Fate weaver’s convergence

 

Krakow, day 5

 

An hour before lunch.

Jozef informed Vaughn of a luncheon with representatives of the city, under request of one of the city’s Lords so as to have a clearer idea of how to advise the Baron. Unfortunately for Vaughn, it was less of an optional type of affair.

 

…

“Fuckin hell, do I have to wear this? Can’t I just play the shitty hired merc that protects you or something?!”

 

Kiyomi complained aloud, Vaughn doing his best to keep her calm as they walked. She was dressed up not too dissimilar to the past few days, hounded into wearing the same skirt and button up combo by the women of the house as she accompanied Vaughn to the guild. Her hair was held up with a yellow ribbon, while her horns were polished to the degree they appeared glossed, and splashed with a perfume that damn near made the both of them gag. Vaughn didn’t believe himself to have it much better, nearly sick to the stomach while he was packed inside the tunic and robe that Jozef bade him wear for the meeting.

 

“For the tenth time, it’s a lunch with some of the city representatives. They’ll be accompanied by their spouses and I can’t very well show up alone. It’d be hell for me to go without company, sitting around that many people without someone I know?”

 

He looked over as they walked.

 

“Can’t really show up as ‘Brenton’s lead engineer’ and have an armed guard with me.”

 

He shook his head.

 

“Doesn’t bode well.”

 

“Ugh, like you couldn’t just have Beryl join you? Why me then?”

 

“Firstly, Beryl can’t attend. She’s barred from it for the same damned reason she’s not allowed in the study.”

 

Kiyomi dropped her shoulders, her head rolling back as she looked at the ceiling.

 

“They’re still on about spies? Like it hasn’t been reiterated enough?”

 

She grumbled.

 

“Fuck it, go on… what was the second reason?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

She crossed her arms, looking to Vaughn and expecting an answer. 

 

“You said ‘firstly’, meaning Beryl’s bar isn’t the only reason you wanted me to join you. Shit, you could’ve asked one of the help at the inn to join you. Jagoda wouldn't have protested, and I’m sure they would’ve tried to keep you calm.”

 

She seemed to avert her eyes as she spoke.

 

“So what’s the other reason… or reasons?”

 

It was Vaughn’s turn to look up rolling his eyes as he considered his words.

 

Hooo boy, how the hell do I answer that one? Jozef did suggest it, but it was me to make that choice.

 

He thought of the reasoning but couldn't take it seriously in honesty. Vaughn chuckled to himself a second, looking back ahead.

 

Cause I wanted to sneak you away for a ‘date?’ Nah, last thing I need is her not taking that as a joke, Beryl would have my neck for that.

 

“You just gonna leave me in suspense or what?”

 

Kiyomi nudged him, smiling faintly like she was trying to take the shit out of the moment. Vaughn thought again, the other reason.

 

Because you’ve been a haywire mess since we arrived? That the whole ‘I’m fine, just trying to help’ mask doesn’t fit you one bit?

 

He rolled his eyes. 

 

“It’s to get you out of the house. You don’t want to talk about your problems—“

 

Kiyomi clenched her hands together into a ball.

 

“But, that’s fine. I can understand that, needing time. Beryl needed time, and in the end she came around. Remember the fight at the pass?”

 

She nodded, Vaughn fighting back a smirk. He was getting through to her somehow, and he was happy for it.

 

“You needed something to do, and I’m not blind to your beck and call manner of dealing with it. You were always reading, or training, or something of the like before. It was something I took for granted for a time, but this stay in Krakow was an eye opener.”

 

She seemed to frown as he continued, while Vaughn found himself unable to break from his path on the subject. 

 

“Having you accompany me for once will be nice, you won’t have to do anything. You can just eat, hell, tune out the entire lunch if you want. Or… if you want, when the formalities are done. How’d you feel about lunch with just us?”

 

The last line seemed to do the trick, as Kiyomi tilted her head with an expression of confusion. For a moment, short and mistakable, she seemed to clench her teeth before dropping the expression all together.

 

“That would be fine, honestly, thanks, I—”

 

The guild came into sight, the building markedly more busy than the day Vaughn and Beryl had visited it themselves. 

 

“I could use the distraction, yeah. I could use a break from running around, what will a lunch hurt?”

 

It was packed as they made to enter the guild, servants moving back and forth in a hurry with stacks of paper, signed documents, or shuttling carts littered with packages in differing varieties. All the hustle and bustle, yet amongst all that, Vaughn was able to pick out Jozef from the staff, just barely decent enough to attend the lunch, his wife Silwia at his side. He was shuffling through a series of papers, blathering at one of the help, then sending them on their way. With all that, for the verbal lashing and yelling goin about from his workers, he seemed strangely, worse off.

 

“Chief Jozef.” 

 

Vaughn greeted him with a nod, the two exchanging a handshake as they met.

 

“Vaughn, come this way. We have something quick to discuss.”

 

He opened the door to an adjacent room, beckoning Vaughn inside. Kiyomi and Silwia followed close behind, only to be cut off at the door just as Vaughn passed through.

 

“Apologies dear, Miss—“

 

He pursed his lips a moment, then shook his head.

 

“The conversation is a bit more sensitive than the ones we’ll be having at lunch.”

 

Jozef looked at his wife.

 

“Dear, sorry, but this is pertinent to another matter of importance that we can’t let out so easily.”

 

Silwia smiled, standing as tall as she could to peck the engineer on his cheek. 

 

“You don’t need to explain anything, Jozef.”

 

The two exchanged glances before the door closed with a heavy kerchunk.

 

“Why the sudden need for privacy? I doubt there’s not much Kiyomi hasn’t seen on the work, or— don’t tell me you think your wife is a spy now.”

 

Jozef chuckled, walking past Vaughn to a desk at the far end of the room. He motioned to a chair, smirking as he took his own seat, tossing his legs up to the table's surface.

 

“Funny… sit.”

 

His tone evened out, like he was trying to force out any tension he’d built amongst the rush.

 

“No funny shit, Vaughn, were you planning on disclosing shit or not?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Fuckin ‘scuse me’ holy shit.”

 

Jozef dropped his head back in his chair, stifling a laugh.

 

“Don’t play stupid boy, I’m trying to help here.”

 

He said with a sigh, bringing his head back up. He turned the chair to and fro, waiting for Vaughn to answer with a patience he didn’t seem to display up to this point. He didn’t seem angry, just tired as all hell.

 

“In all honesty, really, I don’t know what you’re on about.”

 

He was legitimately confused, damn near astonished considering Jozef was already reviewing his work at every chance they got. He’d received the thumbs up each time, near ecstatic at the progress they managed, leaving Vaughn lost. Josef looked back up from the desk at him, now appearing surprised himself.

 

“Really?”

 

Vaughn nodded.

 

“The girl.”

 

He raised his brows, pointing back and forth between Vaughn and the door. Greeted by more confused silence, he slumped his head back once more with a sigh.

 

“Hooolyyyy shit.”

 

He shook his head back and forth.

 

“Vaughn, Kiyomi, the girl is a fuckin noble. Sabine was a given, she approached my mother-in-law as one, parlaying for a decently private stay.”

 

Jozef nodded to himself.

 

“By the way, she’ll be there, no damn way I could sway the representatives the moment they found out she was one of the two stopped at the gate. So now we’ll have two damned firecracker nobles sitting in on this shit.”

 

“Two nobles?”

 

Jozef scoffed.

 

“Kiyomi is noble born, with a gods given sword! How the hell are you still acting oblivious to the shit? Did you not think that would be worth mentioning when you’re working with the representatives of the city?”

 

Vaughn shook his head, taking Kiyomi’s ‘clan matriarch’ status, and his status as a retainer into account. He knew she was noble born, but as far as anyone outside of Brenton’s adventurers guild it was never spoken of.

 

“I didn’t think it necessary, given—“

 

Jozef dropped his head back again.

 

“Vaughn, all the scheming shit you see those adults that surround you get up to. That none of them are vying for the support of outside influence?”

 

Vaughn was stuck, unable to find his words.

 

“Apologies, but how even do you know that?”

 

“The same way and reason for our caution with information of the projects leaking out.”

 

“But how do you know about that? We’ve never spoken a word with anyone about it, not even Kiyomi, if she even remembers any of it.”

 

“Remembers?”

 

Jozef asked, looking down again. Vaughn felt truly hesitant with him for the first time, speaking of someone he had every reason to hide what he could about. It wasn’t much, and with Jozef confronting him, this was Vaughn’s first time having the secret tested. 

 

Shit, is this fight or flight? 

 

He gulped, Jozef waving his hand at the body language.

 

“Vaughn, let me clarify—“

 

He dropped his feet. 

 

“I am working from the position of someone trying to avert a shit storm from breaking out in my guild. I’m not interested in manipulating or hurting your girlfiend.”

 

“She’s not—“

 

“For Pete’s sake, figure of speech boy. I’m trying to help you out here. The lord of the fourth level will be present.”

 

He paused.

 

“He was initially going to brush the meeting off, when he found out a daughter of Brenton’s Lordship was in the city, and in my house? It was looked into for simple sake of the city’s security, being as one poorly chosen series of words between us and our guests could complicate our alliance.”

 

Vaughn followed, processing each given piece of information he could as he listened. Jozef paused for an abnormal amount of time, before Vaughn realized he was leaving himself open to be questioned again.

 

“But you still haven’t mentioned what that has to do with us. Why does Kiyomi matter in this?”

 

A nod.

 

“She’s noble born, we’ve both established this now, good? Good. Where things come into play, Vaughn, is that she’s a damned Varanian noblewoman! The moment any damned errant Lord discovers her in their city, she’ll be hounded for her attention.”

 

“And that won’t happen as long as no one else finds out.”

 

“I found out!”

 

For the first time in days, Jozef yelled in anger, anger obviously born from frustration.

 

“Vaughn, the walls have ears. They know, and the only reason we are not exchanging words on paper and burning it, is because I know they'll have nothing left to gain from things they already know. If I am so cautious as to tell you this, yet not care for their hearing, then you must already know that even in Brenton there are few to no secrets.”

 

A moment of silence between the two, Jozef breathed, calming himself as he cleaned spittle from his beard.

 

“She is a noble woman from Va-ren, her family although our sources couldn’t confirm who, is of the faction loyal to the queen of that nation, and they are currently at civil war and openly treat the Empire with hostility. Damus, is a nation unified, that has a near limitless supply line to the frontier. If the Varanians handle their civil war, before this bloody mess with the Empire kicks off, then they can be parlayed with to expand trade past Morus’s frontier territory. The eastern states within Damus would have full access to the south sea’s. Shin-rin, the plains, and the steppe.”

 

He leaned forward.

 

“They know everything about her, and the Lord particularly considers her of interest. He will attempt to play games with his words, do not fall for them. This is an official meeting! Formalities are of utmost importance, but it is of greater importance that you do not extend, accept, nor entertain offers of any kind. He will do what he can to goad you into both visiting the fifth floor. Do. Not. Let. That. Happen. Are we clear?”

 

Vaughn squinted, out of his depth in his entirety. Josef’s words sounded damn near foreign to him, not in meaning, but due to the fact that he was being told them. 

 

“Why do we need to avoid that floor?”

 

Vaughn asked, following along the final line of questioning. 

 

“Because there will be no more hiding it. To go to the fifth floor, one must already be nobility, or declared it in merit through their first invitation. The only people to go to that floor and leave no greater than they arrive, are servants, slaves, and corpses.”

 

Jozef clasped his hands together. 

 

“Vaughn, I work with utmost sincerity to ensure our cities remain allied, and this surprise factor has gone and thrown a fucking wrench in everything. Brenton and Krakow both will be obligated to openly greet her as a guest to the territory. My lord may see Damus’s future in alliance with the barbarians in the south, but if that girl is outed as what she is, Brenton will see it as betrayal of trust.”

 

“Why not send her home? She could refuse, and I could just grab someone off the street, aye? I just need a companion.”

 

Jozef shook his head. 

 

“She would be one of two things, fetched, or asked for an official statement of denial by the Lordship.”

 

He placed his palms on the desk flatly. 

 

“My office is yours to discuss this with her while I join my wife for final preparations. Neither of you must speak out of turn and cause an uproar, nor must you find a reason to draw interest past the questions the Lord poses. If he invites you anywhere, decline immediately and politely. You must let him lose interest, like a fly on a donkey's cleaned arse. Are we understood?”

 

“Understood.”

 

Jozef made for the door, leaving Vaughn to himself. The boy suddenly became quiet, nearly scared from his trousers. not of Jozef, but of the implications, the very complex turn their lives would all take. None of them wanted that, and he had no doubt of it. To top it all off, he knew that this situation was more dire given her condition mentally. 

 

“How are we supposed to navigate this?”

 

He whispered to himself.

 

“S’like maneuvering through a damned room of traps.”