novelraw Chapter 149 - 148 - Midnight's Call
Chapter 149 - 148 - Midnight's Call
"A demonic elixir, you say?" An ornate gold railing was being used as a leaning support for a man in dark blue robes. There was a small group of older and middle aged men lounging on crimson couches around a dark wooden table.
Fluted glasses held wines and ales depending on the person but these men always maintained their control around Midnight. The man himself had a much stronger liqueur that was a pleasant golden color with a floral scent subtly coming off of it.
He enjoyed the burn in his throat but the drink would destroy anyone below the Diamond Tier. It was worth 5 Sky Stones a bottle but Midnight never stinted on his own enjoyment. He looked down to the lower floor and saw many up and coming young men and women enjoying themselves with his best items.
Some were actual items like food and drink, but his more reliable items were the nubile women with barely any covering who were serving food or themselves depending on the customer. There were also bare chested strapping young men doing the same. Their partners varied and some had more than one or vice versa.
Midnight noted a few there were high placing competitors in grade 3 from last month. He also saw a few older men and women he had been cultivating favors with and smiled. Some of the masterpieces or their makers would owe Midnight some compensation in the future.
Lind Frey, however, had yet to grace Valery Hall. It was assumed that 2 nights were off limits. The parade 2 days from now would be the totality of everyone's attention, even Midnight would be there, but the first night had been Starfire House. Midnight had to accept those 2 nights were lost to him.
He had heard that Master Frey disappeared the 2nd night to somewhere no one could follow or heard about. Midnight suspected the Immortal master all knew was there and left alone if they valued their health. He let that night go as well. The 3rd night had an unexpected bonus despite no appearance once more.
"How certain is your source?" Midnight turned from the debauchery of the lower floor and looked at the array of powerful merchants seated up here with him. They were some of the richest or most influential people in Cimmeria, thus they often heard things even information brokers missed.
"I can't reveal who it is but I trust them with my most sensitive information without worry, sir." The graying middle aged man with wine sat with maroon robes lined in dark golden highlights to Midnight's right. He was known to have holdings in the Demon Empire where few humans were known to succeed so his word was not taken lightly.
Midnight nodded as he sipped at his liqueur. It was stunning news but without proof, it was only a card to play when he saw the chance. It increased his desire to bring Lind Frey under his influence but the competition was well entrenched.
Heavenly Maidens were the fantasy of many cultivators but no sane person would even speak of threatening them as the price would be extinction. Their power was not theoretical, it was a hard fact.
It was well known that Lind Frey was close to an Outer Sect Elder, one of the well known healers, and an aether child disciple. The latter was a rare combination of light and water. He rejoined the meeting but only let the words wash over him.
The sounds of the lower floor mingled but Midnight was ruminating. He could not let such a promising elixir master slip away from him. Alchemists were arrogant and had several powerful guilds as well as the Stardust Emporium itself standing behind them. Organizations laid claim to their professions or in the case of refiners, their mental state was paramount.
Now there was Lind Frey for elixirs and a mysterious Forger that had appeared for the auction this time around. Midnight had pulled a lot of wealth to try and pry the identity of the Forger, yet there was nothing. He knew the Immortal was the teacher but no one knew anything else.
Lind Frey also made the 6 elemental core recently being made at Myriad Treasures. Midnight had one of the puzzle shield artifacts. It was very convenient and well made arrays with inscriptions to make a stable shield out of whatever element a cultivator had.
"Sir, a message has arrived." A serving girl appeared. Unlike the women below who hand next to no clothing, this one was dressed very conservatively. Her right breast had a moon at the top of the circle to represent his personal aid.
"Thank you." Midnight took the jade slip and sunk his senses into it. He froze momentarily but then smiled. His prey was coming to him, so he could not pressure via resources later. Someone was advising Lind Frey well.
"I need a guest to be removed before sunset." Midnight's words made the men around him freeze. "There is a blonde young man down below by the name of Grold. Please issue him a suite but on the condition he does not step foot outside it until dawn. I will give him any woman he wants."
The servant bowed showing her well endowed figure off despite the robes fully covering her. Midnight looked her over and frowned.
"You are not included. If he has a problem with that, bring him to me." Midnight then turned back and smiled at the men around him. "Lind Frey is coming this evening. It is only mid-morning so we need to plan. Anyone with ties to the Demon Empire and Kingdom of Altair need to be silent."
Understanding flooded them. Midnight was bringing Lind Frey under his influence and would not allow any issue to sour the mood. It was a wise move but several frowned as they had ties to the Demon Empire.
"Do not worry, I will divvy up benefits as I see fit later." A wince made the rounds as Midnight's benefits could be very expensive, but they could not argue with his results. Comparatively speaking, Midnight was the most powerful man in Cimmeria.
The liqueur was very tasty to Midnight as he began to plan. The real issue was who would be coming with Lind Frey as if he brought his own women, that was a statement even Midnight would find hard to overcome. He would gladly sell souls to have Heavenly Maidens like that, but if he came without them, he was wondering who would be best.
Lind Frey had no prejudice but it was known he had a dim view of slavery. Even so, Midnight was not like the fools of the Saint Kingdom. A product was only useful if it chose to be loyal, thus he was confident he could ensnare his prize tonight.
"Come to me, boy, and I will show you a whole new world." Midnight's smile made all the men shiver at the table. There was little that was more frightening than when Midnight smiled like a bird of prey.
⬧⬧⬧⬧
Lind was barely feeling normal. He was also trying with great difficulty to not sweat to death as he walked down the streets of Cimmeria. He had to reach a transfer station to the floating structure of Valery Hall.
Normally, it would not be a problem, even with his reveal at the arena, as the competition was in party mode so he was hardly noticed. The woman at his side, on the other hand, was like a sun appearing at night.
The green and crimson skin color was well matched by a natural print dress robe that had a deep v-neck. Lind swore it had to be breaking some kind of law of physics but he had enough survival instincts to keep his vision straight ahead most of the time.
His cheeks were crimson as his right rim was currently between the peaks nearly exposed to all. Many men stared daggers at him while women seemed to be jealous it was not them at his side! What Hell was this?!
Mythra had gone all out as her hair was tightly coiled into a bun with 2 wooden sticks stuck through it. It exposed her neck which made her more enticing than normal. The hair sticks were ornate artifacts which were clearly gifts from her new family. The dress also had the Starfire emblem on the back tastefully laid out in colors of green and red that complimented her skin tone.
Her makeup was subtly done but enhanced her lips and cheeks to make her look far more beautiful than she had ever been before. There was also a floral scent that was very pleasing to LInd and he suspected Shoti had snagged that little detail as she had pulled Mythra aside before the left.
"You look very handsome, Lind." A voice whispered in his ear as her breath made his nick tickle. His instinct to pull away was useless as she was much stronger than him. Also, it was his bloody idea!
"T-thank you, Lady Mythra." Her face pouted and Lind felt his blood drain from his face as she was too powerful this close to him! "I-I mean Mythra."
It was part of the agreement that they would call each other by name tonight. Mythra was clearly having a blast. He had already complimented her in front of the others but Qing had been speechless and Annabelle had gushed about Mythra's outfit. Shoti had taken tips, apparently.
Lind prayed to any God listening, none of them mimicked the dress at least as his heart could not take it!
"Lind, how did you know who I liked?" The crowds his their voices but Mythra still lowered her voice. He was still nervous but he contemplated how to answer.
"You reminded me of an old friend. He loved teasing a female friend of mine but never pushed it. The reaction was what he wanted but it was because he was nervous. He did not know how to be so forward with who he wanted." Lind smiled as he recalled his college days on Earth. Parties never really stopped so long as liquor flowed and it was the last time he really felt free before his death.
Mythra seemed curious but did not push. She simply looked at him but they had arrived at last to the transfer point.
As part of regulating the flow between the ground and the floating structures, only certain points in the city could be used to fly up. Transfer arrays were available for some, but not all. Valery Hall insisted on flying artifacts.
The service was not cheap but Lind had plenty of wealth for it. They were about to get in line when some saw the symbol on Mythra's dress and parted for her. She bowed and tossed a few storage pouches. Lind arched an eyebrow at her but she said nothing.
The guard was about to sneer when he too saw the symbol and saluted smartly.
"Destination, My Lady!" Mythra smiled and then looked at Lind. He sighed and put forth the invitation he had received after sending his message. It was discreet and no one would know, save the guard. The guard blinked at the destination and the name on it. He now bowed to Lind as well but said nothing.
Murmuring rose in the crowd, but a new carriage style artifact was pulled up. It glowed with Sky Realm level Qi but Lind let Mythra up first and then followed. He was about to close the door when he thought of something and tossed a storage bag to the guard after putting some World Stones inside it. The guard smiled wide and bowed low once more.
"You are learning, Lind." He smirked slightly as they lifted off and began to ascend. "It is easy to bully with your power but building a good reputation is hard." Lind nodded and understood that the people inconvenienced were likely to be less resentful with the resources shared. The guard being discreet would be strengthened by Lind giving the same resources.
"You want to be closer to your chosen person but you worry about how they will respond because they are the same sex as you." Mythra's shocked face was worth seeing as she usually had him on the ropes. "Also, you respect her a lot. I can't say anything that is of help except, I will always be your friend."
Mythra seemed to take some time to think that over. Lind knew who they were talking about but it was not his place to say anything. He could be wrong too, but it was far too similar to his old friend Sam back in college.
Sam was everyone's friend. Handsome as all hell and women loved him but he never took advantage of it. His personality made guys love him too as he was the best friend one could ask for. Lind frowned as he recalled what happened.
Sam had confessed to Craig but Craig had publicly ruined Sam due to being disgusted. A person could not help who they loved but Sam had been destroyed. Lind recalled many nights spent keeping a watch when it got nasty. None of the girls left him either but a lot of the guys stopped hanging out with him. It had made LInd so mad.
Years later, Sam was happily married but Craig had been dragged through the news due to cheating on his wife with young men half his age. Sam was a stand up guy as he was sad how that turned out while Lind could not deny a little enjoyment at Craig's suffering.
He hoped Mythra would have a better path. The cultivation world was much more open thankfully in that regard.
"You are as good a man as I hoped, Lind." Wet eyes were on her face but she did not allow them to fall. Her makeup would be ruined. He smiled back and offered his hand. She hopped next to him and pulled his head to her chest! "It is fun to pick on you too!"
Lind sighed but then froze as he saw their destination. Mythra looked over and also was floored. The dark blue spires rose up at each corner of the estate with walls running between them. A massive palace at 4 to 5 stories rose inside the walls with dark blue roof and pale white walls on it.
A massive landing court yard was their current destination, but Valery Hall was gorgeous and not ostentatious. Much like its master, no one would know what was going on inside unless they knew the owner. Midnight was all about subtle. Lind appreciated his taste in design as it reminded him of Chinese buildings from movies he had seen on Earth.
There were many lights glowing in the twilight sky that made the destination enchanting to look at. Lind wished he did not know what was inside awaiting him. It was a battlefield of words and wills. Mythra was one of his weapons and comrades, but he did not want to use her unless he had to. He grasped her hand and she comforted him. Her teasing was put aside as she became serious.
"Let's go dance, Lind!" He smiled at her word choice and nodded as the artifact came in for landing.