Liam stepped through the Transportation Portal and moved away from it allowing more people to step through. His mind was whirling, and his emotions were all over the place that he didn’t feel the swirling mess sloshing in his stomach. Instead, he marched for the door wanting to get some air. However, before he could reach the door, two uniformed guards approached him and waved their arms out to stop him.
“Stop where you are young man,” a human male instructed. The look on his face was one of worry. He seemed alarmed and tensed.
“We need to go through the procedures before letting you out and we have some questions to ask about what happened on the island you were currently on,” a woman added. This woman had light blue skin and shimmering scales that covered her face and hands. Liam wasn’t sure what race she was since he had never seen it before.
Liam stopped and clicked his tongue. He didn’t want to waste any time and go over what he had discovered. He felt that if he didn’t get out of this room soon then Uncle Naro and the others were going to hound him what he had learned.
Before stepping through the portal he had a scolding from Uncle Naro for running off into the midst of chaos. When he explained he wanted to find any clues as to what was going on, Uncle Naro yelled at him even more. He told him he was an idiot for thinking that he could thinking he would be able to do that. He also told him he was lucky for not getting caught or hurt from friendly fire or from enemy attacks.
Liam felt annoyed being scowled like a child and was about to argue, but the look on Uncle Naro’s face gave him pause. While his words were harsh, his facial expression spoke differently. He looked relieved that Liam had made it back to them safely.
Uncle Naro must have caught what Liam had seen because a moment later he turned around and told him he was going to have him tell him everything he had found. Before that happened Liam wanted to talk to Silky and relay all he had found out as well as show her the symbol on that piece of cloth. He couldn’t do that with everyone around.
Before Liam could say anything else, the others started to enter the room one by one. The two guards turned to look at who had entered the room and were about to instruct them on what they wanted to do, but stopped as Uncle Naro stepped in.
The two guards stared at him for a brief moment. They looked like they were confused and unsure if the person they were looking at was right. Before they could say anything, Uncle Naro pulled out one of his identifications and handed it to the male guard. He then said, “these young ones are with me. I apologize if any of them has caused any issues, but it has been an…interesting night and I believe everyone is on edge.”
The guard’s eyes widened as he stared at the identification handed to him. He showed the blue scaled woman, and she gave a similar reaction as she looked back at the man. The male guard then looked at Liam and had a mixed expression on his face.
The woman didn’t waste any time as she said, “We understand. We apologize, but we must go through the proper procedures before allowing you to leave the building. If we could ask for your cooperation on that we will be more than happy to get this done as fast as we can so you and your members can get some rest.”
The man jumped in, “We do have to inform you though that due to the influx of recent people coming in, I think the inns will be full. Since this incident has happened we are allowing people to camp near the town in the small, forested areas we have if they so wish to.”
Uncle Naro nodded his head. “Thank you for that information. Camping is just fine for us. Also, after you let the young ones go I will be more than happy to give up what information I have on what happened on the island we were just on.”
The two guards nodded, happy to get some information they could pass on to their superiors. Like they had promised the procedures went quickly and Liam and the others were on their way to find a spot to set up for the night. Uncle Naro stayed behind to tell the guards all that he knew. Liam wasn’t entirely sure what all he had found out, but figured he would find out later when he came to him for his findings.
The group walked in silence as they walked through the busy city. Even though it was in the middle of the night plenty of people were walking around. Taverns, restaurants, bars, and even inns were full of people. As they walked they heard that everyone that was currently awake and moving about were majority of the people who had escaped to this island like they did.
Children cried as they were confused about the events of what happened while parents tried to comfort them. Single men recalled their actions to impress the women at the bars while others called them out on exaggerating. Some people looked lost while others were angry. Guards were seen walking around making sure the peace was instilled between these people and the locals who were confused on the matter.
After walking to an area Uncle Naro had suggested to them to go to, they each carved out an area and set up camp. It didn’t take long for them to get everything together and after they were done they all looked to Liam. Liam could feel their gazes on him. He knew what they wanted to ask, but he still wanted to process it all and talk to Silky before telling them. if he had to be honest, he wasn’t sure if he had enough information that could be helpful to answer their questions. Even after talking to that strange woman, he felt like there was more he wanted to know compared to before he talked to that group.
He noticed Mercer’s body language and before his companion could open his mouth, Liam said, “I’m sorry.”
Everyone stared at him. They weren’t sure what he was apologizing for. Instead of asking what, they decided to wait to see if he would elaborate more. Which he did as he added, “I need some time to process and understand what I learned.”
Mercer, Avery, and Blair looked at each other for a brief moment as Artem and Ariyana glanced at each other. However, it wasn’t any of them nor Gimmel who said anything, but Roman instead as he said, “Take your time. Once you have your thoughts in order let us know.”
Everyone turned to look at him. They each had a surprised look upon their faces, which made Roman uncomfortable as he asked, “What?”
“Nothing,” Mercer started. “It’s just a bit strange to hear you be the patient one.”
Roman frowned at that. “Even I know there are some things that need to be understood before you talk about them. This sudden attack was strange and so were the people attacking. If Liam found anything out then it wouldn’t be strange if that information was delicate.”
Everyone still had the same look on their faces as they continued to stare. However, before Roman could snap at them, Liam stood up and said, “I’m going to find a quiet spot and organize my thoughts. I’ll be back in a bit. You guys should get some rest for now and we can talk about it in the morning.”
Avery, Blair, Gimmel, and Mercer quickly looked at him. Gimmel swiftly asked, “Do you want some company?”
Liam shook his head. “No. I need some…quiet time to process and go over everything.” He patted his right ear as he said this drawing confused looks from Avery, Ariyana, Artem, Blair, Mercer, and Roman. Gimmel understood what he was talking about as a flashy of his earring appeared and disappeared.
Even though Gimmel wasn’t a member of the Fiddler’s Spider Web, he had some knowledge about certain things about the underground association from his uncle. He understood that Liam patting his ear and flashing the earring to him meant he needed to report what he found to his Web Watch. He nodded in understanding and said, “If you need us just let us know.”
Stolen story; please report.
Liam nodded as he flashed them a quick smile before leaving the area. He walked out far enough that he was now standing on a cliff that stared out into the vast body of water. He focused on his heightened hearing to see if anyone was close by but found no one. Feeling that he was far enough from people listening in on him, Liam pulled out the mask inside his inventory and put it on as he channeled some of his mana into his Web Watch.
[Hello Phantom Cat. I am glad to see you were able to get away unharmed. – Silky.]
“Silky, were you able to listen in on my conversation with that group of cloaked individuals?” Liam asked. He wasn’t entirely sure if Silky was able to hear everything while she was in his pocket or not and this would be the best time to fully understand her abilities.
She was silent for a long moment which confused Liam. Normally when he asked a question she would be quick with an answer. Her not saying anything made Liam feel a bit uneasy. Finally after a couple of minutes she responded.
[I am sorry Phantom Cat. There was a certain period of time where I could not hear nor feel anything around me…I had feared that something had happened to you…Upon thinking back on this issue my ability to feel mana and hear around had not returned until you summoned me. – Silky.]
Liam frowned at that. He hadn’t had Silky for long, but when he received her no one had told him that there was a chance something like that could happen. Wanting to learn more about this he asked, “Can you tell me more about that? Is there a reason why that happened?”
[I am sorry Phantom Cat. There is no known causes that I am aware of that could do that…All I know is what I felt at the time before everything was…cut off… - Silky.]
What she felt? I didn’t feel anything around me besides that pain… Liam thought before thinking more about it. Both Silky and Uncle Naro had warned him about that woman having a strange power upon her. Could she be the reason? If so then what power did she have that could do that?
“Can you tell me what you felt?” Liam asked, even more curious.
[It is hard to explain…It was like a powerful pressure that suppressed my entire being…It felt like if I tried to move or do anything then that suppression would harm me in an unexplainable way…I had deemed the situation dire so I remain as still and inert as I could…I can say that I have come across a situation similar to this before, but at the same time different… - Silky.]
Liam read her message with full focus. At the end of her message, he grew even more confused and curious. This was the first time she had brought up having this issue. Why hadn’t she told him about having a similar problem before?
“What do you mean you have come across this problem before? When did this happen and why didn’t you tell me about this?” Liam questioned.
[I apologize for not mentioning this problem before. However during the time this problem had happened the situation was both unique and strange. However, that issue resolved itself not too long after it had occurred, so I wrote it off as a situational and environmental cause… - Silky.]
A situational and environmental cause? Did I ever come across any phenomenon or situation that would warrant an issue similar to this before? Liam thought as he ran through his memories to try and come up with an answer. As he did this a certain incident did pop up in his memories. His eyes slowly widened as his mouth opened slightly.
He wasn’t entirely sure if what he was thinking was the right time, but if he was right then if she was cut off to all things happening during that specific time was a heavens sent for him. If he was wrong then he could have a potential problem on his hands. There was only one way to get that answer. He calmed his beating heart as he asked, “Tell me…when exactly did this happen?”
[It was during your fight with the Seven Immoral Vices worshippers in the Decaying Land Entrance of the Toxo Catacombs…You were saying something to them right before the powerful pressure descended down…When the problem had corrected itself you were in the middle of the fight with the final boss monster…However, unlike the pressure that made me feel like I would be harmed in an unexplainable way…this power made me feel like I would go completely insane if I tried to do anything…I had taken measures to protect my mind by cutting myself off from any contact outside of the Web Watch until I felt the strange power disappear… - Silky.]
Liam felt a wave of relief wash away from him as he read this message. She didn’t hear him say anything about receiving the Gifts of Chaos from Eri or his Zodiac power as well as him being a Champion. That secret was still safe. He was happy to know that if he used that power then she would need to cut herself off from the world outside the Web Watch and a misunderstanding would be created leading it to whatever would be going on and not be directed towards himself.
His happiness was short lived as he tensed up as a new thought suddenly popped up in his mind. Wait…if the incident when he activated his Champion form as well as receiving the Gifts of Chaos was similar to the time when he was in that cloaked group’s presence…Not only that but it was a different type of pressure when compared to during the fight with the Demon-kins then did that mean…
[Phantom Cat…can you tell me what happened earlier when I was cut off from the outside world? – Silky.]
Silky’s question snapped him out of his thoughts. What she had told him brought up a lot of questions…questions that needed a lot of time to be thought over. This was something he would need more heads on to make sure he didn’t overthink it or wasn’t jumping to conclusions. He would also need to make sure he placed Silky far enough away from him, so she didn’t listen in on that conversation.
Deciding to push his theories off to the corner of his mind for another time, Liam went into what he and the cloaked individuals had talked about. He even asked Silky if she would be able to see or scan or whatever she could do to get a better look at the symbol on the piece of cloth he received. She told him to hold it close by the Web Watch and when his did several pairs of eyes appeared within the black void of the Web Watch Silky was within and stared at it. After a few seconds had passed, she had told him she had scanned the image.
She then spent a few minutes trying to see if she had any knowledge on the symbol. After she was done she had informed Liam that she had a hit on the symbol, however, the knowledge behind it was locked and required authority of one of the eight Legs of the Fiddler’s Spider Web to unlock that information. She had suggested his next visit to one of the Web Branches he should sell the information he had gained as well as offer the symbol as proof. While offering the symbol he should also ask for the lock to be undone for her so she could inform him more on it.
He thought her suggestion was good. Especially if it would help them to learn more about those behind the symbol. They talked a bit more after that. He asked her for her advice on what she believed he should focus on when it came to the Fiddler’s Spider Web. She had told him that his main focus should be on crafting. Even though the merits was lower than if he did assassination quests she believed he would gain more renown and more offers if he crafted items that people wanted. It would be a slow start, but the more he made and the more he offered the more people within the association would notice.
Information Gathering was a good secondary choice to do as well. Offering up the information he had gathered on the island would be a good start and would show that he was willing to dive into dangerous situations to get what was asked even if it wasn’t tasked of him.
After they finished talking, Liam closed his Web Watch and looked at the time. It was still a couple hours away before the morning sky would arrive. He was a bit tired after the events of the night, but at the same time he had some energy left he could burn. He decided to work on leveling some of his Shadow Magic abilities. He was able to get his Shadow Orb and Shadow Swarm up a couple of levels after some practice and his Shadow Manipulation had reached level nine after some practice as well.
He couldn’t work on his other Shadow abilities since they either required targets to land the spells on or a part of his Utility Focus Point, which he was trying to stay away from for right now. he would use them in a fight if need be, but he wanted to save that for when he got his other Focus Points caught up.
Something he had discovered when he leveled his Shadow Magic abilities and didn’t realize had happened was he had received a couple of new Ailment Resistances. One was called Hex and the other was called Decay. They were both now at level five each. He had to think about where they had come from for a bit, but after a minute he realized it must have come from that woman. After thinking back on that encounter he came to the decision that he really didn’t want to have to deal with that again. He thoroughly believed that the pain he felt was worse than his own afflictions that he could cast. He also wanted to get his afflictions to that same level of pain. It was affective when trying to disarm enemies.
After the sun started to bleed into the sky, Liam decided it was time to head back to the camp. As he entered the camp he found Uncle Naro sitting there next to a warm fire. In his hand was a mug of what Liam believed was herbal tea due to the aroma he could smell. The Bear-folk was staring at the fire until Liam had approached the fire. His gaze slowly turned to him and with a tired smile he patted a make shift seat next to him and said, “Come join me. I’ll make you a cup and then I would like to discuss what we both had discovered.”