Chapter 5: Gorteau
After a full day and night on the ocean, the new continent came into view. Eli raced to the front end of the boat to see the view. The mass of land in front of him was bigger than he could have imagined. He marveled at it. "Look at that… I never thought I'd see anything like it!" Eli said. This, to him, was greater than Eli's wildest dreams. He was so excited he almost felt the urge to jump off of the boat and swim there. "You're probably the only person I've seen get excited over Gorteau." Shinjo said. "Gorteau?" Eli asked. "It's the name of this place." "Oh, well, why wouldn't I be excited? This is something totally new, and I can't wait to see what it has in store for me!" "You're not worried about the Chimera Ants?" "I'm pretty sure they are who I'm meeting." "I see… well, if you have any more questions, now is the time to ask."
"Okay… how many Chimera Ants are there?" "I'm not well informed on this, as I'm not on the team that's trying to take them out. I do know that the king and his three elites are staying at the Supreme Leader's palace." "King? I thought their leader was the queen?" Eli said. "The queen died after giving birth to the King. The elites follow his rule without question. The other Chimera Ants spread out across the world, trying to make their own kingdoms. Some of them came crawling to the King and his elites for protection." Shinjo explained. "Okay… are the King and his elites nen users?" "Yes." Shinjo answered. Nen was a new and strange concept to Eli. It was still something he felt he needed to know about. Not only was he going towards a band of monsters that had full control over it, but he now knew that Shroud fed off of it, so nen had to be the key to eliminating Shroud. "What can you tell me about nen?" Eli asked. "Why do you want to know?" Shinjo asked. "You see this creature on my shoulder?" Eli asked as he gripped onto his shoulder. Shinjo looked for a moment, but saw nothing. "No?" Eli remembered something that Misha mentioned. "The chimera I met could see it… she mentioned using something called gyo." Shinjo strained his eyes, and that's when he saw it.
"I see it now… what is it?" Shinjo asked, slightly disgusted. "It's a parasite. Its kind has infected all of the people of my village. It feeds off of nen, and prevents us from ever becoming nen users. I feel like I need to know more about nen in order to know more about these parasites." Eli said. "I see… well, I'll give you the basics. First, what do you already know about nen?" "Well… it's an energy that's in all living things, and some people can wield it and use it to create strange abilities that can make them really powerful." "That's a very basic description of it, but I'll go into more detail. There are six types of nen users." "Types? What do you mean?" "The six types are emitters, enhancers, transmuters, manipulators, summoners, and specialists." Shinjo explained.
Eli took in that information for a moment and tried to process it. "So… what does each type mean? How does it affect nen use?" Eli asked. "The different types of users will dictate how the nen gets used." "What's the difference in each type?" "Emitters will expel their nen as projectiles. Enhancers use nen to strengthen their bodies and recover from injuries quicker. Transmuters are able to change the properties of their nen, making it act like different substances or states of matter. Manipulators can manipulate objects or people, like a puppet master. Summoners can summon objects or entities to help in a fight. Specialists are an odd case though." Shinjo said. "How come?" Eli asked. "Specialist abilities don't specifically fall under any of the other categories."
"How do you know what type you are?" Eli asked. "Well, there are a few tests you can do, water divination being the most accurate, but types can also be linked to personalities. Enhancers are normally care free, and specialists are very independent." At this point, the ship had pulled in at the dock and the crew jumped off to tie it up. "Okay… anything I should know about the city?" Eli asked. "It's pretty busy. Just avoid the guards, don't let yourself get caught somewhere alone and you'll be fine." "Why should I avoid the guards?" "They're being controlled by one of the elites' abilities." "Okay… anything you could help me with?" Eli asked. "I'll have a man drive you to the town closest to the palace. Before you go, I have something for you." Shinjo dug a strange device that looked like a beetle out of his pocket and handed it to Eli. "What's this?" Eli asked as he inspected it. Eli flipped it over and noticed it had a screen. "It's a phone. You can use it to call other phones, but that's not why I'm giving it to you. It can translate languages for you, It's very useful for a foreigner such as yourself." Shinjo said. "That's really cool! Thanks!"
Shinjo wasn't done helping though. He dug out some of the currency for the area. "What's this?" Eli asked "It's money." Shinjo said plainly. "Money?" Eli's village worked in a way that was vastly different than modern cities. You worked to support the village. As long as you pulled your weight, and didn't take more than what you needed, you were given food. "You… okay… you give people money to get things like food, water and services." "Oh, okay." Eli said as he tucked the bills into his pocket. "You should be good to go. The palace you're looking for is to the east of the city. It's surrounded by barren land on all sides, and it has a long path leading through the desert to get to it. You can't miss it."
"Thank you. You've helped me a lot." Eli said. "Don't worry about it, but before you go to the palace, why don't you go into the city for a bit. Get some food, relax for a while. You've been through a lot, kid." "Okay… I think I will, but… how come you've helped me so much?" Shinjo got a more serious and rigid stance before saying, "I owed Amelia. Let's leave it at that." "Oh… okay. Well, I'll see you around Mr. Shinjo." Eli said before walking off of the boat. A man escorted Eli to a truck. Eli hopped in and rode in the front seat. No words were exchanged between Eli and the driver, as the driver didn't seem like a friendly person, and Eli knew that he didn't want to talk.
The truck pulled up to the edge of a busy city. Eli stepped out, and the truck took off almost immediately. Eli shrugged off the rudeness and made his way into the city. As Shinjo said, it was full of life. There were people everywhere, going about their business. Eli was used to people avoiding him at all costs, but this time he had to push his way through the crowds, looking for any opening he could find. He pushed past all of the people and came to a clear spot. He wasn't entirely sure on what to do, at least not until his nose caught the smell of something good. He followed his nose to a small restaurant. He meekly walked in, feeling totally lost. He walked over to a bar at the back. There was a woman there. "Well hello there, young man, what can I get you?" She asked. "What smells so good?" Eli asked. "Ah, you smell some of our ramen. Would you like some?" "Yes please."
It didn't take long for her to bring out a bowl, and it took even less time for Eli to finish it. "My, my, I've never seen someone so eager to eat before!" She said with a laugh. "It was… really good. Sorry." Eli said, slightly embarrassed. "Don't worry. You can eat however you want as long as you pay." "Oh, right, the pay." He brought out the money. He wasn't sure how much it was worth and how much he had to pay. "Um, well… how much do I…?" Eli wasn't sure on what to do at all, but thankfully, someone stepped in to help. "Here, allow me." Said a young boy with pale white hair and equally pale skin. Eli handed him the money. The boy separated the proper amount of money and gave it to the woman. "Thank you." The woman said. The boy handed Eli back what was left.
Eli stepped down from his chair and stood in front of the boy. "Thanks… I was getting a little confused there." Eli said. "No problem. I could tell you're a foreigner." The boy said. "As much as you are." Eli said. "How do you know I'm a foreigner?" "I don't see anyone else with pale white hair around here." "You've got me there." "I'm Eli by the way." Eli said as he extended his hand. "Killua." The boy said as he took Eli's hand. Eli then got a vision once more. He saw this boy engulfed in electricity. The boy noticed Eli's stunned expression. "You alright?" He asked. "Yeah, just got a headache all of a sudden." Eli said. Eli could tell Killua suspected something far stranger than that.
Eli could feel the intensity coming from Killua. He wasn't just some simple tourist, and Eli knew that Killua knew he wasn't either. "If you say so." Killua said. Eli knew that he was lucky that Killua had let go of the issue. "What brings you here?" Killua asked. "I'm meeting someone." Eli said simply. "What for?" "You… probably wouldn't believe me." "I've seen some strange things. Try me." Killua said with a sinister smile. "I come from a village to the distant north. My people are cursed. I heard that someone here could supposedly lift the curse." Killua stared at him blankly for a moment. "Okay, I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that." "You see?" "Alright, well, I have to get back with my friends. I'll see you around." Killua said before walking to a table at the edge of the building. There were several people there, and it looked like they were discussing something.
There was another boy that caught Eli's attention. There was a boy with black, spiky hair wearing a green coat. There was an intensity coming from this boy, coming off in waves. Eli knew that this boy, with all his heart, wanted someone dead. A large man wearing sun glasses pulled out his phone to look at a message. Once he read it, he mentioned something to the others. All of them then looked straight to Eli. Eli tried to ignore their gaze, but he saw them strain their eyes. He knew now that they were nen users, and that they were all using gyo. He knew that they could see Shroud.
Almost to make Eli look even more suspicious, Shroud tripped Eli using one of his tendrils, just as he usually did. Eli quickly caught himself, but not before he scraped his chin on the way down. "You bastard…" Eli mumbled to Shroud. Eli knew that Shroud was feeling pleased with himself. Eli tried to ignore the glares that everyone was giving him. Eli was under the impression that Shroud was just teasing him, but what he didn't know was that Shroud tripped him to make Eli's story more believable. Killua, seeing how Shroud humiliated Eli, assumed that that must have been the curse Eli was talking about. Killua told the others Eli's story. They had more important matters anyway, so they ignored Eli and went back to their business.
"Sometimes I swear you're trying to kill me." Eli said to Shroud as he brushed the dirt off of his coat. Eli went back on his path. He went towards the edge of the city, walking to its outer perimeter. In the far distance, he saw the path leading to the palace, but not the palace itself. "Is it really that far?" Eli asked himself. "Are you talking about the palace?" Asked one of the citizens who happened to hear him. "Uh, yeah." Eli said. "Are you heading there?" "Yes, why?" "Then you're in for a long walk. It could take hours." "Well, I have to go there. I'm meeting someone." "I hope you packed a lot of water." The man said before wandering off.
Eli breathed in deep to gather the strength, and he then started his journey toward the palace. The journey, as the man said, took Eli several hours. It was really hot, as the sun was bearing down on Eli. He had to stop and rest several times to gather his strength back. He would rest around ten minutes each time. Before long, Eli came to a spot that Amelia had warned him about. Eli had come closer to the palace. He had been able to see it for some time now. He was a little bit over two kilometers away. It was there that he came to two dead trees. They were on opposite sides of the path, silently waiting for Eli's final decision. "This is it then? The point of no return…" Eli said. Shroud was urging Eli to turn around, to give up. Eli was uncertain himself. He stepped forward and said, "I have to save my people." Before he could pass, he stopped and said, "But what if I die? Who helps them then?" He turned around and took a few steps back, but he turned back and said, "My mind is made up!" He turned away again and said, "No it's not."
He stopped completely and looked out at the palace in the distance. "Be courageous… be… courageous." Eli said to himself. He took in a deep breath, then stepped beyond the trees. He began making his way to the palace. "Okay, no turning back now." Suddenly, he felt a massive wave of dread cut through. It sent a chill down his spine. He felt like some kind of beast was standing over him, watching his every move. He felt like something wanted to kill him, like that was its sole desire in the world. Eli swallowed his fear and found the strength to press on. He was terrified, knowing that something was reading his every step, his every move. It was something vicious, something cruel, but Eli didn't care. His mind was finally made up, and he knew what he had to do.
Before he even knew it, he was at the front gate of the palace. The gate slowly opened as he approached. They were expecting him. He slowly made his way into the palace, not sure what to expect. There was a massive courtyard he went through first. There were several massive trees in it, lining the sides of a long path leading into the inner walls of the palace. However, as Eli got closer to the palace, he noticed something that made him question if they were normal trees. There were several large, white pods stuck to the trees closer to the palace. At first, Eli just thought they were some kind of tree that was native to this land until he got a closer look. The pods were made out of some kind of strange material and were stuck to the trees. The pods were… disturbingly human sized. Eli didn't want to think about the implications, so he walked off toward the palace.
As soon as he turned around, he was met by a large man with deep red skin. His legs weren't anything like a human's. They were large and bent like an animal's, and they were covered with black fur. He looked like a minotaur. Another man appeared, flying in with wings like a butterfly. He wore finer clothes. His skin was pale, and on his forehead were two antennae that interrupted the flow of his blond hair. A third appeared, who seemingly dropped from the sky. They wore a dark blue button up shirt with reddish-brown shorts. They had pale white skin and hair, with two cat ears sticking out. They also had cat-like eyes and a tail. The skin on their face was like a human's, but their legs were more like that of the exoskeleton of an insect, and they only had four fingers on each hand. Eli began to sweat as the fear started to move throughout his body. He realized that these three… were the King's elites.