The Commonwealth army was ready to move on. After liberating the nearby mining settlements, they were able to acquire the help of more skilled laborers and recruit them to the cause. Their vehicles were repaired in no time. However, it was going to take a lot more than just cutting off the Harpy King's supply to felmetal to win the war.

According to Archbishop Patrice, war wasn't won by armies and soldiers, but by logistics. Being stalled at the border of the Arkesian Wastes and Bravost had drained their rations. Radevic and the Commonwealth was a country away. Supplies weren't coming in fast enough, and they went through water twice as fast since none of them were used to the heat like native Savirans. Despite the string of victories, they might lose the war without Elusis lifting a single finger in retaliation.

To that end, Sadul offered to broker a deal with the East Saviran Trading Association at none other than The Diamond. A lot of time had passed since Kanae was there last. When she brought it up to the others, they were on board with the plan.

"In that case, take Ivory with you." Archbishop Patrice gestured behind her.

Kanae turned around. She jumped at the sight of Dalu'luna Mello, the Knight of Ivory, standing there as still as a statue.

"Wow. Greetings to you, too, Amethyst." Dalu rolled her eyes.

"I didn't even hear you walk up to me… What are you, a crowned Rogue?" Kanae clutched her throbbing chest.

"Monk. Looks like we will have our first mission together. Much to the dismay of another colleague of ours." She thumbed over to the tents, where Esta and Feraline were peering at them from with a sad look on their faces.

No doubt, both of them really wanted to accompany Kanae.

"As much as I'd like to have them along, Esta trained like half the Commonwealth's army in its infancy. I need her here to lead my forces. I also don't want to put Feraline in danger, even though Esta feels the opposite." Kanae giggled and waved to the two.

They had drawn plans for the next stage of the war— sieging Bravost. Reconnaissance had come back with intelligence that the Harpy King was no longer there. He left the Scorching Dervish Toro Squa to hold it alone. Meanwhile, he had gone east to prepare for an invasion of Avanesse with the bulk of his army, Riley and the Dryoak Consortium, Sol Solasta, and Riben Crow.

Before Kanae could take the fight directly to them, she was going to The Diamond with Sadul and to petition the members of the East Saviran Trading Association for help. Afterwards, they would rejoin each other at Kosk Hill situated just west of Bravost for the siege.

But… Something just didn't add up though. Kanae wracked her brain over it and couldn't make heads or tails of the Harpy King's intentions. He sought to become Grand Sultan of Savir. That much was known. But he didn't seem to care about holding Bravost. Or Elusis for that matter. Had Kanae and her companions stayed to help with Jahree's revolution, the Harpy King would have lost his seat of power.

Just where was the logic?

As they were about to leave, Renya Rown came running over dressed for a journey.

"I'm hitching a ride!" Renya jumped onto the back of Sadul's wagon.

"What about Thedia?" Kanae asked.

"Not much I can do now but wait for her to wake up. You've got some good people around to look after her, and I hate twiddling my thumbs getting nothing done. At least with me along, my incredible business acumen can get you an edge in negotiations." She winked.

Kanae sighed and ultimately let the dark elf do as she pleased. They set off together with Sadul, Ivory, and 50 knights of Ivory Hall bound for The Diamond. On the second morning of travel, they reached the beautiful city, whose gates were closed shut. Few carriages and caravans moved through.

Down below, hundreds of people pounded on the iron gates, begging to be let in. Association city guards watched and snickered from the safety of the fortifications. The only thing allowed inside were merchant caravans, and a large number of armed security emerged from a smaller gate to the side to scare away beggars.

"What's going on?" Kanae asked as their wagon rolled up to the gates.

"We're starving, that's what! The Diamond isn't letting anyone in unless they're a member of the association or pay an entrance fee!"

"My boy hasn't eaten more than a piece of bread for a week now. Please! I can't afford the entry fee. I just want to go in to buy food…" An angry dark elven mother held her scrawny child's hand.

More people had gathered from the ghetto sprawl around The Diamond to see what the commotion was about. They were all starving, their faces gaunt and clothes barely clinging to their boney forms. Kanae couldn't bear to see them like that and wanted to go down to give them some food. She got as far as putting a hand on the carriage when Ivory grabbed her shoulder.

"Don't. Have you ever tried to feed one mouth while hundreds of starving others watched? You're going to do more harm than good," Ivory explained.

"She's right, you know?" Renya chimed in. "These poor bastards look like they'll tear each other apart over spoiled peas."

Kanae chewed on her lower lip and settled back into her seat..

"An entry fee is nonsense! Who is in charge of The Diamond?" Sadul poked his head out to shout up to the walls.

"No entry unless you've got the coin, piggy!" a guard cackled.

Sadul revealed his platinum token, and the men on the walls choked on their spit. The smaller gate opened, and guards rushed out to secure a perimeter.

"I'll find a way to help you!" Kanae shouted to the people as the carriage entered The Diamond.

Inside was a completely different world compared to outside the walls. The well-to-do citizens of The Diamond went about their day. Quilts and bedsheets hung out from the windows of townhouses. People paid visits to the local shops and merchants, holding paper grocery bags that were bursting full. No one was starving. There was plenty to go around in abundance.

They traveled to the southern spire, where the East Saviran Trading Association had held its banquet that Kanae previously attended. When they arrived at the foot of the tower, a small army of guards, donning the association tabard of the four-pointed star, framed a path for a much smaller group to stroll out.

Eleven in total, they wore their finest clothes, fingers weighed down by jewelry, and had servants providing them shade with an umbrella. Although the retinue were made up of elves, beastmen, and humans, they came from a single walk of life— wealthy. One woman, a centaur, stepped forward from the rest.

"Sadul. We've received your letter for an audience, and it has been granted. Last we met, you were but a mere fruit seller. Now, here you are. In possession of a platinum token with an emerald center," the centaur said.

"Aha… I'm fortunate for my string of luck!" Sadul wiped the sweat from his fat neck.

"And you bring with you the Queen of the Commonwealth, Kanae Toyomi. Welcome, Your Majesty. I am Furella Lamanu. Shall we take this inside. It is dreadfully hot out here. We've also prepared a suitable feast for royalty." She bowed, then gestured into the tower.

"I don't like this. Too polite. Feels like these guys are hiding something," Renya whispered.

"Let's just follow them for now," Kanae insisted.

As Ivory Hall followed them in, Furella turned around and wagged a finger.

"I'm afraid we only have so many seats." Furella frowned.

Ivory motioned for her 50 to stand down and stay put.

They joined Furella and her fellow association members on an open terrace of the fourth floor. The view didn't lead out to the city, but of the slums below. Everyone took a seat around a long rectangular table, where Kanae and Furella sat on opposite ends. A menagerie of food laid before them. Roasted ronoa, pork, bowls of fruit, and sugary deserts.

Men and women in erotic bellydancer attires emerged to pour them drinks. Kanae caught a glimpse of a bottle. Ortesian wine. If they had this kind of luxury inside The Diamond, they could certainly afford to provide for those outside it.

"Allow me to introduce—"

"Skip the introductions," Kanae interjected. "You're clearly the one who speaks for the association in The Diamond. Let me be blunt, my army is in need of supplies to continue the war against Elusis. Surely you can spare some after we kindly liberated your mines."

"But of course! That can be arranged, Your Majesty. The Harpy King's presence in Bravost has led the economy into such a damper mood. When we caught wind of the Commonwealth's arrival in Savir, many of us hoped that our suffering would come to a swift end. Alas…" Furella feigned anguish.

Before Kanae could open her mouth, Renya shot a hand up.

"Excuse me! I'd love to down some of this Ortesian wine, but the ole purse is full. Can you point me to the nearest ladies' room?" Renya asked.

The association had tensed up a little for some reason.

"As you wish. Guard, escort her to the bathrooms." Furella snapped her finger.

What? What was Renya planning now?!

Kanae pushed it to the back of her mind.

"Furella," Sadul anxiously cleared his throat. "We've noticed on the way into The Diamond that you have the gates closed. There are thousands in need outside. If we don't provide for them soon, you're going to have a mound of corpses around the city."

"Yes, well… The Diamond can't feed them all, especially if we render aid to your army," Furella said.

"By the looks of it, you definitely can." Kanae glared at the other members around the table, gorging excessively on the food. "New deal then. We work out how much you're willing to provide my army, and we split half of that to give to the people outside of the city."

Furella sighed. She walked to the edge of the balcony and beckoned Kanae to join her. Below, the hungry had gathered underneath this tower begging for scraps. The centaur whistled for one of the bellydancers to bring a basket of bread, which she promptly grabbed and dumped over.

"Hey!" Kanae yelled.

"Watch." Furella pointed to them.

As soon as the bread landed, everyone started fighting amongst each other. Two men threw punches at each other. Another kicked someone on the ground. Blood boiled in Kanae's veins. This wasn't even their fault. They were brought to this point.

"Perhaps the association can provide for your army. Perhaps it can provide for the folks below. But for how long? A week? A month? How long will this war last? One thing is for sure, we cannot provide for both for too long. We may try, and what then when our stores run dry?" Furella reasoned.

Sadul spat out his food and fell into a wheezing fit.

"Oh, my. Pardon me. Must have gone down the wrong pipe…" Sadul started struggling to breathe.

Kanae went over intending to pat his back when everything started spinning. Her throat clenched. She couldn't swallow. The same was true of Ivory, who tugged on the collar tunic to loosen it.

"You…" Kanae turned around to Furella returning to the table with a smile on her face. "Mass… Charm!"

The spell went off, but no one in the room was affected.

"My condolences, Demon Queen. The Harpy King has already beat you to an arrangement. He sent a rather persuasive high elf. The deal she and I hashed out was much sweeter than ours. We were also gifted a nice elixir to resist succubus charm." Furella grinned.

"You're… betraying Premier… Theo Mambahu?" Sadul managed to sputter out.

"The Mamba elected himself as Premier. He hogged all that power. Well, it belongs to us now. We'll be the ones making decisions for the East Saviran Trading Association, and our first order of business is to put you on a one way ticket to the Harpy King," she said.

"I don't think so. Cleansing Purge!" Ivory exhaled a dark miasma from her lips and was able to breathe again.

"Stop her!" the centaur woman shouted.

All of the bellydancers drew daggers and armed guards poured into the terrace. All of them ignored Kanae and Sadul. They went for Ivory instead.

"D-Dalu…" Kanae muttered.

"You should have more faith in me, Amethyst. I am no pushover. Martial Vision!" Ivory's eyes glowed brightly underneath her blindfold. "One-Hundred Palm Strike!"

Faster than Kanae could track, the elf threw countless strikes in quick succession. She weaved through the many attackers as if dancing with them, landing a blow on each. The force of impact from her palms sent them flying. When one man snuck up from behind to stab her, she stopped the blade between two fingers, spun around, and knocked the sword from his grasp with her other palm.

Before long, several dozen guards laid defeated on the ground. Furella and the other association members panicked. They made a break for the door, only for it to swing open and smack a human in the nose.

"Now, where oh where are you all going? Weren't we about to have a nice breakfast?" Renya cloned herself several times and blocked the doorway. She brandished a cutlass at the human with the broken nose, who staggered back in fright.

"Too bad for them, Monks can expel poisons and toxins from the body like Priests can." Ivory rested a hand on Kanae and Sadul. "Cleanse!"

Their airways opened. They sucked in a deep breath.

"Sometimes… I feel like the new archbishop has a sixth sense for this. She sent you just in case, didn't she?" Kanae rubbed her throat.

"You can be naive sometimes. And in war, anything goes. Anyway, what do you want to do with them? Kill them?" Ivory asked about the association.

"Excuse me?!" Sadul cried.

"Wait, wait! We can make a new deal. You want your army and the people outside The Diamond fed? Done! We'll sever our ties to the Harpy King, I swear!" Furella pleaded to them.

"Lately, I've been spending a lot more mana because of the Blade of the First Temptress. Bring them to their knees and open their mouths for me," she said.

"With pleasure!" Renya duplicated even more of herself, and the clones leveled their blades at the association members' mouths. "Open wide, or I'll cut them open for you."

They gulped hard. One by one, Kanae performed the ritual of inflicting them with the Cursemark of Horniness. As her saliva dripped into each of their mouths, they shuddered intensely from pleasure. The brand appeared on their lower abdomen as if she had pressed a hot iron on them.

"Your mana belongs to me now." Kanae caressed Furella's chin. "You're going to be irrationally horny every single day, and if you don't have sex, you will die from being starved of mana. If I were you, I wouldn't want to anger the succubus who did this to you. Otherwise, she might put you in a solitary cell to suffer. Be good and open the gates to your citizens."

"Yes… as you wish…" Furella murmured.

The gates to The Diamond opened from every end. Denizens of the slums hesitated to come in until Kanae waved to them from inside. The same mother and son entered skittishly, their worried eyes trained on the guards that harassed them earlier.

Kanae whistled sharply. Furella, not trying to hide her displeasure one bit, stepped closer with a basket filled with cuts of smoked meat, fruits, and bread.

"Thank you! Thank you so much, Queen Kanae!" The woman grabbed Kanae's hands first in tearful gratitude, then took the basket to give her son something to eat.

After seeing what their fellows in the slums had received, more and more people entered The Diamond.

"Change of terms," Kanae began tersely, "you will give these people a third of what you were originally going to provide me. I'll take the other third, and the remainder you can keep for the city. Write an invoice out to the Commonwealth of Sin." She patted Furella on her rear hind, causing the centaur to shudder in pleasure from the effects of the cursemark. "Congratulations. Now you have the Queen of the Commonwealth in your debt. So don't you dare go back on a succubus' generosity."

"Y-Yes… Queen Kanae." Furella lowered her head.