Lich for Hire

Bear had originally been in the Assault armor and picking off Lyon airships like stationary targets.

Then, he spotted Cade Watson. It was obvious with one look that this was someone important. Bear put a shot into him, then caught him.

Once Cade Watson heard the name Megaman Tiga, he stopped resisting entirely and let Bear bring him aboard the Blacktide.

The moment he stepped inside, a wave of dark energy hit him. Two undead stood in front of him, a man and a young woman.

The man was presumably Master Megaman Tiga. As for the young woman staring at him like she was deciding whether to crush him with one finger, Cade had no idea who she was, but the answer to that question seemed immaterial. She was clearly extremely powerful, and he was not going to survive a confrontation with her.

Not resisting had definitely been the right call. He had no particular interest in dying young.

Ambrose studied him carefully. Equipped with chain armor and a warhammer, this was clearly a priest of light. But his face triggered a certain sense of familiarity.

"You resemble a friend of mine. Would you happen to know Allen Watson?"

Cade smiled wryly. "Allen is my younger brother. I'm Cade Watson. It's an honor to meet you, Master Megaman."

Ambrose was mildly surprised. "You're aware that my pardon has been revoked."

A Lyon soldier, voluntarily civil to a lich—that was a first. Both Allen and his father James had borne hostility toward Ambrose as a matter of course. Cade Watson showed none of it, at least nothing Ambrose could detect.

"Never mind the pardon," Cade said. "I'm practically a wanted man myself at this point."

"Allen's situation dragged you down?"

"We're family. No one's dragging anyone down. And if not for Allen, I wouldn't have the pleasure of this conversation right now, would I?"

Ambrose was quietly impressed. This man really was easygoing.

He would never have guessed that old, rigid James Watson could produce a son like this. Was he a foundling, perhaps?

"I'm not entirely sure why you've brought me here," Cade continued, with an air of practicality, "but if I'm to be your hostage, I'm afraid you've chosen the wrong person."

He gave a brief account of his current standing.

Ambrose listened with a degree of sympathy.

James Watson had served as High Inquisitor for years, and the record of what he had built was public knowledge. Now that he was gone, the empire had discarded everything he had stood for, and was even having his son watched.

Lyon had genuinely fallen a long way.

"I'm not here for a hostage, but rather to advertise my wares. You're aware that red dragons have appeared, ones not bound by the old covenant. Lyon hasn't dealt with the threat of dragons in over a thousand years, which means it's going to be taking a lot of hits before anyone figures out how to return them.

"I was thinking of selling some equipment to Lyon: jetpacks, warships, and the like, but given your situation..."

Cade wasn't actually in a position to help make that happen.

But Cade's expression changed immediately. "Things like that automaton that brought me here?"

He had watched Bear in action. Bear zipped around the skies, hit fast, and hit hard. If these flying suits could be acquired in bulk, the dragons might quickly become a manageable problem.

Ambrose shook his head. "Hastin is an undead. The moment he entered a Lyon city, the holy light would vaporize him. What I can offer you is the equipment alone."

Ambrose produced a jetpack and handed it to Cade, allowing him to test it on the spot. He wasn't worried about the latter escaping: there was nowhere to go, and nothing to run toward.

Cade understood the situation clearly. There was obviously no threat to his life here. Trying to flee would be pointlessly self-destructive, turning him from a guest into a prisoner. He accepted the pack and tested it.

Within moments, his blond hair looked as if it had become a bird's nest. But it was also immediately apparent to him, within thirty seconds of getting airborne, exactly what this device represented.

This was strategic equipment, the kind of thing that defined whether you could fight in the sky at all. Against dragons, this would mean everything.

He didn't pause to consider how he looked. "Master Megaman, how many of these do you have? What are you asking for them?"

"I can equip a thousand-unit aerial force for ten thousand gold per unit—buy ten, and get one free. The question is whether you can make this happen."

Cade nodded. "My personal standing is complicated right now, but I know exactly which people in Lyon are in a position to deal with you. You may not be aware, but Lyon is in a fragile state at the moment. Every faction is scrambling to secure its own position. Your products would find a ready market."

"Have things gotten that unstable?"

"Things might seem fine on the surface, but we're one major conflict away from total collapse."

The emperor's performance on the battlefield had been incredibly damaging to morale.

In another country, it might have been forgiable for a young commander to freeze up and flee on his first real engagement. But not Lyon.

From childhood, every Lyon soldier was raised on the doctrine of fighting to the last. The emperor, who had personally insisted on leading the campaign, had run from the fight in terror, and in doing so had crushed a wide swathe of his own troops beneath his dragon's body.

His actions were a death knell to Lyon's morale.

The calls for accountability had grown too loud to suppress.

This explained why Lyon hadn't made any move even when the githarks sailed away. They were in no position to wage another war.

In fact, the githark threat might be the only thing holding the empire together at the moment.

Ambrose smiled. "Lyon's royal house spent generations conditioning everyone around them, but that conditioning is a double-edged sword. The standards for a Lyon emperor are simply higher than for any other monarch on the continent. I'd be curious to see the young emperor's face right now."

That said, he didn't agree to anything immediately. There was one question left. "Cade, you seem to trust me despite the fact that we've just met, despite the fact that I'm a lich. What's your reasoning?"

Cade smiled. "Master Megaman, you're too modest. Is there anyone living who's done more good in this world? How many wars have you stopped by now? The lives you've saved would put my father to shame.

"And as a priest, I have a simple method of verifying the righteousness of my deeds."

He raised his right hand. Holy light gathered at his fist.

"The Lord of Dawn hasn't withdrawn his blessing. That's all the proof I need that my judgment is sound."

Ambrose's appreciation for this man increased considerably. Of all the people of Lyon he had ever met, this one was surely the most intelligent.

"Alright. I'm glad to work with you."

He produced a spatial pouch and handed it over. It contained several jetpacks, along with written specifications for the combat airships, and a magic mirror for long-distance communication.

"Contact me whenever you have news."

Cade tucked the pouch away carefully, then looked at Ambrose with one final request. "Master Megaman, before I go, could I ask you to rough me up a bit with some dark energy? I can't exactly walk away from your ship looking completely unharmed."