Chapter 64: Dividing The Spoils

They certainly did not divide the loot anywhere near the Palladium Tree. Adesewa kept the expedition moving for hours, taking them through the forest until the valley was far behind and even the distant smell of blood had disappeared. Only after reaching a defensible clearing bordered by roots and a stream did she call a halt.

The injured were settled first, scouts checked the surrounding forest, and the preservation cases containing the fifty-seven Palladium Fruits were placed in the center of camp. Everyone was tired and carrying heavy harvested material, but the atmosphere was lighter than beneath the tree.

The Red Seal had removed the most dangerous uncertainty. What remained was business.

Cassian and two other veterans handled the records while Adesewa supervised. Every kill, assigned role and major contribution had been documented during the expedition, so the distribution wasn’t a matter of identical portions. Equal treatment meant receiving a fair share according to contribution.

Adesewa received the largest allocation. She had taken responsibility for both Greater-ranked Regal Coil Lions, killed them alone and then joined the final cleanup. Cassian, Marcus, Safiya, Odhran and Bastian received larger shares for defeating the five peak Lessers, while the remaining members were credited according to their roles in the formation, support, harvesting and ordinary Lesser kills.

Jet appreciated how little arguing followed. There were questions, and twice Cassian reopened the records when someone believed a contribution had been missed, but nobody tried to rewrite the battle after surviving it.

The Palladium Fruits were the most sensitive part. Their value meant fractions mattered, and because a fruit could not be divided safely, the team balanced whole-fruit allocations against Monster Cores, materials and future settlement value. Adesewa received the greatest portion. The veterans followed.

Jet and Frey received less than those who had carried the operation against the strongest monsters, but considerably more than temporary additions to a Raid Team might normally expect.

Neither complained. They had entered the valley expecting a dangerous hunt and had walked out with access to a Grade Three Origin Treasure harvest, Lesser Monster Cores, valuable materials and their agreed share of the operation.

Cassian had honored exactly what he had promised when he approached them beside the Stonehide Blood Ape. No convenient reinterpretation appeared once the treasure was secured.

Lesser Cores were distributed according to contribution, with larger Cores from the five peak Lessers valued separately.

The two Greater-ranked Cores belonged heavily toward Adesewa’s share, although portions of the remaining loot were adjusted to keep the final distribution fair for everyone involved in the operation. Harvested materials followed.

Regal Coil scales, golden mane spines, fangs, claws and preserved blood were worth far more than ordinary monster parts, while several organs from the peak Lessers attracted interest from Walkers who knew specialized buyers in Zenith Citadel before their next expedition into the wilderness.

Jet chose to keep most of his allocation in Monster Cores and valuable materials rather than bulky parts. Frey made nearly the same decision, although he accepted a set of polished horn sections after learning their likely market value.

Everything that could not be divided was recorded for later sale, with proceeds to be distributed according to the same contribution ledger.

By the time the process ended, nobody had received the same collection of objects, yet the values reflected what each person had brought to the expedition.

Frey stared into his pack and released a low whistle. "We came out here because you wanted to stop being broke in the Beyond."

Jet secured a container holding several Lesser Cores. "I wasn’t broke."

"You sold every Core you owned on Earth."

"That was a temporary liquidity problem."

"That is an impressive way to pronounce broke."

Jet closed his backpack and ignored him, which only made Frey grin wider. Neither dragged the argument further. The expedition had lasted long enough that both wanted food, sleep and a return to Zenith.

As the Raid Team began separating equipment and preparing for the next stage of its own journey, Jet walked over to Cassian. The First Generation Awakener had cleaned most of the blood from his broad sword and was inspecting a nick along its edge when he noticed them approaching.

"So," Cassian said, looking between Jet and Frey, "still think following suspicious strangers through the forest was a bad idea?"

Frey folded his arms. "I maintain that it was an objectively terrible idea that happened to become profitable."

Cassian laughed. "Fair enough."

Jet extended a hand. "Thank you. You could have kept walking when you found us."

Cassian clasped his forearm rather than his hand. "We needed fighters. You needed an opportunity. Don’t romanticize it too much."

"Still worked out."

"That it did."

Marcus joined them afterward, followed by Safiya, Odhran and Bastian. The farewell was less ceremonial than Jet expected. They had known one another only briefly, but fighting through the same valley had created a familiarity that ordinary introductions never could.

Marcus told Frey that his mouth was more dangerous than Vritra. Safiya advised Jet to stop allowing monsters to get close enough to decorate him with blood.

Odhran merely told them to buy better harvesting equipment before their next serious expedition, while Bastian, his injured arm secured, gave them the location of a reputable equipment shop inside Zenith Citadel.

Adesewa approached while they were talking.

Conversation quieted naturally, although the tension from the Palladium Tree was gone. She had changed the damaged outer layer of her armor and cleaned her spear, but fatigue showed around her eyes. Fighting two Greater-ranked monsters had not been effortless, no matter how overwhelming she had appeared afterward.

"You two are leaving separately?" she asked.

Jet nodded. "We have our own route planned."

Adesewa considered that before looking toward Cassian. "He tells me you handled yourselves well before joining us, and you adapted quickly once the formation changed."

Frey placed a hand over his chest. "I assume he emphasized my extraordinary contribution."

"I emphasized that you talk too much," Cassian said.

"That sounds like jealousy."

Adesewa’s mouth shifted slightly, almost becoming a smile. "My Raid Team has room for capable Walkers. You are both inexperienced in the Beyond, but that can be corrected. If you want permanent places, I’ll offer them."

Jet had expected many things from the expedition. That wasn’t one of them.

The offer was tempting. Adesewa’s team possessed experienced First Generation Awakeners, organized logistics, established contacts and enough strength to operate against threats Jet and Frey could not approach alone.

Joining them would make expeditions safer and expose both of them to decades of accumulated experience.

It would also bind their movements to someone else’s objectives.

Jet looked at Frey. Frey gave him the smallest shrug, leaving the answer to him without hesitation.

"I appreciate the offer," Jet said, "but we’re going to remain independent."

Adesewa studied him for a moment. "Because you don’t like following orders?"

Frey immediately pointed at Jet. "Yes."

Jet slapped his hand down. "We have our own plans."

This time Adesewa did smile. "I assumed as much. An offer isn’t an obligation. If you change your minds, contact me."

She summoned a interface and sent them her Walker contact information. Jet accepted the request, followed by Frey. Cassian exchanged his details as well, and Marcus reluctantly did the same after Frey announced that surviving together entitled them to friendship.

"You message me nonsense," Marcus warned, "I block you."

"You’ll miss me."

"I’ve known you two days."

"And already you’re emotional."

Marcus stared at him until Safiya laughed.

Jet adjusted his backpack and looked over the group once. Less than two days earlier, Cassian and the others had been armed strangers standing over the corpse of a Stonehide Blood Ape.

Now Jet carried their contacts, a share of their treasure and a Red Seal linking twenty-nine people to a secret hidden behind them in the Thousand Boughs.

The Beyond was beginning to feel much larger than a wilderness filled with monsters.

There were people here, networks, alliances, temporary partnerships and opportunities that could never be predicted from a map inside Zenith Citadel.

Jet had come looking for Monster Cores and experience. Instead, one decision to hear Cassian out had changed the expedition.

Adesewa raised her spear slightly in farewell. "Stay alive. The Thousand Boughs punishes confidence faster than stupidity."

"We’ll remember," Jet said.

Frey waved toward the others. "Try not to find another fortune without us."

Cassian answered, "Try not to get eaten before we can."

With that, Jet and Frey turned away from the Raid Team. Their packs were heavier than when they entered the forest, their equipment carried fresh scratches, and both bore the exhaustion of days spent hunting and fighting. Yet as they followed the route between the towering trees, neither looked back.

Behind them, voices faded into the forest.

Ahead waited the road back toward Zenith Citadel.

Jet rested one hand near the hilt of the Vorpal Blade while Frey walked beside him, and together they left.