‘Evanesce and Synthesis Glister Squire.’ Staring at the Cosmic System’s wall, my eyes drift between the top two options offered to me. ‘And I have met some ‘conditions.’ ...Holding and swinging a sword a few times? I do not believe I have done anything worthy of fulfilling ‘conditions’ in this regard… I do not know; it feels as if I have received an epistle addressed to someone else.’
I push the wall away, and a cacophony of chatter floods my senses. The Terrace is a maelstrom of moving bodies. It’s the beginning of the festival, and everyone is out in the cold snow, visiting a variety of booths serving food, exotic drink, and most valuable of all, information.
Next to me is a much more cheerful and well-rested Terra, reading a handful of pamphlets from the booths through her Speaker of Speaker’s helmet. The two of us are standing in the doorway of the Tower’s bottom floor.
While Terra reads, I turn around and approach a stand inside the Tower where Mrs. Jäger, Kenneth, Chance, and some volunteers are rushing about.
Using my whiteboard, I write, “I cannot linger long, but can I get a quick explanation of what shall be demonstrated today?”
Chance approaches me, raising a black crossbow with a special green string. “We’re going to be exhibiting this crossbow alongside a special paradox grenade we put together. Though we haven’t really, uh, ‘tested’ it. Didn’t really have time with such short notice.”
“My apologies for the short notice,” I write.
“No, no, it’s totally fine! I mean, I got to work with literal magical materials, like, legit fantasy stuff! So honestly, I don’t mind one bit,” Chance says with a big smile and chuckle, inspecting his crossbow strings.
Kenneth rushes over with a wave. “I’ll be handling the promotion of more traditional essentials, like the flint for warmth and the cork trees for insulative flooring.” He glances behind himself and then points to Mrs.Jäger, who waves upon overhearing her name. “Mrs.Jäger will be handing out copies of the ‘Paradox-Arcadia’ storybook and some fruit-based foods she made alongside people in the camps. The food isn’t here yet, but Mrs.Jäger mentioned several people who claimed to have had a special food Skill. I’m interested to see how that turns out.”
Terra calls for me.
“Aye, everyone is doing great work,” I write before then turning and rushing back to Terra.
Standing on her tip-toes, she looks over the crowd. “There they are,” she mumbles to herself before turning to me. {The Cosmic Atlas’s booth is in the corner. It’s probably the most hectic one here, but weren't there a few things you had questions on?}
{Do we not need to visit booths regarding further greater token distribution?}
{At some point, we have to worry about our own progression. Otherwise, if someone gets any ideas about attacking us—again—we may not be able to do anything about it.}
As I am about to respond, I notice someone leaning against a glass tree with a look of exhaustion. ‘Nay, I forgot! Not crisp!’
Terra notices my gaze and goes to turn around, but I grab her arm. {Aye, then we should hurry over. Being assassinated would undoubtedly put a damper on the festivities.}
“Hmmm.” She stares at me for a moment. {Is something wrong?}
I shake my head. ‘Prithee, Earl, lower the Tower’s leech rate before anyone gets sick!’
A purple wall appears.
Earl Interface:
Statement: This one detects that the Tower itself, nodes 1 through 5, and node 8 are leeching from senseless fleshies extremely efficiently at the moment.
Query: Would the Mistress still like to commence leeching the Domain at the ‘Modest’ rate rather than the current ‘Laggard’ rate?
[Yes] [No]
Note: With so many fleshies, even a Modest leech rate will still provide a very healthy profit, but if the fleshies abandon the Domain’s influence, the Modest rate will result in a net loss.
My eyes quickly skim the purple wall. ‘Aye, simply use my allotted Essence to offset any loss if it does occur. Otherwise, simply store any of our profit in preparation for an expansion of Fairy’s Pantry, as I intend to do that sooner rather than later. At midnight revert back to the usual ‘Laggard’ rate.’
Earl Interface:
Statement: This one understands. Please, excuse this one for questioning the Mistress’s choice.
Confirmation: This one will now adjust the Tower’s leech rate so that the weak unawakened fleshies won’t rudely collapse into unconsciousness while in the Mistress’s presence.
The wall disappears while the glass trees near the Terrace creak and dim.
My eyes glance left and right before slowly returning to Terra. Yet even through her helmet, I can feel her judgmental gaze.
{Wow, some people near your trees look a little pale, don’t they? Then all the trees just started creaking and lost some of their light. That was weird, huh?}
{...Very.} I rub the back of my neck. {I shall have to have a word with Earl after the festival. I cannot believe she forgot to lower the leech rate.}
{Earl forgot to lower the Essence leeching? That’s surprising. Gosh, Earl has always seemed extremely proud of her work.} She Tilts her head and crosses her arms. {Tell me, what words are you going to say to Earl so that she’ll be more attentive in the future?}
{…So many words I cannot speak them all in the time we have. They shall be quite pensive words, though, believe me... Now let us be on our way.}
{You’re just lucky your picture book was so good,} she says, walking past with a laugh.
I chase after her. ‘Picture books! They truly are the best.’
Terra and I step through the crowd much easier than I thought. {How is your leeching, by the way? Are you getting enough Essence?}
{Aye! My trees are so attractive that people enjoy being close to them. The only node they do not stay around is the one the Consortium is extracting haze from. Other than that, there are essentially people around them most of the day.}
Someone nearby whispers, “It’s the Fairy and the Speaker. S-should I go talk to them about getting tokens?”
“Are you crazy!? Look around you, moron!” someone replies.
‘Around me?’ My eyes drift across the crowd, where I notice numerous large men with the Galtry Syndicate emblems, each with a clicker hovering next to them. ‘I see.’
A minute later, Terra and I have somehow traveled from one end of the snowy Terrace to the other without ever having to pause.
The people stand around, observing us, yet they refuse to come anywhere near us, so I ask Terra, {All these large men and Consortium devices appear to be browbeating the commonfolk…. [1] Is this not the wrong sort of impression for the Fairy to be making upon the people?}
{The Cogs and my men safeguarding us? It’s not the best impression, no, but what you need to realize is that if something happened to you, then everyone here would be, well, I don’t want to say ‘doomed’ but something close to that.}
{I… I suppose. If it is going to be this way, at least we decided not to bring Miss Yarborough.}
{Miss Yarborough wouldn’t enjoy all the attention, much less the cold. The Cogs and my men would be the least of what she’d hate. Besides, she’s been enjoying the company of Mr. Ford next door to Lorcan.}
{Aye. I am glad Dylan and Lorcan’s relatives seem to be friendly… Speaking of which, am I…}
We stop in front of a long row of tables with various papers and people answering the questions of anyone who asks.
Nodding, she responds, {Yes, I always planned and wanted to have you help me cure Lorcan. But I needed you to prepare and focus on the Tower. That’s for later, though…} Terra gestures toward one of the stacks of papers. {For now, you should take one of the pamphlets, and then we need to go judge the Fairy’s Quest monster before making some rounds between the booths.}
I glance at all the people watching me once more and then nod back.
Taking a few steps forward, I take a pamphlet reading, “Your Cosmic Atlas #14.” The ground around me is covered in discarded versions of this pamphlet with ‘Your Cosmic Atlas #12’ and ‘Your Cosmic Atlas #13’ written upon them.
‘I shall never understand how so much paper can be wasted.’
With a shake of my head, I read the pamphlet’s cover.
[https://i.imgur.com/nr58ug1.png]
Opening the pamphlet, I search for the knowledge I desire, finding it’s essentially the first bit of information.‘The Cosmic Atlas is a better organized group than I imagined. I suppose this is what a large group can do; I have not worked with any of the larger groups just yet.’ I glance at some of the Cosmic Atlas employees, who all immediately turn away with embarrassed expressions. ‘Though I seem to be the bane of their existence. My apologies.’
[https://i.imgur.com/gowYeZa.png]
Reading the bottom questions, I nod. ‘Those are both questions I have had for some time now. The former I already suspected, mayhaps I was too quick to accept everything offered to me, but alas. ...As for the latter, I am fine to keep my Squire skill until I understand a tad more. It’s a bit irritating, but I feel I should not simply pick something that’s a mystery.’ I fold the pamphlet and stuff it into my pouch. ‘Sir Mouser, even this world’s mysteries have mysteries.’
“Hey, hey, sup,” I hear a familiar voice say.
From my flank, Lincoln and Pierce walk out with a tiny fist-sized clicker following them.
Lincoln raises a cigarette and inhales. “You guys are pretty popular,” he says, blowing a white puff of smoke into the air. “Or are you feared?”
“What the hell was that, Lincoln? Did you just quote that radio show that used to come on at like, three in the morning?
“Is that not popular?”
“Not only is it not popular, but I’m pretty sure it was just some guy on an old CB radio, reading stories he wrote himself.”
“Oh. Guess that’s why his reception was always godawful.” He blows another puff of smoke. “He had a good Lovecraftian tone to his voice, though.”
Terra glances at me and then the two Consortium Solicitors. “Why are you here?” she asks.
“Ah, that’s right, we skipped that part,’ Pierce says with a chuckle. “We’re here because our analysts told us there was at least a one in five chance that someone will try to attack one of you today. So we’ve been ordered to stay nearby.“
{Terra, what does Pierce mean by that?}
{It was in our contract with them. I could waive that stipulation if I wanted, but it’s best we just let them be our bodyguards.}
{That is clearly not what I meant!} My hand pats my hip to ensure my beautiful sword is still at the ready. {They seem to believe there’s a one in five chance someone might try to attack us today!?}
{Constance, it’s one in twenty on an ordinary day. You and I are both popular, and there’s little to no law and order right now. Further, this is a public event, so people know our location. Of course, it would be high.}
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
{Instead of the ‘doomed’ thing, in the future, it would be more effective if thou simply say, ‘Constance, there’s a one in five chance someone might attack us today.’ Then, I could respond, ‘aye, being attacked is unpleasant, thou makest a convincing argument.’}
There’s a chuckle, and I look over to find Pierce, watching Terra and me with a knowing expression.“You two stare at each other a lot, y’know? I’m not sure you guys actually realize how often you do that.”
Terra glares at Pierce and replies with a sharp tone, “I know I’m wearing a helmet right now, Solicitor Pierce, but you do know who’s beneath it.”
“...Y-yeah, sorry, Miss G,” Pierce responds.
While those three continue their conversation, I glimpse a bronze glint in the corner of my eye.
The tiny bronze orb floats around my noggin, investigating my appearance and following my movements with childish wonder. Tilting my head, I poke at the little orb big eye, but it backs away and then stares at my finger. I flip my hand and hold out my palm. The orb reluctantly moves closer and then shines a tiny blue light over my fingers before watching to see if I respond in some way.
I pull the zipper on my palm, allowing Sir Mouser’s crystal to glide into my palm but not exit. Sir Mouser flashes back at the orb. The orb recoils before then, moving close and trying to see what is inside my glove.
“Hey, you mind not messing with that?” Lincoln asks me.
I glance at Lincoln, rezip my palm, and tilt my head. Taking out my whiteboard, I write, “Apologies, but I am curious if there is a reason? Is it now simply a tiny clicker?”
“No, that one learns from watching, and I don’t want you teaching it anything weird.”
“Interesting. What is its purpose?” I write while the little clicker stares at my handwriting in awe.
“Its purpose is to ruin everything.” Pierce sighs. “It’s my replacement. Lincoln is in the process of being promoted to a Senior Solicitor… I’ll start training the newbies, Preston and Mark, full time from now on.”
“Oh, well now! Congratulations seem to be in order then, future Senior Solicitor Lincoln,” Terra says, nodding her head with an oddly tricksy tone. “But… Wait, if it’s Solicitor Pierce’s replacement, then that must mean your partnership is over?”
Lincoln and Pierce glance at one another, their face says all that needs to be said.
“Oh, that’s such a shame. You two seemed to really enjoy working together; I assume you two were partners for a long time, no?”
“Lincoln and I started together, so seven years,” Pierce replies.
“Seven years? That’s a long time to work with someone so closely. It’s strange, though.”
A hint of something shows on Pierce’s face. “What’s strange?”
“It’s just that, well, if you two started together, why weren’t you promoted too? Were you simply passed up for promotion, Solicitor Pierce?”
Lincoln walks a few steps away, mayhaps catching on to Terra’s intentional goading. The tiny clicker does the opposite, moving closer to watch Terra and Pierce’s exchange.
“It’s not like that. There aren’t many Senior Solicitors, but pretty much all of them work alone, and to become one, you have to be a special brand of person.”
“Special brand? And you aren’t that special brand of person?”
“...No.” Pierce glares at the small clicker as it hovers around Terra and himself. “People that become Senior Solicitors are hired because they’re capable of being one.”
“Capable? What does that entail?” Terra asks, observing Pierce’s reaction closely.
Pierce points at the little clicker. “They only work with an Associate Cog, which follows them around and is ‘upgraded’ along—”
“Pierce,” Lincoln says in a sharp whisper. “Stop talking.”
A clicker approaches from behind, speaking in an overly perky female voice. “Pierce Rockwell, this unit has detected inappropriate volumes of data leakage. Please report to the Consortium facility on Sheep Meadow for a remedial consultation with Supervisor Barlowe.”
The associate cog whirls around the larger clicker before then floating closer to Pierce’s reddening face to inspect its color change.
Pierce glares at the clicker, pivots on his foot, and walks away. “Hasta la vista,” he mumbles.
Watching Pierce walk away, Lincoln removes another cigarette and lights it. “He’s just upset. It’ll be a while before the Associate is ready to do anything more than watch.”
I nod and then write, “Is Pierce a Spaniard?”
Lincoln glances at my message, his eyes dim. “Don’t you have booths to visit?”
“Actually, it’s almost time for the quest judging; we’ll return to browse the booths later. Let’s go, Nightingale,” Terra says, gesturing for me to follow. “The judging will be taking place at the Summer Stage adjacent to the Bandshell.”
“Right,” Lincoln replies curtly.
Together the three of us move through the crowds.
{Terra, are Lincoln and Pierce fine?} I ask.
{I don’t know. The Consortium’s history is muddled and their secrets even more so. They have hundreds of companies, all of which have a public face, a business face, an ‘obscured’ face, and then a much more secret face.} A group of children wave joyfully at Terra and me, so we wave back. They laugh and run away. {But, the thing is, the Consortium’s obscured face is nothing special, just a distraction, same as all the mundane code words and language they use.}
{As in they have their own type of Parlance?}
{Not exactly. I mean, as I’m sure you’ve realized, Lincoln and Pierce aren’t lawyers. They just used corporate lingo and imagery to obfuscate themselves in a society that demanded discretion. It’ll be interesting to see how the Consortium changes now that secrecy isn’t their priority anymore.}
{I suppose I understand the imagery...} Looking back, I discover Lincoln gazing right at me, so I pretend to be studying something above his head. I return my gaze forward. {...But I do not understand the lingo of which thee speaks.}
{It can be a bit subtle, so I’ll give you a quick rundown that might help you in the future.}
We stop and watch some elderly women who are performing a show for everyone. “Young people these days don’t understand how to appreciate what they have.” One elderly woman says. Her face lights up when she notices Terra and me, and her voice becomes full of energy. “But don’t worry, we’re here to help!”
As they begin to demonstrate the proper way to patch clothing, Terra continues our conversation, {Listen closely to this report I once read from Consortium and see if you can find the secret meaning:
“Our Senior Solicitor and Associate located a stolen A-Wing Inc. product document. The document was found in the library of an employee’s residence, alongside an employee ID. We brought the lost document to the court’s attention—in good faith. After we read the discharged employees’ account—aloud—the court dismissed any associated lawsuits. Our Senior Solicitor will press for damages sustained during proceedings - in the next filing of CHI small claims.”
Think about every word carefully. What do you get from the paragraph?}
{It sounds both mundane and needlessly confusing.} The little bronze clicker returns and I poke at it. In my arc suit, Sir Mouser begs for me to let him swat it from the air. {Also, I suppose the message would require a lot of personal knowledge on both the situation and people involved; hence it lacks context.}
{Exactly, if you read that with no context, it’s a bit interesting, you might even think the Consortium is hiding something suspicious about that product. That’s the ‘obscure’ face I spoke of earlier.}
The elderly woman finishes her demonstration and raises one of her hands. “Now we were only going to show the young people how to patch their clothing, but we have a special spectator!” I notice everyone is looking at us as the elderly woman claps. “But instead, we’re going to show you how to use soda to remove stains!”
A few people clap. ‘I do not know what ‘soda’ is, but apparently, it’s not very exciting.’
{...But aye, Terra, about thy earlier paragraph, I would not think much of it if I came across it. So what is it about it that makest thou bring it up?}
{Because the fun thing about this report is that it’s describing an event that I knew some of the details of. Combined with what I’ve learned since dealing with them and the things you’ve told me, I believe I’ve mostly interpreted it.}
{Is that so?} I ask, waving at the elderly woman who keeps glancing at me. {What is the true meaning behind that paragraph, then?}
{I’ll run you through what I think is the true meaning of that report was based on what I’ve learned.
The first sentence was as follows, “Our Senior Solicitor and Associate located a stolen A-Wing Inc. product document. The document was found in the library of an employee’s residence, alongside an employee ID.”
Now with everything I know of them, the secret message is roughly, “...Our high-end corporate soldier and their Cog partner hunted down a stolen document that our Artificer shell company created. To see the document in question, request it in an employee resident library or archives, bring your employee credentials.”}
I glance at Terra. ‘They hid all that in something so innocent and mundane!?’
Terra’s index finger and thumb rub together as she continues working through the message in her mind.
Nodding, she continues, {After that, there was the second sentence, “We brought the lost document to the court’s attention—in good faith. After we read the discharged employees’ account—aloud—the court dismissed any associated lawsuits.”
To me, that hinted that they were wary of the consequences of the leak, so they decided to go to public authorities. Therefore, what they’re saying, in reality, is, “We have informed government officials of the danger the leaked document might cause—without actually revealing the contents of the document itself. Once we told the officials the thief or thieves were dead—off the record—they agreed to absolve us of responsibility.“
The elderly woman pours some brown liquid onto a dress while I am lost in thought. ‘They sent one of their Solicitors to kill a thief. They even hid a murder in that short message!’
{Then there’s the final sentence, “Our Senior Solicitor will press for damages sustained during proceedings - in the next filing of CHI small claims.”
That’s the easiest of them all because it just relays their soldier’s condition, so it is essentially saying, “Our corporate soldier suffered minor injuries - they will be in Chicago for a short time recuperating.”}
{Can there really be so much hidden meaning in a single paragraph!?}
{Since we started working with them, I’ve come to realize that’s the kind of thing the Consortium specializes in. They’re ordinary, obscure, and secretive all at the same time.} Terra and I wave at the elderly woman who waves back, spilling her ‘soda’ while doing so. We resume our walk. {You’ve probably noticed that Lincoln, Pierce, and Gary might say obscure things, and sometimes that’s on purpose. It has hidden meanings just like that report yet.}
I tilt my head. {Wait, has… has their personality been just an act this whole time?}
Glancing at Lincoln, he catches my gaze immediately again, so I turn away before he can say anything.
{An act? No, not necessarily. I’d just assume they’re trained to talk like that and have mixed their own personalities into it over the years. For example, when we were raiding Mithridates’s Domain, you know I heard Lincoln and Pierce have the same conversation three times. One of them would say some variant of, ‘we don’t get paid enough for this,’ and then the other would always reply, ‘never did.’}
I think back to the brief moment I saw the pair in the chamber pot tunnels shortly after being forced to leave Lorcan to fight Mithridates’s Interface alone. {Wait, I heard them say that too!}
{Yeah, again, it’s the sort of thing they do. But they’d put their own spin on it every time they did it, probably to entertain themselves.} Passing by King Zero, who seems to be preparing to put on his own show, we walk up the grand staircases at the base of the Tower. {Anyway, what just happened with Pierce was him revealing candid secrets. Obtaining information on Senior Solicitors is difficult, to say the least, and I hoped he’d reveal something if I prodded him. Unfortunately, the Cogs stepped in.}
I nod, but before I can respond, people begin approaching us, having finally found their resolve to speak to us. That’s what I thought anyway. The truth is, the people have begun to gather for the judging of Fairy’s Quest. Seeing as we are still five hundred feet from the stage, this is a worrying sign.
“Fairy!” someone shouts, running up behind me. I turn to find King Zero, waving and ignoring the weapons of the Galtry Syndicate pointing at him. “Yo, Fairy, I wanted to talk to you about something real quick.”
Time passes while the crowds encompassing the Summer stage approach an estimated hundred thousand.
----------------------------------------
From behind a thick wall of ‘bulletproof’ glass, Lincoln and I watch the greater token winner, Dennis Huxley, rouse the crowd.
“Alright! Is everyone primed for the main event!?” Dennis shouts.
The crowd raises their arms and shouts back, generating a never-ending wave of palms.
{Sir Mouser, this is my nightmare.} I glance toward Terra, who is waving at the crowd. {Terra, I was just informing Sir Mouser how this is my nightmare.}
Terra nods without replying.
Dennis raises his hands toward the crowd and laughs. He’s the same person who was the announcer for the initial expedition through the gate, and he is starting to grow into the role.
“Okay, okay, so I know everyone’s ready to start, but first, we have a special announcement from someone I’m sure you all know?” Dennis pauses and then points toward the back of the stage. “Kinnnnnng Zeroooo! That’s right, King Zero’s got a special announcement concerning something that I’m sure many people here aren't exactly aware of.”
Watching the people, clap, cheer and yell, I close my eyes, and say, {Sir Mouser, didst thou knoweth that ‘Fairy’s Quest’ was meant to be a small, unexciting affair?} Feeling Sir Mouser’s reply, I open my eyes and nod. {Aye. The people of this era are strange.}
King Zero walks out with his arms raised in the air and his hair drawn back into a horsetail. For the first time since I have known of his existence, he has a hint of luster about him instead of a pale complexion and glassed eyes.
Taking the speaking device from Dennis, King Zero immediately shouts into it, “What’s going on, everybody!?”
‘Is he having a lapse in memory? Why is he asking what’s happening? Clearly, we are in the middle of having a needlessly large event.’
“Okay, so I wanted to make this announcement at the beginning before everyone naff off to visit the booths. Which, by the way, if you haven’t already….” Gesturing toward me, he declares, “Fairy is actually going to have a booth flaunting some of the things you can find in the Tower! It’s staffed by a nice German lady who makes a plum cake so magical that it should be illegal. So everyone go say ‘what up’ and check it out later.”
The sight of tens of thousands of people nodding in tandem is an image I never thought I would behold.
“Now, I want to start by asking, I’m sure many of you have realized exactly why the Fairy has done. Why tomorrow of all days, the Tower is opening.”
Thousands of people stare at me with knowing smiles, chuckles, and claps.
‘I did not plan this. It was a coincidence. Stop looking at me.’ The crowd looks away and splits apart as cages that hold the quest monsters are being delivered. ‘A few of those cages are… much larger than I anticipated.’
“So let me ask everyone... Does anyone know what today is?”
The people shout answers back at him,
“Fairy’s Eve?”
“Tower’s Eve!”
“New Year’s Eve!?”
“That’s right, it’s New Year’s Eve!” With a laugh, King Zero raises a fist and then steps from the center of the stage. “But there’s more to it than that because I’ve received a rare bit of news from outside the city—some people have been calling for a special change. More importantly, I’ve been given permission from Fairy to make that change official.”
The monster cages are moved into an open area in front of us. Even over the crowd, I can hear their roars, growls, screams, and grunts from within.
Everyone’s eyes begin to drift to the shaking monster cages, yet King Zero seems totally undaunted. “So! Everyone needs to give the ‘PME.’ on your personal calendars a kiss and a cuddle because it’s about to go the way of the dinosaurs!” [2]
An enormous flag unfolds behind us, covering the whole back of the stage that reads, “Year-0 A.E.” King Zero points toward the glowing Tower that overlooks the crowd.
“Because when the Tower formally opens tonight at midnight, it will officially be January 1st of the Advents’ Epoch. Meaning it’ll be the Year 0 A.E. in New York City. It’s about to be Year Zero, baby.” He points at the monster cages as a roar echoes from one of the larger ones.“Now, let’s all find out together what kinds of hurdles Year 0 has to offer, and get this damn show on the damn road!”