Kevin and Jessica floated high in the sky thirty miles south of the Guild Hall. They decided it would be best to adventure together and see where the roads lead. They came across a small township in an outcropping between the mountain ranges. In the center of the settlement was a thriving but small community and appeared to be a trade center. All around farmland interspersed the vast fertile land around the small collection of buildings. A single brook cut through the village like a knife creating two halves connected by short stone bridges.
Kevin and Jessica watched the people below for a short moment from the sky. While it had been day for a few hours the sun was just now cresting the mountains cascading light down on the village center. Kevin and Jessica were not surprised that the inhabitants of the town were humans. The bandits that attacked them the night before had also been humans. Even from a great distance the two could see the people below clearly. The townsfolk started their days early with many of the farmers having started their days hours before.
In Decide beings like angels and demons were not allowed in some human and elven towns. They could be freely attacked by players or even town guards. While in those towns there were two spells that could be performed with infinite duration. The first spell was Conceal Race which would create an illusionary body of the player as a human or elf. When the skill was fully ranked up to [Awakened] it would no longer be an illusion and would actually change the physical body to look like that of a human or elf. While they would look like the race they would not gain any of the race's stats, affinities or attributes making the change purely aesthetic.
The second spell was Conceal Level which was one of the first skills many of the most competitive players would fully rank. This skill once [Awakened] would change the physical appearance of all equipped gear. This made armor, weapons and even accessories look like basic low to mid quality equivalence. Top players would often employ this tactic to hide any information a rival could gleam from the appearance of certain items. The limit being is it can not make an item look like a completely different item such as changing a sword to a spear or robes to armor.
While Kevin and Jessica abandoned the notion of this being a game they still didn’t know the level of people in the world. In the game they may have been powerful. However, there is a chance that this world has people that are far stronger than they are, so being overly cautious may keep them alive. Jessica opened a portal which would take them several miles to the north of the village. When they passed through the portal, there was a sensation of mist surrounding them for as second as they almost instantly appeared standing on the ground in the middle of the dirt road. The swirling mass of dark mist dissipated as they started walking in the direction of the village.
Kevin and Jessica both used their Conceal Race [Awakened] and Conceal Level [Awakened] forms. For Kevin this turned him into a caucasian human equivalent of his angel body. His armor, now far less extravagant, looks more like the red steel plate armor worn by Jessica’s guards at the Guild Hall. His wings became a long cloak which largely obscured his form. Kevin tapped his helmet which thanks to Conceal Level [Awakened] looked unimpressive. The helmet slowly disappeared into tiny specks, vanishing altogether. It was still there and would provide protection but due to the Cash Shop ability [Vanity] he could make his equipped helms invisible.
Jessica's transformation made her look like an ash elf. She had gray skin with white freckles all over her body and face which sparkled like tiny jewels. Her horns vanished along and the rings that adorned them became multicolored beads in her hair. Her hair became white and glowed with a silver corona as the sun shined down on her. Her ears were long, having grown nearly four inches into a sharp point. Her robes while still black were less extravagant with leather armor over her arms, shins and torso. He flipped up her hood to keep the sun out of her face.
Neither of them were affected by the hot and humid weather as celestials were immune to temperature fluctuations and would be just as comfortable in the cold vacuum of space as they would be on the sun facing surface of mercury. They even had increased resistances to environmental effects and were immuned thanks to being level 150. Kevin reached out his hand and reality warped around it as if he was pulling back a veil. His hand vanished temporarily but returned when he retracted his arm. This was the effect that happened anytime he or Jessica reached into their magical inventories. Kevin pulled out a travelers pack they had prepared to sell the idea they were simple travelers in the area.
As they walked along the road they noticed they could not help but feel somewhat at awe at their surroundings. Neither of them had ever seen so many real plants growing without expensive man made hardware and growing hydroponics. Now that they had a second to absorb it all, they could really appreciate the world around them. Up till that point it was just shock after shock only being kept from a complete breakdown because of their new celestial brains which processed information much quicker and more efficiently.
As Jessica and Kevin approached the first of the many fields, the farmers hard at work, looked up at them with curiosity but didn’t seem too bothered by them. The townspeople out in the farmland seemed to all wear farmers smocks and worn dirty looking outer garments. Most of them had wooden farming implements while a few had crude iron tools. Armored and armed pairs like them were common in this town, usually people that were passing through. It was a relief to Kevin and Jessica that the farmers didn’t run and scream at the appearance of two strangers walking towards their township. The men only looked long enough to not be considered rude before returning back to their fields.
Kevin and Jessica had an unusual feeling about the people that they saw. Unlike the people at the Guild Hall with whom they had a deep almost instinctual connection with, the humans they saw now seemed no different than if they saw bugs milling about on the ground. They felt inherently different and detached from them but in a manner neither could express so neither did. Kevin and Jessica simply continued their walk to the center of the township. The building seemed to be a mixture of western medieval fantasy and early british colonial. It made for a strange choice in architecture: the straight lines and rectangular building with earth tone walls and exaggerated wooden framing.
The town was already full of life as people prepared for the day. Stores were opening and stalls setting up their goods. Kevin and Jessica couldn’t understand what anyone was saying. At first they thought it was the nonsense language from the game but it appeared to have an actual cadence and dialect. The word curvents was thrown back and forth between people as a greeting which seemed to indicate hello.
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The main road went from dirt to brick and seemed to go straight through the town with a wide bridge that crossed the stream that split the settlement. The people that lived in the central town seemed to have slightly nicer clothing which flowed with natural but vibrant color. More heads turned to Kevin and Jessica as they passed into what looked like a shopping square. People of all kinds were shopping at the various stalls which Kevin and Jessica observed.
A large carriage being pulled by what looked like two horses with the horns of a bull of came to a stop. Jessica and Kevin were more intrigued by the man who held the reins then the unusual animal that pulled the vehicle. From the shoulders down, the carriage driver was human however he had the head of a gray timber wolf. Kevin recognized the creature as a cynocephali as his dog head did not appear to be a mask but was his real head. The cynocephali man was wearing much nicer clothing than the locals and his eyes were also looking Kevin and Jessica up and down. The dog-man had an intrigued look on his face and what passed as the smile of a salesman who had found new customers. He could tell a wealthy traveler when he saw one.
“Curvents, sou uspune fur.” The dog-man stated as he pulled the reins of his steed. “Dage eebsiblered yorned Afratt thri twa bligrurlts. Taped a snor spigror? Cena Topia dage bid, dooned vur dooned nearng Tintagel vi. Dage think twa bid crear?”
Kevin and Jessica looked at each other then back at the kindly looking though fairly odd salesman.
“We can’t understand you, sorry?” Kevin stated.
The cynocephali man’s ears twitched when he realized they spoke an unfamiliar language. He then turned to a bag at his side and rummaged around for something.
“Ha, dage yorned neengs swoibed plane.” The unusual dog-man said while making a wait gesture with his hand. “Whooved prep so ow.”
The dog-man took out a small accessory box and opened it revealing an expensive looking golden necklace with a single green emerald stone. He unclasped the necklace and put it on then cleared his throat.
“Hello, my name is Cena O’Hier Topia, I am a merchant from Tintagel.” Cena stated with refined grace. “You two seem lost.”
Kevin and Jessica were taken back by Cena's sudden ability to speak Omni-Tongue. Even more, he had a slight British accent. Cena dismounted from his carriage and reached out his hand for Kevin to shake which he did. Cena then turned to Jessica and performed a slight bow.
“My name is Kevin and this is Jessica.”
“Uh… hello,” Jessica said. “You speak Omni-Tongue?”
“No… no I only speak Onsus.” The man chuckled. “This item is a babble stone.” He lifted the green emerald off of his shirt so Jessica could get a better look. “It allows me to be able to communicate with people from all over. I own the Dog Head Inn at Tintagel so I get all types.”
“Dog Head…” Jessica said as her voice trailed off as she looked at Cena’s canine ears.
“Yes, the name comes from exactly what you think it does. I am a cynocephali and the Dog Head Inn has been in the family for several generations now.” Cena said amused. “I am surprised an elf traveled all the way out here from the Imperium. So, I guess you could say I am just as surprised to see one of your kind as you are of seeing me. Not speaking Onsus must have made it really difficult for you. Babble stones are pretty common in larger trade cities, here not so much. I actually have a few of them in stock though. I happen to carry them with me in case of a peculiar situation like this one.”
“You’re selling these stones?” Kevin asked intrigued.
In Deicide there wasn’t an item that allowed for translation between languages. In fact there was only one language anyone spoke in the game because everyone spoke only one language. After Ultron united the world they implemented sweeping changes to the status quo. One of those changes was the implementation of Omni-Tongue which replaced every language across the globe. Kevin and Jessica had only ever read about a time in Earth’s history when people spoke different languages and thought it must have been a headache to travel.
“Normally, I sell drinks for people at my inn but I just so happen to be out shopping for supplies.” Cena responded. “However, one should never miss an opportunity to make a good first impression. Obviously you two are from out of town and equipped rather impressively, Argonauts I presume.”
Kevin and Jessica looked at each other, impressive is not what they would call their current outfits. To them their equipment looked basic low to mid tier. Then there was the mention of Argonauts, they didn’t know what it meant and they definitely didn’t want to be confused with some regional power.
“No, we are just travelers.” Jessica stated.
“I see, well, I don’t mean to pry.” Cena said, giving Kevin and Jessica another look over. “Traveling will be difficult if you can’t understand the language. How about I show you the babbling stones? I have green and blue and I assure you they are reasonably priced.”
Kevin and Jessica followed Cena as he took them to the side of the carriage. They were intrigued as to what he had to show them given the fact that he was the only one that they could communicate with. There was a door with a few steps on the side of the carriage that Cena quickly opened and rushed inside. The sound of him moving boxes and clearing a way inside reverberated outside.
Kevin and Jessica waited at the door for Cena to return. They curiously tried to peek inside while the noise only seemed to intensify. The door flung open with Cena obviously out of breath but trying to hide his panting.
“Please, come--come.” Cena stated, while gesturing with his hand to enter.
“Are we doing this,” Jessica said to Kevin through the guild chat so only he could hear her.
“It is a good opportunity to get some answers. Besides, he does seem to be pretty excited to see an elf. I guess you’re a hot commodity here.” Kevin responded in the guild chat. “He’s a merchant and he can understand us. We should try to get some information about where we are and how money works here.”
“We will have to put on a little show then. Hopefully he thinks elves are as special as you say.” Jessica continued in the guild chat.
“I will follow your lead.” Kevin responded.
“True,” Jessica stated out loud this time as she turned to him. “I would like to check out his wares. Do you think we have time though, we do have a long journey ahead of us.”
“If you would like to milady, we have made excellent time but we will have to be quick.” Kevin responded as if he were a dutiful bodyguard. “Your father will be upset if we take too long. He will already be throwing a fit that you convinced me to allow you to come out here.”
“Of course, one quick look.” Jessica said with feigned excitement.
Cena reached out his hand as Jessica approached the open portal. Jessica took his hand and carefully walked up the three steps to enter. Kevin followed right behind Jessica, one hand on her waist and eyes sharply watching Cena making sure he didn’t try anything uncouth. As soon as the two entered and the carriage stopped rocking from their shifting weight, Cena patted a spot for them to sit between two wooden crates. The inside was large enough to walk in but was full of various items and boxes, presumably from the supplies he was in town to purchase. Cena picked up a small jewelry display box with a glass top from the seat opposite Kevin and Jessica. He then sat down placing the display on a crate between them.