Dennis was so excited. He spent hours trying to convince Wyatt to let them get to Korilstadt. Apparently Judith was here before, but Dennis just never bothered coming to this area in space. They were hidden using the shrubs from the Goddess of life’s new garden made into talismans and jewelry, to better hide their use. It was good for cloaking from all forms of divination except for those with God blood, but honestly would they even bother.
He was just walking down a street with tall buildings of stone, metal, and glass along with Judith, both of them sealed by Wyatt’s magecraft, not letting a hint of magic escape. They were undetectable by most means. He rode a Slughorse, while Judith preferred to walk beside him sporting a decorated set of unenchanted metal armor. They accompanied a large black box covered in rods and twisting shapes that warped it’s very planar dimensions to fit into any shape making it pass between alleyways and in between people if need be. Inside held equipment for the trade and a small space containing dummies that mimicked his shadowy facade. Honestly with how weird everyone else in here was, they wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb.
One hooded wizard was followed by golems the shape of cracked glass, as if the air simply broke into shards and exposed a void of stars inside it. A trail of priests carrying an ornate palanquin, and within it lay a golden statue of a beast with seven heads and ten horns. A gang of children with multicolored hair in what appeared to be uniforms of dark blue and white, carrying weapons with traces of animancy. Basically everyone that walked these streets had a story to tell, and he was not a being above others but a simple man among them. He laughed at the thought.
They still needed to meet the envoys of the local republic though, and considering that they just suddenly popped up in the area the same day they sent the message, it had a real chance to screw with their enemies. They come not as Dennis and Judith, but mere ambassadors and wealthy patrons hoping to buy an area for shops and some weapons deals.
Honestly, Dennis didn’t really even care about the weapons part. Judith had the idea of making a bar here, saying that the vibes were right. And if Dennis and Wyatt learned anything about Judith is that: One, she had a liver made of tungsten; and two, her hunches were pretty spot on.
They had two objectives, find a soul they could be used to repair Charle’s damage in the infamous korilstadt black market, and make sure the following deals would open up the possibility for a non-aggression pact with the republic. Making an enemy of a faction with a feasibly infinite fire power via hero calling would be foolish. The main property of korilstadt that made it fearsome was that somehow all summoned heroes, reincarnators, transmigrators, and regressors were all drawn to this place.
All of these individuals had one thing in common, a wish. A wish to run away. To some place different. Sometimes the stories they had were seeped in misery, sometimes they lusted for more, and sometimes they wanted to cast off who they were and be something different. Dennis admired that quality about this place. He too wanted more. Was it such a sin to want more?
It is because of this that he might find kindred spirits in a land of runaways and carve a place he might be able to run away to one day. He wanted others to have the same chance too.
Lightning sparked in the night sky, allowing the humid air to drink in the change in energy. It arced the tall buildings and danced through glass. It was taller than the mountains of the underworld as it seemed to pierce the very sky. A dark stone tower stood tall surrounded by meat carts and corn stalls. Various shops selling services and products of domesticity hugged the big tower as if it did not fear the possibility of the large thing falling on top of it. Houses were built around it, stacking one after another as if it was trying to reach it’s peak, but failing before it even started. It’s perimeter covering a large part of the view, as if half the world was engulfed in blackened stone. It was marked with sigils, runes, circles, and promises.
The very place that pulled all the outcasts of the world, Korilstadt.
A massive gate was opened, built by mile-long thick planks of wood that sprouted branches and leaves. The gate had wildlife dancing upon it, with birds that sung of a paradise beyond its canopy and insects gliding on each leaf. It was as if the trees that made the very gate remembered what they were before being carved into the shape and began listening to the nature that it once lost.
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As lovely as it was, his eyes was drawn to an unassuming carriage made of metal parked in one of the meat carts that littered the area. Judith saw the same and stopped Dennis. Her face still and calm, which betrayed the piercing red of her eyes.
Just next to it was a human with long black unkempt hair, clear light-brown skin, sporting a short physique, and green eyes that shone like emeralds in the lamplight. He was fitted in a black angular suit that humans were fond of, with blocky black and white shoes.
The man exuded an aura of green shown by the lich’s animancy and years of expertise, it was as if a man was attuned to slow and permanent change. It reminded him of slugs and snails at the ammount of aetheric slime coating the man. One word could describe him, regardless of the ill fitting clothes that might not fit him, it would be the word ‘inevitable’. As if all he does, even if it might take forever, yet will reach it’s desired outcome. He moves slowly and steadily, as if the ground bends to his very will, shifting and rearranging itself to more easily accommodate his shape.
A hero, a real one, one that has significant ontological weight to it’s being. This was entirely unexpected. Why was someone close to their level here of all places, and why were they out in the open.
Behind the man was a brown haired woman wearing a pointed cloak with cloth wraps completely bandaging the limbs. Each strand of hair was never out of place as it was spun in a braid that wrapped her head that mimicked a garland of wheat. She wore a robe that covered every inch of skin that wasn’t already hugged by the wraps. Her eyes blue and clear as it stared down like she’s always watching something else more interesting than whats happening around her. She looked tired. She would be mistaken for a convent nun, if not for her soul’s shape.
It exuded a faint light as if the thing was hiding behind a dark hill just waiting to emerge, but never showing itself. Like a dagger poised to strike at any moment. A secret given form, yet obscured just enough to deceive anyone. Well, almost anyone. A word could be seen that surrounded her very being, ‘Illusion’. A lie that stacked upon itself again and again, solidified and refined to trace the very edges of the cloth woven from fate, like a tailors chalk. It felt as though she tugged at the strings of causality unraveling it with but a mere touch, and wove it to the pattern she desires with just as much ease.
The two beings waiting idly by. Two beings, one that was unstoppable and inevitable, a calamity waiting to happen. And one that could point the being beside her.
Judith and Dennis returned to their calm demeanor and visited one of the carts selling bread stuffed with tomatoes, meats, and cheeses. They passed the mile-long entryway, while marking the two beings.
Dennis might not have shown it before when he was a soul possessing his own form, but now that he was cursed by both death and life he started to sweat. Just a small wisp of fear reached him. Calm and collected, but afraid nonetheless.
Judith however had none of it. She recognized the blood of something she felled a long time ago, the very same one that drowned the ones she cared about. Judith was calm, eerily calm, a type of calm that could only be felt in moments of tranquil euphoria. Yet what she felt was not joy, it was a rage that did not crackle, an anger that did not burn. It was malice, a deep dark ocean of malice. But her friend was here, so she would not move, she will wait. She won’t do anything, not here anyway.
He silently voiced the dead skin and dust and remnants of replace miniscule parts of the body and slowly pushed it to his side. Beneath the outfit, beneath his skin, the microscopic cells that formed the dust in the air charged a communication sigil to his vizier. He slowly made the same marks within his friend, twisting them so that she could hear the same.
“Dennis what’s wrong?”
“We saw two beings Wyatt, two very powerful individuals, ones that I have no recollection of knowing. Almost as powerful as us, but not just yet. I need you to search our databases for any potential beings. If you can, I want to know their allegiance and history.”
“How powerful?”
“If we were to use the adventurer ranking system these humans use, I’d bet SSS+. A mythical figure among our kind, just short of being a fable. It’s strange, why would anyone send someone this important here on such short notice. This is more than a coincidence, they should be national weapons. And we know Korilstadt is strong, but the monsters we’ve faced long ago are either dead or sleeping. Try to find out anything you can.”
“On it. It might take some time however, so I need you guys to lay low for a bit. If they are as powerful as you say they are, and they happen to be an enemy then it’s safer we send a letter informing the republic of our late arrival. Call it an accident or a detour.”
“Thanks, I should probably hide the box with my shadow copies in it. It could be used to escape if anything goes awry.”
“I’ll report to you if I find anything important. Judith, protect Dennis. I may have the samsara Dennis gave me, and if worse comes to worst you’d both be remade here, but we cannot guarantee that my position is completely safe. Always assume the worst. Meet with the republic for the deal, do what else needs to be done then get out.”
“Thanks, we’ll talk to you later.”
Dennis turned off the sigil and headed for an inn.
He took one last glance at the two using the reflective armor of Judith and he saw something that startled him. Two eyes were staring straight at them.