The Emerald Drink looked like a small two-story building, similar to the other buildings surrounding it. When we entered, we were immediately faced with a large common room filled with dark green tables and benches. I liked its appearance, which presented a stark contrast to anything I had ever seen. It was different from the wild beauty of the desert but nice and unique in its own way.
My companion wasn’t phased by it and immediately walked through the sparsely populated room and straight to the bar that was manned by a stocky human woman. Her skin was dark and she wore plain clothes with the same yellow color scheme that seemed to be common for humans. Or maybe this type of clothing was just worn in the Scorching Barrens? I obviously didn't know a lot about humans, but from her appearance, I assumed that she was a fair bit older than Pecta. ‘It would be nice if I had someone to explain these things to me, so I don’t have to ask Pecta all the time’. Sadly, Sarvad didn’t answer. I still didn’t know what to think of him but I hoped he was okay.
The woman raised her eyes from the glass she was polishing and studied us. Her gaze studied my bandaged appearance for a second longer before turning to Pecta who had taken a step forward. “What can I do for you?” she asked in a gruff tone. “Two rooms for a weak,” Pecta answered. “That will be 1 silver.” He grumbled but handed her one silver coin without protest. I had a basic understanding of money but didn’t know the specifics to place its value. To me, one coin didn’t seem like much, but going by Pecta’s expression it wasn’t cheap.
The woman ducked behind the bar and placed two slightly rusty keys on the counter. “You are in rooms 3 and 4, second floor. She ducked behind the bar again and pulled out a worn piece of paper, a feather, and a small jar of dark blue liquid. “Names?”
Pecta frowned. “Since when do you have to give your name at inns?” The women shrugged. “Don't blame me, blame the law. I need to write down the names of my customers that stay here, no matter how few they are.” She eyed us both. “Not from around here?” She asked but made it sound more like a statement. Pecta ignored her, as he was still fixated on the names. “Why the hell do you have to do that?”
The innkeeper rolled her eyes before leaning in closer. “Didn’t hear this from me but our City Lord seems to be slowly going paranoid. Only took over six years ago and already fearing for his position. He isn’t doing a very good job.” Pecta slowly nodded before he came to a realisation. “Wait, is your City Lord from House Altan? One of theirs was recently banished to the Scorching Barrens, wasn’t he?”
I looked between the two while they discussed human politics. On one hand, it was interesting to see how humans operated but on the other hand, I did want to finally explore the city. “Hey, I’m going to look at my room,” I interrupted their conversation. “Our names are Vindict and Pecta.” For some reason, Pecta glared at me when I mentioned our real names. Nonetheless, he handed me my key and turned back towards the innkeeper.
Before I could walk up the stairs she called out to me, “May the light not blind your eyes.” Pecta looked just as confused as I was. Not knowing an answer I simply nodded before climbing up the stairs. Her gaze was burning into my back but I decided to ignore it. Just a figment of my imagination.
When I entered my room I couldn’t help but crack a smile. It wasn't the most spacious or flashy, but it was nice. A bed was stationed in the left corner, while a small desk with a chair occupied the right one. All of the furniture was made from the green material I had seen in the main room. Light shined through a single window opposite the doorframe I was standing in. I slowly walked into my room and closed the door. Then I stopped and simply stood still. I felt... drained.
Not physically, but mentally. Everything since my coming into existence had been so chaotic and stressful, that I hadn't had the time to simply feel my emotions and unwind. The sandworm, the mercenaries, the mage, Sarvad, and the parasite in my mind.
There had been so many situations where I could have died, but didn't and prevailed that I was honestly impressed by myself. Sure, there were some unresolved problems and questions, like Sarvad’s mysterious task for me, but I would tackle them when the time came. Now was the time to do what I wanted.
‘What do I want?’ That was a question worth exploring.
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“Your work isn't up to our expectations, Miss Panzinho,” a voice, that echoed through the entire chamber, spoke. It was a simple sentence, but one that still caused sweat to trickle down Eleura’s back. She was a proud woman who prided herself on being cold and calculating, but before this person, all of her pride vanished and was replaced by a creeping fear.
The room was dark and only lit by the ever-burning candles surrounding the communication orb. Normally it would show the face of the person using the linking piece, but right now it only showed darkness. Still, Eleura was sure that her image was perfectly visible to the person watching from the other end.
She gulped and slowly answered. “Most of our current projects are focusing on the eventual success of Project: Daemonium Renatus. Due to this, other projects that don’t contribute to it have received reduced funding. However, I am certain that with the completion of this project, we will make up for our losses and surpass all expectations.” She almost fumbled with the name of the project and just managed to pronounce it correctly. Why most of the important projects had ancient names was a mystery to her. She doubted that there were more than ten people in the world who spoke Idish.
Her boss was silent for a couple of seconds. “How is the progress on Project: Daemonium Renatus?” A single bead of sweat rolled down her forehead but she managed to sound confided while answering, “The project is moving along swiftly. I am receiving regular updates from Facility Lord Milgram, according to whom the experiments are nearing their end. Results are to be expected in no less than a couple weeks.” This was a lie. Milgram had not used his communication orb for over a week and the Administrator still didn’t know what was going on. However, she needed to give a timeline of when to expect results, unless she wanted to be replaced.
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The silence that greeted her was unnerving. She was about to test if the communication orb had malfunctioned, when the voice started to speak again, “Reiterate the procedures you took to secure Facility X.” Not a single emotion could be guessed from the tone of the Overseer’s voice. Not caught off guard by the sudden shift in topic she answered:
“The facility is located in the middle of the Scorching Barrens, away from any settlements, and with our most competent and loyal members stationed there. Facility Lord Milgram, who has performed exceptionally in all loyalty tests, is in control of the facility and regularly sends status updates through his communication orb. Only the city of Seran is close by, so that we can interfere quickly, in the unlikely event that something goes wrong. We have enlisted mercenary crews, with no ties to any existing force, to circle the Facility and intercept any caravans that might wander into their territory. All of them are led by a mage loyal to us. Their overall power level is relatively minor, so as not to arouse suspicion.
However, they are still more than capable of dealing with any threat that Sanktrum or the Scorching Barrens may throw at them. We have also unleashed 12 specimens of modified sandworms from Facility M6, to further discourage any explorers. These specimens have a higher aptitude for earth magic than their common brethren, but are still rooted to one territory so they were deemed a good fit.”
Another pause. Hadn't she feared for her career and life, Eleura would have snapped at her boss to hurry up. “Most of my fellow Overseers have deemed you too inexperienced for this position, but I gave it to you because I saw your potential. You possess talent that the others ignore because of your youth.” Eleura couldn't help her mouth from twitching when she heard that. Not experienced enough because of her youth. Why couldn’t the Overseer be honest? The others didn’t believe in her because she wasn’t human. It was as simple as that.
“I want you to have a chance to stand with us at the top when we change the world. Knowledge is power and we have both in abundance. This project will make you see face-to-face with us Overseers. Maybe you will join our ranks. This could await you if you succeed. But if you fail…Do not disappoint me.” With that a familiar humming filled the room, signaling the shut down of the orb.
A moment passed before Eleura flipped it a gesture that wasn't fitting for a woman of her status. “Fuck you, you giant, sadistic, son of a bitch,” she mumbled under her breath. The gratitude that she had once felt for the Second Overseer’s action in giving her control of Project: Daemonium Renatus had shrunken to the size of a kernel. Yes, he had taken a gamble when selecting her, but not before taking the necessary precautions to jump ship if it turned out to sink. He was as heartless as anyone at the top of the Institution.
She knew that his actions were entirely logical and justified, but she was already fuming at this point. This entire situation with Facility Lord Milgram not responding, possibly ending everything she had ever worked for, was taking a heavier mental toll than she had imagined.
She was about to storm out of the door, when one of her rings started glowing in a light shade of green, signaling the presence of somebody nearby. None of her underlings should see her in a state like this, so she took some time to compose herself before exiting the room. She had to duck so that her horns didn’t scrape the top of the doorframe.
Outside, holding a stack of papers, stood her new assistant with a perfectly neutral expression. It had been risky to inform somebody else of the unresponsiveness of Facility X, but Eleura had to do it if she wanted a chance to fix things. This new assistant was an older woman that was recommended to her by one of her few ‘friends’ in exchange for a large number of favours. She wasn't happy with the arrangement, but couldn't think of something better. “What is it?” Eleura asked in a slightly angrier tone than necessary.
“The agents that were sent out to investigate what happened to Facility X have reported their findings. What they found, was that the entire facility and some of its surroundings have completely disappeared.” Eleura blinked a couple of times before processing that. The agents were lent to her by the previously mentioned ‘friend’ and were probably subpar at best, but she was sure that they were professional.
“What do you mean by disappeared?” She slowly asked. “From what they reported it looked like the entire building complex had vanished into thin air, only leaving behind a giant hole. Furthermore, their devices picked up that the Veil between realms in that location was unnaturally thin,” the assistant said in a completely neutral tone, despite the magnitude of it. ‘Something disturbed the reality there.’ Reality manipulation was a big part of the project but it was obvious that something had gone terribly wrong. The entire facility disappearing? That spelled disaster.
“Any more grave news?” The Administrator asked, almost rhetorically. “Yes, actually there are a couple more.” Eleura suppressed a sigh and beckoned her to continue. “The mercenaries to the west had an incident, where two unknown figures stole supplies from them and killed three people. In response, a hunting group that included our mage was dispatched to deal with them.” The assistant flipped the document she was holding, creating an unintentional dramatic pause.
“All members of the hunting group were killed. Some of the deaths were caused by normal means, like slashing or piercing wounds. Others were more unnatural. These include the draining of all life essence by way of manifestation of an abyssal leach inside the body, and the disappearance of the heart. This happened without any noticeable wounds from the outside.”Eleura felt her headache grow.
'That definitely sounds like someone with the ability to manipulate reality. It seems that Milgrim at least completed the mission to some extent. Obviously not completely, or else we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.’
“To summarise, we have two unknown individuals, with at least one of them being capable of reality manipulation, running around. I assume you have calculated, using the position of the camp and the site of the incident, where they will be heading?” The woman nodded her head. She was definitely more useful than Eleura’s previous assistant.
“Their approximated path should lead them directly to Seran.” Eleura almost released a sigh of relief. Finally, things were starting to look up. “Inform me of anyone who enters the city and if deemed necessary detain them. If this is the test subject, then they are extremely dangerous. Don't cause a big commotion or let any members know of this. Hell, pay the local assassin guild to do it.”
At long last, a small smile played across the assistant’s lips. “It just so happens that two individuals arrived in Seran this noon. Our informants in the city guard heard about them.” A smile lit up Eleura's face. “See to it that the assassin guild captures them. I expect utmost professionalism from them. There should be a picture of the test subject in one of the folders on Project: Daemonium Renatus. Give it to them and make sure that they handle it quickly. ”