Ever since Nyx had suddenly appeared in the back of the farmer’s cart on the road to Strahaim, they’d bided their time until an opportunity to change course revealed itself. For hours Nyx had lain against that battered wooden surface, amidst a sizable heap of produce, without the kind of agency that allowed them to simply move on.
At last, Nyx was free! Well, as free as any consciousness bound to a physically immobile existence could be… Then again that was the benefit of outsourcing such needs. So until Nyx was fully prepared to finalize the details of the prospective anchor location, Valencia would have legs for the both of them. Or rather: wheels, in the case of utilizing a carriage. Which at the moment they were.
Since early that morning the hunt had been on for the two of them to find a location around the city worth hosting Nyx’s domain anchor. They first started with areas that Valencia had determined could best accommodate such an undertaking. However nothing called out to Nyx yet, and they’d started improvising.
Fortunately, Valencia had long since become a competent navigator of both the local area and the bureaucracy after years in her position. Just as well, since Nyx had no desire to get involved in the intricacies of human society.
“See anywhere you’d like to settle?” Valencia asked, pulling Nyx out of their thoughts while they rode through the streets in the back of the closed carriage.
“I- ah, I’m not sure” Nyx admitted, doing a half hearted scan of the area passing within its domain. What appeared to be plain warehouses, workshops, and stacks of freight flicked through the periphery. Obviously this was a sector of the city devoted to industry, but nothing called out to Nyx yet.
“If that’s the case” Valencia said, muffling a yawn “why don’t we take a break?” They’d had a long night and only a brief intermission where Valencia reached out to the relevant parties to organize the day's events.
“That’s… fine” Nyx eventually allowed. “I didn’t think I’d be this discerning when we initially discussed this all.”
“No it’s fine, you should do what feels right” She nodded thoughtfully while glancing out at the passing street “it could be just as important for your development as the logistical considerations”.
After Valencia signaled for the driver to head to the city center, they began discussing other subjects. She had figured this would be a good moment to give more insights into the people and institutions of Strahaim aside from matters of leadership. For a while they talked about anything from the functions of the guilds, to the kinds of lives many of the citizens lead, various recreational activities of the mortal races, and a few other causal topics. It was a pleasant distraction that also served to supplement Nyx’s lacking knowledge of the larger world.
“You know” Nyx said, “we’ve avoided the central district up until now. Any reason it hasn’t been on your list of preferred locations?”
“Yes, actually.” Valencia sighed “The city assembly represents the seat of power in Strahaim, and the entire district serves as the playground of the elites because of it.”
“Ah, so more trouble than it’s worth to set up shop in?” Nyx clarified.
“That’s… the simplified conclusion, yes.” Valencia conceded. “The guild leaders will push to get some sort of special claim on you. By having your domain overlap with the central district it might cause a major cascade of grievances to be filed against us. Currently they all fight for control, but if a few banded together to stage a coup over the magi’s authority?”
“-They would claim me?“ Nyx asked with a guarded tone.
“Not exactly what I meant,” Valencia sighed “but they would ultimately not hesitate to do so if they could...” she said with solemnity.
The conversation dwindled from that point, with the occasional clack of the wheels against the imperfect pavement creating a rhythmic ambience. Eventually they turned onto a wide avenue with more expansive buildings along its length. The architecture was more refined here, with less hard edges and smoother surfaces culminating in flowing sight lines all the way towards the pinnacle.
A massive tower bordered by high crenelated castle walls loomed at the very end of the lane. The base of the tower seemed to be surrounded by a huge open plaza, where a mass of citizens mulled about. Street merchants hawking wares, guilds advertising recruitment, a few bulletin boards with either bounties or assorted advertisements.
A faint tingling sensation grew as Nyx was carried through toward the square. Perhaps it was the nerves, but something felt strange about how the feeling persisted. Was this just the accumulation of energies from the many living signatures passing through the domain? It was definitely the highest density of mortals Nyx had encountered on their meanderings with Valencia so far…
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Here we are” Valencia finally called out, “the city assembly of Strahaim.”
The shifting crowds within the plaza parted to allow the carriage through, and just as seamlessly reconverged as it moved past. It appeared the locals had adapted to the officials that usually came and went from the base of the tower itself, and no one was especially affected by their presence.
The driver, who had been accompanied at the front by a high ranking guard, brought the carriage into a small roundabout at the forefront of the structure. Similar scenes played throughout the surrounding space, where a steady flow of people either arrived or departed using hired transport.
“In you go” Valencia said, looking between Nyx who was propped up against the rear facing seat and an open trunk that sat on the floor between them.
“Is this really necessary?” Nyx muttered.
“The only other option is to remain here while I enter the assembly,” Valencia pointed out, “and that could prove-”
“Alright, alright, I understand.” Nyx with a long suffering mental sigh that Valencia definitely picked up on. “Let’s get whatever you need handled here done quickly, this place makes me feel… strange.”
“Ah, right” She said, gently grabbing Nyx’s crystalline form and placing them within the trunk. “Sensing the mass of people around here must be having adverse effects.”
“Hopefully none of them sense me as well…” Nyx said.
“I wouldn’t worry about it overmuch.” Valencia said as she finished fastening Nyx within. “Both the carriage and trunk have strong [ Obfuscation ] enchantments which cloud most sensory skills. From the outside, at least.”
“Won’t it be obvious you’re hiding something then?” asked Nyx from inside the trunk, which Valencia had pulled out and passed off to the guardsman to carry along as she walked.
“It is not at all irregular for those of high status to hide their secrets in plain sight” Valencia said through the mental link, stifling a laugh “you’ll surely relate when you start seeing skeletons stacking up in your closet.”
“Mmm, a dungeon joke?” Nyx said unamused “Do not provoke me Valencia Tharn. I will devote the rest of my existence to compile a list of disgustingly humorless slights to use against the mortal races.”
“At least I’ll be safe from such vile methods due to our agreement.” Valencia quipped.
“Strange, I must have overlooked the inclusion of an ‘emotional damage clause’ when signing…” Nyx retorted.
Setting aside their unproductive conflict for now, the small group had left the carriage behind and ascended the wide steps to the entrance. A few people offered greetings to Valencia as she went, ignoring the stoic guard who was transporting a conspicuous trunk behind her.
The space opened up into a wide circular room with minimal adornments aside from a grand staircase on the opposing side. Yet the lack of overt opulence did not diminish the simple elegance of the chamber, instead the focus was drawn up the stairs or to the corridors that split off and away.
Most of the people within consisted of more scholarly looking types than the more varied population outside amidst the square. Individual clerks and administrators ran about the groups of chatting associates who were no doubt discussing relevant business dealings or academic studies. None of which were just idly gossiping while avoiding their obligations, surely.
“Valencia.” Nyx said with growing concern “Something is wrong.”
The sensation that had been building somewhere within Nyx had suddenly become unbearable, and the trunk they were strapped to was now visibly vibrating. The guardsman paused and looked to Valencia for orders but before she could advise him to turn around it was too late. The trunk leapt from his arms and fell to the floor with a resonant thump, attracting no small amount of attention. It shuddered for a second before it started rapidly sliding along the smooth marble floor in a straight line, sweeping the legs out from under some unprepared bystanders. Shouts of objection rang out from the victims of the tumbling, and soon the ripple of commotion had spread throughout most of the chamber.
Valencia yelled for the guard to run and request backup, and then turned and ran right after the getaway trunk.
“Nyx?!” She practically shouted into the weakening mental link “What in the hells is happening?”
“Being. Pulled. Somewhere.” Nyx forced out, the resonant energies pulling them along straining the mental connection.
Finally the trunk slowed to a stop near the dead center of the chamber and began hovering. Exclamations from the crowd were ramping up as people backed away. Had someone lost their mind trying to sneak some dangerous unstable artifact in here?
A team of guards came in and formed a loose circle around the base of the floating trunk while subordinate magi had shown up and were peppering Valencia with questions on what to do. Frankly, Valencia had no idea what was happening but gave basic tasks to the lesser mages to calm them down. Those who could began casting identifying spells or reaching out with mana manipulation to telekinetically coax the trunk back to the floor. None of it had a visible effect.
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[ ALERT: Civilization artifact discovered! Domain core slot filled. (1/1) ]
[ Anchoring domain… ]
[ Congratulations, you have claimed the core slot of a civilization artifact! Classification changed from (Domain Core) to (Civilization Core). Check status for details… ]
So much for avoiding attention. Nyx muttered before their consciousness gave out.