Hira turned around to find a short but stocky Dwarven man with a thick mustache and an even thicker beard, standing a few paces away from her. "Grenad," Hira gave a nod of acknowledgment to the only other mage of comparable rank on this recruitment journey.
Just because mages belonged to the same alliance, didn't mean that there weren't factions in them. The whole point of joining an alliance was to gain more benefits than one could accrue on their own. And where benefits were involved, factions motivated by self-interest were the natural consequence. This was why it was important for any alliance that didn't want to fracture to balance out the growth and power of those factions. That's one of the reasons Grenad had been sent alongside her. It was not an iron-clad rule, but whichever faction did a recruitment, usually gained the new member as a part of their faction simply because they were already familiar with them. By having more than one faction take part in the recruitment process, the one being recruited is given a broader choice of where they want to land.
The other reason for having two seventh-tier mages come was because one was there to back up the other just in case the negotiations turned hostile. After having lived so long, no seventh-tier mage was naïve enough to not plan for a situation where they found themselves in a battle to the death. Of course, by the same token, two seventh-tier mages approaching one who was on his own might be considered threatening, so only one of the two of them would be the negotiator, Hira in this case. Grenad would be hanging back in the airship, as her security. It went without saying that she was rather formidable a fighter. One had to be if they hoped to make it as far as they had. She, however, wasn't arrogant enough to believe that she'd be able to take anything that might be thrown at her. Having a second seventh-tier mage as backup gave her a considerable advantage should any fight break out. Of course, Hira knew that Grenad was also waiting to see if she succeeded or not. If she failed to win the prospective mage over, then he'd also have a shot at it as per the rules of their alliance, in which case she'd be his backup.
"They were just about to approach. Unfortunately, with your face close by, I don't think they'll be as inclined to show themselves anymore," She teased right back. They might not have belonged to the same faction, but all said and done, Hira was happy that he was the one who had tagged along on this mission. Not only was he a powerful fighter, which would make him a good backup in case things went poorly, but even more so, he was a straight shooter almost to a fault. A brawler at heart, the body-enhancing mage was in a way just as direct as his fists. If he said something, you didn't have to worry about double or hidden meanings. Like a punch to the face, you wouldn't have to sit for long hours trying to decipher what he meant to say. And as an added bonus, he wasn't a snob stuck on formalities like most other mages at their tier. Once little more than a street rat herself, it had taken Hira a long time to figure out the circuitous and often indirect way most people in the higher echelons of society spoke. There were always a dozen insinuations and implied meanings with each statement they uttered. It usually left her with a headache. To her, someone like Grenad was a breath of fresh air, which is why she could so easily banter with him.
A snort left the dwarf that barely came up to her waist. "If they've seen my face, then you've already won half the battle of winning them over to our side," He stated with his usual brash arrogance.
Rolling her eyes at the remark, Hira pulled out a communication crystal from her storage ring and spoke into it. "This is close enough,"
The Seven airships that had been flying in a V formation slowly drifted to a stop. The mountain was still far off in the distance, at least another hour by airship. This, however, wasn't a problem. Just like two seventh-tier mages coming together could be perceived as a threat, showing up with seven airships could easily be misconstrued as an attack. "Captain Vena, Captain Krix, advance," she added. The two airships at the tips of the V pulled away from the rest advancing towards the mountain.
Hira wasn't being creative, this was already established protocol for approaching potential recruits to the alliance. First, send in fourth-tier and fifth-tier mages with gifts to the prospective mage. This way, they'd be the more powerful party in that first meeting and wouldn't be threatened. The gifts are to create a favorable impression and smoothen any following negotiations. If they are receptive the advance team will inform them that a seventh-tier mage is following behind to negotiate their joining the Draknar alliance. At this point, the mage can either choose to meet or refuse to. If they aren't receptive then the meeting is delayed as they try to figure out what the prospective mage might want to make the meeting happen. Oftentimes, the first one or two refusals are just a ploy to milk out more gifts from the alliance, which is why they usually never hand out everything they planned to give right from the start. Majority of the gifts would be held back and be given in batches depending on how long negotiations lasted.
The mages on the two airships weren't just there to give gifts. They'd also covertly observe the new mage and bring back information about them to whoever the negotiator would be. Were they a man or a woman? Which school of magic do they pursue? What is their demeanor? Are they easily irritable or staid and calm? What about resources? Do they seem self-sufficient or are they low on resources? Heck, even things such as vices of choice were crucial negotiation information. That's why the advance team was always filled with alluring men and women just to see if one would catch the fancy of the prospective mage. In a day or two, they could return and report on all their findings, arming her with the information she'd need to negotiate as effectively as possible.
Or at least, that's what she had expected. Just six hours after the two airships had departed, one of the fourth-tier mages under Captain Vena came back with an unexpected report. There were only mundane people in the town. Exchanging glances with Grenad, Hira saw the same frown on his face that she had on her own. "Are you sure?" She asked the fourth-tier mage currently bowing on the deck. It was a frivolous question. Given the difference in tiers between them, Hira knew that they wouldn't dare come to her with a shoddy report, lest their lives be forfeit. They had probably figured out that there was no high-tier mage within the first hour. The following five had probably been spent looking for any scrap of evidence for where they might have gone, or even if there had ever been a high-tier mage there to begin with.
"A runner," Grenad muttered, the displeasure in his voice clear to be heard. Hira could understand why he wasn't happy. What was supposed to be a two or three-month mission would now drag on for much longer than they'd initially anticipated. They wouldn't chase the new mage to the ends of the realm, but it was protocol to pursue for at least a cycle. There were, after all, several reasons why a mage would flee from attention. A hermit not wanting their lives interfered with. A criminal running away from due judgment. Or even fear that one's enemies had found them. More often than not, the latter reason turned out to be the motivation for most runners. Again, more often than not, they were mistaken about who exactly was coming after them, but every now and then, they were correct. Whether this turned out to be the first case or the second, they had to find out.
"And the boy?" Hira asked. From the report that had been sent by Alchemist Shia, a young man named Lothar was the reason they'd even stumbled upon the high-tier mage. In a move that was either really bold or stupid depending on who you asked, for some reason, he'd chosen to stay behind. An airship was supposed to pick him up a little over a month ago. The airship had shown up at the town next to the mountain where it was supposed to wait for the boy. The week-long window that he'd given himself before the airship was released from any obligations had come and passed. Unfortunately, the boy was a no-show.
"Nowhere to be found," the fourth-tier mage answered, causing Hira to scowl in displeasure. It wasn't that Hira cared all that much about the boy's fate. Her displeasure was more from the fact that she couldn't interrogate him for information on the high-tier mage.
