Chp.33: Second negotiation (part 1)

"Are you absolutely sure?" Marcus asked to Black Vulture.

The woman nodded. "I had the impression in the previous days, but when that dragon unleashed all his fury, I was sure of it. He didn't talk about his brother, but about his family". She crossed her arms over her chest. "There are other dragons out there"

Marcus rubbed his chin. He had suspected that Haku and Rhaegal might not be alone, but now that after days of torture the latter had finally let slip an important detail, he had absolute certainty. It wasn't just the two of them; a whole family of dragons was in his kingdom, and all that time they had been acting without his noticing a thing. This could be extremely dangerous. "Did you give him the Lethe water?"

Black Vulture nodded again. "He won't remember anything. And then he didn't even seem to have noticed that he had given himself away"

Even though he knew the assassin would never forget to give the dragon the memory-wiping water, Marcus heaved a sigh of relief nonetheless. The last thing he wanted was to face the wrath of an entire family of dragons. But if Rhaegal wouldn't remember anything, that wasn't a problem. Torturing him had been a calculated risk, and it had paid off.

Unlike him, who expected that twist, Thornag and Hara were shocked. Two dragons traveling together and sharing a deep bond to boot was something exceedingly rare… but a whole family of dragons? She had never heard of such a thing! "If that is the case, then the whole realm faces unprecedented danger" Thornag murmured. "How many are there?"

"He didn't say that" Black Vulture answered. "But from the way he talked it didn't seem like just three or four. There are likely to be quite a few"

"On average, a dragon produces fifteen to twenty eggs" Hara said. "Since we haven't encountered any adult dragons, it's clear that the so-called family consists only of brothers and sisters, so it's likely that they all belong to the same litter. But instead of splitting up like dragons usually do, they somehow stayed united. I wonder if they all survived or lost a few along the way... but either way, there's sure to be more than ten"

Marcus thought carefully. Indeed, it was unlikely that Haku's family included a mother or a father: certainly if that were the case, half of the Jurao Kingdom would have been destroyed long ago, because nothing would have stopped the fury of an adult dragon come to retrieve his son. And since dragons nested every hundred years but grew to adulthood in just twelve, it was just as unlikely that there would be any older brothers and sisters, because they would have been adult dragons too. The logical conclusion therefore was that the family consisted only of brothers and sisters of the same brood. As for the question of whether they all survived… if Marcus got a good picture of Haku's character, he was sure he wouldn't leave anyone behind. This was only a guess, but the king was quite convinced that there were currently between fifteen and twenty dragons in his kingdom. "We have to move with extreme caution. Not a word with anyone about this, and when Haku comes here, don't let him know that we know"

"Your Majesty, forgive me, I think we cannot afford to linger at present" Thornag said. "If there are indeed numerous dragons out there, then we must eliminate them now, before it's too late. They are now a considerable threat, but when they are fully grown they will be an invincible army. Unless the gods themselves intervene, the entire north of the continent will become their feast. Everything, the Jurao Kingdom, the empires of the east, the alliance nations, the kingdoms of the far west... everything will become nothing but the food supply for those monsters. We must kill them now who are still weak"

"Weak? Do I need to remind you what happened to Carrion?" Marcus told him. "Do you really think you can beat Haku? Do you know his moves? His strategies? Do you even know where he is now? No! He already defeated and humiliated one of my best warriors and we still don't know how he did it. defeated by the people accompanying him... who perhaps, now that I think about it, could be his sisters, since they know a way to transfer into other bodies. Making rash moves will get us nowhere. For now, the thing better is to try to maintain peaceful relations with Haku and gather information silently. If we rush headlong into the enemy, we will lose more than we could win"

If Marcus had only made that discovery a few months, he wouldn't have hesitated to use any means to exterminate that family of dragons. Letting them loose was no different than ignoring a burning bush and letting it turn into a fire. But now, the situation was very different. Haku had proven that he didn't fear legendary levels, and the only reason he didn't kill Hara and Thornag was probably because he feared what might happen to his brother. Marcus had no way of verifying this, but he was sure it was, his own instincts told him so. Therefore, he couldn't afford any inaccurately calculated moves: handling Haku, from now on, would be like walking on a path full of sharp points. "For tonight, let's limit ourselves to concluding the negotiation. At least this will give us a bit of an advantage. Tomorrow, we'll reflect on the matter"

It was clear from the tone of his voice that he didn't want to hear complaints, so Thornag, Hara, and Black Vulture said nothing. Marcus was about to order Black Vulture to return to watch Rhaegal, but suddenly the sound of footsteps dissuaded him. Inside the tower entered the same man who had entered three days before, and that Marcus knew was the avatar of Haku. "You're early" he told him.

"You're the one who got the wrong time. I arrived at the right time, exactly to the second" Haku replied. Marcus thanked the heaven that using the avatar the dragon's senses were limited, because otherwise he could have heard what he had just said.

Suddenly Thornag put his mouth to the king's ear: "Your Majesty, something is wrong" he whispered. "The dragon's disguise has improved. Three days ago if I concentrated I could see ripples in the illusion... but now I can't see anything. There is no longer any difference between that avatar and the rest of the world"

"And I don't feel any interference in his life energy" Black Vulture also whispered. "He emits energy just as if his body were alive"

Of course, the upgrades in Haku's disguise that were so confusing to the other people in the room were the enhanced invisibility rune and a foreign mana core implanted in place of the heart along with a functioning circulatory system to simulate life energy. Haku couldn't hear what they were saying, but their behavior was enough to let him know that he had won: no one could now see through his disguise anymore. He had finally found something that could fool even the legendary tiers. "Stop whispering and let's get to the point. I want my brother, and I want him tonight. I'll agree to deal with you, but I won't wait another day to get him back"

Marcus nodded. "Yes, I too am tired of this situation". After all, he had already achieved what he wanted to find out. "So, do you accept my terms?"

"Not really. But I'll offer you some valid alternatives" Haku answered, then he loudly said: "I swear what I'm about to say is absolutely true. This is a promise"

A promise from a dragon couldn't be broken, so Marcus had no doubts that what Haku said would be true… even if there were likely loopholes in that promise. "Speak, I'm listening"

"It's about your first condition. I can't deliver 'The spider' to you, because I'm not directing it" Haku explained. "It's someone else who does it, always has been. I've always only asked her for favors. Therefore, it's not in my power to give you 'The spider'... but I can give you that person. Here's my alternative: I will reveal to you, under the promise that I won't lie of course, the name of that person, and then you can handle the situation yourself"

Marcus narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew Haku couldn't lie, not under oath, but still those words surprised him. So to govern 'The spider' was another, and Haku had never given orders to anyone? And who could it be? Either way, knowing that person's name might be a good alternative…but Marcus suspected there was something going on. "I understand. What about the other two conditions? I doubt that they too are the responsibility of another person"

"No, indeed, but I have no intention of fulfilling them. But as I told you, I will provide you with valid alternatives" Haku answered. "To begin with, I can't give you the runes... but I can give you something infinitely more precious, something that is of little value to me at the moment, but which could raise the prestige of your kingdom to unprecedented heights and bring you fame and glory"

Marcus rubbed his chin. He wasn't too surprised that Haku wanted to trade something that was of little value to him, but to the rest of the world would be invaluable. After all, the parameters of a thing's value varied according to the person who owned it. To a dragon, what was valuable was what could provide him with food and safety; on the contrary, if someone had built them a statue of precious marble, even if it was the dream of any king and emperor, it would have no value to a dragon. In fact, the dragon would probably forget about it after five minutes and step on it by mistake. "What do you want to give me?"

Haku's eyes lit up with a strange light. "Tell me, Your Majesty, have you ever imagined a way to combine magic and mathematics? To have a formula that would allow you to calculate the magical power of each spell?"

Marcus was dumbfounded for a moment, since he didn't understand much about magic, but Hara exclaimed: "You're kidding!"

The king looked at her. He remembered having seen the mage so agitated a few times. "Is it so important?"

Hara tried to compose herself. "Your Majesty, if this formula the dragon talks about actually calculates magic, then it could be one of the greatest discoveries in the history of magic! Mages all over the world would fight for it, and I know more than one nation that would even go to war to obtain it! Such a formula would revolutionize our magical knowledge, guaranteeing a rapid and lasting improvement!"

Marcus fully understood the potential of that offer; he wasn't an expert in magic, but if indeed the formula that Haku could provide him was so coveted and could guarantee so much improvement, then the Jurao Kingdom would have gained enormous fame if it possessed it.

"This formula allows you to calculate magic perfectly. Unfortunately, however, it doesn't allow you to discover new spells" Haku continued. "Therefore, it is completely useless to me. I have already memorized it for some time and can apply it without problems to all the spells, potions and runes I know, but I have no reason to keep it secret. It was an exciting discovery when it starts, but now it doesn't help me much. You, on the other hand, could put it to good use"

Marcus rubbed his chin. "Did you invent it?"

Haku assumed a frown. He wanted to lie, but he knew that wasn't what Maldor wanted. Besides, he couldn't have done it even if he wanted to because of his promise. "No. But don't worry, I'll bring you the person who invented it, and leave them in your care"

Marcus decided that prospect wasn't all bad. The hypothesis of granting total prestige to the Jurao Kingdom was tempting. He could clearly imagine the benefits this would bring. "And the last condition?"

"I have an alternative for that too. I won't tell you anything about our battle... but in exchange, I'll reveal Carrion's secret" Haku answered. "A secret that only he knows and that he has jealously guarded all this time, and that could allow you to control him forever, avoiding other unpleasant situations like the one that happened recently"

Marcus was somewhat surprised by his words. "A secret that even I don't know about? Does it seem very difficult to me?"

"Oh, believe me, Your Majesty, you don't know it. And when I tell you, you'll understand why" Haku said. "So? Do we have a deal?"

The king thought about it. At the moment, the best choice would have been to deprive the dragons of most of their advantages, namely 'The spider', the runes and their strategic abilities. Given that in the future it was expected that he would have to be very wary of that family of dangerous predators, it would have been wise to at least try to take away some of their abilities. However, if 'The spider' really didn't belong to Haku, then he would have to settle for knowing the name of the real person Haku trusted. And as for the runes and the strategic skills… Haku had provided alternatives too loose to be able to refuse them out of hand without making him suspicious. After all, what ruler would give up prestige and the ability to control one of his most unruly subjects? And given the situation, Marcus couldn't possibly make the dragon suspicious. Trying to persist using his current position of power could have done more harm than good. "Okay" he finally said. "As long as your alternatives are as satisfactory as you claim, I will give you your brother back"

"Very well" Haku replied triumphantly. "I'm going to get the person who invented that formula right away. You bring my brother here in the meantime. I'll be back in fifteen minutes, and I want to find him here"

And having said that, he walked towards the exit and quickly disappeared into the darkness of the night. Marcus stood motionless for a moment, reflecting on what had just happened, then motioned for the Black Vulture to go get Rhaegal.