“Good morning!” I said cheerily to the gatekeepers blocking our path, “We are here to seek entrance to your beautiful city. We are mercenaries and soldiers for hire.”
The two men (women? Like I said, I still had no idea how to tell their genders apart) looked at our rag-tag group of four with dubious expressions. I couldn’t blame them, I introduced us as fighters, but we were dressed in the same wear as the farmers and other menials I saw on the farms and mines. Given how strict their vetting process was, I don’t think we were the first laborers who tried to trick their way in.
I couldn’t complain too much though, at least Central’s databases for the clothing in this dimension weren’t fifteen cycles out of date. I remembered an incident not too long before I slept where a team of recruiters went to a world wearing that planet’s equivalent of a caveman costume. That gave the whole team a good laugh.
The guard rolled his eyes and grunted, “Get out of here, you’re not the first set of damned farmers trying to pass through.”
I sighed, well, I didn’t expect a simple explanation like that to work anyway.
Say, Noe, how much of the Perception Shard is integrated?
“The Perception Shard is at 58.443% integration,” she replied, “You can use the abilities of this Shard minimally, but with how feeble this race is, 58% capacity is more than adequate for the tasks at hand.”
Got it. How about the Domination Shard?
“I apologize, my Creator, but the Domination Shard has not begun the integration process. Your early awakening has disrupted some of my processes.”
Ah, sorry about that.
“There is no need for you to apologize, my Lord,” she said, “I am just sorry that I cannot help you further in your time of need.”
The guards stationed by the side to keep the peace started to move toward us, all of them ready to remove the annoyances blocking the queue, but a quick jolt of fear stopped them in their tracks. The gatekeepers noticed the strange behavior and came up to see what was going on.
“Like I said,” I repeated, “But we really are mercenaries. Don’t mind the clothing, but we like to travel without being noticed.”
The lead gatekeeper frowned, but he couldn’t deny the dread and fear he experienced when he looked at us. He knew we were dangerous, regardless of how we dressed.
“Alright,” he said slowly, “Then do you have any identification?”
I nodded easily, “What type do you need?”
“Badges of rank will do,” he grunted, his eyes narrow and still unsure about our status, “Or a company standard, although I don’t think you have that one you.”
“Of course, good sir,” I smiled and made a gesture to reach into my pockets, “Just give me a moment to get them.”
I took that time to scan every soldier-looking individual around us to try to see exactly what these badges of rank looked like. With so many around around us, the task wasn’t hard. On the necks of a good portion of the people here was a small rectangular piece of metal with what I assume were their names and basic information etched in the plaque. The medals were also made of different materials of varying color, ranging from a dull brown to an almost shimmering crystal-like structure that refracted the light around it.
Judging from a rough calculation of the distribution of the medals, I could more or less accurately guess the distribution of rankings, and I chose one near the top of that chart for us to use.
I still had a few shards of the sword I’d broken from the second Trial, so I took out four pieces from my inventory and showed them to the gatekeeper. Well, it would look quite different from his point of view, showing a vibrant emerald green medal with intricate adornments laced on it. And best of all, his mind will fill in the other necessary information so that there would be no discrepancies.
However, I had to keep my back away from everyone else present, since Noe’s Perception Shard was incomplete and her abilities wouldn’t cover too large an area. Either way, the gatekeeper seemed to be happy with our identification and nodded.
“Alright,” he said finally, “You four are good to go; rare to see Exalted ranked mercs that I don’t recognize, and your names are odd too.”
I gave him a pleasant smile, “We’re from pretty far off, way to the south.”
He nodded, “I can see that. What brings you to Experiata City?”
“Same reason as all these other folks around here,” I shrugged. “Plus, there’s even higher-ranked soldiers gathered than us as well, so I didn’t choose to serve the wrong people either!”
The gatekeeper’s demeanor softened, “A fellow devotee to the God of Fate I see, Experiata welcomes the devoted; we did not know that our faith has reached the southern expanses. Your skills will be much needed.”
“Thank you,” I answered, “And I am glad to say that our faith has spread far, but I think we have taken up enough of your time here, there are many more waiting to get in.”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The man handed out four small green badges and told us to pin those on us for easy identification going forth. He then gestured for the gates to be opened and we were escorted in. I gave the gatekeeper a final wave of goodbye - it never hurt to be polite in these situations - and the four of us were finally allowed through into the city proper. A religious city as well, serving some kind of Fate deity, that was good information to know off the bat.
We followed the other throngs of people moving with purpose toward the city center. Everyone moved in one direction toward some unknown destination like some kind of hive mind, and the four of us tried our best to fit in. Extending my senses outwards, or as much as I could without damaging the space, I saw that we were all being funneled into one of four massive cathedrals.
Xalla spoke up once we were safely lost within the crowd and away from the gates, “Do you have any idea what’s going on, Walter? This place seems to be getting ready for something big…”
“I agree,” Q whispered as he glanced around, “It can’t be because of us, surely. This kind of undertaking must have taken a considerable amount of time to set up, even for someone of Bob's caliber to do, much less these mortals.”
“We’ll know soon enough,” Molly said simply, “I find that it is best to wait and see when it comes to situations like this.”
I nodded and continued to follow the people. Oddly enough, we had passed dozens of what looked like street stalls, restaurants, and other local vendors, but no one was around to man those shops. The only civilians that I saw were some curious stares from families peeking out their bedroom windows; the streets were eerily empty of anyone who wasn’t a soldier or hired sword. Strangest yet, it didn’t feel like we were getting ready for an upcoming war either, I’ve never seen a situation quite like this one.
Fifteen minutes later we had made it into the main square where the various gathered people were separated further. Our group, the smallest one by far, was clumped together with others of similar ranks. I saw about half the people sporting golden signets, a smaller portion had ruby red ones, while only ten others had our green badges. Lastly, there were just three individuals wearing exquisite armor that wore one of those rare crystal badges I saw at the entrance.
Once the last member of our contingent was gathered, a person dressed in a professional military uniform took us into a reception area in the leftmost cathedral. The way that he treated us showed a level of respect that spoke of how important our group was. The number of people slowly dwindled as our aide took us further and further inside the huge gothic building, not stopping for even a moment for us to admire the lovely frescos and murals expertly painted on the smooth stone surfaces.
We continued for a long time until the chatter of the crowd died down to the bare echos of our group’s footsteps, and eventually, we were led into a smaller chamber. Our guide bid us sit and enjoy the refreshments while we waited for our turn to do whatever it was that we were supposed to do here.
The various parties naturally broke off and gathered together to wait. Xalla, Molly, Q, and I chose a spot near the back, close to the entrance to make ourselves comfortable.
“What do you think we’re all waiting for?” Xalla whispered, her voice was so low that it would have been near impossible for anyone to hear us without extremely enhanced senses. The room was too barren and produced a horrible echo that made private conversation almost impossible, much to the disappointment of the other people gathered.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Molly answered, her voice equally low, “I trust Walter will get us through what is to come. I have learned that he is quite skilled at prying into locations and situations that he should otherwise not be in.”
I gave her a lopsided smile. Right, I guess I did sneak into her domain unannounced, but as far as I could tell, Molly was the only one who knew the whole truth. Why she didn’t bother to tell Abigail and her daughter was anyone’s guess, although I was included to think that she just wanted to keep the peace between us. Either way, I would have to let them in on my unique situation soon. I’ve already endeavored to let my allies know as much of the truth as possible.
Thankfully we didn’t have to stand there awkwardly for long; within a few minutes, someone else came in - another well-dressed individual of indeterminate gender - and started to pull parties out of the hall. They went by highest ranked groups first, so it was our turn in short order.
“This way please,” the worker said as she read off a piece of paper, but she frowned before continuing, “Party… um, Wah- er, Watler? Am I pronouncing that correctly?”
“Ah yes,” I said quickly, “It’s a, uh, Southern dialect, probably hard for people here to pronounce properly. I apologize. Just call it Party W if that helps.”
It was interesting communicating with her since I had everything I said translated by Noe, so the nuances of language were lost to me. Even the names that any foreigner gave me would sound more like a close facsimile of the real thing; this was especially so for someone like Xalla whose name doesn’t translate at all without a Boor membrane. It was times like this that I was glad that Noe was on my side.
The lady - I could only tell due to her voice - nodded and gestured to the ornate door that led to the inner sanctums. The doors opened showing a row of soldiers standing at attention just past the narrow hallway.
“Thank you,” I said with a smile and followed along, “The four of us grew up in the sticks, so seeing a place like this is quite remarkable.”
And I really was genuine with the praise. Sure the natives here didn’t have the technology to make truly amazing feats of architecture using the latest cutting-edge materials and procedures, but the statues adoring every inch of the cathedral and the various paintings hung on the walls were clearly done with an expert hand. The care and attention to detail was impossible to miss.
“It really is,” our guide answered with the unmistakable smile of someone who was proud of her heritage, “It is all thanks to the God of Fate and his Oracles that our city could enjoy all of its wonders and privileges. We wouldn’t be here without His guidance.”
All of the artwork told of the rich history of this place and the religion surrounding it, it was a pity that I couldn’t fully appreciate it with my limited understanding of the planet’s culture.
“And it is good to know that so many from all over the world are willing to help during these times of need,” I continued, hoping to gather more information while I could.
Her smile brightened, “It is good to see that so many faithful gathered, although I wish I could say it was for a happy cause…”
I nodded, “I know what you mean. What are your thoughts on all of this?”
The woman sighed, “I don’t know honestly, ever since the passing of the Chief Oracle and her message, I’m not sure what to think anymore. But every religious leader, not just for the God of Fate, agrees that the Apocolypse is upon us, and that day is fast approaching. I… well, it’d be foolish not to heed the direct words of the gods, and I only hope that people like you can advert the calamity to come.”
Okay… that didn’t really tell me much, but at least it was something. It wasn’t like they’d just break into exposition after asking such a general question, although I wished more people did that lately since I’m always getting into spots where I knew next to nothing about the situation at hand.
“Anyway,” she continued, “We’re almost at the Inner Sanctum. The Elders will see you now. They’ll be able to answer any further questions you have and figure out where you will be most needed. I heard they need a lot of elite personnel for a big ritual of theirs.”
“Thank you,” I answered, “We’ll be on our way.”
“Best of luck!”