“It couldn’t have been Sedena.” Adler says, as we settle into the seats onboard the ship, watching the welfare officer closely. While most everyone was horrified, not only at the corpse but the implications drawn from it, she alone was excited at the sight of it
“Why not? If he did something that she considered beastly, she could’ve killed him, no?” I ask, trying to keep my eyes on the people at our table. My attention keeps slipping towards Sedena where she stands at the side of the room, but I’m careful enough to only look through borrowed peripheral vision.
The welfare officer has no such compunctions, staring keenly at the group of us as if there were no one else in this ship with us. Rather than seeming like an investigator watching a suspect, she really feels more like a predator deciding who next to hunt.
“The collars programming.” Adler insists, staring at the tabletop. “She can’t just torture and kill someone like that. Maybe, at best, she can pressure someone else into doing it, but no… I can’t even believe that.”
“We got your collar off.” Eshya says. “Maybe she did the same?”
“No, there aren’t that many ways to break out of the collar, we’d know about it.”
“Would you?” Vii asks. “It’s exactly the kind of thing that they wouldn’t tell you about.”
“I don’t think it’s her.” Adler insists. “The welfare officers are strange, I told you that before. She’s probably just eager to chase down a beast, or something. Which would mean that it’s someone else in here, and that’s just as scary, isn’t it?”
None of us think that it was a murder between two locals, and it definitely wasn’t a wild beast, the timing and the nature of the death is just too unusual. No one saw or heard anything, and the killer didn’t leave any marks on the body that could lead back to them.
Sedena barely did anything to help, simply watching over everything as she has been anyway.
The ship lifts off the ground, and I can’t repress a shuddering breath. I’ve been on edge so much that it’s impossible to hide the tension that I feel when flying on these death-traps.
Adler, noticing my briefly broken repose, reaches out and grips my hand, as the ship rises higher into the sky. Energy builds up and eventually we shift across worlds back to a familiar place. A world of students and teachers, and welfare officers watching over us all.
Whether it’s Sedena or not, there’s a killer among us, and the question is what to do about them.
There’s only three real options.
The first is ignore them, the worst option. I’m not doing that.
The next is using the welfare officers. They’re the law enforcement of this world and while I’m not particularly fond of their means, I’m not against using them to deal with a killer if it comes to it.
The last option is more direct. We eliminate the murderer ourselves. If it does turn out to be Sedena, which is the worst-case scenario for us, and my personal choice for potential killers, then getting rid of her could cause us trouble with the rest of the welfare officers.
Whatever the truth is we’re not prepared to deal with it now. Instead, getting free and rushing back to our new city takes precedence over all else.
Nel is waiting for us.
“Take care of yourselves, and remember what you’ve been taught about fighting beasts. Make sure not to become one yourselves.” Freid barks out at us, looking over everyone as he lets us loose on the academy.
No one replies, rushing away on their own business or nervously waiting for everyone else to leave. Already the thought has been seeded that it’s someone in our class who’s the murderer, even though it hasn’t been confirmed yet, and I have no doubt that there’s going to be a whole murder mystery vibe through our combat classes until this is resolved.
I’m still almost certain it’s Sedena, the question is more the how, the why, and the what the fuck we even do about it. I’m trying to do better, and to be better, but right now the only solution coming to mind is the dozen different ways I could get away with killing her.
Racing through the city, I’m only a little surprised to learn that she’s not chasing after us. We delve down into the depths of the ruins, and get some help to confirm that we aren’t being tracked by a Skill like our own. Thankfully, Nel found someone with an appropriate Skill to help with that, and the new systems have made it only easier to do.
Luke and a few others wait here to guide us down into the dungeon, dealing with the weak beasts that bother us. Eshya doesn’t even get the chance to wet her sword, much to her disappointment.
Shen waits for us at the entrance to the cavern, her long serpentine body curled up so that she doesn’t cover the entire path.
The cavern itself looks no different from the first time we were here. If I look closely a few of the mangroves around the city have been desiccated, and the beasts in the lake below are a little slower and more cautious than ever before. Other than that, our changing ownership hasn’t spelt any massive changes.
I can see through the twin’s eyes as they chase after the massive whale sized creature in the lake below, attacking persistently. Bessy floats beside them, tangling the beast up in her thousands of limbs, trying to hold it down and failing. Every wound they inflict is healed almost instantly, and while the twins are clearly flagging in strength, the whale doesn’t seem the slightest tired.
Whatever this creature is, we could farm it for ingredients fairly effectively, even if it makes factory farming seem ethical. Cutting out it’s liver every week seems just the sort of thing that would get us our first animal rights group.
Inside the city, the reconstruction is already well underway, and people are surprisingly cooperative at the moment. It’s certainly welcome, but I was expecting a little more trouble from them.
More and more I have to question how much I’m actually needed here.
Taking the long walk to the city, rather than flying, as Bessy is still busy on her hunt, I take a look through the forest, while tyring to find a good way to start the conversation I need to have with Shen.
The forest is still dark as it ever was before, but the life here is stifled. There’re no beasts willing to attack us, and few that even show their faces. I know that the consecutive battles have harmed the local population, but even considering that it’s a little quieter than I was expecting.
Multiple hunters are out reducing the beasts population even further. The meat isn’t wasted however, and the feast that began a week ago still seems to be dragging on, though in it’s dying stages. People passing by the ovens are gagging at the oily smells.
“So Shen, are you feeling alright? You haven’t stretched your legs in a while.” I say, waving at her insect body half buried in the snake’s neck.
“Happy! Healthy!” She says, pausing for a moment as she pulls herself from the snake’s body. Shen dances over to us, tapping away on Eshya’s shoulder as she stretches her legs.
The snake, meanwhile, can’t even twitch now that Shen is gone. The eyes seem… quiet, but far from empty. Thoughtful, maybe.
“Shen, is it okay if we heal this snake up?” I ask Shen. “You’ve been moving her around, but wouldn’t it be better if we all work together instead?”
“Together, together!” Shen shouts, rushing over to the snake. “Good person, now?”
“Let’s hope so.” I say, turning towards the serpent and throwing together a message. “Are you intelligent enough to behave?”
“Free?”
“You won’t kill any of my people?” I ask. “You won’t cause me trouble like you did when we met?”
“Won’t.” The serpent says. “Bad fight. Will behave.”
“Good.” I say, pouring a potion into her neck wound. “Now, if you cause trouble. I will kill you. There are hunters out here. If they come after you, make sure to send them a message. ‘I’m protected by Empress Kyra’. If they don’t stop, call me like this, and I’ll get them to leave you alone. Understood?”
“Yes.” The snake replies to me, lifting her head off of the earth before blinking at me. “I go?”
“Go or stay. I can find you a home in the city if you’d like.” I say.
“Together?” Shen asks, hopping closer to the snake who whips away quickly.
“I go!” The snake rushes away, leaving behind a small trail behind her as she returns home without a single backward glance.
The rest of the passage through the forest is without note, the beasts keep their distance as Eshya and Shen catch up with each other. Vii is still quiet, but Adler is spending some time talking with her about something or another.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Welcome home.” Nel says, standing atop the city gates with a wide smile rising on her lips.
“Have you missed us?” I call back.
“Of course,” Nel says. “Now get in here and let’s relax. Our land management meetings start tomorrow morning, and we don’t have much time to spend outside of business. How was your trip?”
“It was fun.” Eshya says, a little disappointed as Shen runs off after a friend among the guards on the wall. “Swimming, training, and a little bit of gambling on sports matches on the side.”
“Gambling?” Nel asks, looking between us. Adler is the one to lower her head blushing.
“It was just a silly little thing.” She mutters, as Vii laughs at her.
“Truth or dare.” Vii says. “Adler lost the bet nearly every time.”
“You missed out on Adler’s singing voice.” I say.
“I recorded it!” Vii cries out, “I’ll send it to you.”
“What a modern bird you are.” I mutter with a laugh.
“An interesting game.” Nel says, smiling. “I wouldn’t mind playing a round or two and squeeze out some interesting truths.”
“That was the plan.” Vii says, her smile a little fragile, but still bright.
“Before we get to that, come with me and be quiet.” She says, leading us through the city. “It’s about to start.”
“What’s about to start?” I ask, but she remains tight-lipped. I could spy ahead of us, but I leave it in my peripheral vision without peeking, it’s surprisingly difficult. I focus instead on everything around us.
The city is flowing with the lively movement of people hoping to make a home. They rush back and forth trying to make themselves useful, while others are trying to spy out a house to make their own. I’m sure that people are going to be making multiple claims just as insurance.
From the conversations surrounding us, I can tell that some people are looking to claim city blocks in groups, trying to ensure that they’re on good terms with their future neighbours.
They wave, smile, or grunt in my general direction when they notice me. Even those who look at me with less than pleasant thoughts keep it to themselves, likely concerned about their chances of getting anything from me if they’re rude.
The truth is, part of the reason the local lord was so willing to acknowledge my authority over this city was because I had already spoken with him about my plans for sharing it. I’m not about to be petty about this.
Even if someone is a bit rude, so long as they played a role in taking this city, or intend to build it up into something more, then I’ll make sure that they get their fair share. Even Khet, who’s looking to cause me trouble, is going to get a share so I can see what he does with it. If he can help build these ruins into a proper civilisation then I’ll welcome the trouble he causes on the side.
City defences are still a concern for me, especially since I took this city through my own power, it concerns me that I might lose it when I’m not here to defend it. There are no immediate threats that concern me, but that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing here that can ruin our plans.
If nothing else, there’s people like Leon who are powerful enough to cause immense trouble.
“Come in here, and keep quiet.” Nel says, pulling us into a stone building still mostly whole. The insides are something of a mess, furniture decayed, smashed or covered in bones and rotting food. The gremlins weren’t exactly the sort for cleanliness.
Through to the other side of the house and down into a basement, Nel leads us to a small window that shines out into the courtyard outside where a strange group of people has gathered.
My attention instantly falls onto Aalia, the troublemaker who keeps calling me a fascist. She’s leading a few groups around a rapidly set up stage. We watch from behind where the audience would be sitting as she claps her hands.
“Act 1 start.” She shouts to the gathered groups.
“Two housesholds, both alike in dignity…” The overly familiar words fade out of my hearing, as the play starts rolling.
“Really? Romeo and Juliet?” I ask, chuckling as the large stone-skinned man narrates the opening of the play, and the others nervously line up to take their roles. Aalia watches over them with critical eyes.
“What’s this?” Eshya asks, her rapt attention caught by the actors as they speak their lines. A flowery young man, born for the stage, kneels low towards a young reptilian maiden, who hisses out her lines with a strangely fond affection.
“A play.” I reply. “You haven’t seen a play before?”
She shakes her head, her lips crawling open but frozen in place as she listens closely to the next lines with rapt attention.
Nel smiles to me, putting her finger to her lips as she sends me a message.
“They’ve been practicing most of the week. Not everyone has a trade that they can practice while waiting for civilisation to come together. Many simply can’t do anything at the moment, the raw materials they need aren’t coming into the city and aren’t openly traded on the scale that they need.”
“So they’ve taken up hobbies, and started our own entertainment industry?” I ask, covering my mouth.
“It seems so. My people have stories, but we don’t spare the time and effort to train people for anything like this ‘play’” Nel says. “Is this what it’s like to be free from the expectations of the Unified States, free to pursue even strange, worthless things like this?”
“It seems so.” I reply, unable to really give any firm judgement. My own experiences with the Unified States and the cultures surrounding it are too limited for a proper judgement, but at the very least, it is nice to see that we’re building something here.
Shakespeare is a fine first introduction of culture, but I do hope that we can borrow from more than just Earth. The people here have come from a dozen different worlds, surely they have their own shows, and stories?
Vii whispers the lines after they’re said, watching the play as she leans against Eshya, barely even blinking. I know that she’s recording it for later, her record Skill something that she’s been using a lot recently. So long as it makes her happy, I’m not going to interfere.
Adler watches on with a tightly knit brow, and slowly flicking tail, her eyes catching every amateur mistake made by the actors on the stage. She listens with twitching ears, but for how closely she observes, she doesn’t seem as happy about it as the others are.
“Is something wrong?” I ask her, looking between her and the stage before us.
“Why?” She asks, turning away from the stage and looking instead into the room around us. “Why are they wasting their time on this? Most of your time, even playing, is used for training, to get stronger and make the most of what you have, but this is different.”
“What’s wrong with using their time on this?” I ask, looking back towards the stage, the story has been cut-down a little, and Aalia doesn’t seem happy about it, but they are still doing a fine enough job considering that they’re a bunch of aliens new to acting.
“If they helped us to tame the gremlins instead. Making them less violent and more willing to participate in peaceful civilisation in this city, how many more could be saved? If they spent this time strengthening themselves, they could help us to protect more people, if they spent time building something it would make things better for everyone.
“Instead, they’re here wasting time on something as frivolous as this? I’m wrong. Looking at how happy this makes Vii, and Eshya I can see that. I just don’t know how I’m wrong.”
I nod slowly, looking at the ruins of a home that we stole from the gremlins who lived here prior. People that we can’t easily welcome back, not until we can be sure that they’re not going to attack us.
“Forget real life while watching them.” I encourage Adler. “Focus on listening to the story itself, sympathise with the characters, and try to feel something from it. Stories can tell us things about ourselves if we just ask ourselves, what would we do in their shoes? How would we feel?
“And sometimes, it’s just nice to be pulled away into a story like this, and set aside all our worries for later. A distraction to keep us from going insane.”
I pull her closer to the side of the room where we can watch as Aalia goes over a few notes with the cast. Just as I think it’s all over, she hands over the stage to a vampire lizard, a soldier that I never got to know beyond the basic military relationship between us.
At his guidance the cast gets into position and starts a new act. Unlike the last one, this is more musical, and a few people play instruments in the background as the actor’s dance on-stage. They’re not skilled, they’re still working out the kinks and rewriting the story to fit their own vision, but even so there’s something beautiful to it.
Through song and dance, they tell a story of family torn apart by conflict and scheming.
It’s not quite like anything I’ve ever seen or heard before, and I find myself getting absorbed in the story as the son stabs his father who’s discovered that he was stealing from the household. Adler settles in beside me, giving her best effort to watch the show.
“That was a surprising ending.” I say, walking out of the home as the actors finish up for the day. “To think that the mother was scheming the whole thing from the beginning.”
“Well, sort of.” Vii says, “It’s not like she meant for it to go so far, but when her daughter found out about the tryst between her husband and her brother everything started getting out of hand.”
“The fighting was so cool!” Eshya shouts, “I didn’t know the blood mages could do that, he actually got stabbed, right through the chest just for the final sequence to have that extra pow. I want to give it a try, do you think they’d let me join in the next time?”
“Excuse me.” A rather rude someone steps forward to interrupt us, his expression rather terse. Leon stands with the slayers of his team right at his back, he’s clearly grumpy about something, and it’s enough to make his allies nervously clutch at their sheathed weapons.
“What is it?”
“I’d like to speak with you.”
“Nel, what’s our schedule?” I ask, letting out a sigh. We’re meant to have a little more time to play before we dive into business.
Nel glares at Leon, her eyes shining bright as she lets out a few low clicking sounds. Swear words half formed, and left untranslated.
“A half hour.” She concedes. “I’ll give you half an hour, and no more. I still have something more planned for this evening.”
“Thank you, Nel.” I say, kissing her on the cheek and meeting Leon’s eyes. “Okay then, what are you after? I’d like to finish this quickly if we can.”
“Very well, can we have a little privacy?” He says, waving to a nearby building that’s clearly uninhabited. “Just from strangers, this isn’t an ambush or anything.”
“Sure, sure, that’s what every ambusher says.” I say following him with everyone at my side. He can get some privacy from the strangers in the street but that’s all.
Leon looks at me strangely, easing my nerves a little. At least he doesn’t seem interested in a fight, just prepared for one, so he’s probably tracked me down to say something rude that might upset me.
“My experiences with ambushes have been much different to yours then.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Skills & Stats
~Mana Form:
Current mana density: 3958 units
~Mana distribution:
Category Current Max. Defence 20% 100% Offense 20% 100% Mana Sense 20% 100% Recovery 20% 100% Gluttony 10% 100% Misc. 10% 100% Efficiency 100% 100%
~Favourited Skills:
-Tag and Film
-Trapping
-Mana surge movement
-Annihilation defence
-Annihilation flame burst
-Annihilation net
-Eyes of an Empire