Chapter 308: Don’t Be Shy—Drink Up

"Enlightenment Tea? Mythic Enlightenment Tea?"

"Someone’s selling it already?"

"They must need money badly."

"I never thought I’d get to taste it!"

Darian had left the teapot’s item information visible. Excited voices rose all around the table.

Even Nessa forgot the fish for a moment. She wiped her mouth and leaned toward the pot, breathing in its fragrance.

"It smells wonderful."

"The leaf has been used," Darian explained cheerfully. "But only four times. And it was cheap! Just three hundred million Aether."

He looked at the pot with open delight.

"I haven’t had Enlightenment Tea in ten years. I’d almost forgotten what it tastes like."

No one noticed Sylvara watching from upstairs.

She looked from Darian’s teapot to her Lord. Cassian’s little transaction a few minutes earlier suddenly made perfect sense. He had sold the leaf they had spent all morning brewing together.

"Our Lord certainly knows how to make things last," she murmured.

Darian carefully filled a cup and brought it to Cassian.

"The Governor should have the first taste."

"I..."

Cassian gave an involuntary burp.

He truly did not want any more tea. But Darian was looking at him with such eager expectation that he lifted the cup and took a small sip.

"Well? Good?"

"Very good." Cassian managed a polite smile. "Excellent."

Darian clapped him on the shoulder.

"I didn’t mean to steal your moment, you know."

His laughter suggested otherwise. Having shown off to his satisfaction, he began pouring for everyone else.

The pot was soon empty. Apart from Cassian’s full cup, each guest received barely half a cup, Darian included.

Even the seven Valcrests treated their little portions like treasures. They lifted their cups carefully and took the smallest of sips.

Seraphine let out a happy sigh.

"If I tell our friends in Westreach about this, they’ll die of envy."

Lyra’s eyes shone.

"I can understand Iron Hooves, Frozen River so much more clearly. At this rate, I should soon be able to advance beyond Proficient."

The tea could clear the mind even when it did not grant a stored Epiphany. How much a person gained from that clarity varied with the drinker.

Seeing their pleasure, Cassian supplied several bottles of Life Water. The leaf went through its sixth infusion.

At eleven forty-five, even the guests who had tried hardest to savor every drop had finished their small servings.

Darian glanced at Cassian’s cup.

"Don’t be so reluctant to drink it!"

Cassian thought for a moment, then pushed the still mostly full cup toward Nessa.

"Want some more?"

She tried to answer with her mouth full of fish and nearly choked.

"Yes..."

Her own tea was long gone. She looked at him, then at the cup, making certain he was serious before taking it.

"Thank you, Cassian!"

The gratitude in her bright eyes was almost enough to make him forget how much tea he had already swallowed.

Tobias sighed.

"Nessa always gets the best treatment from the boss."

"I treat her well too," Darian protested. "Don’t I, Nessa?"

She blinked, then wisely changed the subject.

"The betting pool closes in five minutes. Have you placed a bet?"

Darian rolled his eyes at her evasion, but answered readily.

"A billion Aether on Cloudrest."

"A billion? You’re that sure they’ll win?"

"How sure? Hard to say." He leaned closer, looking secretive. "But we’re all friends here, so I’ll tell you something. My father intends to put ten billion on Cloudrest just before the pool closes."

That silenced the table.

Most of them still did not know exactly who Darian’s father was. They knew he was a great figure in House Frost. If a man like that was willing to enter the pool himself, with ten billion Aether, House Frost must have enormous confidence in Cloudrest’s preparations.

Perhaps they should follow his lead.

Cassian wore a curious expression.

"Your father’s lived a long life. Nice to know he’s still a boy at heart."

"A boy at heart?" Darian gave a short laugh. "I’ll be sure to tell him you said that."

He patted Cassian’s shoulder with a look of deep sympathy.

"Ten billion," Cassian said. "After today, he may want to kill me."

Darian missed the other meaning entirely. He turned back to Nessa.

"That million Aether under Divine Province... Don’t tell me it’s yours again."

"Of course it’s mine." She looked proud of herself. "And I’ll bet on Divine Province next time too. Don’t think, just bet. If I stopped to think, I’d never dare put money on us."

Cassian smiled at her.

"Keep it up, Nessa. You have my support."

Darian looked from one to the other, at a loss for words. Then he turned on Cassian.

"What is our Construction Index, anyway? Even now, you’re keeping it to yourself?"

Over the past few months, Divine Province had discovered the Legendary Mage Sanctum, nearly a hundred Epic Buildings, and more than ten thousand Rare ones.

Then there were Mara’s Dragon Tomb and Cassian’s publicly known Legendary Buildings: the Abyssal Dockyard, the Swordgrave, the Dawnwing Pool, and the rest.

The Province had few Lords. Even so, the top hundred should be within reach.

The top ten was another matter. Their calculations had been careful, and the numbers simply did not support it.

Everyone looked at Cassian.

He only smiled.

"We’ll know soon enough."

"The pool’s about to close!" Nessa said. "There’s already more than seventy billion Aether in it. I think a lot more will come in at the last moment."

The others nodded. This was a pool covering a newcomer sector with more than ten billion Homeworld Lords. Seventy billion was hardly excessive.

The clock reached eleven fifty.

Betting closed.

Nessa immediately refreshed the list. Her eyes reached Divine Province, then stopped.

"Divine Province... Someone added a billion Aether to Divine Province?"

Every head turned toward Cassian. Their expressions differed, but the thought behind them was the same.

Again? Surely he wasn’t doing this again.

"A Firstborn Gate? In Sunhaven Province?"

More than a dozen figures sat around the table in a sleek conference room. The news had turned their discussion into an argument.