It took an hour of standing in line to get to the gates, but at least they were quickly let in, given the fact that they didn’t own enough things to actually be worth an inspection.
They did ask that Frostbite be put on a leash, but a promise that she was a good girl and the intimidation factor of Goron carrying her around to prove that she wouldn't be a problem quickly resolved any issues they had with her.
Following that, the trio followed the streets deeper into the cities core as the buildings grew visibly more expensive the closer one came to the temple in the cities heart. Even from the gates, the structure was blinding, glass and gems placed to make it glitter in the sunlight.
"An absolute waste of resources... the primordials would not require this kind of construct from us." Norman said, visible disgust on his face, only for Goron to laugh.
"That stuff is for the people more than the gods. People love worshipping beautiful things, and this? This is a symbol of status that firmly cements the faithful above those who don't actively worship the gods every day."
He explained, Norman looking confused at it.
"But why would they sacrifice money and materials for that? Don't they need that to survive?"
He asked, hoping for some logical reason, only for Goron to destroy his hopes in people with something the ranger considered an absolutely disappointing sentiment.
"Some people got too much money and spent it on things they like, others just enjoy being above other people, and before you ask, it is really that simple. Most people hope to buy joy, and to buy joy, they spend their time doing things they hate. Where I originally came from, buying joy was one of the few ways you could spend your time that did not involve just sitting around or working. Unless you actively went out out and jogged, happiness was quite expensive, and be it to take a girl out for an evening. You had to buy almost everything, and some people just spend the money they had on luxurious things like that temple. Thinking not of the hidden costs, but only for its monetary value. And if I where to guess, whoever build that thing definitely had too much money to spend, and thought their heroism was some higher calling, not even thinking of the strings attached to that kind of work. The good thing is, the Heroes are slaughtering each other, and there is no way they would even realise our return."
Goron explained as they approached the market.
"You know that some people sell just about everything? Their health, sanity, heck, some even sell their body for those coins, but I don't think this is the best moment to go on an anti capitalism rant, especially if we don't want the people around us to stare. Those born of frost seem pretty close to humans in their way of thinking, which means that their greed will probably ruin them."
He sighed, and barely a minute later was already walking around the market before they found the tavern they had been searching for, the leeching lute hidden in a somewhat shady backstreet between the moderate and poor areas. Once there, they immediately began looking around, Goron searching for tell-tale signs of someone needing an adventurer while Norman tried to assess what had been changed and what remained the same.
It wasn't until they approached the counter that Norman spoke again, this time to the bartender.
"Do you happen to know a mr. Steinbrauer?"
He asked her, the girl nodding.
"Yeah, he owns this tavern. Why do you ask?"
Norman smiled sadly.
"I'd like to warn him of an incoming locust plague. There are some songbirds that take care of them, but you never know how much collateral damage they do."
He informed her, the girl sprinting away, only for an annoyed elderly man to walk out a few minutes later.
"I knew of the bugs. They are infesting everything. We managed to keep them out of the cellar, but without someone to hunt them down, they got annoying. The only good thing is that they eat each other as much as everyone else."
With that, the conversation seemed done, though Norman quickly added something.
"You can never be sure. The both of us are experts in pest removal, so it would be better to let us inspect the cellar."
And thus they went downwards. Once they locked the trap door behind them, the man began to laugh.
"I thought my old man was fooling me when he told me our families story. But I learned the codewords anyway. It's always good to have a private language with your father. And now I got some real heroes here, in the bodies of a kin long thought lost... at least my son following his dreams isn't destroying the great plan, huh?"
He said, smiling as he gave each of them a jug of beer and led them deeper.
"From what I gathered, the only pillars that remained in position are Chira, Arem, Lucius, and me, though those three hide something from me, I am sure. It's weird to think that the three of them are as old as my father, I'm sure they kept as silent as we did in this family, given that they don't even tell me where they work, and if not for the occasional financial support, I'm sure we would have had to sell the pub."
He explained, Goron actively trying to piece together what's going on as Norman held back a laugh.
"You know, kid. You should be happy they kept their secret because anyone who knew the welcoming phrase could have just learned enough information to dismantle the whole plot that our worlds survival depends on. So, I recommend working on your secret keeping skills. Thank your for staying the point of contact for all those years, I am sure that any further meetings will continue to happen either here or in Furchenstein, but don't trust that the gods don't have their spies in these halls. Everyone could betray us."
The old man laughed at that.
"Don't worry, only pillars and criminals walk here. Anyone who tries to spy on us is pretty quick to be thrown out of any criminal connections we have. My father said one of you guys made sure of that back then, though no one remembers how many you were and which titles you held. All that remains is the songbird analogies and the legend of the demon kings, which Inam pretty sure is about you guys and your fight against the divine entities that hold our world hostage."
He explained, Goron finally completing the puzzle and understanding what was going on.
"What happened to the other pillars?"
He asked, curious as to any information he could extract from the conversation.
"The world south of the Empire has been cut off, which is weird, considering that neither the Empire nor the mummy lords care for the gods. Sadly, we don't know what the southern pillars know, and many connections have eroded long before I became the bartender. Do you need a room and food for tonight? I can provide it for you tonight, though it would be suspicious if you didn’t start working and paying soon, given the clientele of this place."
And thus, the talk ended, and they left the room with exactly the number of coins necessary to buy a meal and a room for each of them.
"Thank you for taking care of the bugs. You are good at making sure there are no uninvited pests. Maybe someone here might like your services..."
He said, and the Njord sat on a table, making it obvious that they were searching for someone that would pay for someone to clean their organisation of rats.
As Norman and Goron were eating, devouring their first cooked meal of this lifetime, when they were interruped by a hooded figure.
"Hey there, I overheard that talk you had with the boss of this place. You work in pest control? Sorry for any misunderstanding, but I didn't take you for the secretive and dexterous sort."
He asked, Goron lazily putting the spoon back into his soup as he corrected his posture.
"I do magic. No rat can escape when they don't move, and my friend is good with traps or shutting them if necessary. Do you have a rat problem?"
He asked the guy, who immediately answered.
"A bit, though we'd need to test your qualifications. It would be stupid to have people we just met beat up guys who could possibly be our enemies because of a hunch of theirs. Any people we can ask that could tell us about your expertise except for mr.Steinbrauer?"
Norman sighed at that.
"We would be stupid to make it open who we helped, unless our clients tell you willingly. We have a much better name up north when it comes to rooting out pests."
Both of them stared down the hooded figure before he nodded and stood up.
"My boss will see you tomorrow in his office, go to Schmiedestraße 13 and tell them that you are the pest control, I'll make sure they know that I am expecting you, and don't tell anyone except them that I hired you, there's no need for everyone to know about our little problem."
Goron and Norman looked at each other, sighed and continued eating, other people staring at them occasionally, which they easily ignored to concentrate on the soup and beer before them.
Once they were done, they headed to their rooms. Ready to rest before a day of hard work.
Unlocked Skills
Spoiler
Respawn (Skill) (Unique): When you die, your soul is pulled back to the character creation screen with half your levels. Once here, you can build a new character and try again.
Once you press the create button on the character creator, you will be spawned at a place appropriate for your character.
Grounding (skill)(ground): While cast, this skill infuses the targets body with geound mana and forces it to remain on a surface below it.
Dash (skill)(air): Your movement speed increases by (move*skill level).
Tag stomp (skill)(Gravity): Target a creature and accelerate towards it at (lvl) times your normal speed. Cannot be used for the amount of time needed to accelerate before impact.
Restfull petrification. (ground): Your body is petrified for the duration you sleep. While you are petrified in this way, you are considered hidden.
You will restore (lvl) times the energy you would by sleeping the same amount of time.
Jet legs [1] (air) (skill): Air mana will concentrate in your entire body and focus on your legs. Once you activate this skill, you can gather ambient air mana for up to (lvl) seconds and release it at a later time explosively. One second worth of air mana can move you (lvl) meters in any direction and push everything else away.
Groundbound [1] (ground) (skill): an area of (lvl) meters around you is flooded by ground Mana, making everything within heavier.
Blizzard aura (ice) (skill): Raise your surrounding ice and turn it into a shield of projectiles. Born from memories of a fallen goblin, this skill has been optimized to spare the user any colloteral.
Second skin (Steel) (Skill): Coats the user in a secondary skin of Mana, reducing the damage received by [lvl].
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Unlocked perks
Spoiler
Fairy wings (Perk) Reduces weight by 1 kg and gives the user a magical flying speed of 10km/h.
-10 token
Magical body (perk): Your body is held together by magic. Your body can not be dispersed by non magical means, and everything you do counts as magical. Dispersing magic will deactivate this perk for the duration. Your natural lifespan will now be extended by 10% for every point you have in Willpower.
-5 token
Magus ¤ : This Perk allows a person to interact directly with mana
Thick bones (Perk): Your bones are two times denser than is normal for your race, making it harder for your body to be moved in any direction.
-5 Token
Thick skin (perk): Your skin is thicker than that of most members of your species.
-5 Token
Blubber (Perk): You hold a layer of fad under your skin. Increases your weight by 5kg for every meter of height you have, but allows you to thrive in much colder climates.
-5
Muscles of steel (Perk): Your muscles are naturally harder and more effective at movement. Your muscles are much more resilient than they would normally be.
-10
Unlocked Handycaps
Spoiler
Slim: Reduce the amount a creature weighs by 5% per level of this handycap chosen, which can be stacked up to three times.
+1 Token
Small: Reduces the height of a creatur by 20%.
+5 Token
Heavenbound (handycap): Should you ever disconnect from the ground, gravitation will reverse for you. Any kinetic force excerted on you will be 100% more effective at moving you.
+8 Token
One armed (handycap): You only have one useable arm.
+30 Token
Bulky tendencies (Handycap): Your weight can not be reduced by more than 10% increases to your weight that hold for more than a day are permanent.
+15 Token.
Large (Handycap): Increases the height of a creatur by 20%.
+5 Token
Overweight (handycap): You weigh 10% more than your race normally does. (Can be equipped up to three times)
+5 Token