Leza brought the three imperial captives before my throne in the cosmic themed reception area. They were healed, but still an absolute mess. Shackles and chains formed of Jade’s green magic bound their hands and feet and connected to a collar around their necks. It had been three days since their battle with Yugal and Niiya, and their eyes were still haunted and distant. There had still been no word from their ruler, and the one ultimately responsible for them.
As haggard as they seemed, they at least understood their position and maintained some decorum. All three took a knee and bowed their heads.
“I am Voros Andros of the Radiant Empire, Sentinel of the East and leader of the Collection Elite unit in service of Ogrun, Beloved by Earth and Flame. We are defeated and shall remain passive, but I am afraid we all would rather die by torture than surrender any more than our names and titles.”
“Gray.” I answered, already bored. “Nice to meet ya. Stand up.”
They complied, and I appeared in front of them. Imperials really were tall, I had to crane my head back like I was looking up at three pro basketball players. I watched their expressions carefully. They didn’t show any hint of disdain even though they were now looking down on me. I considered my options. They had appeared on Ogrun’s orders, picked a fight, and lost miserably. That made this more of a prisoner of war situation.
“The issue here is between myself and your boss. As far as I’m concerned, Yugal and Niiya disciplined you enough for the disrespectful comments you made about us.” Their expressions went from grim to confused. “You’re still prisoners of war, of course. I’m not letting you go free, but there’s no need for more misery.” I blinked back to my throne in a seated position.
The trio remained silent and stole glances at one another, clearly not believing a word of it.
“Tabula.” I said out loud, and she appeared standing next to me holding Baelphegor who seemed distracted by his own thoughts. That was a step up from the usual daggers he glared at me. “Upgrade these three to basic guest status. They are free to roam the public spaces and use the facilities so long as they mind their manners. No need to hold their hands, I’m sure they’re resourceful enough to figure things out on their own.”
“Certainly.” Tabula replied, and with a blink the shackles vanished. “Please visit the front desk to obtain your room keys at your earliest convenience.” She spoke to the three stunned prisoners of war courteously, and with a final bow to me vanished once more.
“Leza, go ahead and escort them back to the lobby and then take the rest of the day for yourself. Thanks for your help.”
“Thank you, lord Gray.” She replied. “Follow me.” She said to the three prisoners who still didn’t seem to believe any of it.
As they departed toward the elevator door suspended in space, I took a moment to think about what was next on my agenda. Nadira was visiting from Crown City for a meeting about the Rakashi situation and they requested that I make an appearance, but that wasn’t until this evening. X’lyssa had returned to her domain, and I was torn between relief and longing on that topic. Luckily there was an endless amount of things to be done, and I was free to lose myself in any of it.
I decided to pay a visit to the new Adventurer’s Guild office to see how it was shaping up. The EDEN office had become the main location for processing requests and validating completed quests. Tabula had gone all out to make the customized space a perfect blend of epic and functional. I grinned widely as the sliding doors opened automatically before me. An enormous hologram dominated the center of the circular hall. It slowly shifted through the shapes of various monsters and invasive beasts that were currently paying a premium bounty along with a scrolling line of text around the base of it. A shaggy type of ogre across the lake was disrupting caravans from the north, a mated pair of wyverns had been pestering a village under reconstruction in the Sea of Stone, etc.
Around the enormous shifting hologram, a polished white granite counter was built in a circle, where four full time guild receptionists worked diligently.
Compared to the deserted guild hall in Ariel’s Gate back when I first arrived, this place was a beehive of activity. That was mainly thanks to the fact that we were taking requests from everyone for any task that needed done. A strong adventurer could turn in a bounty of goblin ears, and if they were sick of smelly monsters could take a job hauling dirt from Slimer Jaik’s excavation sites for a few days.
Rewards were mostly monetary, but certain high priority jobs could also earn special rewards (mostly duplicated potions and trinkets from Sapphire). Guild Ranks had also been restructured to factor in things like customer client satisfaction. Even if you were a former A ranked adventurer, if you earned a reputation as a jerk who half assed their work then your EDEN ranking would suffer and cost you jobs.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
I noticed a familiar face behind the counter and walked over to her, ignoring the rippling effect my presence was having. The room was slowly falling silent and an uncomfortable amount of attention was building. I noticed someone start to kneel and spoke up.
“Everyone carry on, please!” I smiled and waved along with the request, and thankfully they did as I asked for the most part. I made it to the counter where the guild receptionist I met on my first day in Ariel’s Gate was watching my approach.
“Lord Gray!” She bowed her head, and for some reason blushed a deep red.
“Fraya.” I said back after Appraisal helpfully reminded me of her name. “I was just passing through and wanted to check out the new office. Is everything up to par?”
“Are you kidding?” She seemed genuinely shocked that I would ask. Were they actually being overworked? “It’s a damn dream! I make more commissions in a week than I made in a year at the old place. The food is impossibly delicious, I get to bathe every single day, my room is higher class than any noble’s, and don’t even get me started on the booze quality!” She suddenly covered her mouth when she realized how forward she was being.
“What’s wrong, then?” I asked. “You seemed to freeze up a little when you saw me.”
“I-I thought you might have come to collect the favor I owed you for suddenly taking that Braverton request.” She stammered, and I suddenly remembered the exchange from way back then.
“Oh that’s right!” I narrowed my eyes wickedly and she gulped. “I’ve changed my mind on that.” She gulped and I could see sweat forming on her brow. “If you hadn’t convinced me to go that night, I never would have been able to save Niiya. You deserve something for that.” I opened my inventory and produced a platinum coin the size of my palm. “Take this, and keep it somewhere safe. It’s more valuable than you can imagine, you’ll understand why very soon.”
Her eyes went nearly as wide as the coin she suddenly held. It was a Platinum Galleon, the highest denomination of currency in Exiled Gods, representing roughly a hundred thousand gold coins depending on the market. I had a few hundred, and several million regular gold coins. The most forgiving aspect of EG’s inventory system was that currency was weightless until removed.
In the beginning I didn’t want to flash the game’s currency for fear of drawing attention, but now we were planning to implement it for local use, and eventually on a national scale. It was intricate in design with multiple denominations and made from pure metals, so it outstripped the roughly hammered junk coins of this world in every way.
“All of us are very grateful.” Fraya said. “Our whole town was drying up. The capital abandoned us, and the Warlord was about to slaughter us all. You performed so many miracles so fast that we haven’t even been able to process it all. Everyone’s working their hardest to be worthy of this place you’ve made.”
“I’ll take some of that praise, but my only real skills are a thick skull and getting the hell out of the way so the real talented people can cook. It was nice to see you again, Fraya. Let’s grab a drink sometime.” I left the hall then, and tried to ignore the eruption of whispers that I could clearly hear thanks to these damn awakened senses.
As I made my way in the direction of the restaurant, I sensed a familiar energy rushing up to me and smiled even before I could turn. Niiya crashed into me and gave me a crushing hug. I knew she was getting stronger, but this was insane.
“Done with the noodle people?” She asked, still holding onto my arm. She had gotten much more clingy since X’lyssa left. It was a welcome change from the aloof teen behavior from the past few weeks.
“Yep! Are you hungry?” I asked, trying not to snicker at the nickname she had given the lanky imperials.
“Chi-cken! Chi-cken!” She chanted, and took the lead dragging me by the arm.
----------------------------------------
Voros, Bracken, and Canela found their room on the eighth floor. They had scarcely spoken since the Hellcat woman had left them alone in the lobby. In their search for their room they had discovered so many incredible things that they were still stuck in a sort of morose silence. Voros held the shiny square that the receptionist had called a key up to the metal square next to the door as they had been instructed. A pleasant chime sounded and the door opened on its own. They jumped back in unified surprise, recovered and carefully entered their new cell.
Before being ‘upgraded to basic guest status’ the treatment hadn’t been horrible. A true dragon had appeared and healed their wounds with magic that far surpassed even the strongest Pure magic users. They were then confined to a plain beige room with a few simple folding cots and basic linens. They were given delicious bread with butter and stew three times per day, and weren’t otherwise acknowledged. They had first assumed the lush treatment was the result of their great status as imperial elites.
Upon being escorted through that floor and passing many other such rooms they realized that this was the most basic level of accommodation for prisoners. What manner of insane people treated their defeated enemies with such care?
Now their disbelief had reached a new level entirely. This huge sprawling suite made their own homes in the empire seem threadbare and shabby. The floors were polished to a mirror finish, the rugs looked priceless, and the furnishings would shame any imperial artisan. There were three beds that looked large enough that even they could sleep without their feet hanging over the edge. There was a very strange room with a large box with a clear door that contained several bottles and small colorful packages. Voros leaned close to peer at it, and a disembodied voice made him leap back.
“This is your personal mini-bar. Please enjoy the bottled water, soft drinks, snacks, and wine. These items will be replenished once every twenty four hours for your convenience.”
The cordial voice seemed to sound every time they inspected something they didn’t recognize. It explained how to use the showers, sinks, toilets, and the device that could be used to request items such as extra linens, pillows, or food items from the limited room service menu. This information system had been implemented at Sapphire’s suggestion, and Tabula had developed an automated script. This result had saved hundreds of hours of confusion and explanation.
Canela was the first to bravely grab something from the ‘mini-bar’. It was a circular pastry-like thing with a hole in the center and some dark frosting on top. The other two watched in anticipation as she took a bite of the chocolate frosted doughnut. The sweetness and cloying bitterness contrasted on her tongue and sent a rush of pleasure through her whole body. Her legs went weak and she slowly collapsed onto one of the elegant chairs,
“Impossible.” She stared at the powerful thing with disbelief and a little fear. “Things aren’t allowed to taste this good, are they?”
Bracken and Voros each grabbed their own doughnuts and took a bite. Silence overtook the suite for a long while.
“We’re doomed, aren’t we?” Bracken sighed at the crumbs on the small dining table before him.
“Not just us.” Voros agreed. “I’d say the whole world is at stake here.”