"Actually... I lied. Not yet. I still have more things to explain before I have you out on the field." Valkyrie sat down and relaxed again while maintaining eye contact with me. "I need to give you both a deeper explanation of your cover stories along with some miscellaneous information. After all, I can't have you deployed without you knowing anything more than your names, right?"
"What else do you want us to keep in mind?"
"A general cover history. When you arrive at Sevali, you'll have to go through an evaluation checkpoint, and when you arrive at your assigned workplaces, you might be interviewed. Either that, or you'll have someone wanting to ask you about who you may be. This whole story I'm about to give you doesn't have to be strictly followed, just make sure that anything you make up is sensible and consistent. If anyone asks you where you are from, simply tell them you are from a distant and small community. This shouldn't be flagged as suspicious as many who wander into nations tend to come from such places. In your ID documents, your place of origin is labeled as "Evanescent". This is the mark given to those who have never resided in an official location. When you pass through the evaluation checkpoint, this will be changed to 'Last Available Residence of Mention: Sevali Union'. You will be effectively branded as people who originated in Sevali as this is where your document line will begin, so just take care to make that part of your story as you go on."
"As I mentioned before, you both are under the cover that you're siblings. As so, please be careful in terms of how you behave with one another. I don't know how close you two are..." Her eyes shined bright as she kept looking at me. "... Or what type of desires you two may have grown within one another..." Her eyes then turned to Adelina."... But try to keep your act sensible. I'd hate to hear that my two new cooperators failed because of an odd action that was witnessed to the public."
"Your family is all gone, and you two only have each other to depend on. Not only that, but a monster invasion at night wiped out your community. As a result, from having had been overrun, you made your way over to the Sevali Union in hopes of finding a stable place to live. Because you came from a very isolated place, your ID documents are very primitive. At the moment you have pictures on your IDs, but when you are deployed, they will be removed as having an ID with a picture would not make sense. Not only that, but the overall document is weak. You'll most likely be given new ones, so when you do, be sure that everything is still in check and that you protect them. If you lose your documents, your mission will be as good as over."
"Since both of you are supposed to be of the lower class, it is important that you keep yourselves in the Droideir District. If you go anywhere else, you'll most likely run into needless trouble. Just to clarify, the Sevali Union is divided into three separate districts: the 'Droideir District', the 'Amali District', and the 'Sevili District'. These three districts are a strict division of 'class' in the country. Droideir, as previously mentioned, is where all the lower class citizens reside in. On the other hand, in the Sevili, is where you'll find all of those in the upper class. The Amali, when compared to the other two districts is a little different, mostly in the sense that it doesn't house a particular class. Instead, the Amali is more of a neutral district where your class is simply unimportant. Regardless of how wealthy or powerful you are, in the Amali, you are as equal as the person next to you. As a result, you'll notice quickly that it is also the area with the most security."
"Well, that is all for the extra debrief. Are there any questions that you want to ask?" Valkyrie took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and relaxed.
"How will I know where to go and how to navigate myself within the country?" I asked.
"You do not need to worry about that. I'm sure Ozone will guide you just fine. Same to you Deli, Scarecrow 1-3 will work with you and I trust that she can do so well. Anything else?"
"How long will this all last? The mission I mean."
"That is dependent on how quickly you can complete your objectives. Although, considering the nature of your mission, unless something, in particular, gets in the way, you should not be deployed for more than a month."
"I see."
"Any other questions?"
"None from me."
"Deli?" Valkyrie turned to Adelina who simply shook her head as a response. "Alright, in that case..." Valkyrie stood up and walked to the center of the dining room where there were no obstructions around her. "... Valkyrie to Ozone, report to my location, over. Valkyrie to Scarecrow 1-Actual, report Scarecrow 1-3 to my location, over." Within seconds, two figures, with a sudden purple flash, teleported next to Valkyrie, one of which was a tall man who had immediately rung my memories. He was the one who had subjugated me before my first meeting with Valkyrie. Surprisingly, he was not wearing a cloak or a mask. As so, I was able to see his deep purple eyes along with his pale ghostly skin. He had no hair on his head either, and the only remarkable trait of his face was a scar that crossed his left eye diagonally.
On the other hand, the second figure was a woman almost as tall as Valkyrie. She had platinum blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail, revealing her fair and attractive face. Unlike Valkyrie, her skin was nowhere near being ghostly pale, but instead, was more so beige, making her look far more natural than Valkyrie. Her eyes were deep green and shined brightly, and her smile was no less lustrous as her teeth were completely white. She had no imperfections anywhere on her face either, or anywhere for that matter as the rest of her body was slim, albeit petite. She was wearing what seemed to be casual clothes, a simple white t-shirt, and black jeans, although both clothing pieces were ripped and slightly dirtied, compromising her overall beauty. To put it simply, her allure was on par with Valkyrie and Adelina. At this point, the only thing that could separate all three women from each other is your personal preference at best. Are all of the women in this world attractive, or is this a coincidence here?
"Ozone, reporting." The tall man said.
"Scarecrow 1-3, reporting." The blonde woman followed.
"These two will be the ones you'll both be working with. Be sure to warm yourselves up to one another as you'll all be working closely." Valkyrie said as she looked at me and Adelina. "Alright, that being said, Ozone, deploy Victor, codename Disciple 1-Actual to his initialization point, along with Adelina, codename Disciple 1-2. Scarecrow 1-3, deploy to your initialization point and wait for contact with Disciple 1-2."
Following her order, Scarecrow 1-3 teleported away, while on the other hand, Ozone walked over to Adelina and me. Shortly after, he uncovered his left arm where he revealed a brand exactly like mine. Afterward, his brand began to shine and emit a wire-type light connection from his left arm to mine, linking them together and causing my brand to shine as a result. Before I knew it, I began to glow purple along with Adelina while a purple circle began inscribing itself on my dining floor. My arm was burning a little, although it was nothing compared to the pain that Valkyrie caused when she tinkered with it.
Within seconds, Adelina and I were completely purple and translucent, fading in and out as if we some form of hallucination.
"Disciple 1 is ready for deployment." Announced Ozone, presumably to Valkyrie. Without a word, Valkyrie nodded with a beaming smile before waving her hands at me. Then, in an instantaneous moment, my eyes were filled with a bright white flash, blinding me completely. As a result, before I knew it, I found myself standing next to Adelina in an open grass plain with a single dirt road.
I turned and looked around, soaking in the natural grass and flowers that spread everywhere, a sure sign that I was no longer within the dining room of my own home. Adelina, just like me, was surprised and analyzing our surroundings, wondering where exactly we were. On our feet were a couple of briefcases, presumably filled with our funds and clothes, and on our hands, was a little packet with our identification files. Apart from that, it was just us as far as our eyes can see.
"It seems we're on the Amali Road," Adelina commented as she looked around.
"Amali Road?" I questioned as I looked throughout the horizon.
"Yeah. It's the only road that leads cleanly into the Sevali Union. It's called the Amali Road because it takes you straight through the middle of the Amali District inside the Sevali Union." She explained.
"I see. Which way do we go, then?" Before Adelina could respond, a tiny request display appeared in my vision. It housed the name Ozone with a request for T&L communications.
"Ozone to Disciple 1-Actual, come in, over." I heard a deep voice right in my left ear. It was at this moment that I realized that I was not particularly familiar with the way to operate the network, or how it is that I should speak. "To answer without going through your display, just say your codename and acknowledge that you're hearing me." I see. Simple enough I guess?
"This is Disciple 1-Actual, I hear you... over," I responded, trying to mimic his way of speech.
"There you go, Disciple 1. It might take you a while to get used to this, but don't let it get to your head. First things first, are you safe and collected where you are? Over."
"Yeah, we're good and all. I'm in the middle of Amali Road with my partner here, over."
"Copy. To get to the Sevali Union, make your way east of your location. If you open up your display and head over to your MIDT, you should see your mission already posted along with your first objective. If you pick the objective, your screen will display the objective's location along with a guidance-line to show you where to go. Use this feature and get used to it. It'll help you do things quicker in the long run, over." Following his instructions, I opened my MIDT and picked my only primary objective that was organized under a banner called 'Mission Alpha: Iron Arrow'. Within a moment, my entire display simplified into a screen where a purple arrow laid on the ground in front of me, pointing directly ahead while showcasing a long and linear line that followed throughout the entire road. At the bottom left of my screen, I noticed a percentage bar of how close I was to the destination, while on the bottom right, I saw an option to cancel the MIDT.
"I got it. I know where to go, over."
"Understood. For now, make your way to the Sevali and pass its evaluation checkpoint. When you are inside with Disciple 1-2, contact me. Ozone, out." Without any more words, Ozone tapped out of my ear and I was left with Adelina to talk to.
"Ah... Well, with that out of the way, I guess we have to get moving now huh?" Adelina sighed as she began to walk in the proper direction, prompting me to start following her.
"I take it that this is all familiar to you? Considering you've been here before and all?" I chose to ask.
"Yeah, since this is the only road to the Sevali, it isn't hard to remember everything on it, especially when the majority of it is the same."
"So, about this Sevali Union, what kind of place are we going to exactly?"
"Eh... I can't say much since I wasn't there for too long. My stay was all in the Amali District where I deemed to be the safest for me. In terms of Droideir and Sevili, all I know are rumors at best. For Droideir, it is as Valkyrie told you, a pretty uncivilized district where almost anything goes. Violence and larceny are commonplace and the only reason why you're there is simply that you cannot afford to be any place better. On the other hand, the Sevili is said to be the complete opposite. Inside the Sevali Union, the Sivili District is considered the 'Golden Piece' of the union. There is rarely any wrongdoing inside and if you can afford it, you'll never worry about anything 'haunting your dreams'."
"So then the Sevili is where all should aim to be then?"
"Not exactly. If anything, the words going around at the time lead to the Sivili not being any better than Droideir. While in Droideir the issues are all external, in the Sivili, all the problems are internal. Apparently, in Sivili, while you may not get robbed or beaten up, you're definitely in for some form of manipulation. I don't know what exactly are the issues as it was all just rumors, but if you live in the Sivili, you're bound to face similar stress as you would in Droideir."
"I see. Then the Amali is best then?"
"If you're looking for the biggest chance for peace, sure. Frankly, all of the Sevali is riddled with problems. If I wasn't running away from the Phantom Company at the time, I would've left simply because the Sevali is not a pleasurable place to stay. The worst part is how rigid they are with immigration and privacy. For some reason, they have a huge infatuation with keeping to themselves, which is confusing as they are the only nation around here. They'll check you thoroughly and ask you questions relentlessly, and then they'll keep their eye on you without rest. If you try to leave, you'll have to claw your way out as they'll do anything to keep you inside."
"If that's the case, then how did you manage to leave?"
"I snuck out. Escaping wasn't difficult considering how short my stay was, but it wasn't particularly easy to pull off. All I can say is that if I were to come back here looking like my regular self, I can guarantee that they will not hesitate to get their hands on me for some form of revenge or spite."
"Is it that bad inside? What's the community like?"
"Annoying in my experience. It seems to be a nation-wide custom to be private and stingy inside. No one will bother to give their hands to you and you'd be lucky if anyone looks your way if you need any bit of help. Owners of ins and shops are frugal with their prices and conditions, and the average citizen seems to want to have you disappear above all else. It truly amazes me as to how a place like that could even stay together."
"I see... And this mission of ours? What are your thoughts on it?" I gambled. I wasn't sure if this was a question whose answer I wanted to hear from her, but since we'd be in this for a while, I figured I'd work to get any of her negativity out of the way.
"Ugh..." She sighed, as I expected. "We don't have much of a choice in this, and frankly, as long as I get to stay with you, I'm happy..." Suddenly Adelina turned to me with an apprehensive look. "Err... I mean... Since you are strong and all..." She tried to speak as she kept staring at me.
"I understand." Was all I said as a response since there wasn't much else to say.
"Right... right..." She spoke softly as she turned her attention straight ahead.
"Do you think that this mission will be easy enough for us?" I tried to return to my intended topic.
"Um... I can't say..." She trailed as off she kept her gaze ahead. "... For the most part, it seems that our jobs are relatively simple. However, considering where we are going to work, I can't help but at least mention that we're going to struggle at some point, if not me, then especially you."
"You think so?"
"Yeah. After all, Valkyrie did go out of her way to warn you about the possible dangers you may run into in the future during this mission. She even went as far as telling us that I'd be deployed with you as your medic in case things get too bad. If all of that wasn't probable, I doubt she would've gone out of her way to mention any of it. I don't know what type of danger may find itself in your way, but if she had to warn you about them, then they must be dangerous and noteworthy. Having been told all of that, I can't help but be worried for you as a result."
"What about you though? Considering that you're supposed to be cared for and away from anything that could harm you, don't you think deploying us here is a bad idea?"
"I don't doubt the fact that this is all a bad idea, neither do I doubt that the Phantom Company must be insane for doing this after all of the efforts they put to keep me. However, as much as I doubt this entire mission, I also doubt that they would go out of their way to put me in harm's way. After all, if they knew that this mission would put me in danger, then why would they even do so? You being my 'caretaker' is not enough reason for them to justify it, so clearly, if they're making me part of this, then it means that my end is a lot more safe or tame. Unlike you, I wasn't warned by Valkyrie. As so, I have some confidence in that my existence will be relatively fine when compared to yours."
"I see... Well, I just hope that this mission doesn't turn into some sort of mess. They have already put too much on me, I don't need anything unnecessary being stacked on top of it all too."
"Yeah, me too."
"Looks like we are nearing our destination," I said out loud as I stared directly ahead. My attention had already been grabbed minutes ago, but now that we were closer, I was able to truly analyze the construction at the end of our road. What I was looking at, in essence, was not supposed to be surprising to me, and yet, I still managed to become astonished anyway.
In front of us, there was an incredibly vast stone curtain wall that stretched kilometers worth of distance wide, almost as if it was a complete barrier to the entire landscape behind it. The wall was very tall, reaching somewhere along twenty meters or so worth of height, causing it to loom over the ground and cast a wide shadow in our direction. At the top of the wall, one could see it turn into battlements where countless armored and armed guards were standing, all of which were watching vigilantly over the landscape that we were walking on. Occasionally, within some of the crenels of the parapet, one could spot a ballista resting within, pointing outwards, ready to be fired alongside them, adding pressure to the overall view. Last but not least, I was able to spot a grand iron gate at the very center of the wall, exactly where the road ended from our view, with its entirety being guarded by two squads of ten guards around, all of which were heavily armed with full iron armor and swords.
As I said, it was all nothing that I couldn't have expected, but I couldn't help myself from feeling a bit of surprise in how grand the wall already looked. I could only imagine how much work and enforcement such a wall would need, especially when I was only able to see a portion of it.
"Yes, we are. The guards are also aware of this it seems like." Adelina commented as she looked at the archers at the top who were returning our attention. They didn't seem alert, so that was good so far, although, considering how many there were, it was kind of off-putting to know that all of them were staring. It felt as if we were walking on a minefield where a mistake could be made any second.
"I see that they are as serious as I thought they'd be. They must have a strong reason to post so much security around here." I commented as I moved my eyes to the guards on the gate.
"They're very apparent, aren't they? That level of security is overkill considering how little visitors this place gets, and it isn't any less overkill against monsters. They could easily defend this place with about a fourth of the manpower here, and yet, they do this anyways." Adelina added.
"Maybe they're expecting something? Perhaps this level of security isn't the norm and they're just being this way now due to a special circumstance?"
"Perhaps, but we won't know by asking, that's for sure. I already tried my hand at doing so before and I learned then that it was a pointless endeavor."
Since we weren't far, reaching the gate barely took any time, and before we knew it, Adelina and I were standing in front of the guardsmen by the gate. At first, they simply stared at us, as if they were suspicious. Their eyes were roaming all over us and our details, and their scornful looks were not any less obvious. They were looking to find something, but, fortunately for us, their cautious looks didn't last long before they chose to speak up.
"Why are you here?" The guard at the very front of us asked, letting me take notice immediately of how deep his voice was. His voice could've caused the ground to vibrate through the sheer levels of bass it had.
"We're looking for a place to stay. This is the only place around, so we're looking to find a home here." I responded, trying to keep a neutral demeanor to the best of my ability.
"How long?"
"As long as we may need."
"Is it just the two of you?" His eyes wandered, scanning the area behind me as if he was checking to make sure there was no one hiding in the open plains.
"Yes."
"Do you have any identification on you?"
"Yeah... Here." I opened the little packet of documents I was deployed with and handed him a copy of my 'identification' paper. I say 'identification', however, the document was nothing more than a piece of paper with my physical details, name, and place of origin handwritten on it. In terms of proof, the paper was as good as not existing, however, given the nature of our cover story, anything better would just be out of place.
"And the girl?" He asked, causing Adelina to search and hand over her copy of her ID. "You two are siblings?" He followed, eyeing us without remorse.
"Yes."
"You don't look similar at all..." His gaze got stronger.
"Yeah, we get that a lot." I devised on the spot.
"Do you now?" His voice rang with a higher tone of suspicion.
"Yeah." I stayed quiet. I wanted to limit my answers so that I didn't risk saying anything necessarily.
"These papers are two piles of garbage. They're as good as burnt ash. How am I supposed to believe you?" He asked without hesitation. See, now why couldn't you have just asked that from the beginning?
"How else are we supposed to prove ourselves to you?" I returned. It seems that my simplistic retort was more than enough to quell his suspicions as he didn't know how else to respond. This very fact caused some distaste to show on his face, but I ignored it.
"Fine... Come with me." He handed us both our papers back before he turned around and faced the gate in front of us. "Open the gate!" His voice resonated among all the guards thoroughly as almost every one of them had flinched due to the sudden increase in his volume. Without much of a delay, after his order was heard, the heavy iron gate began to open up, revealing little by little the land inside. At first, just like the outside, I was able to spot numerous guards posted, all of which were either opening the door or watching past it with great attention. However, very quickly I was able to lay my eyes on the numerous buildings inside.
Right off I was able to see how congested the land was as there were already tens of buildings lined up in my view alone, with many, many more spreading down and around the Amali Road. There was no grass around as the ground was nothing more than dirt, and there was absolutely no greenery anywhere to be seen, only dirt, gravel, wood, stone, and glass. Compared to my village, the colors were far drabber and the view was far more crowded than I could have ever imagined. There were hundreds of people within my view, all of which were either moving around, hanging about, patrolling, shopping, conversing, dealing, or just standing. Even though the place was teeming with residents, none of it looked 'eventful'. Everyone seemed reserved and withdrawn, causing the environment to be nearly silent as a result.
To put it simply, everything seemed somber and lifeless, contrary to what you would expect out of a place filled with people and places.
The guard walked through the gate, prompting us to follow close, and after we passed through, he faced another guard and pointed at us. It seemed that this gesture alone was enough as the other guard understood as he walked over to us.
"Take them to Evaluation. They're new and got nothing to their names." The deep-voiced guard ordered, causing the other guard to nod before gesturing us to follow him. Soon after, the deep-voiced guard turned around and walked back outside before he ordered the gate to be closed again. The guard we were placed onto, on the other hand, began walking to our left, straight for a wooden building that had a sign in front that read 'Evaluation and Residency Office'. The building was large and already had a line of people waiting outside, although it seemed that the line was for a different purpose from ours as we were guided past it and into the building right off the bat.
When we walked inside, we were able to see an extensive counter with multiple clerks on standby, talking with their current clientele. The room was was very large in of itself as the enormous counter only took the middle third of the room's space, whereas to the right, I could spot numerous tables and chairs were even more clerks were talking to clientele. On the left-hand side of the room, I was able to spot a sign that read 'Evaluations', where there was only a small counter with one single clerk on standby, completely free of preoccupation as she was just sitting there, tapping her fingers on the desk with her eyes closed.
The guard, while disregarding all of the noise and action going around in the room, walked over to the inactive clerk to our left before tapping on her desk, causing her to open her eyes and face our direction. "We've got two new ones here. Get them sorted out." Was all he said before he turned away and left the room.
"Understood. In that case, can the two of you follow me?" She stood up and walked out of her counter before walking further to our left where there were multiple doors on the wall. Above the doors, I was able to read another grand sign that read 'Evaluations' Offices'. "The both of you will be going into the room farthest to the left." She proceeded to walk to the room she had pointed out and then opened the door for us to walk in, prompting us to do so before she closed it behind us.
The room we were in housed a large table in the middle with two sets of two chairs residing on opposing sides of one another. Apart from the furniture, there was absolutely nothing else as the room was nearly empty everywhere else. Naturally, since there wasn't much to do or look at, I made my way and sat down in one of the chairs on the side closest to me, causing Adelina to follow my movements as she sat down in the chair next to me. Afterward, we both set our briefcases down next to us and our packets of documents on the table.
At first, for a couple of minutes, we waited in complete silence, and as so, because of the dull inactivity, I chose to check my watch only to find out that it was 2:46 PM. This information, at the moment, was completely irrelevant for me as I had no timetable to stick to as far as I knew. Since that occupation was short-lived, I then took to checking out my various ID documents, trying to gauge what they were and what they said, mostly because it wasn't until now that I had realized that I hadn't given them a thorough lookover at all.
Well... I say that, but... the documents weren't anything amazing to analyze within themselves.
My main identification paper mentioned that my name is Castada Alphanier, that I am 23 years old, am 1.98 meters tall, have green eyes, am a male, and that my place of origin is evanescent. Apart from my identification paper, I also had a card which also housed the same details as my main identification paper. It was smaller, and it seemed that it was small enough to carry in my pockets, leading me to believe that it would be something I may have to carry all the time. Apart from that card, there was also another piece of paper labeled 'Work Statuses'. This one, in terms of personal information, housed only my name, age, and height, however, instead, it had a huge bar table with two columns and many rows. It was empty though, so again, like my other documents, it was weak and meaningless.
"Since you've been here before..." I spoke as I began to put my documents back into my packet. "What type of questions are they going to ask us?" I asked Adelina.
"A lot of them are going to be redundant if anything. They're likely to ask needless things such as what we are trying to do, or what we used to do, things that, on a technical level, we can't prove." Adelina answered as she tapped her fingers on the desk.
"I see. And our cover story? What are we going to tell them?"
"Anything as long as it makes sense I guess. You don't have to worry about making anything too complicated. They won't be able to verify what you say for the most part, or at least, they didn't do so much back when I had initially arrived here on my own."
"How long will this last?"
"Far longer than you're going to wish for."
"I see..."
Suddenly the door to our room opened up, showcasing the entry of an old man who was dressed in a black suit and had a pile of documents in his hand. He had a wrinkly face, displaying his age very clearly, and the greyish-white color of his hair and facial hair were signs of the same. However, despite his age, he was groomed properly as his hair was neatly swept to the side and his facial hair was properly cut and trimmed, giving him a look of elegance above all. He was smiling at us the moment he walked in too, making his presence warm, contrary to how everyone else I've seen has looked.
After walking in, he made his way over to the opposite side of the table where we were sitting by and sat down himself, all while he placed the documents he was carrying on the desk. Afterward, he then crossed his legs along with intertwining his hands by his stomach, causing him to give off a formal demeanor. At first, he wasn't saying anything, and for a couple of seconds, the room remained silent, however, very quickly, we took notice of another person who was making their way into our room. This person had a look far more... irregular when compared to the old man. He was wearing a black and golden patterned hooded cloak that covered his entire being, with his face being the only visible part that we could see. Instead of sitting down, he stood to our right between the old man and us, as if he was some form of a mediator. His demeanor, as a result, was far more ominous, causing me to become slightly alert.
"Alright, now that we're all here, how about we begin. First, can you both hand me your identification papers, if you have any?" The old man began as he leaned forward into the desk.
"Alright." I complied as I handed him my main ID paper with Adelina following through. Wait, should I be thinking of Adelina as Kalene now? It may make it hard for me to stay consistent if I keep thinking of her as Adelina.
"Castada Alphanier, it says here that you are 23 years old, are about 1.98 meters tall, have green eyes, have black hair, and are a male. Is this all correct?"
"Correct," I confirmed.
"Check him, if you could, please?" The old man turned to the cloaked one, who didn't voice their response, but instead, he lifted his left hand and pointed it at me. Suddenly, a blue wire-type connection made contact with my body, causing my entire body to glow bright blue. For a couple of seconds, the blue light that engulfed me was flickering all over, making me look as if I was being scanned or something, however, within time, it began to dissipate away, resulting in me looking normal again.
"All correct." The cloaked man voiced roughly. His voice was terse, sounding as if it was straining for him to speak.
"Good, it seems your physical looks match what you've mentioned Castada..." The old man smiled at me. I see... So they were scanning me to make sure I wasn't hiding any true physical details? Interesting... It seems the Phantom Company's magic is stronger than the scan then. Not only that, but they must've added this cloaked man as a security measure for this process since they're verifying my statement. "...Now... Let's see..." He flipped and took to looking at Ade- err, Kalene's ID paper, and skimmed over it. "... Kalene, it says here that you are 21 years old, are about 1.73 meters tall, have brown eyes, have black hair, and are a female. Is all of this information correct?"
"Yes," Kalene responded with a calm but distant voice. This time, without being asked, the cloaked man raised his arm and performed the same scan on Kalene, making her glow bright blue just as I had. Just like me, when he was done, he confirmed that Kalene had not lied and that her physical features were as she had said.
"Good. I take it that since you both have the same surname, that you two are married?" The old man queried. Married?
"Married? No, we're siblings." I corrected him.
"Oh?..." He chuckled. "My apologies. You two don't look too similar, so I assumed you two must've been lovers." He continued. It seemed that this comment threw Kalene off a little as she was staring at me, although I disregarded it, only because I didn't want to make any unnecessary impressions. "Well, since you're siblings and have arrived here together, I take it that you two must've lived together, or near each other before arriving here?" He changed the topic.
"Yes."
"Where exactly?"
"At this small community about three weeks away to the west." I lied.
"It says here that your place of origin is evanescent. Since you've written this in the document, can I assume that this community where you two came from is not an official country, union, kingdom, town, so on and so forth?"
"Correct. It was a relatively small settlement that only had seventeen people. It wasn't anything on a scale to have an official nature."
"Who lives there apart from the two of you now?"
"No one." My answer caused the old man to pause in his tracks before wording any more questions, and as so, instead, he stared at me for a little while. It was clear that my answer surprised him.
"What do you mean?"
"About three and a half weeks ago, at night, for some reason, a huge monstrous mob went through our camp. Since the numbers were far too great when compared to ours, almost everyone was killed or was lost in the engagement. Only my sister and I survived, only because everyone else took to letting us escape above all. Now, we are here, looking for a place to live as we didn't have much to live off of back where we used to be." I guess this is where I have to start selling our cover story.
"That's... quite unfortunate... I'm sorry for your losses." The old man bowed his head down momentarily before raising it back up. "Have you been wandering around ever since in hopes to look for a home?" He followed up.
"Kind of. At first, when we had escaped, we had no idea where to go. As so, when daytime came around, we returned to our village in hopes to find anything worth scavenging. When we looked around, we ended up finding a small bag in our little hut with a note. The note was written by one of our neighbors and it read that we should aim to head east, instructing us that if we traveled far enough, we would run into a decent place to be. The note was vague and I had no clue as to how our neighbor knew such information, but since we didn't have any better plans, that is what we did. As a result, we arrived here." I lied extensively.
"I understand. And these documents? When were they made?"
"We made them on the way over here. Inside the bag, we had found funds that were provided by the note's writer, along with pieces of paper and another note telling us how to put them to use. Since he was guiding us here, he gave us a starting line for these documents since his note read that we would need them."
"What do you plan to do here apart from living?"
"We plan to work. I'm sure it is not wrong for me to assume that this entire place is not one that relies on trading for currency. Otherwise, we would have no reason to try and live here."
"I understand... Your verdict?" The old man once again turned to the cloaked one who raised his hand and pointed at me. This time, I was engulfed within a white light that made me look ghostly, and within seconds, I began to pulsate green.
"He hasn't lied." The cloaked man answered. Oh, I see.
"Good. Good. Well, it seems that you've told us the complete truth so far. That will make it easier for all of us." Interesting... Even while I told them a sob story they remained skeptical. No less from what I was told to expect. Also, I guess the Phantom Company must've blessed us with something for them to be able to say that I'm not lying, even though everything I've said has been nothing but lies. What type of garbage can you pull with magic nowadays, seriously?
For the next twenty to thirty more minutes, we stayed in the room and went through the process of officializing our documents for our stay in the Sevali. It seemed that, apart from being a lie detector, the cloaked man was also some form of a printer as he used magic to officially 'print' our information on new pieces of paper and cards for us. Unlike our messy handwritten documents, our new documents had clear, formal print and were stamped, proving that they were official and real. The writing of our documents, courtesy of the cloaked man, was essentially engraved into the material as the writing couldn't be easily tampered with. Not only that, but it seemed that the cloaked man also reinforced the documents' paper as they weren't capable of being ripped or stained anymore.
By the end of the meeting, Kalene and I had a brand new ice white identification paper that not only had our physical details engraved but also new ID numbers with an updated place of residential mention, along with a clear, photorealistic picture of our faces. Our old cards were also replaced as we were given a small card of official quality instead, all while being instructed that we must carry it everywhere we go as it'll be a small but surefire proof of our identities. Last but not least, our Work Statuses document was also replaced in the same manner as all previously mentioned documents.
Apart from having our documents replaced, we also had our belongings scanned. It seemed that our appearances were not the only things that could've been masked with magic, but also our items. As so, the cloaked man scanned every bit of our luggage to find anything suspicious, only to find out that we didn't have anything, in particular, to be worried about. We did have to go out of our way to explain as to why Kalene seemed to have some nice, fancy looking skirts, tops, and dresses, however, as the old man became suspicious as to why someone like Kalene could afford to have such high-quality clothing. Fortunately for us, we managed to sell another little story as to why she had them, although, to be quite honest, it was probably the Phantom Company's magic on us that did the work for us.
When our evaluation was finally over, we were then granted official entry. As so, afterward, Kalene and I found ourselves wandering about throughout the Amali Road while checking out the various shops, homes, restaurants, workshops, and inns that were all around. One thing I learned very quickly, which shouldn't have been a surprise, is that the Sevali Union is an astoundingly large place. We wandered about only walking straight through the Amali Road for about fifteen minutes and we were nowhere near reaching the end of it. Not only that but throughout the length of the road we walked by countless intersections of walkways where we could've steered in various directions. The entire place seemed like a labyrinth more than anything with how much there was everywhere.
"Ozone, this is Disciple 1-Actual, I need to talk to you, over." I began suddenly. Due to our leisure walk, I almost forgot that I was supposed to notify my guide that I was now inside of the Sevali.
"This is Ozone, talk to me, over." He responded almost instantly.
"Ozone, my partner and I are inside the Sevali, over."
"Understood. Have there been any issues so far? Over."
"None as far as I can tell. We passed through fine without any particular suspicion to our names, over."
"Understood. Your objective now is to make your way into the Droideir District and register yourselves in an inn called 'Red Rosary'. As part of your mission, you'll have a room already booked for your stay with your cover names, so all you have to do is prove your identities and you should be fine. Inside your room, you'll link up with Scarecrow 1-3 to ready up for your first shift at your jobs. Be sure to get this done before 4:30 PM or you'll start running behind your schedule. Understood? Over."
"Understood, over."
"Copy. Relay to me once you've linked up with Scarecrow 1-3 and are ready for your first shift. Ozone, out." I looked at my watch and took notice that it was nearing 3:30 PM, meaning that we didn't have much time to leisure about anymore considering how much ground we may have to cover. As so, using my MIDT, I began making my way to the Droideir District to accomplish our next objective which was about two and a half kilometers away. Kalene, like usual, followed close, although her attention stayed on surveying the environment as we walked.
"This place... Something about it seems worse than before." Kalene mentioned suddenly.
"How so?"
"The people. They're quiet, way too quiet, even for this place."
"Are they?" Her statement prompted me to look all around, letting my gaze cross the grand amount of people that were all placed about. In a way, even though I couldn't relate to what her concern was, I was able to understand that perhaps Kalene was right. I hadn't noticed before due to my lack of social awareness, but everyone was indeed far too quiet. It was so silent that I was only able to hear the individual footsteps of those who walked and even the whispers of those who spoke, courtesy of my heightened sense of hearing. It was unbecoming of a place teeming with occupants, especially when it wasn't like this when we had initially arrived. "What do you think it means?"
"I don't know. We aren't standing out, so that's good for us. However, something about this entire place seems off. Even for this district's culture, everyone is being way too restrained. Back when I was here, it was normal for you to hear groups of people chatting loudly as they went through their day. Now, people are just walking, or whispering as if they're trying to keep a secret."
"I see... Well, let's just hope this all doesn't mean anything. Right now, we have our mission to be preoccupied with and our concerns shouldn't even lie anywhere within this district."
"Yeah. Let's hope." Don't get me wrong Kalene, I now feel your concern.
When I was told there was a divide between all of the districts, I thought the idea was simply metaphorical, as in, it was referring to the socioeconomic statuses of the residents only with some acknowledgment of the poor quality of the land about. Instead, I found myself realizing that there was, indeed, a pure divide of the districts. When Kalene and I were nearing Droideir, we were able to see a literal divide in quality between the land, buildings, and people. Droideir, when compared to Amali, was far more somber as most of the buildings seemed broken down, weak, and colorless. Not only that, but the residents all wore clothing that were, in some combination, either dirty, tarnished, or ill-fitted. The ground itself was also nothing but mud, dirt, and gravel with absolutely no pavement anywhere, not even in some buildings. Some of the residents seemed to be dirtied up entirely, looking as if they haven't even showered in their lifetime, and some buildings were barricaded in places where a door or window would've been. Hell, there were even buildings that were missing walls entirely. Even though we walked in with dirty clothes ourselves, somehow we managed to look cleaner than everyone and everything around.
As we walked into Droideir, almost everyone in the Amali District began looking at Kalene and me with a bewildered look on their faces, almost as if they thought we were insane to have done such a thing. On the other hand, I don't know how desperate the people of Droideir were, but considering how quickly and often our luggage was being eyeballed, it made me wonder if our briefcases looked like bricks of gold to their eyes. If the people weren't giving us stares of surprise or desperation, then they were staring at us as if they were ready to just rob us on the spot and take everything from us. Luckily, as suspicious or questionable everyone looked, no one approached us at all as we walked through the open streets. Still, their ill-intents were not missed by me every time we took a step.
Without a doubt, though, the one thing everyone was staring at the most was Kalene. Without any exaggeration intended, Kalene must've been the most beautiful being around in the whole district so far as almost every man looked at her as if she was a meal, while almost every woman looked at her with pure jealousy. Kalene, of course, did not miss any of this attention as she looked around, and perhaps, to avoid some of it, she decided to walk right next to me, almost glued to me. I don't know what her intentions were, but it didn't yield any results as the looks and their amount remained the same. Still, the action she chose seemed to cause her to feel less tense, so for her sake, I let her walk by me, mostly because I had no reason to deny her otherwise.
After about twenty minutes of walking and bearing with the unwanted attention in Droideir, Kalene and I finally made it to the Red Rosary inn, which, contrary to how Droideir looked to us, was surprisingly... proper. Well, I doubt the word proper is the right one to use, but the inn seemed to be in one, complete, fully functioning piece as it had no visible breakage, fortification, or filth. The building was made out of wood and stone and was about three stories worth of height. It was big and at the front, it had a terrace that had grass with flowers surrounding a singular pavement pathway that leads to the front entrance. From the ground level, you could see into the first floor due to multiple panels of glass that were on the front wall. Inside, I was able to see multiple chairs, tables, and people who were sitting about and eating some meals with the occasional waiter or waitress walking about.
Everything inside didn't look grand by any means as the entire dining area was nothing more than regular wooden tables and chairs laying about. The people weren't anything amazing themselves either as everyone was relatively dirty with no signs of any type of formal wear anywhere to be seen. Of course, although the environment wasn't grand in of itself, when compared to the rest of Droideir so far, the inn and its people looked like royalty with elegance to their names.
Since we had now found our destination, I made my way inside with Kalene following close, making my way to the front counter where a hostess was standing by. Almost immediately she noticed our presence and gave us a welcoming smile.
"Hello! Welcome to the Red Rosary Inn! Are you here to eat or to stay? Or both?" She asked with a lively voice.
"We have a reservation here to stay," I answered.
"Alright, what are your names?"
"Castada Alphanier and Kalene Alphanier."
"Castada Alphanier... Castada Alphanier..." The hostess began flipping between pages in a notebook that she had in front of her on the counter. "... Alphanier... Alphan- Ah! Here we go! A room for Castada Alphanier and Kalene Alphanier. Can I see some ID to verify your identities, please?"
"Understood." Following her request, Kalene and I showed her our ID cards which she used to confirm our identities. Once she seemed satisfied, she then returned them to us.
"Alright, so here are your keys..." She reached under the counter momentarily before popping back up with two sets of keys. She then proceeded to hand me one set and Kalene the other. "... Your room is on the third floor, up the stairs to your left, all the way down the hall. It has the name C16 so you should be able to identify it easily. If you have any questions, please feel free to come here and talk to me. If you would like to eat anything, feel free to talk to me about that too, although, please remember that our food comes with a separate cost. Your room, starting next week, will cost you exactly five silver coins, so please have your payment ready, and don't be late in giving it. Please enjoy your stay!" She finished.
Having had understood her explanation, Kalene and I began walking over to the stairs and up to our room where it was exactly as it was described to us. Without hesitation, I used my key to open the door up, prompting us both to walk inside afterward before I closed the door and locked it behind us.
Upon our first look, our room was quite spacious as it had a closet to the left, a bathroom to the right, a table and multiple chairs in the front middle of the room, with a king-sized bed to the far back. Next to our bed were a couple of small stands with drawers where we could place small items inside. On the back wall, multiple windows were covered with a jet black curtain that could be pulled or tied, hiding our room from the outside if we wished. As Kalene and I walked around and inspected the place, I noticed that the floor was not creaking at all and that the wood everywhere was exceptionally clean and in top condition. The bathroom was also surprisingly roomy as I was able to roam around alongside Kalene without getting in each other's way.
It seemed that the Phantom Company had gotten us quite a comfortable and luxurious room for our mission, although, it was expensive as a result. Five silver coins were a high price to pay as inside our briefcases we only had ten silver coins to our names. Unless our temporary jobs got us decent money or we completed our mission quickly, we would be out of here within two to three weeks from the rent alone. Well, I doubt money will be a problem for us as Valkyrie did say that we would be provided enough funds to carry out our mission here.
After I finished inspecting our room with Kalene, I took to putting my briefcase aside and sitting down on one of the chairs by our table. On the other hand, it seemed that Kalene took to unpacking her clothes and setting them up in our closet, causing me to take notice of the various fashionable dresses, skirts, and tops that had almost got us in trouble back at our evaluation. It was clear from the clothes alone that Kalene's job would be far more... classy than mine since my clothes were all nothing but casual wear. It seems that her future job as a waitress must be quite the operation if that's the type of clothes she was going to wear.
Since she was occupied handling her clothes, I decided to place my attention on contacting Ozone as I was told to earlier, only because I noticed that my attention on Kalene was starting to make her restless. "Disciple 1-Actual to Ozone, come in, over." I requested.
"Disciple 1-Actual, this is Ozone, I hear you, over." He responded.
"I've arrived at the inn with my partner and we're setting ourselves up here, over."
"Understood. Standby for further instruction, out." For a good moment, I was left to myself, looking at my watch and taking note that it was 4:23 PM, meaning that we were on schedule as instructed.
"Scarecrow 1-3, this is Disciple 1-2, I'm here... over." Kalene suddenly spoke up, taking my attention. At first, after her acknowledgment, she stayed quiet, listening to her relay. Soon after, however, she spoke up again. "Understood. I'll be waiting for you, over."
"Disciple, by 5:15 PM, you are to relay to me after you arrive and sign yourself in at Reaver's Farmership for your first shift. You'll be working there from 5:15 PM up until 3:00 AM. In that time, work to establish connections for intelligence on your target, Zair Reaver, and try to achieve a minimal profile to the best of your ability. Not only that but throughout your shift, you are tasked with analyzing the environment of your workplace along with identifying details that I will request of you periodically. For the most part, today you will only be responsible for reconnaissance on your workplace, however, if possible, we request that you also give us a report on the district area on the way your workplace. This objective is optional, so if you are not capable of completing it thoroughly, don't worry about it. That all being said, have I been clear? Over." Ozone instructed me suddenly.
"Clear. I understood you, over."
"Copy. From this point forward, you are on your own Disciple 1. We'll be standing by for your reports. Good luck. Out." Ozone tapped out.
Suddenly behind me, there was a knock on our door, startling me slightly as a result. Afterward, I got up and made my way to it, opening it up slightly only to lay my eyes on a platinum-blonde haired woman who was smiling from the get-go eye-level with me. She was wearing a black tight vest above a white fitted button-up dress shirt that was tucked into a black skirt. Not only that, but she was also wearing black stockings, black high-heels, and a black skinny tie on her chest, making her look quite... flashy if anything. It was an attire I wasn't expecting to see as her overall look caught me slightly off guard. "Scarecrow 1-3, reporting to meet with Disciple 1-2." She whispered.
"Understood." I opened the door all the way and took a couple of steps back, granting her some space for entry which she took. Almost like a child she then began walking around our room and looking all over.
"Well, isn't this a nice room you two got? Makes me envious seeing how mine is shabby compared to it." She complimented as she looked around the room, disregarding Kalene and me momentarily. "Valkyrie must have a soft spot for you already Disciple 1-A, that's for sure." She said as she then turned to me. Afterward, without any words, she then approached me closely, meeting me eye-level within my personal space, causing me unease as a result. "You must be quite a person if that's the case. It makes me wonder as to why that is." She whispered into my ear as she laid her hands on my chest. What are you, a Valkyrie reincarnate? Where's my personal space?
"I see... Nice to make your acquaintance, Scarecrow 1-3..." I said composedly, trying to disregard the sudden physical development.
"Likewise..." She whispered into my ear again. "... Anyways..." Suddenly she clapped her hands together and took multiple steps away from me before she turned around to face Kalene. "... It's about time we get started Kalene. You need to suit yourself up before we start our shift." She instructed as she walked over to her. Suddenly, almost as if she was a machine, she picked out all of the clothing from Kalene's luggage that matched her attire almost instantly, and laid it all about on our bed, showcasing each piece of clothing. Just as I had seen on Scarecrow 1-3, on the bed there was a black skinny tie, a black vest, a white button-up shirt, black stockings, a pair of black high-heels, and a black skirt, along with what seemed to be... black underwear? Black underwear? Do the colors have to match all the way through in her uniform? Also, what type of uniform even is that? Wasn't she supposed to be a waitress? What type of waitress dresses like that? Do waitresses dress like that? The ones in this inn don't. What type of place are you two going to work at?
Due to the sudden development, I figured that Kalene was about to begin changing. As so, to give the two women some space and privacy, I decided to turn around and began making my way out of our room. "I'm leaving Kalene. Good luck." Was all I said as I made my way out.
"You too." Was all I heard from her before I closed the door behind me. Afterward, as I walked down the hallway and the stairs, I found myself sighing for some reason. Somehow, Scarecrow 1-3's presence exhausted me within the few minutes she was around. Perhaps it was because her behavior was simply too much like Valkyrie's, but something about her made me tense and rigid at heart. Then again, I've been tense the entire day today due to my newfound job, so I wouldn't be surprised if my stress had simply built up too much. Now that I'm not in my village, I haven't been able to unwind and catch a moment of true peace.
Black underwear though?
Somehow that irrelevant fact kept me slightly distracted as I left the inn. What the hell is wrong with me?
I spent my free time wandering about Droideir, trying to gauge what the overall community is like and to see what type of services were being provided around. At the moment I was inside a blacksmith shop, looking at some weapons that were on display in a corner of the store. There were multiple iron swords hung up on the wall in front of me, although, for items that were on display, their quality was not great. Just from giving the swords a glimpse, I was able to spot multiple cracks and spots of rust on the blades, and the hilts were nearly non-existent as the leather materials were mostly ripped and worn out. The worst part was that each sword cost two silver coins, making them overpriced for their worth.
Perhaps it was my infatuation with smithing, but seeing such pitiful creations on sale brought me some sort of displeasure. Nonetheless, I tried to keep the feeling from staying within me since expecting to see anything better around here was simply a pipe dream. Apart from the swords, I took to looking at some tools and armor too, which were no better in quality than the weapons around. The tools were made out of wood and stone, and the armor was simply made of leather, although ripped and stretched. As much as I wanted to complain about the work though, it was obvious to me that the overall quality in the shop is not just a result of low skill in smithing, but also the fault of poor materials being used, which is understandable. No matter how good you are, if your materials or tools are horrible, your creations won't be any better than they are, and in this type of place, I doubt better materials are at hand.
"Disappointed are you?" I heard a curious male voice behind me. As a result, I turned around to notice a tall, muscular man with no hair but a hefty beard. He was sweaty and was wearing both a loose grey t-shirt and green cargo pants. He had cuts and burn marks all over his arms and hands, and his clothes seemed stained with coal.
"Somewhat," I replied honestly without hesitation, prompting a smirk from the man.
"I see. Such creations are quite miserable, aren't they? I can only imagine how much disappointment they must bring to a swordsman like you." He commented as looked at the swords on the wall in front of me with a solemn look.
"Swordsman like me?"
"Yeah, a swordsman like you. I can tell that you are familiar with such weapons from your hands. They're rough and callused, signs of the number of times you have swung them and tampered with them. I have confidence in that I have an eye for such things in a person, you know?" He answered as he pointed at my hands, causing me to look at them. "How long have you wielded swords in your lifetime?"
"No time at all." My answer caused the man to chuckle.
"Nay. You're lying. I can tell."
"I can't tell you any different."
"Well, if you haven't wielded any, then surely you've tampered with or created some then?"
"No."
"I see. Well, for someone who's never done such things, you seem quite interested in this shop, don't you think? I'm quite inclined to say that perhaps you're even a little suspicious to eyeball these things here like you are. You're not here to commit a crime, are you?" He got me.
"Fine. I do have some experience." I admitted.
"Ah, there you go. So, how much time have you spent wielding a sword?"
"A couple of years at most I'd say."
"How about tending to them?"
"Just as long I think."
"Ooh, that's plenty of time. Since you've got a lot of time and experience, what do you think of these swords then? What do you think made them go bad?" He asked as he pointed at the swords on the wall. I thought people in this place didn't speak a lot.
"The materials, they aren't good, neither were they plentiful..." I began my assessment. "... I can tell that these swords were made from rationed iron as they are too thin and flattened. The fact that they're cracked suggests that they were mistreated during the heat treatment too, if not after, probably a result of trying to stretch the iron far more than it could. Most of these swords are as good as not even existing as not even a polisher could correct them. Their spines are cracked due to too much banging on the blade, and the rust means that they aren't even looked after once they were made. At most, these swords could only poison their target, assuming they don't break before they can."
"I see... I see... And what do you suggest to be done so that the swords can be improved?"
"Well, these, as I said, are as good as not existing. For the most part, the biggest noticeable issue here is the lack of proper materials. You can't do much to make or correct if you don't have the proper materials to do so."
"I understand. In that case, what about this sword then? What do you think of it?" Suddenly the man signaled me to follow him, and afterward, he lead me to the main counter in the store where he walked behind it and lifted an encased sword. When he unsheathed it, he revealed a more full iron sword, albeit slightly bent and only slightly cracked at the blade. The blade itself, however, was darker and rough, meaning the sword itself is likely to be very rigid, perhaps too rigid. It could be used, and its quality is already kilometers ahead of the swords on the wall, but it still could be improved.
"Not bad, but I can tell that this sword was most likely too hot during the heat treatment. The metal is essentially scorched, and I can bet that the maker tried to shape it quickly due to the excessive heat having had brought the metal's hardness far too much and far too quickly. It can still be used, so it's better than other swords already, but it isn't great by any means."
"Interesting... I see. How hot should have the blade been then?"
"That is hard to say when I wasn't there to see the process happen. The amount of heat depends on what you have to cool it down, what you're using to heat it, and what type of materials you're using in general. At most, I can only say that since the metal is scorched, the maker should be a lot more careful about how hot the blade is before they begin meddling with it. To me, it looks like this blade must've been red hot by the time they chose to work on it, which makes the blade far too hot to temper. More heat brings out the hardness of the metal quicker, so if they remember this and practice, they should be able to nail when they should start working on it. For the most part, since the sword seems to be made out of iron, it should be hot enough when the blade is red-orangeish if they desire the blade to be more rigid-like, or around orangeish only if they desire the blade to have some flexibility and to be thinner than regular. Not only that, but I would also say that when it's time to cool the blade down, they should cool it down slowly, perhaps even naturally, otherwise, those cracks are likely to show up again because the blade becomes too brittle."
"Interesting, you've taught me so much." The man commented.
"I figured you were the blacksmith here. Your look gives it away easily." I said as I kept looking at the scorched iron sword.
"Haha! Yes, as obvious as your skill in swordsmanship I'd say! I appreciate the advice you've given me. I recently got a shipment of iron, but because I had never gotten great amounts to work with, I was struggling to figure out what to do to improve due to a fear of wasting it, but you've helped me. Say, what's your name? I'd like to remember it." The man smiled as he began putting the black iron sword away.
"Castada. Castada Alphanier."
"Castada, eh? My name's Nathaniel Vala, but those who know me just call me Vala. Say, if you're free any time in the future, you mind coming by to check on my skill? You seem very knowledgable and I'd like it if I had some guidance here." He asked.
"I'm not an official blacksmith you know?"
"Who said you were?" He returned, causing me to smirk.
"I'll see if I have the time." Was all I said before I started to make my way out of his store.
"We'll see about that!" He exclaimed as I left the building.
I thought people around here were going to be miserable and evil. I guess it was wrong of me to generalize so much.
As I stood in front of the shop, I turned around and faced the giant sign that was on the building, which read 'Vala's Valiant Hardware'.
I can't believe a man like that picked such a name for his store.
Destination: Reaver's Farmership (78%)
After wandering about Droideir, I found myself nearing my timetable deadline. As a result, I was now heading towards Reaver's Farmership where I would begin my first day at my job. As I made my way over to my destination, however, I noticed that the farther I traveled, the more... severe the streets and people of Droideir seemed to become. Slowly, little by little, I would start to see more and more broken down buildings, and after a while, I started to simply find nothing more than just rubble where a building would have been. As so, you would find small tents and camps laying about on the dirt streets where people would reside in, half the time, without any clothes or even food. If anything, everyone I was starting to run into was essentially homeless. When compared to the scenery around me, I must've looked like royalty as I had cleaner clothing and a bag to call my own.
Apart from the scenery having been continuously deteriorating as I walked, the people and their behavior were following a similar trend. The farther I walked, I was more likely to run into people who were laying on the ground, completely skinny and stripped of their strength as they would beg for food or money.
"Please... do you... have... food... food... please?" One man asked me desperately as I walked by, causing me discomfort as I had nothing to provide him.
"Money... I need... money... money... money... money..." Another man chanted, almost hysterically as if he had lost all rationale.
"Food... food... for me... for you... we all... need food..." Some people would sing to themselves as if they're trying to retain their sanity.
"I... just... want... food... just... food... food... just... food..." An emaciated woman whispered painfully to herself as she laid on the ground, scratching it as if she was digging for gold.
If the people here weren't speaking as if they were insane, then they would do something to gesture their desires, usually by clapping their hands or drawing into the ground. Some weren't even begging me for food or money, instead, they were just laying in the ground or staring at a pile of rubble emptily as if they were statues. Others were sick too as they coughed or wheezed but would do nothing to help themselves since they had nothing that could. Hell, once I had walked long enough, I started to spot dead bodies in the middle of the open, some of which had already rotted away or were in the middle of doing so. The land had become more of a graveyard than a city at all.
As if the visuals weren't bad enough, the smell wasn't any better. Just as you'd expect, the only thing that invaded my nose was the smell of rotting flesh. If it wasn't flesh, then it was the smell of piss or shit that fucked me up instead. I was not one bit hesitant to declare that this entire part of Droideir was hazardous with all of the putrid mess laying around. I wouldn't be surprised if I were to find a monster wandering around here with how little civilization, light, or proper sanitization was in place. Perhaps some monsters did spawn here due to all of these deficits in quality. Who knows? I don't want to find out, that's for sure, especially when I don't have any weapons on me.
To say that this entire area is depressing is a tremendous understatement. This entire area signaled of neglect, failure, and perhaps even exploitation. Considering the nature of the 'residents' around, it was probable that they have been manipulated or completely broken. After all, as miserable as they were, I didn't see one bit of complaints or questioning of their situation, only a passive acceptance and craving for peace and stability. These people have had their wills burned away, and now, as a result, they lie around, letting themselves die and rot away.
The person or people responsible for this tragic environment are nothing short of inhumane. Even the tiniest amount of humanity in a person would keep something like this from happening, and yet, here it all was. It was obvious that the ones accountable for this have no care in the world for this place. Hell, if anything, I'm wondering as to how the fuck all of this even happened? How much apathy is required to run an entire section of a district into the dirt? How much power is needed to continue something like this? Is this what Droideir is really about? The starvation and death of people who aren't capable of having better? This damn area looks like hell compared to the rest of Droideir, and the rest of Droideir was supposed to be a nightmare. For a district where I'm supposed to be worried about being assaulted or robbed, I've found myself surprised at how despondent I've become instead. This shit is inexplicable above all.
After trying to bear the poor atmosphere as I walked for several minutes, I managed to near my destination without losing my sanity along the way. In front of me was nothing more than an empty road with nothing around other than one big building directly ahead, labeled 'Reaver's Farmership'. Behind the building, however, I was able to spot completely healthy and green grass with a plethora of vegetation all about. The scenery was so... different that I had to do a double-take to make sure that I wasn't going crazy from everything I had just walked by. I genuinely thought I was hallucinating due to the strict contrast between the entire cast of land behind the building from the land I had walked on.
After having had laid my eyes on the strict disparity that was the land located behind my destination, the dots in my head connected without pause. It was clear that my place of work is responsible for the state of the land and the people I've witnessed. There was no mistake about it. The question was, how the hell did all of this happen? It must be quite an operation if it somehow managed to break and ruin an entire section of a district to the ground like this.
"Disciple 1-Actual, this is Ozone, come in, over." Suddenly Ozone rang my ear, forcing me out of my wonderment. Almost instantly I noticed my display glow between red and orange, signifying that my current transmission request was an Emergency Relay.
"Ozone, this is Disciple 1-Actual, I'm here, over," I responded after getting my bearings.
"Disciple 1-Actual, be advised, you are to abandon your current objective and are to make your way to your newly marked destination. I repeat, you are to abandon your current objective and are to make your way to your newly marked destination. Disciple 1-2 and Scarecrow 1-3 have relayed a hostile combat encounter and require your immediate assistance. You are now tasked as their reinforcement for their emergency. I repeat, Disciple 1-2 and Scarecrow 1-3 have relayed a hostile combat encounter and require your immediate assistance, Ozone, out." Ozone relayed with urgency, sending a shiver up my spine.
"Disciple 1-Actual! This is Scarecrow 1-3! Confirm you are listening to me! Over!" Now it was a female voice that pushed itself into my ear. Just like Ozone's transmission, this one had my display glowing between red and orange, only that this time, the transmission was going to be Listen Only on my end. As so, I had to confirm by picking the option to accept on my display. "Copy! Be advised: Disciple 1-2 and I are under attack by unidentified enemy combatants. We're outnumbered and have little to defend ourselves! Make your way over to us quickly. Please hur-"
The transmission suddenly cut off.