It turned out the village had some rudimentary plumbing in the form of a simple aqueduct that led under a small but neat outhouse. In the dark, Tilly didn't find anything they could possibly be using for wiping. But the Boy Scout in him smiled as he grabbed a couple of choice leaves from his pile and took care of business. Soon after, he found his little house marked by an open sliding door and a small fire going in the fireplace.
Despite the initial hostility of the villagers, Hiro's radical turnaround and now the simple care they took in preparing a place for him touched Tilly in a way he was not prepared for. He felt some of the stony pragmatism that had been forcing him forward start to crumble. Its strength had been essential in keeping him going, but he knew from experience, it was a brittle thing. Now that he was back down in the now quiet village, and the threat to the people had ended, the iron tension in his shoulders slowly started to ease, and he looked down at this side in renewed concern.
Lowering his nose to his chest turned out to be a mistake. While his armor remained smugly clean, the body underneath had become ripe with sweat, grime and the acrid scent of an adrenaline detox. He thought about finding some way to clean himself for a moment and then yawned. That and any other thoughts quickly died as he plopped down on the bed. The cool night air mingled with the warmth emanating from the coals glowing merrily near his bed and he sighed, letting the simple sensations wash through his senses.
He hadn't realized what a heavy toll the constant fight or flight had taken on his mind. Now that he was finally done moving from one near-death experience to another, the urgency driving his every step had run out and his body felt like an engine coughing on the fumes of an empty gas tank.
He tried to think about a plan for tomorrow or even questions he could ask Shuji now that he was finally going to have some time to get this place figured out. Those thoughts and others flared up eagerly in his too-tired mind, before fizzling out just as fast. His mind spent a few minutes trying to ratchet down the near-panic state he had lived in for the last couple of days, running itself ragged without producing any meaningful progress.
Finally, with the the hypnotic sound of the crackle and pop of the hearth playing in the background, he fell into the deep dreamless sleep of exhaustion. He didn't even think to slide the door closed.
----------------------------------------
“Human! I mean Mr. Tillman!”
The voice came to him in the deep blackness of unconsciousness, its tone urgent.
“Uggh…wah?” Tilly replied, trying to form some sort of coherent understanding of where he was.
“Please, you must come! They have sent a Quaestor, and Lord Hiro’s presence has been demanded in the capital.”
The words, "they" and “capital” cut through his too-little sleep fog. Whatever that meant, he was sure the best-laid plans of mice and men were now crumbling around him. With a groan, he pushed himself up from the bed and looked over to the militia spearman standing at the open entrance of his temporary house. He was hopping back and forth on his feet.
“Hurry please, Shuji sent for you the moment the platform activated, but the Empire will care little for our timing.”
“Alright, let's go.” He said, patting his side to find his only two possessions still looped into his belt. The spearman turned around and rushed down the street, with Tilly running to follow.
He hardly had time to compute that the sun was just rising over the industrious Japan-inspired village when they arrived at the center square and the small crowd that had gathered there. It looked like Hiro and Ichiro had only arrived seconds before Tilly and everyone gawked, facing the group standing on top of the still-glowing platform.
There were four… goat men? The two in front wore more ornate clothing reminiscent of ancient Greece and seemed to be mostly human, with normal legs showing through purposeful slits in the bottom of their robes. They had large horns jutting through their dark curly hair with wiry goatees. One seemed to be wearing a uniform, while the other flaunted an immense wealth with his clothing and jewelry. Tilly guessed they must be some sort of race of satyrs. The two in the rear had much more animalistic traits and were far more muscular. They wore what looked to be bronze cuirasses and had cloven hooves instead of normal human legs.
The front two were identified as a level 38 Quaestor and a level 45 Steward. The two behind were both level 48 Emperor's Bastions.
The one in the uniform was reading from an ornate scroll.
“-of treason against the Thousand Phalanx Empire. His royal majesty and the noble senate have subpoenaed you for trial under the charges of gross misuse of imperial resources and negligence in fulfilling your mandate to subdue and conquer this frontier territory for the glory of the Empire. You are to report to the Imperial Cura immediately to stand trial.” The satyr announced, reading out the edict like some sort of herald.
He then rolled it up and smartly stowed it away, stepping back from the front of the platform. The more ornately dressed satyr to his right snorted, before adding in a dismissive tone,
“You have failed. Just like your kind always does. Come with us you old hare and we will settle things in the capital once and for all.”
His words moved through the surrounding lapins like a wave, each one stiffening, and any who had weapons tightened their grips visibly. At the front of the crowd stood Hiro and Ichiro. Ichiro's face showed a placid empty expression that Tilly had begun to associate with his meditation, while the Samurai Lord’s face was set in a granite, longsuffering frown.
'This couldn’t be right, were these guys from the same empire that had abandoned the village in the fight against Corruption?' Tilly looked around at the worn but proud people filling the square. He saw anger, fear... but no surprise. This was not the first time something like this had happened to the Lapin people.
Then from off to his right Shuji appeared, huffing as if he had just run over.
“We will, of course, comply with the emperor’s command!” He gasped out.
“Lord Hiro will return with you along with a small honor guard, as is due to his rank.”
At these words, the younger satyr scowled and leaned over to the smartly dressed servant and muttered something. The servant just shook his head once and said something back.
“Yes, of course, but no delays. He is to come immediately.” The Quaestor turned and answered curtly. His eyes had been absently scanning the crowd as he spoke and froze once they found Tilly. The uncomfortably oblong irises narrowed at the sight of the human and he looked like he was about to say something else before Hiro spoke up, responding for the first time with a slow thoughtful acquiescence.
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“My son will stay and lead the outpost in my stead, and my logistics officer will accompany me to answer any questions about misuse of resources. Otherwise, I have recently lost any others who could serve as capable guards, so in their place, I choose to bring a friend of our people.”
Tilly tore his eyes away from the group of satyrs to look over at Lord Hiro in shock. Lord Hiro in turn was looking at Shuji. His halting declaration was juxtaposed by a rapid series of hand signs that he flashed subtly behind his back. Through these, he relayed far more information to those around him than his forward-facing manner had shown. While Tilly had no idea what they meant, he saw several lapins rush off in response.
The ornately dressed satyr however seemed to allow himself a satisfied grin. Picking up on who Hiro was referring to immediately.
“Very well, I'm sure this friend of yours is dying to see some actual civilization. Time is up, come with us now while the spell is still active, or face immediate arrest.”
At this, Hiro turned and placed his hand on his son's shoulder.
“Prepare what you must.” He said cryptically before turning to look over at Tilly, the barest hint of a question hidden behind his hard eyes.
Tilly only hesitated a moment, his mind whirling before the rapid change in his circumstances. As the pieces fell into place, It all came down to one simple thing. despite their rough start, these people had decided to trust him. He wasn't going to back out on them now.
He nodded and hurried forward, joining a still-panting Shuji, and a stoic Hiro at the base of the platform.
The two armored satyrs came down and formed up to either side of the trio as they moved toward the platform which had begun to glow brighter. Right before the steps, Shuji seemed to stumble and a few lapins rushed to his side to help him up.
“Very sorry sirs, I find myself quite out of sorts at your early call. Thank you for your patience.” He poured out profusely to the hard-faced guards and sneering Quaestor. From his position just behind the lapin, Tilly saw Shuji pocket several things that he hadn't been holding a moment before.
The three made it up to the top of the platform and this close to the satyrs, Tilly felt a fiery itch build in his side around the new scar. The glow of the platform increased into a searing light, and the ornately dressed satyr issued a command.
“Evander, break it.” To which Tilly heard a snapping sound in response. Then the world went black and his stomach felt like it had flipped inside out. Light once again bloomed all around them and Tilly found himself at the center of what seemed to be a huge ancient metropolis.
The ornately dressed satyrs brushed past them with his entourage.
“You are to report to the Cura immediately, you cannot hide here, and don't even think about running.” He spat back at them, shaking out his right arm in apparent discomfort. Then strangely he hurried off with his attendants in tow, not even leaving the guards behind.
The metropolis was reminiscent of something Tilly imagined you might have found in Italy thousands of years ago. Except for the fantastic creatures moving around and through the open area before him. Tilly stood on a platform that was part of a grid of similar stone structures situated at the center of the wide, multi-block area in the middle of the city. Some sort of turtle-human hybrid was walking away from their platform with a crooked staff glowing the same hue as the arcane symbols on the floor around Tilly's feet. The creature moved slowly but smoothly, knocking his staff against the cobblestones every other step.
Level 32 Tidal Mage
“We are undoubtedly being watched, Shuji, tell me you got off those messages,” Hiro whispered in a low voice as he put a hand on Tilly's shoulder and moved him forward off the platform, not giving him much time to gawk.
“Yes Sir! We got back two responses. The Cura is meeting in an hour, giving us barely enough time to do anything but arrive and defend our cause.”
“Damn that Marcellus brat,” Hiro snarled fiercely, showing emotion for the first time that day.
“Anyone want to let me in on what is going on?” Tilly cut in, keeping his voice at the same level as theirs.
“I am afraid things continue to move at an unfortunate pace for our people, although our position is not without opportunities,” Shuji answered excitedly, his voice creeping up in volume.
They had begun moving through some of the traffic surrounding the platforms even in the early hour. There were several other variants of human and animal hybrids from myths and legends, as well as a few of the classic fantasy interspersed through the crowd. Tilly almost stopped in his tracks at the sight of his first dwarf.
“These things are best discussed in private. Jonathan Tillman, please stay close and stay quiet.” Hiro turned and spoke in a low voice before leading them farther away from the platforms. Many of the creatures seemed busy with their own business, but several stopped and stared at the group as they passed. Tilly even saw a couple of minotaurs point to him with animated gestures from across the square.
Then Hiro led them to one of the huge streets leading from the teleport hub, and Tilly saw his first guards, all of whom seemed to be satyrs. They stood at the corner of the square overlooking the traffic flowing in and out of the huge square. They frowned at the group as they passed but otherwise did nothing as they turned onto a huge promenade leading through the center of the city.
The road was the size of a four-lane highway back home, and the center had statues of different satyrs posing triumphantly every fifty feet or so. The street went on for hundreds of yards, ending in a truly monstrous blocky building built on top of enormous columns. Even from this distance, Tilly could tell it was huge beyond belief.
But despite its initial powerful impression, Tilly couldn't help but see the filth caked on the surfaces of the city. The promenade was bordered by different ornate structures, all gated and surrounded by tall marble walls. And against those walls were endless stalls and tents. Some housed businesses selling things to the growing throng, while others sheltered grimy groups of what looked like beggars or refugees.
Worse of all were the children. They were everywhere, sleeping in the shadow of the tall statues, roving on the outskirts of the light crowd or just staring listlessly at nothing. They came in all shapes and sizes but universally had the look of the abandoned. The sight of so much hopelessness weighed on Tilly's soul.
Lord Hiro's figure cut through the thickening soup of misery like the bow of a ship parting the waves with Shuji and Tilly hurrying to keep up in his wake.
“Truly sorry for all of this my friend,” Shuji said once again huffing alongside Tilly, making some attempt at reassurance.
“Stay close, and I will endeavor to explain everything to you after the trial… as long as they don't arrest us.” He said conspiratorially with a grin.
“Arrest us for wh-” Tilly began, but was interrupted by a crash of a cart up ahead.
“My Cabbages!” the wagon driver yelled in dismay.
His cart had been overturned by a huge rolling barrel that seemed to have rolled free from one of the tent shops.
“Sorry mate!” An honest to God gnome shouted up to the cart driver.
As the whole street watched the exchange, Shuji suddenly shoved Tilly into a barely noticeable break-in between two stalls, causing him to stumble forward into a claustrophobic alley.
“Quickly now.” He breathed out harshly, shooing Tilly further down the alley. Tilly only then noticed Hiro already disappearing into a doorway deeper in the shadows.
Tilly rushed after, with Shuji right behind. As they turned into the doorway, they found a female lapin waiting for them dressed in washerwoman clothes.
“Gods, what a mess. At least I got your message.” She exclaimed without preamble.
They had entered some sort of store room with several lanterns burning, illuminating dusty shelves, and old wooden crates. Shuji quietly shut the door behind him and let out a sigh of relief.
“We have precious few moments. Who do we have with us in the senate, and how do the charges sit with the emperor?”
The washerwoman barely spared Tilly a glance, her gaze fixed on Hiro with an unparalleled intensity.
“First, My Lord, I must know. Is this it? Is it time?”