Chapter 111 - The City of Mortan (Patreon)

Jiran swept his gaze across the gathered soldiers, noticing their downcast eyes and dented armor. Forlorn and rife with exhaustion, they stared at the stone floor. He felt a deep respect emanating from his chest at these men and women who had joined the Imperial Army, knowing they were unlikely to ever return home. Too low-tier to make a real difference, yet here nonetheless, putting their lives on the line to protect the civilians of the empire.

He saw something else in the cut of their jaws and the clenching of their fists; a solidarity that would not bend or break. He had felt it when the floor vibrated from their unified salute. Their hearts were aligned toward a common goal: survival, prosperity, and the will to thrive despite the weight of the horde bearing down on them.

With everything they’ve sacrificed, if they want to thank me, I’ll accept it and anything else besides.

“Alor! Together, may we thrive!" Jiran’s greeting was returned with a resounding “Alor!” And a stamping of feet that caused the entire battlement to shake. Major Nophor and Major Sharees gave them both respectful nods, clearly moved at his display of respect toward their soldiers.

Major Nophor spun around like a cracked whip, snapping orders. “Back to your posts, troopers!” They saluted and scattered, leaving the four of them alone, save for a single sentry that took up his place near a crenelation while fidgeting with the haft of his spear.

The woman, more handsome than pretty with her strong jaw and a thick scar on her nose, stepped closer. "Sir, if I may, Duke Reihnhardt has requested your presence at his estate at your earliest convenience. He specifically commanded that I mention dinner."

“Hah! I freaking knew it! What took you so long to get here? We expected you to catch up well before we arrived,” A familiar voice blasted, turning all heads in his direction. A young man in shining golden armor floated through the air. His arms waved and his feet kicked as he desperately attempted to rein in his bucking aura.

“Cameron?" Jiran’s surprised expression rapidly morphed into anger.

Cameron fumbled his landing, tipping forward dangerously before catching himself on a railing. Seeing Jiran’s scowl, he nearly backpedaled off the wall. "Hey now, calm down there big guy. You know I don't make the decisions. I would never have chosen to leave before you returned. No point getting mad at me."

"Calm down? I got back and you guys were gone! Do you have any idea how worried I was when I saw the city surrounded by Graymin? No, calming down isn’t in the cards. Why isn’t she here too?”

“She’s fine, I promise. She doesn’t like leaving the manor since she’s uhh, well, you know.” Cameron cupped his hands and patted the air above his ears suggestively.

How can she be fine with a chance she might run into Ravenna? Then again, I don’t even know how manasight works. There’s no guarantee Ravenna would see my mana in Mayalyn, that’s just a theory.

"Hey, what do you know about Ravenna’s condition? We saw her get hurt trying to enter the city. Do you know if she’s recovered?"

Cameron shrugged, looking between the four of them. "No clue, last I heard she was alive. Wasn't really interested so I blocked out the conversation, you know how it is."

“If I may intrude,” Major Sharees stood ramrod straight, her eyes staring straight ahead. “Duchess Ravenna is still in isolated rehabilitation. She is expected to recover within the week.”

“Thank you,” Jiran smiled at her, which for some reason caused a few beads of sweat to form on her brow. Knowing Mayalyn was safe and Ravenna wasn’t an issue released a cloud of tension that had his shoulders in a vice grip.

Charisma: + 1

That's random. Whatever, I'll take it.

Niya jumped into the slight pause. "Cousin, you're not going to introduce me?"

Jiran lifted one hand in a shooing motion toward Cameron as if to ward off a pesky insect. "Oh, he's just some random stray we picked up. Not really worth an introduction."

Cameron fell back against the railing, holding his chest like he’d been stabbed. "You wound me, lover. After the nights we shared together, how could you?"

Sharees, Nophor, and the sentry all turned a light shade of purple from barely restrained laughter. Jiran rolled his eyes as he looked back at Cameron, who wore his signature, idiotic grin.

"This walking punching bag is Cameron. He's got an acclamation that lets him survive one hit no matter how hard it is. You should try it some time, it's pretty fun. Cameron, this is my cousin, Niya. Keep looking at her like that and she'll really test your acclamation.”

"Rude, I was just looking, I haven't even hit on her… yet."

“We’ll see who does the hitting, pretty boy.” Niya’s feral smile had Cameron’s eyes seeking anything to look at other than her pearly whites.

"Your funeral. Niya would trounce you in a heartbeat. Anyways, are you going to take me to Mayalyn? Or do I need to find her myself?"

"Oh right, dinner. I totally forgot. Let’s go!" Cameron enthusiastically jumped into the air. He fell several feet, vanishing from sight, before slowly floating back up to their level, wildly waving his limbs about.

"You just get your manabody? let me teach you to use it sometime," Niya shot him a mischievous look as she leaped into the air with practiced ease.

"Uhh, sure that'd be great."

“Major Sharees, Major Nophor, it was a pleasure meeting you both. May we thrive,” They sent him a crisp salute before turning and hurriedly walking away.

Jiran caught up to them a moment later and swept Cameron up in his aura, unwilling to wait while he dangled himself across the city. Cameron only pouted for a second before laying back with a sigh, his hands tucked behind his head.

Second Father hung low in the sky as they flew low over empty streets strewn with the signs of a hasty evacuation. Only a few desolate faces looked back at him from hollow doorways and windows. Shops stood barren, ransacked of any supplies left behind. Sparse pockets of soldiers patrolled the streets, likely more as a reactionary force in case of arson than to police the few civilians left.

The buildings were wooden and well-built. Sturdy, practical construction that appeared easy to produce while not being nearly as nice as the stony plaster found in Azurelight. The city was arranged in a square, each side four kilometers long. The walls towered over even the largest buildings, creating a secluded, unnatural atmosphere that Jiran found instinctively disconcerting. He had been looking forward to seeing a bustling imperial city since he was a small child; his disappointment could not have been more thorough.

The Graymin can’t even get to the walls and this city is a shell of what it should be.

"Congratulations on tier five." Jiran looked back at Cameron to distract himself from the sight of the vacant city.

"Thanks, you too! Gotta say, you look completely different than the last tier. Well, maybe not? I don’t know how to say it, you’re… scarier? Or something. What did you do to those poor officers before I showed up? I've never seen them so nervous."

"Nothing at all. They greeted us when we landed, then you showed up seconds later. Where are we going by the way?"

"Hah, yeah right! Cause you're an expert on casual first impressions. Estate's the big empty space over there with the white building. Now, we need to talk." Cameron pointed to a massive walled complex at the far end of the abandoned city before he continued. "Sound?" Cameron questioned and Jiran instantly knew what he meant and nodded.

"What can and can't I talk about?" Cameron tilted his head toward Niya who grunted back at him.

Jiran checked his map, finding both Mayalyn’s and Ravenna’s markers in the direction Cameron had indicated. "Niya knows everything, you don’t have to keep any of my secrets from her."

"Okay. The day after you left, Olive used her acclamation again and demanded we leave immediately. She tried to convince Mayalyn to stay but she insisted on coming along. We ran the whole way and got here right as the last of the civilians were evacuated."

"Why was it so important to get here quickly?"

"I'm getting there, keep your codpiece on. Olive assumed we were guided here to negotiate for the People but Reihnhardt wouldn't hear a word of it unless we agreed to help with the siege. He sold our services to the city's lead maintainer where we discovered the Graymin are somehow eating the wards that keep them off the walls."

Jiran remembered the look of shock on Ravenna’s face after she tried, and failed, to enter the city. Niya asked the question before he could. "Is that why Ravenna’s teleportation failed?"

"Failed teleportation? No clue. First time I'm hearing about that. You know all that thinky crap isn't my thing. You're going to have to ask Olive. I’ve been slipping away to help the soldiers any chance I get so I’ve missed a lot of the details. You could ask the weirdo we’ve been assigned to as well. Guy gives me the jeebs but he’s the smartest of this bunch. Anyways, the girls figured out a few things about the wards but they're stumped. Olive's been pacing all day waiting for you to finish playing around out there and come help her."

Seeing the hurt look on Cameron's face, Jiran patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I left a couple of Graymin for you to clean up. I was planning on going hunting again tomorrow. You're welcome to join."

"Hell yes I'm coming! Oh, a couple last things before we get there. Don't freak out when you see how they've been treating your girl.” Jiran’s aura began to fluctuate to match his thunderous expression. Cameron sat up instantly while waving his hands. “Calm down, it's not that bad, honestly. Nobody tried to attack her or anything, they've just never seen anyone like her, it's going to take some time for people to adjust."

"What have they done?" Jiran’s fists clenched as veins stuck out of his neck.

"It's only words, man. People are allowed to have an opinion, even if it's total garbage."

He’s right. What’s wrong with me all of a sudden? Everyone keeps telling me she’s fine but I can’t stop worrying. I just can’t shake this awful feeling that something is really wrong.

"Why would they mistreat her in the first place?" Niya asked with scrunched brows.

"Oh, I guess you don't know everything after all. Well, I'm not ruining that surprise."

"You said a couple things. What else was there?" Jiran asked after forcing himself back to a semblance of calm.

"Watch out for the duke's grandson, Dornev. Guy's a real noble through and through. He's made it his mission in life to annoy us incessantly. We usually ignore him and eventually he leaves us alone. I’m only saying something because I know your bad habit of hitting things you don’t like. With his grandfather’s protection, that’s a really bad idea."

Jiran went quiet as they passed over a garden the size of twelve city blocks brimming with bright flowers and decorative trees. They crossed a meandering creek that separated the garden from an expansive manor. It had hundreds of clear glass windows set within immaculate white walls. Pillars of sturdy stone chiseled into the shape of heroic figures supported large balconies on the second and third floors.

A dozen carriages sat out front with coachmen waiting patiently to bring their charges home. A tier five man in fine livery rushed out to greet them the second they landed near the decorative front doors. His aura was pooled across the ground, oozing supplication. He bowed deeply to the three of them and then locked eyes with Jiran.

"Master, it pleases me to have been commanded to announce your arrival. Am I correct in assuming you are responsible for the cleansing of the rooks?"

Cameron spoke up before Jiran figured out what to say. "That's right, Geren. This is Mortemer of Malten, an old friend of mine." Jiran turned a confused eye on Cameron who returned his look with a wink.

"You have my eternal gratitude for your sacrifices in service to the empire, Master Mortemer. Please, follow me and I shall escort you to the festivities." After a nod from Jiran, Geren led them through the double doors that swung open at their approach.

Jiran wrapped them in a soundproof layer of aura and raised his eyebrows at Cameron. “Mortemer, really?"

"Hey, it's not my fault you flew so fast we didn’t have time to come up with a better alias. I panicked and said the first thing that came to mind. We can’t use your real name. You’re famous among the nobility after the search to find you last year."

“Not just the nobility,” Niya quietly commented but didn’t elucidate. Jiran gave her a side look and made a note to ask her about it later.

Whatever, compared to seeing Mayalyn again, a name hardly matters. She’s close, we’re almost there.