My time in the desert where only my thoughts had kept me company hadn't prepared me for this city. Sure, the time I spent with Pecta had helped me get used to social interactions, but that couldn't compare to what I was experiencing right now.
Like in a trance, I pushed through the crowd of humans going about their day-to-day lives. When we had entered the city together Pecta had rushed us along, not giving me the ability to properly take in my surroundings. But now I had the time to look at Seran in all its glory.
After leaving the inn I started heading deeper into the city. At first, the buildings lining the street all looked the same. Some were slightly bigger or smaller than others, but they were all rectangular and made from sandstone. The street was made from the same material and most of the people walking on it wore sand-coloured clothing. A colour mix that I had gotten used to in the desert.
But then it suddenly changed. Colourful cloth started hanging from building to building, creating intricate shadows on the streets. People started wearing more beautiful and exotic clothing. A mesmerising array of different aromas assaulted my nose and the noise level rose dramatically as humans started shouting about various things they were selling.
All of these stimulants were fascinating but also overwhelming. Moving to the side of the street I leaned against a house to create some space between me and the humans. Slowly, I started acclimating to all these new senses.
I unconsciously tried to lift my claw to scratch an itch on my nose but was met with resistance. A sigh of annoyance left me when I remembered the leather band which was binding my claw to my body. The strap made sure that I wouldn’t accidentally reveal my claw and that the cloak didn't leave it exposed.
Of course, I had the strength to easily rip my arm free, but I wouldn’t do it unless of an emergency. For now, I would have to live with this small inconvenience.
But even with my non-human features hidden, I was still garnering some occasional glances and distasteful expressions. Most of them were from humans who were dressed more elaborately than the average citizen. They didn’t know that I was a monster so why were they looking at me like that?
My assumption lay with my clothing. It wasn’t very pretty and it identified me as a follower of an unpopular god. Pecta had explained that to me but I still couldn’t understand why others would dislike me because of the god that I worshipped. Without really understanding the concept, I knew that it didn’t affect them in any way. Being biased because of something like that just felt strange to me. Maybe it was a human thing?
None of those people actually approached me, so I ignored them. Even if it made me slightly angry, I wouldn’t engage somebody like that. After becoming more comfortable with the surrounding atmosphere I pushed off the wall and headed deeper.
To keep myself from freezing in place, I started focusing on one sense at a time. First, the smell. There was so much variety. From spicy aromas that almost made me sneeze, to sweet smells that made my mouth water. One of these smells made me shift my course and head for a stall manned by a human man.
He was preparing some kind of meat on a stick that was covered in an orange sauce. Seeing me approach, he nodded and handed me a skewer. Absentmindedly I placed a big knight on the counter and bit into it.
The meat was soft and juicy, while almost melting in my mouth. The sauce, on the other hand, added a spicy sweetness to the mix that perfectly complemented the meat. An ecstatic moan left my mouth and I quickly took another bite. Juice dripped down my chin but I didn’t care. This was the greatest experience of my life!
I almost didn’t notice when the cook slid me 8 knights back. A big knight was worth 10 regular ones so that meat skewer cost 2 knights. I didn’t know if that was much but for me, it was definitely worth it. Immediately I bought 2 more skewers.
Cheerfully munching on my meat I waved goodbye to the human who waved back while smiling. He was happy, I was happy, the world was happy. How many moments of happiness had I experienced since my creation? Few, very few. The world up to this point had been a brutal struggle between life and death. Maybe it didn’t have to be this way.
After this experience, my walk had an extra step to it and I eagerly continued exploring the rest of the city. Besides the great food, there was a variety of different things to see. Watching all the vibrant colours flow by me was beautiful and brought a smile to my face. The normal buildings had also been replaced by even larger structures. Some of the architecture I saw made me doubt reality.
The amazement finally made me come out of my shell and I started talking with the different people. Most of them were happy to answer my questions about the city, though some looked at my appearance and ignored me. My answer to that was to ignore them back.
Stopping at a statue of a female human, I eagerly listened to a lecture about Saya, Matriarch of Sand, who single-handedly made the colonisation of the Scorching Barrens possible. Hearing about the achievements of humans in this world was very interesting. Although, the fact that no other species were mentioned made me a bit disheartened.
Suddenly, I stopped. A human almost bumped into me and started cursing, but I ignored him. Through the veil of shouting I could faintly hear a sound that made my heart beat faster. I didn't know what it was, but it was beautiful.
My feet started moving on their own, pushing me through the busy street. The sound got louder but never lost its softness. A small crowd separated me from the source, but I simply pushed through, absentmindedly muttering apologies. When I saw the source of it my breath caught in my throat.
The sound came from a human female who was sitting on a simple chair. Her eyes were closed and a small smile played across her lips. But her face wasn't what drew my attention. Her fingers were the real centerpiece. The slim appendages floated with an otherworldly elegance across the object in her lap.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
She plucked the strings that were strung across the item as swiftly as the wind but with a loving touch. I had never seen something like that. No, that wasn't entirely true. One of the mercenaries at the camp had used a similar instrument. But compared to her he had been a pale and lifeless imitation. My eyes were transfixed on her graceful movements. I didn't know how long I looked at them, but after a while, my gaze slid back to her face.
There was something there that was making me feel uncomfortable. It wasn't a simple unpleasant emotion, like anger or sadness, but something more complicated. Something that was making my stomach twist.
Stop staring at that girl and get going! You have a job to do.
Sarvad's voice broke me out of my stupor. ‘Have you decided whether or not to stop ignoring me?’ I didn’t want to anger him but I was slowly losing my patience. He would randomly pop up, talk to me, and then disappear. It was very frustrating. ‘Also, what job?’
Finding the woman. Without me, you wouldn’t be in control of this body and for that, I asked one simple favour. But what do you do? Ignore my request and frolic around.
I sighed, all the irritation leaving me. ‘I’m sorry. But where do you want me to look? Seran is huge.’
I don’t care! Just find her! Find her! I flinched at his intensity. A pause followed and I could almost hear Sarvad take a deep breath. That wasn’t nice of me. Just… do your best and find her.
I mumbled another sorry. Finishing his task should be a priority, considering all he had to suffer through because of me. It would be difficult but I owed it to him to at least try.
I turned to leave when I heard something jingle. When I looked back I noticed a wooden bowl in front of the female human. Another human had thrown a coin into it, where it had landed on a couple of other coins. It didn’t seem to be necessary to pay her for the music but others still did.
I looked at the four princes in my pouch. One prince was equal to around a month of work for someone of the lower class, according to Pecta. This human had made me feel a slew of brand-new emotions, some of which I still couldn’t place. Without thinking about it, I threw one into the bowl. She deserved it.
The musician hadn't reacted to my offering and it seemed as if she hadn't even noticed me. Should I say something? No, you shouldn’t. You gave her some money, so leave! You are blocking the view for anyone who wants to see her play.
My cheeks flushed in embarrassment as I quickly turned around and walked away. This was just all so new and interesting. I passed many more merchants and musicians but I couldn’t stop thinking about that human.
Her music still reached my ear and struck something inside of me. The sounds were beautiful and they conjured up the image of her hands. Their grace and confidence. The thought of them brought back an image of her face and that uncomfortable feeling.
What was causing that? She had looked... happy? No, that wasn't the special thing. I had seen countless humans walking the street who looked happy and none of them had impacted me like that. This was something else. Something more than simple happiness. She had looked at peace. She had found her purpose in life and was happy with it.
It suddenly clicked with me. I wanted what she had. That feeling of having found what you were always destined to do and embracing it. I was jealous of her.
Wincing, I waited for a mocking comment from Sarvad. From what I gather from him he wasn’t a big fan of distracting feelings. He was also very open in voicing his opinion, at least when he was available.
But the comment never came. All I felt from him was a tentative feeling of agreement. It seemed that the original owner of this body also hadn't found his purpose in life. At least not before being made into a passenger inside his own body.
I shivered at the thought. His situation had already sounded bad enough but now I was grasping the full extent of it. Not being able to control your own body and watching someone else make all your decisions was a frightening thought.
Now I was even more curious about Sarvad’s story. What happened to him? And more importantly, what role did I play in it? My inner companion was very tight-lipped about what had happened to him. At first, I assumed that he didn’t trust me. But slowly I was starting to suspect that he also didn’t truly know.
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“The crime rate this month was lower than the previous month. My men have reported significantly fewer murders and thefts. The harsher punishments seem to be keeping the population in check.” City Lord Vatus looked bored while the guard commander made his report. Same old, same old. He cared not for the state of this sorry excuse of a city.
Not seeing a reaction from the City Lord, the commander shuffled nervously. After gathering enough courage he continued. “Employing the assassin guild to target organised criminals has worked but I worry that they are gaining too much influence.” At the disapproving stare, the man stammered. “Not that I doubt your wisdom City Lord! I am sure that you have everything figured out.”
“Anything else?” Vatus couldn’t care less about some upstart assassin guild. They were making his job easier. If they got too big of a head then he would just have them executed.
The commander cleared his throat. “I have reports of several unexplained disappearances. They started a couple of months ago but we can’t find the source.” The City Lord grunted in disinterest. “Who is it affecting?”
“Well, mostly beggars, prostitutes, and-“ “Then it doesn’t matter,” Vatus interrupted him. “I won’t have you wasting my time and money with something so trivial. Now be gone.” The commander looked unhappy but he complied with the command of his lord. Vatus sighed and leaned back on his throne.
He had spoken the truth about not caring for these disappearances. As long as the Institution kept their agreement then it didn’t matter how many unwanted they took. They were doing Seran a favour by keeping it clean.
Suddenly, the door to the throne room swung open and a cloaked figure entered. The guards didn’t react, their eyes having glazed over. Vatus knew that they would soon return to normal and forget everything that happened. The Administrator stepped in front of him and removed her cloak. When you speak of a demon…
“What do you want?” Vatus asked with contempt. He was benefiting from their work but that didn’t mean he had to like them. Luckily for him, Panzinho also wasn’t one for pleasantries. “We may require the use of the city guard for the coming days.” The City Lord frowned. “Did one of your experiments escape?” The Administrator remained stone-faced. “You are not granted access to such information.”
Vatus leaned forward in his chair and growled, “Remember your place. I could have your entire operation shut down with a flick of my finger.” For the first time during this conversation, the Administrator smiled. “You won’t do that.”
Before the City Lord could threaten her more she held up a hand. “Do you want the rest of the Kingdom to know that you’ve been working with one of its biggest enemies? The Queen already isn’t happy with you, so I’d imagined that your head would end up on the chopping block. But even disregarding that, you still wouldn’t hurt us.”
Vatus raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?” He asked. The Administrator responded, “Because you need us to get revenge. Your banishment to the Scorching Barrens would be eternal without our help. Our arrangement is simple: you let us work in peace and we supply you with the necessary tools to gain power. You won’t throw this opportunity away.”
City Lord Vatus leaned back in his chair with an unhappy expression. She was correct. “I permit you to use the city guard. Anything else?” Eleura smiled. “There are several things pertaining to our operation that we need to discuss.”
Vatus stood up and walked past her. “Follow me to my carriage. I can at least enjoy the city while we talk.” He would have loved nothing more than just dismissing her but sadly that wasn’t an option. With a nod and a smile, the Administrator followed him.