“I am Sir Henry of Mostenstein, your humble wandering knight,” I said, keeping my voice level and deliberately unthreatening. “I witnessed a civic disturbance, and intervened to prevent further damage until authorities arrived.”

  That was, of course, what I thought I said.

  [Intimidating Aura Activated — Authoritative Dominance Established]“You will address me as Sir Henry of Mostenstein, knight errant, unbound and acting. I observed a hostile aetheric entity breaching warded civic space, endangering civilians and degrading infrastructure. I intervened. The creature remains alive because I allowed it to. It waits here because I judged this ground acceptable. I recognized Concve authority and yielded the moment it arrived—beted though that arrival was. Had it not, the matter would have been resolved without need for your pointless intervention.”

  Great. Ceralis’d just insulted their entire organization.

  [Aura Farming Initiated]

  [Aura Farmed: 1]

  [Intimidation Failed]

  [Offense Taken]

  What even was an ‘aura’? I pulled the description up.

  Aura Points: A on-material resource generated through assertive presence, intent projection, and dominance exchanges.

  Aura is accrued when the bearer exerts psychological or metaphysical pressure on sentient entities. Yield is influenced by:

  Target willpower and resistance

  Disparity in authority or status

  Duration and intensity of the exchange

  Note: Failed intimidation attempts may still generate Aura if resistance is encountered.

  Usage: Aura Points may be redeemed in the Aura Market for skills, enhancements, and other modutions.

  I skimmed the description, already regretting it. This wasn’t how strength was supposed to work. Not through people thinking I was being deliberately threatening when I was just trying to get through a sentence intact. I didn’t like that Ceralis thought my forced intimidation was a game.

  But if this was the game I was stuck with... I’d be an idiot not to learn how to py it.

  Vaalor’s uncovered eye narrowed. The containment field around the leymire did not change, yet the marsh reeds bowed as if pressed down by a sudden weight.

  He said, still in his calm voice, “You speak lightly of intervention. The Concve has ensured the safety of thousands across this district alone. The Concve has sealed breaches before civilians ever knew they existed. The Concve has contained, neutralized, erased creatures from record so cities could sleep without knowing why.” He took one measured step forward. “We arrive when escation would otherwise be necessary, especially when independent actors have the tendency to overreach their authority.”

  [Counter Intimidation Recognized]

  [Intimidation Aura — Lv. 8]

  Silvermane did not care. She lowered her head, snorted, and began nosing through the marsh grass at her feet, testing a clump with her teeth as if this were an excellent time to see whether wet reeds tasted any different from dry ones.

  I lifted one hand, slow and careful. “Chief Investigator, I meant no disrespect—”

  [De-escation Detected]

  [Reframing for Dominance]

  “—yet where,” my voice continued smoothly, betraying me, “was this vaunted vigince when the perpetrator shattered three wards, traversed two trade streets, and reached a marsh boundary unopposed? The Order teaches that authority is proven by action, not by arriving te to annex the consequences of someone else’s resolve.”

  Curse you, Ceralis, you scripture-cherry-picking, sanctimonious brass-polisher of a daemon.

  Vaalor glowered at me. “Choose your next words carefully, ‘Knight’,” he said quietly. “You are standing in the space between professional restraint and institutional memory.”

  [Warning: Rhetorical Escation]

  [Intimidation Battle Engaged]

  Ah, bsted. I was today years old when I learned ‘Intimidation Battle’ was a thing.

  Note: Victory in an Intimidation Battle yields threefold Aura gain, scaled by opponent authority and resistance.I heaved a sigh. Fine. My aura was Lv. 10. As long as I got Vaalor to not actually do anything else but talk, this was already decided.

  I simply looked at him, activating my Silent Authority. Immediately, I could see my gaze overwhelming his, and the way he was forcefully forcing his single eye to not look away from me.

  [Aura Farmed: 3]

  [Intimidation Battle — Advantage Established]

  Vaalor did not look away.

  That alone was impressive. Good. A professional.

  “You mistake restraint for absence,” he said at st. “The Concve does not scramble after every loose anomaly like frightened vilgers with bells. We choose when to act. Control over theatrics. Had we arrived moments ter, the outcome would have been identical—minus the unnecessary spectacle.”

  “Identical,” I echoed. “An interesting cim, considering the creature was contained, unharvested, and waiting politely when you arrived. I find it reassuring that your procedures now align so closely with mine.”

  Vaalor’s eye twitched. “Do not mistake coincidence for coordination,” he said. “The Concve anticipated this outcome.”

  “Ah,” I nodded. “Then I’m pleased to have fulfilled your expectations in advance.”

  A murmur rippled behind him.

  “We account for variables,” Vaalor continued stiffly. “Independent actors are... statistically inevitable.”

  I replied, “Such is because I am an inevitability.”

  Silvermane chose that moment to wander two steps forward and sniff Vaalor’s boot.

  Neither of us acknowledged it.

  “You operate without oversight,” Vaalor said. “Without mandate.”

  “Correct,” I said. “It’s very efficient.”

  “You ck authorization.”

  “I compensate with results.”

  “You undermine institutional order.”

  “I streamline it.”

  [Intimidation Battle — Advantage Dwindling]One could not win an intimidation battle by being insufferable. One must dominate.

  Fine, Ceralis. Take the wheel.

  “You presume,” he said carefully, “to lecture the Concve on consequence.”

  I tilted my head a fraction.

  “No,” I replied. “Question my methods, and the consequences will arrive before the question finishes forming.”

  [Overwhelming Aura Activated]

  [Commanding Gaze Activated]

  [Command Tone Activated]

  Vaalor scoffed. But he said nothing.

  “This is not a conversation. This is a forecast.” I leaned in just enough that my shadow crossed his boots. “You question me, and clerks three districts away will wake up uneasy, unsure why their hands are shaking while they stamp reports they haven’t written yet. You will brief your superiors, and you will not use my name. You will say ‘the Knight’ instead. And nobody will dare say a word, will dare breathe at the mere mention of me. From that day on, whenever a Concve clerk hears pte armor shift in the distance, they will double-check their ledgers. You will circute a memo advising caution. It will be revised six times. Each revision will be less specific than the st. Eventually it will read only: ‘If encountered, do not escate.’ And long after this incident is archived, footnoted, and buried, the trembling will remain—because no one will remember what I did... only that the Concve once decided not to find out.”

  What am I even saying? This is over a leymire. A FERRET.

  [Intimidation Successful]For a moment, he—Chief Investigator of the Concve, master of calm procedural dominance—looked small.

  “Enough,” he said in a lower voice than normal. “This... forecast has been registered. We are here for the leymire, and for no other... distractions. Your participation will be recorded. The Concve will note your initiative, and rewards appropriate to such initiative will be considered.”

  [Intimidation Battle Won]

  [Aura Farmed: 22 x 300% = 66]

  [Low Reputation Established: Infamy]

  Infamy Rating: B+

  Sphere of Influence: The Aurelienth Concve

  Duration: 37 days

  Even as he spoke, I could feel the lingering heat of my aura, the recoil of his professional pride against the avanche I’d unleashed. I knew it would take weeks for the internal memos, the whispers among clerks, the careful footsteps in the halls of the Concve, to settle back to normal.

  Vaalor moved toward the leymire, careful, controlled, but not without a gnce back at me. He did not speak of my methods again.

  The representatives of the Concve surrounded the leymires, lifted the creature, then carefully maneuvered it onto a suspended sigil-ptform. Within moments, the creature was gone.

  Vaalor produced another parchment from the folds of his coat. “Sir Henry of Mostenstein, the Concve recognizes your initiative and the containment of the leymire. Accordingly, you are awarded two thousand Kohns.”

  I felt it immediately: a rush of pride, warmth in my chest, a beam forming in my mind that threatened to lift the visor off entirely. Two thousand Kohns! That was a full day’s work in a Low Tier 2 dungeon!

  “However...” Vaalor continued.

  Now that didn’t sound good already.

  Vaalor said, “Deductions. Five hundred Kohns for property damage—specifically, the vendor whose citrus stock you pulverized.”

  My beam faltered.

  “One thousand Kohns for destroying a cart. Four hundred Kohns for colpsing the wedding inventory crate,” Vaalor continued. “Sixty Kohns for scaffolding damage. Two hundred Kohns for the undry line, creatively rearranged. And ten Kohns for mplight disruptions along the leymire’s path, bringing your net bance to one hundred and seventy Kohns owed to the Concve.”

  Silvermane snorted beside me.

  I could feel the temptation, faint but persistent: my aura still radiated, my gaze still commanded. One intimidating gre, one choice word, and the Concve would surely reconsider. Yet, I was a knight of Saint Merin, not a debt dodger. I reached into my pouch, counting out the exact coins, and paid in full, silently, without comment.

  If Anabeth had been here, she would have done exactly what I could not: she’d have parleyed, bargained, upsold our help, and negotiated a reduction for the ‘cart incident.’ Probably she’d have gotten the Concve to pay me for damages averted, simply by eloquence and insinuation. A thousand Kohns for a cart? Too much. That was Anabeth logic. But I was not Anabeth. I was Henry.

  I shoved the st coin into their clerk’s hand. Before leaving, Vaalor added for a final time, “Mr. ‘Knight’, next time you witness such disturbances, leave w enforcement to the Concve. Have a good day.” He gestured to his follower, and they left before I could nod.

  I let out a slow breath, brushing my hand down Silvermane’s neck. “Well,” I murmured, “that’s that.”

  It was then, from around a bend in the path, that Anabeth reappeared. Her stride was uneven, a hand pressed to her stomach, and a ugh, half-cough, half-giggle, tumbled out.

  “Ah… stomachaches,” she said, waving vaguely. “They tend to linger for a longgg time, don’t they?” Her grin widened. “Say... were there other people here?”

  “Yes, there were,” I said.

  Anabeth wobbled a little, still grinning, still holding her stomach. “Ah... well, I—”

  She would not leave this to theatrics. I had quite enough of her attempts at evasion.

  “No.” I raised my hand. “You will answer me now. Who are you, and why are you evading authorities?”