Chương 74: Common Ground

Enzo spotted them from the bottom of the driveway. Two figures sitting on the front steps, backpacks at their feet. He started up the slope, hating every step. As he got closer, he looked them over. Pops looked the same as he always did. Calm and contained, watching everything around him with an expression that gave away nothing. Signe was another matter. There were dark circles under her eyes that he could see even before he got close.

Her clothes were dirty, her hair pulled back into a loose knot that had mostly given up. But she looked fine. They both did. He let out a breath, releasing tension he hadn't realized he'd been holding onto since they left. Pops nodded at him as he reached the steps.

"Son."

"Pops." Enzo nodded back. Val rushed past and wrapped her arms around their father. The old man's face broke into a gentle smile as he returned the hug. Signe looked up at Enzo. Then she held out a hand, almost limply, fingers barely extended. Enzo took it and pulled her to her feet. She stumbled forward into him with a small smile. He looked down at her, holding her gaze for a long moment.

"How'd it go?"

"Well enough." She stepped back but didn't let go of his hand immediately.

"We should talk inside." She turned and leaned down for her backpack, wincing slightly as she did. Pops had already disengaged from the hug and shouldered his backpack. They headed inside together, with the others following behind. Pops led the way through the living room, dropping his backpack against the wall. In the kitchen, he went straight for the jug of water they kept on the sink, pulled the cloth from it, and filled a glass. He set it in front of Signe first. She took it and drank without stopping.

Then he poured one for everyone else, placing them around the table as people settled into chairs. Val next to Sumi. Kenzo leaning back with his arms crossed. Frank declined the glass, and remained standing, leaning against the archway into the kitchen. Enzo pulled out the chair next to Signe and lowered himself into it before hooking the handle of the cane over the table's edge. Pops refilled Signe's glass, then his own. Val ran out of patience first.

"Well? Did you speak to the 101s? Are they going to work with us?"

"We were able to locate one of my old friends," Pops said.

"Which was actually pretty lucky. Turns out he's one of their militia leaders, and he was happy to organize a meeting at a safe location. Put in a good word for us too. After that, they took us to their headquarters to talk, which took us a little longer than expected. We ended up staying with them overnight and most of today." Enzo nodded. They'd been gone for almost forty hours, by his counting.

It didn't seem like much, but given they were talking about a walk that should have taken at most a few hours, and that was including the time required to circle around the Riders territory, every hour had been stressful. Pops glanced at Signe.

"I'll let Siggy explain the negotiations and the magic side of things, but I can tell you that while they're struggling to keep everyone fed, they've got plenty of manpower."

"How do they even still have food?" Kenzo asked.

"Paradise Cay," Pops said.

"They have their own fleet of yachts and boats, though from what they were saying, the Riders have been hitting them from the water, too. During the early days, they sent raiding teams all the way up to San Rafael, so they had quite the stockpile."

"They gave up on that pretty quickly though," Signe added.

"Why?" Enzo asked.

"San Rafael is overrun by Eaters. The group I was traveling with cut through it by sticking to the railway tracks, but even we could see it was bad."

"That's kinda close," Frank muttered.

"Also might explain why we been hearin' more an' more Eater cries from the north and north-east." Kenzo turned to Frank.

"You think they're migrating?"

"Could be. Figure it'll be more of a problem for the Riders and the 101s than us, though." Enzo shook his head.

"Those screams are just as close to us as they are the Riders."

"Aye. But they're coming from somewhere, because we weren't hearing nothing for weeks."

"Can we get back to the negotiations with the 101s?" Val said, drawing everyone's attention.

"Please?" Signe hid a smile.

"Anyway," Pops continued, "while they're an organized group, it was obvious they were trying to show us their strengths and none of their weaknesses." He shook his head.

"I'm not suggesting they're not decent people, but they've got difficulties of their own, and I suspect they were downplaying them a bit." Enzo nodded. Even if they were, he wouldn't hold it against them. He'd probably do the same if the situation was reversed. Portraying strength was simply practical, if for no other reason than to deter the other faction from any hostile intentions. But that didn't mean they could ignore it. He turned to Signe.

"Did the talks go well?" She swallowed another mouthful of water, then put the glass down.

"Their leader's name is Lance," Signe said.

"He's a cultivator. One of thirteen mages originally, though they've lost a few fighting the Riders." She paused, gathering her thoughts.

"Like us, they've formed something of a mage council, though they argue and debate more like equals from what I saw." Val leaned in.

"Were they open to forming an alliance against the Riders?" Signe straightened.

"Oh, yeah." She reached down beside her chair and pulled a thick folder from her backpack. She held it out to Enzo. He took it and flipped it open. The first page was typewritten. As were the pages that followed.

"The negotiations started off a bit slow," Signe said.

"They outnumber us roughly two-to-one, so giving them a rundown of our forces didn't draw much excitement." She glanced at Enzo.

"That changed after I gave them the mana battery and explained the magical advances we've made, and that we were very willing to open trade with them." Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Enzo looked up from the folder.

"They gave you all of this for free?" He'd only flicked through a few pages, but the value was already obvious. Notes on magical theory, including techniques and spells they hadn't even thought of themselves. Sketched maps of the surrounding area, with Rider positions and patrol routes marked. Profiles of known Rider mages. Signe nodded.

"It took a little digging, but most of their mages are cultivators. They only have two wizards, and neither of them are enchanters."

"They have quite a few 'Infusers', though," Pops added.

"Enough that even most of their normal militia members have upgraded weapons or armor." Val's eyes widened.

"That's impressive."

"It makes sense," Sumi said quietly. Everyone turned to her.

"Empowerment is the most intuitive discipline. I'm not even sure it should be considered crafting, but going from Empowerment to Infusion is a very natural step. The conceptual barrier is much lower than enchanting." Enzo was still turning pages. A hand-drawn diagram of the Sausalito marina that was significantly more detailed than anything Matt's scouts had produced. Patrol schedules. Estimated Rider headcount.

"This is worth more than the battery," he said.

"It's all about perspective, Son," Pops said.

"That information is probably as valuable to them as the battery was to you. But like you, they understand how important it is in trade, right at this moment." Enzo nodded, then closed the folder and slid it across the table to Sumi, who'd been staring at it almost hungrily from the moment it landed in his hands.

"Did they propose anything?" Enzo asked Signe.

"They want to meet with you to discuss the details of the alliance against the Riders," Signe said.

"But long-term, they're more interested in beginning trade of magical information and equipment. And food." Val frowned.

"We're not in a position to trade food."

"I explained that," Signe said.

"But I also talked up the work Sumi and Enzo are doing." She glanced at him.

"The showers were a popular topic, even though they have access to plenty of sea water."

"Hot showers," Frank said with a chuckle.

"One of life's little luxuries." Signe continued.

"When I mentioned that we're hunting and growing our own food, as well as beginning magical experimentation to grow plants faster, they seemed to take that as a done thing."

"There are some promising developments in that area," Sumi said without looking up from the folder.

"But it will be weeks, not days, before I'm certain whether the experiments are a success. Even then, I'm just one person. Assuming we can accelerate plant growth without any abnormalities or nutritional defects, it will require daily tending by mages."

"Or batteries?" Enzo asked.

"Or batteries," Sumi confirmed. She glanced up.

"But my current estimates suggest it'll take at least two times the mana we use per shower per square meter of garden every day. Minimum. More if we want to speed it up further."

"Mana crystals?" Sumi nodded.

"That would considerably reduce the demand, but it will require more testing. And only once I'm sure the formations I'm developing will actually work."

"So, produce for fish?" Val asked.

"Once the Riders are dealt with and both groups have increased production, of course."

"If your mother was here, I'm sure she'd point out that there are quite a number of challenges that would need to be overcome," Pops said. Val nodded.

"I know. I've already spoken to her about it. I don't have my notes, but the Gardening Club's idea is to work with the hunters to locate suitable spots along hunting paths and creeks to plant more berry bushes and fruit trees. Then, any suitable flats or clearings can be terraced for regular farming. Things like leafy greens, tomatoes, beans, and root vegetables." She grimaced.

"Mom was trying to explain what would grow and when and so on, but most of it went over my head." Pops smiled.

"Sounds like you have it in hand, sweetheart." He glanced around the table.

"Mutual food demand is a pretty good backbone for any trade agreement."

"What stops the 101s from growing their own stuff once we trade the magic to do it?" Frank asked.

"Or after they figure it out themselves."

"Location," Kenzo said.

"East of the 101 has little in the way of fresh water and arable soil. Now that I think about it, how are they handling drinking water?"

"They have entire streets cordoned off and tarped over," Pops said.

"Buckets gathering runoff from most rooftops. And several teams who boil bay water and collect the condensation. It's quite the operation. I wasn't even allowed close without an escort, even after I was vouched for."

"What about rifts?" Enzo asked, guiding the discussion back to the magical side of things.

"We didn't really discuss them," Signe said.

"But they had a few mana crystals on display in the meeting room, so they obviously have access to at least one."

"Or had," Val added.

"They might have closed them." Signe nodded.

"Perhaps any initial trade agreement needs to take long-term trade into account anyway," Enzo said thoughtfully.

"That way, even if we were to build up our own fishing operations or they developed their own farming solutions, both factions would continue trading those resources regardless."

"That's a good idea, assuming they understand the reasoning and agree to it," Pops said.

"And that both sides are gonna hold themselves accountable to the words on a document," Frank said. Everyone turned to him. Frank shrugged.

"Just sayin'. It's not like we got a functionin' legal system anymore." He paused.

"Not that it was great when it did exist."

"He's got a point," Enzo said.

"We'll negotiate in good faith, but we plan for a future where we can sustain ourselves should there be any problems." There were murmurs and nods of agreement all around the room. He turned to Signe.

"When and where do they want to meet?"

"Tomorrow, noon," she said.

"I suggested the Mill Valley Golf Club as the location. It's roughly the same distance between both bases, maybe a bit closer to us, but it allows both sides to circumvent the Riders' territory and we can meet out in the open, on one of the greens."

"That's not a lot of time to prepare," Val said.

"What about numbers? Who's going?" Signe nodded.

"Five people each. Three mages on either side. Lance and Enzo included, obviously." Enzo leaned back in the chair. Kenzo and Val were his immediate choices. Kenzo was easily underestimated as pure muscle, while Val knew everything there was to know on the operational side of the settlement. And she was one of their more experienced fighters.

"Take Kenzo and Signe," Val said, cutting through his thoughts. He raised an eyebrow.

"Why not you?" Val made a face.

"You were right last time. One of us needs to be here." She jabbed a thumb at Kenzo.

"He's your muscle."

"Hey," Kenzo said, crossing his arms.

"I represent that." Val ignored him.

"And Signe is a familiar face. She can tell you who's who, and it'll reinforce her position as the Herald of our guild." Enzo nodded slowly. He'd expected his sister would want to go, but her arguments made a lot of sense.

"I'll go as well," Pops said.

"Unless you want to take someone else?"

"No," Enzo said, shaking his head.

"You should be there. Who's the last person?"

"Not me," Frank said when a few people glanced at him.

"I should stay for the same reason as Val. I can assign you someone from the Watch, if you want. Got one lady who's shaping up to be something of a sharpshooter with the crossbow."

"I was thinking that Jack might be an option," Enzo said. Val shook her head.

"No. Jack's too important, and she won't be helpful in the way you want. Trade negotiations will have to be strictly limited to magical stuff for the time being. Food can be discussed after the Riders are dealt with." Enzo glanced up at Frank.

"I'll take the sharpshooter then. As long as she can be trusted not to cause any problems."

"She's good people," Frank said.

"Quiet though. Probably make an excellent hunter, honestly."

"Alright," Enzo said, climbing to his feet and grabbing his cane.

"Sin. Pops. I'm sure you both could use some food, a chance to get cleaned up, and time to rest. We'll head out tomorrow an hour before noon."

"I'm going to take this and the mana crystals back to the guild hall," Sumi said, still reading the 101s' notes even as she climbed to her feet.

"Let me know if you need me for anything."

"I'll help," Kenzo said. As everyone began filing out of the room, Signe looked up at Enzo.

"I'm going to borrow your shower," she said. Then she batted her eyelashes at him with a grin.

"You don't mind, do you?" Enzo looked down into tired yet mischievous green eyes.

"You know where everything is. Meet me in my room when you're done?" Her grin widened.

"Of course, High Magus. Whatever you say." Val snickered behind him, but followed the others without comment. Enzo sighed, then headed for the stairs.