Hex wandered around, following the group as they showed him around.
Sterling and his team had arrived a few days earlier than him – they didn’t make any detours or encounter ambushes – and were familiar with the place.
Although he tried to pay attention, Hex’s mind wandered off now and again. The little piece of information he gained from reading the Dairy continued to haunt him.
’The Divine Lord is Wrixia’s little brother. Are they teaming up? Is Ella’s presence here arranged for sothing other than the competition?’
Questions. And no answers.
It irritated him. But at the sa ti, he was learning to search for clues by himself.
"Are you listening?"
He felt soone pull his arm. With a start he looked up, seeing Sterling’s questioning gaze.
"Yes. Sorry," he said. "Just have so things on my mind."
"Pssh." Dolaire pursed her lips. She looked at her twin. "We are so inconsiderate, taking our ti to show the young lord around. We didn’t consider he had other things on his mind. Please forgive us."
She bowed and mock-apologized.
"Can’t you–," Sterling started to request but was cut off by her.
"No. I can’t. You want him on the team. Okay. I agree. He has the ability. But he isn’t as invested in all of this as we are. Our lives depend on this. He...is just trying. If things go awry, he will just go his way."
She didn’t speak loudly, yet Hex heard each and every word clearly. She wasn’t hiding her displeasure and he, deep down, agreed with her.
"It’s true. To , this competition only has learning and training goals. And to gather resources," Hex said slowly. "But I never hid that. Sterling knew all along why I followed you guys."
"That’s true. Hex doesn’t owe us–," Sterling shrugged before Hex cut him off.
"I am going to give it my all. No holding back. No half-assing. No distractions." Hex had not spoken without giving it a serious thought.
The seriousness in his speech and the genuineness in his eyes stunned the group.
...
"Why is everyone partying and getting along?" Hex finally asked the thing that confused and bothered him the most.
They were at the end of the plaza. He had seen the rows and rows of food stands, ale stalls, and...et and greets.
Why the hell was there a et and greet at the plaza? It baffled him to see people from different parts of the world – Sterling pointed out that they were drabbed in different garbs – playing cards and drinking gas.
"These are the diplomats and support personnel. There are no doubt plenty of spies mixed in these groups, trying to lull each other into revealing secrets and other important information," Quid explained.
"For the war?" Hex asked. He hadn’t considered the importance of information gathering in this way but it seed to be sothing everyone else was doing. It was like an open secret.
"It’s like a ga of wits between them. They all know that everyone is trying to milk information from each other, yet they all participate. Each person participating in these things is confident that they can extract their opponent’s secrets without divulging their own," Dollaire added, in a rare instance of replying to Hex.
"And this isn’t limited to nations," Gronke continued. He had been silent most of the ti, devoting his attention to his snacks and drinks. "There are several benefits and objectives at play in these little shops."
"What do you an?" Hex asked. He expected the war to be the most prominent event at play. People gain new information about their opponents and their powers. ’Co to think of it, I am still not sure who all are participating in this war. I expect all the Taboos and Sages, but are they going to participate directly or are there nations serving them?’
"Well, the war has just started," Quid started. "No matter the scope, a war begins not on the battlefield but in the warehouses and on the backs of mounts."
Hex looked confused at him.
"Logistics," Quid explained. "From people to supplies, everything needs to be prepared. The consensus is that, while skirmishes might occur here and there, the all-out war will begin in a year."
Quid explained briefly how everyone had to prepare for a war over a long ti. And how rchants would grow or disappear over the coming days. They didn’t only have to prepare for the present but also the future. After all, most wouldn’t benefit until the war had finished. There was no knowing how long that would take.
"It’s a gamble," Sterling concluded.
"Speaking of gambling," Quid interrupted, "that is another reason these spies exist. All rchants and gambling houses are trying to find their champion. The public will bet, no doubt, but I can assure you, every gambling den has its favorite or even favorites they will favor. To win AND to lose. Especially those they think will lose."
"And he doesn’t an only during the war or competition," Sterling winked. "They wish to find all kinds of stuff. For example, a few days ago, they discovered a certain princess sleeping with her coach driver. That princess was promised to her nation’s general’s son. I heard today that once the general learned about the affair, he betrayed the nation causing it to lose its border fortress. At the sa, today, one of the smaller gambling houses has bought three of their competitors and expanded to a dium size, while gaining the said general as one of its guardians."
Hex shook his head in amazent and amusent. rchants were always sneaky. They would do everything to grow in size and power. Who knew what else was being learned and discussed in these places? He certainly stopped seeing them as a bunch of partying fools. When he looked at the people laughing and drinking with each other, he couldn’t help but see a bunch of snakes wriggling and slithering around each other, trying to bite each other whenever they gained a chance.
"Anyway, that was just general stuff happening around here," Sterling said, pulling him to a building sticking out of the main branch. Such buildings were rare. Most were just dangling from the sides. Hex had learned that buildings that were actually part of the branch housed sothing far more important.
"What is this?" He asked.
"This is where the true competition is. The arena where true participants are challenging each other."
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