Chapter 27: Putting it Off
Nara had lost her nerve. So, she did what any coherent and relatively mentally stable adult would do, given her circumstances, and contacted her therapist. Luckily, she needed neither cash nor an appointment.
“I thought you said religion and gods existed in your world?” Redell asked.
“Like, not really. They haven’t appeared in front of people like they do here. If they did, there wouldn’t be such an argument over whether they exist or not, and who’s right. They just do that here? Descend out of nowhere?”
“Gods make the rare appearance publicly in the divine plaza, but usually not to individuals. More often, the gods speak to their priests.”
“Why is that?”
“You’ve experienced it, haven’t you? The weight of a divine presence is too much for a single individual to bear. Appearing before a crowd, with no particular focus, balances their aura among many.”
“You think he’ll show up again, at the divine plaza? If I go there again to try to ask some questions?”
Redell inclined an eyebrow, “You may not realize but gods are not restricted to manifest in just the divine plaza. They manifest wherever they please. There are almost no restrictions to their manifestations.”
“Welp. I did not know that. You sure know a lot about the gods though, Redell. Is that level of knowledge typical?”
“Did I not mention I was a priest of Healer?”
“You did not,” Nara said, astounded.
That explained why Redell was the busiest of the four. He had his research as well as his duties as a priest. It also explained why her classes with him was at night, since he was usually busy during the day.
“Will you seek Knowledge or Traveler again?”
“I’m a little freaked out right now,” Nara said, “so I might put it off.”
She would, in fact, put it off.
*****
A kid ran up to a tall man. The child wore a low-quality long shirt and lose pants combo, typical for the less affluent residents of Shanyin. The buildings reflected the child’s class, no more than two to three stories tall, made of rougher, cheaper stone than Sanshi. The buildings were haphazard, alleyways narrow and jagged, as if they had been constructed with no foresight or planning. Paths dead-ended, stairs climbed up then sloped down, and crossroads led to more crossroads that branched off in unequal directions. It was as if the city had been built on top of jagged terrain, unleveled and untamed. Whoever had designed the city should be investigated for rampant and unprofessional drug use during working hours.
“Uncle John, pick me up!” The child said, reaching up with the arms to the man.
“Hey there, little Rag. No problem,” He lifted the child onto his shoulders, “Hup! Up we go. How’s the view up there?”
“You’re so tall Uncle John! When I grow up, I want to be as tall as you!”
John Aurelius, also known as Uncle John by the residents of Shanyin, was a few inches over 6 feet tall. His hair, a dirty blond, and his eyes, a hazel-green, were uncommon for the black haired and black-eyed locals. His dress was unusual, a simple white collared shirt in line with one found on Earth, and simple grey slacks. No matter what he wore, he would stand out among the locals, so he wore what he was most comfortable in. Robes were not his thing, although he wore them as necessary or for fun.
“Eufemia, dear, could you look at this? My cooling array has been inconsistent. The groceries don’t stay fresh for as long. It must go out when I don’t notice.”
“You old bag, I’m not a ritualist. Hurry up and pay for a new array, before your food starts to spoil.”
“I will, miss Eufemia, so please could you help me out this time?”
John’s companion was Eufemia Teresina, a celestine woman of wine-red hair and matching eyes. Her hair had the distinctive, metallic shine of celestines and the impossible hair and eye colors that differentiated them from humans. They were also all extraordinarily beautiful, even without the beautifying effects of rank ups.
Eufemia was no exception. She exuded allure and grace, like an untouchable star of a play, an A-list Hollywood celebrity. Still, she crouched down, pulling tools from a dimensional storage space.
“I make no promises, old lady. I have no formal ritual training. And this is the last time, get this fixed or replaced properly.”
The cooling array shone, lit up with one of Eufemia’s tools. She performed a diagnostic and performed maintenance the array. The unique properties of Shanyin often caused fluctuations in long term arrays and the ambient magic that made rituals particularly difficult to cast, maintain, or repair.
She altered the array slightly, waiting with bated breath to see if the array would fizzle out. It held. She dusted off her hands and robe and stepped back. It was the old woman’s lucky day.
“If it fizzles out later, it’s not my fault,” Eufemia said.
“Yes, yes, dear. Thank you so much.”
“Save it, it’s not like I’m getting paid for this,” she grumbled.
“Uncle John!” Little Rag up top John’s shoulders said, “Here! Payment!”
The child handed him a small candy. It was round and marble like, with a citrus-y yellow orange color indicative of its flavor. Little Rag’s hands were enemies of sensible hygiene, but John accepted the candy with a happy smile. However, he respected the tenants of professor sanitation, and wouldn’t put the candy in his mouth, pocketing it instead.
“Well, well! consider our services paid for in full! What a good lad, helping your auntie out.”
Eufemia rolled her eyes, “Charity doesn’t pay, John.”
“It does pay,” John said, “It fills the piggybank of the heart.” He tucked the candy into his dimensional inventory like it was some precious treasure. He made an exaggerated motion of forming a heart with his hands and smiled with his charmingly lopsided and good-natured smile that everyone around him couldn’t help but like, Eufemia included.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“I don’t know what a piggybank is, John. And no, I don’t want to know.”
The two navigated the crooked streets, greeting the residents that called out to them in the evening sun. They arrived at their office, a dingy sign reading, “J&E Investigation Agency”.
“Can we really call ourselves an investigation agency?” Eufemia muttered as she yanked open the door that was partially stuck, “Just on the way here we’ve solved just about every random problem these people have. ‘Oh Mister John, could you fix my door? Uncle John, my toy is broken. Miss Eufemia, my glowstone lantern is flickering, what could be the issue?’”
“We do investigations.” John defended.
“We do odd jobs. So?” Eufemia said, plopping onto a ratty couch in a slovenly position, “Have you made any progress on that main case of yours? The one that gave us our first essences?”
“No,” John said, “But we’re at least in the right city.”
“We’re below the right city,” Eufemia said. “In more ways than one.”
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Racial Ability: [Case Files]
Receive cases related to your situation and surroundings. Can manifest magic into physical objects as reward for completing cases. Gain the ability to loot enemies.
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“What was that first case of yours again? Escape Nekroz and make it to Sanshi?”
“That’s right.”
“What’s about second case? Any changes?”
“Unchanged, ‘Find ???’.’”
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Essence Case 2: Find and identify [???]
-[???] may possess the method of interdimensional travel and the method to return to Earth.
-[???] has an anti-identification ability and cannot be identified.
-[???] has an anti-tracking ability and cannot be tracked.
Rewards:
[John Aurelius]: Renewal Essence
[Eufemia Teresina]: Light Essence
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Another of John’s racial abilities, Partner-In-Crime, allowed him to share the effects of most of his racial abilities with one other person.
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Racial Ability: [Partners-In-Crime]
Share your racial abilities with allies, with a limit determined by rank.
Current limit: 1
Current Partner(s): Eufemia Teresina
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“Step one was make it to Sanshi,” Eufemia said, counting off with her fingers. “And what a loaded step that was, escaping Nekroz was a nightmare.”
“Look on the bright side: You wanted to escape to begin with, hence our partnership,” John pointed out, “And you got a free essence on top of it.”
“I can’t say I’m not satisfied with the rewards thus far,” Eufemia admitted, “If I was going to escape Nekroz anyway, I may as well go with the party with the best prospects.”
“Well I’m chuffed, I’m the best prospect? ‘Fraid to say I’m married.”
Eufemia rolled her eyes, “I haven’t forgotten you’re married, John. You won’t shut up about your wife and kids.”
“I can’t wait to surprise them with all this magic,” John said, “healing magic is wonderous.”
“If magic even works on your world,” Eufemia pointed out, “With what I’ve heard, who knows?” She leaned forward, shifting her posture into one of focus, “Why did your case direct us to Sanshi?”
“Beyond the cases that appear because of circumstances, it seems these essence cases are generated from my goal to return to Earth.”
“But the second case says nothing about Sanshi. What if this quest is some unhinged, purposeless manifestation of magic?”
“I believe in my ability.” John said, his hands on his hips in exaggerated, playful confidence, “But, logically, my ability would not direct us to Sanshi if this mystery person was not there. I think this is its way of getting around the anti-tracking this person has.”
“What can we do?”
“The only thing we can do. Get up there and start making friends.”
“You mean, get up there and start searching.”
“That’s what I said,” John said innocently.
*****
John and Eufemia made their way through the winding streets of Shanyin. Shanyin was unique for its dimensional anomalies—paths led unexpectedly to other paths, irrespective of space, as if invisible portals warped you to another location in the city. These links gradually changed over time, and only one family within the city had the capability to record the changes—The House of Nisei. Of the three families that distinguished themselves from the six foundation families, the Nisei was famed for their intelligence gathering capabilities and management of the underworld.
Shadows gather where there is light. It was impossible to eradicate the underworld, so the Nisei managed it to acceptable levels. As long as certain lines were not crossed, the residents of Shanyin carved out a comfortable life for themselves in shades of grey. Darker corners still existed, but they lacked the protections the accord with the Nisei offered.
“John dear,” a neighbor called out to him, waving urgently with her hand, “that shadow path no longer leads to the valley market. What a shame, it has been such a shortcut. Good things just don’t last around here.”
“Where does it lead now?” John asked.
“Towards the Moonlight Society. That back-alley way. I suppose my daughter can come home easier. That’s not too bad.”
“Thanks for letting me know, Laona.”
“Oh, for you dear, anytime. If you’re stopping by the society, let my daughter know, would you hon?”
“Of course, Laona.”
John and Eufemia had an appointment with the Nisei. Their manor occupied the tallest location in Shanyin, easily visible for the rest of the residents. Of course, just beelining towards the hill would not get you there, not in Shanyin, at least. That was a quick way to lose yourself in the maze-like astral space, beyond even the boundaries of the city. And beyond the boundaries of the city, monsters stalked the lands to unleash their fury as they inevitably decayed.
Despite its distance visually from John and Eufemia, the Nisei manor was only a few shadow paths away. The shadow path to the Moonlight Society reduced the total distance they needed to cover, if the shadow path near the Moonlight Society hadn’t shifted its own connection to the manor.
Shadow paths looked as if the path ahead was obscured in darkness. The light faded as if they ventured into a tunnel, further and further away from the light of the sun. They could climb around the path, but the people of Shanyin adapted to their unusual home. Mastering the shadow paths was by far the quickest way around the city, especially for normals with no essence magic.
That was the case for John and Eufemia, who each had a single essence and two essence abilities.
Traversing through a shadow path felt no different, except they felt the cool touch of darkness one would expect transitioning from a sunny road to a shaded corridor.
As Laona had said, the path led to the back alley of the Moonlight Society.
The Moonlight Society was the dark reflection of the Adventure Society. Their contracts ranged from legal to less-than-legal to illegal; the full breath of what a thriving city may require. Most contracts were ‘relatively’ harmless, and ranged from thievery, spying, information gathering, deliveries, undercover investigations, protection, smuggling, or thuggery.
This was the Nisei’s influence.
The trade halls of the Moonlight Society also contained what could not be found easily in the Adventure Society. Specialty poisons, suppression collars, drugs, restricted information, and other restricted artifacts. Even here, the Death Essence was forbidden, more evidence of Nisei’s regulating hand. She offered the same deal as the Adventure Society, buying the essence to send it to the appropriate authorities for disposal.
The miscreants of society could make their living—insidious specialties and niche expertise had their uses, and the local Adventure Society and city government did not want them completely eradicated, just regulated. Those that found themselves on the lam or came from backgrounds they did not want discussed nor revealed, made their homes here. Some sought a second chance at life—earn their essences, awakening stones, and equipment and join the Adventure Society. If you obeyed the tenants once you joined, the Adventure Society protected their members, including former criminals. They had their limits of what they would pardon; Wanton murder of innocents was one such line. If you were just a former thief—the Adventure Society would welcome your skills with open arms.
Former moonlighters had their specialties that the Adventure Society found very handy. Moreover, they made excellent scouts, specialty crafters, and fighters.
John barged into the Moonlight Society, slapping open the double doors to yell in with an overdramatic flair. He wasn’t a moonlighter, but all those in the society recognized him as the neighborhood investigator, and completely ignored his antics.
“Alea Len! Your mum wants you to know the path behind the society now goes home! You’ve got no excuse for returning home late now!”
Alea Len, a professional thief of the Moonlight Society and daughter of Laona Len, glared with icy annoyance.
“Would it kill you to behave like a professional, John?”