ACT 4: Isern

15.

Isern had been situated at the base of a mountain range. The mountain range had not been as impressive as Versus, however. The Gwyn River ran through the centre of the town, presumably originating from the mountains. Isern was large, larger than anything Ashe had ever seen in her life. Even now during the night, there had been many people outside seemingly just because they wanted to. The trio stood at one entrance of Isern. Isern was made up of many stone buildings mixed with a few wooden houses. Ashe stared at the stone buildings, she had never seen this many before. Isern was also made of many streets and alleyways. A large stone building could be seen towering over the rest of the town. She followed Thorin's lead as they walked through the city. People eyed them as they walked. The people of Isern felt different to Ashe. They seemed...happy. "I get a different feel to this town. It feels different compared to Nezzagwyn." Ashe said.

"The majority of people are casters. That is why it is different." Thorin answered.

As they passed an alleyway, a person bumped into Ashe. She quickly apologised but the person just continued forward. "What was that about?" Florian asked.

"Probably a slave that is trying to escape," Thorin said.

"A slave?"

Thorin nodded. "It is more common in the more affluent areas. Casters buy mysur-slaves from different slave traders."

"What do these slaves do?" Ashe asked.

"Anything their owner bids them to do."

"And if they refuse?"

Thorin hesitated before she answered. "A painful death."

"Why don't they just fight back?" Florian asked.

Thorin glared at him. "Such a misguided question." She didn't speak further, she just walked forward. Ashe watched as Thorin walked a bit faster than before. She whispered to Florian. "I think you are being a little insensitive. Casters are much more powerful than mysurs. And I don't think it is so simple as to fight when mysurs have been oppressed for a thousand years." Florian did not say anything, he just frowned.

Thorin paused ahead of them, she then dragged them into an alleyway.

"What is wrong?" Ashe asked.

Thorin pointed to the street. "Watch."

They watched the street. At first, a blue-robed soldier entered their view. He held a whip in one hand. Hitting it occasionally against the ground. The soldier walked confidently. Following the soldier were men. They had metal cuffs around their hands. Their feet had also been cuffed with a loose chain. Ashe thought that it might be to refrain them from running. The men also had a large metal cuff around their neck which was attached to one another. The men had been shirtless, their bodies had been bruised. Ashe could make out slash marks. The men looked to the ground as they walked. They had sad expressions on their faces. A soldier walked behind them as well, equipped with a whip. As the men passed, Ashe noticed the street being filled once again with people. "What was that about?" She asked. She watched as Thorin rubbed her eyes.

"Metalworkers." "They are the ones we are going to save," Thorin said.

Ashe noticed that her voice had been softer than usual.

Thorin walked out into the road. "Come on, let's find an inn."

Thorin led them to a stone building that had a small drawing of a house on it. As they entered the inn, they were met with a young man that stood behind a counter.

"Welcome to the Lockler Inn!" The young man said with a smile. The young man eyed the trio. "We offer rooms at 2 sentz per person. You shall not have to pay for your slave." He said while gesturing at Thorin. Florian was about to interject but he was stopped by Thorin. Ashe reached for the pouch that hung from her belt. She soon realised that something had been wrong. The pouch that had to be there was missing. When did it go missing? Ashe turned to the group and whispered what had happened. Thorin sighed. She then took off one of her shoes revealing a few hidden pieces of sentz. She then handed it to the young man. He reluctantly accepted the jade pieces. They then followed him upstairs where he showed them to their rooms. Ashe could hear that there had been other people staying here. Some had been talking loudly within their rooms while others made weird...sounds. They had two rooms, which were right next to each other. The rooms were different from what she was accustomed to. It was made of a bed that was lifted by some sort of wooden foundation. There had been a writing desk with parchment and ink prepared. There had also been buckets filled with water as well as a variety of mugs. They decided that before sleeping they would discuss the plans for the next day.

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"This is going to be bad," Thorin said. "I used the last of my sentz for these rooms."

Ashe apologised for losing the pouch.

"That is just the way this town works. Just be more careful next time." Thorin said.

Ashe nodded.

"How are we going to free those metalworkers?" Florian asked.

"I don't think we can plan anything until Alaric arrives," Ashe said, causing Florian to roll his eyes. Thorin watched the exchange.

"I have to agree with Ashe. There is nothing we can do right now. We need to get our hands on some sentz as well. We only have this room for the night." Thorin said.

Florian sighed. "What if he doesn't make it?"

"What happened to you?" Ashe asked angrily.

Florian shrugged.

"He will be here. He survived a fall from Versus, unscathed. One man is not going to stop him." Thorin said.

Ashe noted how Thorin changed in her opinions of Alaric.

"We separate at first light. We try to find out any information on Chapman or how to infiltrate his factory. We also need to find ways to make money." Thorin explained.

"Factory?" Ashe asked.

Thorin nodded. "The tall building, it is Chapman's metal factory." Thorin eyed the tome that was attached to Ashe. "What is that?"

Ashe grabbed the tome. It had been damp. "Alaric gave this to me. I think he got it at Versus." They paged through the large book. They could not read the strange text. Ashe paused on one page that had text that looked familiar to her. She tapped Florian. "Does this portion look familiar?" She asked. Florian looked at the text then saw what she meant. "It resembles the 'enhance' cast. But there are parts I cannot read." He said.

Ashe nodded. "That means this entire book is written in Heinzidal text."

"Then why can you not read it?" Thorin asked.

Florian shrugged.

Ashe thought before answering. "Perhaps it is written in all forms of the text." Alaric would be proud of me.

Thorin and Florian still looked confused.

"I assume, both Florian and I can only read 'Ilium' Heinzidal text. Therefore we can make out a few symbols. Alaric would only be able to read 'Phen' text. Since we can't comprehend most of the text, it is probably written in all three text forms."

"Did you get any of that?" Florian asked as he turned to Thorin, who shook her head. Alaric would understand.

Ashe spent a few minutes trying to decipher the text.

"There is another problem," Florian said.

Ashe looked at him, eyebrows raised.

Florian then placed his sheathed sword in his hands. "I can't use this sword."

Ashe and Thorin waited for him to explain further.

"I tried to use it on the masked person earlier, but when I grabbed the blade...it sucked all my energy."

Ashe held her hands out. "Let me try."

Florian placed the blade in her hands. She pulled at the golden hilt revealing the crimson blade with golden runes. Once the blade had been fully removed from the sheath, she felt what Florian had spoken about. She felt her energy draining rapidly. She nearly lost consciousness when she finally dropped the blade. The draining stopped immediately.

"What in the world is that?" Ashe asked.

Thorin picked up the blade. She held it firmly. "I do not feel anything," She said.

"Strange." "You can keep it then," Florian said.

"No, this blade is way too...blatant. I prefer my own."

Florian sighed but took the blade. He sheathed it and placed it against his back.

"We should head to bed," Ashe announced. The rest nodded. Florian left for his room. Thorin and Ashe shared a bed. The room was dark. She did not face Thorin.

"Your opinion on Alaric has changed," Ashe whispered. She heard no response for a while. She thought Thorin had been asleep before a voice whispered back.

"He is different to what I thought him to be." "At first, I thought he was a stuck up caster who believed that he was better than everyone else. But...now I guess...he is a little more relatable. Yes, he still has rude tendencies but I don't think we understand all the pain under his mask."

Ashe chuckled lightly. "I feel a similar way to you."

Thorin went quiet again. "There's another we have to worry about."

"I know."

Ashe allowed the dark of the night to wash over her and finally fell asleep.