Wild Cards

By the time Nyra finished retelling the story for what felt like the thousandth time today, the chamber had gone quiet again. By now, the king had lifted that pressure enough that the five other guests could move around, if at least a little.

He sat comfortably on the stone throne, fingers steepled beneath his chin, expression bright with curiosity, as if weighing variables across a mental board only he could see.

“Hmmm…” The king thought.

That single sound carried more weight than a full speech. His eyes danced with possibility, scanning each of them like puzzle pieces he hadn't known he was missing. “Now this is interesting.”

“Command slows things down, loyalty comes with rules, but you can move like no one told you what either meant.” The king said, now shifting in his seat and putting both feet on the ground again. He leaned over with both elbows in his legs and head held over, staring at the group a little more dignified and curious.

No one could tell what this guy was plotting, but it surely was something scary.

“You said they used abilities,” he said, more to Nyra than anyone else. “That would make two of you Auspex. Which two would that be?"

No one answered immediately. The group exchanged glances, and for a moment the air felt heavier again, this time from uncertainty about telling the one man who is directly tied to the creation of that book. The King didn’t seem offended at the lack of response. He tilted his head, studying them as if the silence itself was an answer.

“I’m not here to catalog you,” he said easily. “If I wanted records, I’d have brought a scribe.”

He let the words hang, then gestured vaguely in Joren’s direction.

“You didn’t kneel right away. I'm betting that you are one of them,” His eyes shifted towards Willow now. “And being that their is only one girl in this group, I'd imagine you were the other one with the blade arm."

Willow had sweat trickle down her face at being this close to such a dangerous person. One wrong more, she thought, would put her on a hitlist for real this time. Eclipse was where targeting typically started, but that only happened if you did something dangerous.

She kept her posture steady, her mouth shut.

"Oh don't be so worried, I'm not as scary as you think. I bet you are thinking that this guy is the one who helps write the registry each year, but I'm not as discriminatory as some of the others. I'd like to think I am the most tolerant and laid back of the bunch, however much that means to you."

“So,” he said, as if picking up a thread already spinning, “two unregistered Auspex, wrapped up in an ambush targeting Continuity records, working alongside my would-be successor.” He gave a thoughtful nod. “It’s either fate or an administrative disaster waiting to happen.”

Nyra exhaled sharply through her nose. “You forgot ‘completely unplanned,’ and ‘inconvenient for literally everyone involved.’”

The King raised an eyebrow, amused. “Ah, but that’s what makes it interesting.”

Nyra stood a little straighter. “I didn’t intend to drag them into this. They helped when they didn’t have to."

"Would you saviors be open to working with me and Nyra a little longer? If there is a storm brewing in our ranks, it would be best to have you on our side." The king said, addressing all of them.

No one spoke at first.

Joren's mind was still processing the idea of being called a savior, let alone working with the government that might have otherwise hunted him. Willow shifted slightly, crossing her arms, while Gus glanced at her, then at Nyra.

Nyra tilted her head, half-smiling. “You ask like they have a choice.”

“Oh, I think they do,” the King replied. “They have every right to say no. It's no small ask to have them work on government espionage within our ranks."

He looked at each of them in turn, eyes calm but clear.

“I’m not offering titles or positions for you, just the chance to help expose something that threatens us all.” He sat up now and clasped his hands loosely behind his head. “Plus, in return, we could arrange something simple: immunity across the nation, so long as you don’t go burning cities down.”

No one had anything to say at that, some didn’t really understand what that even ment.

Joren finally spoke.

“Why?” he asked, the word quiet but steady. “What does that offer even do for us? We are already registered in the book, so it's not like that really helps us any.”

The King turned to him slowly, as if he'd been waiting for that exact question.

“You misunderstand what the offer is, lad. By immunity, I'm simply saying that as long as you are within our borders, no foreign retrieval force can lay hands on you or it will lead to an international incident.”

The King’s voice remained calm, but the weight behind his words settled into the air like stone.

“I can’t erase your names from the book. That ship’s long sailed, and it sails across multiple nations. But what I can do is draw a line around Varenthal and make it clear: if anyone crosses that line to come for you, they’ll answer to me.”

“Most governments—ours included—prefer to play quiet when it comes to any Auspex. No headlines or public trials, just retrieval squads and sealed reports.” He glanced at Nyra. “But if someone tries that here, under this arrangement, it stops being quiet. It becomes political, and none of them want that.”

He turned back to Joren.

“So no, I can't erase what you are. But I can make sure no one touches you while you're here. That’s the offer.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, not in threat, but emphasis.

“It’s not mercy. It’s me giving you options and offering you a nation you can rely on if things get tough."

Joren paused at that offer, considering it, but thought better than to accept so fast. "That's somewhat tempting for me and Willow, but what about Gus and Bart? Why would they risk themselves for such a small offer that only partially effects us?"

The King gave a hum, not dismissive, but thoughtful. “Fair question.”

He turned toward Gus and Bartholomew now, folding his arms loosely as he studied them both.

“You’re not Auspex. Also, I don't believe you two are mentioned as part of the non-Auspex pages, either. The offer helps in some ways, but not to the same extent as these two." He said, pointing at Willow and Joren. "However, I am open to offering a lot more than that. The request I'm asking is no small thing, so a reward must be of equal status to you."

Bart was the first to reply "Can you give us a lifetime supply of cheese?"

There was a pause.

The King blinked. “That’s… doable, actually.”

Bart grinned like a man who had just negotiated a treaty and clearly got the better end of the deal.

Gus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “That’s your price?”

“Some people want gold,” Bart said, with a shrug. “But I, I want readily available cheese for life."

The King gave a soft chuckle like someone genuinely entertained by the absurdity. “Then we’ll make it happen. A stipend will also be given to all of you if you decide to leave the nation afterwards. Access to the Agricultural Vaults, within reason for your cheese needs when you are in the capital."

He looked to Gus now, more serious. “And you?”

Gus scratched his head, running his fingers through his hair, then glanced once at Joren before answering.

“If we make it through this, I’d like a storefront in the capital. Something small is fine, just somewhere my family can expand into. They’ve been working their whole lives out in the territory of Glazebend and it feels like it's time they had a window at the center.”

The King blinked, clearly not expecting that, but he smiled.

“A shop in the capital. That’s your price?”

“Yeah,” Gus said plainly. “It’s so that I can give back to my family for teaching me about the love of creating porcelain art.”

The King gave a short nod, one of quiet approval and genuine respect.

“Done. I’ll see that the paperwork’s ready within a few days.”

The King’s posture relaxed slightly as he looked over the group one final time. “Then it sounds like we have an understanding.”

He turned back toward Nyra, speaking to her now. "I think it would be a good idea if you let them operate on their own. We can't have you wandering around with a bunch of unknowns still in the air. Plus, you have a department to be running."

Nyra was quick to respond. "Of course. I had already come to that conclusion earlier, there would just be too many questions if I go poking around, too."

The King gave a satisfied nod at that. “Good. Then we’re all on the same page.”

He looked at the group one last time, a hint of something thoughtful passing through his expression.

“Why don't you stop by Nyra's department tomorrow morning when things are planned out a bit,” he said. “Until then, lay low, stay smart, and try not to become a headline.”

With that, rose from the throne, posture relaxed, hands folding behind his back.

"Oh, and one more thing. Joren, when it's all said and done, you should show me those powers of yours. There was quite a stir about the ambiguity of what this unknown power is when they were going over your reports. I thought they sounded so cool."

The King’s eyes shimmered with the shape of stars, as if, for just a moment, he was a boy asking to see magic tricks, not the most powerful man in the nation. What a strangely absurd duality he has.