Yana watched Marshall walk out in front as they walked down the trade road. It had taken a few days for him to be able to move around freely, and a couple days on the road to get used to his new abilities. Yana knew that his own abilities were different than Marshall's, and the loss of the System skills were gradual for himself. Yet, Marshall had lost it all at once which seems to have done some mental damage to him.
Sometimes he would just sit down and stare off into space with his eyes flickering rapidly. Pyra, as would be expected, was both curious and concerned with his behavior. Though, Marshall had told them that it was a flood of forgotten memories he was reliving. Yana had to wonder about how much the System had stored away at this point. Surely, it was doing this in order to keep people happy and content. Yet, it seemed like even a few dozen years had a lot of build up. Perhaps people had far more concerns about the System than at first considered, and their usual attitude was a construct of so many negative memories being suppressed.
Still the amount of energy and Will required to do all this would be staggering. Not even Mother would have the mental focus to handle more than a few dozen creatures at such a depth. Which brought Yana back to that complex under the Hold. It's strange mana type and scripting had allowed it to alter and manipulate almost a hundred people. Could it have been a proto-type for the System? Something the enigmatic Faerun had made?
For Yana there was just so many questions about the System and this world that he felt he needed to learn more about. Glancing over at Pyra again he mused about how different and yet aligned their natures were. For him, to learn and understand, but for her to destroy and purify the corruption she saw the System being. Not that the System wasn't a corruption of the natural flow. Just it must be a complex device with secrets he wanted to understand.
"There it is." Marshall said, pointing towards the clearing in the trees. Yana looked up to see a massive arch visible from the road. It towered over the white mountain peaks that he could just barely see.
"That is the Door." Marshall nodded towards the sky, with a touch of unease in his tone. Yana understood the feelings there. The Door dominated the sky, and even from the distance it seemed to itch at him. A call to come and take a knee before that massive construct. It was also the sign that they had entered the kingdom of Masire. It was a weird law that he had been told about when he was with the trade caravan. After he told them that he intended to enter Masire.
"Masire is easy to find, for any land that can see the Door is within their borders. It is the ancient law and agreed upon with the other two." Yana repeats to the others, and Pyra tilted her head at him.
"That seems foolish, they do not own the Door. That is of the Realm." She said, flicking her hand in dismissal.
"Foolish to us, but humans are foolish to begin with. They seem to take things that don't belong to them to start with. Even if they cannot hope to control them." Yana laughed out. The moment slightly broken by it. Marshall remained silent, head bowed towards the monolith in the distance.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.
"The Door should be a good place to start our search for the System's 'Heart' though." Pyra continued, a dancing flame appearing in his upraised hand. Yana nodded through his mirth and twirled his staff.
"The city of Masire used to be called A'thil. It was the seat of the ancient Empire that used to rule the Realm. The empire of my people." Marshall said as he pulled his wood axe from his belt. He had traded for it from the village before they left. Yana knew that already, which is why he and Mother thought it was a good place to search. They were pretty sure that the System was located under that city or within the cursed dungeon of the Gates of Madness. Obviously the creators knew how to hide things in pretty obvious places.
"Yes, and it's very likely that something like what was under the Hold is present there too." Yana reminded everyone to a pair of nods as they continued to walk down the road. The orb would help to prevent too much System interference, but he felt that things were going to get far more dangerous for them as they approached that monolith. His blood seemed to sing upon seeing it, and it didn't seem like they others felt as strongly. Which gave him a bad feeling.
----
"Welcome traveler," Guard 1 said, "Is this your first time in Masire or are you a returning citizen?" The tone of a well rehearsed and repeated speech. The group was not friendly after the last four days of traveling. They had dealt with an extreme amount of monsters and beast at all hours of the day, and if it wasn't for their interesting constitutions and abilities they wouldn't have made it to this border town. Yana figured that is why Guard 2 and 3 were giving them suspicious looks, they were all pretty beat up. It didn't help that Pyra was finishing up her own System purge and was looking pale and extremely tired.
"New to the country. We are fleeing the unrest in Varithfall." He said, making sure to speak out before either of the other two. He had been given a decent breakdown on how Masire worked by the merchants, and a cardinal rule was never let the beastkin speak. They were slaves at best here, and should never speak before the man of group. However, foolish humans were it was best to just humor them here. The goal was the capital not this unimportant place.
"A guard will escort you to the Town Hall to get papers after you pay the entrance fee." Guard 1 said, that same bland tone. Yana found himself getting twitchy at the voice, something about it made him angry. Yet, he pulled out a silver coin and tossed it over. The guard caught it, barely, and seemed to actually focus. Probably wasn't often that someone caught him by surprise.
"If you are a member of the Adventurer's Guild, you should go there instead." Guard 2 said, both asking a question and suggestion in one. Yana flicked his hand in dismissal.
"None of us are members of the Guild. Just independents that got lucky along the road. There were more of us when we started." His words seemed to be expected though, since the guards relaxed a bit.
"It would still be a better idea to go to the Guild and get registered with that level of power. We must insist I am afraid." Guard 2 said, waving his hand for them to enter first. Yana internally rolled his eyes at their behavior, but decided to play along for now. They were lead to a mostly stone building near the gate with a simple sign on it with a staff and sword crossed over a shield.
"I will wait here until you are done, and confirmed that you are settled." Translation, no one trusts you and I will demand payment. Yana was happy for his brief time in the Hold and the caravan since they gave him a decent handle on humans. Greedy was the name of the game, and they loved to control others. A man stood behind a counter of polished wood and when he was told they were being asked to register he pulled out a plate with engravings.
"All you need to do is place your hand on this, and we will get a break down of your class and skills. Then we issue you a card based on the results." All three of them looked at one another. This might be a problem.