Jjhutto_Son of Flame
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B3. Ch. 2 World Quest
🕑 Added 2024-05-10 00:09:49 +0000 UTCGasps and murmurs broke out in the crowd as the same notification popped up before everyone. Then in an even stranger turn of events, the Announcement was read aloud in that same bell chime voice Tilly remembered from his transference.
System Wide Announcement!
Due to radical shifts in the landscape and power structure of Nephesh, a World Quest has been issued.
World Quest:
Powers that have remained stable for thousands of years have fallen, and new regimes are rising. The old balance of Light and Dark is ending, and such tidings mark a change in Epochs.
The Epoch of Levels and Progression closes, and a new Epoch of power is about to begin.
This is a time of great upheaval and opportunity; the Contested Lands have once again been revealed.
Discover the new forces vying for power on Nephesh and pick a side.
Gain the prizes guarded jealously by the Apex predators of the first Epoch.
Prepare for the final struggle of this Age, where the victorious power will determine this Plane's direction for millennia to come.
Tilly stared numbly at the announcement, once again feeling like he only recognized five words in ten. The Contested Lands sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he had heard of them. And he was pretty sure the upheaval the System was referring to was the result of Corruption worming its way into every power structure it could infect.
Hiro said something under his breath to Erash and magic once again bloombed before him as he prepared to continue his address to the people. But before he could start, a rumbling came from the distant temple mount, and another wave of notifications rolled across the gathering, this time in the form of a more traditional silent blue screen.
Congratulations Three-Fold Alliance! You have met the requirements for advancement to a City-State rated Faction. In recognition of this feat, you have been issued a Quest by your Patron Deity, and your advancement board has been updated! See the City interface for newly available buildings and their associated cost.
Next Faction rating available: Kingdom.
The sound of Hiro clearing his throat boomed over the assembly and Tilly dismissed the oddly timed notification as just another odd brick in the wall that was his new life.
“As you can see. Much is changing, and we not be relegated to the whims of whichever power takes an interest in our growing Faction. Rest assured, we will take all these changes into account and continue to take serious steps toward both growth and security.”
As his speech turned more towards logistics, Tilly felt a light tap on his shoulder and he turned around to find Mochizuki standing behind him, displaying rapt attention matching the rest of the crowd as they hung on the word so the Guardian. Tilly’s happy surprise was dampened down immediately as he heard a whisper next to his ear that did not correspond to any movement from the lapin’s mouth.
“Please look past me, Jonathan Tillman…” Confusion ran over his face like a cracked egg. He obeyed her request without pause, looking over her shoulder in an attempt to remain nondescript. As he bought himself a moment, he realized that she was dressed as a Laundris again, and her identifier registered her at level twenty-two, which he knew to be false. Whatever she had been doing, she didn't want people to know about it.
“You are needed at the teleport square, I have returned with vital information and I need you to confirm the identity of a guest to our Faction. Turn back toward Lord Hiro, wait for thirty breaths, and then leave the gathering as inconspicuously as you can.” She subvocalized, somehow casting her voice to his ears alone. In a crowd of lapins that was an impressive feat indeed.
He turned away from the spy lost in thought and vaguely keeping track of his breathing while Hiro went on about the election that would occur for the refugee representatives later that day. Tilly hadn’t seen Mochizuki since just before she had escaped the city. But he was certain he could trust her, she had saved his life, and while he had no clue where she had been, he was sure she wouldn’t be operating outside of Hiro’s direction.
‘28, 29, and 30’ thought to himself, suddenly patting his non-existent pockets, and looking around as if he had lost something.
“Now where did I put them…” He muttered to himself in what he hoped was a convincing precursor to leaving.
After looking around at the ground for a minute, he turned and wandered back through the crowd as if retracing his steps, avoiding eye contact with everyone and quietly moving through the crowd. He was unsurprised to find the spy already gone when he turned to leave. As he began to distractedly move through the crowd there were a few whispers, but almost everyone was still paying close attention to the guidance Hiro was giving. He had transitioned to explaining the next phase of their growth as a Faction and the expanded opportunities that would become available to the Alliance now that they weren’t facing an imminent invasion.
Tilly moved through the crowd for a while, keeping his head down, until he found one of the lanes kept open for easy movement, and then picked up his pace back toward the city. The building had not stopped during the attacks and Tilly couldn’t help but feel proud as he surveyed the expanding structures. With rich timber resources close to hand, along with a decent quarry that led into veins of several metals under the mountain, the city had enjoyed ample resources to fuel its growth. That paired with the skill boom that had accompanied the Faction’s founding had created quite an explosive start for the city.
The walls had been left out of the new designs, and Tilly imagined the plan was to eventually combine the camp area, the honu enclave across the river, and the main part of the lapin settlement. In the distance he could see several large commercial structures had already filled in the spaces between the camps and the main city, allowing easy access to all the workers and customers that would fuel these budding industries.
Luckily, even with all the changes, the layout of old village roads had not changed during the expansion and after weeks of training, he had become fairly familiar with the growing city and its different facilities. The lone teleport square still stood in the central part of the city, at a crossroads between the main thorofare to the river and the street leading out to the valley and the camps beyond.
The streets where all but empty once he cleared the city boundaries, with only a few members of the Watch out patrolling. Tilly was glad to see them and hoped they would have very little need of such a force over the next months considering what the Faction would be facing. But assholes were assholes and he knew having a police force close to hand would be good for the growing urban environment. He jogged through the streets, his mind ablaze at the implications of the Faction’s growth, the two notifications, and what Mochizuki’s cryptic request meant.
Soon enough, he was turning the corner and had arrived at the central square, which now housed a small fortification, along with a contingent of the Watch. Apparently, this was treated as another entrance into the city and was guarded as such. It had been explained to him that the likelihood of someone discovering their exact location and linking to this square was very low, but it was standard to put precautions in place, both magical and mundane.
Past the guardhouse, next to the teleport platform was Ichiro, standing face to face with Mataus the elderly temple steward from the now destroyed Satyr capital, and another non-descript-looking elderly servant with drooping eyes. The second figure had a slender build with larger ear lobes and an exaggerated forehead, but otherwise looked pretty close to human. Mochizuki was nowhere to be seen.
The two members of the church of Light stood a ways off from the teleport square wearing coordinating colors. They had their heads together in an intense discussion, probably over the recent world announcement and Ichiro stood slightly apart watching without eavesdropping.
Tilly jogged up to the trio, and Mataus looked up, recognizing him immediately and cracking a worn smile.
“Wow! Level 35 in just under a month… you have been busy!”
“Busy is an understatement!” Tilly answered sheepishly, not bothering to hide his pleasure at seeing another friendly face survive the destruction of the city.
“Did everyone from the temple make it out?” He asked, looking around for any others.
“You don’t grow to be a network of our size without having several options for relocating in emergencies. All of the temple staff and a not inconsiderable number of citizens were removed from the city before its… end.” Mataus answered allowing his smile to slip into a small frown at the memory of the capital’s downfall.
“I am afraid, however, that our temple's fate has been far from unique…” the Steward added ominously.
“How did you guys find us?” Tilly continued, glancing over at Ichiro.
“We sent out inquiries after your encounter with our Order and a mutual acquaintance facilitated this meeting.” The droopy-eyed man answered. “Mataus is here to vouch for me, and I believe you are here to do the same for him.” He stated respectfully, his gaze seeming to barely take them in. Tilly took another hard look at the man with Mataus, but found him unremarkable in every way, despite its few nonhuman quirks, it just screamed plane. This was compounded by the bland look that shaded the man’s expression. Identify pinged above him as a level 34 Hall Attendant.
Ichiro interrupted his scrutinizing gaze, “This is correct, now that Mr. Tillman is here, let us move to more private quarters, where we may discuss our next steps. I have been empowered by the rest of the council to represent the Alliance fully in this, and we welcome you as representatives of your Order.”
Mataus and the droopy-eyed man nodded and the lapin set off. Tilly hurried to catch up with the lapin and whispered in a low voice he hoped the others would not be able to hear,
“What's going on? Where is Mochizuki?”
Not breaking his longlegged pace, Ichiro answered in a normal tone, “Jonathan Tillman, our little corner of the plane is about to be open to the wide world, and this is part of our attempt to get ahead of it. The Contested Lands being opened has only moved up our timeline.
His long footsteps lead them to a part of the city that Tilly had not yet had a reason to visit. The building they approached seemed to have made it through the transition untouched, just like his shack. Wide timbers supported graceful inverted arches leading up to squared peaks. The building was a work of art, surrounded by carefully tended sand gardens and a small manmade stone creek that turned the whole structure into a sort of island.
Two lapin guards wearing Hiro’s colors stood before a large round gate door that looked more ceremonial than defensive, showing the stages of a moon in transition. The guards opened the doors at Ichiro’s approach and their small group moved through without saying a word.
Past the gate was a simple stone pavilion with a low table prepared with cushions. Ichiro moved to the side and gestured to the rest of them to sit. As they took their seats, Mochizuki stepped out from the main building wearing a Kimono and carrying a tray laden with cups and a steaming teapot.
The two from the church said nothing and Tilly decided to follow their lead as Mochizuki set out and poured five cups before settling down at the table next to Ichiro. As opposed to her normal business-like garb, the kimono she was wearing displayed a flock of red birds in flight and looked elegant on the lapin. Tilly even noticed a subtle application of makeup that matched the hue of the pattern gracing the edges of her eyes and cheeks.
“May the Light ever Shine,” Ichiro pronounced, lifting his small cup of tea, before taking a long slurp.
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Mataus answered solemnly, raising his cup along with his companion and taking long sips of their own. Tilly belatedly followed their lead, Mochizuki matching his awkward timing with a wink as they took their own drinks. They all set their cups down and Tilly noted that the moment had the feeling of ritualistic importance.
Mochizuki stood and began to refill their cups gracefully, “My Lord, allow me to introduce Mataus, former steward of the fallen empire’s Temple of Light, and with him, Reginald high ranking servant from the Tower of Light itself and most probably, the head of their espionage network…” she said, allowing a small smile to grace her lips as the droopy-eyed man's frown deepened considerably.
Ichiro gave a small bow to the two, “You are welcome in my home gentlemen. Now let us be about our business, you can imagine why we reached out to you. Would you mind telling us why you replied with such high authority?”
