It was not difficult for Dee to travel to the new area controlled by the Crimson Path. It was, after all, the same area Xinglong controlled while still alive, and Dee had been there before. However, she was a bit leery about opening a portal straight there in case the Crimson Witches attacked first and asked questions later. The problem was that access to the first circle via the general teleportation gates was very strictly controlled. One couldn’t just stroll there on the basis of being an immortal. You had to be invited, and those invitations didn’t appear very often. Few of the nine most powerful communities allowed entry for anyone not part of their community. The dragons and the Titans were a bit of an exception in allowing the members of their race access.

In fact, access to the first circle was so limited that Dee would most likely draw more attention to herself by using the gates than she did now as she came out of a portal in her dragon form. Yes, she caused quite a stir among the Crimson Witches, but they were not likely to gossip about that fact considering she got inside their defenses so easily. On the other hand, if she had used any of the standard teleportation gates, the word would get around very quickly as the mages operating the gates would spread the word. Even the gates controlled by the Five Winds had unaffiliated mages present for monitoring purposes. This was a measure taken after some communities had abused gates they controlled.

Still, it was risky to just appear like this. She had been preparing to defend herself against incoming attacks, but as she showed no hostility while slowly landing on a wide clearing ringed by the Crimson Witches, the witches made no move to attack. This was most likely a measure of the confidence they had in their own power. The Crimson Witches were surrounding her and watching her carefully, but as long as she made no sudden moves, they didn’t seem likely to attack. As long as she could explain her presence that is. They would most likely turn more aggressive if she didn’t have a good reason for being here.

The weird thing was that there wasn’t all that much to see here. For some reason, the Crimson Witches had decided to place most of their facilities underground. There was a large-ish logistics center and lots of open space above ground where Dee landed, but those were mostly for the purposes of trade and visitors like Dee. In fact, many of the buildings in the surroundings seemed to be for the purposes of housing the rare visitor. Dee could sense at least few non-witches inside the buildings. The real facilities of the Crimson Witches were all underground. They would most likely utilize mountains in their construction as well if it wasn’t for the fact that the Living Mountain had been the only large mountain in the central areas of this territory.

One of the high-ranking witches approached Dee. “And what brings one of your kind here esteemed dragon?” Her tone was firm, making it clear that Dee’s presence was not exactly a pleasure, but it was also respectful. Dragons usually were respected no matter where they went, for a good reason.

“I’m here to meet one of your kind called Anastasia. She is familiar with me. Give her this. She will understand.” Dee gingerly handed a gift basket to the witch. The basket looked comically small held between the very tips of two of her claws. It was actually so difficult to not destroy the basket by accident that Dee almost considered cheating and just floating it to the witch with her telekinesis. For some reason this gesture appealed to her more though, so she persevered.

“..a gift basket?” The witch’s face twisted in what seemed like suppressed amusement and sudden understanding. Rumors about the leader of the witches talking about gift baskets had circled among the other members. There had also been faint rumors about Anastasia cursing about the objects. “I will see to it that it is delivered. For the meantime, I must insist that you stay here and avoid any sudden moves. The other swords are a little jumpy due to your presence.

“Understood.” Dee acknowledged and slowly got into a more relaxed position on the ground. “You wouldn’t have anything to eat while I wait? Just to pass the time.” She suggested. Dee had no idea what the witches ate, but she was eager to try.

“That…could be arranged I believe.” The surprised witch stated slowly. This whole situation was a little too odd for her tastes.

-----

Anastasia watched on with trepidation as her secretary Janika placed a large gift basket on her table. The handle looked like it had been damaged by something sharp and large, but it seemed unlikely her secretary was the reason for the damage. She fervently hoped that the sender of that gift basket was who she thought it would be. If it wasn’t, then that would be proof that her master had sent out those damned things behind Anastasia’s back. Perhaps even worse, it would mean they might be becoming a thing.

“Give me the card.” Anastasia requested in a tired voice. Best get this over with.

She was filled with both surprise and delight when the card only had a gold-filigreed letter D on it. She was delighted because the silly thing was not spreading…yet. She was also surprised because there was no other message. “What’s this? Are you sure there’s no more to this? Where did the basket come from?”

“The sword who brought it in said it was handed to her by a dragon that landed outside, near the visitor’s quarters.” Janika seemed to be enjoying the whole situation immensely. That might be because the silly secretary seemed to have gotten the wrong idea. She thought these baskets were sent to Anastasia by a secret admirer, who just happened to have access to some really good channels of information. Why else would someone send something like a gift basket instead of a simple message?

“A dragon?” Now it was Anastasia’s turn to be confused. A kitsune she would understand, but a dragon? Still, if it was the same Dee she was thinking about, then this new development would only add to the list of things she would need to ask about one day when she had the opportunity. “Have her brought here.”

“A dragon doesn’t’ exactly fit into your office. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather go outside to meet this mystery dragon, preferably at a place where everyone can see?” Janika countered. She knew very well that most dragons could change their form into something more compact. She was just teasing.

“Just do it. Also warn the escorts that the dragon will have to change forms, just so they won’t try to get themselves killed when it happens. I know it can look a little odd when dragons change their form.” Anastasia snapped back.

-----

Dee had been really interested to see the underground base of the Crimson Witches as she was escorted deeper and deeper. To her disappointment, she didn’t get to see all that much as the whole place was still being built and the route she had taken was very efficient in ways that military types preferred, which was to say straight and not showing anything they didn’t want to be seen. It was understandable though. The Crimson Witches were warriors not earth mages and they had recently moved their base of operations here. Of course it would still be under construction, even assuming they brought what they could from their previous location. Moving underground facilities around was much harder than moving buildings and fields no matter how skilled the mages involved were.

For some reason, the secretary looking Crimson Witch had seemed awfully disappointed as she noticed Dee’s entry, though Dee had no idea why. Anastasia had shooed her off as soon as Dee was seated in front of her desk with some refreshments. Anastasia’s eyes took in the large haunch of some cloven-hooved animal Dee had just stored after taking a bite. The small grimace afterward had been interesting. The meat was the food Dee had been provided in her dragon form. Dee didn’t recognize the taste but it was delicious. Or at least it had been in her dragon form. Her taste for raw meat went down in her normal form for several reasons.

“I’m almost afraid to ask…” Anastasia mumbled, mostly to herself. She was referring to the meat Dee had just stored.

“It was something one of the guards was kind enough to provide my dragon form when I waited for you to invite me in. I think she called it Nug.” Dee replied nonchalantly and proceeded to pick up the tea and biscuits the secretary had laid out before leaving.

“Oh, one of those things? They’re everywhere in the forest. I have no idea why the previous owner placed so many of the feeble creatures around the place, but they have become a staple of our food supplies. It’s pretty decent.” The blond-haired witch said with recognition and gave her head a small shake. She had been thinking too deeply at something so silly.

“I think it does interesting things to a dragon’s palate for some reason. I have no idea why. It’s really good as a dragon though. Less so now.” Dee explained her own experience. The meat had truly been good and she planned to ask for more when she left.

“Be that as it may, I doubt that’s why you’re here.” Anastasia prompted, moving to the point. “We still owe you for that last message of yours.”

“Well, it’s nice of you to mention that, since I’m actually here to collect on that favor.” Dee replied with a small smile.

“I suspected as much. Before that, may I ask where you got the information? As far as we were able to figure, you found out long before anyone in the first circle did.” Anastasia couldn’t help but ask.

“That would be because I was the one who killed Xinglong, at his request I should point out.” Dee replied without even the slightest hesitation. She surmised that this information might be worth more if she shared it with the witches rather than hiding it.

“That’s…unexpected but not entirely outside what I had guessed. I suppose it has something to do with that dragon form I heard about. Not exactly the same as Xinglong but similar. I have further questions, but I suppose they can wait for now. You said you’re here to collect on the favor?” Anastasia said with a healthy amount of hesitation. She had guessed that Dee had been present when the old dragon died, though she couldn’t have known Dee had given the final blow.

“Yes, though I suspect you might not find my requests entirely unpleasant. I’m not sure how aware you are of the situation, but your ascension to the first circle due to a fiat by the Solarians left the rest of us in a bit of a bind. More specifically, you had competition that was not really defeated and is now rather cranky and taking it out on others.” Dee framed the situation in a way that it might make the Crimson Witches feel they had unfinished business.

“You’re referring to the Spider Cult, I assume.” Anastasia confirmed with a frown.

“Yes. Now, the declaration by the Solarians makes it hard for them to openly attack others as a community, but it doesn’t stop the individual members of their group from picking fights and framing the resulting damage as private quarrels. Everyone is also prevented from mounting an effective resistance due to the fact that the Spider Cult has such large amount of power without obvious challengers. If, say, I happened to kill a high ranking member of their community that is picking a fight with me, the rest of the cult would not be very likely to just let it go. They might not be willing to retaliate right now with the safe period declared by the Solarians still in play, but that will not last forever. And they would not settle for attacking just me, but would attack the Five Winds as a whole.” Dee explained the problem in some detail.

“I see. That would be a problem. You’re also not entirely wrong in that we also had a part in this, though that doesn’t make it our responsibility. I personally wouldn’t mind teaching the Spider Cult a lesson, and neither would my master, but we aren’t really in a position to wipe them out either. We have our own problems as well.” Anastasia replied carefully. The first circle wasn’t free of power plays between communities and the Crimson Path was the new player everyone was eyeing with care. Their every move would be evaluated and judged. Suddenly attacking the Spider Cult would cause some issues.

“I can imagine, though I might be able to offer a small hint that might help in that regard. That said, I don’t expect you to wipe out the Spider Cult. I did you a favor, but not that big of a favor.” Dee’s words allowed Anastasia to relax a bit.

“Then what exactly are you asking?” Anastasia leaned forward with her fingers interlocked in front of her mouth in a neutral posture.

“Well, the Spider Cult is mostly throwing its weight around because it isn’t receiving any proper resistance. It’s not a state of affairs where they are actually waging a full war on everyone. They need a lesson, not annihilation. Though I wouldn’t mind a bit of annihilation either. I think we can give them a small lesson if the Crimson Witches provide us with cover against retaliation.” Dee suggested.

“I’m guessing this isn’t just us saying that you are under our protection.” Anastasia guessed. “They might ignore such declarations with a certain degree of confidence in being able to hurt you without incurring retaliation from us if they stop before wiping you out.”

“Correct. It would be a bit too simple that way. However, how would the Spider Cult react if the Crimson Witches were to declare an alliance with both a third circle community that was currently being harassed by the Spider Cult and second circle community that helped that previous community repel said harassment? Especially if those two communities don’t seem to be connected with each other or with the Crimson Path on the surface. The Spider Cult would think you were singling them out and providing protection to anyone they might want to threaten. Of course it would need to be a proper alliance with some of your forces sent in as protection.” Dee outlined a plan she had hatched with both the representatives of the Five Winds and Cynisca’s father. It had actually been the representative of the Threads of Fate that had suggested the alliance. According to her, the idea had a high chance of success.

Anastasia considered things for a while. There was a reason why proper alliances were rare in the inner circles of Pantheon outside the recent troubles with the Night city communities. A true alliance meant binding their fates together to a significant degree, and alliances like that were rarely short-term. If the Crimson Path did not show up to help the Five Winds when they were attacked despite being allies, their reputation would be gone for good. Most communities were also at least rivals if not fierce enemies with several vendettas cultivated over the millennia. And that was without the racial issues counted in, which would only complicate matters. Alliances under such conditions were not a simple thing.

“I could see us forming an alliance with the Five Winds. I won’t lie, a lot of that is because of you personally. That possibility is even more pronounced if we assume some of you might join the Crimson Path. I’m actually curious if the Jun or the Meilin could use our techniques. There already exists a handful of swords from the wolf tribes.” As the Crimson Path was all female, they had some difficulties replenishing their numbers internally. As a result, they recruited from other communities. Having an ally feeding them recruits would be useful. “However, this third circle community might be a separate issue.”

“What if I were to tell you that the community I have in mind is Lacademonians.” Dee asked with a grin. She knew damn well that High Human warriors like the Lacademonians made the best type of recruits for the Crimson Path. They were almost designed to become warriors and the techniques of the Witches were easy to adapt for their use.

Anastasia gave a small whistle. “Well, that does change things quite a bit. Would they go for it though? We’ve had contact with them before and they have not expressed interest. They prefer to avoid such ties.”

“That was before their beloved homeland was at risk of being overrun by the undead. You know better than me why they’re so persistent on that land.” Dee actually had very little idea about the reason. She just knew it was true. She could make guesses, but those might be wildly inaccurate.

Anastasia laughed. “They have certain Authorities that are location bound. When the previous owner is killed, those Authorities return to that area. Also it has been their homeland for thousands and thousands of years, so they have formed deeper ties with the land than most other communities that move around.

She suddenly narrowed her eyes while looking at Dee. “What are you getting out of this? I get the Lacademonians, and even we seem to be getting benefits, but what about the Five Winds? Why would you go to such lengths? And what about you personally?”

Dee grimaced a bit in response. The whole thing had started due to some blacksmiths but had developed beyond that. The representatives had actually been delighted to learn Dee might be able to arrange an alliance with a first circle community. “The Five Winds need allies. It seems some in the community have big plans, and the better those plans go, the bigger their plans get. I don’t mind really, as it offers me plenty of opportunities to grow stronger. Truth be told, being allied with a first circle community is a rather enticing prospect in itself. It provides a certain amount of security if nothing else. Besides, we need a bit of something from the Lacademonians.”

What Dee didn’t mention was that she also wanted to help secure the community for when she left. She knew she would eventually leave Pantheon, and it seemed the time might not be that far off, all things considered. She was becoming something of a pillar of support for the Five Winds. The community had given her a home and she wanted to help safeguard them even when she was gone. Maybe when she managed to finish all the nasty business outside Pantheon, she might have a home to return to? She was rather fond of the eccentric community.

“I think this can be arranged. If things go as you have planned, we won’t even need to fight the Spider Cult and gain allies that I personally at least favor. We will need to work out some details, but for now I think we can agree. Oh, that reminds me, I have a question that you might be able to answer. Originally this area housed something called the Living Mountain. If you killed Xinglong, you should know what I’m talking about. Yet that mountain was gone once we took over. Any idea what happened to it?” Anastasia felt it was time to ask something that had been bothering her since this conversation started.

“Does it look like I’m carrying around a mountain?” Dee asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, it does not. You’re also not a mage capable of moving the mountain magically. I know you’re a psion.” Anastasia replied with a small smile.

Dee made a small gesture with her hand. Translation: “Well, there you go then.”

‘She knows. I have no idea how, but she has the mountain!’ Anastasia suddenly thought. She had no idea how she came to the conclusion, but there it was. Maybe it was just a hunch based on Dee’s tone. ‘Well, that just makes it even more useful to make allies with her. If the Living Mountain picked her as the new owner, there’s very little we can do about that. But if we are allies…’

Both parties were rather pleased with themselves as the negotiations came to a close. Those kinds of deals were always the best basis for an alliance.