerships.”

“So there’s some chance what they’ve said is true,” Vel muttered. “There hasn’t been any major guild slaying in this area for close to twenty years. The only good thing the Order did when they showed up was causing the most dangerous groups to flee or get cut down.”

“Guess a new breed has come about,” Gin said in a serious tone. “Makes you wonder if we got lucky.”

“It looks more like we didn’t fit their prey profile,” Lara remarked. “Every group that could be a victim has been small, no more than ten members strong.”

“What do you think they’re after?” Lita asked in a timid voice. It hurt Vel that he called her into this. She was far from the most outgoing member of the clan, mostly concerned with keeping the day to day function of things, not larger threats to them or their allies. He thought bringing her in to simply watch would be a good way for her to get some experience in how the business side worked at the top level. He should have known that the curveballs wouldn’t stop at a goddess’ involvement.

“Impossible to say,” Vel answered with a shake of his head. “They could simply be raiders, picking on weaker parties to gather resources.”

“Or they could be up to something far worse,” Gin added. “No point in denying that’s a possibility. I doubt the Order would be so up in arms about simple raiders.”

“Nothing they said implies the Order’s on war footing,” Vel said.

“Do you think they just form partnerships with anyone?” Gin shot back. “Granted, I haven’t heard them working with groups with direct divine involvement, but a group like them is ‘my way or the highway’ unless something is making them take a detour. Something is up. Hell, our friends next door might even be a reaction to something this unseen group did.”

“Lot of assumptions there,” Tamia said in a contemplative tone. “Maybe we should have asked them how they came to be connected to this group and the Order before we stepped away.”

“It would look bad if we popped back in, asked that, then left again,” Lara pointed out, tapping on her tablet.

“And asking before would tip our hand a bit,” Gin stated. “If they don’t know what we’re thinking, they can’t form a plan for it.”

“Mercenary as ever, Gin,” Vel dryly remarked.

“We’re up against things the clan hasn’t dealt with for generations,” Gin hotly fired back. “Look, these guys seem like upstanding folks, I’m not saying they're trying to fool us. But to give them any unneeded advantage right now would be a dumb move. We don’t know if they have any ulterior motives, even benign ones.”

For once, Vel couldn’t fault Gin’s more cynical view of things. These were unprecedented goings on. Even when their ancestors arrived on Earth, they hadn’t faced anything with such heavy implications, as far as he knew. They had been rather lucky, according to the tales of that time, but there was no wisdom to be found there for this.

‘Wait,’ Vel thought as he picked up on something from the clan’s storied past, one that had been brought up to him regularly by Tok. ‘That could do something.’

“I think,” he began to speak even as he worked over the idea in his head, “we should discuss things factoring out the divine and darker forces at play. Is what they’ve shown us worth investing in?”

“A large untapped and likely unknown pool of resources? Why, no, hardly worth anything,” Gin dryly remarked. “Even with a deal heavily favoring them and only common resources dug up, we’d still make a killing. The question is do we want to get involved with all the extra stuff tacked on? Lita, your thoughts?”

“M-me?” the cat-eared girl asked, surprised. “I, um, t-this isn’t what I’m used to doing, Ms. Gin.”

“It’s good to have a more neutral and unbiased opinion on things sometimes,” Gin explained in a measured tone. “Sometimes we can get too caught up in the weeds over the tiniest details.”

Vel fought to keep his eyes from rolling. Gin’s idea wasn’t a bad one. Misgivings aside, Lita was the one among them that had the most dealings with the rank and file employees and most likely had the general pulse of how they’d feel about things.

“W-well, I’m not sure the diggers would be all that happy to lose out on whatever we might find,” she said hesitantly. “T-there have been some grumblings about not having any big jobs recently.”

“I can imagine the diggers being bored,” Gin remarked. “If they hear about us skipping on this, they might start to look for work on their own.”

“And if these guild killers are still operating in the area, them going solo could invite their deaths,” Tamia added. “Even if they choose to seek work on their own, they are still of the clan. We can’t take the steps that could directly lead to their demise.”

“Certainly not,” Vel attested. “The clan will not abide a scenario that knowingly puts her people in danger.”

“Getting cozy with the Order isn’t exactly what I’d call steering away from danger,” Gin refuted. “And I’m not sure how well a deal with them will be taken by everyone. We’ve done well enough avoiding engagements with the movers and shakers of the Abyss. Might mean we’ve missed out on some deals, but we haven’t been cut out of others.”

“But for how much longer can we keep that up?” Vel posed. “Let’s not pretend the world’s the same as it was when our ancestors arrived. The Abyss is larger and I think we’re coming up to a swell of change. We may not have the choice to remain on the sidelines of larger events.”

“You’re making this sound more important than a job offer,” Gin said, a frown on her face.

“We’re dealing with a Kingdom ruled by, or at least defended by, a goddess and there’s some people going around taking out small time groups. I think it’s more important than a job,” Vel dryly remarked. “We’re looking at both a large potential windfall and a massive shift in our prestige. And the downside of increased eyes on us.”

“So what do you propose we do? Tell them we need to send this matter up the flagpole and send them off with ‘we’ll call you later’?” Tamia asked. “I’m not sure that would go over well.”

Vel nodded. “That’s my worry. And it’s more than us missing out on a lucrative deal. We could find ourselves without allies when the world heats up.”

“D-do you really think that’s where things are going?” Lita asked nervously.

“I think you’re being too dramatic, Vel,” Gin sighed. “But I can’t deny that you might have a point. Lara, do you have the quarterlies on standby?”

“Coming right up,” the halfling said, fingers tapping her screen. “Got ‘em. What’re you looking for?”

“Gross clan income, followed by expenses,” Gin replied. “For the last five quarters, I think would give us a good read.”

“What are you trying to figure out?” Vel asked, his eyes narrowed as he thought about what she was looking for.”

Gin smirked. “Can’t work it out on your own? Maybe age has caught up with you.”

“I don’t have the patience to deal with your teasing right now,” Vel said in a flat voice. “Lara, just read the data.”

“Right, boss,” Lara chirped. What followed was a quick recitation of their income and expenses. When laid out in sequence, it began to paint a dim picture. The first three sets were fine, showing a consistent outflow of funds but a greater, and slowly increasing, inflow to offset the expenses. But that changed for the last two reports. Two quarters ago, their numbers showed a decline in both reports, with notations as to why.

Two of their clients had not contacted them during the last half, meaning they did not receive any of the resources they usually did from them, but they hadn’t had to pay for them, leading to an odd balancing act where things hadn’t changed much. It was an acceptable turn of events at the time. Things in the Abyss were never simple, groups could and did drop off the radar for a time before popping back up.

But those two groups had never been out of contact for as long as they were now, and the last quarterly showed another of their usual clients had gone quiet too. Still not quite pushing them into the red, but the trend was becoming clear.

“Seems we’ve been sitting on our laurels while things were peaceful,” Vel said in a grim voice.

“How did we miss this?” Lara asked as her eyes racked over the reports again.

“Small things that only add up once looked at as a whole,” Gin answered with a sigh. “If we didn’t do this little review, we likely would have noticed when we did a year over year report. And that’s if things didn’t go downhill fast before that point.”

“S-so, those people are, um, dead?” Lita asked hesitantly, her hands clutched close to her chest.

“Most likely, yes,” Vel solemnly replied. “Or at least, reduced in number to the point of survivors going underground to escape meeting the same fate as their fellows. Means the same either way for us at the moment.”

“So, to recap, we have a potentially lucrative deal on the table from a new player in the area, with the downside being them being in the crosshairs of a guild killing group and teamed up with the Order for increased protection,” Gin summed up, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t think something this big is a thing we can decide on our own.”

Vel nodded. “Agreeded. But that doesn’t mean we have to send Renoux Solutions on their way emptyhanded. Might make them consider other options.”

“But, if we can’t offer them a deal, then how do we do that?” LIta asked.

“Yes, Vel, I’m quite curious how you plan to keep them on our side without a locked deal,” Gin said with a curious stare.

“Simple, we tell them we want to make a deal with them, but have some concerns with the situation,” Vel explained. “And that we want some reassurances that our involvement won’t lead to us getting caught in the crossfire without support.”

“A tall order,” Gin remarked. “How are you going to sell it to them?”

Vel grinned. “I know you aren’t too keen on maintaining the old traditions, but I think there’s an answer in them.”

“Wait, are you talking about Tok’s trial?” Lara pipped up.

“Aye,” Vel nodded. “In case you’ve forgotten, Gin, there used to be a little tradition when someone came of age. A trial of skill to show they’re ready to support the clan.”

“I know the old ways, I just don’t think they should be the end all and be all for how we operate,” Gin protested. “What I don’t see is how your son’s desire to show off his fighting skills will help us here.”

“There’s a little bit you’re forgetting. In the past, such things were also used to test the mettle of potential allies,” Vel stated. “I’m proposing we approach them with the offer to join Tok’s trial to show they’re able and willing to stand against these threats. Them accepting and giving a good show should keep any worries down.”

Gin stared at Vel for a moment before she burst out laughing. “That’s a great idea. I didn’t think you had it in you, Vel. This idea’s down right perfect. Still has the issue of getting the Order to accept.”

“We can see how dedicated Renoux Solutions are to this deal by putting the onus on them to bring the Order to the table,” Vel said. “And that will put the ball in the Order’s court. If they aren’t willing to meet us halfway, how can we be sure they’d come to our aid if the need arose.”

“Smart play.” Gin nodded. “It’s probably the best move we can make at the moment. Gives us time to approach the rest of the clan with this whole mess and gives them the time to tell the Order our ‘request’ for a meeting with them.”

“Then if we’re all in agreement, let’s not keep our guests waiting any longer,” Vel said with a dry chuckle as he moved to unlock the door.