The Party made good time on the road to Oreck. It wasn't all sunshine and roses between Reivyn and Fira the whole time. They understood their other companions were under stress from the possibilities involving their families, so they mainly just took opportunities during resting hours to sit near each other and have discussions. They didn't want to flaunt their budding relationship in front of the other Party members during this time.
Sera relaxed in her scrutiny of Reivyn when she noticed he didn't press any further than sitting with Fira and holding her hand, though she still kept up the watch.
"So what were you doing in a Dungeon that you got separated from your friends and got flung all the way to the ends of the Realm?" Fira asked one evening.
"I was a student at the Magic Academy," Reivyn answered. "I was solidly in first place, but I still took everything seriously, and I worked hard with my friends for them to be able to keep up. We succeeded, and we were all pretty much slated to get bumped up to the Tier 2 Academy the next year.
"A Dungeon had sprung up that was an anomaly for the Region. It was a Tier 3 Dungeon that had formed recently, and securing it for the Count was the entire reason I was conscripted in the first place.
"We had been running the Dungeon for Levels, Life Experience, and Skills, but I was outgrowing it at a much faster pace than my friends. I was attempting to clear the whole thing solo, and I went to the last floor, the third floor, with a higher Level Party to check it out. We discovered a gate at the end of the cave, and it led to the Abyss Realm.
"My companion and I made the stupid decision to check out the other side, and we got separated on the bridge between Realms. I got attacked by some sort of apparition formed by billions of these little sparks that were floating around between the Realms, and they destroyed several bridges as they pursued me, including the way back to the Dungeon I had come from.
"I finally escaped to another exit to our Realm, and it led me here."
"Wow," Fira was entranced by the story. "What I wouldn't give for an experience like that. You've actually been outside the Realm, to the place between. Going there would do amazing things for my Class."
"Oh yeah? What exactly is your Class? If you don't mind me asking."
"It's fine," Fira waved her hand in dismissal. "It's not something I tell everyone, but it's also not something I could really keep secret, anyway. The nature of my Spells would give it away.
"My Class is Displacer Esper." Fira paused as she watched Reivyn for any kind of reaction. He just shrugged his shoulders. Fira rolled her eyes. "What are they teaching you at your Magic Academy?" She sighed.
"A Displacer Esper specializes in Space Magic. It's a Tier 3 Epic Class. My Tier 2 Class was Space Weaver." Reivyn gave out a low whistle at that revelation.
"They didn't teach us anything about the Space Affinity at the Magic Academy, though that might be part of the curriculum for later years. I wouldn't know, I was just a first year.
"My mother was a Weaver Class. Well, she was a Light Weaver for her Tier 2 Class. Not as impressive as a Space Weaver, but still."
"Hey, anyone who can get the Weaver designation represents the cream of the crop, even in a Tier 4 Region. That's nothing to scoff at, and the Light Affinity is Tier 3. That's not exactly weak. Though, I've never heard of the Magus designation before.
"What about her current Class? I highly doubt she's a Tier 2 still."
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," Reivyn replied, poking her in the side. Fira twisted her torso to try and avoid the poke, though unsuccessfully. She frowned for a moment as she considered the issue. "You don't have to tell me. It's fine."
"No, no. I want to tell you," Fira shook her head. "It's just that I've never talked about it with anyone out and about before." Fira took a deep breath. "Ok, here we go. My mother has a Tier 5 Class: The Queen of Gems." Reivyn just nodded his head and smiled to encourage her. Fira tilted her head at him. "That doesn't surprise you? My mother's Class has the word 'Queen' in it. Does that change things between us?"
"Meh, so what?" Reivyn shrugged. "My mother's Class is only Tier 4, but it's The Forgotten Celestial Sovereign."
"So you are a hidden prince!" Fira nearly jumped out of her seat in excitement. "My revelation might not have changed things for you between us, but yours sure did for me! This is great news!"
"Why is that great news? I mean, I think I understand why, but could you articulate it for me?"
"It means my parents are less likely to kill you."
"Oh... I see..." Reivyn trailed off.
"Relax," Fira reached over and placed a hand on his forearm. "I meant metaphorically. Though, my mother... Best not to think what reaction she would have. They've been pretty lenient with me over the years. As I said, I have a lot of older siblings. Pretty much all of the political marriages have already been accounted for, and there are other reasons why they would be reluctant to 'sell' me for political reasons."
"Something to do with your Displacer Esper Class?"
"Yeah. Something like that. Anyway, back to you. Are your parents on an extended Life Experience expedition like me? Why were you born in a Tier 1 Region if she's a Sovereign from a Tier 4 Empire?"
"Well, the Empire my parents are from doesn't exist anymore. There was a Dungeon Break in all four Dungeons in the capital city. They fled to one of their vassal states, but they didn't find any help there, and the vassals ended up engaging in Civil War to try and claim the Tier 4 Region and make it their own. My parents followed leads of a mastermind behind the Dungeon Breaks, and it led them to the Tier 1 Region.
"Is that going to change things again? The fact that I don't have an actual political backing associated with my parents' origin?"
"Shouldn't," Fira denied. "My parents are more concerned with someone's potential. Your current Stats and Level would speak volumes in your favor, but the fact that your parents are Tier 4 royalty definitely negates a lot of headache being a commoner would have initially caused.
"So then what about your father?" Fira asked. "Who is he?"
"He was originally the ceremonial personal bodyguard of my mother. Things happened in the years that they were outside, and they fell in love and had me. And my sisters. I have two, younger twin sisters."
"Are they as talented as you?"
"Let me put it this way: they could craft magic items without knowing what they were doing at the age of six." Fira's eyes opened wide in astonishment.
"Maybe more, then," she chuckled.
"Yeah, maybe. I make up for my lack of talent with hard work, though."
"Oh sure, humble brag why don't you?" Fira shoved Reivyn in the shoulder, giggling. "Now all of that leads to another question that I have that's been bothering me: Why and how are you only Level 7 in Tier 2? I can't figure it out. You were down in the caves by yourself for several days, fighting those low Tier 3 monsters. That alone should have pushed you up to Level 12 or so unless you were still Tier 1 when you entered the caves. But that doesn't make sense, either, because you would have had to have been in your Tier 2 Caster Class to get accepted into the Magic Academy. What is going on?"
Reivyn stared at Fira for a moment as he considered how to answer the question. We've already decided to trust each other with some pretty sensitive information, and she's been extremely forthcoming. If I want to get closer to her than we've already gotten, I'll have to trust her with more information. It really shouldn't matter, either. My parents told me they weren't particularly hiding, and it's not likely that she or her family will ever run into them in the future if we go our separate ways.
"I have a way to suppress my Experience gain," Reivyn finally answered. Fira's eyes once more opened wide at the implications of that statement. "I was trying to game the System by graduating from the Magic Academy and getting a forced Tier 3 Class conversion while still in Tier 2.
"That seems unlikely to happen now, though. I might have to abandon that goal in light of the current circumstances just to get strong enough to survive. If the conflict is as bad as we think it might be." Reivyn tossed some small sticks into the campfire, staring off into space. Fira once more placed her hand on his forearm to get his attention.
"Graduation isn't the only way for the System to force a Class change," she said, looking into his eyes. Reivyn was once more captivated by the gem-like ruby irises. I guess that might explain where "Queen of Gems" comes from, he thought. He glanced at Sera. Then what about her sapphire eyes? They're not siblings. Maybe she's like my dad. A noble with distant ties to the royal family, and, instead of being assigned as a lady-in-waiting, she's a bodyguard.
"I know, but I'm so far away, and there's going to be a lot of danger..."
"Well, I can reliably tell you that you are far superior to the average combatant that you'll find out here participating. Most of them will be low to mid-Tier 3, and you've displayed abilities at high Tier 3 to low Tier 4, as far as I can tell. Don't make any decisions on breaking your goal just yet. Wait and see."
"Thanks. I will," Reivyn smiled. He lifted her hand up from his forearm and gave a kiss on the back of it. Fira blushed and looked away, but she didn't try to take her hand away.
"So anyway, I've only told you about my mother," Fira continued after a moment. She turned back to face Reivyn, still letting him hold her hand. "My father is also Tier 5. His Class is Monarch of Eons."
"Eons? Is he some sort of Time Mage, or something?"
"Not exactly. It's hard to explain."
"Alright. I'm not really interested in your dad, anyway," Reivyn wiggled his eyebrows. Fira rolled her eyes, but her lips quirked up into a smile. "My dad is also Tier 5. His Class is Embodiment of Righteousness."
"Your parents are something else," Fira leaned back, a look of almost disgust on her face. "Embodiment?! Are you kidding me? Do you know what that means?"
"No," Reivyn shook his head.
"That's one step below Hero. I'm sure you know what a Hero is, but do you understand what it means to have the Class designation of Hero?" Reivyn shook his head once more. "I swear, the education in the backward Tier 1 Regions leaves a lot to be desired.
"A Hero designation isn't some fairy tale scenario of someone being destined to save the world or anything. It means one has nearly reached the pinnacle of their profession. I dare say, if you traveled to a thousand Tier 4 Empires, you wouldn't find one.
"The Embodiment designation is just one step below that. Now, do you understand? That has to be a Legendary Class."
"Yeah, it is," Reivyn confirmed. "I did hear one of his subordinates accidentally let out that he almost qualified for Hero, once."
"Seriously?! That means he has a good chance of getting a Hero Class at Tier 6 if he makes it that far. How old are your parents? If I had to guess, I would say mid-fifties? Low sixties?"
"My mom is 33, and my dad is 36."
"You're kidding? Right? My mother is 64, and my father is 73. I can see how your father almost qualified for Hero if he's a Legendary Tier 5 at the age of thirty."
"I never really thought about it," Reivyn said. "I guess it makes sense if you think about it. People do live a lot longer with higher Tier Classes and Stats, and your parents would have to be older if, as you say, you have a lot of older siblings. How does that work, by the way? Doesn't getting older reduce the chances of having children?"
"Maybe for commoners in a Tier 1 Region. My parents don't just look like their bodies are still 25ish years old. They effectively are still 25, and having more power and control over one's body makes it more likely they can induce pregnancy on purpose, not less likely."
"That's interesting."
"Yeah. Anyway, I think it's time we finally get some rest." Fira pointed to the others who had already fallen asleep. Sera had the first watch, and Reivyn would take up the last watch. He didn't need as much sleep as he used to, but it was still a good idea to stay fresh.
"Alright. Goodnight." Fira looked up at him, slightly leaning forward. Reivyn quirked an eyebrow at her. Fira rolled her eyes as she sighed, getting up.
"Men!" She stomped off to lay down closer to Sera.
"What?" Reivyn asked the empty air. "What did I do?"
Reivyn shrugged and laid down to get some rest.
----------------------------------------
Reivyn could see the activity at the gates of the city of Oreck off in the distance. The land had grown increasingly greener as they got closer and closer to their destination. It wasn't nearly as green as the Region he had grown up in, but it was still much better than before. Reivyn could see the sheen of water from a river snaking along the opposite side of the city.
The feelings associated with a more lively environment were juxtaposed against the anxiety of finding another abandoned city. Those feelings were dispelled, though, once they finally laid eyes on the city. They had been worried because there was no traffic on the western road from the city on their way in.
Reivyn could see a lot of people entering the city, and he could see that it seemed to have an unusually large military force patrolling the walls and streets. Reminds me of the time my father destroyed the Hawthorne estate. I'm guessing they got the message Fira sent out and took it seriously.
The road was well maintained leading up to the city, and Reivyn glanced at the palm trees lining the road. He counted fourteen on either side, neatly placed in a row. He frowned as a distant memory tugged at him.
"What's that look for?" Fira asked by his side.
"The palm trees," Reivyn gestured to either side.
"What about them?"
"I don't know. I just have a feeling that one of them is missing or something."
"If you say so," Fira gave him a strange look before shaking her head.
The people trying to enter the city were lined up by the guards, and everyone was going through a rigorous inspection and identification.
"Line up for inspection! Line up for Inspection!"
The call was clearly heard by everyone, and nobody tried to cut in the line or bribe the guards to enter the city ahead of time or skip the inspection. Not everyone at the gate came from the road leading toward Kirlon. Almost everyone else came in from surrounding roads that converged on the major highway.
Reivyn and his Party lined up with the others, waiting for their turn patiently.
"If you have an identification token, make sure it's handy," Fira whispered to Reivyn. "Your Magic Academy token should work fine."
"Won't they be suspicious if I don't prove I'm a citizen of this kingdom or an affiliate?"
"Maybe. We'll deal with that when it happens, though."
The line moved fairly quickly, and it was soon their turn. Sera and Fira provided some sort of identification that had the guards waving them through almost immediately, Reivyn noticed. Sten, Dowell, and Cinna were questioned a little more, but their identification was from Kirlon, and they were also waved through without incident.
"What's this?" The guard asked Reivyn, inspecting his Magic Academy Student Token.
"It's my student token," Reivyn replied.
"I can see that. It doesn't have any kingdom listed, though. It doesn't even have a city name. How are we supposed to know where you're from? As far as I know, the local Academies include that information."
"I'm not from one of the local Academies," Reivyn explained. "It's just some Tier 1 Region, far away from here."
"Uh huh. Some 'Tier 1 Region, far away from here.' How do we know you're not a spy?"
"Have you had trouble with spies?"
"Well... answer the question!"
"I don't know. That's all I got. I'm just some guy from a Tier 1 Region. You can ask my companions. They'll vouch for me."
Reivyn indicated his other Party members that had been waved through already. Fira noticed the commotion and walked over. An older guard with a more intricate rank insignia saw her movement and hurried to follow after.
"What's the problem?" Fira asked with a frown.
"This doesn't concern you," the guard waved her off, trying to stare her down. It didn't work. "I'm just trying to ferret out any spies."
"This man isn't a spy."
"Says you. What does your word count for?" The guard hadn't paid too much attention to the person following her, but he saw him now. He stood up straighter and offered a salute. "Sir!"
"Her word counts for enough," the obvious officer said. "Let this man through."
"Yes, sir." The guard stepped aside and immediately moved on to questioning the next person in line. Reivyn nodded his head at this, and the officer noticed his action.
"I see you understand we're all just doing our jobs," the man remarked to Reivyn.
"Yes, I see that," Reivyn agreed. "I don't hold any bad feelings for the man."
"That's good." The officer turned to Fira. "Our guards noticed your mana signature matched the distress call we received almost a week ago. Am I right in assuming you're the one who sent the message?"
"That's right," Fira nodded. "And for further proof this man isn't a spy, he's the one who supplied the direction and approximate strength of the enemy army."
"And it was greatly appreciated," the officer nodded to Reivyn. "The City Lord commanded us to bring whoever sent the message to him if they ever showed up so that he could get a clearer picture. If you don't mind," the man indicated for the group to follow him into the city.
Fira exchanged a look with Sera, who nodded. She turned back to the officer and gestured for him to lead the way. Reivyn, Sten, Dowell, and Cinna fell in line and followed them in.
Once they entered the city walls, Reivyn could see groups of men assembling and being outfitted with basic gear. It wasn't just that the city was more militarized than normal, but they were actively inflating their ranks. He saw many people standing around in loose formation with their own armor and weapons, but a lot of people were either non-Combat Classes, or they were lower Level. Most people were in the former group, though, so it wasn't quite similar to the situation of the conscription of Peasant Levies Reivyn had experienced before.
Everywhere they looked, signs of war preparation could be seen. It wasn't the only thing going on, though. Most people were still just going about their regular lives, and the signs of militarization dropped off precipitously as they entered the more affluent part of the city.
The officer led them to the centralized administrative building. It was much grander than anything found outside of The Capital from Reivyn's experience, even though this wasn't the capital city of the kingdom. There were cultivated plants and trees, and the greenery exploded as compared even to the greener countryside nearby.
They were led to a conference room filled with older, grizzled men and mature women. They were discussing the war preparations, from what Reivyn could glean from his Eavesdropping Skill. The Party waited just outside as the officer entered to announce their presence. A middle-aged man with a trimmed goatee perked up at the news whispered into his ear from the officer, and he called a temporary halt to the discussion as he motioned Fira and the others inside.
Fira marched up fearlessly, Sera a half-step behind her. Reivyn followed behind them with a casual walk, but Sten, Dowell, and Cinna were obviously nervous to be in front of such high-ranking people. Reivyn tried to give an encouraging smile to them, but they were too nervous to pay attention.
"So, you're the ones that sent the message," it was a statement. "We were a little concerned that someone had been pulling a prank when we weren't able to send a message back, but that very fact, alone, also led credence to the news."
"Yes, we were only able to send a message out," Fira pulled the forked magic item out of her storage pouch. "The other half of the magic item this is supposed to interface with was destroyed or confiscated."
"That makes sense," the bearded man nodded. "Oh, how rude of me. I am Count Yaolo, the City Lord. This is my counsel. Now, could you elaborate on the situation you found in Kirlon?"
Fira used her Social Skills to easily converse with the City Lord as she explained in detail what they had found in the sacked city. Reivyn studied the counselors as she told their tale.
We didn't encounter any scouts sent out to investigate. I would say they might not have been prepared enough to do so, but the preparations outside show that that's not likely the case. Are they just incompetent, or are there other extenuating circumstances?
Fira quickly finished explaining everything she knew, and the City Lord turned his attention to Reivyn. Reivyn stopped his contemplations and focused on the man addressing him.
"Miss Fira here says you're the one who determined their size and the direction they went?"
"Yes, sir," Reivyn answered. "Though, I am not an expert in Tracking. I just unlocked the Skill when I figured out which way they left."
"The System granting you the Skill from that likely means it was accurate, at least," the City Lord stroked his beard. "What makes you say there were tens of thousands of them, though?"
"Two things: The number and orderliness of the tracks - there were many, many, many tracks all lined up in an orderly formation on three different sides of the city - and the conventional wisdom of assaulting a fortified position requiring three-to-one odds."
"Conventional Wisdom?" Reivyn heard the armored man sitting near Count Yaolo mutter under his breath. He was obviously one of the ranking military members of the city.
If he doesn't know that much, then that's not a good sign, Reivyn mentally sighed.
"So you have some military training, young man?" The lord picked up on his general's muttering.
"Yes, sir."
"We would be happy to have someone with experience join us in case this turns into a big deal."
"Are you conscripting me?" Reivyn frowned.
"Not at all," Count Yaolo shook his head with a smile. "It's all volunteer at this point. You can choose to come or go as you please."
"I understand," Reivyn replied.
"Well, if that's all...?"
Fira took the hint and turned around to usher everyone back out of the room, back to the waiting officer.
"Thank you for your cooperation," the officer said as he led them back out of the building. Reivyn could hear the sounds of discussion resume in the conference room after a few steps. He could clearly hear skepticism about his statement in the voice of a few people. He just shook his head as they walked.
The Party headed to a nearby inn to acquire accommodation before they discussed their options.
If Fira's Tier 4 Empire is the one this kingdom is a vassal to, then she has a duty to ensure things turn out favorably. She'll definitely be sticking around. There's no way that Sten, Dowell, and Cinna don't volunteer in some way, either. The real question is: What am I going to do? I have my own goals, and this conflict doesn't really concern me.
The Party found a table in the common area of the inn. Before they could even sit down, though, Sten turned and faced Reivyn.
"I know this is extremely selfish of me. Of us," he indicated himself and his two friends, "but we could really use someone of your caliber in this fight. We know something is afoot, and the looks of the volunteers so far don't lend a lot of confidence. We really need someone like you."
Reivyn studied the man's face. All he saw was determination. He nodded his head.
"As long as it doesn't tie me down for an undue amount of time, I'll help how I can."
Sten thanked him profusely, over and over, and Reivyn could see a smile light up Fira's face.