text: Year 35
  
  Talking to two Syndicate representatives isn't exactly what you want to be doing right now, but this day was coming one way or another.
  
  The well-dressed man with a thin mustache is Percy and has been the more talkative of the two. The other by the name of Toz is some sort of greenskin halfbreed also well dressed. Probably of orc heritage since he's much bigger than Warts was. He also doesn't talk much and mainly just stands around looking intimidating.
  
  Unsurprisingly the pair of them have shadow magic powers. However you anticipated that which why you had Grayhaze enchant something that would at least even up the odds. A ring. Not quite an anti-magic field, but something to dull the shadow magic around you.
  
  Probably wouldn't be enough to stop them if they really wanted to kill you, but along with all your more mundane security, it's enough to give them pause if they tried. However if that were the intent, you probably wouldn't be having a conversation at all.
  
  "I have to say, I wasn't quite sure what to expect when the Syndicate sent me here, but I am a little impressed with what your organization has accomplished in such a short amount of time. You certainly have not just carved out this little island for yourself, but much of sea paths on this side of the world. You're practically like your own nation." Percy remarks.
  "Never thought about it that way, but I suppose you might be right. I also suppose I should be wondering if the Delantium Kingdom will be declaring war on me to put an outpost here." You say with a mild chuckle.
  "I believe they have their hands quite full still with Nichan, though I hear you're starting to have more trouble with Hessla nowadays. I imagine you would be major competition for their once near monopoly on business for this part of the world."
  "Hm, I guess you could say relations are strained with Hessla, but we offered them a fair deal. Their Governor is the one that decided to be greedy and reject it. His unwillingness to embrace in a positive manner change is what is causing people to do less business there. He probably fears that I'm going to come there with a fleet and take his city like I did with Jicol, but it's not even the same situation. The Nocturnal League doesn't seek to expand past our reach. This island is more than enough territory for us."
  "They say it's a wise man who knows his limitations. Perhaps by making your home in an old temple once dedicated to Fel has resulted in him providing that wisdom. Ah, tis a shame that the Syndicate only just started sending people this way. Reclaiming a lost temple to his great shadow would have been not just a boon to the Syndicate, but to the glory of Fel."
  
  You always hate how intertwined the Syndicate is with the whole Fel religion. Makes dealing with them always uncertain. Are they interested in profit or are they interested in spreading faith?
  
  "Oh well, the Syndicate's loss for being too slow when opportunity called I suppose. Doesn't happen often, but we hope to correct that by hopefully having a working relationship with your organization." Percy remarks.
  "Well I certainly want an amicable relationship with the Syndicate and as I said, I have no intention on expanding into your territory."
  "Yes, so you've said. However, your island is becoming very popular in terms of the slave trade. It's just one of the big reason why Hessla is so angry with you. The Syndicate has never relied on the slave trade as our main source of income, indeed for whatever reason it's just never been a cornerstone. One of the few things we're just dabblers in. We're trying again however, and while Hessla in the past has always been a stubborn partner in such thing in the past, we're hoping the League's rising status in this part of the world will be more open in such matters."
  "So basically what you're saying is instead of you having to deal with independent slavers all the time, you want to just deal with us."
  'We find that it's always better to deal with a single reliable source rather than all these unwashed disorganized types. We would of course bring our own ship here for pick up. Also we've notice that the drug of choice here on this island is either Green Lotus or that very poor substitute of Blue Dream, Purple Wish. As part of our new arrangement we could provide Blue Dream for you to distribute here. Makes a lot of money, we should know after all."
  
  And here it is, the Syndicate trying to get their foot just enough in the door.
  
  "Yes, I suppose you've given me a lot to think about as far as business is concerned." You say.
  "Oh sure, we understand. We're going to be in Jicol for awhile so we can sort out details then. Honestly, I'd prefer to stay here in Nightfall closer to the temple, but Toz here is a little on the paranoid side and doesn't wish to sleep in the heart of...  let's just say, an unproven ally's home, but I'm sure that will change soon! Besides, Fel's shadow is everywhere after all and his dark blessing is with his faithful always." Percy remarks.
  
  At this point Percy says a few more pleasantries and then remarks about looking forward to the meeting with you in a few days. Toz on the other hand just stares at you with the typical hostile greenskin eyes and follows Percy.
  
  After they leave, several of your people escort them out of the room and anyone else left, seems to relax slightly.
  
  "So that's the average Syndicate member, boss?" Marco asks.
  "Not the average. They wouldn't send their average. They send their more threatening to talk to someone like me. They also sent an extra one, which I guess means I'm really special. Lucky me." You say.
  "So you think we should just kill them?"
  "Ideally that would be the safest move in the short term, but not in the long term and if we are going to war with them, I'd like to be sure that it's necessary. So far they haven't given any indication that they're planning anything other than an aggressive business exchange that would have them visiting here on occasion... which granted could lead to problems in the future. In any case, we'll wait for now."
  
  You tell Marco to keep everyone extra alert while the Syndicate is visiting and then go see Vera who is down in the slave den as usual. Right now she's speaking with one of her overseers.
  
  "What the hell have you been doing with these elves, Halford? They look like shit and nobody wants elven bitches that look like shit, they want them to look like they just came out of the fairy kingdom farting rainbows and sunshine." Vera remarks.
  "Apologies Countess, some of the new recruits thought to take advantage of a few of them last night. They've already been dealt with, even sold the ringleader this morning." Halford replies.
  "Hrm, well release the rest then, and remind them that these slaves are not their personal fuck toys unless they're actually going to be paying for them out of pocket. As for these elves, well have them cleaned as much as you can and hopefully some of the buyers aren't picky about bruises."
  
  Halford nods and complies with Vera's orders and as he's leaving he also nods in respect to you.
  
  "I see you weren't joking about wanting to be called countess." you remark.
  "Well we do run an entire island, seems perfectly reasonable to declare ourselves the rulers of it." Vera says.
  "True, though interesting you've picked a royal title though."
  "Well I don't know about you, but a title like governor or mayor doesn't sound nearly as impressive. Besides if you remember I do have royal blood in my veins."
  "Ah yes. Your father may have been the late Baron Varsakken. Still, even if true, you've given yourself the title of countess rather than baroness."
  "Well unlike the rest of that Varsakken clan, I'm actually in control of an entire island rather than just a city. I think that calls for a higher title status."
  "Heh, well why not queen then?"
  "Too predictable and self-important. I'm still grounded enough to know who and what I am."
  "Well glad to see you're staying grounded. Where is Kol?"
  "He's studying from that book you got him in my office and Layla is watching him."
  
  You shake your head especially since this seems very familiar.
  
  "I know you spoke to me about this before, but I'm not convinced having a slave looking after our son is the best idea."
  "Well you said, you had to meet with those ECS assholes and didn't want Kol around during that. And I couldn't supervise Kol's studies. This isn't like Gertrude, Layla was from some well to do family that Elias' crew apparently slaughtered on a transport ship. From the moment she was brought here she's basically been willing to do anything from getting sold as a fuck hole to some rich pervert or something similar."
  "Sort of surprised Elias didn't use her as a personal fuck hole if he was the one that brought her here."
  "Elias likes dick."
  "Really? Huh, didn't know that. Well anyway, compliant frightened slave girl or not, I'm wary about this."
  "Fine, if you're that concerned they're in the next room, you go speak with them both and get a feel for her. And when I say feel, I don't mean fucking her."
  "What?"
  "Oh relax. I know you aren't really going to fuck her! She's a slave after all not royalty like me. She is very pretty though and the image of fucking her is probably going to pass through your mind. I'll be expecting you to lay it down really good tonight."
  "Uh... okay... "
  "In any case, as I said speak with her yourself and if you still don't think she's a suitable sitter then we can sell her ass. Anyway tell me about your meeting with the ECS afterwards, I'll be free soon. Just have to check on one more slave shipment."
  
  Vera kisses you goodbye and heads off to the next group of cages while you head to her office.
  
  Upon opening the door, you see your son fidgeting in his seat his in front of his spell book. He looks up and over at you before quickly returning to his book. Glad to see he knows that you really want him to focus on his studies.
  
  The girl who you're guessing is Layla doesn't look that old. She looks to be in her late teens and is probably from some far off land given her darker complexion and some of her facial features. She's also still dressed in clothing that doesn't match her current slave status. (At least for most of them around here)
  
  Vera was right though, she is pretty.
  
  "Um, you're the Count right?" Layla utters.
  "Count? Oh. Right, Vera, Countess, whatever. No, unlike my wife, I see no need for formal titles. You're my son's new sitter from what she's told me."
  "Yes, I have been doing my best in seeing to it that Kol here is practicing his... erm, shadow magic."
  "Can I play with my shadow creatures dad?" Kol asks.
  "Has it been three hours yet?"
  "I don't know... "
  "You know that it hasn't. You have to learn other magic, not just the shadow stuff even if you find it easier. Layla, has he been practicing?" you ask, while Kol goes back to his book.
  "Um, yes I think so."
  "You think so? Either he has or hasn't."
  "Erm, I just mean I don't know much about this magic stuff. I've just been making sure he's been reading this book. I did see him create a small ball of light briefly though."
  "Hm, okay. So Layla, do you have any other family? I mean besides the ones that those pirates killed?"
  "Yes, I have an uncle back in Harazan."
  "Where the hell is that?"
  "Far to the south and west."
  "He rich?"
  "I imagine he is now. He's wanted my father's business and fortune for years. With everyone dead, and me stuck here, he's next in line to get everything."
  "I'm guessing he won't be looking for you anytime soon."
  "... no... " Layla says looking downward.
  "So tell me Layla, what is your plan?"
  "My plan?"
  "Yes, I mean surely you're not content on being a slave. Who would be? And I can tell even in your less than perfect condition, you obviously came from wealth. You certainly look more royal than my wife. You're probably at least of noble birth. In any case, you are definitely not cut out to be a slave of any kind."
  "What you say is partly true I suppose. I very much would not like to be a slave, but I fear I have little choice in the matter. I was raised... not sheltered, but very much protected. I don't have many skills that would be of practical use. I suppose its of some blessing that the pirate captain who spared me saw me as fetching a good price rather than to be something passed around by his crew."
  "Hm, Yag certainly threw a seven for you."
  "Your wife probably would have sold me until I noticed how she was struggling with looking after your son while conducting her business. I quickly begged to help her by explaining I looked after my own little brother many times. I'm still not sure how I convinced her, but here we are."
  "Yes, here we are."
  "If you're concerned that I'm plotting to escape, I'm not sure how I could without you knowing and I do not believe I'd make it very far. I fear that this is my life now and can only hope that you and your wife are merciful masters."
  "You're surprisingly resigned and calm about all this."
  "I have already mourned over my family and continue to do so in the night when I cry myself to sleep. However, it is said that Ahamed has a reason for every event. I am hoping that I might see and understand this one and from there gain greater wisdom. My own family owned a few slaves for basic tasks, perhaps I am to learn how they felt."
  "Ahamed?"
  "Yes, he who burns brighter than the sun and shows the way of peace."
  "Oh, a god."
  "The only true god."
  "Yeah, I've heard that one before, just not that particular one. Great. Well at least you aren't a Felian I guess."
  "Did you say Fel?"
  "Felian, followers of Fel, god of shadows."
  "Are you a worshipper of this... god?"
  "No. I just said I was glad that you weren't, why the hell would I be?"
  "Oh, because your son was telling me before you came in that this Fel was speaking with him and... "
  
  Your eyes immediately widen and your whole body tenses up.
  
  "WHAT?!" you exclaim causing Layla to cringe in her chair, but your attention is towards Kol. You immediately start interrogating the boy and her.
  
  After five minutes Kol and Layla are both in tears from your demanding questioning, however you have learned a few things.
  
  Apparently Kol's medallion has been coming off in the middle the night and for the past week Fel has been speaking to Kol. Not to a great extent, but he's definitely been visiting your son and remarking about how great shadow magic is compared to all other forms of magic. He's also been trying to convince Kol of keeping the medallion off as soon as he goes to sleep.
  
  However the most alarming part is Fel asking your son if he would like to go be with Felians as he could see to it that they treat him very well. He even mentions possibly having agents that would come get him.
  
  Now you're wondering if this means Percy and the other one are here to take away your son... or is Fel referring to other agents that he hasn't sent yet?
  
  Kol was apparently afraid to tell you or Vera this since he thought you'd both be angry, but he opened up to Layla since she seemed nice. Meanwhile your mind is racing on how to handle all this.
  > gather more information first
  Again, if you're going to move to make war on the ECS, you're going to be absolutely sure. Also you've now just upset your son and while this is very serious, you might need to employ less aggressive tactics.
  
  "Alright, alright, Kol. I'm not mad. Calm down. In fact, you calm down as well, you're not getting sold anytime soon Layla." You say addressing the both of them.
  
  The pair of the them begin to calm down and cease crying while you're coming up with a risky idea.
  
  "Dad, I'm sorry I didn't tell you or mom. I'll make sure the medallion is around my neck good." Kol says.
  "Actually might be time to get you a ring, however maybe not right away. Tell me more about Fel son. How is he exactly towards you? Does he scare you?" you ask.
  "Um, he's kinda scary. I've never seen him. It's just like... I dunno... a voice. It's loud, but it's like whispery. I don't know if he means to be scary though."
  "What do you mean?"
  "He's not mean to me. He just talks to me. It's just really dark and his voice is creepy and that's scary. He says he wants to be my friend."
  "Hmm, do you talk to him back?"
  "Yes, I asked him if he had a mom and dad, but he just laughed and said a god has no parents. I asked him if he had any friends, and he said he just had followers in places like this temple, but said they weren't nearly as amusing as you and mom."
  "Amusing? Why does Fel find us so amusing?"
  "Um, he said he thinks what you did with the temple is a lot more fun than his other temples because of all those people you put in cages."
  "I see. Glad we could entertain I guess."
  "Fel also says that he wishes he could speak to me more often."
  "And I'll just bet he wants you to go to sleep without the medallion. Tell you what, when you go to sleep tonight don't wear the medallion."
  "Really?"
  "Yes, you have my permission, however, and this is very important. When you talk to Fel tonight, I want you to ask him who is going to take you away so you know what they look like."
  "But dad I don't want to go away! I want to stay here with you and mom! Honest!"
  "Yes, I know son and I won't let anyone take you away. But this is just pretend and I want you to ask Fel anyway okay?"
  "Okay."
  "Kol, I think that's been enough studying for today, you can go play. Don't forget to put away your spell book though."
  
  Kol nods and runs off with his book.
  
  "Hope I know what the hell I'm doing." You mutter to yourself before turning your attention to Layla who is still sitting quietly and wondering what you're going to do next.
  
  "I trust you know to keep your mouth shut about this." You say to Layla.
  "Yes, of course! Who would I even tell? I don't even understand what exactly is going on." Layla remarks.
  "I dunno, you might talk casually with your fellow slaves."
  "I'm not exactly friends with anyone here. Ever since your wife had me looking after your son, she keeps me isolated from the rest of the slaves. If anything they probably dislike me more for having better living conditions. Sir, I swear to Ahmed I will not say anything you say or do if you don't wish it. My situation is very dire compared to my previous life, but I certainly don't want it to get any worse by angering you or your wife."
  "Hm, well see that you continue with that line of thinking. In any case, you can go tell my wife that I want to talk with her and that you'll do as a sitter for Kol when needed. At least until further notice."
  "Very well." Layla remarks obediently and leaves.
  
  You wait for Vera still pondering your decision. When Vera arrives and you explain everything, she of course has her own strong opinions on it.
  
  "What?! After everything you said and did to prevent Fel from contacting Kol, you're now saying it's perfectly fine?" Vera remarks.
  "No! That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying... gah... look it's already happening and unfortunately it's probably going to happen from time to time anyway. Even if I get that enchanted ring for Kol, I can almost guarantee he's going to take it off at some point when we aren't around. Maybe he'll be curious, maybe he'll be pissed and do it to spite us. I'm already envisioning what a problem he's going to potentially be when he gets older what with his magic abilities. I'm just thinking that MAYBE restricting him too much is an exercise in failure. I know it obviously was with my parents." You say.
  "Okay, I get what you mean on that, but this plan of yours still seems pretty dangerous. Not only are we risking war with the ECS, the Felians, but the god itself."
  "Might as well go big. If Kol is going to speak with Fel, we might as well try to use it to our benefit. According to Kol, Fel finds what we've done with the temple to be amusing, so we can't be completely on his bad side. Look, I'm going to speak with Kol again before he goes to bed and really, this isn't going to be a regular thing. If Kol gets the information he needs, then the enchanted medallion or ring when I get it is going right back on the next time he sleeps."
  
  Vera has a bit of apprehension in the eyes, but as usual she tend to side with your decision, which is good since you don't need to be second guessing yourself anymore than you already are in your head.
  
  Later that night when Kol goes to bed, you and Vera both speak with him and say generally positive things to him. You also go on about the plan and to remember that no matter what Fel says, he will never love Kol as much as you and Vera will.
  
  This seems to put the Kol at ease and he goes to sleep fairly quickly. You and Vera however definitely don't that night. The pair of you can't sleep so you both engage in the usual intimate pastime, but after that fails to completely distract you, you both go check on Kol, who is actually sleeping pretty soundly.
  
  The pair of you watch over him for some time, though eventually you start getting a little restless and tell Vera you're going to get some work accomplished. Vera however, insists on staying with Kol.
  
  When morning arrives, you're still awake and you check on Kol, and find that Vera has fallen asleep in a chair next to Kol, who is still sleeping. Your arrival wakes her up though.
  
  "Wha? You're back. How long was I asleep?" Vera asks rubbing her eyes.
  "I dunno, this is the first time I've checked on you both.
  
  You son wakes up hearing both your voices.
  
  "Mom? Dad? What are you both doing in my room?" he asks.
  
  You immediately ask him how did he sleep and about his dreams. Naturally the boy is still groggy, but he soon answers your questions since he thankfully remembers his conversation with Fel who did indeed visit him.
  
  Kol tells you that he asked Fel about being taken away by Fel's agents, to which he asked further questions if he was sure that was what he wanted and why. Kol tells you he didn't really know how to answer other than "I don't know"
  
  You grimace a bit, thinking that this plan of yours probably didn't work, but apparently Fel indulged the boy anyway explaining the benefits of such a thing, oddly he also explained the benefits of staying here too. Then he told Kol that if he was really serious, he should contact a well dressed man with a thin mustache and he will be able to get him off the island before anyone figures it out since he knows what to do already.
  
  The description already sounds like Percy.
  
  "Kol, is that the only agent that Fel described to you? Didn't say anything about an orc?" you ask.
  "No dad. Just the man." Kol says.
  "That's odd. Wouldn't he have sent both of them?" Vera remarks.
  "Have no idea. I can't know the mind of a god. For all we know he could be lying about everything." You say.
  "Should we really start second guessing ourselves? I mean wasn't the whole plan to learn this information and act on it?"
  "Yes, but... argh... this is really... fuck it, let's do this. I want those two summoned back here and tell them I'm ready to talk about a deal. I also want you to take Kol away from here and go to the armory or something with several of our best and wait until this is over."
  "Do you really think you need to handle this directly? I mean we've got several people; surely it would be just a simple matter of having one of them sneakily pop them in the back of the head with a single shot. Or shit, we could just send a bunch of people to overwhelm them right now where they're staying. I mean it just seems safer for all of us."
  
  Vera might have a point, though part of you finds this pretty personal enough that you'd rather take care of this directly.
  
  "I... I don't want to leave you guys. I want to stay here." Your son suddenly says.
  "You will son. You win." You answer reassuringly. "We're not taking any chances with them somehow escaping, I want to see this done right. I'm going to have enough people with me that the odds are going to be heavily in my favor though."
  
  Vera reluctantly agrees to your plan, though she says she'd prefer to just ambush the pair of them.
  
  You set things in motion and have some of your people go fetch the ECS reps. You aren't exactly sure how this is going to play out, but you put on extra body armor and armed yourself with a couple extra blades and pistols and have Marco and everyone that's going to be with you do likewise.
  
  Honestly, you aren't sure how good your ring is going to be, but you hope it's good enough to keep you alive. If nothing else, they aren't surviving this.
  
  Time passes and eventually Percy and Toz arrive. Percy looks as jovial as he has since he got here, while Toz looks about as grim serious as he always has. You still aren't sure what to do about him. Fel didn't mention him, but you can't imagine that you aren't going to have to kill him as well.
  
  Looks like you'll be going to war with the ECS and you'll be firing the first shot. Really wish you could have avoided this, but that's no other way.
  
  Percy looks at his surroundings and with a smile he begins to speak.
  
  "I'm getting the impression, you don't want to talk about a deal with the Syndicate after all." Percy says, which causes Toz to immediately stand a little straighter and the rest of your people to put their hands to their weapons.
  
  You don't even bother to make the pretense and pull your pistol immediately and point it at Percy. Percy doesn't seem bothered though and even puts his hand on Toz to keep him from attacking.
  
  "You realize you're killing yourself right? And I don't mean starting a war with the Syndicate, because you aren't going to live to see that anyway. Even with your advantage and weak anti-magic ring, I... WE have more than enough power and skill to overcome what's just in this room. True, we probably won't survive, but we'll do enough damage to this entire place that when our absence is noticed, the Syndicate WILL assume the worst and send people to mop up what's left. Terrible way to do business." Percy says.
  "That's a possibility I considered long before you ever showed up. However, this isn't business. This is personal." You remark.
  "Oh? Interesting. Have I offended you directly in some way? Perhaps Toz here has? I know he's a little on the impersonal side, but... "
  "Cut the shit. You're here to steal my son. You know about him and you're here to take him to back to your main temple. Not happening."
  
  Percy seems surprised to hear you accuse him of this, but he soon returns to his smiling self. Toz on the other hand is showing a stone face looking like he really wants to get on with the fighting.
  
  "Alright. Well, I can see this IS personal. On both sides. I mean I can't very well disobey a direct order from my god can I? I can only guess you must have found this out from your son who is also in contact with our shadowy lord. I wouldn't expect a godless heathen like you to understand, but if Fel is speaking to the boy then that only PROVES that he's destined for greatness! Think of it, your son is one of Fel's chosen! Surely you want what's best for your son. No harm would come to him." Percy says.
  "You seriously expect me to just hand him over?" you ask.
  "Yes! Because it's your ONLY logical move. I am willing to forget all this as... an over protective parent outburst. Completely understandable. I will even work out a better deal between you and the Syndicate. Your son will no doubt rise in the ranks of our order. Just think, YOU will have a powerful ally on the inside, close to the Temple of Fel in the years to come. If you ever have trouble with the Syndicate, you will able to get support from our order to smooth anything over. It seems like a winning situation for all of us."
  "Perhaps, but that's still not happening."
  
  Finished with talking, you open fire and nearly instantly you feel like everything is slowing down in front of you. You see your first bullet actually hanging in the air and then Percy moving to the left. What torchlight there was in the room, goes out completely.
  
  You begin swearing and shouting orders, desperately trying to adjust your eyes to the darkness. You already hear noises of men being killed and unfortunately they sound like yours.
  
  All you can make out is a bunch of dark figures struggling with each other.
  
  You suppose you could just fire blindly and hope you get them or maybe try to retreat out the exit where there is more light.
  > fire
  You're probably going to hit some of your own people, but oh well.
  
  You fire the remainder of your shots and from the sound of things you probably hit at least a couple people. The problem is you can't be sure who so you take this opportunity to head towards the nearest exit and at least get to a better lit area.
  
  The entire temple to on alert anyway, so you should be getting reinforcements soon. While your ring might not seem like it's helping, you're actually moving at your own speed rather than suffering from whatever slow effects that were cast.
  
  Unfortunately for you, not fast enough as you feel several sharp objects go into your back before you even make it out the room. You fall to the floor face first and then attempt to crawl towards the better-lit corridor, but the last thing you hear is Percy whispering
  
  "Could have settled this a lot easier, but take solace that your bad choices will not affect your son."
  
  Then he slits your throat.