LITTLE LIARS
In the late evening, loud noises and shouts of guards scurrying for equipment and weapons resounded near the farm.
Chu stood with the façade of a little boy, twisting his hands together in worry. Jim and Mr Thomas stood near him as the nobles approached from their individual camps.
"Don't worry, young Artisan. My Sersen will personally head out with the search party. We will find them soon."
Grandmaster Yang said. With his white hair and long beard, he had the bearing of an old grandpa consoling a child. In the Capital, Grandpa Yang would have booted out his own kin if he came weeping, but for this young genius, he might sell his own grandson. Another voice sounded nearby.
"I don't know what is taking them so long, my Sersen is never late."
Young master Tian cursed while gritting his teeth. He sent the guy out since morning for a simple task and he had yet to return. Young master Wu scowled at the side, on hearing what sounded like an excuse.
Jim and Mr. Thomas took the lead of the search party since they had more experience and familiarity with the forest. They also had a huge wolf accompanying them for protection. After a brief talk with a little girl, they signaled to depart.
The Sersen escort from Grandmaster Yang and Merchant Windit, as well as five guards, followed them under the trees.
"If that wolf wasn't such a coward, I would have bought it."
Master Roak sighed. He had never seen a larger and more magnificent beast, but it bolted at the slightest noise. The wolf even feared the guards so much that it never came close, even out of curiosity. More shy than a princess on her wedding day, the beast kept its distance from these strangers.
The little girl nearby snickered on hearing him voice his thoughts while returning to the barn. Master Roak shook his head, thinking poor folks really had it hard since they broke down under stress in different ways.
Chu sat on a bench near the camp of the Churches Union. He had begun to grasp the understanding that this world followed a path similar to his old home. The path of progress and revolution intertwined closely with religion and the philosophers it educated and nurtured-- whether intentionally or not.
"How come the Tower Mage is so close to the Church?"
He asked.
"Haha... I see our young inventor possesses an inquisitive nature. The Tower Mages have been around since ancient times, but we have never doubted the existence of a higher power. Sure we can channel magic and seek to unravel the mysteries of the continent, but the magic of healers come from another source."
"Gifter, what mage Disparte means is that healers are blessed citizens who have been chosen by our faith. Sure we had some problems before, where the different churches fought each other because of their beliefs. However, since the formation of the Empire, the people are allowed to freely choose their religion."
Healers included alchemist who created potions and individuals who filled the occupation of doctors. Shamans, witch doctors and the like could also be found scattered across the known continent.
Chu nodded in response. This type of foundation was not bad. Since it prevented one religion from becoming too dominant, it eliminated the threat to the Emperor on the throne. As for these gifted folks, even in modern-day earth, there existed individuals who practiced countless ancient arts and abilities not yet explained by modern science.
Chu slowly steered the conversation towards a topic of interest.
"Wow, this has been the first time I have ever met so many Sersen."
"Did young inventor not meet a Sersen before?"
Grandmaster Yang inquired.
"Yes, Merchant Griz has an old Sersen escort, but he never talked much."
Chu replied holding onto an innocent face. One look at the Artisan's expression told him the old man tried to test him out. With them investigating Griz, they obviously knew about Simon. This old coot must have thought he really crawled out of the womb yesterday.
"Sersens are the crowning achievement of the Tower Mages. Since ancient times..."
Mage Disparte proudly began a history of the Sersen as Chu listened. Chu noted that this question seemed really useful whenever he needed to switch the focus or subject while talking to mages. When Disparte finished, the boy nodded in appreciation of this wonderful information, before asking a question.
"Simon did say it's hard to become a Sersen. Most of the time, it ends in failure."
Mage Disparte grimaced as the boy touched a weak spot for the entire Tower.
"The problem for that is beyond our abilities for now. It is something we cannot fix at this time."
"Oh, what is it?"
The white-haired old man sighed, before calling a servant. A short time later, the servant returned carrying a large book. Chu looked at the familiar book as the mage scrolled towards the latter pages. A book like this had cost Chu blood, but the gut-wrenching purchase had also saved Lucy's life. He had a name for it;
The demon compendium.
"Look at this."
Chu watched the mage point out the pages imprinted with five talismans. Four on one, with one separate from the others.
"All of our books and pages on talismans that are sold separately to the Military and Mercenaries are created by hand. This is the main reason why our books are so expensive. It also leads to this..."
After the explanation, Chu finally understood the problems faced by the Tower. The talismans had to be hand drawn each time, resulting in little mistakes that turned them void. Mage Disparte actually pointed out two of the talismans that had faults because of improper glyph drawings.
The next, and main reason for the talismans having such a poor activation rate lay in the medium itself.
The thick parchment paper.
"A talisman can only be activated if drawn correctly and if the lines of power are connected perfectly."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Looking at the ancient type of parchment paper, Chu saw numerous places where the ink lines broke because of the uneven, rough surface. Only when he looked closely did he realize how this rough writing medium turned a good talisman into a dud.
"Most of our books and talismans are created by apprentices in the Tower since the more experienced mages need to learn magic to aid the Military. Thus you can imagine the difficulty in actually succeeding in activating a talisman."
Before Chu asked the question, Disparte answered
"It is impossible for an experienced Mage to waste time in drawing talismans. The Tower has always been short of talismans and attack mages. Only for the Military do we provide talismans that have been more carefully drawn."
Chu nodded, as a bold idea began forming in his mind.
Merchant Windit, and the others also joined them at the table.
During their conversations, his little world soon began to expand. Back in his modern-day earth, Chu had been exposed to countless stories and literary works of the past, especially the ones containing the glories of the ancestors and heroes. Returning to the past, when heroes and valiant warriors roamed, had a certain allure.
For those like himself who had been enraptured like his past self, Chu realized how stupid he had been. Forget about the warrior and ascent to becoming the greatest warlord. Currently, both he and the Emperor used a hole as a toilet and wiped their asses with leaves, rags or water.
Nobody had made the breakthrough in inventing soap nor disinfectants. Only on the farm, did Chu begin to use diluted wine so as to make use of the alcohol. A germaphobe or someone with OCD might have succumbed or suicided within days. The equivalent of Roman bathhouse nor plumbing had emerged, nor did the world know about refrigeration.
"The salt business of my Ancestors has continued for centuries. We also have the biggest salt mine in the southern desert. We preserve nearly everything with it in the cities, since only the nobles and richer folks can bring in fresh produce from their nearby farms."
Chu asked his questions and listened to the answers. He did not share his knowledge but tried to find out where exactly the technology and implementation had progressed. Like many old civilizations, inventions usually spread out from the major cities towards the borders. These men were a prime candidate for obtaining information.
Remembering that wars alone, did not sweep across continents and take lives, he shuddered on what living in an unhealthy environment would do in this world. The Middle Ages had a major incident that decimated lives across Europe by the millions.
Chu suddenly had another startling thought.
"I say, seniors, when you sail far out into the sea, do you fall off the world?"
***
The group followed the wolf as it sniffed and then trotted in the forest. Ligg and File both walked together behind it with Thomas and Jim. The two Sersen belonged to the powerhouses of Yang and Windit respectively. The guard contingent making up the rest of the search party walked behind.
"Don't worry Farmer Thomas, we will soon find your kids. Akey has a reputation of being a top-notch fighter in the Capital. His tattoo is supposedly from a high ranked boar, allowing him to use his abilities more than ten times per day."
Ligg comforted. He, like Akey, possessed high ranked boar tattoos, placing them among the cream of the crop in the Capital. A high ranked boar could be rated as the leader of a demon boar pack. These lifestones gave the user the privilege to attack with their abilities more times than the holders of the medium and normal ranking.
Thomas nodded in comfort while smirking inside. He accepted the man's genuine means of comfort, but with respect to the ranking of the tattoo, and the pride behind it, he could only laugh. Five years ago, he might have been in awe, but now he could only pity these men.
Normal, medium or high... the demon beast still remained a boar. Whether a boar, rock slicer, or wildcat. All trembled and scattered, making way for the wolf demon. No matter the ranking, when Lucy came of age, even a host of immobility lizards would not dare to challenge her might.
"Stop..."
Ligg whispered as he signaled the men behind.
The wolf had issued a soft growl, before crouching down into a slow stalking movement. The bristles of its fur raised and pricked up like a hedgehog. Sersen File had once been a scout in the Military before joining House Windit. Even though he had limited experience in venturing into the Western forest in the north, he still had his years of experience in scouting and tracking.
He crouched and crawled forward along with the wolf. Peering over a large knotted root, he witnessed a gory spectacle. Sprawled out comfortably on its stomach, a large Jaga sat on the leafy earth, holding a ripped arm between its front paws as it chewed and savored the taste.
The lifeless owner of the arm sprawled a little distance in the front, partially mutilated, in the blood-scented ground. A dead wildcat slumped over a tree root near the opposite side. File remained calm as he processed the scene. Having witnessed countless massacres in the north, a little blood like this with only a few bodies required no cause for concern.
He made a quick signal to the others before rushing out towards the Jaga. File activated his ability as the disturbed beast pounced towards the rude visitor. Unfortunately for the Jaga, this man had fought against beast while alone in the rocky mountains. The lifestone on his tattoo rendered the speed and agility advantage of the Jaga, near useless.
File dogged the swipe from the powerful front paws that would have seriously injured a normal adventurer. His power came from a demon wildcat, allowing him a burst of speed, as well as the increased sensory perception to keep up with his attack. Stepping away from the swiping claws, he sliced his blade across the neck of the large carnivore.
Roar!
With a look of surprise and despair flashing from its eyes, the beast stumbled around before slumping to the ground. Blood spurted from its wound, dying the already stained leaves in a bright red color. File scanned the immediate area as the others rushed out. On seeing the others, he sheathed his sword and sat down on a buttress root, panting heavily.
"Look at you, wanting to hog all the glory. If it wasn't for the fact that tattoos from demon wildcats rendered the users weak for a time, after a single use, everyone would prefer if given a choice. How much burst do you have for the day again? One, Two?"
"Two, gimme a few breaths to regain myself."
Ligg left him sitting with a pale face, as he walked towards the others. Jim moved around, checking and feeling the slight depressions on the ground. It was no surprise that the Sersens in the Capital knew each other's abilities. Most of the time, when a House or noble recruited them, information from Frost City also landed into the hands of others.
This way, everyone kept tabs on each other. Of course, this did not include the Sersens who they kept hidden as their trump cards. Nobody would know of what luck some might have out in the Nord Pass. Ligg followed the prints Jim discovered.
"They fought the wildcats first, but the Jaga came after and ambushed them. I suspect guards died in the wildcat attack, but this person here... he survived and probably got overpowered by the Jaga."
Jim said as he tracked and scouted.
"What I don't understand is why they all got ambushed and attacked in this particular area. Unless there is some incentive, these beasts won't be attracted over in such numbers."
Jim said, stroking his stubble beard in thought.
"The trapper speaks the truth, these guys were attacked and ambushed one time after the next. That's the strange thing about it. By the way, we seem to have forgotten our main goal."
File said.
In no time shouts and calls rang out in the forest.
"Papa, Papa is that you?!"
A fear filled yell answered the search party as from a nearby hollow trunk, a young girl crawled out. Covered in torn clothes and blood, she ran towards Thomas. Hugging him she released the pent-up fright, sobbing as tears dropped to the ground.
Papa? Really... and what a way to make use of the water!
Ming thought, then hollered from another position further away. On hearing Lucy, he finally answered the guards.
Stumbling towards the party in a similar condition like Lucy, he fell into the arms of a guard.
"Beyond the ridge, Sersen Akey killed it before we got attacked."
He stuttered before his legs gave way in exhaustion.
Two guards moved cautiously in the pointed direction, only to make a startling discovery. Exclaiming in doubt and excitement, File and Ligg joined them. On seeing the small creature half buried among some leaves, they quickly came to the same thought.
The entire group collected the remains they could find and beat a hasty retreat from the forest before night descended. With a Sersen killed, nobody wanted to take any chances in this treacherous forest.