“Information network?” Exija said. Rai nodded. “Hm… well… you’re actually probably better off with civilian organizations than the Tower if you want specific information in a very timely fashion. After all, you can’t hire anyone in the Tower to gather information for you, but you absolutely can with organizations devoted to gathering information outside the Tower. There’s just one major problem with that.”

“We’re not allowed outside the Tower,” Rai said.

“Exactly. However… I think you’ve proven yourselves these last months, and you do technically have a divine mission that will take you away from the Ruler’s Tower. I will talk to the others about getting the two of you – three, counting little Braveheart – permission to leave. You will probably need an escort, but I’m sure that I’ll manage.”

“Thank you, Exija. I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it, Rai.” The rhino-horned beastfolk woman smiled. “After all, you always take the time to let me play with Braveheart. You have no idea how much that means to me.” She reached out and petted the carbuncle, who rested on her stomach on top of Rai’s head.

“Yi-yi,” Braveheart said contentedly.

True to her word, less than three days later, Rai and Isa found themselves being escorted not just out of the Tower, but past the wall that surrounded the courtyard. Thus, in the morning light, they got their first glimpse of the city of Plentira.

Rai’s jaw dropped. Buildings seven and eight stories tall were everywhere, and each story was a minimum of ten feet. Grand arches of glass and stone connected truly massive buildings that stood well over a hundred feet high and were far broader than any other building he had ever seen. Everything was brightly, almost garishly, colored, from the buildings themselves to the fluttering cloth banners than hung from them and the clothing of the pedestrians. Vehicles moved through the streets with no beasts to pull them, powered solely by magical artifice. There were even people flying, whether astride drakes or pegasi, with wings of magic, or riding flying vehicles. As he watched, he witnessed pathways form, shift, and vanish between buildings on opposite sides of streets, allowing people to walk across a couple dozen feet above the traffic below.

“This is…” he said once he found his voice.

“Impressive, eh?” the half-dwarf, half-human man with them said. He had the bulk of a dwarf and the height of a human, making him just plain big. He was lightly armored and had a large axe strapped to his back. He smirked.

“I’ve seen impressive cities,” Rai said slowly, “but even the biggest, most sophisticated cities of my time are nothing compared to this. This is why people think the Tower Era is a myth. Because tales trying to describe things like this sound like mere fantasy.”

“Yi…” Braveheart said in awe.

“You said it, Braveheart,” Isa agreed, eyes wide. “This is… amazing.”

“Well, they told me that you want to hire an information broker. You have two options: the legal kind, or the illegal kind. Since I’m working for the Ruler’s Tower, I can’t exactly help you with the second one. That means we’re doing the first. Hope you have enough money for whatever you want to find out.”

“I’m almost certain we won’t. I doubt several hundred gold coins will go very far in this city. But our first priority is making sure we can acquire the information. Then we’ll worry about getting the funds.” Rai shook his head. “This city… this is… I can’t… I’ve been studying the Tower Era for a good chunk of my life, and I never imagined it would be like this. I’m going to have a hard time not looking like some sort of country bumpkin, staring at everything with my jaw on the floor.”

Isa grinned. “I thought you’d be more excited.”

“Excited? I’m still in shock right now. I’ll be excited once I’ve come to terms with what I’m seeing.”

“Well, come on. We aren’t going to get anywhere just standing here. Ready to fly?”

“Fly?” Isa said. “But I thought the Flight spell only lasted like ten minutes?”

“Oh, we won’t be using that,” their escort said with a grin. “Marco! I’m borrowing a flyer!”

One of the soldiers standing beside the gate nodded, then gestured to what could only be a vehicle. It was roughly triangle-shaped, with an interior depression fitted with three seats – one near the front and two behind it. Buttons, switches, and levers were placed in front of the front seat.

“Climb in. I’m driving.”

Rai and Isa settled in behind their escort. When he pressed a button, translucent insect wings shot out the sides of the vehicle, and with expert manipulation of levers, he directed the vehicle into the air. It lifted up smoothly, then shot forward at unheard of speeds. This must be moving at thirty or forty miles per hour, but I don’t even feel wind, Rai thought in astonishment. Does it have some sort of magical barrier that prevents wind force? And how is it going so fast? This is like three times the speed of the Flight spell!

“Woo!” Isa cheered.

“Mi!” Braveheart cheered along with her.

“Ain’t it great?” their escort said. “This baby isn’t quite top of the line, but she’s pretty damn close. The Tower Soldiers have a few of these flyers. They’re fast, maneuverable, and oh yeah, they can fly! Great for getting around the city, right? These things are super expensive, though. Also, they take quite a bit of training to learn to drive. But I’m certified, and I was given permission to use one to take you throughout the city, which is a rare treat.”

He banked to one side to go around a drake rider. “Best part? No need to stick to the roads!”

In what felt like no time at all, but was in reality nearly ten minutes, he had taken them to a hundred-foot-high, circular building. He landed the vehicle on the roof next to a pair of pegasi, who weren’t even the slightest bit spooked. Turning off the flyer, he said something under his breath, and it anchored itself to the stone beneath it.

“With it locked, we don’t need to worry about anyone trying to steal it. I have the pass key in my pocket, but it also requires the password, which only the Tower Soldiers know. Anyway, let’s head to the Temple of Knowledge.”

“This building is a temple?” Isa said.

“No, no. It has a temple inside it. The Temple of Knowledge is an organization that sells information. Well, they do other stuff, too – they hoard knowledge, you see. They’re devotees of the God of Knowledge. They have temples all over the world.”

“Wait, they’re called the Temple of Knowledge, but individual temples are just individual locations belonging to the organization, which is called the Temple of Knowledge…”

“Yeah, a little confusing. Anyway, this is where their Plentira temple location is. They own about half of this building.”

In the middle of the roof was a large magic circle with a pedestal in the middle. Manipulating it caused them to teleport to a large chamber with a vaulted ceiling some thirty feet high. Magic lights kept the whole place, which was made almost entirely out of marble, bright. There were quite a few other people of various races and ages, some simply standing about, others walking or speaking with people wearing what looked like scholar’s robes, but stylized differently than the ones Rai was used to.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Draconid!” Isa cried, drawing Rai’s attention to the nine-foot-tall “humanoid dragon” who was wearing a lightweight white shirt and shorts. The draconid’s scales were pure black, but his (Rai guessed that he was a male; he was quite muscular) wings were crimson. The draconid was in the middle of talking to a human in scholar’s robes when he heard Isa’s shout and turned.

He raised an eyebrow ridge.

Isa took it as an invitation and rushed over to him, looking up at him with almost childlike glee, her golden eyes seeming to shine as she held her face in an open-mouthed grin.

“A little old to be acting like a child, aren’t you?” the draconid said in a deep voice, sounding amused.

“I’ve never seen a draconid in person before! I’m just admiring what I’m going to look like in a few years.”

“What you’re going to look like…?” He let out a loud, booming laugh. “You plan to evolve into a draconid? That’s quite a fantasy, girl! For starters, if you want any kind of reasonable chance of success rather than a complete throw of the dice, you’d need to be both a combat artist and a mage, and a really powerful one at that.”

“Eh, give me a few years. I can do it. I already evolved into a saurian, after all.”

“Evolved into… you were a kobold?” he said incredulously.

“That’s right. My ultimate goal is to evolve into a dragon.”

“…Listen, girl. Even if you succeed in becoming a draconid – a big if – there’s no way to evolve into a dragon. I mean, the Ruler of Dragonia is a ninth circle mage. You’d have to be tenth tier, tenth circle or something! That’s impossible.”

“Tenth realm… so that’s my destination. Thanks!”

“Didn’t you hear what I said? It’s impossible! Even the Rulers are stuck at ninth circle!”

“Well, it’s obvious what I’ve got to do then, isn’t it? I just have to surpass the Rulers.”

“Crazy girl.”

“Isa! I’m sorry about her,” Rai said, walking up. “And she thinks I’m the one who… sigh.”

“Are you her friend?”

“I am. We’re partners, blood bound to help each other achieve our respective goals.”

“Blood bound? You made a blood oath to help her become a dragon? That’s the same as declaring you’ll dedicate your life to it, you know.”

“I know.”

“And what goal did she dedicate herself to in return?”

“…That’s somewhat private.”

“Ah, my apologies. Well, I’d like to get back to my conversation, if you don’t mind.”

“Yes, of course. Again, I’m sorry Isa interrupted you so rudely.”

“Eh, it’s fine.”

“May I assist you?” a young elven woman in scholar’s robes said, approaching.

“Ah, you’re a member of the Temple?” Rai said.

“That’s correct. All of us with these robes are. May I ask what you’re here for?”

“We need to inquire about the cost of specific information.”

“Is it sensitive?”

“Yes.”

“This way, please.”

She led them (and the escort) to an alcove in the wall. Rai checked it with Mage Sight and determined that it was sound-warded for privacy.

“What is the information you wish to acquire?”

“Just to be clear,” Isa said, “this isn’t something we want spread around.”

“The Temple of Knowledge never discloses the nature of requests by clients, but neither do we hide knowledge from people who ask. In other words, your queries will remain confidential, but if others ask about the same thing, they will receive answer.”

Isa looked like she wanted to protest, but Rai said, “Fair enough. We’re seeking six objects of the same kind. There are seven of them; one is in the possession of the Ruler’s Tower. These objects are called star fragments.” Rai generated a gently rotating visual illusion of a star fragment in front of them without a word or gesture. “They contain an energy different from qi or mana – an energy that, in its raw form, can be quite toxic to people, beasts, and plant life. It doesn’t just kill, it mutates and drives insane. We’ve been given command by a god to collect them to remove the risk they pose to the world.”

“…That is a bit above my paygrade,” the woman admitted. “Let me contact my superior. Please wait here.”

“Well, that’s a good sign,” Rai said after she was gone.

“Why is that?” their escort said.

“It means she’s taking the question seriously rather than dismissing us as crazy. You have to admit that someone claiming to be on a god-given mission to collect toxic star fragments does sound a bit… out there.”

“I suppose it does. They never did tell me what you were up to, but the Warden said I had to keep my mouth shut about whatever I learned, so…”

The wait stretched on uncomfortably long, and the three of them sat down on seats built into the walls of the alcove and played with Braveheart, who ran up and down their bodies and jumped from person to person. When the woman finally returned, she did so in the company of an elderly elven man with a crisp, businesslike demeanor.

“Rai Flamme, Isa Bloodscale, Braveheart, and escort,” he said once within the alcove. “We’ve been expecting you.”

“I guess you had an oracular revelation?” Rai said.

“We did. The God of Knowledge had very clear instructions for us. We are to supply you with the information you seek on the star fragments for free, and in exchange, you will give one of the fragments to our temple.”

Rai frowned.

“That doesn’t exactly sound like ‘free’ to me,” Isa said.

“Why does the God of Knowledge want one of the fragments?” Rai asked.

“I don’t know. I was not present for the message’s delivery. I was only told that us giving you the information was contingent on your agreement with this arrangement.”

“…Very well.”

“Excellent. Then, if you will sign this contract…”

Rai took the offered paper and read it over thoroughly before making a mark in blood and signing.

“Oh, I see you’re familiar with how these contracts work,” the man said, signing it in turn.

“Yes, I’ve signed one before with a scholarly institution. I am a scholar myself, you see.”

“It must have been over a serious matter.”

“It was. What information do you have so far?”

“Three of them are within the city, not counting the one in the Ruler’s Tower. We haven’t yet learned anything on the location of the other three. Of the three in the city, we have only narrowed down the location of one: there is a rock collector who managed to acquire it. We’ve already tried to buy it from him, but… he refuses to part with it for any amount of money.”

“And the address of this rock collector?” the escort said.

“Address…?” Isa said.

“The name of the location,” the escort clarified. “All buildings in the city have a name and number based on their location.”

“I suppose in a place this big, something like that is necessary,” Rai mused. “What is the population of this city, anyway?”

“It’s about two hundred and fifty thousand permanent residents, and roughly a fifth of that in temporary residents,” the elven man said.

Isa gaped. “That’s insane!”

“It’s a mid-sized tower city, actually. I believe the largest city on the continent has just under six hundred thousand residents, approximately double the size of our city.”

“Yi-meep?” “Big?”

“Yes, Braveheart, big,” Rai said.

“Speaking of Braveheart, I believe she may be able to help you in your search. She shares a connection with the stars, correct? She may be able to sense the fragments. Oh, and here is the address.” The man handed a piece of paper to Rai. “My name is Seagle. Ask for me when you are ready to search for the next fragment.”

“Thank you.”

Seagle left.

“Let’s get going to that address, then,” the escort said.

They headed to a magic circle with a pedestal in the middle and waited their turn to use it to teleport back to the roof. After unlocking the flyer from the roof, they took off once more. The rock collector’s house was a small manor surrounded by a courtyard. Rai figured that it must have cost a fortune in a place as densely packed as this city. They landed just outside the courtyard and the escort locked the flyer to the ground before showing a badge to the man standing guard and they were let through the gate and taken to the front door, where the guard knocked.

An old woman answered the door.

“Here to see the master about his newest rock?” she asked with a sigh. “I hope you can convince him to part with it. He hasn’t really quite been himself since he got the thing. Come this way.”

The old woman took them to a large room filled with rock displays. A gnomish man with green hair sat on one of the tables, holding a star fragment in one hand and staring at it.

“Master Sedi. Visitors.”

“The gnome looked up. “What do you want? None of my rocks are for sale.”

“Where did you get the one in your hand?” Isa asked. “It’s unusual.”

“It is, isn’t it? One day it just showed up in my courtyard. It has such a beautiful green glow, even though it’s black. I’ve never seen a rock like it before, and I am an expert on minerals. It’s going to remain the centerpiece of my collection for a good, long while. It’s strange, but I feel some sort of… vibrancy to it. I checked it, and it’s completely devoid of mana, which shouldn’t even be possible. Not even adamant has no mana.”

He smiled at it lovingly. “It’s just perfect.”

“See what I mean?” the woman whispered to Isa. “He’s eccentric, but not like this.”

“So there’s no chance you’ll sell it?” Rai said.

“None whatsoever.”

“What about a trade? Is there any other kind of rock you want you’d take in trade?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“What about Igneoheart?” the old woman suggested.

“No.”

“Frostheart?”

“No.”

“What are those?” Rai asked curiously.

“Magic stones – organic rock created in the bodies of certain fire-based and ice-based creatures,” Sedi explained. “They can be polished and treated as gemstones, or they can be used as magic catalysts, often to power elemental golems. They’re relatively rare, largely because they get snatched up by artificers more often than not. I have a few small gems, but nothing big enough for my collection.”

Sedi’s eyes suddenly locked onto the gem on Braveheart’s forehead.

“What is that?!” he exclaimed.

Uh-oh, Rai thought.