I woke up feeling frisky that morning. The previous night brought me closer to getting the answers I was looking for. Elsa suggested we work together in order to bring the underworld down. It wasn't thrilled by the idea, but the baroness had her ways of convincing even the most paranoid of men to join her cause.

She promised to show me something that would convince me to join the fight. Besides, Bodrick was involved with this shady organization. I wasn't going to let his previous transgressions against me go unpunished. If there was one thing I learned in this world, it's that you only get to be really free by intimidating others.

I rolled out of bed and rang the silver bell. A tall man entered immediately afterwards. It was like he was standing next to the door, waiting for the bell to ring at any moment. 'What kind of life do these servants have?' I found myself thinking. 'Do they enjoy standing next to the door all day and night, waiting for a lazy fat n.o.ble to ring a bell?'

"Sir?" the man asked. He wore black trousers, a black tailcoat on top of a neatly pressed white s.h.i.+rt, and a black bowtie. He looked at me expectantly.

"Get me some breakfast, will you?" I said.

"Breakfast will soon be served at the dining hall," the man said. "Would you like to join Lady Elsa there?"

"Do I have to dress for the occasion?" I asked. I couldn't help but wince as I asked it. I hated wearing tight clothes that snuffed air out of my lungs and crushed my b.a.l.l.s.

The servant chuckled. "No sir," he said then. "Guests have left the house, except for your friends from last night."

Friends? I forgot about Osgar and our two lovely escorts.

"We've taken the liberty of was.h.i.+ng and drying your clothes," the tall servant went on. "Would you like me to help you dress?"

"N-no," I awkwardly answered. "I can put those on by myself just fine." I smiled then dismissed the man.

I put on my studded leather armor and comfortable trousers, buckled my sword then left the room. Another servant led me through winding corridors filled with silk tapestries and strange paintings. We descended some s.h.i.+ny marble stairs to find ourselves in another corridor then in a s.p.a.cious room with gla.s.s doors that gave a beautiful view of the garden outside.

The sun had just risen. Some of the gla.s.s doors had been opened, to let the fresh morning air in. I could hear birds chirping in the distance, and water rippling in a marble fountain outside. Around it, flower beds had been carefully stacked against each other. A mix of wolfsbane, poppies and daisies gave the garden outside a fairy atmosphere.

Elsa sat by a long table in the middle of the room. She was busy reading the morning papers, sipping juice from a large gla.s.s. She was wearing a long, light blue tunic with rich embroidery and long flared sleeves. She had her bare legs crossed; giving her a s.e.xy, yet sophisticated look only she could pull off.

"Did you have a goodnight sleep?" she asked. Her head was still hidden behind the broad newspapers.

"I'm not good at small talk," I said as I took a seat beside her on the table. "Where are we going today?"

The baroness of MilkWeed put her newspapers aside and looked at me. "You haven't learned basic, proper conversation etiquette, have you?" she said, arching an eyebrow.

"I had a teacher once," I said. "He taught me how to talk and eat in the presence of n.o.bility. I just don't like following his instructions."

"He didn't do a good job, apparently," she said, frowning slightly.

"I didn't get to graduate, unfortunately," I said.

I grabbed a carafe from the table and poured me some juice. Elsa snapped her fingers and a young girl, dressed in a black and white dress, put an ivory plate in front of me. There were fried eggs and some sausages in it.

"I a.s.sume you didn't get to the part where you eat with forks," Elsa said, dismissing the girl as she tried to put the rest of the cutlery on the table. I grabbed the girl by the arm and took the silver fork and knife she had wrapped in a white cloth.

"I learned how to act with n.o.bles," I said, cutting the sausages into thin round slices. "I just don't like acting."

"What happened to your teacher?" Elsa asked. "I can at least say he taught you how to eat properly."

"He died," I answered with a mouthful of eggs and sausages.

"Unfortunate," she said. "We're staying here today. I have a guest who should be arriving shortly. I think you'd want to meet her."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Don't ruin the surprise, Mr. Darkstar," Elsa said. Her full lips pursed into a charming smile. "Finish your breakfast and come with me. We have to contact your friend first. I hear he's been looking for you in town. You wouldn't want him to attract the attention of the wrong people."

"Osgar?" I asked.

"No," Elsa replied. "The Sebyan, or Child of the Forest, whichever you prefer using. His name is Nag, is it?"

I choked on the eggs I was heartily devouring. How the h.e.l.l did she know all of this?

"I have my contacts within the city guard," she said, as though she read my mind. "They told me a strange talking creature has been looking for you."

"Leave him out of this," I growled at her.

"I did," Elsa said. "He was just too worried about you. He even ventured inside the city to look for you. He's a good friend."

Before I could say anything, the old man who interrupted our fight last night entered the room. "My lady," he said then bowed. "Your guest has arrived."

Elsa beamed then got up. "I'll change quickly," she told me before leaving the dining hall. "Once you're done, I'll have my men escort you to the library."

She walked out of the room while Osgar got in. He bowed, quite ceremoniously, and gave way for the mistress of the house to leave. I noticed his eyes were glued on her legs. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d kept his head low in order to conceal his goggling, but I didn't miss it.

"Good morning," he said as he joined me at the table. I had never seen him happier. "Did you have a good night?" he asked.

"Tell me about yours," I said. "And quickly, I'll leave as soon as this plate's empty."

He started talking, quickly and excitedly. I just had to get him started. I wasn't in the mood to explain to him what happened last night, nor was I sure I could trust him with the information. He told me about the women he had the pleasure of fornicating with, and I didn't listen.

I quickly finished my breakfast and left. The same man who escorted me to the dining hall showed me the way to the library. When I arrived, I found Elsa and another young woman standing near a window, speaking in hushed whispers. They stopped talking as soon as I got in.

"Mr. Darkstar," Elsa said. "Allow me to introduce Hilda Fischer. She's an exceptional young lady with talents that may even surpa.s.s mine. With her help, and your contribution, I'm positive we can bring the underworld down."

Hilda had long red hair and a round face. Her big green eyes fixed me with evident apprehension. She wore a long emerald tunic and brown leather trousers, concealed under black riding boots. She was a good looking young woman, but nothing compared to the spectacular baroness of MilkWeed.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Darkstar," Hilda said in a sweet, childish voice.

I bowed my head in response. "The pleasure is mine, Lady Fischer," I said.

"I'm no lady," Hilda flatly said.

Elsa chuckled. She looked at me then at the young woman with red hair with mild amus.e.m.e.nt.

"Why don't we have a seat?" she said. "Hilda will help you get in touch with your friend first. You spoke to me through a psionic link yesterday. She can extend its reach. She'll allow you to contact him as long as he's still around Merinsk."

Hilda indeed helped me communicate with Nag and tell him I was fine. All I needed to do was share a psionic link with her, and try to look for Nag's. I quickly summarized last night's events for him then told him I'd be in touch as soon as I was done here. After that, Elsa went to a drawer in the library and pulled a map of the city. Disctricts were color coded, red, green and orange highlighted parts of the city. Each color had a name written on top of it.

"Three families rule the city in the shadows," she said. "The Fischers rule the port area. Kohlers take care of construction works, city planning and drug distribution. While the Konigs do money laundering and manage the fighting pits. If you want to sell any highly valuable object, or protect it, they're the ones you must get in touch with."

"Fischers?" I asked, looking at Hilda.

"My father disowned me for f.u.c.king our stable boy two moons back," she said. "I only use the name to fool people now."

"Apart from these three families," Elsa went on before I could make any corny comment. "There's another, the true leader, the one that hides in the shadows and never shows his face."

"Stalwart?" I tentatively asked.

"Stalwart never hides," Hilda intervened.

"Stalwart appointed him the leader of the underworld some ten moons back," Elsa explained. "n.o.body knows what he looks like or what his name is. Only the heads of each family know what he really looks like. If we want to destroy the underworld without Stalwart coming after our heads, he's the one we need to kill."

"Why should I care about any of this?" I said. "You still haven't convinced me to join your crime fighting team."

"I'm not trying to fight crime here," Elsa snapped at me. "If we take that true leader out, I become the new queen of the underground. These are the rules established by Stalwart. I can appoint whichever family to follow my new rule. I'm not trying to make this city better. I'm only after my own gain."

I let out a long, admiring whistle. "You're as crooked as they come," I said, grinning. "What's in it for me?"

"For starters," Hilda said. "We give you Bodrick. I'll also tell you why he's hiding the helm and what he's planning to do with it."

"And how do you know all that?" I asked, a hint of mockery in my tone.

"Hilda has a gift of power, like you, Mr. Darkstar," Elsa said.

"You're trying to get to Milogac as well?" I asked.

"No," Hilda dryly answered. "I have no interest in joining the war. Someone else will get there in my stead."

"How do you know all that?" I asked. "You speak as though you know exactly what will happen."

"That's because I do," Hilda said. She smiled, quite mischievously, then looked at the door. "A girl with long raven hair will burst into the room right now," she said. "She'll be half naked, with another servant running after her. They'll both be giggling stupidly."

Sure enough, my escort from the previous night burst into the room, half naked and giggling like a child. A servant ran after her and held her by the waist. They didn't seem to notice us in. They spoke in hushed tones and the girl giggled some more.

Elsa cleared her throat, and the servant turned to look at us. My escort finally noticed us then tried her best to cover her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her small hands couldn't cover the ample bosom she had though. The man turned beet red, his manhood stiff against his undergarments. He tried to say something but words failed him.

"Take this somewhere else," Elsa calmly said. The servant yanked the girl's arm toward him and they both ran outside.

"You could have staged this whole thing to get me on board," I said. "I've seen others do worse than this to manipulate me into doing what they want."

"I don't expect you to believe me just yet," Hilda said. "I've stumbled upon this gift of power, but I don't intend to see the Wars through. All I want is to see my father and older brothers pay. Help me do that, and I'll tell you all about the ghost captain. I know he's in Merinsk, and I also know where he's hiding."

"And all I need to do is help you kill some people?" I asked, still sounding sarcastic. My interest spiked upon hearing the ghost captain though.

"We need you to help us locate the mystery man," Elsa said. "I can't act against the underworld unless we know who he is. If word got out that Elsa Vogel is waging war against the underworld, the other branches will intervene."

"As far as I'm concerned, you ladies seem to know much more about this city than I do," I said. "Why seek me out?"

"That's something Hilda can explain better," Elsa said.

"You can control time," Hilda said. "I can sense the future. I see people's fate as invisible threads leading to a bright future, or a grim one. Yours is the one that unsettled me the most. You seem to have p.i.s.sed many people off. Most of which will soon find you, unless I can help you get away from them."

"Bodrick and his jolly friends don't scare me," I said.

"But the Church of Dhobor does," Hilda retorted. "There are five people looking for you at this very moment. I can see your threads slowly merging. In three weeks, they'll be here. They'll find you and kill you. That's where one version of your fate leads anyway."

Utar! I thought the b.a.s.t.a.r.d had died during the siege against Raiya's vessel.

"I see a witch too, and a powerful wizard," Hilda went on. "Why is Theolonius Stalwart chasing after you? No matter how I look at things, there's only one situation where you come out alive."

The mention of all the people who want me dead scared me a little. I was nowhere close to Utar's fighting level, let alone my crazy grandfather. I didn't speak though. My mind raced with all the possible grim turns my life could take. If the church was after me, that meant they knew I was still alive.

"We'd meet the same fate as you," Elsa intervened, her voice soft and soothing. "If we don't work together, this city will be wiped out of the map."

"How are we supposed to fight Stalwart and the Church?" I asked. My voice came out as a squeal I didn't intend.

"Find the mystery man," Hilda said. "Only you can meet him. Find him, and I'll tell you about the ghost captain. Lady Vogel will provide you with the helm, and you can leave the city before the people chasing you reach Merinsk."

"What do you say, Zedd Darkstar?" Elsa asked. "Will you work with us, save your life as well as ours?"