The Empires Rise

With the start of the next intermission, Eleanor again went down to see if she could make any connections; this time, though, Narus went with her. Once they left the room, I thought of what the next part of the auction would have.

Considering the second part was larger quantity sets per lot instead of the single-item sets, I looked forward to seeing if any items might have.

Sitting in the box, I continue to order more drinks. When the attendant arrives, I ask, "Is it possible for me to pay for what I have already won and take a closer look at some of the items?"

This stopped him briefly before he replied, "While it is possible if you intend to leave the auction house, we typically hold all winnings until the end to prevent any incidents in the lobby area or the gathering after the auction."

"I guess an incident in the past caused the Golden Hammer Consortium to implement those rules?"

Nodding, "Yes, there have been several incidents of people winning auctions only to be bullied into giving them up while still in the auction house. It hasn't been that way for over a hundred years since the rule was implemented."

Considering this information, I agree that this is the best option. I had read enough novels that people would get ambushed outside an auction house after winning an item they desperately needed because they outbid another party.

"Are there any other questions you have for me, sir?" The attendant asks.

"No, thank you for your time."

With the dismissal, he closes the door and heads on to his next task. The time slowly ticks by as I wait for the auction to start again. It isn't long before I get a notification.

- Eleanor would like to invite a party up to your box, do you accept? Yes/No -

I agree with the request about why Eleanor would want to bring someone up to the box. Not a moment later, Eleanor is standing inside the room with another woman standing next to her.

"Hello, Drake. I want to introduce you to Koto. She was bidding against us during the first part of the auction. It seems like she has something she would like to discuss with you, and since you weren't coming out of the room, she found Narus and asked her about meeting more privately."

I look at the woman before me, trying to understand where she is coming from. She is pretty short, close to 1.5 meters tall. On her head, she has brown hair and pointed cat ears. A tail swishes back and forth behind her back.

"Hello, I am Drake, as Eleanor has so kindly introduced. I am the leader, you could say, for the settlement that Narus and Eleanor are a part of. What can I do for you?"

She responds with a light but authoritative voice, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Drake. I was curious as to why you wanted that token so much?"

Thinking about why she would ask, I chuckle, "Isn't it obvious? I plan on using it to help upgrade my settlement. I wouldn't have fought for it if I didn't need it."

She thinks about something momentarily before asking another question: "Since you need it, could I take that when Narus said you could help me as something you plan to uphold?"

Trying to think about how she would ask me about something like this, I look at her dumbfounded. "I don't plan on neglecting any duties, but that doesn't mean I will be a pushover. I would want to know what sort of help you would need. Also, it isn't that I don't want to provide you with any help, but my territory seems to be closed off from others at this time. So I don't have any full capability to help."

She ponders this information: "So, I take it you are new to the multiverse and don't know everything that can happen."

Scratching the back of my head, I look at Eleanor, who is sighing and shaking her head. "That wouldn't be an incorrect statement."

With a cat-like smile, she looks at me. "Well, this makes things so much easier."

"Oh? And how is-" It isn't long before I receive a system notification.

- Koto has called upon the aid that your subordinate Narus has offered. Due to the offer to assist, you, as the settlement's leader, have been given the quest in her stead.

Settlement Quest Received:

A Helping Hand

Due to an offer of assistance, Koto has called upon your aid. After the auction is over, you have the option to assist Koto in tiering up her settlement in the settlement trial. If you assist, Koto will offer to become an ally of yours. If you refuse to assist, your settlement will be known for ignoring requests for help that have been called upon.

Words have power. Watch what you say or what your subordinates offer in your name.

Tasks:

Assist in the Tier-up trial for Koto's settlement: 0/1

Rewards:

Koto as an allied settlement

Failure:

Settlement Reputation: Promise Breaker: ?? Progress -

I look at Koto with shock in my eyes. I can see her gleeful smile as if she had taken something from me.

"Eleanor, did you know something like this is happening?"

"No, what happened?"

Explaining what happened, she turns to Koto and glares at her. "So, that was your plan, huh?" Turning to me, she bows low. "I am sorry. I didn't realize that she could do something like that. I will talk with Narus so we don't do anything like that in the future. I also want to inform her that we need to make sure not to offer assistance without first discussing it."

Not a second has passed since she said that, and Narus arrives back at the box. Seeing Eleanor's foul mood and my look of shock and disgust, she turns to the other person in our box. "What happened?"

Once again, she describes what just happened and looks at Koto. "Hmmm. This is an interesting turn of events. I think it would be best if you were to leave, " her voice is stern.

Still smiling devilishly, Koto turns and walks out of the door, leaving us.

Once the door closed behind her completely, I finally let out a small breath. Eleanor smiles at me, and Narus sighs before looking down. "Well, that could have gone better." Eleanor is the first to start.

"Yes, but I still think she could force the issue without me knowing anything through a quest. That irritates me." I responded, "Next time, we need to make sure that we don't provide any leverage point, not to give someone the option to help them, and also to give us potential downsides. I am curious what the settlement titles would do, but I don't want to risk it right now."

"Understandable. Let's step back and think about what we should do." Narus provides a neutral tone to the conversation.

"What should we do?" Eleanor asks with hits of sarcasm. "Of course, we bring those willing to help and support them. We can use this opportunity to not only get in the good graces of another settlement but also allow our forces to get stronger without risking the settlement. There couldn't be a better opportunity for us." She says while getting excited for the battles to come.

"I agree with what Eleanor says. Let's get a group of people together when we get back and finish this assistance. Another thing I would like to point out is there isn't a time window. So, we might be able to drag it out for a little bit until we do some more training."

Narus thinks about both of our thoughts on the matter and then nods. "That is reasonable. We should bring it up at the next meeting when we return."

"Alright, let's focus on what we have learned." I say, "Eleanor, other than with Koto, is there anything you found out while with the others?"

"With the second portion of the auction ending, more of those in higher tier boxes did come down. There wasn't much information provided before I had to leave with Koto, but I gathered that we should be looking forward to levels 10 and 25."

"Why those levels in particular?" I asked.

"Those are the levels that start the process of class evolution, I overheard."

"Class evolution, I can only think that anything provided by something called that should be good."

"I didn't overhear much after the levels the evolutions happen at. We will figure that part out as people reach level 10." She answers.

"Did you get anything while down in the lobby, Narus?"

"No, I didn't. I did see that woman and her ruler?" She says the last part is more of a question than a definitive answer. "They were talking with others. She was talking; he only ever stood by and was giving tacit approval toward her actions. It seems like the power dynamic is pretty strict on her side. He doesn't want to talk with anyone or has delegated the entire task to her since she is more approachable."

Hearing the word approachable in conjunction with that woman makes me want to vomit. "Did you notice anything that we should be concerned about?"

Shaking her head, Narus responds, "I didn't overhear what they were talking about. I did see lots of smiles directed their way, and they seem to have it out for Eleanor."

"Yeah," Eleanor steps in. "Every time I went to talk to one person or another, she wouldn't be more than a couple of steps behind me in talking with the same person. The entire time, she would slander me and you just because we are from the same settlement while also exciting herself and giving out promises left and right."

Smiling at Eleanor, I asked, "She was giving out promises? Like what?"

"Things like providing aid and making defensive pacts."

Looking at her, my smile can't help but climb higher on my face. "If that is the case and she doesn't know the rules like we didn't, don't you think that her giving all those promises will end up biting her in the ass?"

Seeing where I am coming from, she nods quickly and smiles along with me, "Oh, they are going to have a hard time once people start to call in those aid requests. We should be able to figure out what the 'Promise Breaker' settlement title does once they get it."

"True enough." Looking down at the stage, the next auctioneer has stepped out, and who would be shocked to know it is the first woman on the stage to run the last part of the auction?