Supreme Magus novel Chapter 1624

Chapter 1624 - Failure And Success (Part 2)

"Depends. Are you going to join my nest?" She replied.

"No." They said in unison.

"Then I can only advise you to do things step by step and fix your mistakes one at a time. I'm no volunteer worker and my time is precious." Salaark's frown turned into a small smile as she turned around and left.

'Soon.' She thought.

***

Griffon Kingdom, Orthan Region, city of Hunc.

The failed attempt on Zinya's life had brought terrible consequences for the usually flourishing business of the underworld. Tezka's cursed spells had done more than just kill most of the members of the mercenary units, it had also exposed the location of their headquarters.

On top of that, Zogar Vastor wasn't a forgiving man. As the Master, he had put a bounty on the heads of the survivors so big that no matter where they went, they had no allies.

The Organization scoured the illegal routes out of the Kingdom and patrolled the alleged safe houses. At the same time, the Spellbreakers of the Mage Association questioned the families of the known members of the Talons and had put the entire city of Nunc, where the giant iceberg had appeared, on lockdown.

Even the few rogue mages who had escaped death by Blinking outside the building or out of sheer luck were now forced to hide in the sewers and hope for a miracle.

Anela Linnea, ex-Headmistress of the Lightning Griffon and current General of the Talons, had survived only because her work as a Forgemaster required quiet and isolation.

Also, ever since Scarlett the Scorpicore had decimated the mercenary unit, the upper echelons had moved their private quarters away from the dimensional hub that the Talons used to move around the Kingdom.

'Damn you, Nerea. Once again, this is all your fault. First, you cost me my position in the army. Then, your twice damned protégé had the Royal Court take away from me my seat at the Lightning Griffon, and now that thrice damned Constable Yehval has seized my new house.'

Linnea was sitting on a squeaky chair that belonged to the Frothing Mug. Despite its friendly name, the tavern was so sordid that under normal circumstances she wouldn't even consider burning it with a fireball and using it as firewood, let alone being one of its patrons.

The floors were dirty and sticky from the cheap alcohol that had been spilled during the night that no one had bothered cleaning. Her table was greasy from the food that the so-called cook deep fried in animal fat to cover up the taste of the barely edible ingredients he used.

The dim lights of the rooms revealed so many round marks left by the glasses of the past customers that Linnea had come to believe that no one had actually cleaned the place since its grand opening.

A rat so big that it might as well have worn an apron and worked there as a waiter, mistook the noise of Linnea's chair for the love calls of a member of its species and fearlessly scampered under her table.

It found no love but plenty of food.

Luckily for her, the looming civil war had stretched the resources of the Kingdom's thin and there was always a high demand for skilled Forgemasters in the criminal underworld.

At first, she had bartered her work in exchange for protection, but then the very same runt who had ruined her had given Linnea the second wind she needed. After being slaughtered by Lith and Scarlett, the Talons were in dire need of fresh blood.

The fallen Headmistress had happily joined them in order to regain her wealth and to get her revenge against the Kingdom that had tossed her away like garbage. Thanks to her knowledge and talent, she had quickly climbed the Talon's ranks.

Linnea had worked in the academy long enough to know the basics of every specialization and owned many books that couldn't be bought even on the black market.

Her abilities as teacher, Royal Forgemaster, and leader soon brought the entire mercenary organization under her thumb, giving Linnea back most of what she had lost.

Every powerful noble who needed the Talon's help had to show her respect and deference. Her works would be sold on the black market for tens of times their regular price, filling her pockets with gold.

Last, but not least, by choosing which assignments the Talons would accept and which they would refuse, Linnea had exerted a political influence on par with that of an ancient noble household.

Yet her dream life had been shattered again. She had survived during the past few weeks by breaking into the house of middle-class people and killing all of its occupants.

It usually bought her a few days of respite before someone noticed the disappearance of her victims and called the guards… Linnea was careful leaving behind no traces nor bodies so that the constables would believe to be dealing with a missing person case instead of murder.