NOVEL WEB Chapter 107: Eastward Journey
In the following days Alicia took to arranging everything for her departure. First thing first, it was the matter of protection. Although she preferred to avoid trouble, trouble seemed to have a way of finding her somehow. To that end, she had already finished working on her new outfit, working together with Tesla and styled similarly enough to the clothing worn by travelers. Cloak for the cold and the rain, shawl, vest, and bodice with a satchel bag to finish off the look. Each article was woven with dense interlacing along with having been inserted with thin sheet metal identical to plates used in brigandine where it made sense. The plates were extremely thin and mostly served as a justification for the clothings’ resistance, for its real durability and protection would come from enchantments. The bag was shallowly filled with a miscellany of stuff such as hard long lasting pieces of bread, comb, brush, sewing kit for mending. The purpose of it was little more than a cover as it was only an excuse for Alicia to comfortably use Void Vault without rousing too much suspicion. She also had bought herself a generic arming sword similar in length to Dauntless along with a scabbard to carry it around and a dagger for more general use. Dauntless being made from material similar to Void crystals had too much of a striking appearance similar to that of obsidian, or as it was known more commonly in this world, dragon glass. While not incredibly rare, it was eye-catching. For the very same purpose she also had to tarnish and artificially age her new attire. Being freshly woven from Araneae silk, it was pure white and clean beyond comparison, such fine clothing were only afforded to the higher class and was another potential problem for staying under wraps, after all, a street rat already tried to swipe her belongings in Viveria before. Dyeing and infusing it with scents of age and dirt was done by the trolls who knew well how to mask their scent. To take it another step further, she had made a cosmetic look of it having been patched before with different fabric at certain places.
With her crafted identity coming together all that was left was her own look. Despite changing looks there was still a chance that someone with a keen eye might still recognize her. Although in this world without any photography that was unlikely, yet it was better to err on the side of caution. While mimicry allowed her change into a convincing human form, or any other forms of a myriad of species, it did little to change her appearance. Black and brown were the most common eye colors - though not by a large margin - along with brown hair. Although she could dye her hair it wasn’t very effective nor permanent, as for eyes… without any colored lenses it couldn’t be helped. Here the aid came from within.
>Enhancing activation of melanocytes within scalp dermal layer - localized to hair follicles and optical organs.
>Stimulating growth hair growth…
It was entrancing and surreal to see her usual sapphire eyes darken into a deep black as she looked into her reflection cast on a polished silver that was used as a mirror. As for her hair, already an occasional burden, it turned into a train that swept the floor now. Cutting it down to a reasonable length was in order, although she considered shortening it to almost a shoulder length, it would come with a degradation of her ability to use magic, as her hair doubled as a conductor for her energies in her human form. Although far from rendering her incapable, it wasn't an insignificant loss either. Instead after cutting it down, she tried fashioning her hair into a ponytail.
‘It’s like having a really weak person tugging at the back of my head… how do girls put up with it anyway? I guess I'll get used to it eventually…’
A reply from the intrepid merchant didn’t take long to come, besides his enthusiasm with discussing the founding a guild, the letter came with congratulatory adulations in relations with her new status.
‘He didn’t give a clear yes or a no… which means he has a counter offer, what’s he up to…’
Furthermore he had inquired of types of articles she would be interested in, so that he may, if able, acquire said items for her as a token of appreciation. Unfortunately to keep her goal of finding the Angelmaker secret to as many people as possible, she couldn’t ask him for his help. Instead Alicia wanted to know of many exotic spices, nuts, fruits and the like of specific taste and color. Considering such spices were commonly valued by many people, especially those of high standing, it was a safe and innocuous request. By the next morning word that he had just arrived at the border village had reached her and while making ready to receive her acquaintance a thought came to her mind.
‘Mind reader now aren’t you… summons a void spirit eh, let’s see it then…’
>Access denied.
>Additional permissions required to amend:
- Access cognitive processing centers.
‘Hold up, why does this skill require access to MY head? You know what, forget it, is it even safe to use?’
>Potential side effect identified:
- Altered state of cognition during active use.
>Insufficient evidence of hazard.
‘If you say so… access granted.’
>Error: Unsupported action…
>System will reboot now in an alternative configuration…
‘Wait you didn’t tell me about that!’
« Mind Reader »
The Alma system was a welcome guest in their minds. Besides managing the numerous skills and spells, it worked behind the scenes assisting the both of them in ways they couldn’t fathom. From giving advice to taking care of tedious tasks. And when this companion shut off, only foreboding silence remained. Immediately Alicia could tell something had come. Alma wasn’t gone, no, rather it had become a vessel for something else… something distant yet familiar.
- ‘You… what are… you…?’
Unlike the calm confidence that assured, this voice was cold and listless and unnervingly, it was exactly the same as her own, to the point that she thought she was talking to herself.
- ‘We were/are what we are/will become’
The concepts they squirmed inside her head, like living beings. The answer was not definite, it was shifting between states, in the same place but at different times.
- ‘What does that mean?’
- ‘We knew/will know’
‘Right… this won’t get anywhere…’
- ‘What do you do…’
- ‘We shall/will learn many lies’
It felt as though there were many of them each speaking over another. The use of Mind Reader was not just energy draining but also mentally taxing to sustain, so much so Alicia didn’t even notice that Albertini had already shown up.
- ‘When did… whatever… What can you tell me about him?’
A lucent shadow, visible only to her, danced around the well dressed man.
- ‘See it we have, in his dreams you had no face.
Born on cradle of perse velvets, Royal blood,
thin and scarce, yet still courses.
Casted it off, rank and privilege, name and all,
To prove the world that nobody could have it all
Fabled name, Audenzio, the audacious one.
Carry the roses, seven dogs shall march his funeral.’
‘What’s with the ominous statements… I have to use this skill sparingly. For my own sanity’s sake. Have to make it short…’
- ‘Tell me why he didn’t give a straight answer. What is he after?’
- ‘Found his fluke, in meeting you
Will do anything, to catch starlight once more
Wants favored position, will ask for more,
Push his luck, why would he not?’
- ‘So if I offer him another star he’ll do anything for me, supposing he doesn’t want a particularly large moth sharing the name… ? The star… what is it?’
- ‘Taken before the time, bright ones given chance,
Finds companion in us, now searches the light,
Fallen star lands upon hell,
Belonged to a life worlds over,
Trail of ruin or charity of salvation…
What is it that you call yourself?’
‘What do I call myself? It’s Alicia, what does that have to do with stars- Oooh… I am the star… I was too distracted with the symbolisms to make that connection…’
- ‘That’s enough.’
- ‘Is it up? Or down?’
>Functions restored
‘Back to normal… Creepy little thing…’
- “Pardon the intrusion, miss, I was to meet the countess and seem to have gotten lost. Is this not the guest parlor?”
‘What got to him, it’s me isn’t- oh right, he’s never seen dressed like this, doubt hair dyeing is common. Heh.’
- “Oh you’re not mistaken, it is!”
- “Dear heavens! Is that you, lady Alicia?”
- “Heee? You’ve figured it out quick.”
- “No, no, my eyes were fooled truly, I only remembered the voice. What excellent sorcery.”
‘But I made an effort to not involve magic as much as I could… I guess that’s a compliment.’
- “Come, sit down, as I understand it we have much to discuss.”
- “My thanks.”
‘His demeanor changed quite a bit since… That’s what going up the social ladder does to a person, hm.’
Through the chatter and the pleasantries Albertini parroted much the same flattery, but as the conversation shifted to topics of more importance, Alicia noticed a strange coincidence.
- “So if I understand this correctly, I shall be in command making preparations for the eventual creation of a guild operating in Velauhart?”
- “That would be right. Though there will be few differences than the conventional one, I hope when the time comes to implement these changes, you’ll be there to share your opinions.”
« Cold Reader »
‘Excitement… Guildmaster… Advantage… Opportunity’
- “While this service of mine comes from a place of goodwill, you must understand that it is a risky investment.”
- “Is the prospect of having significant influence in the new guild not enough?”
- “So a saying goes, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush.”
- “You want a more immediate incentive, right?”
- “I wouldn’t dare, but if it was offered.”
- “What do you suggest?”
- “If it isn’t too presumptuous, if our firm were the only supplier-”
‘Wants favored position, will ask for more… huh, so he’s going for an exclusivity right. I see…’
- “Unfortunately that is a commitment I cannot take on at the moment, however, I am willing to consider… certain preferential priorities.”
- “That would certainly be welcome indeed.”
- “Glad to be working with you Albertini, as for another matter, have you got what I asked for?”
- “Ah yes, of course, it was quite the challenge to get a hold of them, but I can assure you of their quality.”
Fields of grass and wildflowers swayed to the whims of the vagarious winds. Sparse few trees that dotted the dry steppes were the only shelter from the beating sun. At the distance standing atop a hill, the walls of the next town were just about visible, with smattering of dwellings and small villages along the path to it. From the rolling hills a lone traveler emerges. Behind her a path less traveled due to perils of the wilderness. Her head buried in yellowing scrolls as she walks, occasionally peeking up to correlate her surroundings with what’s depicted on it. Sometimes stopping to carefully notate something on the map she held with pieces of shaped charcoal, a rudimentary pencil. It was nearing noon of the twelfth day of her travels. She had crossed into the Empire’s territory a couple of days back, avoiding patrols of local militia and skipping over fortified fringe towns and villages, and making her stay scarce when she had to stop at local communities when asking for directions. She had noticed wilted fields and dry cracked earth on the path of her travels, hushed mumblings of troubles about food under their breaths. Seemed that the Empire was facing a fair share of troubles. While on the road she had immersed herself in studying culture, history, language, pretty much anything related to the Empire. The maps of the Empire were out of date and inaccurate, seemingly drawn out of memory rather than precise measurements only good enough to roughly gauge one’s direction but it was the best she could get a hold of as accurate maps were of strategic value.
The Empire of Concordia, sometimes called the Golden concord, came into power only recently, relatively speaking. Formed out of a treaty between three kingdoms - Veldatria, Vuorike and Ifilda - it quickly became a powerful entity and quickly expanded its borders through diplomacy or subjugation. For most that was all there was to it. But as Alicia delved into its history she quickly became aware of its inconsistencies. The historic record was written through the lenses of Pyrinia, or rather, an outsider’s view which conflicted with the locals’ version of their history. Both sides had certain biases and picking the facts from the fiction was a hair pulling affair. Although she wanted to learn more from a primary source, the Empire's written language was just different enough from Pyrinia’s to make it illegible, despite the striking similarities. It didn’t help that the very basic sentence structure of Empire’s language placed the verbs at the very end of the sentence, differing from Pyrinia which had it in its middle. The letter accents or the diacritics was an additional unwelcome difficulty. This meant, Alicia couldn’t simply break into places she wasn’t supposed to be to rifle through the documents - like last time in Valtima - as even if she did she wouldn’t be able to read them anyway. Not until she could get a firmer grasp on the written language anyway, before that in the meantime she wanted to try getting into the guild the normal way as an agent, to scrape any leads and gather rumors.
Arriving at one of the gatehouses leading into the city, and standing in the short queue of people being checked. Though she could have bypassed the walls with Trespass she wanted to ask the guardsmen for direction to the guild, instead of accosting someone on the streets. The wait wasn’t long until she was up.
- “Hold!”
The sentry looked at her from top to bottom, inspecting her while the other guards kept watch.
“Weapons and gear.”
One of the guards nearby stepped forward to hold onto her mock sword, while the other searched through her bag.
“Show me your face.”
As she turned towards the man, after taking a quick glance at her face and looking through some papers with portraits and defining features of wanted criminals. As it was only a single bag the search was done swiftly.
- “Nothing.”
- “Let her through! Welcome to Iridessa traveler.”
The guards returned her belongings.
- “Can you tell me where the guild is sir?”
- “Keep following this road, you’ll get to the market square, then look for the main road from there you’ll get to the town square once there look around.”
- “Thank you sir.”
- “Alright, move along. Next!”
As she wanders through the streets following the guardsman’s directions, the sound of the hustle and bustle of the people surrounds her. The narrow cobbled streets are lined with timber-framed houses and shops. The architecture of the buildings were a mix of styles that caught Alicia’s attention, she could make some vague inferences of the history and cultural influence from the other ends of the Empire. People from all walks of life go about their business, with a lively energy that's infectious. Merchants haggle with customers, farmers and craftsmen sell their goods from roadside stands, and tunes of unseen performers can just barely be heard around corners of the streets. The city's residents are dressed in a range of clothing styles, from simple linen tunics and woolen dresses to more elaborate silk and brocade garments that are seldomly seen. The colors are bold and diverse, with jewel tones and brilliant colors contrasting with more subtle earthy tones. The scent of freshly baked bread wafts through the air, mingling with the smells of roasting meats and exotic spices. As deeper into the city she went following the main road she saw temples adorned with intricate carvings, reliefs and mosaics. Then at last, her destination came into view, the guildhall that was much larger than one she had seen in Viveria.
Standing tall and imposing as a symbol of power and authority in the city. Its stone walls are adorned with ornate carvings, depicting scenes of battle and conquest. With high walls topped with crenellations and towers rising above them. Banners and flags bearing the guild’s emblem flutter in the breeze, announcing its presence to all who pass by. The large wooden doors are emblazoned with the guild’s symbol. As she pushes through the doors, she is greeted with the spacious and well-lit foyer, with high ceilings and walls adorned with tapestries and banners. A large fireplace crackles with warmth to the side, and comfortable chairs and benches are scattered throughout the room. And a faint scent of incense hung in the air. The floors are made of gleaming marble, and the room is kept clean and tidy by a group of attendants who bustle about their tasks. As she looked closer, she noticed that the walls were lined with small statues nestled in alcoves, each depicting a different hero of sorts in solemn forms. Plaques with their names and achievements at the base of each one. Passing beyond the foyer the main hall welcomed her.
Guilds also handled the more boring aspects of the city as well besides quenching the thirst for adventure; tax collection, processing fees, letters and banking services. Clinking coins, shuffling feet, hushed whispers and heated arguments, the occasional clanging of armor and boisterous laughter reigned here. The receptionists stood behind the polished wooden counters, welcoming guild members and visitors alike with a professional and courteous demeanor. They took requests, provided information, and processed rewards and fees, ensuring that the guild's business runs smoothly. Here the path diverged to the sides. Alicia was particularly eyeing up the library room of sorts to the left, full of shelves stacked high with scrolls and documents. As she was about to enter, she was stopped by a staff member.
- “Excuse me, you are?”
- “Oh, I was just hoping to browse.”
- “Apologies Miss, but only members are allowed within the archives.”
‘Not like I would know what I’m reading anyway but it was worth a shot anyway.’
- “I see… What are the requirements of becoming one?”
- “If you’re hoping to register, you should take an aptitude exam at one of the windows, it’s only a small fee.”
- “Thank you.”
- “If you have other questions feel free to ask at a window or one of the staff.”
‘Aptitude exam huh, not gonna make me fill out a form with my personal information or something?’
The notice board was crowded with guild members and mercenaries perusing the job listings. It was a large wooden board, situated in a prominent position in the main hall with various parchments and notices pinned to it. The board was divided into sections, each one representing a different type of job request, escort, recovery, request for materials. The notices were written in a variety of styles, from formal proclamations to hastily scrawled requests, but all carried the same sense of urgency and hints of danger but most that browsed them only ever looked at the promised rewards, reading further afterwards. Many of the notices feature illustrations of the items in question, rough drawing of the areas in which they are located, or at times depictions of monsters that haunt the place.
It was the hub where parties were formed before the task as each request demanded that each and everyone of them bring their own unique abilities to the table if success was to be ensured, and it was where it disbanded afterwards. Few were grizzled veterans, their faces weathered and hardened from countless encounters, while others were fresh-faced and eager, ready to prove their worth in the eyes of their peers. Rangers, with their keen senses and stealthy movements, scouted ahead to ensure the path was clear of danger, disabling traps if necessary. Witches and wizards always in high demand provided powerful spells and magic to aid their allies. Heavily-armored vanguards, with hulking shields and swords at the ready, able to protect their comrades from harm. Even civilian duties were required at times, such as scholars to decipher texts, or cartographers to map out uncharted territories.
Driven by her curiosity Alicia got up one of the unoccupied reception windows.
- “Welcome, ma’am what can I assist you with today?”
A young girl with looks that would generally be regarded as attractive, greeted her with a smile. Over the simple white blouse she wore a hoodless capelet rested gracefully on her shoulders. The capelet was embroidered with the insignia of the guild, signifying her role as well as to symbolize her affiliation with the organization.
- “I was told that only members can enter your archives and I should take an aptitude exam before joining.”
- “Certainly, it’ll only be a platin.”
‘Oh for god’s sake I was just getting used to Pyrinia’s Crowns. Of course the Empire uses a different currency.’
- “Do you take Crowns?”
Hearing the mention of a foreign currency elicited a momentary raising of the eyebrow from the receptionist. It was brief and subtle, enough so that even the most attentive of people might miss, which excluded her usual clientele.
- “Yes, we do, shall we convert the crowns for you? There will be a processing fee of one of every twenty units.”
‘One of every twenty units… is… 5% cut? Could be worse I guess. I shouldn’t bring up any gold, she might suspect something…’
- “Here.”
Plunging her hand into the satchel bag;
｢ Void Vault ｣
She pulled out a small mound of silver crowns, piling it on top of the counter in a heap of messy pile. By now it was evident - only to Alicia - that she was trying to suppress her rising exasperation, for despite her efforts of avoiding gold, Alicia had piled up a couple a year’s worth of her - relatively well paying - salary. Even another receptionist, a window over serving another, seemed distracted for a second.
- “Please wait a moment.”
She took some time to recover from the ordeal before pulling out a tray to collect the crowns and a counting frame. Deftly her fingers danced with the beads as she counted the coins. Before long it appeared that she was finished, placing all of the coins in the tray and taking it away leaving the window, presumably to a storage or a vault someplace. When she returned she had it all replaced with mostly silver coins of different size and minting along with a smaller number of bronze coins put in a pouch, attached to it a small receipt like paper.
- “Thank you for your patience. We have converted all of your crowns into platin and patina. I have taken the liberty of deducting the cost of the examination and you may review the detailed information in the accompanying statement.”
‘Hm, so the platin is the equivalent of silver crowns and the patina is the bronze or copper counterpart…’
Alicia picked it up and dropped it back into her satchel bag and didn’t bother to check if the conversion rate was correct or not, as it didn’t feel the most courteous behavior nor did she care if she was swindled. Wealth of this world never held any intrinsic value to her.
- “Once you’re ready please follow me to the examination hall.”
‘Still no paperwork? This might get interesting…’
Alicia was led to a separate wing at the back of the guild. Through the winding hallway that led downwards, the sounds of liveliness from the rest of the guild were left behind long gone, leaving the air quiet and solemn. Not long after they were in front of a dimly lit chamber, and at its heart a pedestal holding up a foggy crystal ball. It was as though they had exited the guild and entered some hidden temple. An elderly individual garbed in clerical attire emerged, sensing the arrival of people.
- “To begin your examination please walk up to the pedestal and place your hand on the scryglass. The examiner will interpret the results and grant you your identification paper listing all of your skills, abilities and potential aptitudes.”
‘Scryglass… sounds similar to Soul scryer… I’ve always had Alma to interpret my skills for me, and I’ve yet to doubt its decisions… well no harm in getting a second opinion right? Kinda wanna see it.’
Alicia doing as instructed placed her hand on the crystal ball, it was cold initially but became strangely warm soon after starting to faintly glow white.
>Intrusion intercepted.
‘Hm?’
The glow turned into a blinding flash that enveloped the whole chamber, the light spilling out of the confines of the room.
‘Is this thing supposed to flashbang me?’
>Injecting termination batch.
‘Injecting… wait what are you doi-’
The light faded in an instant, the crystal ball crumbled under her hand into a fine powder of glass.
- “Oh, you have got to be kidding me…”