Chapter Two: Learning a New World's Name
Reynard pulled sharply on his reins, the two steeds steering his chariot so hard left he thought for a second he pushed too far and was going to topple himself and his chariot over, and worse, not catch up with that smug houndfolk and give him a wallop of such epic magnitude, Reynard's bastards, their bastards and the bastards after them will be forever in awe they were sired from such a godlike being!
The foxclan charioteer readied his lance as his vehicle straightened out and surged forward, almost disappointed that this spat wasn't to first blood and not simply knocking the other guy down, the wind catching on the extra paddings of flax wrapped around the end, "Rax, Toofa! C'mon boys! We got this!" Spurring on the pair of warhogs who replied in a quick, booming squeal, quickly beginning to catch up with the beastman. 'Using horses, how pedestrian!' Reynard thought, smiling viciously as the warhogs began to visibly overheat, waves of intense calefaction becoming more and more apparent as their desire to win only began match their master's own.
Just as the houndfolk realized he was being matched in speed and looking over towards his opponent; his eyes widened as he saw the neck long orange hair, ears as tall as they were wide and arrogant, emerald eyes sparkled with mischief as he grinned from ear to ear, stabbing his unfanged lance at his chest.
The wind was knocked clean of the houndfolk, being launched out of the chariot and only able to regain his footing after rolling across the sand dusted circus and coughing up a fair amount of said grime. Reynard laughed haughtily as he ushered his hog-drawn chariot to stop, "You owe me, mutt." And walking off his ride towards his fallen adversary. "That's twenty-five gold, a word of worthiness to Argos and a night with your sister!"
"I said only the first one!" He yelled back, pulling out the axe at his hip.
"Of course, of course! But if you don't want the utter humiliation that this whole incident was from getting out; I need further incentive."
The hound was about to respond, but he looked to the side of the circus, put away his ax, eyes looking at the ground, and his mood went suddenly from inflamed to submissive.
"What? If you're so willing to show your belly at whoever sees this little spat, I have only growing intent to your sister." Reynard smirked deviously as he turned to see the newcomers. And his disposition quickly matched that of the houndfolk's, his ears flattening quickly as his smile dropped, looking to the dirt, bowing his head, "Minister Argos." Seeing a stranger at her side as she approached.
He seemed to be a human, his hair was a deep red wine color, quite darker then Reynard's own but still visibly carmine, but that's where the expected tones of humankind and all its various tribes ended; his skin was so pale as to be almost grey, and his eyes had a disturbingly warm honey-brown, the welcome and friendliness carried in them was sheerly unsettling as if charm and kindliness was what replaced a soul, but his smile seemed genuine. The stranger was half a foot taller than Argos, whom was a towering woman at just over six feet, but the swaddles of heavy white robes concealed further assessments of his form. "Who's this?" Reynard asked impatiently.
Argos growled lowly at him through vicious teeth, "Keep discipline, child." Before regaining her own composure and gesturing towards Reynard with a nod, a smile and a look to the stranger. "This is your volunteer."
He honestly couldn't help himself, Reynard's eye twitched, "So when is this going to make sense?" Argos was close to scalping him, but quickly bowed his head, "Minister."
"Enough." Argos carefully ordered, having quickly gotten sick of the sass of the foxclan, "Look upon on this man and I." The overthrown houndfolk and Reynard both stood at their full heights, "You will answer every whim and order of his as if it were my own," They all heard the dusty dogman scoff but Argos ignored him and continued with, "you will carry his burdens, his curses and duties as if they were yours, and if so needed, die for him to live another day more." She planted her axe in the sand, leant its red-gemmed pommel towards Reynard, "Kneel and swear it will be so."
Reynard lifted a finger towards Argos, "Hold that for a second," Looking to the stranger, "Who the hell are you?"
Argos lifted the axe off the ground and Reynard was actually very unsure if she would have taken his head or not, but the stranger lifted his hand with a chuckle at Argos, whom sighed and stuck the axe where it originally was. "That's fair, we will be working closely afterall." Extending his pale hand towards the foxclan, "I'm Luis. Sort of. Not so sure what's human of me is left, but I'd like to at least keep the name."
"Reynard Hibernia." Uncertainly shaking the man's name, looking to Argos after it was done.
She seemed momentarily more frustrated at this Luis man then she was with Reynard. She pinched the bridge of her nose before sighing, "This is Prince Vehuel."
The charioteer gave a small, bewildered shake of the head as he looked on the man. "What in the flying fu-?"
"Ah!" Argos gave a bark of warning.
"Uh… well, you look shorter without the armor." Reynard rubbed the back of his head, "What are we doing exactly? Why aren't you doing it?" Directing the last question at Argos, who's growl was slowly becoming louder, "With respect."
"Our prince has wisely decided that I will accompany Minister Shiehk in negotiations, which leaves our best steedmaster without a duty being you." Argos nodded but smiled just as deviously as the fox had mere minutes ago.
"I don't like that look, t-t-that's never a good sign. What am I gunna be doing?" Reynold's lips formed a grim line.
"Tell me; how long has it been since you've driven a carriage?"
'Threats to life and limb. Defeat from a superior and unexpected adversary. The terror of the unknown and questions that come with their being. I don't like any of those things, but at least I could deal with them.' "No…" 'But the one thing I could never handle…'
"Yes, you have volunteered to drive a trading carriage until further notice, congratulation."
"No." He sighed in bitter defeat. 'Boredom.' He mentally screamed in horror.
[]
Shiehk still could never get used to seeing Vehuel as this 'Luis' persona, but she still stared at him as he proceeded to walk into her makeshift office in the trireme and not all her prolonged observation was bound in discomfort, finding his new human form to be lovely if a bit untasteful due to how contrasting the colors were. If he was aiming to be as human as possible, he failed. "Prince, thank you for coming." Putting down the papers in hand on her desk. "When we get to port, I'd like you to turn into your angelic form."
"Why? For what reason?" He ran a hand over his silk robes, "I was starting to get use to being like this all the time and it took five whole days and nights to mold my form this way." Vehuel brooded.
"Don't mope; its unbecoming." Shiehk chastised before explaining, "I have read your treatise of the memories you obtained from the Mortal Fruit, and from what I understand; angels are most often affiliated with a rival nation whom summons and controls them, so this will be our chance to change that and try to affiliate you and the rest of the Seventh Legion with Istannice as its guardians and messengers."
"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Luis nodded, considering the similar position that the Gilded took themselves with using the Seventh legion in YGGDRASIL as their shock and awe force whom, apart from the black-iron dragons, had the highest levelled NPC average which equaled level fifty, if one excluded the archangel captains and the seraph prince himself in the calculation. "Do you need me to do anything particularly 'angelly'?"
"No but after you warn of where we're parking and do your gift giving thing, do leave the talking to me; we don't want a repeat of what happened when you started negotiating with strangers." Bringing her papers back and writing several figures, "But if you feel the moment come over you, do some flying about and looking aloof like a typical, divinity endowed pigeon."
"Stay silent, fly around and look like a pigeon; I can do all three of those fairly well, but I may have to improvise on the last one." Muttering the chant that changed him to his seraph manifestation, placing a gauntleted thumb under his chin. "But how will I and my volunteers leave conspicuously? They'd certainly notice something of my size, no matter how much I emulated a pestilent avian. Speaking of which…"
A sudden thud in front of her made Shiehk nearly shriek, putting her papers down in a panic and saw the seraph perching on the edge of her desk. "How's this?" He tucked his arms under his shoulders, "Caw…" Turning his head at the minister.
She fought back a laugh, "Get down you fool! I invited someone else to my office and she'll arrive any-"
He beat his wings and started shuffling in his crouched position towards the minister, turned his head again, "Caw?"
"Get down!" She placed a fist over her mouth and bit down. 'I will not laugh.'
"Caaw, uck heh!" The seraph's will breaking far sooner then his inferior, his chuckle breaking into his act.
"Your eminence, please…" Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, biting even harder onto her knuckles.
"Hehehe, caw HAHAHA!" The seraph broke entirely and put his face into his hand. "Its your fault, you take everything so seriously!"
"Uhh what's going on?" A woman asked behind the seraph.
Said angel clumsily tried getting off the desk and only succeeded with introducing his face to the deck, his panicked and fluttering wings beating strongly in embarrassment, sending the papers on the minister's desk flaying in all directions.
The minister's composure was on the narrow line of bursting, standing up and turning around, "Spellmaster!" She held up a finger, "Please, one second…" Giving out a long breath before turning and looking at the sand elf, golden discs filled with runes decorating a long trail of pitch hair, curious red eyes dancing between the toppled angel, and the nearly hysterical minister, "Yes, I have called you here to offer a position at our prince's side as he explores areas nearby. Melkoth had high praise of you and your abilities in counter-intelligence, keeping a low profile of you and the party from any possible prying eyes we don't know are watching is paramount. Can you do it?"
"Absolutely." She nodded and smiled, eyes falling upon the prince, and bowed. "I am Felrrin, and I eagerly await your commands in the quest ahead!"
Vehuel had to look away, her eager sign of consent allowed him ample opportunity to look down her bosom and behold the glorious cleavage she bore. 'Please don't tell me I can pop a boner in this form!' He prayed, "Y-Yes, look forward to working with you as well, please stop bowing." Shimming his head to look to one side to the other. "You won't be doing that from now, if that's alright."
She refrained from looking to the minister for some kind of reassurance for this behavior and just stood up, "Whom will I be working beside?"
"A beastman called Reynard, the prince, and an Aldrikkni, Azimuth."
Felrrin looked between the minister and the prince, "No graeci? Aren't these humans xenophobic? Surely a human of our own will make us seem a bit more habitable?"
"I intend to recruit some natives to assist us in that matter." Vehuel reassured, "Besides that, these humans are seemingly very weak, Azimuth will be the weakest among us and I'm confident she'd be one of the strongest warriors they've ever encountered."
"What will this Aldrikkni and beastman be doing? If my duties focus on magic and counter-intelligence."
"Reynard is our driver; Azimuth will be our scout."
"And you, if I may know?"
"To be determined." Vehuel tried smiling in this form. "I will be using this opportunity to see everything from the sidelines, recognize and cultivate leadership that can prove useful in the future." Vehuel was more then willing to step in if he discovered the NPCs were unable to handle the expedition; being a constructed character from a fantastical city might be quite the jarring change of environment afterall.
"I hope we will reach your expectations and more, your grace." Felrrin was close to bowing again but stopped midway and nodded towards the prince. "When will I meet the others?"
"If not when we reach port, certainly when we leave for the capital." The seraph explained, "Azimuth is resting, she's not used to being awake during the day and Reynard is uh well…"
"Brooding with his beasts." Shiehk scoffed, "And if any of you have a problem with that one, don't be afraid to message me so I can Gate him to the deepest burrow in the Depths back home." Before pointing her quill at Felrrin, "And you, don't pretend I haven't heard of your record from Melkoth." Looking at Vehuel as she explained, "She is smart, the smartest one in your party without a doubt, but she isn't anywhere near as smart as she thinks she is."
Felrrin gave a dismissive chuckle, "Only so far as you know, Melkoth can only know so much of my activities in the city." Flourishing her hand before placing it under her chin.
"Coming from the sand-elf who tried spying on her own minister, who is the city's own damned spymaster. Those 'activities' are likely you just cleaning up after your own mistakes when you realized what a colorful trail you make. Melkoth wouldn't want you in his services if he knew what a mess you can make in a near state of emergency for Istannice." The minister's eyes flexed instinctively at the sand-elf, but she regained her pleasant if, passively aggressive, demeanor again, writing more on her scroll.
Vehuel looked between the two before asking the minister, considering this revelation. Luis knew that they tried to make Istannice a bastard child between the legendary cities of Istanbul and Venice, filled to overflowing with byzantine politics, greed and that overriding belief that, save the Princes, they alone know how to better Istannice. "Should I ask?" Suddenly not sure he felt comfortable at how human these characters were now. What would it take for one or more NPC to betray him? Which might be a possibility besides them figuring out he's just an overweight Italian chef who happens to be existing in their Prince's body.
Shiehk didn't bother looking at him as she replied with a shake of her head, "She was merely trying to levy any kind of blackmail she could scrounge up on Melkoth or other members of the Seven Ministers, sand-elves are always political creatures, even when others are flailing around in crisis."
Felrrin's façade of calm annoyance dipped into clear anger at the minster, before she coughed into her hand. "Fear not, my prince." Looking to the seraph with a smile, "I serve you and will fulfill any duties you give me without any intent past serving the city and yourself. But…" She lifted a finger, "I may trade gossip if I see anything of particular interest on our journey."
"Yes, yes, there is a final thing I must discuss with you both." Shiehk finished her scroll, rolled it up and cast a spell that turned it to floating sand that flew out of the cabin and up the ladder, before turning to her desk and pulling out another scroll, unrolling it before the pair. "On your journey, I need your party to find this…" Pointing at a grey, featureless smudge in the overall detailed and colorful map. "It is in the south western regions of the Roble kingdom, not too far away from their Abelion wall."
"What is it?" Vehuel asked immediately.
"We don't know. This map is traced from the Atlas itself; this place is one of several on this continent it was unable to categorize. Since it is the closest, it is best we evaluate it, it would take a remarkably strong spell to hide from the Atlas." Shiehk's eyes squinted slightly in worry as she rolled up the map and handed it to Vehuel, whom placed it in his Item Box. "But it seems likely that it may be due to another creature from YGGDRASIL."
'A Player!' Vehuel felt both excited and worried all at the same time. They might be in a better or worse state, but what if the weird effect that occasionally falls over him is affecting them in a similar way? If a Player came to the world as an evil creature, would it need to act evilly due to the aura? Or if its something else, bound beyond laws of good and evil, how much are these others, or maybe even himself, being manipulated by these unseen forces without even knowing it? "That'll be our first destination." Vehuel nodded.
"Good," Shiehk replied, "But if anything that might seem out of your reach happens, you come home that second. Understood?" She seemed more worried about this then Vehuel himself seemed, which only made the later even more anxious.
He ignored the feeling and gave a slight, mocking bow, "As you command my prince!"
"Hey! Stop bowing!" Shiehk mocked back.
"I might have to open in a window in here! Everyone is just so stuffy." Felrrin commented.
"Please, don't. The crew aboard are complaining about how cold the air is, and I hate the cold." Shiehk scoffed.
"Hopefully it'll be warmer when we land!" Vehuel reminded them, "Maybe I should tell the crew not to sail through so many clouds."
[]
Holy Queen Calca looked out over the Royal Palace along with the rest of the court at the spectacle. They had received a message from Rimun about the arrival of the strangers from 'Istannice', however the means they arrived and continue to travel to Hoburns sent a ripple of confusion and fear of the the outsiders; their seafaring vessel floated over the port and continued in land. This perturbed Calca due to conflicting reports from one of the knights, whom swore they had a land-ship that strode rather then flew. The prospect of one of these forms of locomotion for such a massive vessel was petrifying, but both? The queen internally shuttered at not only their capabilities of movement, but how this new power might be able to do weeks what the beastmen at their borders couldn't do in generations of effort; wipe aside her nation and the people in it.
The sight the flying ship in the distance set a block of solid ice in her belly, as if all the stories from her people were tales she bore up in a dream and any second now she was going to wake up in the middle of the night, breathe a sigh of relief and go back to sleep.
"Look there! Something's coming!" One of the nobles announced, all others on the massive balcony quickly looked where he was pointing, seeing a something small, glinting in the distance not too far away from where the Istannaci ship floated, but where the latter lumbered, this shiny object darted across the sky, and as it grew in size and proximity, they not only recognized it as an angel, they knew where it was headed: directly at them.
"Get back! Everyone behind us!" The paladins quickly declared, several noblemen and ladies were already back inside the palace proper, where the rest still outside were either brave and stood their ground behind the safety of their holy warriors, or simply the slowest when the angel arrived seconds later.
There was a dreadful awe about the being as it hovered in a single spot and set itself down gently, its glowing aura not so much as blinding as limiting, trying to look at the angel for more then a few seconds was like staring at the sun, but painful more than on a physical level.
The aura dimmed and as the angel began walking towards the court, "A thousand apologies!" Its voice boomed, "I have come to inform you that our ship will park well outside this city's northern walls and we will proceed in from there. We do not wish to startle your people nor for them to fear our presence in what is rightfully your metropolis. Also, to deliver a gift…" The angel strode closer to the court and the paladins quickly formed a solid wall of maces and shining plate armor in front of them. "To the ruler of this nation: I give a Ring of Kings." He knelt, extended his hand out and kept his face towards the ground as his massive fist unclenched and revealed a silver ring. "I encourage your own magi to investigate its abilities but know that its enchantments cannot be copied and when worn by the first person whom dons it, it will not bestow its gifts upon any other."
And it continued to kneel there, unmoving, its hand offering the ring like a statue.
One of the noblemen said, "I-it is an angel afterall; it likely was summoned for this singular duty and will stay where it is until someone picks it up."
Calca stared, uncertain what to do. Why goto the effort of gift-giving if they could just send angels to kill them all and take over with a snap of the fingers? Maybe it was a trap? The ruler would come, pick up the ring and kill the one who obtained it? But why warn her to have it analyzed at all? As if reading Calca's thoughts, Remedios Custodio walked to Calca's periphery, her helmed head bowing slightly. "I will get it for you, your majesty." She stated.
Calca wanted to reassure her bodyguard, to ask her to be safe and run back if anything looked fishy, but within so many ears of the court and the false rumors rampant about their relationship being riddled throughout the kingdom, she bit back her words, kept as blank a face as possible and simply said, "Do so."
The paladin marched confidently past the line of her comrades, reached where the angel knelt and paused, thinking for a moment that the creature moved, but seeing it still in the same position, reached out and took the ring. Taking a step back and not turning her back until she was well a dozen paces away, the angel stood and said, "We will meet again soon." Before taking flight and going the direction of the approaching ship.
Remedios held up the ring, trying to recognize any of the symbols etched upon its surface, a strange language of shrewd lines and graceful characters on and over them, almost alien but still had a vague rhythm when she looked over it a few more times where certain patterns repeated. Rejoining the relaxed mass of paladins and nobles, the ringbearer walked straight to the Holy Queen and presented it to her in a much less graceful mode as the angel, "Looks pretty at least, your majesty."
"Quite." She replied bluntly, "Well, we should start clearing out the north gate then! Seneshal Otmin!" A tall and fat bearded man in humble clothing compared to most of his company approached the queen, "See it done, do whatever you feel is necessary."
"As you wish my queen." Otmin bowed.
"Time to see what this thing can do, want to come with?" Calca asked with a smile, fully knowing how loathe the paladin was to brings these things to the priests by herself, even if her sister was involved.
Remedios gave her silent consent, where the queen turned to the court, "I expect all of you to be at your best behavior on their arrival, extend these strangers every courtesy."
Calca was more than glad to have the chance to get away from all the nobles, but even as she and her bodyguard walked a familiar and comfortable route to the den of the younger Custodio, the queen's mind was overladen with paranoia and the possible dread these new people can bring to hers and her subjects, Remedios saying something here and there but she couldn't find a verbal response, merely nodding and smiling at her friend. The paladin picked up on this quickly, "As far as I'm concerned, what happened was a good sign!" She took off her helm and breathed in the dusty, stony air. "I mean, these guys can make whole ships float, summon angels that seem pretty powerful, and they gave you a magic ring of somekind, all the while trying to stay as polite as possible to their neighbors and not drop a whole ship in their backyard." Remedios counted off on her fingers said subjects. "Am I forgetting anything?"
Calca gave an ill-suited roll of her eyes, "Nothing else comes to mind."
Remedios grimaced, "Please your majesty, try not to look at this negatively when we've been blessed with so much already."
Calca sighed in capitulation, "Yes, you're right. I'll worry about getting plowed in a one-sided war later." She deadpanned as the paladin opened the door to the temple for her.
"That's the spirit!" Remedios smiled back, following her queen as she entered High Priestess's Kelart's temple. "Yo sis!" Said paladin yelled out, "Where are you hiding?"
A head poked out of the chapel at the side of the temple, "Why are- oh! Your majesty!" The High Priestess fully emerged from the door and bowed, "How are you today? Have the outsiders arrived already?"
"Not yet, but soon." Calca shook her head and held up the silver ring, "But I'll need your help with this, can you tell me what enchantments it has?"
"Of course! One moment!" The twin-wing declared before rushing back into the chapel and running back out just as fast with spell-scroll, opening it up and saying, "「Identify」" Before touching the ring as the scroll burned.
And just as immediately took her hand back and cried out in shock, "Impossible!" She stated hoarsely before a grin spread from ear to ear, "Wait right here!" Before going back and zooming with another scroll, "「Identify」!" She chanted eagerly, before having another shockingly happy cry. "Where did you get this thing?!" She greedily demanded, before snatching it from her queen's grasp.
"An angel flew by and dropped it off." Calca sourly replied, "What does it do?"
"Extend-endurance, null-hunger-and-thirst, deny-need-for-rest, perfect-health, resist-poison, judge-character, see-lies and even more! If I can take this to the other priests, imagine what we could learn! How many people we'd help!" Kelart was nearly foaming at the mouth.
Remedios quickly said, "Don't even think about it, we were warned that it was nonreplicable and given specifically for the Holy Queen to wear and none other."
The priestess huffed back in distaste, but said, "The only thing I can find that might be at all malevolent was a 'dispel-at-command', and it doesn't seem to be for you."
'Likely, its for whoever made it, denying me its gifts if anything goes bad between us.' Calca frowned as Kelart handed the ring back to her. Despite the list of benefits, she hesitated slipping it on. Of course, the High Priestess used two Identify scrolls to ensure its authenticity but… Calca stopped the thought, pushed all doubt aside and slipped it on her right ring-finger.
Nothing happened.
Calca rose an eyebrow at it, "Did I just get worked up over a practical joke? Not a funny one either for that matter."
"You don't feel any different?" Kelart inquired.
She shook her head, "No," Looking up at the pair, "But I uh…" She stared at the paladin, "What kind of…" The woman was surrounded by an aura of warm red iridescence, and she saw within them what Remedios was going to ask.
"Take the-"
"-ring off." Both reading the paladin's mind and simultaneously coming to the same conclusion herself, pulling the silver band off nearly instantly, the colors around her bodyguard fading, but then she felt the sudden hit of tiniest exhaustion, the small pit of hunger, and the dry patch of parchedness at the back of her throat. "Strange… try it on." Gesturing towards Kelart with the ring, whom gladly took and wore on the same finger. "Anything? Colors and shapes that tell uh things?"
Kelart looked up, wide eyed, "Ohhh, wow."
"You see something?" Calca asked excitedly, "What can you see?"
Kelart walked towards her sister, the latter nervously stood in silence as the former said: "By the gods, I had no idea you were… just… that… stupid."
Remedios briefly closed her eyes, 'I can't kill her, she's the only family I have left.' "I assume that means you can't see anything?"
"Nothing abnormal." Kelart gave a self satisfied smile, "It's a bit heavier than it looks but no." Taking off the ring and handing it back. "It might take some time to adjust to its abilities, I'd warrant taking it off every so often so as not to overburden you, my queen."
Calca stared at the ring, "What kind of material is this even made of? Seems to be adamantite, but I've never seen an enchanted ring made from it."
"I don't think even adamantite would be able to sustain that much magic." Kelart explained, surrounded in a bruise like green-yellow of uncertainty, the darts above the priestess showing the queen the former was truthful in assessment and held nothing back.
"Paladin," Calca said, looking between Remedios and her ring, "Tell me a fabrication. Anything will do."
The paladin stared at the queen, "I uh Kelart is the better thinker here, why not-?"
"Please." The Holy Queen inisited.
"Ehhh I enjoy the paper work involved with being head of my order?" The aura shifted into a gloomy green, edged with vexatious boxes that spoke of a conflicted decision.
"Strange… come walk with me, I will use this for as long as I can with others that will not be anticipating its abilities." Calca gestured out of the temple, where the court and various nobles were either blathering about some issue with the south, per usual, or things such as how many were guards were awake and active right now to insure the Istanni received a safe (and maybe a bit of an intimidating) welcome, but the issues had with some weren't merely the numbers involved, arming them so quickly and making them look presentable in so short of a time, but thoughts and lies strayed to not wanting to pay the guards so much for so little of an impression on such a tiny amount of notice, then there was the thought, guarded more closely but still quite visible to the queen, of letting the inhuman monsters into the city at all.
A sour tang tickled Calca's tongue, she's been trying to insure equality and security for everyone in her kingdom, including the scant beastmen and demi-human populations that came here willingly or have simply no choice in the matter. It feels like it will never end, this parasitic hatred towards anything not strictly human, those in charge or in power will enforce some act or do some heinous crime to these desperate people, whom in turn will rail against those oppressors and those who may just be next them with even greater anger and passion, the cycle repeating. The fact that beastmen slavers and warherds still strike villages and towns just beyond the immediate reach of a walled army or city garrison doesn't help in smothering this ever-growing fire.
Kelart, almost like she had a 'Ring of Kings' herself, noticed the queen's expression, "Is everything alright?"
"Yes!" Calca replied too readily to the high priestess, running a hand through a stray length of hair out of her eyes. "Still getting used to everything, I… wish I could put it to words." The queen smiled back.
"Maybe you can use this gift to fish out a man to give you another kind of ring." Kelart wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, until the Remedious smacked the former in the back of the head sharply.
"Maybe she can find you a husband so we won't be the only fools worrying about what you'll say next anymore!" The paladin chastised.
Calca knew Kelart said that only as a joke and nothing malicious was meant with it, even without the ring, but it did scrape a nerve she wished would have gone numb by now.
[]
'This city…' Shiehk looked down on Hoburn as the vessel approached its earthy berth near its walls, 'is pathetic.' Certainly, it was large, but she could already smell the stench of squalor its citizens likely were submerged in. "I already regret leaving home. Again." She spoke aloud to the seraph.
Vehuel closed to her side and suggested, "You might like it here! Give it a chance, if it doesn't stick, you have my blessings to go home."
"I fear it shall stick in the worst ways; I can smell the plague from here." Shiehk lifted a hand towards the approaching city, "But if I ever feel it's too irredeemable nor worth the effort, I'll burn it to its foundations. Everyone wins."
Vehuel thought about questioning on whether she was joking but reconsidered when he saw a mischievous gleam in her eyes, "Well, try your best not to is all I ask."
They settled the ship just over two kilometers away from Hoburn, and while the majority of the crew were adamant on staying, the captain agreed to lend half his marines to the precession, if not due to their abilities to defend the prince and minister and all the staff the later has brought, to set the Roble denizens at ease from seeing humans in the event. It was strange to see the graeci themselves speaking on the natives, with several members being present when they inadvertently stumbled upon a beastman raid; these graeci were almost apathetic to these folk, barley seeing them as human due to the fact of how weak they were in comparison to themselves, whom while plentiful, resourceful and a key population to Istannice were on average the weakest to the various other peoples that called the city home. He wasn't sure if it was due to now having the ability to punch down to someone or if they simply found it easier to mock these people rather than actively understand they were the same race as them.
The procession itself took fairly little time to organize, the various sand-elves that Shiehk had selected for her embassy set up the carts quickly, summoned the dozen massive, looming Ushabti, their decorative, golden animal heads and frames housing not only just burning pistons and steaming engines, but the souls of divine warriors, buried alive in most terrible dedication inside the vessel they now wield as their body. Eyes glowing softly even in the midday light, the constructs did not wield their trademark halberds, fearing it may inspire fear rather then awe, they used both hands to pick up both prongs of their respective side of the litter, the six carts filled with elves, housing the minister and holding all the materials they will require in the future with almost nettling ease in their gazes. "Pleasant day upon thee, my luminary." They all said and bowed their head as Vehuel passed them to the front of the procession, the graeci taking up the flanks while the party Vehuel was to depart with were in the back, the covered carriage being pulled by two massive warhogs, with Reynard at the reigns, Felrrin sitting on the spot next to him, and Azimuth was only barely visibly inside the carriage, hidden between boxes as she continued her daylight precipitated slumber, tuffs of raggedy hair and the mere glimpse of her ironwood mask being the only evidence of her being there.
Vehuel gave a nod to the Ushabti, following the seraph through the gates as they silently made their way to the palace. The way was guarded by a number of the city guard, and while they were barring access of the street from the commoners who huddled and gathered around the cavalcade in fascination, there weren't nearly enough to carve a stable path. Not that it was required, the seraph's presence alone clearing the way. Vehuel felt he may not have been needed, that he himself was responsible for this parade being as silent as a funeral cortège and twice as oppressive; soldiering on until they met the city's inner walls of the palace, the royal protectors inside swiftly drawing down the bridge across the mote, revealing a large row of tall green apple trees bordering a neatly sculped, stone road.
Vehuel desired to look on it just that moment longer but had to focus his inner Nothiel and ignore the 'aesthetically pleasing' visage and press onwards. The court, the city's knights and a small army of what appear to be paladins awaited them at its heavy oak doors were arrayed in a crescent, the mounted nobles at the fore and the paladins behind them, all folding over the royal welcome lovingly and with a degree of protectiveness that gave the impression of genuine affection for their monarch.
The march of litters spilled out into the grass, the ushabti setting them down before standing in guard of them as the sand-elves emerged, flocked together with Shiehk at its head and courtly leant out a hand towards the queen, "I am Minister Shiehk, master of matters, and we all here are besides ourselves in being welcomed so finely in your fair city."
The queen only lifted her eyebrow for a moment as the ring read her distasteful lie, before smiling and taking her hand with both hands, "I am Holy Queen Calca, monarch from the glorious house of Bessarez, you are most welcome here. For people who would save so many of my subjects, it is the least I can do."
"I apologize our Prince isn't able to meet you presently; I'm confident he will meet you when the time has come."
"We will be happy to have him when the time comes but please come inside! We've prepared the midday feast!"
The sand colored stone of the palace was warm and welcoming, and when they reached a set of heavy oak doors, opening up to decadently deep red carpets, velvety window hangings, golden chandeliers and garish, bizarre looking tapestries that reminded Luis of his elementary school art classes, specifically depictions of the Church of Christ's 'medieval age' and the thousand, thousand depictions of its saints and messiah. Cartoonish. Overexaggerated and almost hard not to laugh at, but all of the depictions usually held up the visage of knights or paladins fighting some strange creature, and considering the world they now found themselves, were likely actual events in their history.
"I'd never imagine an angel could admire art." Both Shiehk and Queen Calca walked to the seraph's side, but the statement was entirely from the later of the two, whom continued with, "So you are indeed capable of reasoning and freewill?"
"To most extents; yes." He nodded towards the queen, "I've experienced only one incident where control was beyond my choice and it dealt directly with beastmen slavers. I hope to avoid such circumstances again."
The Holy Queen could only stare, uncertain of the stillness of the oblong shapes above him nor the strange, colorlessness of his aura. "Indeed… tell me, how did you come to be? Were you summoned like the pedestrian angels we've encountered?"
Vehuel refrained from rubbing his neck, a nervous tick he's grown to use in this form, instead looking quickly to Shiehk whom gave a very subtle nod of encouragement, "I actually started out- I mean, was born a human. I acquired something called a Heaven's Feather after a long, arduous and grinding quest, became as I am now."
Her face visibly brightened, smiling as she said, "Remarkable! What a strange world you come from! So, you don't carry the word of some almighty deity or several?"
Vehuel couldn't help but shrugging, "If I do, they prefer to be anonymous. And silent."
Shiehk gave a relieved dropping of eye contact as she silently sighed, before looking to the queen, "He is the commander of Istannice's Seventh Legion, the Seraph of Audacity."
"Seventh? How many legions do you have?" The Holy Queen seemed perturbed by the possibility of more than thirty-five thousand armed militants neighboring her, if the assumption that there were indeed one through seven full legions of five thousand men each.
"Seven, one for each of the original Princes." Vehuel explained before Shiehk coughed into her fist, warning her prince not to continue any further.
"We do not plan on bringing the might of any towards you or your people." Shiehk reassured, accepting a goblet of wine from a nearby servant.
"But there is more than one prince?" Queen Calca retrieved her own wine, suddenly perplexed.
Vehuel's stance visibly stood taller as he looked to Shiehk, whom explained, "We don't know what happened to the others, all we have now is the Prince with us."
She visibly looked saddened, her gaze drew slowly to the floor, an arch of scaly brows peeked above her eyes before she sighed and returned her gaze to the queen, and Vehuel wasn't sure if such naked display of sorrow was intentional or not, but it certainly had convinced him. "I beg your pardon, but I would greatly prefer not talking on it."
"Yes, of course." The queen was trying to think of something else to probe these outsiders with but was interrupted as the angel strode forward towards her.
"I beg your pardon, but I would like some of your time to myself before any of the feasting begins and I'm certain the others would like the minister's attention to themselves." The seraph looked towards the robe laden lady, whom seemed to glare at the celestial being before she nodded back towards him in surrender, saying a quick farewell to the queen then sending yet another dreadful leer towards the angel.
The ring didn't tell her much besides the fact this Minister Shiehk was very nervous, and the angel still seemed somewhat an enigma of an aura to read. Vehuel looked to Calca in a relaxed hunch, "I apologize for my less than cordial arrival earlier, I would have happily talked your ear off but we understand the humans here might not like things that are uh, well, not human and wished to take a careful pace so you may trust us sooner."
The Holy Queen instantly recognized the signs around the angel, he was ernest, yes, but he was also tinged with worry for both his own and the people here. "Oh, we appreciate your efforts, truly. Is that why you gave me this?"
Vehuel gave a nod, "We were worried, a lot, that if you decided to use it that it would make it look like we were controlling you through it. It can be taken off whenever you like, but it may be jarring, your body might become dependent on it and I doubly so wouldn't recommend wearing it all the time."
She was surprised out how completely human the angel sounded now, needing to remind herself that it was derived from human stock and may not have completely stopped being human in every respect. "I will tell you a small secret; the Prince will be making an appearance later, much later, deep in the early morning." He lifted his hand and, despite not having any lips to read and simply for the conspiratorial tone of the act, blocked his mouth region as he knelt slightly and said, "He'll likely be in the kitchens if he can help it."
She gave a tiny sigh, her mind instantly thinking to the portly nobles in her own court who do nothing but gorge; a fat and greasy creature. "Would he require any sort of accommodations? I'm certain we can find room for him to stay."
"He'll be leaving at dawn with a few others that have already arrived, he's very excited to reveal himself to you, Luis never had a conversation with an actual queen." He then lifted a finger, "But know this; no bowing, curtsying, kneeling or such formal displays, it really gets on his nerves."
"What has he been doing? If I may ask." The queen put a hand on her chin, "And where would he be leaving to?"
"Uh well, he has been trying to understand this world, plus trying to ascertain whether or not you were an able monarch to treat with, we were worried our neighbors were tyrannical and he saw to make certain of the facts."
"He's been spying on my countrymen to tell whether or not I was 'worthy' enough?" Calca couldn't keep the distain from her voice as she crossed her arms, "And you admit this?"
Then Vehuel rubbed the back of his head, "Well… sort of spying… I uh… um… wanted to make sure everything would be alright; we want to help but we're very cautious about where to begin with or whom."
"So, as one of your city's military leaders: you can also arrange for our own people to investigate your people in the near people. We don't desire to affiliate ourselves with people that we could perceive of less savory morality." Glaring at the Seraph.
"Jesus…" He muttered under his breath as he placed his face in his hand, "I didn't mean to offend you in-"
"Good!" Calca suddenly smiled, "I eagerly await to visit this Istannice of yours!" Before leaving for the next guest.
Vehuel stared at the creature as she departed. It was only in part due to his frustration, while the rest had his eyes wandered to her marvelous rear. 'AH!' He slapped his face, 'Focus!' He commanded himself, "Shiehk's going to kill me…" View darting to the minister, "…maybe she can find out when we leave?" Quickly looking around for Felrrin, whom he spotted walking to a few robe clad clerics of somekind, moving his way towards the sand-elf, "A word?"
The made their way to a secluded corner and he inquired in mounting panic, "D-do you have anything that can hide you, me and the other two from getting tracked by Shiehk?"
"Oh." She placed a finger to her lip coyly, "I may have a few items that can deny the minister her mystical sight." She smiled broadly, "Whhhy?"
"I made an oopsie…" He rubbed his neck, "And I fear she will have my head on a plate, cancel this expedition, and um well, I've already been punished once by her before and would rather not repeat it…"
Four days ago…
Vehuel sat in his meditative, cross legged stance, focusing on molding his pedestrian form to his whims and notions…
"My Prince…" Shiehk declared as she entered his chambers, breaking his concentration. He turned to see not only Shiehk herself but three black-iron dragons at her flanks, one even upon his room's ceiling, directly above him, burning red eyes focusing upon him.
"M-Minister…" He nodded back, "What's happening? Is everything alright?"
"Do you recall your fondling of me on the Bastion? How I vowed I would return the favor when at all possible?" She looked at her nails, cruelly bored. "I may have told a few of my half-brothers of what may have occurred, and they took exceptional disagreement with the act."
The trio of dragons breathed out black smoke in agreement.
The Prince would never deign to harm these creatures, but he himself was terrified of what they would do to him. "I um see…"
"I suggested that they must adhere to their duties as guardians of Istannice, so thus cannot harm any citizen lying therein, let alone their prince… but I may have convinced them to treat you as a training dummy from…" Taking out an hour glass from her robes and turning it over, "This hour onwards…"
The three dragons launched themselves at the seraph, as his aura tried to cope with the sudden terror.
Vehuel swore he felt an eye twitch. He didn't even have physical eyes in this form. 'I can still smell the the sulfur…' "I would see to it that you are rewa-" Being interrupted when she lifted a ring, matte black and riddled with sand-elf runes to the Prince's face.
"Don't put it on until we leave, she'd notice the effects due to her magical senses, and I'll see to it the others have their own." She leant in and whispered, "I'll keep my kin busying the humans and deterring them from meeting the minister properly, with luck, she shan't know of your error until deep into the morning, long after we have left." Placing it in his open palm.
"Thank you," He gave a long, relieved nod.
"As for a reward," Sliding her hand down his arm, "Let's just say you owe me a favor."
Vehuel wasn't sure what made him more nervous; the flirtatious nature of his companion or the ominous tone of the service he may have to provide the elf.
[]
As the feast began, Vehuel was tempted just to find a closet somewhere, change into his more human form and sit down at the table and binge. As a man who loved food possibly more then God; he swooned at the sights before him: roasted hog, greasy and bubbling with well-cooked fat, numerous fowl almost fried in honey, soups, chowders, warm loaves of barley bread, delicate vegetables that consisted of carrots, potatoes, corn and various roots and sprouts he couldn't quite identify, then there was the vast amounts of wine. Wine! At the dinner table! Luis had to get the authorization of three different departments of the Holy See just to cook with it and if he, his staff or any of the guests had been the tiniest bit tipsy, he would have been sent an inquisitor. Just being visited by one would ruin his business, and that was the best-case scenario when dealing with them! The fermented juices of the divine grapes only used for things like Holy Communion, Transubstantiation, and the amount used was barely able to fill a thimble. There were red wines, which filled most people's cups, as well as a rare number of whites and roses', and these were often presented with cheeses and tiny, malnourished looking fruit slices.
And there Vehuel hovered at the side of the banquet. Hunger unable to plague him as a seraph; yet Luis never felt more starved in his life. The smells alone set his senses ablaze in need.
He was looked at only several times over the event, often over exploits that were committed in YGGDRASIL, such as his third-place position in the World Champion's League event. While the event was not a victory for Vehuel, only being rewarded to reskill into World Defender; he was fundamentally and deeply disturbed by the banter. The NPCs knew and recalled events that had actively taken place in the game, where they were little better than decorative defense barriers for the Gilded's home.
This thought made him worry less only when it turned to night, where he saw the strange and wonderous sky again. Vehuel wandered to the balcony and stared at it all again, making damn certain he was sure footed and didn't just float mindlessly to the sky.
But as he indulged in the visage of the night, he felt a small tap on his scalp. Vehuel thought it was an insect, but as he took his hand back, he pinched a pearl of clear water between his finger and thumb. Then another tap, now on his shoulder. And another, on the chest. Then the thigh. Then they came so quickly he couldn't tell them in order.
The only water he knew that came from above were the vast green houses and tall farmhouses that reached the dome tops, the eloquently called 'Bread Boxes'.
This was rain. From an unsick earth.
The seraph was stunned by this bizarre, banal event that when he finally sobered from it, the people whom just dined in the room at his back were long gone, the candles dimmed. He looked to the sky and declared, "Rulthiel, I call upon thee!" A second later, a blue pillar of light erupted from the sky and the archangel of knowledge knelt before his sire.
"What is your bidding, my liege?"
"This world, I want you to learn all you can from it." Ignoring as the angel NPC continued to kneel, his passion and yearning leaking into his orders, "I want to know this world, what it's called, I want to know the skies and the bodies that dwell in it, the places where souls go when they die, what gods who raise their temples on this earth, the histories of all peoples that you can find and if there is any pattern or rhythm that we can understand to it all."
There. Luis had gone off the deep end. He just demanded someone to tell him that carious curiosities of nature and existence. The universe, the afterlife, god, personhood and fate. Vehuel seemed hesitant to call the whole thing off, apologize for bothering Rulthiel and call it a night, but as the archangel stood up, he nodded his unquestioning compliance. "As you command, my Prince." Before flying off north, back assumedly to Istannice.
"Well, that's once egg I'm worried I'll overboil later." Vehuel shook his head, "After this, I'll make sure he gets a break from the mission." Muttering his chant, "「His Feet, Part of Iron, Part of Clay」." The angel quickly shrinking down into his human form. He looked down at his clothing; a humble coat of brown fabric, cotton white shirt, a long pearly scarf in place of his vestments, dull green trousers and brunette leather boots. While he couldn't modify his skin, hair color, he didn't want to stand out. However, the fabrics were laced with magical resistances, the boots boosted with proofing's against mind-control, illusion magic and a short radius that would trigger counter-time magic. While Vehuel's equipment lacked armor, his physical resistances likely would counter anything he may meet, and even if he was somehow damaged, he had a massive pool of HP to lean on so he could adapt.
He was only lightly soiled by rain when he walked back inside, and only a scant number of servants were still in the palace awake. So, he made his way to the kitchens unmolested, but Queen Calca had yet to arrive.
Instead of going somewhere else to wait, he used this as a prime opportunity to stretch his over-neglected culinary legs. Looking into the larder, he found a bounty of leftovers, and while he would happily sample every one and use them to make whatever dish he could, he wasn't sure if the people here had a plan for them in the future, whether to simply feed themselves or maybe to feed the poor like the how the excess food was had in the various feasts the Vatican performed throughout the year.
So instead, he found a jar of milk in a strangely cold compartment under the food racks, then a sack of flour, a bushel of strawberries and a tiny tin of sugar far in the back. Taking his materials, he lit the hearth, mixed the flour and milk to a fine liquid, then carefully pouring the contents onto a pan he placed above the fire's iron barriers, and while they were slowly cooked, quickly began whisking the remaing milk and pinch of sugar with such precision and energy he surprised himself at how efficient he was. Then, as he flipped the short cakes, cut his fruit and sprinkled him with the remaining sugar.
Just as he scrapped the bottom of the cakes to be placed on a plate, Luis turned to the door when he heard it close. Not only was the Holy Queen herself there, but one of the other humans he saw in the precession, tall, long brown hair that reached the small of her back, but giving a small smile as she saw the prince, contrasting with the slightly shorter, blonde, cautiously passive looking queen.
"Ah!" Luis smiled broadly, lifting the ladel in a small salute, "You are just in time!" Scraping the cakes and placing them gently on a plate, before whisking the fluffy cream one more time and pouring them on the delicacies and scattering the fruit on top of the five cakes and presenting it to the pair. "A simple specialty of mine!"
[]
Calca couldn't stop staring at the man's nose. It wasn't that it was overtly big, ugly shape or covered in warts, but it was unusual in its thinness, a swooping arch where traditionally a sloped bridge would be, and it brought only greater attention to his doe eyes, almond shaped and she felt suddenly relaxed at meeting them. His features were very sharp compared to the common features of humans in the area, angled eyebrows, pointed jaw and sharp cheeks, but what was a real eyecatcher was the pastel grey skin. She was so distraught by this, she paused a moment as her friend spoke:
"Want me to wake the food taster?", Kelart leant over and whispered.
"You try it first and get back to me if I should." Calca whispered back.
The priestess gave a mock huff of disagreement before grinning and taking the confection delicately into her hand, biting into it. Her eyebrows shot up as she licked her lips of the excess topping, looking back at her queen and nodding. "Not bad."
"They're not poisoned, if that's what you're worried about." The grey man reassured her. "I take pride in my cooking skills! If anyone died from my food, imagine my shame." He smiled.
Calca knew Kelart would suggest that she abstain from taking one, but the statement the man made read as truthful to the magic-ring clad queen, and took one, if not out of curiosity, then out of manners. "I am Holy Queen Calca Bessarez." She had to fight the action of curtsying towards the man, an act she has been doing since a small child it was almost as habitual as breathing. "You are Prince…?"
"Yes! My apologies, I'm Luis." He gave a dip of his head towards her. "Prince Luis if you desire to be formal, but I prefer just Luis myself. I have prepared this little breakfast-dessert for you, I know you were given a Ring of Kings, and would warrant taking it off tonight, you'd undoubtedly be hungry when you did so and these are mildly sweet and very filling so it can mitigate-"
"What are you doing?" Queen Calca inquired bluntly. "I've been told that you've been snooping around my country, what are you looking for?"
Luis shrugged simply, "Alright…" He put down the plate, reached into his coat (oh so subtly reaching into the Item Box behind the set of clothes) and took out the map. "I'm looking for people like me."
Kelart and Calca looked at one another before staring back at Luis, "Other Princes?"
"No no, people where I'm from. YGGDRASIL." Luis explained the bread crusts of what YGGDRASIL was, the various realms and the powerful guilds that lived within them, and how he and his city without any knowledge of or explanation, was transplanted to this New World, everything being similar but having remarkable differences. "They might be hurt, scared or confused, and possibly hiding, and with their help, we can gather our knowledge and power, try to figure this puzzle out."
Queen Calca's ring said everything was truthful, but also informed her he was holding back information. 'Already doing better then most nobles here.' Calca gave a satisfied nod, "My thanks, I apologize for my uncourteous attitude."
"Hey! I've had ruder! Why do you think I snuck in so early? I'm trying to avoid Shiehk!" He chuckled, "Besides, talking to a queen is nice, but I'd enjoy it more if it was less one sided! Do you have any siblings?" Taking a short cake in hand as he sat on one of the stools.
"Oh…" As if the being reminded of her brother suddenly brought a tone of unexpected warmth, "I have an older brother, Caspond."
"Me too!" He replied happily, "Maximus, but everyone just calls him Maxi." Luis had to avoid mentioning how he was going to be a father soon, just the glimmer of the idea brought a terrible and mournful glimmer to his chest. "Older by six years, and when we were old enough, we begged and pleaded for another sibling from our parents. We failed."
"Mm." The Queen hummed, "For better or worse, my brother was kind of mean at first when we were growing up."
Luis was about to inquire further, but he noticed a smirking priestess at the side of the room and mournfully shook his head, "Excuse me again, I forgot to ask your name!"
"Kelart!" She responded exuberantly. "What are you?"
"Hm?" Luis inquired, dazed a moment by the inquiry. "Oh yes, I'd like to call myself human."
"But… what are you?" Queen Calca mimed her friend.
Luis simply put a finger on his mouth, smiled and said, "Hmmmm tell you what; I'll answer your question in you answer mine." Unrolling the map and pointing to a grey spot. "You wouldn't happen to know if there's anything crazy going on around this area? Dungeons that just came out of nowhere, unfamiliar monsters or races, around a week or so?"
Kelart shook her head, "Ruins of various origins dot the country and many of the forests and territories in the South remain largely unexplored, with such interests being in the hands of the Adventurer's Guild." She gestured to the map, "There's one in the city and they open at dawn, tell the master there 'temple's call' and they'll know you have my blessing to see whatever information you may need."
"Excellent! Thank you!" Luis walked over and offered her his hand, "I owe you."
The priestess slowly took the hand, but felt a tingling warmth in her palm, but no pain and it wasn't rightly uncomfortable, but startled her enough that she took her hand away. Looking at her hand and noticing no blemish, she asked, "So…?"
Luis grinned deviously, "I never said I'd immediately tell you what I was, but I will in time! Speaking of; I fear dawn is upon us soon so I shall only hint or warn; my kind cannot tell a lie nor a false name, you know me now as Luis and this name was my first." Luis looked to Queen Calca a final time, "Also, I am knowledgeable of your pact with the Seraph and I do apologize my part in it, we meant it with the best intentions, and will gladly have something as beautiful as you and your companion within our walls, you would blend right in with the City Ever-sweet." Strangely, he felt inclined to bow towards the queen in parting, but instead smiled and held up a hand, "Until we meet again, good-queen." Quickly leaving the pair before they could say anything more.
Then suddenly popping back in and stealing another cake before leaving again even quicker.
[]
Azimuth was barely awake before she smelt the ungraced succululancy of sweets. She licked her chops with a barbed tongue vaguely.
"Azi…" Someone taunted her name. "Azi, its time to wake up."
She groaned lowly in disagreement.
"Azi…" Something soft tickled her nose.
She woke with a startled hiss! Immediately latched her wicked, jagged teeth into the intruder!
"Mmm!" She opened her blood red eyes, looking down at the pastry being held up lightly by a pair of grey fingers. She then stared at the fingers owners, his visage unfamiliar to her, but if she knew her name…
"Hi! I'm Prince Luis! Pleased to meet you!"
Azimuth bit off the sweet cake and looked around, she must've slept an entire day and night in the carriage! Sitting up, her matted and wild hair riddle with bedhead whipped wildly side to side, only now noticing the rumbling of the cart as it moved over paved streets. "We are still in the city?" Her voice was croaky at first but then was suddenly remarkably feminine despite her feral, bat like, demonic appearance.
"Yes, I brought you breakfast in exchange for wearing this!" He held out a black ring. "Quickly now, the whipped cream is starting to un-whip itself."
Unquestiongly, Azimuth snatched the ring in the angel's hands and lunged for the pastery in his other. Munching on it happily as she slipped the ring on her finger, both Felrrin and Reynard looked back in mild amusement before looking at their own recent gift of jewelry.
"What's this do again?" Reynard asked.
"Hides us from Death. Or me from Death, more specifically." He explained, before asking the driver, "Hey can this carriage go any faster? I'd like to be indoors soon." Looking nervously behind them.
Meanwhile; in the Trireme of Journeys…
Shiehk sat up in her bed, smacked her crusty lips and rubbed dry, reptilian eyes that have the habit of opening themselves in the middle of the night without the woman being aware.
She walked to the corner that held her toiletries, brushed her hair, her teeth and the finale with her morning routine; biting off any loose patch of scaly skin she could find.
Donning her heavy, all consuming attire, she walked to her cabin door, picked up her basket of scrolls that waited in front of it and read the seal of every parchment. Flipping through the low priority issues, she found one unlike the others, the parchment untidy and ill-made. "Oh? The Holy Queen? The humans here work quick." Snapping the sealing and unrolling it, she began reading.
As she did so, one of the graeci marines approached her, "Hail Minister!" Slamming his chest with his fist, "I have prepared a breakfast for you that consists of fresh fish, quail and-"
"YOU DID WHAT?!" She screamed into the scroll, "ALL MY EFFORTS AND YOU SPIT IN MY EYE?"
The graeci was already gone when she looked at where he once stood. Unable to contain herself, her draconic form peaked from her carefully cultivated discipline, eyes bulged out, veiny and thirsty for the sight of blood, reaching into her Item Box, she pulled out a spell and let out the incantation, "「RECALL」!" The scroll lit on fire, but nothing happened, so she pulled out another, "「RECALL: VEHUEL」!"
Nothing happened.
"AHHHH!" She ran out of the cabin to the top deck, her form quickly changing into a more lizard like appearance, spikes sliding out from her shoulders and limbs, piercing the delicate clothe she adorned, "YOU EMBARACE MY CITY BY ADMITING OUR ESPIONAGE!" She cried to the sky voice booming and terribly deep, already having mottled through her clothing, her size increased fivefold, there stood the half-blackiron dragon, curving horns erupted from the flanks of her head forwards like a boney fork, strangely larger than her fully draconic kin, dully shined her black scales against the morning light as noxious fumes of terrible flame spewed from her mouth as she spoke, "THESE OUTSIDERS DO NOT DESERVE TO SIP THE REFUSE THAT SPILLS OUT OF IT! GAAAHHHHHHH!" Wings erupting from the lizard's back, she took flight, taking her rage far away from the neighboring city.
[]
Luis shuddered, "I-is that that place?"
Reynard shrugged, "Sure looks like it. Hey batty!" He yelled to Azimuth who growled back at the fox-man in disagreement at the mounting nick names. "Watch the cart while we're inside, if anyone tries to touch my hogs; eat them."
"I'm a vegetarian, all my kind are! Stupid fox!" Azimuth hissed.
"Branch out. You might like it." Reynard scoffed as he pulled the reins back, his warhogs halting, "Unless its carriage driving…" He mumbled under his breath as he pulled up his the three of them dismounted.
Felrrin, Reynard and Luis approached the Guild Hall, what seemed to be a small castle nestled between several other marketplaces and business roads, the scarce presence of such an early morning population reassured Luis nothing would be stolen, especially if it was guarded by a demonically constructed batwoman.
Opening the doors, they were greeted by a tall, middle aged man with stark grey swept back hair, bleary eyes who was sweeping the greeting front, behind of which was a massive board, twice as tall as the man himself was, and nearly as wide as the whole first floor of the building, the nearly as wide as the whole first floor of the building, the notice board being flanked by a pair of stairs on either side that led up to the second level.
While as towering as it was, the numerous notes and missives didn't exceed arm's length. "Greetings strangers!" The man smiled as the trio entered fully. "New adventurers I take it? You're early, an um an excellent trait!" Momentarily distracted by Reynard's ears, the foxman giving back a toothy grin in response.
"Greetings." Vehuel nodded back and smiled, trying to take the focus off of his beastman companion. "We were referred here by a lady of high repute, she said you can answer possible questions we might have of the area."
The guild attendant gave a weary leer at Luis, "I see…"
"'Temple's Call'?" Luis partly inquired.
"It's too early in the morning- show me where…" the man waved for Luis to come forward while he reached under the desk to take out his map, where Luis pulled out his own, putting it next to the man's for comparison. "Quite the map, where are looking to get to?"
"Here." Pointing on a near mirroring area of the pedestrian map, and where on Luis's map there was nothing but a grey smudge, on the man's map were marks of mountains. "What place is this."
"A cursed place… ruins on the side of hellish hills, infested with strange, powerful monsters. We believe it to have belonged to the Eight Greed Kings, from a survivor of one of the groups that ventured to the area in most recent memory." The guildhall attendant explained.
Luis looked to his two companions, "Where can we find him? What's his name?"
The attendant smiled, "He usually comes around here the beginning of every week if he isn't already on a quest." He rolled up and store the map before gesturing to the board, "If you put your notice up, I'll make sure he gets it, you can stay here for as long as you like but if you weren't planning on sticking around here, any place you might be for the adventurer to meet you?"
"We might actually set up shop somewhere near, can we sell our wears outside?"
"Depends, what are you selling?"
"Oh…" Luis pulled out a scroll, unraveled the coarse twine that held it close, the tail end almost dropping to the floor. "We have some incredible items from… um, a new and exotic manufacturer, but since this is our first day here, we're just trying to get our feet a bit wet in the local market."
The gentleman waved away the list, "Well, you'll be selling to adventurers. If any of it is hogwash, there isn't a more threatening group of customers to wrong or steal money from."
"Indeed!" Luis smiled, nodding to his two companions. "Do come out in maybe a half hour! I'll be setting up breakfast as soon as I get the hearth warm, and your meal will be on me for your help!"
The attendant smiled and his demeanor warming at the offer as he waved them out, "At least a few meters away from the guild hall and not in the middle of the street."
The guided the carriage per his instructions, and when they found the right spot, Luis pulled out his hearth and cooking instruments, whilst the others unshackled Reynard's warhogs, of which the two massive beasts decided to mostly rest and meander near where their owner put down their fodder, Felrrin pulled the various levers and activated the mechanisms magically held within, the wheels turning outwards into tables, the covered clothe growing, spreading its shade like a vast tent and the seats at the fore of the carriage became a sign, saying 'Official Vendor for the Gilded', with said guild's emblem popping out at the top of the sign like a giant coin, but more importantly, in the vast 'Cargo-of-Excess' at the carriage's belly seemingly to be a trap door to operate on the wheels of the vehicle's core, only to rend its own kind of space-time pocket and be a sizeable room filled with items, treasures, potions, ingredients, books and scrolls and still have a fair amount of space available to allow one or two to move around comfortably or even rest in its bowls for a time.
On top of which was a much more exuberant looking Azimuth, whom hid her body in finely weaved and enchanted wicker armor, her wooden mask clearly depicting the features of Aesham, too slanted, angled eyes with visible teeth from pulled back lips and pincer like horns at its sides. She sat whimsically near the Hold of Excess's door, wielding a silvery, single sided dagger in one hand and a simple wooden block the size of her fist in the other. She bowed her head slightly towards her Prince, "With your leave? I vow I will ably watch over my charge even with this distraction."
Uncertain of what she meant, he shrugged, "Uh by all means."
"Thank you." And began to shave small sections off the block with ease and practiced dexterity that it was almost calming to simply watch the woman commit to her hobby further.
"Eminence." Felrrin interrupted his reverie, directing him down. "I have received a message from one of my friends on the ship. It's about the minister of matters."
Luis blinked, "She's is alright? Not hurt in any way?"
"No," She smiled deviously, "But she may have turned into a dragon and burned a swathe of white phosphorus flame across an uninhabited island." Leaning in, "All the while screaming and cursing your name." She winked, "I'm sure she'll get over whatever you did in a few days, a week at most… what did you do, if I may inquire?"
"Oh." Vehuel stood straighter, "Um well, nothing of drastic important. I may have uh, divulged the fact that I had been… snooping! Yes, snooping in the area to Queen Calca."
Both of the eyebrows of sand-elf rose sharply, no hint of coyishness or mischief as she stared at him in disbelief. "What?"
"I thought telling her the truth would… well, make her trust me."
"Maybe it's best that you stay out of Istannice for a while." She hummed pitifully before smiling, "I would be happy to teach what I know of such elements to one who is clearly lacking in the intricacies of the ministerial world!"
While Luis understood that Felrrin was loyal to Istannice and himself, he knew that she had other ends she desired to fulfill with this. "Well… who better to teach me now with our company?" He meekly smiled, trying to exclude at least a semblance of control.
"I am a political creature after all." She whispered sweetly, running a finger over his scarf in a manner that made Luis instantly lose whatever confidence he had and look away as she continued with, "Just let me know if you have questions, I will answer them no matter the… taboo." Before leaving the stunned and bewildered angel where he stood.
"Yes… um…" Luis said to himself, "Yes! Fire, cooking! Something to make me stop thinking!"
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So yes! The NPCs of Istannice are markedly different from Nazarick's due to the very differing points where they were formed; Nazarickai (?) are unquestioningly loyal to Nazarick and the Supreme Beings, they might bicker between one another due to the strange effect of the New World giving them personalities from their makers plus whatever information said creators put into them, they are for the bulkiest part, completely and unwaveringly loyal.
NPCs of Istannice are… well, not. It's almost the scales are the other way with these guys. Yes, they are loyal to Istannice, the Princes and the Harshad-Twenty-Seven, but they were meant to be conniving, contentious, passionate and somewhat partisan, and this is definitely the bulk of what they are apart from the personalities and pre-written information. What's more worrying is, unlike Nazarick which can be somewhat compared to the twenty layered tower-cake of evil monsters (baring Nigredo of course, fight me) whom serve their master, Istannice is a city, filled with people. Living people. Arguably no better or worse than the humans and other sapient beings in the New World now. Think about how many more problems that will make for Vehuel. I'll get more onto that in the next chapter, and am very excited to do so, so hopefully I'll pop another chapter out when I'm satisfied with it.
Please! Reviews are will be massively appreciated, PMs and comments would be immensely enjoyed, but as always, thank you for reading.
Tschüss!
PS. I thank you, Angel Rios, with upmost gratitude for both your review and your suggestion. Hopefully you'll have more soon! And questions too! I love questions!