“You look comfy.” The man smiles as he sets down the two artifacts.
Ka’tora removes her blanket and throws it over to her seat. She finally moves the strands of graying hair out of her face with her free hand. A bracelet gingles on her now exposed wrist. She doesn’t notice the man staring at the greenish band as she looks down at the two artifacts. She has a wide smile across her face as she clears her throat to tell him the exorbitant price of the items he has selected.
Ka’tora grabs the broken locket. “You have quite the selection sir, you have a good eye for quality although you chose a rather eclectic mix…”
“Excuse me but you said everything in the shop is for sale, right?” The man asks.
The question catches Ka’tora off guard as she looks up at him staring at her.
“Y-yes.” Ka’tora says with some hesitation. “Everything in the shop is for sale. If there is something else you are looking for I will be happy to assist you in…”
The man points to her wrist. “May I also buy that.”
“Sir, I am not for sale.” Ka’tora yells.
The man steps back with his hands up in surprise. “No-no that is not what I meant. I mean the bracelet.”
“Relax I know what you meant.” Ka’tora smiles as she looks down at the green metal bracelet, the last artifact in the shop. “May I ask why you have chosen these items? Surely there are much fancier wares for gifts or even the most unusual collections.”
The man smirks. “I will tell you my secrets if you tell me yours. My name is Ke’an Strome of the Yalfi clan.”
The air stilled as Ka’tora jumps back away from the counter knocking over the chair behind her. Her mind races as she struggles to find out how a Yalfi clan member found out about her. She recognizes the last name Strome as it is one of the lesser houses. She debates whether or not she should run or pull her knife and attack him. She notices he hasn’t made a move so she calms down, her eyes now watching him sharply.
“What do you want, thief?” Ka’tora states bitterly. “How did you find me.”
Ke’an can not help but show his impish smile. “Is that anyway to speak to a customer? I just want to buy these items and that bracelet of course. So what is an Apostle of Secrets doing in a small shop like this.”
Ka’tora slams her hands on the counter, her eyes boring holes into Ke’an. Her magic surges out from her and the windows to her shop darken, not allowing any light to pass through and the door latches shut. The magic permeates the air ensuring no one can eavesdrop on the conversation. Several devices from the shelves lift into the air and fly towards the closest wall inscribing runes and magic circles on any surface they could reach. Ke’an does not flinch or turn to look at the strange sight going on around him. Instead his eyes stays firmly locked on the woman in front of him.
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Name: Ka’tora Veli Hasloi
Race: Yetir
Level: 72
Class: Apostle of Secrets
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Ke’an could not believe his luck in coming across an actual Apostle of Secrets. While he initially is somewhat spooked by the high level he also knows that the Apostles of Secrets are not known for being violent. They trade secrets and have powerful mind magic which they can use to manipulate memories. Ke’an is confident in his resistance against anything that will alter his mind since he is a transcendent and that seems to stop any other effect from changing him.
The God of Secrets Na’ano is one of the most mysterious of all of the known Gods. He and His people are the rival of Rah’charable the God of Thieves and therefore any that worship Him see the Yalfi as a threat. Ironically due to their own secretive coven they can not tell the rest of the world that the Yalfi are thieves despite being one of the very few groups that know. As soon as Ke’an entered the shop and saw Ka’tora’s information his quest updated for him to find the three artifacts within the store. Now he is only one artifact away from completing the next stage of the Evolving Quest.
“So, all you want is to buy these items?” Ka’tora asks as she gives him an assessing look. “I will not sell anything to someone that follows that God.”
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“How about I tell you a little secret.” Ke’an says as he leans on the counter. “This one is on the house since your people are into secrets. Not all member of the lesser families, even within the Yalfi, worship the God of Thieves.”
Ka’tora’s gaze softens. “And who do you worship then?”
Ke’an places a hand on his hip, his grin changing from devilish to smug. “I am glad you asked. I just recently became the Patron Saint of Kal’sava. I was always a follower of the Mother Goddess of Winter, but apparently if you save one little town from a hoard of greater snow wraiths and one summoner the temple elder will inscribe your name into Sainthood.” He shrugs feigning nonchalance. “Go figure, right?”
“That explains the robes.” Ka’tora says with a long breath. “So why do you want these artifacts?”
Ke’an shakes his head. “Ahh… no. I said I will tell you a secret and you tell me yours. It’s a trade. So, what is an Apostle doing in this small town?”
“I was born here, it is just my hometown. No story there…” Ka’tora trails off as a thought interrupts her. “Wait you said greater snow wraiths a-and… a summoner?”
“I did.” Ke’an smiles. “So, Ka’tora how much for the…”
“You proposed a trade in secrets, yes?” Ka’tora asks with a hungry smile across her face. “Are you aware of the rules of trading with an Apostle of Secrets? First…” One of the runes being carved into a far wall is finally complete and starts to glow. “You can not lie to an Apostle. Second…” A second string of runes is complete and glows. “You can not tell others where you got your trade information. Third, the value of the information you give must be greater than what you receive. Fourth, if you steal from an Apostle you face the wrath of Na’ano the God that Binds All Secrets.”
As she talks Ke’an notices that he has gotten several notifications as the runes and magic circles have lit up around the shop.
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You have been afflicted with [Unfettered Truth]. You are a transcendent entity which can not be forcibly altered without significant force from a being of higher transcendence. You have resisted Unfettered Truth.
You have received the divine curse [Reclaimer of Secrets]. You are a transcendent entity which can not be forcibly altered without significant force from a being of higher transcendence. You have resisted Reclaimer of Secrets.
You are under the discernment of an individual granted low divinity by a God. The level of Ka’tora’s divine discernment is 50 which exceeds your world level. While you can not be forcibly altered, this individual can cast judgment in accordance with the Greater Mind of the God… ERROR… all direct connections with divine entities have been severed in accordance with the Tutorial Beta Update procedure. Discernment is redirected to Tutorial Beta Divine Protocol.
You have been afflicted with Tutorial Beta’s Divine Protocol [Unfettered Truth TB]. You can not tell a lie in the presence of the individual that cast this spell.
You have received the Tutorial Beta’s Divine Protocol divine curse [Reclaimer of Secrets TB]. If you reveal the circumstances of this meeting or any information related to the Apostle of Secrets all of your memories are forfeit to t̸̛͇͉ḣ̴͖̍è̴̯̰͛ ̷͓̠͋͑G̸̢̼̐ȏ̶̗̕ḍ̴̮͗ ̸̙̙̈́͛o̷̤̓f̷̩͇̃̏ ̴͂͜S̴̛͖̤͊e̴͇͗c̸̥̀r̵̞͙̉̅e̵̩̰̍t̸̲̕s̵̨̯̑̆ Tutorial Beta’s Divine Protocol.
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“Okay wow.” Ke’an says under his breath as he looks over the notifications. “Guess Gods can still affect me.”
“Now that we have this in place I will be willing to trade the secrets I have. As an Apostle of Secrets anything you tell me can be traded if someone offers me a greater secret. I will warn you now Ke’an that there won’t be much you can offer, lesser secrets are worthless to…”
“I killed the being that created the Gods they are called transcendent and am currently training to replace her. In addition I have mastered magic that could allow me to redefine all known magic theory starting at the most fundamental level. In fact I possess a book that contains all of the secrets to our world’s magic.” Ke’an says with a smirk. “How much is that secret worth?”
“You can’t lie to an Apostle of Secrets.” Ka’tora says while shaking her head. “Wait…” She looks up at the runes carved into the walls. “You shouldn’t be able to lie to… me. Soooo.” She looks back at the walls making sure all of the glowing runes were drawn correctly. “You killed Volta’ic? is he even real… how is that possible?”
“No I did not kill Volta’ic.” Ke’an says. “I killed the God of the Gods, the one that created the God of Creation.”
Ka’tora’s mouth drops as she falls backwards into her chair, disbelief and shock evident across her face. She looks down at the floor as the weight of the situation before her rattles her core beliefs.
“The God of the Gods… so this new God Network has something to do with that?” She says as she watches Ke’an nod. Fully defeated and facing an existential crisis her voice becomes softer with each word. “W-what do you want to know? I have no secret greater than this.”
“Umm… I actually just want to buy these items and that bracelet. As for our trade, I will come back when I need something from you.” Ke’an states nonchalantly.
“Very well.” Ka’tora says as she takes off her bracelet and throws it onto the counter not even looking up at Ke’an. “These artifacts are precious and I doubt you could afford them. Each of them are five hundred teis. All three would be fifteen-hundred.”
“Do you want that in hundreds or do you prefer smaller bills?” Ke’an asks.
“I know the price is high, bu… wait-wait what?” She looks up, surprise once again spread across her face.
“Oh and I do have a question.” Ke’an says as he hammer fists one hand into another as the idea hits him. “What do you know about the Director of the Immigration Office? I want to know all of his dirty secrets.”