Granin Lazus looked around the room with thinly veiled contempt . He didn't recognise most of the Cult members who were present . The new blood had flooded this outpost, filling it to the brim until the entire place stank of impatience, ignorance and disregard for tried and tested methods . All these Golgari, some of them with their true skin barely set, looked so excited to be there . Huddled together in their triads their excited whispered fill the room .
"Boss, how's our man looking? Ready to go?"
The insistent whisper of Corun Nium, second of Granin's triad probably drew more attention to them than talking in a regular voice would have done . The sibilant hiss cut through the hubbub around them and drew more than a few curious eyes . Granin just shrugged at them and tried to insinuate through gestures that his second was suffering from a mental ailment and his medication had run out .
"Boss . Hey . Boss!" Like being prodded directly in the ear with a knife, the hissing voice seemed to stab directly into his brain .
"Dammit Nium! Shut up would you!" Granin bellowed .
All sound in the chamber cut off as everyone turned to look at the cause of the disturbance . All they saw was a fuming Granin, a very slightly abashed Corun and Torrina Laksham, third of the triad, trying to shrink out of sight . Far from wanting to hide, Granin openly glared back at everyone who met his eyes until he was satisfied they had registered his anger . Gradually the sound picked up again as the various groups resumed their chatter, only then did he turn back to his second .
"Your damned stage whisper is the least effective possible way of hiding what you want to talk about . Just speak like a normal person . "
"Sorry, Boss . I'm just worried . The Cult has never done anything like this before, have they?"
"They haven't" Torrina broke in quietly from the side, "at least according to all the records that I can access . "
"That's what I'm saying . Is Anthony going to be alright? How's he feeling? I can't imagine he's in a good place right now . "
He did look genuinely concerned and Granin couldn't help but wonder again at how quickly the cursed insect had managed to win over the members of his triad . His own conversations with the creature were irritating more than anything else .
"He's fine," he grunted, "I wouldn't say that he's happy about the situation . Far from it . But he's managed to wrap his head around what's going to happen to him . "
"Did you find time to talk to him about strategy? About his build? What sort of Skills are we working with?" Torrina asked, her voice quiet but intense .
Granin snorted .
"First off, he wouldn't let me look at his core . Damned ingrate . "
The other two members of the triad shared a glance .
"I'm not too surprised by that," Corun said slowly .
"What's that supposed to mean?" Granin huffed .
"Well . You haven't exactly endeared yourself to him . You have to admit, your demeanour is less than friendly at the best of times, and towards Anthony you've been particularly cold . "
Torrina nodded in agreement, which soured Granin's mood . Find authorized novels in Webnovel,faster updates, better experience,Please click www . webnovel . com for visiting .
"I haven't been that bad," he protested . Then he reflected . "Have I?" he wondered, sounding far less convinced than a moment ago .
The two younger shapers shared another look with seemed to confirm the mounting suspicion that he'd treated the newest member of the Cult's menagerie worse than he should have .
"Look, I did manage to talk to him a fair bit . He was cagey, and there was a lot he didn't want to share, but we managed to find a few things that he can work on before this circus gets started . We three know that he's got a lot more going on under the hood than people expect . He's going to shock some of these morons, I have no doubt about that . "
Corun smiled and nodded . This was what he wanted to hear!
"Do you think he's got a chance of winning this thing? That's his only way of getting out alive, right?"
The still expression that came over his leader's face didn't inspire a lot of confidence in him .
"Granin?" He asked .
"I'm not sure he's going to have what it takes to go all the way," he said reluctantly . "I know there's a few projects that the Cult has squirreled away for a long time . If they've been brought here and dragged into this mess then it would be hard to see the ant making it through alive . "
"Let's hope he doesn't get put against such a monster in the first round then . " Torrina observed quietly .
The three of them fell into a grim silence as they each contemplated the fate of their charge in the upcoming battles . All around them the Shapers of the cult engaged in polite small talk, animated discussion and quiet strategizing about their own prospects in the tournament . Observations, tips and pointers were exchanged as the Golgari mages tried to predict the outcomes of theoretical matchups and considered the finer points of monster archetypes . The atrium was the perfect space for this kind of thing . A wide chamber with soft and comfortable furniture for reclining in, sconces and columns around which small groups would naturally form . Anytime the Shapers would hold some form of gathering it would inevitably be in a space such as this . Granin hated them, much as he hated all of the formal settings he was forced to endure . He would rather be in the field . Out there he was able to make his own decisions and didn't have to put up with other's idiocy .
A short time later there came a single, loud chime that resounded through the space with unnatural clarity, cutting through all conversation and silencing any words yet to escape from lips . The note hung in the air pure and clean as the chatter ceased as if cut by a knife and all in attendance turned toward the centre of the space where the leading triad had assembled to address the gathering .
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