Gideon and the others crept closer when they heard the voices, peering toward the brush to find a small crowd gathered there.
"ck, Walker, Connolly…" Sadie whispered as she introduced the people. "They're all the new rising houses in Saint–Fréyan the last few years."
Gideon rubbed his chin. "Looks like they've also discovered the oasis problem — and they've got leads on a 'trait' as well."
He mulled it over.
"We need to find a way to cooperate with them." Daphne slipped up to them. "If there are more of us, our chances of finding an oasis go up."
"Cooperate…" Gideon tapped Sadie and signaled for her to step aside and speak quietly. Daphne lingered nearby but didn't follow; Ralph's gaze never left the two of them.
After a mont Sadie returned, looking torn. "This…isn't ideal."
"We're doing this to save people," Gideon said earnestly. "Besides, a Cooper hunting party has been tailing us." Since eting Daphne he'd suspected soone had been following at a distance; now he was convinced. He'd also been busy: he'd scavenged so of the dead monster corpses and sared blood near the creatures to make it look like their injuries had co from harvesting materials — misinformation for the Coopers to find.
Sadie hesitated, then chose to trust him. After all, the Allards' gains this ti depended on Gideon. She wasn't used to playing the "bad guy," but she nodded.
They rejoined the group behind the brush. Ralph scratched his head, clearly curious but afraid to ask.
"So who goes to negotiate?" Daphne asked in a whisper; she'd assud Sadie and Gideon had gone to discuss this.
"I'll go," Sadie said, straightening her hat and forcing a smile as she pushed through the foliage.
"Hey, lads — you look like you could use so help." She stepped into view, hands open in a placating gesture.
The scattered hunting parties stiffened and reached for their guns. Murmurs ran through the group: "Is that the eldest Allard daughter? What's she doing here?" "Is Cooper chasing them? Damn Coopers, they make everything stink." "She just asked if we needed help?"
Sadie's heart raced, but she forced herself calm and used the tone Gideon taught her. "I'll bet you're out of oases, and your swamp leaves are nearly spent."
Mickey ck frowned. "So what? What's that to you?"
"You idiot — why tell her the truth?" Zack Connolly snapped.
Enric Walker covered his face in exasperation. "How did I end up with these people?"
Sadie raised a finger and slipped into the role she'd been coached to play. "Free information."
Heads turned.
"All the oasis markers have shifted. All prior records are invalid."
Her words caused an imdiate stir; everyone understood the implication.
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Enric demanded.
Sadie tossed a map toward him. "These are the Allard family's historical oasis points."
Enric picked it up warily and scanned it. So points matched the Walker family's own records. He nodded slowly — the map was genuine.
"So you say you can find the new oases?" he tested.
Sadie nodded. "I want to make a deal."
"What are your terms?" Enric narrowed his eyes, calculating what he could give.
"Two options." Sadie held up two fingers. "One: you hand over all your collected materials for us to sort through and give us the leads you've got on the 'trait.' After the trade, I'll lead you to an oasis. Two: I fire off a few rounds of our modified ammunition right now — you know what that noise brings."
At that, every hunter's face went sour.
"Who does she think she is?" soone spat. "That's a threat, not a deal!"
"We should kill her and make her tell us the coordinates!" another shouted.
Daphne, standing with the others, clutched her hair in disbelief. She'd co expecting cooperation and instead watched Sadie pick a fight — and with people who'd already failed to find an oasis. Her patience snapped; she was already thinking about running.
Sadie clapped once. For a mont nothing happened — then a single, thunderous crack exploded through the clearing.
Everyone hit the ground. Only Sadie stayed standing.
From the brush, soone howled, "What are you doing?!"
Daphne gaped. Ralph stood with his gun pointed skyward, the muzzle still smoking; Gideon clasped his hands over his ears. "Fire a few more," Gideon said.
Ralph hesitated, then obeyed. Two more shots peeled into the air.
The sound echoed deep into the plague zone. Daphne's face dropped. One gunshot was a beacon; dozens of monsters would converge, and so, more dangerous hunting teams. She sprang up and urged her companions to retreat.
Outside the brush, the rival hunters felt the sa surge of dread. Before the shots they'd been ready to bargain with Sadie; after the shots, she was a wild card. Nobody wanted to compete over an oasis if it ant drawing every threat in the swamp.
But Sadie didn't intend to let them go easily — nor did Gideon.
"My people are lying in ambush nearby. If you refuse, they'll shoot into your group. We'll also tail you the whole way," Sadie shouted. She wanted to sound confident; Gideon had arranged the bluff.
"Bitch!" soone cursed. "Cooper, Allards — all of you are shaless!"
Hunters cursed and cursed again, but they also cared about their lives and their families. None were willing to gamble everything on Sadie's claim.
"If we hand over the stuff and the leads, how can we trust you won't renege?" Enric demanded.
Sadie raised her chin. "You don't. Which is why after the trade I'll bring you to the oasis. If you try anything, you'll lose more than you gain."
Silence tightened as the rival leaders exchanged looks. The swamp breathed cold around them; the scent of old blood and rot hung in the air. Outside the clearing, unseen watchers shifted, waiting for a choice.
At that mont, soone voiced doubt.
"I can't prove it. You'll just have to choose whether to believe or not."
Sadie shrugged. "After all, the advantage isn't on your side."
Her words stung, but the hunters could only clench their fists in frustration.
Monts later, several hunting families laid out their gathered materials on the ground. Sadie picked through them, choosing only a few items—but what mattered most was the Revelation Stone.
"Sorry," she added at the end, "but we were forced into this. The Cooper family's thods are just too dirty."
That earned her a few twitching mouths and dark looks.
When the trade was done, Gideon lingered in place for a while, waiting. Yet not a single monster appeared, leaving him a little disappointed. In the end, he packed away his relics and deliberately left a trail of false clues for the Coopers to follow.
Daphne, still unsettled and with too many questions, decided to stay with them.
And so, a strange sight erged in the plague zone—
A whole procession of hunters trailing behind a single priest.
"Can this guy really find an oasis?"
"He's supposed to be the priest the Allards hired."
"What if he's conning us? The Church are masters at deceiving followers."
Murmurs of doubt rippled through the group, but Gideon ignored them. His gaze was fixed on a thread of natural energy.
The trace was faint—so faint that without his Ethereal Sight, he would have lost it long ago.
They pressed on, the plague mist growing thicker with every step. Anxiety etched itself across the hunters' faces. Their swamp leaves were almost gone.
Just as despair began to sink in, a breeze swept over them—fresh, clean air.
Every hunter's eyes widened in shock, then lit with unrestrained joy.
Ahead lay a lake. Green grass and bright flowers thrived along its banks. Branches stood unmarred by rot. Animals grazed and moved freely.
This place stood in stark contrast to the corruption around it.
The priest… had really found an oasis!
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