Miles away in Pirun, at the exact same time, Hark was finishing his sweetened tea at the house of the seamstress from Pikran, the woman he had met while Lakan was spying on the battle with Sungan and Ganz.
Lakan and Regar were already done and were ready to head out. Hark finished his tea and hugged the seamstress, promising to come back and arrange her relocation to Aku’anda as he had promised.
He joined the two men outside and they entered conversation.
“Although splitting up would make our job faster, I suggest we at least visit the first Noble together.” Lakan said. “Anything can happen, and three heads are better than one.”
“I’m fine with that.” Hark said. “The first person we’re visiting is a man called Lord Dipol, He lives on a floating structure quite close to the Divine Level.”
“Okay, Off we go.” Lakan said. The men fired up their speed and rushed off to the City center where they boarded a jetcoach to Lord Dipol’s great floating mansion.
It was nearly three hundred meters from the ground, featured a large compound in front of the houses, rimmed with balustrades, and a jetcoach station. Unlike the Divine level, there was only one building, and it wasn't a tower, It also had no large garden, however, there was a water fountain in the center of the courtyard surrounded by a small circular lawn… There weren’t even gates, the large porch was lined with massive columns that rose to the roof of the house, spanning 3 floors.
The Mages alighted from the jetcoach, which floated away from the jetcoach perch as soon as they left. They walked towards the porch, and they were met by a middle aged man that was respectably dressed.
“Good Morning, gentlemen. Please introduce yourselves.” The man said.
“Good morning sir,” Hark said. “We are Aku’andan Elite Mages. Warfare speciality. We are here to speak with the master of this house, Lord Dipol.”
“Oh?” the man said in surprise. “Hope no trouble?”
“Oh, none at all!” Hark replied cheerfully. “We are simply here for certain formalities…”
The man smiled. “Then in that case, please come in. Lord Dipol will be with you shortly.”
They entered the large hall that acted as a foyer for the entire house, From this great room, there were large and tall windows that let in a lot of the morning sun, lighting up the room, the house was made in stone, but tastefully lined with precious metals like silver, gold, and bronze, used in artwork.
The man led them to a large wooden table with seating all around it, placed in the center of the room. They were offered water, and the man left for a few minutes. While they waited for him to return, Hark observed the flowery artwork on the ceiling, rendered with various precious metals.
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After a few minutes, Lord Dipol followed the man back out into the hall, The mages stood and bowed out of courtesy. Technically, they were of higher authority than he was, but it didn’t hurt to be polite. The man who had welcomed them took a stand at the corner of the room.
He waved them to their seats, and then sat at the head of the table.
“Please, gentlemen, what brings you here to my humble abode?” He asked with a tightlipped smile.
“Humble abode!” Hark laughed. “My Lord Dipol, what you have here is the finest Pirun has to offer.”
“Thank you.” Lord Dipol replied.
“Well we don’t want to waste too much time,” Regar spoke up. “Lord Dipol, I'm afraid your health may be in danger. We have reason to believe that Ganz may have exposed some of the nobility to Arcanite magic.”
There was a short silence, then Lord Dipol chuckled. “It’s not poison.” He said. glancing at the cup of water in front of Hark. The mages looked at one another in slight confusion.
“I beg your pardon?” Hark asked. Lord Dipol looked up and frowned.
“I said it’s not poison!” He snapped. “Now is there anything else you would like to announce?”
The mages looked at each other in confusion. Eventually Hark ventured a question. “Lord Dipol, do you mind explaining to us how Arcanite is not a poison?”
“I mind, actually.” Lord Dipol replied. “If there’s nothing else you would like to say, please enjoy the chilled water, and the rest of your day.”
He stood up abruptly and left the room leaving the mages stunned.
“What the hell?” Lakan said after a few moments of silence. The man who had welcomed them approached them and told them they could leave after they were done drinking, then he left the room also, leaving them alone in the great hall.
“Is this a joke?” Hark chuckled in disbelief.
“Well that’s none of my business.” Lakan said, standing up abruptly. “If he wants to die let him, Let’s go talk to the other nobles, this one is insane.”
They left Lord Dipol’s house, dazed, and decided to head to another Noble’s house, a Widow named Lady Merek.
Lady Merek’s house was also a floating structure, it had much wider and had a more expansive compound, but the house itself was only one floor. They were invited to the backyard garden and she met them there. They told her the same thing they told Lord Dipol.
Her reaction was even more unhinged than Lord Dipol’s. She screamed at them calling them liars.
“It’s not poison! It’s a gift!” She cried at them. Hark tried to convince her but found himself in a shouting match with a crazy lady.
“How the hell is Arcanite NOT poisonous? You stupid woman??” he retorted finally. There was a shocked silence. And then she ordered them out of her house.
They tried a few more houses, by mid afternoon, and a collection of screams, stiff responses and nobles insisting arcanite wasn’t poison, they were back at the seamstress’s house. She made them a hefty lunch from Hark’s money while they tried to understand what on earth they had just collectively witnessed.