Within the thick forests of the Scorcian Kingdom, a battle has concluded. Surrounding the rubble of long-forgotten structures, oozing dark green blood gushes from fallen goblins. The corpse of a rogue orc lays among them, who suffered multiple ranged injuries. Arrows are sticking out from their abdomens, chest, or even heads. Slash wounds are prevalent, and some are decapitated. Few with burns or non-existent limbs litter a scorched area where an explosion shook the ground.
A young adventurer group of four stands near the ruins while breathing heavily. Sweat drips from their foreheads as they surveyed the massacre that happened. Two of them are mages holding a staff with the tip glowing brightly.
Bushes rustle nearby before two other figures appear. They are Ken and Cayde, who have been picking off goblins at range during the fight. Both carry a recurve bow in their hands. Their melee weapons still cling onto them, but they are mostly bloody and worn. They have already spent several days in the wilderness conducting field tests on their weapons, which have proven successful.
Both parties had already met before the battle took place and have agreed to help each other in clearing the area. This is because the adventurer group is tasked to investigate the ruins as part of a contract they took from a local researcher.
"Thank you two for aiding us," one adventurer says. "I don't think we could have come out unscathed without your help. Your weapons are surprisingly strong."
"Thanks, but uh, why exactly are you guys investigating this place?" Ken says as the adventurers split up to scavenge the ruins.
"Our employer is obsessed with these ruins and wants us to bring back anything of interest."
"So he's like a historian or something?"
"Yeah, probably. But he only has an interest in ancient ruins, so what's left of the war is useless."
"Right, right… say, what of the war six years ago?"
"What do you mean?" the adventurer asks.
"You know… what happened?"
"You don't know what happened? I thought everyone already knew."
Ken shakes his head. "We're not really from around here. I hear a lot of people reference it, but I have no clue of the importance."
"Ah, I see. Well, it's a bit of a long story, but the short version is that the Kingdom was in a civil war. It is closer to ten years ago when the civil war started. It lasted like that for a while but eventually, people started to notice an increase in monster attacks."
"Like these goblins we fought?"
"Yup. They were never this common, so the sudden attacks caused a panic. But the civil war couldn't wait as both sides tried to exploit the attacks to weaken their opponents. Then, for some yet unknown reason, an army of orc mercenaries from Adaggird arrived and caused even more mayhem. Never taking any land or payment, the orcs seem to have only wanted to cause damage. Countless towns were destroyed, and cities were under siege. You can find plenty of people who have lost someone to the carnage the orcs and other monsters caused."
"Wait, wait. Orc mercenaries? Haven't heard of those before."
"Orcs are often thought to be brainless monsters, but they are more civilized than we thought. If you don't know, there is a nation in the far northeast called the Khaganate of Adaggird. They are a nation of only orcs."
"That's rather damning, isn't it?" Cayde says. "Wouldn't it mean Adaggird interfered in the Scorcian civil war?"
"We don't know. They never gained anything from the war, and they deny that they ever sent their warriors here. Shortly after the orcs caused so much destruction, the Venesians themselves sent their own armies. They claimed that it is both to stop the carnage caused by the monster attacks and to stop the war. But really, everyone knew that they were just helping one of the factions gain power. It is around that time when King Laess betrayed his allies."
"What were people fighting for exactly?"
"The usual politics I guess. Many took advantage of the conflict to kickstart their own political factions; there was no end to opposition. Most people had their trust in the King, who, at the time, opposed the Venesians and wanted Scorcia to be a strong independent Kingdom. But like I said, he betrayed everyone. He instead turned his back on those who fought for him and started to get friendly with the Venesians."
"Sounds like a douchebag," Cayde says. "People must hate him now, huh?"
"That's right. The war came to a quick and bloody end when a massive Venesian invasion force came. Monster attacks stopped, the orcs fled, factions were hunted and destroyed, all the elves and dwarves were arrested and sent away, and the King was allowed to stay on the throne so long as he remained loyal to the Empire."
"Sounds horrific. So then—what of these ruins? If not the civil war, then why are these here?"
"That's what no one knows, and our employer wants to find out. These sorts of ruins can be found pretty much anywhere, but very few contain any clues. There's a rumor that all known ruins have already been explored and scavenged long ago by the Great Powers, but no one knows for sure."
"Right, right. But surely we must know something, right?"
"Eh… not really. The Glasse Era started when everything else almost ended. Master Ulrich Glasse is legendary to the point of being a myth. Nothing survived the calamity back then. These ruins, though, are believed to be from before the Glasse Era even started."
"Yeah, that's cool and all, but what is the Glasse Era, and who is Ulrich Glasse?"
The adventurer sighs with annoyance and says, "Look, as much as I'd love to discuss the ancient history and the tales of old, we really just need to finish the contract. Our employer is impatient, and we don't want our pay to be cut."
Ken and Cayde watch the adventurers dig around the rubble, searching for anything of value for a few minutes before becoming bored. They aren't finding anything, but the adventurers don't seem bothered by it. Maybe they are already used to finding nothing.
Ken and Cayde decide to give their goodbyes and leave the group to finish their search. Though they are interested in this world's mysterious history, they can refrain themselves to learn another day. Right now, they need to head back to Efielge as their field testing is already complete. Despite a few minor issues and potential design changes, most of the weapons they brought are effective enough to sell. The stockpile they've accumulated will be turned over to Marc to display in his armory.
The rest of the Ringleader Team has been running Ardai Industries while they are gone, and progress should be going as smoothly as if they never left.
.
.
Walking along a stone road for several hours, Ken and Cayde can already see the city walls come into view. They pass through the gate with no problem despite some strange looks at their attire and weaponry. Once they make their way to the Mercenary Guild, they cash in their contracts and head for the Casiem.
Unfortunately, it is nothing but bad news.
"Mister Kai!" the receptionist exclaims.
"Hello Deana, how's it going?"
"Miss Eleanor wants to speak to you urgently. She is in her office."
"All right, I'll go see her. Come with me, Cayde."
"Sure thing, man."
They climb up the floors, reach Eleanor's office next to Ken's, and open the door to find Eleanor behind her desk.
"Ken! Err, Mister Kai, you're back," she says, surprised.
"I'm here too, no love?" Cayde mutters.
"Deana says that you needed me urgently?"
"Ken, it's the STC. They struck again. Worse than last time."
"Shit, what now? And when?"
"Your house. Marc's armory too. This time they succeeded, and much stuff is missing. It happened this morning."
"Fuck, I could have already been here if we ignored those adventurers." Ken exhales as he turns around in frustration. "Where's Matt?"
"Your house, assessing what they stole."
"Let's go, Cayde," he says as he leaves the office.
"Oh, I'm coming as well!" Eleanor races behind them.
.
.
Over at Ken's house, Matt and the others compile the information they know until three people come in through the broken door. It is Ken with Cayde and Eleanor.
"I'm back," Ken announces.
The interior of the house is a mess. Furniture is turned over, papers spread all over the floor, and cabinets are open. It is clear that the house was thoroughly searched.
Matt notices them enter the house and says, "Finally. As you can see, shit happened again, but they targeted your house."
"Marc's shop too, Lennings' Armory, but I hear it wasn't much more than a busted door and displaced documents," Jax says.
"Fucking STC. Probably got more street gangs to do their bidding again, huh?"
"Probably."
"Fuckers still don't learn that we don't back down. What did they take?"
"Everything. Whole place is ransacked. Whatever you kept in here, they took it."
"Fuck!" Ken smashed his hands on the table in anger.
"What did you have in here, Kai?" Matt asks with worry.
"Some of the blueprints for industrial equipment and machines were stored in my bedroom. Furnaces, boilers, the fucking steam hammer."
"Why the fuck did you have them here, Kai?"
"I was adjusting their designs from the issues we found on the prototypes."
"Where was everything else?"
"Storage in the Casiem, they didn't break in there, did they?"
"No, it's untouched."
"That's a relief. With the infinite resources they have, they can outcompete us in every industry. As long as we still have something they don't, we'll stay afloat."
"What will we do now?" Eleanor says as everyone else looks down in frustration. They are now in a challenging situation in which they can do little to resolve the problem.
"What 𝘤𝘢𝘯 we do?"
"We can bargain with them, can we not?" Eleanor suggests.
"All they will ask for is ownership of Ardai, which is definitely not happening. Negotiation is out of the picture."
"Then we fight back," Cayde says. "Pop some heads, and we're done. Easy, right?"
"That isn't happening." Matt cautiously looks at Eleanor before continuing. "We're on our own here, remember? With their power, labeling us as a terrorist organization after we do something like that is easy. Might as well sell out at that point. We don't have enough weight to throw around and get away with it."
"And we can't ask for help? No backup or security?"
Matt hesitates before answering his question as he almost says something he shouldn't.
"No, it's unlikely."
Ken taps his fingers while listening to everyone's propositions and tries to come up with a solution. They obviously can't sell out, or it can expose their origins and purpose. They also can't just raid an office because the STC would just retaliate. Violence is off the table at the moment. Fighting back so bluntly would be a quick way to jeopardize and end their mission in Scorcia.
"I think we just have to endure it."
"We have to endure this shit?"
"I briefly met with Duke Dente before I left the city. He didn't say directly but hinted that he wouldn't get involved. Right now, all this is to any authoritative body is market competition. The STC can't legally force us to do anything. For now, we are protected by law. The only threats are the Egwater gangs which the STC hires."
"That would have to be illegal, right? Can't we expose their dirty tricks?"
"They would just bribe any government official to ignore accusations. We're lucky that the Duke at least won't touch the subject."
"What about Graham Rakee?" Cayde says as he remembers his offer.
"Yeah, I guess he's also on the table. But then again, he can have also been involved in this. Since we refused his offer the first time, he has every reason to work against us. Eleanor, have you hears anything useful from Egwater?"
"Uh, no, I haven't. My brothers and I stay away from the gangs. Would you like me to investigate?"
"No, I can't ask you to risk yourself like that."
The room grows quiet as they contemplate. Everyone has a distant look on their faces. Eleanor herself can only wonder what they are thinking in their minds. She is quick to notice that everyone has something on their mind that they want to say but don't. It feels as if they are extremely cautious of their wording, especially since she is present in the room. She was about to ask what they are thinking but doesn't since that they wouldn't say anything if they didn't already. Clearly, something else is going on.
"We'll figure something out."
.
.
The next day, Ken decides to visit Marc to check up on how he is doing. Surely having his shop broken into must have had him spooked. Ken arrives during business hours when he notices that his place is lively with customers.
Right after his armory was broken into, Marc was quick to repair all the damage he sustained. Since Ken and Cayde's field testing was a success, all the stockpiled weapons in storage were approved to be put on the store shelves. That morning, Marc's armory unveiled Ardai Industries' weapons to the public, marking their entrance into the arms trade.
Customers roam the shelves and tables displaying the new weapons, of which they've never seen before. Most of them seem to be mercenaries and adventurers looking to get new equipment. A barf of rainbow-colored hairstyles and clothing indicate the magic capable adventurers from the more monochromatic mercenaries.
As Ken walks around in satisfaction from the attention the various unique designs gain, he notices that edged weapons seem to be the most popular. One particularly muscular mercenary holds an Ardai longsword and compares it to his own, trying to spot the stronger sword. Others play around with some of the knives and daggers in their hands while a few marksmen aim the new crossbows and bows.
In the back, Ken spots the counter where two people are conversing. He notices it is Marc happily chatting with some brunette female customer. At least that's what he thinks until he gets closer.
"Ah, Ken!" Marc says excitedly. "Great to see you."
"Well met, Ken," the female turns around to reveal herself to be Adeline.
"Hey there, you two. How's it going?"
"Marc was just telling me about how popular your weapons have become," Adeline says as she gives a smile at Marc.
"That fast, huh? They were only introduced this morning."
"Well, you can thank that to my exceptional advertising skills." Marc puffs up his chest.
"Aren't you one to boast?" Adeline mocks. "You were almost bankrupt not too long ago."
"It just shows how savvy I am to recover," Marc playfully says.
"Mmm yeah, I'm sure you are." Adeline smiles.
"Of course," he responds, "Mark Lennings never fails to impress."
"You never do."
It is clear to Ken that they were flirting before he arrived, and he awkwardly smiles at their interaction. It is comforting to know that his business partner wasn't deterred by the break-in and instead seems happy. But he still has business to discuss.
Ken coughs to break up their daze before he says, "Marc, I needed to talk to you."
"Is it about the STC?"
"Do I need to leave?" Adeline asks.
"No. Unless you have work or something?"
"Today's my free day, and I came to spend it with Marc. But if you need privacy, I can go."
"No, no," Ken says. "No harm in you staying."
"So, what did you need?" Marc asks.
"Well, first, how are you doing, man? With the break-in and all?"
"This place? Documents in the back were scattered, and the door was broken, but it was a quick fix. Nothing stolen. I hear your house also got broken into, yeah?"
"Yeah, but it's worse. They took a bunch of blueprints for industrial equipment."
Marc sighs. "That's no good. They will probably use that as leverage against you. Blackmail, maybe. Sell Ardai, or they release those blueprints to everyone. Ardai will take a serious financial hit if competition arises in the metallurgical industry."
"Yeah… But I've been thinking—we still produce carriages that no one else can. And we also just entered the arms trade. They must have gone through great lengths to convince people to attack us again, especially after the Bourkee gang was destroyed. They probably think they have us cornered with those blueprints in their hands."
"Yeah, so what?"
"All businesses aim for profit and advantage, and they think Ardai is no different. We can waste all their effort if we release those blueprints ourselves."
"Are you insane? You'll create competition against yourself!"
"We can survive, Marc. Look around; metallurgy isn't the only thing we can do."
"No one in their right mind would purposely expose their engineering secrets. What if they try again and steal blueprints and techniques for your weapons? Would you release that information too?"
"I don't plan on being robbed again. This will probably be a one-time thing."
"All right. If that's what you want to do, that is your business."
While they talk about their next steps, two people come to the counter, carrying equipment they picked out.
It is a young man and woman who dressed similarly. They are also distinctly lacking emotion or facial expressions. Both have cold dead eyes and a blank face. Their black hair tells Ken that they lack natural magic and are simple mercenaries.
The man wears long and loose clothing and a black cloak that reaches below his waist, while the woman next to him is surprisingly beautiful despite her intimidating appearance. She wears tighter clothes that complement her figure but is covered up with a cloak as well. All in all, she is a near-exact image of a seductive assassin.
Adeline and Ken step aside to allow them to put the equipment on the counter for Marc to check.
"Excellent selections here," Marc says, "though some of these are expensive."
"This bow interests me. What's special about it?" the man asks in a monotone voice while pointing at a compound bow.
"Ah well, I wouldn't know. Luckily for you, you can ask the creator right here." Marc waves at Ken.
"You created this bow?" he asks.
"Yeah, I designed it," Ken responds.
"Why is it weird?"
"It's a compound bow. These are called cams; it's how energy is stored instead of the bending that a normal bow does. The draw weight is pretty high when you start to pull it back, but it lets off when it's fully drawn so you can hold it longer. The mechanical concept is still experimental, but this one is as close to a finished product as we'll get at the moment. Shoots further than any other bow and deals more damage. It's crafted with aluminum, a strong and lightweight metal that is hard to come by. The material and the difficulty in creating it are why it's so expensive. That right there is just one of a few that exists right now."
The man inspects the bow as Ken is explaining and then sets it back down. It is remarkably light considering that it is made of metal. It is the first bow he's ever seen made with anything other than wood.
"Did you also make this?" the man sets down a butterfly knife.
"Yeah," Ken says, "it's called a butterfly knife. This one is particularly difficult to make because of the small size and detail it needed."
"It looks flimsy. How do you use it?" he asks, still speaking with a monotonous tone.
Ken picks up the butterfly knife and decides to show off a few tricks with it. He spins it around his hand while everyone watches in curiosity. It looks like he would slice a finger off at any moment as it moves around chaotically, but he never did. He has spent a lot of time waiting around while in the army and learned various knife tricks to satisfy his boredom.
"I wouldn't say this is any good for fighting compared to other knives. You can definitely hurt someone with it, but it's really just something to fidget with. Something to occupy your hands when you're bored."
When he sets the butterfly knife down, the woman presents Ken with a karambit without saying a word. Assuming that she wants Ken to show them how to use it, he takes it and spins it around his finger. He never fiddled with a karambit much before, so spinning it in a circular motion is all he can do.
"This is a karambit. More useful in a fight than a butterfly knife, and it's also kinda fun to play around with. There are some fighting techniques with this thing, but unfortunately, I don't know them."
Ken hands back the karambit to the woman, who in turn tries to imitate him and spins it around her finger. It doesn't last long before she cuts her finger as it spins around. The knife falls on the counter along with a drop of blood, but the woman strangely doesn't react. Her eyes remain cold, and her face without emotion as she simply glances at her injury as if it happened all the time.
"Uh, you all right?" Ken can't help but ask.
There is no response. Instead, the woman sets a pair of push daggers and a set of throwing knives on the counter.
"We'll buy these," the man says.
Ken glances at Marc and Adeline, who are both just as baffled at their strange behavior.
"This is a lot of money, are you sure?" Marc asks, and the man nods in silence.
Marc processes the purchase, and the mysterious pair quickly leave the armory, leaving everyone bewildered.
"That sure was strange," Adeline comments.
"Any idea who they are?"
"I have never seen them before."
"Right, by the way." Marc reaches into his pocket as he has just remembered something important. "I found this note in the morning on my door. I'm sure it's meant for you."
Ken takes the note and reads it.
𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 - 𝘙𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘦.
"Do you know who it is?"
"Yeah." Ken sighs as he is reminded of his problems. "I'll be on my way. I'll leave you two to—whatever you were doing before."
"Farewell, Ken!" Adeline says while Marc waves goodbye.
.
.
In the outskirts of Efielge, the slums of Egwater live in darkness and depression as any other day. Yet again, Ken finds himself roaming the dangerous streets looking for trouble while wearing a disguise. As much as Ken would rather not work with a criminal gang leader such as Graham, it might just be the only way to get the Egwater gangs off his back. First, he will have to hear what Graham has to say, and something tells him that it's nothing good. Somehow some way, a bad feeling is building up.
He finds the signature black knife painted on a door where a guard stands, and he makes his way in.
"Ye arrived at last," Graham says with his usual raspy voice.
"Yeah, I got your note. So, what is so important?"
"Calm down there, son. First, I want to know how business is going?"
"Considering that a megacorporation is trying to take us down? We are doing very well."
"So I've heard… The stakes have risen, Mister Kai. The STC has come to make sure you don't survive."
"Yeah? They already broke into my house and stole a bunch of my stuff. What else can they possibly do?"
"Worse. We heard from some—colleagues, Ardai Industries will soon be blacklisted from the Venesian market. They aim to block your access to imports."
"Of course…" Ken sits back in his chair as his frustration consumes him.
Though he is beginning to rely less and less on imported materials as production methods start evolving in Scorcia, it will delay Ardai's growth.
"There's one more thing you should know," Graham says in a severe manner.
"Hmm?"
"The STC also issued a bounty. One hundred pounds for your head."
The sudden revelation makes Ken huff in response. Every day, his troubles grow. If his mission is compromised before he can even complete it, it would be a colossal waste of time and resources. Creating trouble is something he's supposed to do once Ardai stands alongside the upper class, not while it is still climbing.
"One hundred pounds is a lot of money, but I choose to offer you protection once more. I hope you realize the magnitude of this. The STC sees you not as a business competitor, but as a threat to imperial control."
"Yeah, I know. They don't want their vassals gaining economic or industrial independence."
"Frankly, I care not for your motives or goals. I just care for who has more coins. So what will it be, Mister Kai? The underworld has their eyes on you, and they are hungry."