Grabbing her by the neck, Jack said "Do you still doubt that I will destroy you if you do not cancel the contract?"
Lady Niadas gasped a little and grabbed his arm. "You think you are the first god I've had to deal with? You're not even the second. Nor would you be the first god I've had to force to obey the contract. Granted they were low tier gods, but I've at least heard of them. You? You're not even on their level."
"Even death does not dissuade you?" Jack said frustrated by the lack of emotion coming off this woman.
"Go ahead and kill me. You still would have to complete the contract. Which means you would have to carry my body around with you. Once you completed the contract, you would have failed it, as I would be dead, and thus you would have to pay the penalty as well."
"You think I won't be able to break this contract?"
"Oh I know you won't. Unless you have the ability to fight every member of the God's court at once, your not qualified to break a contract. All contracts signed under the agreement of the God of contracts, is backed by the court. Even if a god signs a contract with a mortal."
Letting her go. Jack said "Perhaps I can offer something else in payment. I have a great deal of gold."
"Moving on from threats to payments? Usually, people go the other way, but alright. Not interested in gold. In fact this expedition is incredibly important for my family. Besides my Empire contact, we need this to get in the good graces of the Empire, for they will likely come for us when they take over. We need something to make them overlook us."
"So there is nothing I could offer to make you change your mind?"
"There are a lot of things that would tempt me. Not one of them would make me change my mind, however. If it was a different contract perhaps. This is too important, trust me, your best option right now is just to go along with it."
"I'm having a bit of problem trusting people at the moment, so don't be offended if I don't take you at your word."
"None taken. I admit it must be frustrating for a one of your power to be so bound. It is unfortunate that you have taken a dislike for working with me. I had hoped we could work in the future on some projects I had in mind. May I ask what caused this sudden shift in attitude?"
"I visited an information broker to find out more about your family. What I did find out, disturbs me. Your brother takes in monsterkin, impregnates them, and then when the resulting children grow up, takes them as lovers. Is that not messed up?" Jack glared at Lady Niadas.
"Oh it is messed up. While it is common among the nobility to take a relative as a lover occasionally or to even marry them, Lord Attomas actions are beyond the pale. The only reason he gets away with it, is that it's monsterkin. While they technically share the rights of other races, they are still disliked."
"What doe's Lord Attomas does with the male children he has?"
"As far as I know, he never has had one. Which is unlikely, notably I've noticed several of his servants never get knocked up. I think he changes them to be woman, though that's just speculation on my part. I will tell you this. I dislike Lord Attomas greatly, if I had a choice, I would not have chosen to go with him on this expedition."
"I find that hard to believe, given how you just exclaimed that my presence would make this expedition a success."
"Indeed. I suggest you take another look at the contract to catch my meaning. I won't speak it aloud, even in private. Nevertheless, I have no choice in the matter, and neither do you."
Gritting his teeth, Jack stepped back and sat in one of the balcony chairs. "Fine, I see I have no choice but to agree to this. I will abide by the contract."
"Great, I assure you Jack, you won't regret this." Lady Niadas sat down next to him.
Looking down at the stage, Jack could see they were almost ready to begin the auction. "The information broker didn't know, but tell me Lady Niadas, who are you thinking will impregnate you?"
"Since you have gracefully revealed your secret to me, I will reveal one of mine to you. Are you aware of Lord Jadai's true sexual orientation?" Lady Niadas said looking over at him.
Nodding Jack said "I met him today, and I saw him flirting with a man. So I would guess he is at the very least bisexual."
"He is gay actually. No attraction to women at all. My dear brother Jadai likes up his ass. I unfortunately found it out during one of my birthday parties when I came across him being fucked in the ass by a 'friend' of his. He tends to favor more feminine looking men, so my parents hoped it was a phase."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Simple, Lord Jadai will be the next head. Which means he will need to sire children to continue the Hawke family. However given his preferences, that will be unlikely."
"So what are you suggesting?"
"The Line of Hawkes must be continued, so I will have Lord Jadai's children."
A chill went through Jack, and he said "What?"
"Don't misunderstand, I'm not going to have sex with my brother. I found a magical device that aids in impregnation, I will simply just collect my brother's sperm then use the device to impregnate me. I have already tested it with several servants, and it has worked almost every time."
Hearing this, Jack narrowed his eyes "You just need to collect the sperm?"
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"Yes, from the source is the best, but as long as I collect it within a few hours, it's usually still good. At least from my tests on my servants."
"Do you know a Centauress named Kylie?"
"The Information Broker? Yes, I've visited her several times for her services. I went this morning as well."
"Did you hire Kylie to drug me? To collect my Sperm?" Jack asked.
Lady Niadas said "Of course not. If I wanted your sperm, I would get you to sign a contract for it. Speaking of which, after I give birth to my brother's children, I would be interested in giving birth to a god's children. I was looking for a suitable candidate, and you do meet some of the criteria. Would you be interested in it?"
"No, I have no desire to ever have a child with you."
"Pity. Perhaps I can change your mind on this expedition." Lady Niadas looked down at the stage.
"Why do you have to carry your brothers children? You said it worked with your servants, why not find a suitable woman and have them bear his children?"
"Because I'm the only woman who deserves my brothers seed. He is the only one to ever outsmart me, the only mortal worthy of siring children. I just need to convince Jadai this."
Confused about the whole situation, Jack said "I really can't recommend it. You are putting your childrens health at potential risk."
"Yes, this I am aware of. While it may not cause damage as this would be the first generation, I do not want to create any risk for them. So I have acquired several alchemic potions that will change my body and my eggs, so the children will have the best chance."
Shaking his head, Jack said "As long as it's consensual. I still find it disturbing and kinda weird."
"Jack, If you loved someone, how far would you go for them?" She asked looking directly into his eyes.
"I'm not sure. I have a love for my Users, and I feel I will go far for them."
"Then you have not had the kind of love I have for my brother. I would burn the world down for him." Lady Niadas looked at the stage.
Looking down at the stage, he saw several presenters come out on stage, with a main auctioneer coming to a podium. Speaking into a glowing sphere which amplified her voice, "welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the annual Hawke Family Auction. We have a wide selection of items being sold tonight, and we hope you enjoy the show. As usual half of the proceeds tonight will go to charities of the city."
"For the opening item tonight, from the jungles of the Hydroca continent, come the still beating heart of a Queen of Nightshade!" One of the presenters took off the tarp covering a glass case holding a beating black heart. "This heart can be used to replace a damaged heart, can be used in several medicines and rituals. The bidding will start at One hundred Large gold coins."
Taking a look at the heart, Jack could feel an intense malice coming from it. Anyone who used it as is, would likely become crazy. Having no use for it, he just watched as the price jumped up over several minutes to five hundred large gold coins.
Several more items of little value to Jack came and went, they weren't even worth to give as quest items. Then came a blue set of armor. It looked beautiful, and the first person that came to mind was Veronica wearing it. Especially after Jack examined it.
While Jack was still not sure of his stance with Veronica, this would be a perfect quest reward for her. He would get it, but would not mention it to her, until he found out the truth of the matter. He used the bidding sign to place a bid of two hundred and fifty large gold coins.
Surprisingly no one bided against him and the item went to him.
"While this is a private balcony, I've made it known that a suspected agent of the empire is inside." Lady Niadas said.
"Why would you do that?"
"To draw out the true threats. I need to find those who would threaten us before we set out on the expedition. Plus it's a boon for you, as most would not want to bid against you for small items like this."
After a few more items that held no appeal to Jack, though they did provide some interesting historical knowledge. They ranged from artifacts, to strange parts of wonderous creatures. Then came cooling stone, used for meditation, it could calm one's emotions for a limited time.
Since Jack was planning on going on the expedition with Telvin, and having no desire to deal with a continually raging half-elf. He bided and received it for one hundred and twenty small gold coins. "Kinda cheap for this auction?" Jack asked.
"The cooling stone has limited uses. It was given to us by some monks to raise money for their temple. It was more a courtesy to put it in the auction then it being a rare item."
The next item that came on the stage immediately caught his eye. It was a strange purple and black sword, that gave him a weird feeling. Taking a closer look at it, Jack brought up its information.