“ID please.”
Rancour scowled, “I left three hours ago. You saw me leave. We made eye contact!”
“ID please.”
“Agh…” He pulled out his identification card written in enchanted kernstone ink. Even if it’s annoying, the brown-haired man was grudgingly impressed that the card could sense its owner’s lifeforce.
As he entered Danglawan, Rancour felt even more frustrated than before. There had to be something more to do than just waiting for the next mission.
----------------------------------------
“You’re not coming with us?” Elle asks as her travelling group gathers at Fort Kernstone’s gates. Although a familiar nightmare woke her up in the middle of the night, the cool mountain air chases away the early morning grogginess.
Mikell gives her an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I need to keep looking for my sister. I finally found a clue yesterday, and I can’t give up now.”
One of her travelling companions —Mark— averts his grey eyes for a moment but then meets Mikell’s gaze. “Good luck and be careful. You won’t be helpful if you’re dead.”
He faces him, “Thanks, I won’t push the team like yesterday. I’ll stay within our limits.” His expression is serious.
“Good. When I’m back, I’ll help with the search.”
Mikell’s eyes brighten. “That’ll be great.” A subtle tension in the group relaxes.
Elle steps forward, “You said you had a copy of Nola’s photo for me?’
“Yeah, here you go.” He hands her a photo of who she assumes to be his family. Mikell stands with a young girl and an older couple with sandy blonde hair like his. Their smiles are bright, and they sit on a picnic blanket.
She takes the photo and studies the girl who looked no older than thirteen. Nola Drukinn has almond-shaped green eyes on the cusp of being grey and a rounder face than him. Besides her shirt with an unfamiliar logo, Mikell’s sister only other unique feature is her silver necklace shaped like an atom embraced by a crescent moon. “Is this what she was wearing when she disappeared?”
“No, she had a bright blue jacket and white pants on when we fell. And…” Mikell retrieves a familiar piece of jewellery. “...We found her necklace in the tunnels yesterday, so she’s passed through here.”
Monsters consume all their kills. If Nola had been eaten, there wouldn’t even be bones remaining. Despite her thoughts, Elle nods. “I’ll keep an eye out.”
Before Mikell can respond, Edellan pipes in, “A lot of people don’t need to eat or drink water so long as they have aura. Even if she got lost in the tunnels, it’s still possible for her to have eventually made it out.” Although they say this to everyone, Edellan’s gaze lingers on Mark for slightly longer.
“Thank you. Both of you. It means a lot to me.” Mikell’s voice cracks a little.
Elle adjusts her grip on her javelin. “No problem. Please send a message to Vinayre if Van comes back.”
“Got it, I’ll let him know that you’re looking for him.”
She smiles, “Great, hopefully we have good news next time we see each other.” Flint’s letter of introduction sits unblemished in her inventory, bearing the recipient’s full name ‘Van Nguyen’.
Edellan holds out their fist to Mikell. “See you later.”
He fistbumps them. “Don’t get lost.”
“I should be the one saying that.”
Mark and Elle’s last travelling companion Ira also give a round of goodbyes. She just met the two this morning and don’t know them very well. Mark is a lanky man who’s quiet and unwilling to contribute to small talk. Ira is a short, tanned woman who’s barely awake.
As the group leaves Fort Kernstone, Elle feels excited for the first time since arriving in Sinkpoint.
***
“Edellan, on your right!” Anne Bowlin’ cracks the head of the cougar-like icekoon as it drops from her inventory.
The grey beast stumbles from the blow, allowing Mikell’s friend to run into it with their shield. It flies a short distance in the air from the tackle.
Crouched next to Elle, Ira shoots the icekoon with a red bullet. The icekoon summons a chunk of ice and blocks the shot by launching it. Upon impact with the ice, the bullet explodes, and the momentum of the ice chunk blows the explosion towards Edellan.
“Agh,” they grunt as the blast sends them bouncing across the ground like a rubber ball. Even after Edellan told her about their ability, Elle still finds it surreal to see someone bounce two metres in the air and get up like nothing happened.
She sucks in a breath as she considers trying another warp-attack. Last time, the icekoon turned out to be a clone, so she’s not eager to waste so much of her aura.
Ira and Elle perch on a ledge about three metres off the ground from Edellan and the icekoon. After he’d been hit by an ice spear earlier, she sensed Mark ducking behind a rocky outcropping to recover. Her head whips back as she senses an incoming spear. “Ira, behind!”
Ira rolls to one side while Elle jumps to the other. The ice spear sails between them and hits the ground below.
Another grey icekoon bares its fangs at them for a second before Anne Bowlin’ crashes into its head. Before it can recover, Ira fires an explosive round at it. Once again, the sound is muffled by the fog. The icekoon breaks into pieces of ice.
She hears a yell from below and feels a little of her aura return. Looking down the ledge, Elle sees Mark roll off the monster’s corpse after he apparently jumped onto it. The woman swivels her senses in a full circle twice before declaring, “Coast looks clear for now.”
Edellan pries their shield from the beast’s maw. “Anyone need healing?” They look a little haggard, but they have no visible injuries.
Ira leaps to the ground, and Elle follows her. “We didn’t get hit.”
Mark sits up, breathing heavily. “I still have aura.” Out of all of them, he’s the most dishevelled, his russet hair sticking up in all directions.
Ira nods, “Okay, then I think we’re good to hang around here until the bones are ready. Let’s get some cover.” She strides over to the corpse, and everyone helps her carry it behind a rocky outcropping.
Once they set the body on the ground, Elle props Pointy against the rocks and stretches her arms and hands. She has a bad habit of tensing her grip when she’s stressed.
“You know, you don’t use your javelin all that much,” Ira remarks dryly but not unkindly. The acting leader of their party leans against the outcropping, keeping watch.
She shrugs, “I don’t like to get close enough for melee, and I’m a bad shot. It’s really more for emergencies when something does manage to get in my face.”
Ira hums, “At least it’s light enough that you can carry it around all the time. Just know that it might break mid-fight if you’re at low aura.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. By the way —if it’s not rude to ask— how are you able to aim in this fog?” As they approach Vinayre, Elle has noticed the fog getting denser. She can only see about ten metres in front of her now.
The tanned woman smirks, “My ranged attacks never miss as long as nothing blocks it. You can block it, but you can’t dodge it as long as you’re within two hundred paces of me.”
“Paces?”
She separates her hands at a distance about three-quarters of a metre. “About this far apart. I’m not used to the measuring system Vinayre has, but ‘pace’ is commonly used by travellers and the like.”
“Yeah, I guess there must be a ton of measurement systems floating around here.” Elle glances to her other companions who have also taken up watch positions. Unlike her and Ira, they seem to be uninterested in talking.
Her first combat experience in a group went well, and it was reassuring to have someone else watching her back. She’s glad that she didn’t freeze up in combat either. Heh, Jay or Myra would’ve laughed.
Elle feels a pang of homesickness and wishes they could’ve come with her. She has nobody to rely on here.
Edellan’s voice jolts her out of her thoughts, “Elle, do you have a place you want to visit in Vinayre? We know a few people there, so we can put a good word in.”
She fidgets with her jacket, mulling over her words. This group seems nice currently, but she doesn’t trust her own judgement of people. “Well, I’d like to drop by the Hunters’ Guild first. Find a place to stay and then maybe a library?”
According to her phone, it’s been about six hours since they’ve left Fort Kernstone, but any midday sunlight struggles to break through the fog. Fortunately, she bought a crank charger not a solar-powered one.
Edellan rubs their chin, “A library? There’s two in Vinayre from what I remember. One is your average public library which was somewhat damaged during the Calamities. The other is part of the Temple of Eurimas the Goddess of Time. That one has a lot on the second world Arishelm’ history, so it depends on what you’re looking for.”
A sense of wariness creeps in her chest at the mention of a temple. Given her encounter with a supposed deity however, she wants to research Equinox and the Language of the Gods. “Is the temple library open to everyone?”
“Yes, if you’re respectful, the acolytes will let you read their collections. They’re very proud of their Order’s work in documenting history.”
Ira snorts, “Proud is an understatement. They’ll watch you like you’ll make off with one of their dusty tomes. Good luck getting any reading done when they’re breathing down your neck.”
Elle winces, adjusting her grip on her javelin. “Awesome…”
Edellan sighs, “They’re not that bad. In any case, your other option is the public library which has a mix of fiction and non-fiction. They’re more likely to have books from multiple worlds since they’ve been scavenging and buying books.”
“Hmm, I see.” It might make sense to check sources from multiple worlds.
Ira muses, “I can’t believe you two don’t even blink an eye at the news of a public library. Where I’m from, those are very rare.”
Elle straightens, surprised by this. “Oh, where are you from?”
“A small town in the third world Nessaprine.”
Before she can continue her inquiry, Mark clears his throat, “The bones are ready.” They all turn and look at the clean skeleton laying on the ground. Even the last wisps of black smoke have disappeared at this point. “I can carry more of it once we split it up.”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Let’s pray that nothing attacks us while our arms are full. This is one hefty boy,” Ira jokes, helping Mark separate the bones.
Picking up a femur, Elle inspects it and marvels at its perfectly smooth surface. She tries to send aura into the bone but meets surprising resistance. Her aura feels sluggish like pouring molasses out of a wine bottle.
Moreover, the bone itself seems to wiggle slightly in her hand as if trying to burrow into her aura. In her shock, Elle immediately shoves it in her inventory. As soon as the bone enters her inventory, she feels the sensation evaporate like fine mist.
“How did you do that?” Ira gapes, causing the other woman to startle. Even Edellan and Mark wear matching expressions of shock, frozen in the middle of sorting bones.
“Oh, the inventory space came with my powers…” she mumbles, awkward from the sudden attention. After scouring the internet for advice or similar stories about her power, Elle knows that it’s uncommon.
However, Ira shakes her head. “No, not that. How did you store the bones in your inventory? Mine always goes nuts when I try.”
She blinks, “I didn’t do anything different from normal. What do you mean by your inventory?”
“Ah, I forgot you’re new here. People from Nessaprine all have inventories. At least, a lot of us do, but some lost access to theirs after the Calamities. Let me show you.” Ira makes a gesture in the air like someone using a touchscreen to zoom in.
An outline of a two-feet by three-feet rectangle appears in the air. Ira extends a bone towards it, but right before the bone can touch it, the rectangle sparks. Snatching the bone back, she narrowly avoids arcs of energy lashing at her. After that single blast, the rectangle disappears without a trace.
“That’s never happened before with mine.” Elle’s dark-brown eyes are wide. “And that happens to everyone else with an inventory?”
“To everyone that I’ve met, yeah.” Ira shrugs, “Lucky you. How much can you store in there?”
She recalls her earliest experiments with stuffing everything that could fit into her inventory. “A lot. I don’t think it’s infinite, but at least 50 kilograms?” Elle adds upon seeing the group’s confusion, “About the mass of a teenager. Or twenty-five books.”
Edellan speaks, “It’ll be safer for us if our hands are free. If you’re willing to carry it in your inventory, I’ll give you ten percent of my share of the profits.”
“You’re not worried that I’ll run off?”
Ira gives her a lazy grin, “I think we’ll be able to catch you. Besides, people know us in Vinayre. You won’t be getting far.”
Elle pretends to think for a moment, but she was planning to offer to do it for free anyway. She might as well get a little extra cash since she’s completely new here. “Deal.” Another thought occurs to her. “Do healing potions exist here? How much does medicine cost?”
Ira replies, “Yeah, they do but they’re pretty pricy in Vinayre. One minor healing potion costs over 400 Lymm. It’s not easy to get the ingredients here. At least we all have aura, or we’d be in deep shit all the time.”
“Okay, good to know.” She puts all of the bones except for the large skull into her inventory and hands the remainder to Mark.
He carries it with ease but remarks, “I hope I can develop that inventory power someday. Seems handy.”
Ira stretches her arms. “Isn’t it? The System in Nessaprine is truly the best.”
Edellan chuckles, “No biases there, huh?”
The System? Her knowledge of the isekai genre combined with the discussion of inventories leads her to suspect Nessaprine to be a RPG-like world. Despite her curiosity, Elle doesn’t want to delay the journey further. “I think it’s impossible to be completely unbiased towards anything. Nessaprine sounds like a cool place.”
Of course, she’s speaking as an outsider who sees the concept of a world controlled by a game system as interesting. Elle wonders if reality will line up with her expectations this time.
Ira pats her on the shoulder, “It was. Now let’s get on with our walk. I’d like to be at Vinayre before it gets dark, not we can see a big difference out here.”
Once again, they set off Vinayre, trekking through the uneven terrain. Elle understands her group’s preference for keeping their hands empty when the ground juts out at difficult angles. It’s only with her cross-country running experience enhanced by her aura manipulation that keeps her from tripping.
After more than half an hour of hiking, they reach a truss bridge wide enough to fit two cars. As they cross the steel bridge, Elle looks over the railing to see more grey fog. When she stretches her senses to the river below them, she can feel the rushing rapids but can’t hear its sounds.
They make it to the other side, and the fog disappears.
Starting from the bridge, a smooth concrete path leads up a hill to an intricately carved stone gate similar to one Elle has seen in Chinatown. Past the gate, the path continues between two seemingly official buildings and then disappears into rows of multi-storey apartments. In contrast to the neutral, earth tones in the surrounding area, the residences are painted in vibrant colours that almost cause her eyes to sting.
On the far left and right, she spots two watchtowers surveying the area. Although she can’t make out the details, they look to be constructed from stone and stand at around six or seven stories tall. They seem to be the tallest structures in Vinayre.
Behind the city, the famous glacier rises above it and shields it from the sky. Unlike her previous faraway view of it however, the Ice Shield looks clear from this side, revealing clouds and crags. She suspects that the earlier pure-white version is the illusion, because she doesn’t think aura-made ice would produce the impurities in ice to make it look white.
From this spot, Elle can feel the cold soak through her aura and settle beneath her skin. She should really buy a thicker jacket when she has the funds or move onto another city.
As they stroll up the path, Elle hears the shouts of bustling vendors and construction workers. Every twenty metres, she spots familiar red crystals embedded on the path’s sides like the one in Mikell’s disk. Engraved symbols and lines connect the crystals. She thinks they might be responsible for clearing the fog in Vinayre.
A bored guard sits on a folding chair by the gate and perks up when he sees them. “Ira! Good to see you again.”
She returns the smile. “Hey there, Yimm. Busy day as usual, right?”
“Incredibly so. How goes the scouting?”
“Slow as usual.”
“Slow is better than excitement. And it seems Vinayre has gotten plenty of excitement recently. Do be careful if you head near Mt. Aspirash.”
Ira frowns. “There’s trouble out there?”
Yimm shrugs, “The guards have not encountered anything unusual in their patrols, but hunters have been supposedly disappearing into thin air. It might just be a rumour that got out of hand.”
The hairs on Elle’s skin rise, but she keeps her face stoic.
Ira replies, “We’ll keep an eye out, but I’ve got no plans to go there.” The rest of the group murmur agreement.
“Good, better to let the situation calm down first.” He turns to the rest of the group. “Glad to see you both as well, Edellan and Mark. Is that a new face I see?”
The rift-diver dips her head. “I’m Elle. Nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine. I shall let everyone continue with their business unless there is anything interesting to share…?” Yimm quirks an eyebrow.
Ira shakes her head, her brown ponytail swaying. “Nothing much. Mikell found his sister’s necklace in the tunnels, but we should still keep an eye out. She might turn up any day.”
His expression turns solemn. “Of course, I will let Fort Kernstone know if she passes through here. Good day then, to all of you.”
“Thanks, Yimm.”
The party all give differing gestures of farewell before passing through the gate. As she walks under the stone entryway, Elle shivers as a slight chill snakes down her spine.
Edellan tilts their head, “Is something wrong, Elle?”
She forces a smile. “Just feeling a little cold.”
Ira adds, “You might want to buy a thicker jacket if you’re going to stick around here. Wasting your aura to keep yourself warm is dangerous if you’re going to hunt.”
Elle shrugs, “I’ll add it to the list.”
Heading left to the Trading Hub, they pass three-storey apartments painted colours so bright that she expects her eyes to water. If the fog didn’t exist, she might have been able to spot these buildings from the mountains. In contrast to their rainbow hues, the buildings appear to be simple in construction with no ostentatious designs.
She’s glad that Vinayre has no city walls, otherwise it would feel rather claustrophobic. The Ice Shield towers far above the city, but she still feels somewhat cut off from the outside world.
The winding path follows the perimeter of the city before opening into a wide marketspace. Vendors of varying stalls chat with their patrons in different languages. Her eyes don’t know where to focus, darting from glossy pelts to shiny gemstones to delicate pottery.
Where are they getting the pelts? Are there still animals that haven’t transformed into monsters?
Ira leads them through the marketspace, sharing greetings with traders. To Elle’s confusion, they exit the open area entirely and approach an older, large building with a sign titled ‘Alchemy Guild’.
The guildhall is large and light-grey with a cobalt-blue roof, standing at four-levels tall. Formed from stained glass, the front-facing windows resemble light-blue chrysanthemums. Its overall architecture looks similar to the Gothic style back on Earth, but Elle’s far more distracted by something else.
From all of the nearest windows, including the normal, clear ones, rave lights flash and dance out of them. Everyone else gives it a passing glance but don’t seem particularly concerned.
On the other side of the building, a line of people appear to be waiting near a window where they pass an empty flask to a man. He leaves and then returns with the flask full of some unidentifiable liquid. Above the window, a sign hangs emblazoned with a mortar and pestle.
Apparently noticing Elle’s curiosity, Edellan tells her, “That’s the pharmacy. People with low aura pick up nutrition supplements. It’s subsidised by taxes, so you can get one for free per day as long as you bring your own bottle. Don’t hoard them though since they go bad after a few days.”
A tall, silver-haired woman sits at a table outside of the guildhall. “Hello, everyone. What are you looking for?”
Ira steps forward. “Hey, Dana. I wasn’t expecting to see you out here.We’ve got monster bones if the Guild’s buying?”
Dana smiles, “Our receptionist is out on lunch break, so I’m manning the table for now. Why don’t you set the bones on the scale here?” She gestures to the giant set of scales next to the table.
As the rift-diver pulls bones out of her inventory, she wonders how they moved the scales out of the guildhall. Gold is a light metal, but these scales are almost six feet tall!
The alchemist watches her place bones on the empty scale with wide eyes, but she remains silent. Mark adds the skull to the pile.
On the other scale, there sits a circular device with both a digital display in its centre and numbers written around its circumference. As Elle places bones on the scale, the digital number increases, but the needle doesn’t move from zero.
Dana slowly turns her head towards Elle. “Wow. You’ve got an impressive purification process. I’ve never seen it stay at 0% impurities before.”
“Thank you? What do you mean by impurities?” She looks back and forth between Dana and the scales.
The alchemists sits straighter. “Ah, sorry. Forgot about regional differences. I mean that there’s not a drop of miasma in these bones.” Dana leans forward with interest visible in her crimson eyes. “What’s your secret?”
Miasma likely refers to the black smoke coming from the sublimation of monster bones. Elle takes a step back from the table. “Uh…” She has noticed Anne Bowlin’ cleaning itself after emerging from her inventory, but something doesn’t add up here. However, she can’t ponder it carefully under Dana’s scrutiny.
Edellan clears their throat, “Sorry, we’re in a bit of a rush. Do you mind if we skip to the payment?”
Dana leans back in her chair, “Oh, of course. Let’s see here…” Opening her cashbox, she counts out the colourful disks. “I can give 160 Lymms for it.”
Ira crosses her arms, muscles visibly flexing through her jacket. “Hold on now, you said that the bones are completely purified. That means your guild can save money on purifying them, and it sound like your methods aren’t perfect either. 250 Lymms, at least.”
She bites her lip, “190.”
“220.”
“200, last offer.”
“Deal.”
Awkward from the attention, Elle accepts her share of the profits and mutters, “Thank you.” Scanning her surroundings, she spots a distant sign with a bow and arrow symbol farther down the street. That’s probably the Hunter’s Guild.
A bell chimes once in the distance, seemingly from a clocktower. Glancing at the clock’s hands pointing at one o’clock, Elle is mildly surprised to see the familiar twelve-hour partition of time. It seems like this is common between worlds.
Mark adjusts the straps of his backpack. “So, I need to run some errands now. It was nice meeting you, Elle. I’ll see everyone else at the Weaver’s Gate around the sixth bell tomorrow?”
Ira nods, “Yeah, see you then. Elle, if you want to head back to Fort Kernstone, you can meet us there too.”
She gives the defacto leader a polite smile, “I’ll come say goodbye, but I think I’ll stay here.” Fort Kerstone has decent people, but she needs the resources in Vinayre to advance her mission.
“Okay, sounds good.” Ira glances back at the Alchemy Guild where the colourful lights continue to shine from the windows. “...I’m going to go check on a friend. Do you need directions to anywhere?”
Edellan says, “I can show you around, if you want. Since you’re looking for Van, I know a few people who might be able to help.”
Elle thinks about the possible suspicion aimed at a random stranger asking for an unrelated person’s location. It’ll go a lot smoother if Edellan accompanies her. “That’ll be great actually. Thank you.”
The group splits ways; Ira heads back to the Alchemy Guild, and Mark walks towards the marketplace. Edellan and Elle continue down the street towards the sign.
As they stroll down the moderately busy street, Elle speaks quietly, “Sorry for not asking earlier, but it didn’t feel like the right time. What pronouns do you use? I didn’t want to assume you use one set.”
For the first time, Edellan smiles genuinely at her. Before this, they’ve only done it for Mikell. “I mostly use they/them, but I’m okay with he/him. Thanks for asking. What do you use?”
“Ah, she/her. I’m glad the people here accept other genders and orientations.”
They scratch their cheek. “Depends on who you ask, I guess. Most people don’t really care, but the first world can be a mixed bag.”
“Good to know.” Elle makes a mental note to keep that in mind. “By the way… Since you’re helping me out, do you know Van well?”
They open their mouth for a moment before closing it. “...We’ve talked more than a few times, but he’s more of Mikell’s friend than mine. Van just …isn’t around a lot.”
Elle notes a slight bite to their tone and tightening of their features. If those two are on bad terms, then Edellan might have offered their company to hinder her mission.
She begins to wonder if asking them for help was a mistake.