An old man and a definitely human girl traveled through the country of Scasce, the former trying to get used to the cold again, the latter trying to get used to the sudden bouts of sadness that tried to tear her heart apart. Had a [Witch] walked by them, she could’ve harvested the girl’s emotion for days on end and only barely manage to reach the bottom of the well of sadness. Alas, there were no [Witches] around this kingdom. Truth be told, they’d long since become a rarity all over the world, because most of the time they were shunned.
Oh, what a cruel joke that was, that people would accept, if not like, [Necromancers], who, once upon a time, were killed on sight, even when they attempted to do good, but couldn’t accept [Witches]. But why? The answer, ladies and gentlemen, lies in that Class’ very nature: freedom. Freedom of thought, in particular. [Witches] always do what they think is right for them and the people around them. [Witches] think with their heads instead of joining all the other little sheep around them. Basically, [Witches] don’t ever want to do what they’re told, unless they think it’s the right thing.
That’s the reason why they aren’t accepted, unlike [Necromancers], who’ll usually do anything just to not be persecuted.
In the world of now, there are few [Witches], let alone covens. One of them is stationed, as you already know, in the Tiurna Mountains, near a town of [Mountaineers]. They’re the accepting kind of people. You have to be, if you want to live in such a harsh place. It’s the price of freedom!
Another coven can, sometimes, under the right moons, be found in the Visant Desert. Their members though are positively ancient and do not easily welcome visitors, so be careful there.
Finally, under the protective wing of the King of Crows, slowly, a new coven is beginning to form, following traditions and Traditions of old that were thought to be forgotten.
You will never find [Witches] on Rodar. They know the truth of that place. They won’t go there. They will not interfere. They know better.
But let’s stop talking about [Witches]. This isn’t about them, not today.
Today is about a young arachne, an adult by her species standards, a child in the eyes of an old [Clocksmith] hiding many secrets. They’d been traveling together for a while now. A week, to be precise.
To Isse, it felt like a lifetime.
The moment she had walked out of the place called Winter’s Last Stand, crossing the invisible line that separated it from the rest of the world, she’d felt the cold bite into her spider half… quite ineffectively. That part of her didn’t have the nerve endings to actually feel temperature that well, which was both a blessing and a curse, since she couldn’t understand if she was freezing herself solid. She’d also started to feel a lot sleepier than she normally was and couldn’t understand if it was the probable depression or the spider part of her telling her it was time to hibernate for the winter.
“How much longer ‘till we reach your blasted city?”
Albert turned his head slightly towards her from the front of the carriage, an eyebrow visibly raised.
“You’ve got quite the foul tongue there, young lady.”
At that, she felt like laughing and crying. Because he sounded exactly like Grandmother. The Elder may have been a homicidal mage who thought the best way to deal with trauma was to slap you with even more of it until you learned to live with it, but for some reason she hated it when people used foul language, especially in her presence. Truly, a grandmother in name and fact.
“Says the [Spymaster]. I’m sure you learned and used worse slurs in your life.”
“That I did, but now, in my old age, I’ve come to realize the error in that. There are always better alternatives.”
Isse chuckled at that: “Sure, sure. I’ll be waiting for the first time you stub your finger against a table, and if I hear you say anything other than ‘Oh fiddlesticks, this really ruffles my feathers’ I’ll remind you of this conversation.”
The old man smiled: “Wanna bet on that?” and he offered her his right hand, his gloved fingers twitching a bit from the cold.
Isse reached up hesitantly and, after a moment, shook it. Then, without letting go, she asked: “What are we betting?”
“Oh, let’s see. If I win, you’ll owe me a favor. If I lose, I’ll owe you one. How’s that sound?”
Isse raised an eyebrow while Siidi said this was probably a bad idea.
“Just a favor? Really? I expected more from a [Spymaster]. No asking for m eternal servitude or anything like that?”
Albert chuckled: “I’m too old for things like that little spider. I’ll die in -” he stopped, checking his pocket watch as if it could tell him exactly how much time he had left, “- around ten years. What use would a servant be to me?”
Which left a question hanging in the back of the arachne’s mind: ‘Did he actually ask for something like that when he was younger?’
The answer, dear readers, is no. In his younger days, Albert used to say he wouldn’t trust himself with holding a child in his arms, much less having someone live as a servant at his beck and call.
“Alright then. A favor. I agree with the conditions of this bet,” said Isse after thinking about it for a moment more.
“And I do too.”
That night, as they camped and Albert fell asleep in his tent, giving Isse the wagon with most of the blankets, a voice spoke to him.
[Spymaster of Favors Level 42!]
No Skill, but it had been so long since he’d last gained a Level in that Class that he didn’t mind. Also, he didn’t use it much anymore. He was out. It had taken him years, but he was out of the Game, free as a bird, no strings attached. And he had loved every single moment of that bloodily gained freedom.
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They reached the city of Tedam the next day. The first thing Isse noticed in the distance were, of course, the walls. They were probably fifteen meters high, towers interspersed at regular intervals all over it. From this distance she couldn’t be certain, but they had strange forms. Had the [Architect] who’d built the walls decorated them in some way?
As they got closer, they began to see the first signs of civilization in the form of farms surrounded by fields of spinach, lettuce and other vegetables Isse didn’t know the names of or had outright never seen. There was, for example, some kind of white wheat spikes in a field, white in another there were what looked like dozens of… shimmering giant tomatoes? What the Airm?
“What are those?” she asked, pointing at the strange vegetables.
Albert looked up and followed her finger towards the offending things.
“Ah, those are out winter crops. The white wheat is, well, Snow Wheat. Perfect for making low grade Cold Resistance potions, you can also use it to make bread, but you have to eat it hot or you’re asking to lose a tooth. The shimmery things are called Heartchaser’s Fruits. They’re great for making Heating potions and, in general, emanate lots of heat. You’ll probably find some even inside houses to keep them warm.”
“You don’t eat them?”
Albert made a so-so gesture with his hand: “They don’t taste that great, and they’re a lot hotter on the inside than the outside, so you’ll probably burn your tongue. Also, they lose their heating abilities fast after you break them open if you don’t use the right reagents. Don’t ask which ones, I’m not an [Alchemist].”
So these were alchemical ingredients. Well, Pochi had told her that many [Farmers] did that to gain some extra money during the winter, when they wouldn’t be able to produce as much. That, though, raised a question:
“Won’t this impoverish the soil though? Shouldn’t you let it rest during the winter and rotate the crops you plant?”
Albert nodded in agreement: “Normally, yes, but most [Farmers] around here have some good Skills that prevent this. Although, even then, sometimes they still have to do things the normal way. Skills may be good, but they can’t completely circumvent the laws of nature. Usually.”
“Usually?”
“Yes, well, after Level 50 the laws of reality are more… suggestions, than laws. Kind of like a pirate’s code of conduit.”
They stared at each other for a moment before they both erupted in uproarious laughter.
Then they fell into a companionable silence.
The time Isse had spent with Albert had not healed her. The wounds in her mind, soul and heart were still bleeding, and profusely at that. So much so that it would’ve taken just a little push in the right direction for that blood to flow in the wrong way and taint her Classes and Skills.
Something like what a group of [Soldiers] was attempting to do among the ashes of the forest of Tusca.
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“First who manages to break this abomination gets a month off and a bag of holding with two thousand gold coins!” shouted the [Commander] to his troops.
The [King] had promised this reward personally after hearing about what was left in the middle of the burned grounds where once a grand, colorful, forest had been: an ice statue of an arachne, tall as two three men put one on top of the other. The arachne statue was smiling in victory, a sword going through the heart of her human, which, somehow, had too turned into ice.
Had someone looked closer they would’ve noticed that there was a bitterness to the expression. Sadly, nobody noticed. All the soldiers saw was a memento of a great monster from a feared race of genocidal machines.
To make you understand the situation, consider this: if a statue like this had been found in a nobleman’s house, it would’ve resulted in the noble’s swift, public and very messy execution on charges of ‘Crimes against the Continuation of Life’. So you can very well imagine why a [King] wouldn’t want such a statue to ever exist in his kingdom.
Now, the rewards was, as you may well imagine, big. Two thousand gold coins was more than most people would ever see in an entire year if they didn’t spend a single coin.
But, instead of a horde of money-hungry [Soldiers] launching themselves at the ice statue, the [Commander]’s words were greeted by hesitant silence. Why? The reason for that lay at the statue’s spidery feet: a few small mounds of ice.
“Come on boys, it’s the [King]’s orders. And that’s just an ice statue. You can find a way! Or do you want the [Mages] to get all the money?”
After another moment of hesitation, one of the soldiers spoke: “Sir, one of the [Mages] actually tried to melt the statue by launching a [Fireball].”
“So?”
“He’s three steps to your right.”
Three steps to the [Commander]’s right was a small mound of big ice pieces and a base that reminded him slightly of the robes their mages wore. There was also a small line of ice that traveled from the small mound towards the statue, connected to a second mound.
The poor man looked at it, then at the statue of the arachne, then at all the ice around it, then sighed heavily.
“Just start some fires near it and hope it’ll melt. We’ll divide the money if and when it’s gone.”
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The gates of Tedam were big, wooden, monstrosities with steel armor. They would’ve been impressive to Isse… if she was a child.
Instead she just asked: “Why do they always make these entry gates so big? It doesn’t make sense! Do you, like, have giants passing through?”
Albert quirked an amused eyebrow towards her and chuckled: “Once upon a time, maybe, but I think they’ve all gone extinct. Or mixed their blood so much that the biggest of them is at most, like, three meters high.”
Isse had to pause at that as a very inappropriate question popped up in her mind. She decided not to ask it but, sadly, she’d forgotten she had Siidi as a headmate.
The arachne [Soul Curator] activated her latest Skill: [A Minute, United].
In an instant their souls mixed together, connected, yet still capable of separation. The thread that united them was a question: can I? Can we? And if ever the answer to that became a no, they would be two again.
Isse, though, didn’t mind, and, with the other arachne’s confidence and relative lack of fur on her tongue, they asked: “How would that work? Mixing blood with giants, I mean. Like, I imagine the men would be way too big for a normal woman.”
Albert’s eyebrows shot into his hairline before he started laughing. A few tears actually rolled out of the corners of his eyes before he managed to stop, catching his breath. Despite his apparently advanced age, his lungs didn’t make any wheezing sounds.
“Haaaa, well now, that’s an interesting question. To answer you: you’d be surprised at just how stretchy lizardwomen can be. And some [Prostitutes] with the right Classes and fetishes. Also, usually the fucking was done between a human man and a giantess. I’m told it could get messy and very wet by the end of it.”
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And that’s more or less when Isse and Siidi found out that Albert had even less hairs on his tongue than them put together.
As the Skill ended and they were two again, Isse became as red as a pepper and hid in the back of the wagon as Albert chuckled and began humming a song, drawing nearer and nearer to the gates.
“We’ll have to get you some documents to enter the city. The process is not difficult, but I suggest you let me talk, alright?”
Isee cocked an eyebrow in curiosity: “Wait, getting documents doesn’t take weeks at an office and endless paperwork?”
Albert looked at her with a quirked eyebrow: “Of course not. Why should it? You can get your Identification Badge at any gatehouse in any big enough city. The process usually takes no more than thirty minutes. Now, if you want something more complex, like a Merchant’s License or an Apprenticing Permit, well, there things get a bit longer, but not too much. A few days at worst.”
Was it possible? Had she done? Had she really found a world without bureaucracy?
Not without bureaucracy, no. Just one where it works well, contradicted her Siidi.
You can never let a joke go, eh?
So long as you keep getting angry about it, nope!
She sighed and hid the smile that formed on her face.
“Something funny about what I just said?”
Of course, Albert noticed.
“You’re old enough to be my great grandpa, shouldn’t you have something like cataracts? How can your eyes still be so good?”
After a moment of stunned silence, he broke out into laughter again.
…This old man is missing a few gears.
She nodded in agreement.
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They reached the gates of the city in the early morning, around nine o’clock if Siidi’s read on the Sun’s position was to be believed. Because of course they didn’t think to ask the literal [Clocksmith] in front of them if he had a clock to use to tell them the hour.
The carriage in front of their own was finally let free after a very through inspection by the guards.
Unlike the [Guards] at the entrance to the city she and Pochi used to go to every once in a while, who wore heavy armor and looked ready to go to war at any moment, these wore light armor with soft and very warm looking clothes underneath.
Look at them, feeling so safe, so sure that nothing could come at them right here, right now, whispered Siidi.
And it took all of Isse’s force of will to stop her own intrusive thoughts, her desire to leap down the carriage and bite these men’s exposed throats out, take a sword and start a carnage. Hatred bloomed deep in her gut and burned a deep, burgundy, flame that threatened to devour her self control.
Oh, but how easy it would’ve been.
She looked at these low level [Guards], looked at their bodies, and she could see they weren't all smoke. Their bodies were trained, muscles visible where skin could be seen. They were strong, if low Level and incapable of fighting against a [Mage] like her. They'd probably make good breeders. And with her Skill...
She stopped. These thoughts were completely unlike her...
I'm not ready to be a mother.
Yeah, as if that was the real issue.
Still, she kept herself at bay, just glaring at the men who walked close to their carriage, getting ready to bolt if something went wrong.
One of the [Guards] looked at Albert, who was offering him his documents, and his eyebrows shot up: "Old man, you're back!"
Apparently, he had recognized Albert.
The old [Clocksmith] smiled slightly at the young [Guard] as he nodded: "Aye lad, I'm back from my vacation, and I'm already regretting it. Up here's too cold for my taste."
"You could just go live in Aknos. I'm sure you'd find it right cozy."
"Lad, there's a difference between liking hot climates and being a masochistic steam room lover."
The man chuckled and waved him through: "Glad to have you back old man. Will you be opening up shop soon?"
"In a few days. Give me some time to dust my place down and convince my [Supplier] that I'm not too old to work a forge."
The [Guard] nodded and passed him his documents back. Said documents were in the form of a small plaque made of what Isse guessed to be iron or steel with Albert's name, surname, age, species, date of the document's release and Class carved on.
"And who's the girl with you old man? A guest?" asked a second [Guardsman] who had just arrived. His eyes briefly flickered towards the wagon, right where Isse was hiding under her blankets and behind a nearly empty crate of supplies.
"That, Rin, is my niece, Isse. She's... well, she'll need documents made for her. She'll be staying with me," his tone was suddenly much more somber and, immediately, the [Guards]'s expressions changed into one of understanding and sadness.
"The captain should be here. Give us a moment to call him."
And they left.
Sure enough, not three minutes later a large man wearing full plate armor, helmet nowhere in sight, appeared from a door in the walls. His hair was cut short, so much so that Isse thought he should've just gone all the way and gone bald. His eyes were a deep brown and calm, as if he had seen it all and nothing could move him anymore. A true mountain.
He motioned to Albert to pass on through and, after they'd moved under and through the gate, officially entering the city, he motioned them to stop in a small area beside the gate.
"Alright little one. Remember, let me talk. That gruff old man is a real softie, so all should go well."
He stepped down from the driver's box and walked towards the back, offering a hand to help her get down. Hand which she refused.
"Alright. Let's get this done."
The big captain was waiting for them near the entrance to a smal building by the gates. It was simple, made out of stone and wood with little openings covered by wooden shutters. She couldn't see any glass.
Of course you won't. These primitives make it cost so much that it's a rarity. Once upon a time, in the Silken Palaces, every house had glass windows. It's not like the process for crafting glass is that complex.
Isse, being a child from Earth who had been born in a world where glass windows were the norm, didn't know how easy or difficult the process was. But, now that Siidi had spoken, she did have soemething she'd wanted to ask for a while now:
Siidi, you always talk about these Silken Palaces, but what were they? I guess that a queen's palace would have glass windows after all.
Nah, you're being confused: we called them 'Palaces', sure, but they weren't just places for our leaders. They were cities, grand and beautiful, and fortified enough that the defences of this city pale in comparison. We started calling them palaces as a joke, because the [Kings] of the other races allowed only their servants and families to live in their palaces, so, since us arachne are all sisters, all family, we were all of the blood of our 'royalty'. It was all a joke... until we realized it sounded good, so we stuck with it.
Isse smiled at that, skittering towards the big [Guard Captain], and looking him right in the eyes, her expression and body language saying 'I don't fear you'.
The man didn't move or react in any way, only closing the door to the inside of the building once Albert and her were in.
"Albert. It has been some time. How was your holiday?" he asked as he began walking towards a small desk placed on the far wall from the door. His voice was slow and calm, a deep baritone that, Isse was sure, could've probably vibrated in her bones if he had started to sing.
"It was relaxing, and the treatments in the facilities down there did wonders for my joints."
Isse was sure that Albert didn't need any treatments for any joints. He was more limber than her, and even if he looked old his body in general didn't seem to have understood that he was. Only his hair and face.
"I'm glad to hear that. Now, I believe you're here for something: getting this little one some documents. I presume you'll need a standard citizenship Badge?"
"Exactly, old chap. Also, I think I'll be [Calling the Favor In]."
The moment Albert said those last few words a pressure formed in the air, focusing in particular around the [Guard Captain], who visibly flinched. For a moment, Isse wondered just how much pressure the man had suddenly found himself under if she could feel it from afar.
"Alright," he managed to get out, slowly, as if he didn't have enough air in his lungs.
And the pressure was gone.
"It's simple, really, and then we'll be even. Well, we'll be even for the time I helped with your wife's... problem," he stopped, looking back at Isse as if she were an intruder, then shaking his head.
"I just want you to not use the Truth Stone when you ask her the questions and, naturally, for you not to tell anyone about this entire conversation, alright?"
The man nodded, slowly, then sighed: "I should've known you would've come calling sooner or later. Can I at least ask what the deal is with her? Is she a criminal? Some kind of runaway [Princess] you rescued on the road?"
"That's none of your business Arnus. All you need to know is that she won't be giving anyone any trouble."
The man, Arnus, nodded, finally sitting down the too small chair behind the desk. Isse heard the wood creaking and waited for it to start splintering and breaking apart, but somehow it resisted.
"Come, misterious girl of secrets. Just answer a few questions and you'll get your documents," he said, a small smile appearing on his face in a sadly failed attempt at being reassuring.
She skittered towards him, a mantra of 'I don't fear you, I'm scarier than you' repeating endlessly in her mind, and stood nearly on top of the chair in front of the desk, letting the Shifting Silk of her dress do its magic and make her look like she was actually sitting.
"Alright. Name?"
"Issekina -"
"Sirion," interrupted her Albert, "Her name is Issekina Sirion."
Arnus looked up briefly from the piece of paper he was writing on, raising an eyebrow: "Issekina? That's not your typical Irevian name. Albert, did you actually kidnap a [Princess] from Eva or something?"
"I kidnapped nobody. She's family, trust me."
Now, let's say something Albert didn't know about his good old friend Arnus: the man had recently Leveled. In fact, he had done so exactly the day the Brothers Two had brought their cargo of Ruin a few months prior. He was now a Level 34 [Guard Captain], and he'd gained a helpful little Skill that was helping him circumvent the old man's request: [Bound Spell: Detect Truth].
It wasn't that he didn't trust Albert. Alright, he also didn't trust the old man, but the point was: he liked his city. He, unlike most of the low Level rookies that were being trained here, remembered perfectly what had happened that day and knew the story of the Brother Two, of what they had done to the city he loved. So, in his desire to help prevent what he didn't know was inevitable, he had sworn he'd do anything to change things.
That had been enough to make him Level. And now he used his Skill for this situation. The moment Albert had said those last words, he had detected a half truth. Which meant that the girl wasn't actually part of the man's family, originally, but now was. Also, yes, Albert hadn't kidnapped anyone.
"Alright. Age?"
This time, before Isse could answer, Siidi stopped her.
I don't trust him. Let's lie.
What if he can tell if we're lying?
He can't, he doesn't have a Truth Stone, and he's not a [Mage].
...How about I tell him truths from my life on Earth?
...That's a good idea.
"I'm seventeen years old."
Again, Arnus' Spell pinged this as a half truth. He had to resist the impulse to raise an eyebrow in curiosity: how could someone both be and not be seventeen years old?
"Good. Race?"
"I was born human."
Complete truth, although the way she'd phrased that made it sound like she wasn't one now. Was it her Class perhaps? Had it changed her somehow? He wanted to know, but he couldn't ask, not without going against Albert's request.
"Alright. Last question: what's your Class? You don't have to be specific, just the general cathegory is enough."
"I'm a [Mage]."
A full on [Mage] at her age? Clearly, she wasn't from the typical commoner family.
"Very well, that's all. Give me five minutes to get this carved up and then you can be off. I presume you, as a citizen, will be vouching for her, right Albert?"
"Absolutely," agreed the old man, nodding sagely.
Arnus walked into a side room with a steel door, which he opened with a key he was keeping hidden around his neck, under his armor. He closed and locked it behind him and the girl 'sat' at the table with Albert, waiting, hearing nothing.
"You weren't lying, when you said those things. How?" he asked her suddenly, making her jump slightly.
Isse looked up, tensing, ready to jump and run: "How could you tell?"
"I have the right Skills girl. Don't worry, you're not in trouble, I'm just curious. Do you have some kind of Lie Skill? Or can you alter the result of a truth - No, wait, mine is a Skill, not a Spell, it wouldn't work."
Grandmother had told her, once, that there were means to alter Truth Spells to make them show what one wanted, but Isse hadn't had the time to learn that. They had come first.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Albert nodded: "Maybe. Or maybe I would. Whatever, you'll tell me when you feel right telling me," he said, his hand movign faster than she could react towards her head... to ruffle her hair.
That was the sight Arnus came out of the room to: Albert ruffling Isse's hair as she tried, and failed, to get away from him.
He coughed to get their attention and, when they stopped, handed Isse a small, metal, rectangular, badge.
"Here it is. You're now officially registered as a citizen of Tedam, in the Kingdom of Scasce. Welcome. I hope you'll find happiness here, whatever it is you've lost."
Isse hoped that too, although, deep down, she was certain that it would only be a matter of time before whatever she built here was taken from her.
She and Albert walked out of the room.
And Isse was introduced to a different side of humanity.