Life Review Ch. 06

"Be careful, Bishop!" Nessa called out. "I'm not going to be held responsible if you do something stupid like last time!"

The group resumed their seats by the fire to wait for Bishop's return. Denza curled up quietly into a ball and continued her staring contest with the crackling flames. Shawn rubbed her back and tried to send positive thoughts down the bond but his efforts did little to lift Denza's melancholy.

Cassidy sat close to Nessa and bumped her shoulder playfully, "So what happened between you and Mr. Suave."

Nessa groaned and buried her head in her hands, "We met when I was traveling through Oculsa on an errand. I stayed at the guild while in town and I admit I was taken in by his honeyed words. He convinced me to join him on an expedition in the Queendom of the Sunrise Coast and things got...heated."

Cassidy waggled her eyebrows, "He made it sound like things got a little more than heated. Tell me, how is sex on the beach? I always heard it was overrated."

Nessa shifted uncomfortably, "That is a highly inappropriate thing to ask, Cassidy."

Cassidy brushed off her protest, "C'mon Nessa! You're a stone cold fox. Bishop is hot, who would blame you for wanting a piece of hunky pie?"

Nessa blushed furiously and avoided Cassidy's gaze, "It was a youthful indiscretion after a long night of drinking and dancing. When the morning came, I woke up in bed next to him and knew I made a mistake."

"What, you don't like him?" Cassidy probed.

"He's a slimy womanizer," Denza grumbled. "His words are all dazzle as to charm a woman out of her virtue."

"He does seem like a player," Shawn added.

"I admit, he is a tad flirty, but he seems sweet on Nessa. He actually looked at my face and not just my chest unlike nearly every other man we've met baring Ruth and Edwin," Cassidy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't actually feel uncomfortable around him. He seems fun."

"He is a sweet man," Nessa said defensively. "He has a way with women, yes, but he doesn't go out of his way to break hearts."

"So why don't you go out with him and see where things go? You said it yourself, it's been ten years!" Cassidy shook Nessa's shoulders excitedly. "It's a sign that he showed up to oversee our contract adjustment!"

Nessa shook her head, "Bishop isn't the type to be settle down and becoming a wife isn't my focus. I am fulfilled in my calling and in adhering to the tenants of the Wise Witch."

"Cass, I don't think casual relationships are a part of this culture," Shawn explained.

"It's literally just sex! What's the big deal?" Cassidy exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "Nessa, seriously what is stopping you from just having fun? You can have a meaningful relationship without having it ordained by a church."

"Can we please stop talking about this?" Nessa pleaded. "I really don't feel comfortable discussing this with my student."

"Look, I'm just saying-" Cassidy stopped mid-sentence when Bishop appeared out of the air, looking sweaty and disheveled, his face grim. Shawn was secretly impressed that he hadn't sensed Bishop's presence.

"You are all free to terminate your contract for this expedition on grounds of unforseen escalation," Bishop said as he caught his breath. "Your ranger's approximation was spot on."

Nessa chewed lip, "What is the guild going to do?"

Bishop went to his horse and pulled out a small briefcase from his bags, "We are most likely going to draw up a seek-and-destroy contract and send messengers to all available masters. This is a problem that cannot be ignored by Velain or the Imperium. The merchant's guild will fund the expedition on good faith and force the governments to pay the bill once everything has been handled."

"How will they force the governments to pay?" Shawn was shocked the guilds held so much power that they could bully a nation.

Bishop sat next to Nessa and began writing his report. He answered Shawn between lines, "The economy is heavily reliant on the guilds. The expeditionary guild feeds industry while the merchant's guild keep everything running smoothly. The governments affiliated with the guilds enjoy the benefits of the taxes and tariffs on goods while the guilds collect a hefty profit from procurement fees, deposits and interest."

Shawn didn't like sound of how much power and influence the guilds had over the governmental bodies that ruled two of the biggest nations he was aware of, but it sounded very much like the close knit relationship of America's corporations and government.

"What kind of funding are we talking about?" Cassidy's ears perked up.

Bishop finished his report and sent it away via birdcage. He thought about his answer before he said, "Well, depending on how many masters are willing to assist, the pay may very. Given the seriousness of the threat we will seek out those who have higher guild ranks and multiple masteries. Rank thirty would be the cut off, so Nessa would be asked to join."

"How many masters are you projecting you'll need to solve the problem?" Shawn felt an uneasy sensation in his stomach that always preceded one of Cassidy's hair brained schemes.

"A party of six masters were taken out with five MIA and one severely injured," Bishop glanced at Loren's medically sedated form. "We will be looking into assembling a full raiding party of forty masters, with a contract level of M1200."

Cassidy nodded to herself then asked, "How much would each participant make?"

Bishop arched his eyebrows at Nessa in an unspoken question. The witch waved at him to continue, having long since given up trying to rein in Cassidy, "Well, the pay would be dependant on ranking. The guild would provide whatever supplies are needed. A master of Nessa's rank would probably make a thirty thousand gold return not including any personal spoils of war that might turn up."

"So the merchant's guild is willing to shell out 1.2 million gold to make this problem go away?" Shawn could see the manic gleam in Cassidy's eye. He could already guess what Cassidy wanted to do. Being the idiot he was, he actually agreed if they could pull it off because it would solve their problems in one fell swoop.

"Something like that," Bishop said noncommittally. "Are you wanting to join the raiding party?"

"In a sense," Cassidy answered vaguely.

"Well, I'm sorry to dash your hopes, but unfortunately the guild would not allow any persons without the proper rank to take part. It would be too dangerous," Bishop replied firmly.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but we are currently on this contract already, right?" Cassidy pointed out.

"Yes, and you can be excused without penalty," Bishop repeated.

"But I don't want to, and neither does Shawn," Cassidy looked to Shawn for support. If he was in for penny, he as in for a pound. He nodded his agreement.

"No!" Nessa very nearly shouted. "As the senior ranking expeditionary on this mission I am dissolving our claim. You three are too reckless and inexperienced."

Cassidy crossed her arms, "I read the rules, Nessa. You only have grounds to dissolve the group claim with a majority vote. The contract was approved with the four of us, so we are already approved to be here. The escalation clause allows us to back out if it is too dangerous, but we are not required to do so. If you want to leave, feel free. Denza has everything riding on this and Shawn and I promised we'd see it through."

Bishop opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. He rounded on Nessa, "This is absurd! Do your students have a death wish?"

Nessa looked close to tears, unsure of what to do. Cassidy cut in sharply, "This is our choice. You can't force us out of the contract and we would probably still do something like this anyway. I am confident we can solve this problem."

Nessa shook her head in dismay, "You don't know what you are asking. The guild would never agree to this and if we should fail, as the master in charge I would be stripped of my rank and punished for knowingly letting my charges run head long to their deaths."

Cassidy gave the witch an apologetic smile, "If your name isn't on the contract that you can't be held responsible. I'm sorry. but this is too good of an opportunity to pass up." She turned to Bishop, "The contract still belongs to us, now we renegotiate the terms, right?"

Bishop chewed his teeth before he closed his eyes and resigned himself to doing his job, "If you are adamant about doing this than I can start by saying the first thing you will do is release the guilds from any liability, and Nessa too."

"Done," Cassidy readily agreed. "Denza is the only one with family to pay reparations to anyway, so it's a moot point in Shawn's and I's case."

"The second thing is that your contract is a double search-and-rescue expedition. From what I could tell the caravan personnel are still alive and being held captive in cages hidden by magic near the ravine, and you've already completed the second part by rescuing Loren. The others might still be alive, or if we can recover their corpses intact, we can attempt to resurrect them at a temple if it hasn't already been too long.

"With the addition of the escalation, the seek-and-destroy contract will be considered the priority contract with the other two being secondary, so you won't be penalized if they are not completed," Bishop pulled out copies of their contracts and began consolidating them with the addition of the escalation.

Cassidy shifted herself so that she could read as Bishop wrote, "That sounds perfectly fine. The terms of the merchant's guild contract can remain as is as long as the payments are calculated separately."

Bishop couldn't help the small smile forming on his lips, "You've got balls, I give you that. Assuming you survive and complete the contracts, then yes, the rewards will be calculated on a per-contract basis."

"Perfect," Cassidy returned his smile. "So let's talk reward for the primary contract. We can start with the 1.2 million gold you proposed for funding of the raiding party."

"That was to pay for a party of forty high ranking masters," Bishop reiterated.

"The contract level is still M1200, right?" Cassidy indicated the ranking category he had filled out. "If so, the compensation rate should still remain the same."

"The only one of master rank is Nessa, and this group only has a total collective rank of 49," Bishop parried.

"Irrelevant. That was just your criteria for forming the raid based on chances of success," Cassidy objected, Shawn's head was moving back and forth between the two as if watching a tennis match. Denza was staring at Cassidy with a mixture of awe and tiny amount of fear as her cunning intellect was revealing itself as she verbally dueled with the merchant's guild adjuster.

"The guild will be willing to front the expense of 1.2 million gold on a projected eighty percent or higher chance of success. The guild is still a business and they don't invest on the hope for a miracle," Bishop insisted. "Do you even have a plan?"

"Not yet, but once I see a detailed map of the area I'm confident I can formulate a successful plan of attack," Cassidy said confidently. "They guild wouldn't need to invest the 1.2 million up front, only for what we need for our operation."

Bishop looked to Nessa again, but the witch wasn't paying him any mind. Nessa's focus was on her student. She turned to Shawn and practically begged him, "Shawn, do you hear her? Surely you can talk sense into that lofty head of hers! You are her lover, surely you don't wish to see her come to any undue harm?"

Shawn met Cassidy's eyes over the fire and they asked him to trust her. She smiled brilliantly at him when he gave her a tiny nod and told Nessa, "If Cassidy thinks we can do it, then I'm with her all the way. So far we've only nearly died as a group once, but I'm sure that was a fluke. As long as we don't run into any banshee's we should be okay."

"There is a giant, Shawn!" Nessa pulled at her hair and enunciated each word harshly. "Do you even know how dangerous they are? Denza, help me here!"

Shawn felt the spike of agitation when Nessa called Cassidy his lover, but Denza quelled her spirited emotions and said objectively, "As a journeyman ranger I agree with you, Nessa. As a grieving sister, and a bondmate to Shawn, I am committed to seeing this through even if it kills me."

Bishop looked curiously at Shawn when Denza mentioned the phrase 'bondmate'. Shawn shook his head to stop the man from asking questions. Bishop looked askance at the others, then back to Shawn with a speculative look in his eyes but said nothing. Cassidy took that opportunity to press on in the negotiations, "Since we waive all liability, the guild has no reason not to accept the deal. We only get paid if we win."

"Even so, you need at least one master level expeditionary who is credible to vouch for you for any of this to be taken seriously, so you need to convince Nessa or find someone else," Bishop tapped his pen against his knee. "Even if Nessa isn't punished should you fail, her reputation would never recover. She would never be allowed to take on another student in any official capacity."

Cassidy pursed her lips, then her face lit up, "I have an idea. Will you and the guild support us if Tricha gives me the go ahead?"

"But she's dead," Nessa said slowly, obviously confused.

Cassidy pulled out her grimoire and patted the cover, "My guide is a perfect copy of Tricha until the moment of her death. For all intents and purposes, it's her."

"Who is Tricha?" Bishop asked the group at large.

"The Wise Witch of Shadegrove," Shawn said offhandedly.

Bishop began laughing but he stopped when he saw that the statement wasn't a joke, "That's impossible? She died over two hundred years ago. I tried to help Nessa track down her grave and where Shadegrove was hidden to help her along her path as a white witch, but we never found anything."

Cassidy opened the large leather bound book on her lap and held her hands over the pages. She began chanting in a language Shawn couldn't understand as arcane runes written in white light lifted off the pages and spiraled around Cassidy. In a flash of light a figure appeared, floating over fire and wearing the vestments of the Wise Witch.

"It has been a while since we've last spoken, my apprentice," Tricha's rich voice said from behind her mask. "I recognize Shawn and Denza, but do not recall these new faces."

"Tricha, this is Nessa, a witch who has been teaching me at the guild. The man next to her is her boyfriend, Bishop, who works for the merchant's guild," Cassidy introduced the new additions.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Nessa shrieked, covering her face as she blushed. Then, remembering who she was in the presence of, immediately prostrated herself in front of the Wise Witch. "My apologies, Madam Tricha, Wise Witch of Shadegrove. I am Nessa, a master witch of the expeditionary guild."

"She wants to be just like you," Cassidy said fondly. "Maybe she can be your apprentice too? She's a much better witch than I am."

Tricha took off her mask and smiled at Nessa. As far as Shawn could remember, they had never actually seen Tricha's face. When she saved them in her tomb and made Cassidy her apprentice, she still had her mask on. Tricha's skin was as white and smooth as porcelain, and the features on her face we straight and proud. Her expression was gentle but there was a fierce presence behind her crimson eyes.

"I thank you for taking my witchling under your wing. I assume she has been a handful?" Tricha asked airly.

"Unbelievably so," Nessa grimaced.

"That seems to be a common quality we all have shared," Tricha grinned wolfishly at Cassidy who preened under her mistress' gaze.

"Actually, Tricha, we have a bit of a problem we were hoping you could advise us on," Cassidy lowered her head slightly before looking up into Tricha's face.

"What challenge are you facing now? You haven't run into that detestable Saoirse again have you?" Tricha's lip curled even mentioning the banshee's name.

"Not quite," Cassidy replied, looking slightly unsure how to phrase her next words.

"If I may interrupt," Bishop said hesitantly. When no one stopped him he pressed on, "The matter at hand is as follows. There is a stronghold of monsters that threatens both the Imperium and Velain. Their numbers are estimated to be well over five hundred combatants. The main force consists of kobolds with some military training led by gnoll raiders and supported by hyena riders and skirmishers. The command structure consists of presumably one giant with a retinue of seven armored ogres, and possibly a small number of gnoll spellcasters."

Tricha listened to the report impassively and looked intrigued at the mention of a giant, "That seems like quite an issue. I am curious as to what brought a giant to these mountains. The last I heard most giantkin who remained on the material plane went into hiding centuries before my time. Do you know what kind of giant it is?"

"I don't know the giant subspecies, but it seemed to be between fourteen and eighteen feet tall. Tan skinned, fangs, bungling muscles, and I saw it favored a large spiked club," Bishop said grimly.

"Ah, a hill giant," Tricha's face lit up in understanding. "They are the smallest true giants. If it had been one of its larger brethren, you would need a regiment of soldiers to combat even one of them. Have you summoned me to consult with you on giant warfare?"

"No, Madam Tricha," Bishop copied Nessa's reverence. "Nessa and I were hoping you could talk some sense into your apprentice. She has gotten it into her head that she, along with her two friends, can destroy this threat themselves."

"Not by ourselves," Cassidy scoffed. "I would factor Nessa into my plans."

"You both believe my apprentice to be foolhardy and in over her head?" Tricha asked Nessa and Bishop. They both nodded, Nessa avoiding Cassidy's accusing stare.

Tricha addressed Cassidy, "Despite the warnings of your mentor and a ranking guild member, you still believe you can accomplish the task ahead of you?"

Cassidy nodded vigorously, "I am not oblivious to the considerable danger stacked against us, but with the right plan and a little prep work, I'm confident in our chances."

"What is the chance you or your friends will die or become permanently injured?" Tricha inquired calmly.

Cassidy didn't shy away from the question and gave her answer considerable thought, "It's possible. That is why I won't force anyone to follow me. Shawn and Denza are already on board, so I can factor that in and we'll plan accordingly. Nessa's skills were a key part of any plans I had because of her wide range of spells and knowledge of alchemy, with her being a white witch and all."

Tricha nodded and tapped her chin with a long slender finger, "Then proceed with caution. One thing I will not accept in my apprentice is failure. Make sure everyone survives without lasting injury." She returned her gaze to Nessa. "My fellow witch, I can sense great compassion from you. If you truly desire to follow my path than you must be able to take action when necessary."

"I am not afraid of fighting, Madam Tricha, I fear for the safety of my charges in their rash push to prove themselves," Nessa looked up with misty eyes.

Tricha floated down and rested a hand on Nessa's shoulder, "It is natural to feel protective over those in your tutelage, but ask yourself what are the ramifications if you were to wait for others to solve the problem that has presented itself?"

Nessa looked uncomprehendingly at her role model. After a few moments to think, Nessa's eyes widened in understanding, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Tricha smiled and nodded, floating back to hover over the fire. Bishop didn't appear to understand, Shawn saw him look between the two witches trying to puzzle out the meaning of their exchange. Shawn had heard the phrase before from Spock, and was astounded that the well known phrase had appeared in Niverra as a doctrine of the Wise Witch.