Judgemental Gazes

Upon reaching Dwargon the group split into two, with Sebastian going to meet with the owners of big blacksmithing firms and Max and Severus going to meet with Lily the Alchemist. 

Lily's official workshop was swarmed with representatives of various factions that were denied entry inside her lab, but even on the outside there was an intense competition raging between them all. 

With every last one of them dressed in ironed robes and gold plated accessories they were all judging each other and the capability of the organisation behind them. 

Although Lily was valuable, she wasn't valuable enough to big alchemical corporations or factions to send their bosses or patriarchs personally, hence amongst the sea of professional recruiters, Max was the only real Lord. 

It was only after seeing the crowd that Max second guessed whether or not it was a good choice for him to come personally, since it was sure to reflect badly on his reputation.