I walked into the inn looking covered in a cloak with a hood. It was raining outside, making it ideal as I came inside to walk over to a booth and order a tankard of mead. I laid back and waited as the person I was waiting for appeared.
The Lich walked into the tavern and looked around before walking over to me and ordered a tankard of ale, and I ordered another of mead. I put a couple of silver coins down and looked at the young barmaid. She smiled as I turned to her, "Use that to cover any costs we incur while we are here, and if I am short, let me know. If it is too much, keep it for yourself. Be a dear and only show up after we flag you down. Also, be quick about it."
The barmaid nodded and quickly ran to get us drinks. The barmaid came back swiftly and set the drinks on the table. A moment later, the Lich set up a mana barrier to stop others from overhearing us, and I sighed. I grabbed my mead, finished half the tankard in one go, and looked at the Lich across from me.
"What are your plans? When are we moving? I need time to finish setting things up. Honestly, I am going to have to move with some lite agencies in order to make all of this work, so I need to know when to move to set things up."
"We are planning to hit the docks in three weeks. We are setting things up and getting forces ready to attack. We need supplies before heading back to sea, so we have a sound location on the far west coast that we can ship to. There will be a blind spot in the patrols, only with incapacitating five guards. That is the minimum amount. We will bring the goods ashore, and you will need to be there with at least ten carts. Do you have the people to cover this all?"
"No, I don't. What we are going to do, though, is slightly different. Not only are your people going to bring everything ashore, but they are going to assist in putting it on the carts. The people that I have working will be off to the side, not seeing anything during this time, and come back and guide the carts back to where they are needed."
"That is risky."
"Our timeline is too short."
Both of us went silent, and I finished my first tankard of mead. Meanwhile, the Lich consumed theirs.
"What is the worst risk with the current setup?" The lich asked.
"The worst thing will be in a week, I will kill all the drivers in the exact same brutal method and make it look like a series of random killings by the same person. I will have to kill a bunch of innocent people along with it in order to hide it, but that is the absolute worst scenario."
"And they call us heartless," The Lich remarked, and I chuckled.
"Emotional beings are the most heartless bunch. This is pure logic. The most dangerous thing is someone who has a cause to move towards. We have a cause to get your Necromancers back to researching on the seas while being pirates. The only way we can do that is if we kill and start a mutually beneficial relationship."
"Your cause and my cause must work together," The Lich shook their head. "You are an interesting person, Mistress. But that being said, what do you think can be done to mitigate issues?"
"I have an idea that I will pursue, and if it works out, none of the drivers will live after bringing the carts with illicit goods to the destination. I might even have a couple of people get out and help bring things ashore as long as the people bringing things ashore are not the undead."
"Then maybe they can help. Do you have a map of the city?"
"This is my best drawing."
I put a map on the table, and the Lich moved a blue finger and pointed to a location on the west part of the docks. It was an extremely small area, and I knew what she had in mind. I looked at the Lich, surprised. " Are you going to be bringing things in on cutters? Where?" I paused. How many ships have you taken?" I asked.
"More than we should have. Shipments of important things have been taken and will be noticed. That is why we are delaying our departure from taking new ships from the harbor. We need to see the reaction of the Demon lands higher-ups."
"Then only ten boxes?" I asked.
"Only the most valuable loot. Some of it is just silver and gold. We got lucky, and there was a ship with extra reinforcement, but some of the guarding ships were taken out in a storm this week. It was a payday, and I have a new B-ranked Lich from it."
My eyes widened, and I realized something must have happened on that treasure ship. The Lich looked at me hard. "You will be using this to set up the businesses we need. And a portal of trade that we do not have to risk ourselves each time."
"Absolutely." I replied, "I have no intentions of betraying you or running off with your investment. I stand to earn way more windfalls with you and make a steady business."
"Good," The lich emptied their tankard, and I joined them. "Now get things set up; I expect to see you there just after sundown. We have a small opening of time to do this. I do not want to kill those guards as it would just raise suspicion."
"Agreed, I will be there as I expect you to be there."
The mana dissipated, and the Lich departed first. I finished the tankard of mead and waved down the barmaid. "Another tankard, and you can keep the rest," I told her, watching as she happily grabbed me another of their low-end mead. I downed the tankard before getting up and departing, missing distilled drinks.
It's time to get the show on the road.