Thugs, Killers, and Gangsters

“Taizei Matsudo.”

Sesus Akida pushed aside a thick cloth flap and ducked into the officer’s tent. Its inside was dimly lit by two standing torches, which were positioned on either side of a desk. On the desk was strewn about a series of maps and documents, held down by empty ink wells. Karal Matsudo, the commanding officer for the domestic field reconnaissance wing of the Seventh-Legion’s First Field Force, sat behind the desk. Though he commanded a wing, Matsudo still held the rank of taizei, likely because of his controversial alliances. Known to the Grass-Spiders as their primary contact in Lookshy, Matsudo had a reputation for forming alliances with a wide array of unsavory characters, and in this case, mortal enemies. Akida, head of All-Seeing Eye operations in the Scavenger Lands, sat down for a most peculiar meeting with the Ranger. The two had already corresponded extensively regarding Akida’s attempt to unite Lookshy and Nexus, but the deal had gone far enough that a face-to-face meeting was in order. Matsudo returned his greeting.

“Sesus Akida… I presume you’re here on the business of brokering alliances?”

Akida nodded as Matsudo set down two dusty glasses. The Ranger poured an ample helping of brown whiskey into each, and then pushed one of them toward Akida. Akida picked it up and took a sip before elaborating, “Naturally. But, as with any well-intentioned global maneuvering, we’ve run into a major obstacle.”

Matsudo nodded as he gulped down a mouthful of whiskey. “Right, the councilmen,” he said.

The Ranger continued, “They’re insisting the alliance isn’t in the best interests of Nexus… That the Seventh-Legion is going to start regulating trade, enforcing laws, setting up garrisons around Nexus. And although that isn’t true, they’re basically claiming this is some scheme engineered to weaken, rather than strengthen both parties, and I’m not convinced they’re wrong.”

Akida smirked and set his glass down on Matsudo’s desk, freeing up both of his hands to gesticulate as he explained.

“You’d be dumb not to suspect me of treachery, so I’m going to be as honest with you as I can about my angle here. I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t already know, but internally, the Realm is in shambles. The only legion with any semblance of national loyalty left is the Seventh one, and they’re not playing for our team anymore. To make a long story short, we got bored. Sure, we lost the Threshold, but that didn’t hit close enough to home to really stir up any trouble.”

Akida picked up his glass to take a larger sip from the whiskey as he elaborated, “We’ve been pissing around assuming that after we’re done settling our own power plays, we can get around to taking back the Threshold whenever we like. The problem is that this line of thinking is going to destroy the Realm wholesale – I’m not even worried about taking the Threshold, I’m talking about the Blessed Isle.”

Matsudo shrugged and replied, “So what? So you need an enemy to unite against, is that the idea?”

Akida nodded as he sat back in his chair, still hanging on to his whiskey glass.

“Precisely.”

Matsudo, too, leaned back and questioned, “Then what exactly is in this for us? We don’t need Nexus to get stronger – make no mistake, we’re bringing them up to our level, not the other way around. We’re just fine without them. If anything, they’re baggage.”

Akida knew that Matsudo was right, if a bit cocky. He tried to defend his position a bit more.

“Let me put it this way, then. Your region is not much better off than the Realm. Your problems are different, but they aren’t much easier to solve. It’s been almost a decade since the Mask of Winters took Nexus – how do you think it will be before he moves on Marukan? On top of that threat, which has always been around, you’ve got a few new problems. One is the Broken Winged Crane – it went missing a few years ago and I’ve got good reason to believe it either was or still in the Scavenger Lands. So we have likely have the forces of Malfeas in play. Not to mention the Eye of Autochthon – I think it’s here too, or at least a way to find it. You think the Scavenger Lands can survive that firedust keg intact without a little unity?”

It was clear to Akida that he had Matsudo’s attention, so he continued. Naturally, Akida was stretching the truth a bit, but one doesn’t rise to leadership in a clandestine organization without considerable talent for deception and manipulation.

“Let me run another scenario by you. The Mask of Winters attacks Marukan, and Lookshy is next. With Marukan down, the guild controls literally every trade route in the Confederation that isn’t within two miles of Lookshy – and you’re going to need those trade routes when you find yourselves deploying the whole Legion to defend against Thorns. And let me tell you, Thorns has considerable influence in Nexus – we may be persuasive in our own ways, but the Deathknights put us to shame. Their words can melt men’s minds and reshape them like putty. So to curry any favor from Nexus during this war, you go deep into debt. Granted, I’d probably take the Seventh-Legion over the Mask of Winters, but just barely. You fend off the threat, but you’re broke and decimated. Then, the Realm has an opportunity – and it will unite for this opportunity, trust me – and in we come. And you’re powerless to stop us.”

Matsudo smiled and replied, “I think you’re making a lot of suppositions about the future.” Still, Akida was right about the fact although the Seventh-Legion could beat the Realm or the Mask of Winters, it certainly couldn’t handle both.

Akida ignored Matsudo’s skepticism and continued, “Instead, imagine Lookshy and Nexus united. With all that firepower – and money – you could easily stop, or even deter the Mask of Winters from attacking at all, and then, even though the Realm unites against an outside force it has to take seriously, you’re much more prepared to defend against it. Really,” and Akida couldn’t help but stopping to smirk, “we’re giving you a fighting chance. The Eye of Autochthon is the perfect incentive to entice both sides into talking – the Guild has shown signs of wanting it before, and at the same time, nobody knows better than Lookshy the value of First Age technology.”

Matsudo finished off his whiskey, wiping the remains off of his cracked lips before leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table.

“I’m still not entirely convinced. Instead of guaranteeing a united Realm and a war, why not take my chances with the future? How do we know the Anathema won’t tear each other apart before Lookshy comes under any threat?”

Akida leaned forward, matching Matsudo’s posture and letting his voice take on a more sinister tone, “Because that future guarantees total destruction. Also, don’t forget, Taizei, that I’m equally happy working to facilitate the other scenario I described earlier. I have contacts in Nexus and Thorns as well – if you’re not willing to cooperate, I could be having this conversation with the ambassador from Thorns and encouraging him to start those wheels turning. The Realm is coming either way. I just prefer the scenario where more of our species – the Dragon-Bloods – is able to stay alive. That’s why I came to you first.”

Matsudo sighed; he was slowly becoming convinced that this was the best option – recalling that the Empress showed no signs of returning, he even wondered if an alliance in the future would be possible. Even though that was likely an optimistic thought, he still preferred maximizing Lookshy’s allies in the time of tumult – that had always been his policy, and it was exactly why he had his reputation for unsavory companionship.

“Fine,” said Matsudo, “I’m on board. Our initial attempts at diplomacy suggest that three councilors from Nexus are unwilling to budge on this… I don’t know if they can be convinced. They certainly can’t be bribed – what could we offer them?”

Akida shrugged and replied, “What about something from that stash your Rangers maintain? There’s got to be artifacts down there that no amount of money can buy.”

Matsudo smirked and said, “You know I can’t do that.”

Akida shrugged again.

“Fine. So we kill them.”

Matsudo, no stranger to brutal tactics, was unphased by the suggestion, though he was concerned about the implementation.

“Obviously there’s no way Lookshy can be found anywhere near this if we’re hoping to forge an alliance. Can your people do it?” he asked.

Akida shook his head. “I’m afraid not. We don’t have anyone in the region with enough contacts in Nexus to pull something like that off cleanly. Or, alternatively, someone good enough to do it without contacts.”

Matsudo thought for a moment, testing the waters on his next idea. “Well… We could go external,” he said.

Akida was silent, listening. Matsudo continued voicing his idea.

“What about the Grass-Spiders? They don’t ask questions, and they’ll get the job done without any ties to either of us. Normally exorbitantly expensive, but one of them owes me a favor…”

Opal had promised Matsudo a favor after mistakenly assaulting him following Naru's kidnapping.

Akida smirked; he’d worked with the Grass-Spiders before on some minor occasions. He found the organization thoroughly unpalatable – Akida believed strictly in purposeful espionage; he was a patriot at heart – but he had to acknowledge their skill.

“The Grass-Spiders… Not really my types; lacking in ambition, unclear loyalties… A bunch of thugs, killers, and gangsters, really.”

Akida let the silence hang for a moment as he finished his whiskey. Then he continued.

“They’re perfect.”