Katarina's pleased smile never faltered on our way back to her mansion in the carriage as she worked on her AAI.

Tiesa looked slightly confused. "Why did you negotiate for such an odd assortment of things? I understand the Pitola trip personally but why do you want an audience with their Adventurers Guild leader? And qi stone usage while there? An appraiser for the AAI disruptor and scent bag?

"I get the funds for a co-delving team and a higher-Tier group of guards – thank you for getting us double our normal pay and priority rift access –, a skill for when you reach the peak of Tier 1, 20 gold – though that was too little I think."

She was ticking things off one by one on her fingers. "The new armor makes sense, and sponsoring a vote for a pay increase for guards – Gabor already sent a thank you for that – but why, especially, did you negotiate for delicacies for Vana's inn? That seems like you were playing games.

"And then Katarina with a dungeon boon token, I've never even heard of that, and his look when she asked. I… just… yeah…" She lost steam and resigned herself to shaking her head.

I was surprised Jasna stepped in. "The appraiser is for—" she looked at me then to Katarina and I nodded for her to go on, "his ring and he'll use the AAI disruptor as a cover for it. He mentioned it had a weird pull in the rift and took some essence. Qi stone, he doesn't have a clear picture of his," she whispered very quietly what I guessed was 'Innate Capability', "so he'll go to the Adventurers Guild to use theirs." I nodded as she was 100% so far.

Jasna tilted her head slightly then nodded. "He will also potentially get quests from the Adventurers Guild there – they would not give him the time of day without an official letter of introduction from someone important, you know Selim Koval, he sucks. Terry only has a bit of time to get an answer since the visit will only be a few days. And he is banned from Zalano so he can't get Guild membership there.

"Lastly, Tilda has been causing trouble at Vana's and we weren't able to warn Vana ahead of time last night due to the necessary secrecy. She would beat his backside bloody if he didn't warn her about more missing days. You know she's got a great punch and her Cap is about using improvised weapons. That broom could knock him through a wall."

Good to know. Terrifying, but good to know.

Jasna held her hand up and nodded again. "He also didn't ask for anything too expensive or outlandish, which made the Councilor much more agreeable. The token Katarina asked for seems to be expensive but the rest was something his estate surely makes in a day or two, maybe even a few bells."

"Ding, ding, ding, you got it all. You win!" I presented the pastry I took from my ring like it was a great prize and Jasna just ate it off my hand.

"You know, sometimes you terrify me. How did you figure that all out?" Tiesa gave her a warm smile despite the potentially harsh words. "Really, I am very impressed."

"He's actually very basic." HEY! "We know his goals – to get stronger, both personally and politically – and we also know he takes care of those around him. Though whether that is as a friendly gesture or a sense of self-preservation, I have yet to decide."

"He's right here you know?" I tried to keep my tone light but that had been a bit brutal.

"Yes, and what part did I get wrong?"

"I'd like to think I don't do things so selfishly. I want you two with me for my trip because I trust you and want you to also get compensated. And Vana does deserve to get something there, Tilda is a lot. You also missed how much going from normal asks to random-seeming kept him off guard, right? And the Vana thing was more of a joke at the end to make it a little more light-hearted but it seems he actually wanted to impress by providing some high-quality ingredients so why not? Maybe we can use it as a co-marketing event to advertise his family's food trade?"

Consultant survival tip #140: When you are negotiating, you want to come to a mutually beneficial agreement where possible. But if it is a contentious negotiation, look for points of leverage and ways to keep them off their guard. If you go for everything you want, always at their detriment, you are likely to create a contentious relationship instead of a partnership even if you can actually come to an agreement now.

Isekonsultant survival tip #20: Leverage exists to be used. Don't let the asshats off the hook. Press your advantage. Keep it to reasonable but let people know messing with you has a price to their pocketbook and their pride.

[Incoming Message from Gabor Gogol: Come to the station by the eastern gate. Lots to talk about. Rest of team Verdant's Valorant are being held but we are considering release. One even provided an AAI-backed guarantee and some recordings and nothing seemed suspicious to our investigative team. Your ready stance needs work big time. I forwarded one to Risto and he had some choice words.]

Rolling my eyes, I shared the message with Jasna and Tiesa as we arrived at the Illeva estate.

"Katarina, unless you have any immediate needs, we are going to head to the guard station," Tiesa said.

Good strategy, tell don't ask.

"I think we hit everything necessary and relevant. I was shocked they had a token on hand that they would hand over. I will send over an information packet on its use. It's only Tier 1 so don't hang onto it too long. I want you powerful enough to be useful to me after all." She gave a theatrical wave and a tittering laugh, turning her back on us as she disappeared through her opulent front doors.

***

The station visit was actually brief. Tiesa and I wanted to talk to Gabor and a face-to-face was easier than trying to do via AAI.

They need group texting here. I'll see if there is anything available. Maybe that's my first real business opportunity. Oh god, am I going to try to recreate mass communication and social media?

After a quick discussion with Gabor, his lead investigator Pavel Platon, Tiesa, and Jasna, where we went over some case facts, I decided to quickly say hello to the remaining members of the delve team and let them know I didn't blame any of them for what happened.

But not to be left alone with them either.

Hurt people hurt people. And they might want retribution against me even though I didn't betray them.

Stefan was the most pissed but wasn't coherent enough to get out a sentence.

"I just. What? Why? This isn't like her, she's… I don't know man. Who rushes back to town like? Ya know?"

Jovan seemed resigned but not all that troubled. "I honestly don't get it, why would she do something like this? She wasn't in major debt, at least as far as I know. And yeah, we know it wasn't a suicide, the rushing back to town just to slit her own throat makes no sense. She was in damage control mode as we were leaving." He let out a large sigh. "Will suck finding a new team with this hanging over us. I don't think I can work with Vesna, she doesn't seem like she'll ever trust me again. Not sure I would in her shoes either."

He looked me straight in the eye for a few seconds and then bowed his head slightly. Returning to meet my gaze, he said, "I'm sorry, I voted we leave. I was hurt – that <redacted> probably let it happen. Vesna tried to convince us to go back. I thought we just didn't have a choice, we'd get killed with… yeah, you probably don't care."

"I get it, Gabor reviewed the footage. He said he'd probably have left me too."

At the hopeful look, I just clapped him on the shoulder. "We were both set up, I don't blame you. At least I won't when it isn't so fresh. I still feel like you owe me but I'm not sure that is actually true. Either way, good luck out there. And maybe screen your team better next time."

Couldn't help but throw that jab. Not sure if he deserved it but petty me feels better…

Vesna was essentially inconsolable.

"I," sniffle, "can't," sniffle, "believe," sniffle, "we left," gasp, "you there. TO DIE!" Sobbing suddenly, she ran and hugged me. I was so shocked, I did my best impression of an inanimate object. Slowly, her tears started to recede and she tried to wipe the snot off my jacket.

"Why? Just why? I don't get it? We had been together for over six months. What could she have been thinking?"

Money or power probably. What did it matter though at this point?

I tried patting her and Tiesa quietly but firmly shifted me out of the way to give the grieving archer a better consoler, giving the woman a very deep and reassuring hug.

Show off.

After a good two minutes of slowly receding tears and sniffles, she looked over Tiesa's shoulder at me. "I am sorry. I could have done more. I'm not sure what but—"

She stopped at my raised hand. "Gabor – her husband," I said pointing at Tiesa's back, "is a smart man." Tiesa scoffed and I rolled my eyes. "Pretty smart in these matters at least. I trust him, I trust his judgment. Well, mostly." Tiesa's silent laugh was evident from her back moving up and down. "He told me that in your place, he would have left."

I looked her in the eye and got her to focus on me through the tears. "Not just you personally but as anyone else on the team. You had your main tank refusing to go and down a weapon, your frontline damage dealer was essentially crippled, your mage's skills were ineffective. And you, you were out of arrows. Tossed out of your quiver by a betrayer. With what you knew, you would have essentially been throwing your life away."

Tiesa pushed her back and got her attention next. "I know losing people can be tough – trust me, I've lost a lot of people I'd call my brothers and sisters – but there's a saying about not throwing good money away after bad. It's callous to say it about people but true. Don't throw your life away simply because someone else lost theirs."

At Vesna's mute response, Tiesa squeezed a little bit and lifted the woman to stand at her full height. "I want you to repeat after me. My life has value and I won't waste it."

After three times mumbling it, Vesna finally said it loud enough that I could hear it clearly.

"Good, now go get yourself cleaned up. I have asked Gabor to put in an official commendation note in your file for the Adventurers Guild as well as the local associations for 'bravery in the face of dire circumstances' or some other sarange. The Council will need to vote because of the politics but I think we have a few people who will give it a yes."

Vesna looked like she was going to protest. "And no, don't you dare fight me but also don't thank me, it is what you deserve, nothing more." Tiesa let the woman go and she looked like she didn't know what to do with herself. At a nod, a guard came over and began escorting Vesna out.

"Good gods damn woman, I really do love you. You are going to be an amazing mother." Gabor entered the room fully and hugged his wife – he apparently had been watching from the doorway behind me. Then he looked to me. "I won't even have to do anything!"

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

At a soft slap on the arm from Tiesa and a more dangerous punch from Jasna he had to dodge, Gabor took out a bag that looked oddly familiar.

"Milica had neither next of kin nor a will. We aren't even sure where she came from, just likely the southern coast based on what people said of her accent. You were 'grievously aggrieved' – wow, that phrase is awful – by her and the investigation has ruled that she must make recompense.

"Meaning," he made an awful racket with his mouth that I assumed was supposed to be fanfare, "this is yours. Congratulations on your very own storage bag!"

At my confused look, he said quietly, "Now no one will have to know about the ring. We will have to get rid of the wolf bodies somehow but I know a guy. Now, go outside for a bit with Jasna so I can talk to my lovely yet scheming wife." He said the last bit loud enough for Tiesa to snort.

Tiesa came out three minutes later looking slightly flushed and I gave her a scandalized eyebrow.

Jasna saw and just laughed. "No, they only kissed a bit. They take much more time if they sneak away for sex."

I thought Tiesa might be a bit upset at Jasna announcing that to multiple people near us in the guard station but Tiesa just shrugged and smiled. "Yes, it was mostly about us," she pointed to herself and Jasna, "escorting you to Pitola and a bit about what happened. He and I both agree, it's best to leave town now rather than hunker down. They will investigate some leads but the only thing you can be here is bait and they aren't ready for that. And don't forget to tell Vana so she can head off Tilda."

"Can we swing by there on the way out of town?" I asked. "Plus, I want to empty out this storage bag so we know what's in it."

"That's not how that one will work. We'll have to overload it first and then it will be a few days before it recovers after spitting everything out." At my incredulous look, she shrugged. "I think that ring you have is a weird one, that's pretty standard."

After a quick trip to visit Vana – she was delighted about the new supplies but firmly declined buying a bunch of bleached-looking wolf corpses – we went to Tilda's. Post her badgering me to buy something to compensate for missing more dinners, we stopped by Ratmir's tower. I handed over my recordings and tried to my bracelet but he told me to keep for now as I would likely be delving on my trip.

Penultimately, we hit a few pastry shops to stock up my new bag, and finally headed to the school to speak with Risto. He sent me a few training ideas and asked Jasna to oversee my training on the road.

At a scandalized look from Tiesa, Risto laughed. "Tiesa, I love you to death but come on. You will vacillate wildly between too hard and too soft on him. Jasna will just go too hard. And she's better with knowing how to train close melee and control fighting than you. Yes, you can bruise with the best of them but you cannot teach it worth a sodus. Now off you trot, I have other children to deal with.

***

Our path to Pitola was actually a pretty easy one, especially as Katarina had provided a nice luxury carriage for the journey. It was going to be two days but the carriage itself came with two guards and a driver, meaning Tiesa and Jasna were able to relax.

It was not the most talkative of carriage rides I could imagine as Tiesa was on her AAI, reviewing the potential Tier 1 delve escort teams I might work with.

"Explain this delve escort thing to me? It kind of sounds like what team Verdant's Valorant were supposed to be but with less – hopefully no – assassination? And that isn't going to make me stronger. So why do I want to do it and not just go in with you two?" I came off as more petulant than funny but Jasna didn't seem to care if she noticed.

"It's easy. You don't want someone far above your Tier going into a Tier 1 rift with you. It will spoil the reward. Rifts don't reward those who don't risk. Sometimes they won't even produce monsters or will make them a few inches tall so they are hard to find and stomp. A Tier 5 or 6 going into a Tier 1 rift will mean you get a bar of mundane iron at best. Or a few rifts seem to exclusively provide coal. We call them the naughty prizes."

Heh, maybe Santa is real here?

"Spoiled rich people hire teams to take them through rifts. But instead of just giving them an allocation bracelet and keeping them safe, they try to get the client to competent. Competent at fighting, working in a team, that kind of thing. It's also the team's job to secure delve slots and protect the client. It's about getting someone to good rather than Tiering them up as quickly as possible."

"So, it's a combination team, trainer, guide, and guard duty? Anything I'm missing. I assume this pays well?" I asked.

"It's a strategy for those without significant backing – or luck or money I guess – to advance relatively quickly. You stay at the peak of a Tier for a year or two and build up credit to advance quickly to the peak of the next Tier and do it again. Though it's rare for Tier 3 and not that common for Tier 2."

"Why? That feels odd to me."

"Maybe if someone was quickly advanced to Tier 2 without training, they will still need an escort team at Tier 2. That's usually someone who was carried through Tier 1. Or if someone has been a solo delver and doesn't know how to be a good teammate – inside a rift or out – it can happen. It's too bad in a way, the Tier 3s don't get a great opportunity to advance. By design. That's when the military comes calling." Jasna had a sour look on her face.

"Is that what happened with you?"

"Let's focus on your language learning and not my history. I don't know you well enough yet."

Brutal but honest. Gotta respect it.

***

"Oh, can you take a quick look at this, I found it in the rift and it does something but I have no idea what." I produced the flower from my spatial ring, dripping some dirt onto the carriage floor that the seasoned adventurers couldn't give a single sodus about.

Jasna looked from the flower to me, tilting her head. "So, you thought keeping a flower, a living thing, in a ring that accelerates decomposition, was a good idea?"

There was not judgement, just confusion but the missing rebuke stung all the same.

"Yeah, I kind of forgot about it in all the assassination, investigation, fleeing town, and so on," I said testily.

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," she said turning back to look at the flower more closely.

Even through the shaded windows, it looked strange to me. If you weren't looking at the center through the small gaps in the curled up petals, it looked like a dying plant that had even the color drained from it, only some slight purple veins running through it. Like an extra varicose vein on a zombie made from the pastiest person on Earth.

But the center portion, where the pistil and stamen and the rest would normally be, were like the pictures of far distant nebulae, a riot of slowly-shifting colors across the entire spectrum. It felt like it was calling out with possibility. At points, it felt like it resonated with me and other times like it was repelling – and repellant to – me.

"Jebbie if I know," Tiesa stated simply. "We have our garden and I can make things grow but I know nothing beyond what they are. Never been much of a flower girl though don't tell Gabor that. At least says he's putting in the effort."

"Why—" Jasna started to reply but cut off at a look from her nearly sister. "Ah, just one of those weird couple things. Got it."

"Anyway, back to the flower?" I pleaded. "I assume you can feel something from it but if you have no idea what it is, what do we do?"

"Easy, stop storing it in your awful ring and let me put it in my stasis-enhancing one. I have a few slots in this necklace that are a thousand to one time dilation. That flower looks like it could keep going for a while but no need to muck around with it, you know?" Tiesa said. I tilted my head at her when she didn't store it. "Uh, it's your spoils, I kind of need you to agree before I do it."

"Fair point. Dearest Tiesa, second fairest and third wisest in this carriage, I give you my full and undivided permission to store this flower of pretty colors and weird feelings, the official and most correct name." I gave a little bow, pushing my hand to my stomach, despite us all being seated.

At an eye roll, she did her own hand flourish and the flower disappeared.

"I'm confused," Jasna said and then clearly went back to doing something with her AAI, not waiting for an explanation.

***

"Okay, what about this team?" Tiesa forwarded me an information packet on a team that had been peak Tier 1 for a few months.

"Um, their credentials look great but they are all women. I don't have a problem with that but it feels, I don't know, weird? Like I am not trying to build a harem!" I laughed awkwardly but quickly shut up at their confused faces.

"Why not?" Jasna asked. "It seems like it might be enjoyable to be the one with the harem. Or at least for some. I tried joining a polycule but it was very much not for me. Enjoyable experiment nonetheless and I learned a lot. About relationships and in the bedroom."

Tiesa nodded. "Yeah, many nobles – and yes, with you being here about seven days and already causing this much trouble, you are going to be a noble, something equivalent, or dead within a year – look to form harems. It means you don't have to actually settle down."

"Though I do not recommend taking dating advice from her. Look at who she ended up with." Jasna released a scream of mirth at her own joke so loud, it spooked the horses driving the carriage.

Tiesa and Jasna bumped shoulders amicably, a large smile painted across Jasna's face.

I shuddered at the thought. "I tried dating two women at the same time. They knew we weren't exclusive and it felt so utterly terrible and I didn't have the bandwidth and… it was not for me. Glad it works for some but yikes. And hiring a bunch of frankly attractive women to teach me a lot of things feels weird."

"Isn't that exactly what you are doing with us? I think he's saying we aren't attractive." Tiesa gave a pout and then I saw her tongue poking out. Jasna's face went from hurt to smiling.

They are ganging up on me. Great.

"I'm not dignifying that with a response. But what do you recommend I look for in a team? I think four others sounds good. Learning from another control-focused frontline fighter would be amazing but that might mess up team dynamics if we have two? Do I even want to be control-based if I don't need to solo delve with my affinity?"

Crap, do I have to rethink everything? No, I actually really enjoyed myself – outside of the pain and mortal terror – in that last battle.

Or was it actually outside that? Oh sodus, please let it be outside that…

"No, I want to continue down that path. So maybe look for someone similar, a stamina focus that whittles enemies down. So that's one, anything different?"

[Incoming Pledge from Vesna Toth; a 'Life Debt' has been officially registered with the City of Velez. This is not a Pledge you can decline.]

"Okay, hold up, what is a life debt? I mean, I kind of get the general concept but—"

"Don't do it! Whoever asked for it, I am going to kick their— what?" Tiesa's face went from a furious storm to the calm after the storm but wary. It feels like we're in the eye of a hurricane.

Jasna had a completely blank expression but that somehow worried me more.

"Uh, Vesna pledged a life debt to me in Velez. I want to make sure that doesn't mean anything for me and see if I can get her out of it," I said, trying to look sheepish.

"That idiot girl. I swear, I am going to beat her damn backside when I get back." Tiesa looked furious but at least not at me. She hugged Jasna and whispered something to her. "We will discuss this further when we get back to the city. There are some complications that little – actually, she's kind of tall – that tall little sodus just added to our lives."

We discussed teams and the puts and takes. I turned down four good but not quite great teams. I didn't go with either Tiesa or Gabor's top two recommendations – The Torch of Titan sounded too pretentious and The Bringers of the Light and Dark didn't mesh well – but both agreed on their third place team: Aspirations of Ascendancy. I was surprised that both recommended a team based out of Pitola; but then Tiesa told me one of the members was the niece of someone they both served with in the army.

As we continued our uneventful journey onwards, I practiced my language skills heavily and reviewed footage of my new team delving together. I even shared some of my goals and ambitions as we planned for the future.

***

"Hey, let's go over what you're looking for out of this trip again. And what you want to achieve in general." It was lunch time on the second day of our journey and Tiesa had found a nice meadow by the side of the road for us to eat and chat.

I took them through everything, forwarding my entries in my notes app – at least the ones that weren't personal.

Tiesa gave me her patented 'I'm going to say something harsh' look. "Uhh Terry, are you sure your stated goals really align with what you want to be, what you want to do?"

"What do you mean? Everything on there is reasonable and makes good sense for my progress."

"She means you're so full of sodus they can smell you in Zalano." Jasna took a big bite of her sandwich and then leaned over to smell a flower like what she said was a comment on the weather.

"I was going for a bit more tact but, yeah, pretty much that. You were so excited about your delve and the fight but all you talk about, even in your stated goals here, is about safety and security." She put her hand on my shoulder and held up her other hand, stifling my defensive retort.

"Think on it for a few minutes and just enjoy the scenery?" she asked, pouring me some chilled fruit-based alcoholic drink.

Right as I took a big bite, Tiesa pounced again, knowing I was defenseless to Vana's victuals. "Back to my point: safety and security, they're not what makes your eyes light up, they're not what gets your blood pumping."

Jasna started talking despite a mouthful of food. "Didn't you say you had a boring, predictable life before? Why is your goal to do the same thing here? Your little notes to yourself, they say 'survival', not anything more. That seems stupid."

Tiesa gave her a look but I couldn't respond. I really wanted to fight back, to thrash against what they were saying.

But I couldn't.

Sodus, am I really just going to build something ho-hum again? Is all I want survival? Do I want to make the same mistakes again? But there's also going on tilt and just doing nothing but risky things…

I need to think further on this.

Either way, grateful for the wake-up call.

"Just look at what you did in Velez. People came after you and you left. It was 'the smart' decision but it probably wasn't the fun one." Jasna shrugged at Tiesa's incredulous look.

Tiesa opened her mouth and closed it six times.

"I recommended it too. I want him alive. But it isn't about what I want, don't you tell me that a lot?"

The stoic woman turned towards me, grabbing my attention fully. "So Terry, what is it you want?"

Tiesa contemplated for a second and then simply smiled and walked over and hugged her friend.

We sat in companionable silence – though I was pretty sure they were exchanging AAI messages based on Tiesa's tongue on full display. Instead of giving them grief, I reflected on my actions compared to my goals – and if my stated goals were in line with where I was headed – for another 20 minutes before we resumed our journey.

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