He rode into the capital city on the back of a black mare, wearing a red cape over his left prosthetic arm, with something resembling a rainbow gun hanging on his belt, next to a white horned mask that was swaying right and left hanging on by a twine cord. As he rode through the busy bricked streets, he tried to blend into the way people rode around horseback, but quickly realized that it's futile effort. There were no laws at the time about which side of the road is correct to ride on, thus he chose the right side as it was in his home country back in his old world. After he slowed down he tried to read signs that were placed outside each shop as he rode along, yet to no avail. "Yep, I can't read…" he thought to himself as he wandered the streets seeking guidance.
The streets of Slane Theocracy Capital were filled with many things but most of them had to, by law, resemble something of religious importance, or else. Finally being too full of it all, he jumped off of his horse and walked towards the nearest shop, praying he would hit the jackpot as soon as he opened the door. The dark, almost black oak doors swayed open with little force, while a subtle ringing noise was made above his head, by a magical bell that floated in the air. The shop seemed to be a flower one, with types of flowers hanging from the ceiling, potted plants on shelves, and bees flying around. Seeing the shopkeeper far inside the shop, he quickly went “roleplay mode”, as if he was still in the game, because how would it look if a strange man walked into a shop and started throwing words like “Alchemy shop", "1 milion gold", "NPC" and "tier 8 spells".
-Greetings, I'm sorry to bother you good sir, but I seem to be lost. Have you any notion of where I can find an alchemy shop?- asked Ixlente in his toned voice. "I have to gather information. First alchemy, then I'll ask where I can find a map of the lands. Maybe I will buy some potions while at it…"
-Ah yes, the nearest Alchemy master resides near the town hall. But maybe you would be interested in our plants?- The shopkeeper nodded at him before he went back to his work.
-Thank you good sir, but I am sadly, in a rush.- "Am i supposed to know where that is? Damnit. Alright think, town hall, center, middle. Just go deeper into the city." so he thought and exited the shop. He came from the south, thus he should move towards the northern parts of the city. Ten minutes have passed since the encounter with a local, and the silence was unbearable, at least for Vincent.
“-Are you available to talk now?
-No.
-Splendid, can you please explain why we are bothering to go here?
-Information.
-Im sorry?
-Ive calmed down. Taking things calmly helped me see things. We… I got transported into this world, seeing as I can use my equipment, I presume my abilities are also usable. But I already saw differences in this place over ours.
-Curious.
-Shut it, we were moved to another world. No known world of Yggdrasil, as far as I know, had this sun. Nor this flora. Midgard was the closest one, but it was ruined after the Purge. Most of it at least.
-So we are seeking informations, fascinating. What kind?
-Any of use, maps, currency, religion.
-Art?
-Sure.
-Great, wear me.
-What?
-Wear me, I can translate those words.
-You're kidding.
-Shhh, just do it.
The inner swift conversation ended, Ixlente swiftly dashed into the nearest alleyway and made sure that no one could spy on them.
-I have no idea how strong these people are. Wish I had more high tier spells… for now I hope it will be enough. True Conceal.
As if the space bent in on itself, 1 milimeter away from his body, a thin sheet of material formed concealing every part of him. Granting Invisibility, shadow step and as a bonus, movement boost. He took the mask off his belt and looked at it. He felt an ominous presence coming from it, pulsating as if it was breathing. The mask itself was imbued with many special effects, after all it was one of the Divine items he had in his possession. But outside of that, was something that he forgot about. As he roleplayed “The Virtuoso”, he tended to give his items’ flavor text of such magnitude that it would outdo many NPCs that existed in the Darkness as a whole. His mask arguably had the least amount, but considering how valuable it was, it had to be more… Dramatic.
"Curse this mask, for it is the demon incarnation. The soul of a jhinn resides within. Giving you all the things in the world, while taking all of you for itself. "Dark vision, heat vision, movement detection, poison negation, all those things will be yours and more." Those are only the few promises he will tell you, but be not fooled. For you will lose yourself in this sea of hope and wealth."
With a little bit of hesitation, he put the mask on, or he would, if the mask did not jump on his face by itself when gotten close, as if it tried to cling onto him for dear life. His body dropped. His throat started to clench and all air in his lungs started spilling out. Pain was the only thing he thought about as he hung onto dear life, while spazzing out on the ground. Black mist covered his golden eyes underneath the mask, and momentarily he stopped moving, he took a deep breath and coughed, with not his voice. The voice behind the mask was now much more mature, crisp yet smooth and soft. His eyes, unclouded now, changed color to ruby red. With much grace, the man slowly stood up and looked to the way he just came from, he shook down all the dirt and dust he took on from making close contact with the ground, and walked off.
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As he walked down the road, he saw many shops of different varieties. Small pubs filled with drunk people, churches almost every few hundred meters, item shops with everything from silverware all the way to some high quality, for this world, items. All this movement filled his soul with pleasure. When he finally reached the center of the city, everything became clear. In the middle of the whole city was a church, or rather a whole Temple, with gold ornaments on the walls, glass so clear you can mistake it for pure air, and giant 8 meter tall doors that could easily fit 3 minotaurs in width. The doors also depicted 6 gods, but that was not very visible from such distance. Area around the Temple was almost empty, in each direction there was at least a 100 meter gap between the nearest building. The paths around were maintained and held no grass in between the bricks. It was clear that this country was religion oriented, from when he first entered the capital, but this was something unusual to him. More weird was the fact that the religion of Christianity and Buddhism was heavily influencing the structure of how things looked around, both behavior and infrastructure. As far as he knew, there could have been more kingdoms or even empires, bigger and stronger than the one he resided in, but it was unclear what is true and what is a speculation until he gets his hands on some hard facts.
-The beauty of idle life, truly something to be considered.- he monologues, as if giving a speech, but with a quiet voice so he doesn't draw crowds with his immaculate voice and beautiful tone of speech.- Religion always had a great impact on art, time to get some inspiration.
With toneful steps, in rhythm of 4 he strolled down the brick path and headed for the closed doors of the Temple in the middle. As if the space around it was bending, the closer he got, the more massive it started to become in his eyes, even though it was already very big. Mesmerized by the beauty of the structure, with no hesitation in his actions he pushed the giant wooden doors open to reveal the hidden mysteries inside.
The cold air of the temple blew him straight in the mask, scent of candles, pure water and wine quickly traveled down his nostrils. The temple was filled with gold paintings all over the walls and pillars that were holding up the ceiling that depicted the 6 great gods protecting humanity. The benches that were placed in 2 long rows were made of oak and painted dark red. Curiously, the Temple was mostly empty, one bishop standing at the altar, with guards standing around and only a few people praying scattered around.
Seeing this stagnation, he sighed deeply as if disappointment was the only thing he felt in this brief moment. Quickly replaced by over the top feeling of curiosity he strolled deeper inside, with no hesitation looking around the place, as if he was in an art gallery rather than a place of god.
-Such magnificence, the gold and silver paint contrasting with the cold gray, even the boring bricks of the temple. And that fresco! Truly something to behold.- he spoke with delight in his voice. Clearly he never saw such a thing in real life, but it was here now, only for him to take in.
-Greetings my son.- greeted by the priest that walked over to Vincent, he felt a little dumbfounded as to why he is even bothering to talk to a stranger.
-God be with you, father. I am simply appreciating the art that is this temple.
-Ahh. Yes indeed it is something to behold, but sadly not many people stop by to see it in its full glory, our temple is mostly empty at this time of day, the mass is held in the morning and evening to not disturb the way of life in the city.
-Shame, I've never seen such a fresco.
-Yees… It depicts our saviors. I presume, by your appearance, that you are not local.
-I indeed am not.
-Then let me fill your curiosity. This artistic creation depicts 6 great gods. Those that six hundred years ago came down from the heavens and saved humanity from extinction. You see, from the left there is Alaine, Farveriar, Muspeheim, Kriteros, Surshana and…
-Ornalius.
-Indeed, the second strongest to Surshana. If legends are to be believed he was the one that could purify any being in the world from any distance. May I ask how do you know of this?
-I am not sure. The name just came to me. What are those creatures below their feet?
-Those are the non-human races, all of them, from the undead to demihumans and monsters alike. They don't have a place in our world, my son.
-So I see. May I ask father one more question?
That startled the priest, he indeed knew the answer but it was prohibited to talk about it to those that were not of faith. And yet the mask that covered Vincent's face somehow made the priest trust him more than his own parents. So he answered, be it with sweat on his forehead, but he did.
-There is some information, that what you are seeking, is held at the edge of the world. But we have no notion of where it might be…
-Don't worry father. This is all I needed to know.
With that, Vincent was satisfied, he shook his hand with the priest and bowed right after. After that he gave him a gold coin and left. The gold coin had on one side an image of a tree, and on the other a beautiful profile of a maiden.Confused priest pocketed the coin and went back to his duties.
Vincent, now out in the open, started to scan the surrounding area for a clue to where he might find some more information. Now knowing who the gods were, he felt confident that he was stronger than them. His eyes wandered through the shops lined up around the open area, until his sight was pulled by a tavern.
The wooden doors swayed open when the stranger walked through them. Wearing a mask he startled some people. Slate Theocracy was not a place for many adventurers or even mercenaries so it was indeed rare to see one. The tavern master quickly looked at him from under his cap as if measuring how wealthy he is.
Vincent walked over to the bar and looked through some writings on the wall behind the owner.
-Can I get some Wine?- he asked nonchalantly.
-Two silver coins please.- the owner answered with a cold yet sturdy voice. Vincent put his hand in the bag that he had, reached into the void and pulled out one gold piece.
-I will give you this, if you can answer me some questions. You see… I am lost, I've traveled far and wide, yet this is the only major city I've seen.
-I-I see…
-Thus I'd like to know where I can buy everything… from this list.- he took our piece of white as snow paper and started writing with a pencil that he had on his belt.
Maps, rulers of the countries, their laws, local legends, history books, all notable guilds and international trade companies. That's what the list contained.
-For most of them, I suggest visiting the Gods Archive. Its north part of the city, looks like a giant library. I don't understand why you would nee-
He was cut short by the raised hand of Vincent.
-That will be all. Thank you, have this too as a thank you.
Vincent gave him the gold coin, the same one that he gave to the priest. But to its side he put a small flower, made out of metal.
-There is no need sir…- he said, but Vincent was gone, the owner took the coin and looked at the small closed flower. It was made out of unknown metal and had small writings all over it. Maybe a compass? He touched it, the flower opened quickly and a small light started to flicker inside of it, then the air around it started to pull inside, untill. It exploded.