As Priscilla entered the inn she attracted the attention of many. Despite wearing more modest attire she was still a beautiful woman by any stretch of the imagination and she was alone. Several men clicked their tongues and licked their lips as they caught a glimpse of her. Their thoughts ran rampant, but they restrained themselves quickly, the laws still had to be followed, they were all civilized people. They returned to drinking and laughing among themselves, some continued to watch her from the corners of their eyes. The woman took it all in within a few glances, scoffing on the inside as she walked towards an empty table by the window. She sat leisurely as a young boy ran up to her, it was clear he was flustered as he looked at the woman.
''Welcome, Miss! How may I get help you?'' he asked nervously, slurring his words and mixing them up with what he should've said. The crowded room laughed at his display causing the boy to turn ashamedly red. The boy looked about thirteen, still young beyond belief, but at least he knew what he liked. Priscilla smiled at the cuteness of it, it was silly, but at least he was a lot less repulsive than the others.
''Can you get me something simple to eat, and a drink, please.'' she replied softly with a smile, as she put a couple solv on the table in front of the boy.
''Yes, right away!'' he replied excitedly with his reddened face and bright eyes, he skittered off only taking three of the five solv she placed on the table.
Priscilla rested her head in hand as she gazed out of the window, it overlooked the main street and she could she the happy people passing by and the children playing gleefully. She spread out her senses, letting them drift across the room as she listened in proactively to the conversations happening around her. A bustling place like this was the best place to get some information about the state of the Empire and satisfy her curiosity. The hot meal was just a nice bonus. The men talked about the most mundane trifles and vile banter for the longest of times, it was becoming almost disappointing how little value their talks had. Knowing which of the township's fine ladies they had slept with recently hardly amounted to anything she desperately cared to know, but after many moments of absurdist talk, one of the nearby tables talked about something actually interesting in hushed whispers.
''These Imperial dogs can't do anything right.'' one of the men whispered to the others at his table. ''The barbarians are invading, the houses are rebelling, and now beasts are killing folks in the woods.''
''It's not that bad is it?'' another asked, scratching his head. ''The barbarians are always trying to invade, that's why the Empire always confronts them. The houses are just begging for profit, can't expect much else from greedy sacks of shit. And beasts...? Since when?'' he asked worriedly. They couldn't do much about the other stuff, but having ferocious creatures in their domain would be a different story.
''It's terrible.'' the first man said. ''Listen, I got a friend who has a brother and his cousin's sister's brother works with a merchant group from Gellbrim a dozen kilometers away. Several men came out of the woods pissing themselves with fright, saying some shapeshifting beast appeared, crashed from Star's ass crack in the sky and smashed into the ground. It was rabid and killed half a dozen men in mere moments, before vanishing into the woods.'' he said quietly, looking over his shoulders nervously as he spoke.
''What the hell kind of connection is that?'' one of the other men laughed. ''You may as well say you're related to the Emperor in such a convoluted way.'' he joked.
''I'm serious! The merchants were traveling across the towns making their rounds when the men showed up. There's something seriously messed up going on these days.'' the first man spoke seriously.
Priscilla's ears twitched as she listened in on their conversation. 'A beast...in the woods?' she thought. 'Was it the three who ran away when the bandits attacked?' By the time she finished with the men those three had run away, there was no point looking for them, looks like they made up a story to justify why the others died without getting in trouble themselves. She chuckled inside. 'That must be the case. How lucky for me; everyone's looking for a beast, they won't think it was a woman then, unless those man out themselves.'
'And what's with all the doom and gloom about the Empire?' she pondered.
While Priscilla was enjoying her eavesdropping, the servant boy returned and placed down a fragrant bowl of a thick vegetable soup with balls of churkey meat inside, and a freshly baked manchette that smelled incredible to the woman. He left and returned quickly after with a pitcher of water and a cup. For three solv the meal was a lot better than she expected, she smiled at the boy and gave him another solv into his pocket.
''Thank you.'' she said, before the boy left she looked at him for a second and asked. ''Is there anything happening in town? It's quite busy these days, isn't it?''
The boy recoiled, surprised by the question. ''You don't know, miss? The Azure Dance Troupe is performing in town in a few weeks for the contingency from the Imperial Legion that's coming. Everyone's excited for it! Lady Bellum is said to be the most beautiful performer in the Empire.'' he replied with shrill excitement in his voice.
Priscilla cocked her brow slightly, it was a name she did not recognize. There were performing groups that traveled across the Empire, she remembered them, her father even took her to see them several times. But Azure Dance Troupe? That was one she'd never heard of before. ''Thank you.'' she replied to the boy, and let him to wander off to the next table.
The woman took a spoonful of the hot soup, blowing on it slightly, before placing it in her mouth. The fragrant broth was fresh and flavourful, whereas the meat was tender and delicious. It almost brought tears to her eyes as she savored the taste of that first spoonful immensely. Compared to dry rations, or the taste of nothingness in RIn's manifestations, this meal was otherworldly in comparison.
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Nearby she could hear another table discussing, she perked her ears up taking their voices in as she ate her meal.
''Ol' Delaney's out with his goons desperately searching for Cherrin's family.'' one man said to the three sitting around his table. ''He's claiming they took his money and ran, vanished into smoke overnight without a trace.'' he took a swig of his liquor before continuing. ''It's ridiculous, people don't just up and vanish! Especially not for that cheap bastard's meager lending habits''
''Thirty solv supposedly. Ain't worth a vermin's fart! Cherrin's been in town for over a decade now, why would he run for only thirty solv? If it was thirty gild, I'd run too, but solv?'' the man bit into a grilled churkey leg, the succulent juices from it dripping down the gaps in his teeth and down the corners of his lips.
''That's odd, ain't it.'' another man muttered uncertainly. ''Why'd Cherrin even take the money from Delaney? He knows what the man's like.'' he added.
''That's the thing, ain't it? Cherrin was planning on opening up a stall with his wife down by the eastern gate since it's closer to the Marquisate. It's cursed, I tell ya. Last years been breeding evil, and the Empire's doing nothing about it.'' the man uttered seriously.
''Think about it. We have witches being burned alive, demonic beasts ravaging people's corpses, people vanishing into thin air. The barbarians are going ballistic and frenzied as well, attacking the borders with no concern for anything. Ya tell me things are alright, and I'll smack the grin off your face.'' he added while flailing his churkey leg in the air.
''C'mon, Joris. Ya don't actually believe in all those silly stories?'' the third man spoke up with a grin. ''It's just unrealistic that all those things are suddenly happening. We've had a thousand years of prosperity.'' he shrugged it off in disbelief.
''Bah, ya think the world's so practical. I'm telling ya, weird things are around us. Best to keep your head to the ground and stay out of trouble these days, ya don't know if there's any crazies around.'' Joris said with wariness in a hushed voice.
At another table the men discussed the barbarians and the conflicts with the sand tribes. Priscilla knew about it, at least somewhat— whatever it is they deemed to teach her. But she was still curious about the actuality of it, and how the sand tribes compared to the different cultures she saw in Rin's manifestations. How mystical would the place be, how vast would their culture be.
''Are you gonna apply to march with the Legion?'' a chubby man asked his companions.
''I don't know yet.'' a man responded with uncertainty. ''It's hard to trust Imperials with our lives. I don't want to be abandoned fodder buried under the sand.'' he sighed.
''Screw them.'' the third man said annoyedly. ''They're just vermin leeching off the people. If they're so capable they should stop the war themselves.'' he spat on the wooden floor of the inn. Attracting the ire of the barman who shouted at him.
Priscilla meanwhile just sat and ate, she heard it all as their voices whispered into her ears through the wind. It was fascinating how it worked, even more so how chatty everyone was. It didn't take long for her to gather the pieces she needed to give her peace of mind. The town she was in was under the Marvine Marquisate, the man was always more merchant than noble. Probably why the town was so bustling even as a smaller one. If there's money circulating, there's happy people around as well. That was one basis her teachers had told her before, they should've told it to her father instead since he didn't believe in filling the masses pockets. Marvine was far— extremely so, from the Valentine Duchy, even more so from the Imperial City. She was reluctant to bother with it, it would take several weeks to walk there, even if she found a caravan or carriage to go with it would be costly. But more than anything she was just reluctant to go there until she was ready. She didn't want to face them, nor feel the need to explain— why she's alive.
'Maybe I should see the sand lands first...' she thought as her gaze drifted out the window.
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In an undisclosed location darkness shrouded a large palace overcast by a massive shadow from the immeasurably tall mountain that surrounded the palace. In a large room fitted with a circular table and chairs, several people sat. Their forms cloaked and masked as they sat with confidence.
''Lord V— have you completed your preparations?'' one of the cloaked figures asked a large man who sat in between two smaller figures.
''Lord C— It's almost done now. Ellis is already struggling to keep up with the times. It won't be long until their family is brought to ruin.'' he said with his arms on his chest.
''Lord A— You've been instructed to head out to the sands and bring the Ruler the head of the Matriarch.'' a tall figure that sat at the topmost position said to an extremely bulky figure near the bottom of the circular table.
''Divine Lord— Understood!'' the man replied flatly, his voice booming loudly.
''Excellent.'' the man said flatly. ''The times of change are approaching, all of you must focus. For the Ruler's sake— for the world's sake!'' he added with zealous excitement.
He stood up wielding a long scepter that he slammed against the blackened marble flooring of the palace chamber. ''The world has forsaken those who created it, only our church will save the masses. We must save them. Calamity will befall us all— if these animals are left to their own devices.'' his voice fluctuated with anger as he beat his scepter against the floor repeatedly.
''Lord V— hasten your plans and make House Ellis suffer. Lord C— head to Bi'Sha and try to persuade that old fool to join us. Convince him— as you see fit.'' the man commanded with dignity. ''And Lady B— proceed with your infiltration mission. You'll assist Lord A in reaching the sand lands.''
''FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION. DO YOU HEAR ME?'' he shouted forcefully.
''Yes, Divine Lord! We abide!'' the figures surrounding the table all responded in unison.
The dark undercurrents of the Empire swirled, a tremendous storm that approached, there were signs— spread across time, but how many people in the world paid attention to the flow of time— and the changes that it brought? It was always said the world is a bigger place than one can truly comprehend, they spend their lives in one, maybe two towns and they find that satisfying and fulfilling enough. But for some no matter how large the world is, they don't find satisfaction in it. They crave an even bigger world to call their own and they'd go to any length, to find it and make their own. The same could be said for someone like Priscilla, her life was one of confined existence, she saw only what they wanted her to see, she explored only what they wanted her to explore. How could one ever be satisfied with such a life? For some— it is only inevitable that they would seek freedom, whether it's justifiable or not. Who are we to judge?