“Abraham, was it?” the attendant of the plantation said. Despite his role, he donned a wing-tipped tuxedo, colored in red and gold, the color of the Etresca familia.
Pretentious air, Abe thought to himself, not relishing the absolute state of obliviousness this place manifested. The plantation, which spanned a little more than a few acres, held multiple floors of farmland. A gigantic atrium which could be seen all the way from Lucens Mundi, each floor had its own set of greenhouses and crops, and looked to be managed around the clock by hand-selected personnel, and drones with routine instructions. Strange creatures of varying rarity such as goats and sheep could be seen grazing in the area, as well as winged creatures of colorful variety.
This place was straight out of a fairy-tale – a place frozen in a point of time when life was much simpler, and lives didn’t focus on the hunt. The great noble familias, numbering a dozen or so, owned various atrium farmlands such as the one here, and were the primary importers and exporters of produce, rare delicacies, and exotic species. It was their monopoly on such products, and their stringent security, that keeps Vitadale safe from the dangers which plagued the other districts.
Abe was just about done with this place, having left his weapon behind at the border. Once he had this final meeting with Valurian Etresca, the Countess of this establishment, he was out of here. Out of all the nobles here, it was said that she carried the most information about unusual happenstances, despite the increasing notion that this entire district lived in its own self-created bubble. Valurian was also, unbeknownst to most, one of the Mimi’s Songbirds who chose to continue her contract, rather than finalize it in favor of retirement. It’s said she was somewhat of a thrill-seeker, and the prospect of being an info-broker - in a place where hunts were so rare that one would compare it to Ecreville, which barred hunting altogether – greatly enamored the young Countess.
She also seemed quite competent, from what he heard, and had rid her estate of all those who were deemed liabilities at efficiently maintaining her lands. Though he was warned by Reina to be careful around her. She wasn’t above using…questionable means at obtaining the information she needed, and getting her way, regardless of the opposition. If not for her background scheming, her brothers would have been the next in line to inherit the estate after their father’s passing. Instead, through bribery and blackmail, she convinced the local court and Auditors, to issue a bounty against the brothers which, due to her “generous” heart, only amounted to excommunication from the district, rather than a full execution. Nonetheless, she now ran the 3rd largest noble estate in all of Vitadale.
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As the attendant led Abe into the manor house, he stopped, prompting Abe to wait.
“Now, be sure to pay your due respect to Countess Etresca upon seeing her. Bow your head and wait until you are addressed, and by no means refer to her in any other manner except by her title. There isn’t much we can do about your…attire,” the attendant said, looking Abe up and down, mustache ruffling in a barely veiled expression of contempt, “but Lady Reina has convinced the Countess to allow you passage to ask her what you needed to ask. Once your matters are concluded, we’d be happy to escort you to the border as quickly as possible. We know you have urgent deadlines to attend to.”
“Right,” Abe said. He wasn’t so much annoyed with them, as he cared little for their games. In Vitadale, those of notable standing have learned to fight with words, rather than with weapons, which was something that always perplexed him. How was order ever maintained in such a society, when only verbal duels were ever used to settle disputes and matters involving the contract and law? Especially those involving the marked? Instead, Vitadale’s policy to excommunicate the dregs of the district onto other districts has caused more problems than solutions, and left a bitter taste in Abe’s mouth, as those irredeemably obnoxious vagabonds eat up the other districts’ resources, whilst still maintaining their pompous attitudes from their time in Vitadale.
He saw more than his fair share of such scum in Lucens Mundi. In the end, they end up, more often than not, as homeless shadows of who they once were, yet maintain the façade of dignity, making no friends along the way, in either the general populous or even amongst their fellow fallen peers. Their presence is just bad enough not to be considered a crime, but their inexorable habit of eating up a city’s resources while offering nothing in return, abusing those with less power than them, and convincing those beneath them through fanciful exchanges of dialogue, that this was their lot in life, has caused more long-term economic and societal damage than any petty theft could.
He began running through the locations he needed to visit next, After this, it’ll be Tresgate. I’ll need to meet up with Cassandra and Maricole at the Southern Ribs sector there next.
He hadn’t heard back from the others in a while. Caz is busy with his infiltration operation with Mimi. He couldn’t reach out to Cyr, Calli, or the rookie at all. They were probably still underground. As for Nyx…well, he thought she’d be fine on her own and didn’t really want to talk to her at the moment. She was quite the scary individual when interrupted in the middle of a scouting mission.
A servant came walking out of the manor, whispering into the attendant’s ears. The attendant, in his usual long, drawn-out drawl, looked to Abe, “The Countess is ready for you.” He gestured with an open palm towards the doorway, leading Abe in.