He was glad that his doubts were unfounded, the figure had kept its word. The diplomat was dead and the city was on lockdown, this would give them time to coordinate further steps.

When he recruited people to his cause he told them to stand by until they were needed, meetings were regularly scheduled but it was only natural that only a few came each time. There was one exception to this however, everyone in the following was clearly instructed to show up at the next available meeting if something of import happened. This could be the election of a new king or guild leader but the incident he had orchestrated would certainly also count. And as it happened the next meeting was on the day after the assassination, the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

The people united under him were an interesting bunch, most of them worked in the supernatural crafts, all had been in Rockhaven for at least five hundred years and all knew at least something about the Mencur-Besh, some out of interest, most out of wanting to find some weak point. Up to this point they had not exchanged this knowledge since there honestly had been no need to do so, that and they couldn't be sure how much of what each individual knew was true. Today that would change. At this point he knew that the figure would not give them any information but could still confirm or deny things that they asked it.

The meeting would take place deep inside the bowels of Rockhaven's lower districts but the site was not accessible on foot alone. The only way in or out was through a portal tuned to a specific teleportation frequency. He had found this chamber himself by accident, he didn't know if anyone had found it before him or if there were more such chambers, he didn't even even what it had been used for originally.

Before departing to the Mage Guild he put on several rings with enchanted gems in them, each one holding multiple times his life force. At the meetings it was very important to keep everything in order, constantly reading the emotional state of everyone present was his way of doing that. Maybe he could even get a read out of the figure if he put enough energy into it.

The central plaza was busy, as it was every morning. People wearing various types of clothes hurried to their respective guilds, the Mage Guild was no exception to that. The golem in the entrance hall projected several maps at a time so that entering people could always grab one without delay. He didn't need a map, he knew the inside of the guild and had memorized all times relevant to him, his schedule usually didn't vary.

It was too risky to use the portals in the main hall, the chances that someone would pick up the unusual teleport frequency was way too high. He instead went up several flights of stairs and took some turns into progressively less populated sections of the guild. Each time he passed someone he took a brief look at their emotions as a warm-up for the meeting.

He was quickly walking down a hallway as a library door swung open without warning, out came a black-haired Fire-Air mage, judging by her robes she was only an apprentice, probably not even a citizen. She felt frustration but also determination. After avoiding a collision with a quick step to the side he barely even looked at her, he had more important things to do.

At the end of the hallway was the portal, instead of using any of the built-in frequencies that would link to the other portals he substituted it for the one that would lead to the meeting place. After a few seconds the portal stabilized and he stepped through, making sure to close that side of the portal again. The room he was now in was perfectly circular. Ahead of him were rows of benches and at the other side of the room was a speaker's podium.

He always arrived earlier than everyone else, this was by design. In his order only few people knew who the others were and he encouraged them to keep it that way in order to minimize damage in case someone either was uncovered or decided to spill the beans. He was the only one known to everyone and he also knew everyone. He was the keystone of the whole organization and he was well aware of the fact. His Life magic and the emphatic ability that came with it was what had allowed him to remain untouched and unquestioned for so long but he knew that it couldn't keep him safe forever, which is why he had to act now. He did lament that while his magic gave him so much insight into others' minds, it did not improve his memory and thus he had to rely on the notebook in his safe to keep track of everything.

As he looked around he could see that today someone else had arrived before him, the figure was leaning against the wall behind the podium, not visible from the portal. He honestly wasn't surprised, if the figure knew about his order it was only natural for it to know about their meeting place as well. He wondered…

"Tell me this, why haven't you done anything yourself?" He said as the approached the figure. "You clearly have the capabilities."

Still no emotions from the figure. It replied: "Because if one person changes something that affects many, the change remains superficial. How can I know that Rockhaven can even sustain itself if we just disappear without anyone having a plan? We have our own interests but we do try to realize them with as little disruption to the world as possible. I am merely helping you bring about whatever changes you desire, if you so desperately want Rockhaven to change it is your responsibility to bring about those changes."

He began channeling more of his own life force, still nothing. "How can you be sure that the change I desire is good for the Mencur-Besh?"

He half expected the figure to laugh or chuckle but no such reaction came. "You think of yourself too highly. The collective has existed for a long time and spans further and reaches deeper than you may realize. The loss of Rockhaven, while inconvenient for some, will not affect us in the long run. That is also why I wouldn't mind if that loss came about since it may open up other opportunities."

He clenched his fists as more life force streamed into his body from the rings. He now realized that the figure's emotions weren't just not there, they were even less. The more he tried to focus his spell the clearer became the sheer nothingness he was staring into. He stopped. If he looked any more intensely he feared that the metaphorical abyss would really start staring back into him. A cold shiver went down his spine.

He took a breath. "Today we'll come together and finally connect what we know. But I assume that you also knew that already."

The figure remained silent.

Before he had another chance to think on the figure, he felt a pulse of energy behind him, several people had entered the hall through the portal and more followed in the next minutes. If his followers were anything it was punctual.

Once the room filled up he ascended the few stairs that lead up to his podium. When he stood at his position the figure parted from the wall and stood next to the podium. The people in the hall shot it suspicious looks, the general state of emotions was tense, they didn't know what to expect.

He cleared his throat and once again took a breath. Now it was time to speak to his entire following of roughly a hundred mages, enchanters and the occasional other citizens. It had been a while since they all had been in one place and he suspected that some of them had become restless or doubtful. His task now was to bring everyone together under him once more.

He said: "My friends, it's good to see you all gathered here again. Yesterday we delivered an important blow to the up until now invincible Mencur-Besh. That was one step closer to our goal, a free Rockhaven!"

He had everyone's attention now, it was time to begin.