SoF Ch. 21-30 (Patreon)

Ch. 21 That Escalated Quickly!

It had been a long walk…

But with Ichiro acting all loopy, both Kuro and Nyuk wanted to see him back to the village as fast as possible. So they had hiked all through the afternoon and part of the night, forgoing the raft in favor of the overland route due to the newly depopulated forest actually being faster than the stream and river route.

The upside of this was that Tilly was able to collect an armful of the Charmin tree leaves on their way down. He hadn't actually had to go since before his treacherous flight down the mountain, but now that the near-death adrenaline had started to fade, he expected that to change soon.

He really didn't trust whatever would pass for toilet paper in this world, so he had decided to take matters into his own hands… or arm.

The downside was that without a bag, or a break, He still hadn't gotten a chance to take a deep dive into his character sheet. The two times he had tried, he had fallen, to the grating sound of snickering from the other two lapins.

But now that the forest had started to thin out near the village, Tilly found himself having to focus on where he stepped a lot less. As they emerged on a footpath leading deeper into the valley, Tilly was ready to try his luck again.

He readjusted his armload of precious cargo and shot a glance at his traveling companions. Both lapins were still leading Ichiro over or around any obstacles that came up, and the lapin himself was occasionally muttering under his breath. Tilly took his chance and called up his character screen again.

Jonathan Luke Tillman

Level: 11 (15500 Exp to next level)

Display Name: Tilly

Race: Human

Class: Son of Flame

Titles: Harbinger

Health: 100% (+1.2% per minute)

Mana: 100% (+.8% per minute)

Status Effects: N/A

Stats:

Constitution: 12

Endurance: 69 (75.9)

Dexterity: 27 (29.7)

Strength: 10

Wisdom: 8

Intelligence: 8

Equipment:

Origin’s primitive stone hatchets: +10% to Dexterity. (Legendary, growth type)

+Imbued Ability Recall.

Origin’s primitive leather armor: +10% to Endurance. (Legendary, growth type)

+Imbued Form Sun Salamander leather.

Skills:

-Forestcraft level 12

-Identify level 17

-Cooking level 12

-Beginner Hatchett level 10

-Animal Processing level 9

-Stealth level 7

-Herb Lore Level 2

-Ax Throwing Level 8

All of this was about par for the course. He saw that he had some great gains across his skills with Forestcraft and his hatchet-associated skills having seen the most growth over the twenty-four-hour gauntlet he had just gone through.

The real surprise came next when he saw his lonely, but awesome Ability had changed!

Abilities:

-(Blue) Flame Strike: Channel the fire within you to strike at your opponents. Each strike leaves a smoldering ember at the point of impact and does damage over time. Ember damage is stackable. This Ability has been augmented by your mantle and does 200% more damage to Corruption.

How had that happened? He thought about it for a moment and realized he had read about the ability before he had touched the flame.

Well, he was happy with the change, no downsides, but a huge bonus against any future Corrupted creatures… Shit, his dreams of avoiding this thing in the future slowly died as he realized he was being set up as some sort of adversary for an entity so far above his pay grade that it was laughable.

He ground his teeth for a moment before continuing down to the three titles he hadn't gotten a chance to read yet.

Titles:

Origin’s Champion: You have accepted the mantle of champion from Origin. This will augment your skill and abilities over time to reflect your new nature.

Corruption’s Host: You hold within your body a Seed of Corruption. This entity's progress has been slowed by divine interference, but it will take every opportunity to grow until it has subsumed your will. Seeds influence: 3%

Trusted Gaijin: The highest honor that can be bestowed on a non-lapin by the ruling class. It marks you as a friend to all Lapinkind and they will be immediately predisposed towards offering you any help they may have.

He unconsciously scratched at the scabbed wound in his side as he read the second title.

He winced as he reread the consequences of the Seed growing. He wished he knew how to stop it, or better yet get it the hell out of his body. It did look like he was going to be able to keep track of its progress through the title though, so at least the eventual crushing of his will wouldn’t come as a surprise.

Then he heard Nyuk say something about a party and he looked up from his brooding dismissing the screens.

Two things seemed to happen at once, Ichiro removed himself from the grip of his guide’s hands and bowed to the ground.

There was something that sounded like a sonic boom, and suddenly, Lord Hiro was standing before their little group.

Tilly was so shocked at the sudden change of events that he missed what an unfazed Ichiro said from his bowing position, but he did not miss the bowel-liquifying sight of a stone-cold Lord Hiro drawing his sword in a smooth motion.

Tilly was unable to do anything but drop his armful of leaves, as the Samurai swept his gaze over the four companions, and rested his red eyes on the human. The other two lapins simply bowed their heads, and for a moment Tilly thought it was all over.

Then Lord Hiro stepped up to the space before the human and bowed deeply himself, offering his sword up in both hands. It was hauntingly beautiful, the handle wrapped in fine white leather, and the blade itself seemed to be forged from the darkness of an empty sky. It thrummed with power and Tilly knew he was in the presence of something truly powerful.

“My son, our future, has returned to us.” He announced gravely, his head held low.

“I see he has already awarded you the title that is your right amongst our people. Know that I and Tsugomori owe you a debt, there will come a time when this world comes to strike you down. When that day comes, you will have us by your side. Until that time, we call you friend.” He finished, his bass growl of a voice going up a single octave at the end as he choked back some of the emotion he had held so rigidly in check for the entire encounter. He took one final moment in the bowing position, then he stood up and sheathed his sword before turning back towards his son.

“Your life is not yours to give… it is your people’s. Get up and tell me what has happened since I last saw you.”

Ichiro's portion of the story was related before they started walking again, with his current state explained in as much detail as he was able to his father. Then as he entered into his semi-meditative state to continue walking, the rest of the group spent time answering the lord’s questions. He showed himself a sharp interrogator, asking for multiple viewpoints at the same moment, trying to grasp details that Tilly could barely comprehend.

The final hour of walking to the village passed quickly, and before Tilly knew it, he was entering back through the same gate he had stood over the day before, and continuing on to the small but neat village square.

The party Kyuk had apparently been able to hear almost an hour's walk away was still going by the time they arrived. It was past midnight, and Tilly could tell that many of the villagers had already returned home, the ones who were left had obviously been deep in the sake cups for a while.

“Look, it's Lord Hiro down from the wall!”

“Wait… Is that human back from banishment already?”

“Shut up you fool, it's Young Lord Ichiro!”

The whispers and gasps washed over them as they entered into the center square. Ichiro was still being led by the two loggers and Tilly followed behind, not exactly sure what was expected from him as a new “friend of the people.”

Lord Hiro led them to the center of the square and looked around at the remainder of the people still in attendance.

“Listen to me carefully, I want everyone here to pass on my words to the rest of the village by morning.” He announced in a deep voice that easily suffused the surrounding square and crowd.

“My Son has returned and the abomination poisoning these lands has been defeated. For his part in this, the human Jonathan Tillman is owed a debt, one that perhaps our people are unable to repay.”

At these words, many of the eyes turned from the speaker to the level 11 human standing in mismatched furs to the left of their Lord. Standing there, next to the last of the noble family of their race, his presence seemed somehow thin. But they had all heard stories of what humans were capable of; toppling empires, establishing dynasties, even ascending to the heavens.

Perhaps this was one such human, and if he had agreed to a bond with their people, perhaps the great dishonor of their past would finally be expunged.

Tilly knew none of these things, but he did feel the weight of their expectations settle uncomfortably on his shoulders along with every eye in the village. He really didn't like the sound of debts or obligations owed either way.

Sure he had been pretty much forced into the confrontation, but it didn't really matter, he was sure at this point that something like that would have happened no matter where he had shown up in this world.

Something big was happening all around the plane, and whether he wanted to be or not, Tilly was involved. He just had to pick the mysterious “Bonus” class, didn't he?

Whoever this Origin was, he was probably laughing his ass off right now.

Tilly tried to clear his head of these intrusive thoughts and looked up to see the small crowd dispersing to go and spread the word of Ichiro's return and the end of the attacks.

Lord Hiro was quietly speaking to the two loggers, who bowed their heads and moved off, leading Ichiro somewhere. Then the Lord turned to Tilly, taking in his meager form once again.

“Our fates are now tied together; it will not do for you to be so weak.”

Tilly just looked down at himself, hugging his arm full of leaves closer to his chest. The lapin's words struck him as ungrateful, and he immediately found himself fighting back a sarcastic reply,

“Uh, I am definitely interested in getting stronger, but do you mind if I get a little sleep first? Also, where exactly is your bathroom, I'm not sure what the correct etiquette is but I need to take care of something…” He finished, trailing off his words as the stone-like visage of Hiro didn't crack in the slightest.

“You will stay in the same home you did your first night here, unfortunately, something we recently gained is a surplus of homes. Look slightly beyond that building towards the wall and you will find the facility you need. Tomorrow, we will sit down with Shuji and come up with a plan to balance out your deficiencies.” He answered, his eyes not wavering for a second.

He then turned and left, leaving Tilly to fend for himself.

It was actually kind of nice to not be escorted everywhere, although he couldn't quite remember where his one-room house actually was.

He took another look around the square, noting a large stone slab that seemed to be a stage of some sort at the end of the square opposite the street to the front gate. To the right of that was a street leading off to the river and to the left was the street that Tilly thought might lead to Shuji’s shop. He shrugged to himself and wandered over to the river street. He figured his little house was probably pretty close to the dock.

Unnoticed by Tilly or any of the other lapins present at the celebration was a small glowing arcane mark in the corner of the teleport platform. The one that would confirm the platform was clear and still in working order.

Ch. 22 The Empire Strikes Back.

It turned out the village actually had some rudimentary plumbing in the form of a simple aqueduct that led under a small but neat outhouse. Tilly didn't find anything they could possibly use for wiping, but simply shrugged to himself, and tried not to think about it. He used two of his precious leaves and soon after found his little house marked by an open sliding door and a small fire going in the fireplace.

He looked around the empty street and decided that they had already prepared the place for him. He dropped his leaves in the corner and frowned at his once again filthy body. His armor remained smugly clean, but the body underneath had become ripe again.

He thought about finding some way to clean himself for a moment before yawning. That thought quickly died as he simply plopped down on the bed trying to let the iron tension in his shoulders relax. He focused on the pleasant cool night air mingling with the warmth emanating from the coals glowing merrily near his bed, letting the simple sensations wash through his senses.

He hadn't realized what a heavy toll the constant fight or flight had taken on his mind and now that he was finally done moving from one near-death experience to another, the adrenaline had run out and his body felt like an engine coughing on the fumes of an empty gas tank.

He tried to think about a plan for tomorrow, or even what he could ask Shuji now that he would finally have some time to get this place figured out. But as soon as those thoughts would come up, they would fizzle back out, running themselves ragged in circles without producing any meaningful progress. He laid there for a few minutes more trying to organize a plan for tomorrow before falling into the deep, dreamless sleep of exhaustion. He had not even bothered to close the sliding door to his small room.

…

“Human! I mean Mr. Tillman!”

The voice came to him in the deep blackness of unconsciousness, its tone urgent and on the verge of panic.

“Uggh…wah?” Tilly replied, trying to form some sort of coherent understanding of where he was.

“Please, you must come! They have sent a Quaestor, and Lord Hiro’s presence is demanded in the capital.”

The word, “capital” cut through his too-little sleep fog. Whatever that meant, he was sure the best-laid plans of mice and men were now crumbling around him.

With a groan, he pushed himself up from the bed and looked over to the village militia spearman standing at the open entrance of his temporary house. He was hopping from foot to foot.

“Hurry please, Shuji sent for you the moment the platform activated, but the Empire will care little for our timing.”

“Alright, let's go.” He said, patting his side to find his only two possessions still looped into his belt. The spearman turned around and rushed down the street, with Tilly running to follow.

Tilly hardly had time to compute that the sun was just rising over the industrious japan inspired village when they arrived at the center square and the small crowd that had gathered there. It looked like Hiro and Ichiro had only arrived a minute before Tilly and everyone stood facing the group standing on top of the still-glowing platform.

There were four… goat men? The two in more ornate clothing reminiscent of ancient Greece were mostly human with normal legs showing through purposeful slits in the bottom of their robes. They had large horns showing through their dark curly hair with wiry goatees. One seemed to be wearing some sort of uniform, while the other showed off immense wealth with his clothing and jewelry. Tilly guessed they must be some sort of race of satyrs The two other satyrs had much more animalistic traits and were far more muscular. They wore what looked to be bronze cuirass and had cloven hooves instead of normal human legs.

The first two were identified as a level 38 Quaestor and a level 45 Steward. The two behind were both level 48 Imperial Honor Guards.

The one in the uniform was reading from an ornate scroll.

“-of treason against the Thousand Phalanx Empire. His royal majesty and the noble senate have subpoenaed you for trial under the charges of gross misuse of imperial resources and negligence in fulfilling your mandate to subdue and conquer this frontier territory for the glory of the Empire. You are to report to the Imperial Cura immediately to stand trial.” The satyr announced, reading out the edict like some sort of herald.

He then rolled it up and smartly stowed it away, stepping back from the front of the platform. The more ornately dressed satyr to his right simply snorted, before adding in a dismissive tone,

“You have failed. Just like your kind always does. Come with us you old Hare and we will settle things in the capital once and for all.”

His words moved through the surrounding lapins like a wave, each one stiffening, and any who had weapons tightened their grips visibly. At the front of the crowd were Hiro and Ichiro. Ichiro was wearing a placid empty expression that Tilly had begun to associate with his walking meditation, and the older Samurai Lord’s face was set in a granite long suffering frown.

This couldn’t be right, were these guys from the same empire that had abandoned the village in the fight against Corruption? Tilly looked around at the worn but proud people filling the square. Something told Tilly this was not the first time something like this had happened to the lapin people.

Then from off to his right Shuji appeared, huffing as if he had just run over.

“We will, of course, comply with the emperor’s command!” He gasped out.

“Lord Hiro will return with you along with his honor guard, as is due his rank.”

At these words, the younger satyr scowled and leaned over to the smartly dressed servant and muttered something. The servant just shook his head once and said something back.

“Yes, of course, but no delays. He is to come immediately.” The Quaestor curtly answered after his quick consultation. His eyes had been absently scanning the crowd as he spoke and froze once they found Tilly. The uncomfortably oblong irises narrowed at the sight of the human and he looked like he was about to say something else before Hiro spoke up.

“Yes. My son will stay and lead the outpost in my stead… while my logistics officer will accompany me to answer any questions of a misuse of resources…Also, I have recently lost my other capable guards, so in their place, I am bringing a friend of our people.”

Tilly tore his eyes away from the group of satyrs to look over at Lord Hiro in shock. Lord Hiro in turn was looking at Shuji. His almost hesitant speech was juxtaposed by a rapid series of hand signs that he flashed subtly behind his back. Through these, he relayed far more information to those around him than his forward-facing manner had shown. While Tilly had no idea what they meant, he saw several lapins rush off in response.

The ornately dressed satyr however seemed to allow himself a satisfied grin. Picking up on who Hiro was referring to immediately.

“Very well, I'm sure this friend of yours is dying to see some civilization. Time is up, come with us now while the spell is still active, or face immediate arrest.”

At this, Hiro turned and placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

“Do what you have to.” He said cryptically then he turned and looked over at Tilly, the barest hint of a question hidden behind his hard eyes.

Tilly only hesitated a moment, his mind whirling before the rapid change in his circumstances. It all came down to one simple thing. These people had decided to trust him. He wasn't going to back out on them now.

He nodded and hurried forward, joining a still-panting Shuji, and a stoic Hiro at the base of the crowd.

The two armored satyrs came down and formed up to either side of the trio as they moved toward the platform which had begun to glow brighter. Right before the steps, Shuji seemed to stumble and a few lapins rushed to his side to help him up.

“Very sorry sirs, I find myself quite out of sorts at your early call. Thank you for your patience.” He poured out profusely to the hard-faced guards and sneering Quaestor. From his position just behind the lapin, Tilly saw Shuji pocket several things that he hadn't been holding a moment before.

The three made it up to the top of the platform and this close to the satyrs, Tilly felt a fiery itch build in his side around his scar. The glow of the platform increased into a searing light, and the ornately dressed satyr issued a command.

“Evander, break it.” to which Tilly heard a snapping sound in response. Then the world went black and his stomach felt like it had flipped inside out. Light once again bloomed all around them and Tilly found himself at the center of what seemed to be an endless metropolis.

The ornately dressed satyrs brushed past them with his entourage.

“You are to report to the Cura immediately, you cannot hide here, and don't even think about running.” He spat back at them, shaking out his right arm in apparent discomfort. Then strangely he hurried off with his attendants in tow, not even leaving the guards behind.

The metropolis was reminiscent of something Tilly imagined you might have found in Italy thousands of years ago. Except there were fantastic creatures moving around and through the wide open area that had several of the teleport platforms situated in a grid at the center. Some sort of turtle-human hybrid was walking away from their platform with a crooked staff glowing the same hue as the arcane symbols on the platform. He moved slowly but smoothly, knocking his staff against the cobblestones every other step.

Level 32 Tidal Mage

“We are undoubtedly being watched, Shuji, tell me you got off those messages,” Hiro whispered in a low voice as he put a hand on Tilly's shoulder and moved him forward off the platform, not giving him much time to gawk.

“Yes sir. We got back two responses. The Cura is meeting in an hour, giving us barely enough time to do anything but arrive and defend our cause.”

“Damn that Marcellus brat.” Hiro snarled fiercely, showing emotion for the first time that day.

“Anyone want to let me in on what is going on?” Tilly cut in, keeping his voice at the same level as theirs.

“I am afraid things continue to move at an unfortunate pace for our people, although our position is not without opportunities,” Shuji answered excitedly, his voice creeping up in volume.

They had begun moving through some of the traffic surrounding the platforms even in the early hour. There were several mixtures of human and animal, as well as a few of the classic fantasy races in the mix. Tilly almost stopped in his tracks at the sight of his first dwarf.

“These things are best discussed in private. Jonathan Tillman, please stay close and stay quiet.” Hiro turned and spoke in a low voice before leading them farther away from the platforms. Many of the creatures seemed busy with their own business, but several stopped and stared at the group as they passed. Tilly even saw a couple of minotaurs point to him with animated gestures from across the square.

Then Hiro led them to one of the huge streets leading from the teleport hub, and Tilly saw his first guards, all of whom seemed to be satyrs. They stood at the corner of the square overlooking the traffic flowing in and out of the huge square. They frowned at the group as they passed but otherwise did nothing as they turned onto a huge promenade leading through what might have been the center of the city.

The road was the size of a four-lane highway back home, and the center had statues of different satyrs posing triumphantly every fifty feet or so. The street went on for hundreds of yards, ending in a truly monstrous blocky building built on top of enormous columns. Even from this distance, Tilly could tell it was huge beyond belief.

But despite its initial powerful impression, Tilly couldn't help but see the filth caked on every surface of the city. The pathway was bordered by different ornate structures, all gated and surrounded by tall marble walls. And against those walls were endless stalls and tents. Some housed businesses selling things to the growing throng, while others sheltered grimy groups of clearly homeless creatures.

Worse of all were the children. They were everywhere, sleeping in the shadow of the tall statues, roving on the outskirts of the light crowd or just staring listlessly at nothing. They came in all shapes and sizes but universally had the look of the abandoned. The sight of so much hopelessness weighed on Tilly's soul, and some deep place within him cried out at the number of children seemingly stuck in this immense metropolis.

Lord Hiro's figure cut through the thickening soup of misery like the bow of a ship parting the waves with Shuji and Tilly hurrying to keep up in his wake.

“Truly sorry for all of this my friend,” Shuji said once again huffing alongside Tilly.

“But keep close, and I will endeavor to explain everything to you after the trial… as long as they don't arrest us.” He said conspiratorially with a grin.

“Arrest us for wh-” TIlly began, but was interrupted by a crash of a cart up again.

“My Cabbages!” the wagon driver yelled in dismay.

His cart had been overturned by a huge rolling barrel that seemed to have rolled free from a tent shop front.

“Sorry mate!” A god-honest gnome shouted up to the cart driver, a reedy-looking humanoid with pointed ears.

As the whole street watched the exchange, Shuji shoved Tilly into a barely noticeable break-in between two stalls and into a claustrophobic alley.

“Quickly now.” He breathed out harshly, shooing Tilly further down the alley. Tilly only then notices Hiro already disappearing into a doorway deeper in the shadows.

Tilly rushed after, with Shuji right behind. As they turned into the doorway, they found an elderly female lapin waiting for them dressed in washerwoman clothes.

“Gods, what a mess. At least I got your message.” She exclaimed without preamble.

They had entered some sort of store room with several lanterns burning in it illuminated dusty shelves and old wooden crates. Shuji quietly shut the door behind him and let out a sigh of relief.

“We have precious few minutes. Who do we have with us in the senate, and how do the charges sit with the emperor?”

The washerwoman barely spared Tilly a glance, her gaze fixed on Hiro with an unparalleled intensity.

“First, Lord, I must know. Is this it? Is it time?”

Ch. 23 The Plot Gets Thicc

Lord Hiro considered her words and their implications for a long moment, the muscle on his lower jaw working overtime as he slowly weighed out an answer,

“Mochizuki. I simply do not yet know. Much has changed in the past week and while we have not lost hope, I am going to trial today. They will force me into a Truth Domain. We have planned for something like this, but everything depends on our ability to stay mobile. I promise you, I will get our people out or die trying. This is my pledge to you.”

At those words, the intensity drained from her face and she bowed deeply, “My apologies Lord, I never doubted. It can be… difficult here watching our people suffer and knowing that salvation is such a close possibility.” She came up from her bow and shifted the intensity of her gaze towards Tilly and placed her hands on her hips in a business-like manner.

“I see that we now have a human and that you have even named him friend, but is it really wise to have him here right before trial, they could try and surprise you by questioning him in the domain.”

Hiro nodded thoughtfully, “For now, answer my questions as directly as possible, as long as you do not stray. He will remain mostly ignorant, which will keep him from unknowingly becoming a source of information for our enemies.”

“You can say that again…” Tilly mumbled, unable to keep the surliness out of his voice as he considered even more time in forced ignorance. But whatever that Truth Domain was, he had to admit that continuing to be oblivious to the intrigue unraveling before him was as good a defense as he could hope for. In fact...

“Wait, I know we don't have a lot of time, but if I might be questioned, shouldn’t I leave or cover my ears or something.”

Shuji’s ever-present smile broke into a quick laugh,

“Ha! Yes, that is very kind of you, but we have already taken this possibility into account and our enemies do not know enough to ask you the right kind of questions anyway. When questioned about anything you don't understand, simply respond truthfully that you do not know what the questioner means. This will be sufficient for anything they have to ask you. They did not know of your existence until this morning, so their lawyers have had no time to plan for your inclusion.”

Mochizuki nodded along with Shuji’s words before continuing with the report Hiro had requested on the disposition of the senate,

“Yes, well obviously the Purist Party is responsible for this injunction. We have recent intel to suggest that the elder Marcellus is very busy with some treason himself, leaving this particular grudge to be pursued by his youngest… and cruelest son.”

“Yes, he came himself to insult our people and lay his own eyes on our village. Let us hope he is only half so cunning as the father, and only saw what we wanted him to see.” Hiro replied shortly, waving for her to continue.

“The Honu and Asterion minorities will generally oppose anything the Purists put forward. That leaves the dwindling Economic party and the Loyalist party. The Economics are currently leaning with the Purists on grounds of how tight the imperial coffers are. In their eyes any misuse of funds in this time of geopolitical pressure is treasonous. The Loyalists are a complete mystery… No one has seen the emperor since you got approval for the venture into the unclaimed lands. In light of this, his party has remained largely silent, choosing to abstain from the most recent senate votes.”

Tilly followed the conversation with fascination, despite having little or no context for the information. Hiro grunted in interest and thanked her for the report before following up,

“Invaluable as always Mochizuki, you are a treasure to our people. What changes on the frontlines?”

“The Empire’s last satellite city has been lost, and the Asterion tribes are all but scattered. Almost none remain loyal to the empire, most choosing to sell abroad as mercenary clans. This has led to a significant change in the Asterion party's voting block. They have now shifted focus to primarily representing the empire's Mercenary forces. This has made them both weaker and stronger, depending on the vote in question. The seat numbers have not changed since my last report.”

“Gods above… I thought we had concentrated the majority of our last expeditionary Phalanxes in defense of Lograth?” Shuji broke in, his customary smile flattening.

“We had,” Mochizuki whispered with finality.

“The Cult of the Serpent has become ravenous, and they bear some strange new berserking power that broke the empire's defenses outside the gates of Filaresh.” She continued in a defeated tone.

Unlike Shuji, Hiro did not bat an eye at this news. His face remained drawn in grim resolve as he slowly brought forward some steadying words.

“We are citizens of a dying empire. None of this is new, we will just have to adjust our timetable and make do with what we have. Now come. We will have to run part of the way as it is, and I will not be seen sprinting up to the Cura’s halls.” He said before offering a bow of respect to the informant. Then before he turned to the door he added,

“Hold on a little bit longer Mochizuki. Keep our people together, and if the Gods are kind, we will see you tonight.” He finished with a small smirk. Then he turned and nodded to both Tilly and Shuji before stealthily opening the door and moving out into the shadow of the alley.

Shuji performed a small bow himself before following, leaving Tilly with Mochizuki.

“My name is Tilly by the way… uh thanks for everything.” He said before awkwardly trying for a bow himself.

She smiled in response to his attempt, no doubt due to his title more than any sort of innate friendliness.

“Yes I can see your name Jonathan Tillman, but you can not see mine, and if you do see me in public here, we do not know each other, and you must not speak to me. Now hurry, time is short!” She said, making a shooing motion with both her hands.

Out of reflex, Tilly tried to pull up her identifier and what came up was.

Level 13 Household Servant

He nodded to her again and moved through the still-open door, her voice following after him.

“Oh, and most people will feel when you try to Identify them, it can be considered quite rude in certain situations.”

Shit… one more thing he had probably been messing up. Tilly rushed out into the alley while trying not to kick over any piles of trash. He met up with Shuji and Hiro at the mouth of the narrow passage. They held back in the shadows of the tall windowless walls to either side and observed the passing traffic. Then Shuji whispered something into what looked like an origami bird in his hand and it flared briefly before flying off.

“Just a moment, we will know when to move out.” He whispered.

The throng of people on the main street had grown much more crowded and it seemed like it would be slightly easier to move through unnoticed. As he silently watched the things that made up the crowd he began to notice a rough ratio of the citizens present. About three-quarters were some form of Satyr, although many of the common-looking folk had much more in common with an upright goat than the humans that supposedly existed in their heritage.

The rest of the crowd was broken by occasionally towering minotaurs, stocky dwarves, gnomes, elves, and other humanoids that were definitely supernatural in nature, but Tilly could not see enough to readily put them in a specific category. Many of them seemed to be overburdened by numerous possessions, some pulling hand carts, others weighed down by huge packs. Tilly realized that these people knew what was happening, and those that could were getting out.

Then a familiar voice rang out over the murmuring roar of the city.

“Welp looks like no one is gonna buy from a damaged barrel anyway! Alright, I'm draining this thing, one penny per pour. Get it while it's flowing! Genuine Gnomish Hard Seltzer!” The crowd immediately reacted, moving towards the stall about thirty feet ahead of the alley that had the accident from earlier.

Without hesitation, Shuji and Hiro entered the throng of unwashed bodies suddenly heading for the stall. “One at a time! One at a time!” The Gnome called out.

Hiro led them deftly through the press until they were beyond it on the other side of the promenade and then he turned back towards them, “Now we must pick up the pace significantly until we are close to the Cura.” He said in a low voice, while his eyes roamed the crowd.

“Do not worry about being spotted, they will expect us to have spoken to someone, and need to come in a rush, we just want to protect our source.”

Then he turned and jogged forward, clearly expecting to be followed. With his newly increased Endurance Tilly could probably keep the pace all day, but that was clearly not the case for Shuji who was already panting and out of breath. His Endurance had to be abysmal. That said, he did not falter as they moved at a brisk pace through crowds and around obstacles like lizard-drawn wagons, and some sort of sentient moving pile of mud.

It probably took another twenty minutes before they were approaching the steps of the giant blocky building that stood above the surrounding structures on a foundation of columns. They slowed to a walk before the structure and Shuji pulled out a small vial of something, downing it in one go, and sighing in relief.

The marble steps were flanked on both sides by the Imperial Guards standing every third step at attention and watching the crowds below with suspicion. At the center of the wide stairway was an ornate table manned by several board-looking officials and ten of the guards.

Hiro gave the other two a quick inspection. Tilly was more or less the same dirty-looking wild man he had been this morning, and Shuji had managed to catch his breath and even wiped the sweat from his lightly furred brow.

“Now we test ourselves against the slow grinding corruption of bureaucracy.” He muttered before turning back and approaching the officials at the table.

Tilly tried to straighten his patched fur jacket, and Shuji put on his biggest smile, his larger front teeth on full display, then they followed after the grizzled Samurai Lord.

“Names…” The official Satyr said, not even looking up from his stack of papers.

Shuji stepped forward, “Lord Hiro Masimoto. Last living lord to the lapin people. Hero of the tragic western retreat and once honored chair of the minority party in the Senate. He is here on charges to stand trial, and we are his escort.”

When the official looked up, the practiced look of indifference may as well have been a work of art for all the care he took in confirming the lapin in question was in front of him.

“Very wel-” He started looking back down to mark something on his form when his head snapped back up in a double take. His eyes drilled into Tilly, practically oozing curiosity.

“My, my…” He said, his double chin wiggling under his oily goatee.

“How did your kind get its grubby mitts on a human?”

“Um, well I’m right here… and for your little record, my name is Jonathan Tillman. I think I'm here as a friend and supporter of Lord Hiro. No one has ‘gotten’ me.” Tilly cut in, getting a little tired about how much he was being relegated to the background this trip.

“Yes well, my apologies Mr. Tillman.” The official stated continuing to look at Tilly like he was some sort of exotic animal at the zoo. Then Tilly felt a slight tingling in his mind, like the brush of an unexpected hand.

At that, the face of the official fell, “Oh, another dud. Two humans in the last decade and both turn out to be utter disappointments.” At his words, the other officials at the table tittered annoyingly.

What the hell? This guy must have just identified me! Tilly activated his right back, looking the official dead in the eye.

Level 22 Bureaucrat

“Well, I don't find myself too impressed with your ‘empire’ either!” Tilly said, literally going so far as to make air quotes around the word ‘empire.’

At this, several of the guards who had been successfully holding a statuesque attention, looked over at Tilly sharply.

Then Lord Hiro spoke for the first time in the conversation, letting his killing intent pour out of his aura. Tilly immediately felt a cold sweat break out under his jacket, and he almost unconsciously whimpered.

“We have been held up long enough, I will not be late due to your incompetence.” He declared in a monotone voice under a dead-eyed expression that spoke far more than an angry tone ever could.

The bureaucrat and his several silent associates simultaneously choked on the deadly aura and Mister Big Stuff himself waved them past the guards while covering a whimper of his own with a cough.

Ch. 24 A Few Good Lapins

Tilly was not prepared for the grandeur that unfolded before him as he moved up the steps and through the columns. Both of his companions didn't even look up at the tree-sized columns as they walked in between them, but Tilly couldn't help but pause for a moment and take it in. If the city below was a clear display of an Empire crumbling at the edges, this was its proud gilded heart, seemingly untouched by the squalor unfolding in its surroundings. Many figures scurried to and fro, dwarfed by the forest of immense marble supports. Each of the hundreds of columns was in itself a work of art. Ridged and shaped to be uniquely beautiful.

Soft light shone from the ceiling 4 stories above. It bathed everything in a glow that felt a little bit like a sunny afternoon with a few clouds providing pleasant and intermittent shade. In the midst of all this, Tilly couldn't help but begin to respect the empire and its citizens to some degree. Some of them were definitely racist pricks. But to build something this grand took true passion. Here in this architecture was some level of understanding of what it meant to endure and to build.

These thoughts were undercut by the sight of innumerous cogs in the gears of a purposeless bureaucracy. There were just so many stations set up all around the plaza, distracting from its simple elegance and beauty. Each station held a table filled with paperwork being attended by multiple aids. They buzzed around the piles like flies, sometimes shifting a stack from one table to another. They would talk about such an achievement with other functionaries animatedly as if this work was the empire. The sound of this work filled the space with an animated murmur.

The two lapins cut through the hive of activity towards the center of the gargantuan plaza which held a spiral stair-case the size of a city block and Tilly rushed to follow, moving passed and through the thoughts that were too huge to consider right before a trial that might end with him in fantasy jail.

Near the foot of the huge staircase stood another contingent of guards, these even more intimidating than the ones who had appeared with the young aristocrat earlier that morning. Each of these Satyrs had gleaming perfect armor, juxtaposed by bodies covered in scars and corded thick muscle.

Level 50 Empire’s Bastion

When Hiro arrived at the base, he moved to stand between the first guard at attention, and this time he announced himself.

“Lord Hiro Masimoto, here to stand before the Cura and the Empire accused of treason.” He rumbled in a bold but steady voice.

The guard nodded once, his facial expression unchanging as he stepped to the side. Hiro bowed once in return, his manner the complete opposite of the one that he had adopted in the face of the officials outside. Then he moved up the steps eating up the oversized treads with long strides.

Again Shuji and Tilly hurried to follow. Tilly was beginning to feel a little like a lap dog, always pitter-pattering after his master. He scratched at an annoying itch under his jacket as he practically had to leap from step to step to keep up.

He was really getting tired of the games and intrigue. Why had Hiro brought him? To show him off for political points? The stated reason for “protection” was laughable. The stairs went on for a frustratingly long time during which, Tilly decided that even if they ended up in prison, he was going to get some answers tonight. No more being jerked around.

He kept his head down as he concentrated on keeping his pace and not tripping on the awkwardly large steps when he heard the boom of an announcement from above them.

“Thus concludes the presentation of the children’s refuge bill by the human Amelia. As the bill stands, the vote is 33 nays, 24 ayes, and 8 abstained. The bill is floored at this time.”

They had arrived at an intricate arched opening at the top of the spiral stairs, the glare of the naked sun almost blinding Tilly’s eyes. They adjusted painfully with spots dancing in his vision, and a form emerged, moving quickly through the dancing spots. It was another human!

She was wearing a simple brown robe that was flying open with the force of her red-faced exit, revealing hundreds of pockets, and a neat practical blouse over tan safari-looking pants. She wore her hair in a pixie cut of auburn brown, framing a pair of angry tear-filled eyes that didn't register them at all as she stormed past. Tilly was so shocked at the sudden appearance of another one of his kind that he almost turned around and followed her down the stairs.

“Now this assembly will hear the emergency charges leveled against one of its previous members, and vote on judgment thereafter.” The voice boomed again from beyond the light.

He looked down the stairs for one agonizing second, before turning back to the opening with a sigh. Hiro and Shuji were just moving through the relief carved marble and gold arch and Tilly ran up the last few steps to emerge with them into the light. The brightness of the full morning sun illuminated the basin of an open-air amphitheater. On the floor were several sectioned-off areas with their own seating, and surrounding the basin was a tiered arena with stadium-style seating.

The first level of the stadium seemed to be reserved for a large empty throne and the rest of the low levels were filled with groups of figures dressed in white, formal-looking togas fringed with various colors. This lower group of formally dressed officials was made up of mostly satyrs with about a sixth of those in attendance being creatures of other heritage. Above this group in the higher seats of the stadium were many more spectators, all finely dressed as well, although not in robes of office. There was a murmur of excitement building up in those seats and Tilly got the feeling that politics was a national sport to these people. The recent sight of the woman rushing from this place flashed back in Tilly’s mind and he felt the slow building burn of indignation smolder in his chest.

These people looked like they were about to watch their favorite sporting event, all while the streets of the city around them were choking on an influx of refugees. What sort of twisted culture spawned such a rejection of reality for the sake of amusement?

This empire was crumbling and Tilly had found out why.

Hiro moved without hesitation to a sectioned-off area to the right of the basin floor, with Shuji following. Tilly made to follow but caught a subtle gesture from Shuji to not completely enter the area, simply stand behind it. He scanned the different groups of senators, each separated by the fringe they chose to wear on their togas. There was a gold group, which was by far the largest, then there was green, silver, red, and blue. The blue group was the smallest with only four members, three of which were older turtle-type people. Each of the members of this group held an ornate staff in their hands.

Tilly’s observations were interrupted by the booming voice, “The trial has begun! Here stands the accused, what says the prosecution?”

Tilly traced the confusing echoes back to a smaller formal seat to the left of the large throne, in which sat a Satyr in an all-black toga with white fringe.

Then a ridiculously coiffed Satyr in a nearby floor section stood from his seat and shouted to the crowd in a high tenor voice, “Before us, my fellow countrymen, stands the last Lord of a useless people hampering the returning glory of our empire. In his cowardice, he had taken what he could and run from his duties as a citizen.” He stopped there, letting the crowd begin to build a murmuring response.

Smiling to himself he continued, “Even their retreat ended in failure. Hiro Masimoto has been derelict in his duty to subjugate new lands for the empire and has grossly misused the resources given to him so generously by our divine emperor. For this most heinous crime among many others, we have called Hiro Masimoto here on charges of treason!”

The echoes of his proclamations continued to reverberate into the upper levels of the amphitheater making them seem like they were coming from a legion of accusers.

“How answers the defense?” The bass voice asked from the formal seat next to the throne. In response, Hiro slowly stood, seeming to be in no rush, and took a long moment to eye the gathered senators and the crowd above.

“Many have questioned my people for generations, viewing our entrance into this Noble empire as insincere. It is clear to all of us that a very particular group in this senate will always question our allegiance, along with the usefulness of any non-satyr race. I am not, however, here to answer for a failure. We have succeeded in subduing the abomination that threatened the empire’s outpost. There is now nothing stopping our advancement into the frontier. Neither am I here for cowardice! I have bled many times for this nation and even now, my people are bleeding and dying for the empire’s continued existence.” He stopped there, glaring at the spectating crowd above the senators. Under his unforgiving gaze, the murmuring died and he continued.

“I am here because of my race, and my continued refusal to bow to those who wish to enslave us.” He then turned his flat stare to the large group of gold-fringed senators, leaving no question of whom he was referring to.

His words did not echo up and down the chamber like the prosecutor's had, instead they rang out once and settled down on the faces and shoulders of all those in attendance. Their weight produced thoughtful frowns or hateful sneers in all those who heard them.

The judge on the smaller throne kept his face completely impassive, as he moved through what seemed to be a traditional order of a trial before the senate,

“What evidence does the prosecution bring?”

The coiffed Satyr stood back up, throwing a quick sneer at Tilly’s group before turning to the Judge, “We have a copy of the emperor's mandate. Which compelled this mongrel people to establish a satellite outpost for the empire in the frontier. A location that was very costly to obtain from the Cartographers Guild, I might add! The Empire further graciously advanced a loan to establish a secure transport to the site for the agreed number of rodents… ahem, people, and their supplies. All we have gotten in return is delayed timelines and requests for even more aid! All of this points to an obvious misuse of resources, and even further a malicious twisting of the Emperor’s goodwill!” The satyr finished his voice rising to a fever pitch as his face reddened with passion.

This statement started some quiet discussion in a smaller group of senators wearing togas fringed in green. However, the largest group of senators, all wearing a gold fringe, were animated and even cheerful as they pointed and murmured at the prosecution's point. Those were clearly the ones who felt they had just won a point, while the others seemed to be some of the votes we were hoping to win. Tilly took a closer look at the green group trying to place them with some of the political parties he had heard from the cleaning lady’s report. Their group was mid-sized and was made up of four satyrs in exceedingly rich apparel along with two gnomes, one dwarf, and one dark elf. Tilly decided that these guys had to be the Economist party, the overstated richness of their dress speaking even more loudly than their concern over possible misuse of empire funds. That would make the golden-fringed senators who had unsubtly already cast their vote the Purist party.

“What evidence does the defense bring to trial?” The judge continued impassively.

At his question, Shuji stood and managed an impressively graceful bow despite his considerable girth. “Noble ladies and gentlemen of this august and time-honored body, I am both grateful and humbled to stand before you as a ser-”

“Get on with it, you windbag!” Someone shouted from the higher seats. Many up there laughed at his interruption and the Judge’s face showed his first expression of the day. A deep frown creased his otherwise smooth, uncaring face.

“It is a privilege to be here in this chamber while it is in session. That privilege can and will be revoked for any that choose to interrupt again.” He said gravely without turning to look at the crowd. There must have been magic involved because even though his statement was uttered with quiet menace, it easily carried through the entirety of the stands. He then waved his hand at Shuji to continue.

“Ahem, yes well, as I was saying… I am the appointed logistics officer for this venture, and we have many detailed reports outlining each of our expenditures. We have not only kept track of the empire's resources but also of the considerable sum that was raised privately by our people to make this venture possible. We have lost many more lives than we projected due to the threat we have outlined for you in our reports home. We were told that this was a relatively quiet zone of the frontier, newly discovered and we went to settle it with no fighting force to speak of, besides the ability granted by this Senate to allow double classing for some of our citizens into militia. Lord Hiro lost the last of his formal retainers and almost lost his son in the fighting. For those of you who somehow did not see the reports, we were attacked every night by infected and enslaved creatures from the surrounding mountains for weeks. Despite all of this we have managed, with the help of our new friend, to end this threat with no additional resources. The land is prepared, the outpost is established and now thanks to the constant fighting, the surrounding forests are almost clear of all wildlife.” He finished his statement in clipped, formal tones, allowing a small amount of frustration to show through his otherwise respectful and magnanimous demeanor.

At the conclusion of his statements, many in the senate started to turn and quietly speak with one another. The gold-fringed group grew stormy in mannerism, and Tilly saw an older Satyr at its head turn up to the stands with a dark expression on his face. The red-fringed group of senators (made up of several scarred and burly members of mixed race, including three minotaurs) seemed to like Shuji’s conclusion. The green group’s discussion grew even more animated as they whispered back and forth amongst each other.

Nice job Shuji! Tilly couldn't help a satisfied smile of vindication begin to show on his face. It looked like they wouldn’t be going to jail after all! Then that same reedy voice broke up the chatter of the crowd.

“As is the prosecution’s right in trials where there are no unbiased witnesses, we move to employ the Truth Domain. “ A murmur of excitement met that statement from the upper crowd. This action settled down the gold-fringed group while the other senators leaned in, letting their side conversations die off.

“...This action is deemed appropriate by this judgment seat, you may call a single witness. This court will not be used as an excuse for political maneuvering.” The judge replied gravely. Tilly had to hold back a snort at that. A little late to pretend to be above politics, don't you think?

Upon hearing this limit on the witnesses that could be called, the prosecutor furiously wrote on some sort of thick papyrus glowing with a soft silvery light.

“Who does the prosecution call at this time?” The judge asked, his tone becoming short.

The prosecutor watched the page intensely ignoring the judge for a moment.

“If the prosecution is unpr-”

The prosecutor's head snapped up and almost shouted, “The prosecution calls the human Jonathan Tillman to the Domain as a witness!”

Shuji jumped to his feet, “Your honor, this man is not under any accusation, he should not be made to stand trial.”

“He is not being accused of anything besides poor taste in friends.” The prosecutor snapped back, before continuing “He is being called as the most reliable witness this court can question, and hopefully from him, we can get something resembling the untwisted truth.” He finished with a vehement gleam to his eye.

“The court will allow this, as long as the Human understands he can not be incriminated by any statements he makes under the influence of the Domain. We are here to discover the guilt or innocence of Lord Hiro and the Lapin venture, nothing else.”

Shuji's face fell and a look of defeat darkened his features like a shadow. He turned to Tilly as if in apology and as soon as his expression couldn't be seen by the others he winked before leaning in,

“Just be yourself. We are almost certain you will do much more harm to our opposition than to us.”

“The witness is not to be prepared!” The prosecutor shouted.

The judge gestured to the empty space in the basin directly before the two thrones, where a glowing circle of arcane marking had appeared.

“Please step into the enchantment, human. You will not be harmed.”

Ch. 25 The Truth? You Can’t Handle The Truth!

Tilly suddenly found himself the center of attention of the entire arena. He felt shabby in his patchy leathers and primitive axes, not to mention the grimy state of his body. God, he was glad they couldn’t smell him… well he hoped they couldn't.

None of this, however, seemed to bother the assembly. The whole crowd leaned in while he slowly moved toward the enchantment. The collective weight of their attention made his movements feel awkward and self-conscious and as he neared the circle one of the perimeter guards came forward with a dagger. It was obviously enchanted and glowed the same color as the arcane writing that formed the perimeter of the circle.

“Hand please,” She asked in a bored voice.

Tilly put on his “nothing surprises me anymore” Senior Firefighter face and mirrored the impassivity of the guard trying to appear much more unaffected than he was. He stretched out his hand, which shook only slightly, and the guard took it and pricked the center of his palm with the dagger, which surprisingly didn't hurt at all. A single drop of blood welled up and she flicked the dagger tip with the drop of blood towards the enchantment, which flashed in response to the introduction of his blood.

“You may now enter,” She continued formally with a bow before stepping back to her place on the wall.

Tilly stepped in, trying not to hesitate as the unknown magic enveloped him. The golden light touched him but didn't feel like anything, and Tilly himself felt no different having stepped fully into the circle. He did see a status effect appear next to his health and mana at the top left of his vision.

Truth Bound

Tilly pulled up his notification log to see if it gave him any more information.

You have been affected by the enchantment Domain of Truth. You are now Truth Bound. For the duration of time, you are within the covenant circle you may not speak anything you know to be false and will be predisposed to share the things you feel to be the most true.

“Jonathan Tillman, both the prosecution and defense have the right to ask you three questions before you are released from the domain, then we will hear closing statements and vote. Are you ready?”

Tilly swallowed down the lump in his throat. Dive into a fire, no problem. Maneuver through the dangerous political currents without drowning…

“I feel absolutely unprepared for this, but I guess I don't have a choice.” The answer gushed from his mouth without thought and was met by smiles and small laughs all through the crowd.

Even the judge allowed himself a small smile, “Well this institution is only interested in the truth, something that hopefully needs very little help in being shaped or understood. Prosecution, you may ask your first question.” He said with a wave of his hand.

The Satyr in the prosecutor's box nodded sharply and reviewed some notes he had written down on the silvery glowing page before speaking in a slow deliberate tone as if talking to a toddler,

“Mr. Tillman, in your time with the accused, have you seen any behavior or heard anything that showed less than full commitment to the empire and its people?” He asked, eyes intensively focused on Tilly’s guileless, thoughtful expression.

Before Tilly had time to even think of how to answer the question, his mouth was opening, “It is my understanding that the lapin people are citizens of the empire… And everything I have seen from them speaks of a people just trying to survive threats both domestic and from abroad.” His words had a clipped almost robotic cadence to them, and Tilly was surprised by the formal way that his thoughts emerged. Not that it was anything he didn't believe, it was just spoken clearly without any forethought, something that he had always had difficulty with in the past.

At his words, the prosecutor's face screwed up into a sneer and he furiously started writing on his glowing sheet again. The judge turned towards Shuji and Hiro, “Defense, what is your counter?”

This time Hiro stood up, with that same unhurried coolness that had marked his presence during the whole affair he said, “Jonathan Tillman, what was your impression of our village when you first arrived just a few days ago?”

Tilly's mind noted the sharp interest provoked in several senators of the non-gold parties and he guessed that it had something to do with Hiro establishing him as completely new to the lapins and probably the empire as a whole. His mouth on the other hand didn't care one lick about his observations and simply rattled off his uncolored opinion.

“Well, I arrived near death from my encounter with the Corruption in the mountains. I was hoping you guys would be able to provide some protection or an answer to the problem that was clearly consuming the surrounding wilds. But what I found when I recovered was a people who had almost lost hope. It looked to me like you were barely hanging on, this impression was further confirmed when you sent me back out into the forest to deal with the problem instead of doing it yourself.” He winced internally at the slight bitterness that had entered his tone as he finished describing his impressions. He had understood Hiro’s obligations to his people, but he couldn't help but think that they had on some level mishandled the growing threat early on. There was no way they should have ended up being dependent on him to save them.

The silvery page in front of the prosecution lit up and the prosecutor nodded to something he found there before looking up with a smirk. Hiro, however, just took his response in stride and nodded before sitting down.

“The prosecution's next question-” The judge said, gesturing to the prosecutor.

“The prosecution finds it interesting that you were sent off alone to face something that was clearly far beyond your ability to handle. Their race has something of a reputation amongst this governing body for being quite unreliable. In that vein, have you seen or heard your lapin companions pursue any goals that run counter to the empire’s wellbeing in their pursuit of ‘survival’ as you put it?”

At this Tilly tried to control his mouth before it opened, desperately trying to take inventory of all that he had witnessed. But it was hopeless, his response seemed to completely skip his front brain, filtered through some deeper place, and then immediately made available to the assembly.

“I don't know what the 'empire’s well-being' means. From what I have seen it seems like you are currently losing a war. If these guys were given an important mission by the emperor, and you are calling them back on trumped-up charges, isn't that counter to the empire's wellbeing? In fact, the only treason I've heard about is by some guy named Marcellus.”

Grumbling started to build in the crowd as Tilly recited his answer as if he was talking about tomorrow’s weather. Then the whole stadium erupted in shouting as he repeated the name Mochizuki had dropped in her report.

“Order! Order!” The Judge shouted from his seat, his voice barely drowning out the crowd.

Tilly’s eyes locked on the same elderly lapin in rich golden fringed robes that sat at the front of the gold group of senators. His face had shifted from impassive to an achingly cold fury in a matter of moments, his eyes becoming beacons of icy hate.

“ORDER!” The judge's voice broke out once again, this time succeeding in damping the fervor of the crowd.

“I will have the guards remove any non-senate personnel that cannot control themselves immediately!” At that, the whole crowd quieted, even the senators stopped talking, and as if by some unsaid agreement, they all zeroed back in on Tilly, who couldn’t keep the grimace off his face. What kind of shit had he just stepped into?

“I would remind this assembly, that what the witness is saying is only what he believes to be true, and is not grounds for any accusation without corroborating evidence.” The judge spoke harshly.

So much for being impartial…

“Defense, you have the witness for your counter question.” he spat with a sharp gesture at the defense cordon, all attempts at appearing unbiased having been abandoned.

Tilly turned to see Shuji covering up a smile with a cough, “Ughm… Yes, the defense wishes to ask the witness if he knows of any lapin plot to undermine or rebel against the empire. This will be our final question, no matter what he says, the defense will rest until concluding statements.”

Tilly found himself spitting out a response from his gut, not even bothering to try and fight it anymore. Although as he began speaking, he did notice the prosecution furiously writing on his sheet and it flashing back in manic response.

“The only thing I can tell you is that the Lapins are planning for the possibility of this empire’s collapse. I don't think they are trying to bring it about, although I don't think they would have to try very hard. It looks like you don't have much time left as it is.”

Those final words sent the crowd into an uproar. The senators either started shouting and yelling at him, or turning to each other and discussing things furiously. The judge was shouting something to the guards, but his voice was caught up in a cacophony of the mob.

“Bastions! I pronounce this a closed session!” He tried again, shouting even louder, his voice barely audible over the din. But those same sharply dressed, scarred soldiers from the bottom of the stair appeared all around the stadium and started moving through the stands, herding all the crowd above the senators out of the public entrances. Some fought and continued to yell, others seemed to take it in stride, and others seemed to think the whole thing was some sort of game, hooting and howling with the mob, trying to dodge the advance of the guard.

The guards did their jobs admirably and soon the whole upper stadium was clear.

“This assembly will conclude its proceeding in order or it will suspend any pending bills and motions until proper decorum can be achieved on the floor. This was always going to be what happened when you give a human a platform. Now we will finish this trial and vote. The defense has rested. Prosecution… What is your final question?”

The coiffed satyr was obviously thrown off by the sudden uproar, and his magical paper was no longer flashing responses at him. He stood there for a moment looking lost.

“Prosecution! Do you have a question or do you rest?” The judge demanded.

“Uh… Ahem, yes. The prosecution wishes to point out that this witness is unaware of our true state of affairs and the might of our empire…” He replied shrilly.

“This is your last chance, do you have a question or not?” The judge snapped, leaning forward in his chair, disdain written on his face.

“Yes! The prosecution wishes to ask the witness… Uh…. Ah! On what grounds can he possibly pronounce judgment over our empire?” He concluded in shallow triumph, his forehead shining with a layer of sweat, and his skin turning sallow.

In all of this, Tilly felt like he was being moved by currents he could not understand. He had only been here for a day, but he was already tired. Tired of the bullshit, the politics, and the selfishness that was grinding this nation into oblivion. But if they wanted the truth, then for better or worse, he was going to give it to them.

“I can only speak about what I have seen today. The streets were choked with homeless and hopeless refugees, too hungry and weak to keep running. Those with the ability to do so, are packing up and fleeing to who knows where, and the fact that your upper class seems to have become completely divorced from reality. It seems to be more important to them to show up to this trial for entertainment than it is to actually lead your people to some sort of solution. By the way, where is the Emperor? You are in crisis and I don't see any leadership. I can only see a fast-approaching end and no obvious way to stop it. It seems to me that any of you not preparing for the empire's fall is a fool or delusional.”

At these grim words shared in frustration, the senators and the judge sat stunned in silence. For some it was a thoughtful heavy silence, for others, it was the silence of impending vengeance. As for the judge, his silence was rooted in a deep weariness that suddenly showed itself in the roadmap of lines creasing every part of his elderly distinguished face.

Despite that, he was the first to answer, “Human, do not look at us in our darkest hour and think you know us. Once this place stood proudly for the rule of law, and the truth of justice and representation. Yes, we had an emperor, but we also had a republic, something much rarer than you realize in this world of monsters and legends. Do not be so quick to foretell our doom, for with us dies one of the last republics of Nephesh.” He said solemnly, his words taking on an eerie weight of wisdom won through centuries of struggle and pain.

Then he closed his eyes for a long moment, and when he opened them, the impassive mask was back, the will to fulfill his duty as guardian of this storied institution hardened his resolve and his voice once again rang out.

“Thus the questioning has been concluded, may we hear the truth and judge rightly by it!” He pronounced, his voice firmed by the millennia of tradition that preceded it.

“Human you may leave the Domain. Prosecution, defense, this assembly will hear your closing statements.”

Tilly looked around in confusion, once again failing to embody any of the formality that surrounded him in the current circumstance. He awkwardly stepped back out of the circle and turned to take his place behind the cordoned-off section of the defense. On his way, he saw the coiffed satyr frantically writing on his pad with no response, and he caught a sad smile from Shuji before he schooled his expression back to one of professional interest.

Hiro stood as he passed by and addressed the assembly, “The defense stands ready…” At a wave from the judge, he continued,

“You are correct, this human knows none of the histories of this empire or its greatness. But in some ways that has made many of us blind to the possibility of its end. Make no mistake, this empire is in grave peril, and this body has far more important issues to deliberate than a false claim of a misuse of funds. A significant portion of this body will vote me guilty simply because of my race… and to them, I do not waste my breath on words. But to the rest of you… You know me, you know my people. We simply wish to survive what is coming, and we will not do so if this empire falls. We can not fall. We will not fall. That is all that matters.” Then he sat back down, his manner just as cool and reserved as when they had begun, in fact in all of these proceedings the only present party who had not seemed to be surprised was Hiro Masimoto.

“The defense has been heard. Prosecution you may conclude your argument, or I will close and put this matter to a vote.”

The satyr who had started the preceding with such vehemence seemed deflated, his magical communication thrown to the side. He looked up with a hard bitter smile, something that spoke of deep apathy and a desire for mutual destruction.

“The prosecution stands ready…” He said, staring intensely at the judge, who again motioned for him to continue.

“This has always been an empire that holds the rule of law and the inherent rights of its citizens above all else. No one here denies the pressures we face along our borders. In fact, it is precisely because of these pressures that I stand before you at all, fighting for justice. By their own admission, these mongrels would have failed and squandered all that we had entrusted to them, if not for the miraculous intervention of a human. This is gross negligence of the highest order. On top of that, the prosecution knows it was unable to fully bring to light the history of malfeasance and quiet rebellion that this race has perpetrated throughout its history. They have undermined our greatness for generations and it is they and others like them that have made us what we are today, a people on the brink. Do not give in to their petty mewlings, remember your pride, and our great destiny. If we beat back this weakness here in this courtroom, we will beat it back on our borders, just as we always have and always will.”

By the end of his monologue, his voice was once again ringing out with the passion of blind belief. This was a creature so committed to his ideals that he could not help but see every fact through the lens of his fervently held bias. The judge stood from his seat with a nod and for the first time turned and addressed the assembled senate.

“The court has heard this trial and will now put it to a vote. Ayes for guilty, Nays for not guilty. Noble senators, cast your vote.”

CH. 26 Spite and Spittle

A glowing group of symbols appeared before the occupants in the lower arena seating. Some senators took a moment to deliberate before their group of symbols flashed and disappeared. Others didn't even look at the options before their voting enchantment display flashed in response to some unseen input.

Soon only the silver-fringed group of senators remained undecided, numbering 8 in total. The Purist Party seemed to have enough members to make up just under half of the senate and Tilly realized with some anxiety that it would be almost impossible for them to be voted innocent if this yet undecided party chose guilty, or abstained.

The front position of this smaller group was taken by a truly ancient Satyr, his wizened face almost lost in the ridiculously long but thin white beard flowing down from his chin and upper lip. He sat there stoically considering each of the three symbols floating in front of him. He seemed to weigh the choice for an unhurried age with a look of focused deliberation on his face. Then in a break with all of his peers, he moved his hand in a slow deliberate motion and clearly selected one of the options, making sure the whole arena could see his vote. The rest of his group hesitated briefly to look at each other before following suit with a series of quick flashes marking their decisions.

Tilly couldn't help but scan the crowd hoping for some hint of which way the different groups had voted. As he was taking in each group and assigning them a name he had heard in the clandestine meeting, he finally realized that the silver-fringed group had to be the Loyalists… which he assumed had something to do with the emperor. They held themselves rigid, ignoring the looks of the others in the arena, and stoically looking to the Judge, who seemed to be receiving the tally in real-time.

He sat there wearing a far-off look as lights danced before his eyes. Then suddenly, they were gone and he was scowling down at the arena floor, ready to be done with this trial.

“The vote has been tallied at 38 nays, 28 ayes, and 0 abstained. Let the people of our glorious nation know that Justice has prevailed… Hiro Mosimoto. Before the eyes of those in this court, the emperor, and the heavens themselves, you are pronounced Not Guilty.”

Upon his announcement, the entire silver-fringed group stood and filed out of the arena, leaving some in confusion, and others in outright animosity.

“You haven't voted for months!” One gold-fringed senator shouted at their backs,

“And now you choose to vote? For a filthy long ear!”

None of them replied as they filed through an exit, their absent response leaving its mark on the rest of the assembly, many turning and speaking to each other, trying to unravel the inscrutable choice of the Loyalists. Tilly couldn’t quite see who was shouting, and as soon as he started scanning the gold group, he couldn't help but be drawn into the frosty glare of the head of the Purists. He sat there looking down at Tilly as one would look at a particularly skittery roach that must be crushed.

“Order, order” The judge called out in a tired voice.

“We have two more motions to move forward this morning before we break, all those not present automatically choose to abstain. Lord Masimoto and delegation, you are dismissed.”

At that Hiro and Shuji stood and moved towards the same arched opening they had entered through, with Tilly close behind.

“Hey… ugh, sorry about what I said up there about the village,” Tilly whispered hurriedly as they exited the Cura.

Hiro kept moving down the stairs but waved off the apology like it was inconsequential. Shuji however turned and beamed at Tilly with his characteristically huge smile.

“Do not worry yourself, Mr. Tillman, you have been named friend! And you have once again proven your great worth to our people. In fact, if I may be so bold, it is probably we who owe you an apology. We had to come up with a plan very quickly, and we knew if we brought you along as an unknown, those nosy Purists wouldn’t be able to help themselves. It worked out wonderfully! If our luck holds we might even survive the coming calamity!”

Tilly almost missed a step as Shuji delivered the last words, seemingly without a care in the world. Then Hiro stopped suddenly on the steps, and turned back towards Tilly, his face drawn in a serious frown,

“This whole building is enchanted to prevent divination, but once we leave its protection, we will not be safe from being overheard until we lose ourselves in the city. This trial played out as well as it could for us, however, this means that they will try and end us with more overt methods, possibly as soon as dusk. We will leave this building and move fast, and tell you when we are relatively secure. Do not engage with anyone unless you see us do the same. They will find us, and we must do what we can to be ready.” He delivered in a steady but focused voice that broached no argument.

He was about to turn back down the stairs to keep moving, but Tilly moved to stop him, lifting his hand to grab his shoulder, before thinking better of it and turning it into something of a hand raise.

“Look Hiro, I'm with you and I understand that you have a lot more to worry about than me and my problems, but hear me out… I don't care if we are in the middle of a fight for our lives. Tonight, I am getting answers.” Tilly said, once again allowing some of the frustration of his last few days to color his tone

Hiro didn’t acknowledge the reach, but did nod sharply at the statement, before turning to move, Shuji turned his bombastic smile once again on Tilly and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder before hurrying down after Hiro.

Tilly moved to follow distractedly, not for the first time worrying about how far beyond his ability circumstances had moved. He couldn't help but feel like a noob in a high-level zone. In fact, nearly every possible combatant he had seen was at least twice his level if not more.

Before he knew it, he was at the bottom of the stairs, and Hiro and Shuji were cutting through the crowd of squawking bureaucrats like a smoothbore nozzle through a fully involved room. There was something about the purpose with which Hiro moved that easily set him apart from all the others, as they milled about amongst the tree-like pillars. Tilly followed in his wake, wondering if he would ever find his own way in this world or be cursed to be caught up in this seemingly undeniable tide of events. He shifted his jacket uncomfortably over his scar as he half-jogged to keep up with the odd loping gait that marked the lapin race.

They made it through the crowds in the Cura and emerged at the front steps of the building to find the same Satyr who had started all of this waiting for them with his formal servant. Tilly did note however that he lacked the guards that had accompanied him previously and hoped that this was a sign that he was no longer acting as an agent of the state.

His face was a storm cloud of anger, juxtaposed by the slack professional expression of his servant. He stood at the entrance of the Cura, clearly prepared for a public showdown to regain some face. Hiro didn't even bother to acknowledge him, simply moving around him like an inanimate object, Shuji following suit. This only darkened the satyr’s already stormy expression and his eyes flashed with fury.

Unfortunately, he was clearly surprised by the move of avoidance and did not want to turn and look like he was following the moving lapins, so his eyes fixed on Tilly, who was a few steps behind the purposeful pair.

“You dirty, long-ear loving, Cur. How dare you besmirch my family's name in such a public setting.” He declared in front of the growing crowd of onlookers. They had apparently been anticipating this very meeting. Then he did one of the pettiest and most disgusting things Tilly could have imagined. He spat in Tilly’s face.

Now Tilly had been a Firefighter for many years, and bodily fluids were just a part of the job. He couldn't count the number of times he had been forced to encounter blood, urine, and even feces in the line of duty… But in his many years, he had never been spit on. It did not agree with him one bit.

Tilly saw red, and the sound of his throbbing heartbeat filled his ears. His whole body tensed like a fully compressed spring and his side spasmed releasing a sickly sweet feeling of pleasure and relief. The sweet tingling spread up from his side and down his extremities and he felt ready for anything. This world kept pushing him around and it was time for him to start pushing back.

He didn't know what a Level 38 Quaestor was but all thought of consequences had flown from his mind, and his face cracked into a manic grin as goat spittle dribbled past his lips. A new flashing notification went unnoticed, as Tilly imagined rearranging some goat chin.

The offender's sneer of hate momentarily ticked into a smirk at the sight of the reaction he was getting, and the steward's stance subtly shifted, the weight of his body moving from his heels to the balls of his feet.

Then Shuji, as if out of thin air, was between the three, interrupting the building tension with his unbelievably cheerful smile. He moved in front of the Marcellus's heir with such a fawning expression that the satyr’s satisfied smirk twisted into a rictus of confusion and disgust.

“Sir, I am deeply bereaved that this ignorant human has injured you and your family so unjustly!” He cried out, with literal tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Then he dropped to his knees before the Satyr and started weeping at his feet, loudly. The transition was so shocking that it blew away Tilly’s mindless fury like a brisk breeze clearing morning fog. The tingling remained in his veins but no longer demanded action.

Then Shujji raised the ridiculous performance to a new level, moving towards Satyr's legs to hold them or kiss them or something. As the possibility of being touched by such a base creature became a reality, fury reignited on the Satyr’s face, and Tilly saw his arm begin to writhe and glow with a dangerous purple aura. Shuji didn't even look up from his crying as the Satyr raised his arm in a flash, preparing to bring it down in some sort of strike.

Tilly moved without thinking, some sort of eerie competence taking the place of his shock as he saw the danger Shuji was in. He activated Resolute as he dived over the prostrating Lapin. A flash of purple shone from above as he lost view of all but Shuji, who was already moving as if having anticipated the strike from the beginning. Then a searing crushing pain exploded along his shoulders shattering his awareness momentarily before fading completely and leaving him gasping on the ground.

He quickly adjusted to the absence of the intense pain and pushed himself up from his position preparing to reach for his hatchets. He looked up to find looks of bewilderment on the faces of everyone present. The crowd that had formed to eagerly watch the events unfold broke out in exclamations of shock. Even the implacable steward was looking around with his hand in his jacket as if trying to identify the new unknown variables that had entered the field.

Shuji, the sneaky bastard, had somehow ended up ten feet down the steps in all the confusion, and he looked back up at Tilly with a chagrined expression on his face. The Quaestor however was clearly the most put off by the change of events. His fury developed into a sort of near panic, clearly unused to being so out of control.

“You… Your human trickery… I demand satisfaction!” He finally stuttered out as his right arm started to twitch along with his face.

“That will not be happening.” Stated a calm Hiro appearing in the growing crowd with several of the scarred guards that Tilly had seen at the bottom of the inner steps. Hiro continued as if he was completely in control of the situation,

“You feel you have been insulted, and have in turn insulted and struck one of those in my retinue. It is now my responsibility to pursue satisfaction at my leisure, and be sure I will be doing so… ” He said, nothing in his manner or voice changing, but still somehow impregnating his words with an incredible amount of menace.

The steward instantly moved between Hiro and his master and the younger satyr choked on his furious reply.

“Shuji, Mr. Tillman, Come. It is time to take our leave.” He said once again turning to move down the stairs, the crowd parting before him like minnows scattering before a shark.

Shuji moved to follow immediately, and Tilly was only a second behind, following in Hiro’s wake. As he moved, he couldn't help but turn back and shout over his shoulder, “Oh, and that was no human trick. You just hit like a little girl.” He called, wiping any remaining spit from his face. Sometimes a little childishness could be just what you needed to regain a feeling of control.

A scream of fury followed them down the steps, “Mark my words filth! You will be paste, smeared under my boot!” His words caused the already mumbling crowd to ripple with more animated discussion. Even that faded into the normal sounds of a bustling city as Hiro, Shuji, and Tilly moved out onto the promenade choked with every aspect of life.

Ch. 27 Kowabunga

Now that it was no longer early morning, the city had come fully alive. They quickly moved off from the main promenade of the city to the smaller, less patrolled streets. Well, not so much less patrolled as absolutely packed. The city was almost choking on its own citizens and several times they had to press through crowds of refugees so thick that Tilly felt as if he could hardly breathe from the bodies. The mood of the city, especially here, far away from the aristocracy was a heady mixture of near panic and dark melancholy. The refugees they passed were either so forceful in their begging that it amounted to a near mugging, or so still that Tilly had trouble believing they were still alive.

It didn't matter to Tilly that the refugees were mainly satyrs, with occasional groups of other races. What was getting to him all over again was the kids… They were everywhere, sometimes playing in small groups protected by wary adults. Other times showing a more deadened hardness that spoke of truly hellish experiences. The weight of the city's plight once again weighed down on him and he felt a resurgence of a now familiar burning in his chest. The sensation clashed with the syrupy sweet tingling that was still throbbing up from his side and he wondered how he hadn’t really thought about it until this point.

It was then that noticed the flashing notification icon in the corner of his eye. He was about to try and open it while following the lapins before remembering his hike through the forest and decided the thing could wait. Instead, he focused on following the lapins through the press of bodies and tried to pay attention to his surroundings.

Many of the houses and businesses they passed had clearly been abandoned by their more well-to-do owners and had been boarded up. This opportunity had not been lost on the refugees who had repossessed the buildings and moved in. This created a very post-apocalyptic feel, as if these people were huddled in the ruins of a city, instead of taking refuge in an empire's capitol.

Still, it was Tilly’s first magical city, and despite the growing squalor he still spotted some awesome signs glowing with magic, and shops selling items and armor that he had only ever seen in video games and movies. Not that he had much time to sightsee. Hiro lead them through the ever-shrinking streets at an unforgiving pace, taking turns seemingly at random, and sometimes doubling back the way they came.

Then, just like the sun peeking out on a cloudy day, their surroundings changed. Tilly found that they had moved out of the general population and were now surrounded by ancient, but well-kept structures that had a distinctly island feel. There was also a notable difference in the people. Almost everyone in this new section of the city was from the turtle race and many of them held some sort of arcane implement.

Their pace broke down to a slow walk, and Hiro looked around as if waiting for someone. Shuji took a few deep breaths, trying to catch what he had lost in transit, and then looked over at Tilly with a smaller-than-normal smile, “We can't go to the Lapin district. They would find us immediately, and even if we fought them off, some of our people would die in the process. So we are taking a small risk and delaying.”

“I do not appreciate... this 'small risk'... you bring... to my people.” An ancient voice wheezed as an extremely wrinkled Turtle-Biped shuffled up to their group, leaning heavily on his gnarled staff covered in runes. Tilly thought he heard the sound of a seashore in the distance and looked around in confusion.

“Mr. Tillman, it is my pleasure to introduce Honored Elder Kihei Tide Caller,” Hiro said, following his words with a deep bow to the much older creature. The turtle-man was flanked by many of his kind although they stood a little ways off in deference. Hiro came up from his bow and continued, “Elder Kihei is the last elder of the Honu people and the greatest mage the Empire has left. The charade is almost up, and everything will soon implode, even without the Cult of the Serpent at the door. So we have come here to make a deal.” His expression was intense without being challenging as he looked directly into the gaze of the wizened elder, whose eyes showed none of the age his body betrayed. They did however narrow in suspicion.

“We often... found ourselves allies… in the senate… Yet never once did you… ask us for aid… Yours is a proud people… and your scheme to survive is obvious… if not narrow-minded.”

Hiro allowed himself a rare small smile at the words, “And I am sure your plan is well-rounded, conservative, and slow. This is happening faster than any of us thought, and I have already lost my son once because of pride. I will not lose my people by making the same mistake twice.”

“Very well…” the elder stated, dropping his suspicion far too easily.

“What do you need… and what do you have to offer?” Elder Kihei asked with a sudden smile as if he had expected something of the sort. Those behind him, however, reacted in a comically slow display of shock. One honu literally took a full five seconds for his jaw to completely drop.

Hiro nodded, his small smile growing more exultant at the turn of events, “Is there any way we can be overheard?”

The elder did not answer but did tap his staff lightly on the ground, the sound of waves crashing against the shore grew noticeably

“Many thanks, Elder, we do not share this secret easily, for it has been guarded for generations by my people...” Then his smile faltered and to Tilly’s surprise, he saw Hiro take a deep shaky breath before nodding to himself and continuing, “When my people attacked this Empire five hundred years ago, we did so because we too were in decline and our Moon Goddess thought it was our only chance to solidify our position on Nephesh again. As you know, this attack failed and we became a conquered people, dishonored and relegated to vastly inferior classes as punishment by the emperor.”

“This is all fairly well known. However, there are two facts known only to the royal line and a few close retainers. When our Goddess saw we would fail, she chose to sacrifice herself instead of serving the empire’s Rule of Law Divine mandate. With her life, she bought two things for my people. First were the two mythic bound weapons that could only be used by the royal line.” He said, gesturing to his sword,

“The second thing she bought with her life was a Sovereign Crystal. Our people have called it the promise for generations.” The crowd gasped at his words, and even the elders' eyes widened.

“When we first received it, it was in its nascent stage, and still required a gift of 77 million experience. We are down to the last hundred thousand and we had planned to use it to break off from the empire and establish a new kingdom on the frontier. This of course will not work under the current timeline. I have too many people left in this city and no way to move them, neither can I come up with the rest of the experience in time to establish the new nation.”

“Holy Shit!” TIlly blurted out, not even able to fathom how much it had cost the lapin people to donate that much experience. “So your people have just given up the chance to level in order to… uh charge this thing?”

“That is correct Mr. Tillman.” Hiro said gravely.

“The majority of my people have been forced to take servant, and labor classes for hundreds of years and have grown in those classes much slower than they should have in order to donate to the Promise. This has earned us the reputation of being lazy and unreliable and we are widely regarded as a trash nation, hampered by some sort of race-wide deficit.” At these words his eyes hardened, and Tilly could feel the passion and dedication that had fueled these people to make such a sacrifice.

“Always… So stubborn… I assume the Emperor knew… some of this?”

“He knew that we would break from the empire rather than die here for ideals we did not share. He saw where this was headed and that he no longer had the power to stop it. He told me that as long as I didn't break any laws, or harm his people, he would not fault our desire to survive. Many are pursuing the same end with much less honor.”

“On this… we agree. I see what you need from us: …a way for all of your people …to retreat to your new home…. Now what… Do you offer?”

At this Hiro gestured at Shuji, and who quickly stepped forward, his loud and fast manner somewhat at odds with the rest of the conversation.

“Elder Kihei, it is an honor as always. I have always been fascinated by your entries into the imperial-”

“Shuji!” Hiro growled.

“Ah… yes, so sorry. We had a formal Covenant document prepared that would have rendered this in binding terms, but it was made as a contingency and does not include many of the pertinent variables that we currently face… But in essence, we offer you full access to the Sovereign Crystal to be housed on neutral grounds as well as a portion of the land we have subdued to be bound to your people until the new Lapin kingdom falls or you choose to move elsewhere. We essentially offer you a place in a confederacy.” Shuji finished, rattling off most of the details in two breaths.

The elder considered the terms for a long minute, as those behind him spoke back and forth in slow mumbling tones,

“Those terms sound acceptable… But I wish to add… one addendum…I too have a promise to keep… with our emperor… When your people flee… we request you take as many… refugees as you can… through the portal.”

At that, Hiro grimaced, hesitating as if searching for a counterproposal. Tilly’s chest tightened as he realized he was witnessing some of that same racial blindness he had seen in the senate from the others.

He was done with this shit.

“Look Hiro, I appreciate that you named me a friend, but so far you have asked a lot from me and you have given pretty much nothing in return… I don't care what race these people are, if this place is really going to be destroyed, then we are going to help as many refugees as we can.”

Hiro’s grimace turned to a flat look of anger as he turned to address Tilly.

“They will not destroy the city. They will conquer it. And yes, many here will become slaves to the Cult of the Serpent, but we can do nothing about that. The empire has failed all of us! Now we fight simply to protect what little we can.” Hiro’s voice did not rise as he moved through his response, but each successive word was laden with increasing amounts of bitterness.

“The Ship. Is. Sinking. We each must look to our own.” He finished almost spitting out his final words.

Tilly knew he was asking for the impossible from the man who was fighting to keep his people alive, but the words poured out of his mouth non-the-less,

“Fuck! That! If you want me with you for the rest of this little adventure, we are going to save as many of these people as we can.” Tilly almost shouted, gesturing widely to the broader city behind him.

“I am afraid… That we feel the same… We can link the platforms… for your people to get through… but you must allow others… the same chance.” The elder cut in.

“Human, as much as I appreciate your magnanimous gesture, how can we possibly house, let alone feed all these people” Shuji interjected desperately.

“We may have… some ideas on this front… We will contact you… midday tomorrow… and you will meet the others.”

“You may not share the information I have revealed to you this day. I see that we do not have a choice but to take on others, but I will decide who will come and what they will know.” Hiro stated, relenting spitefully.

“Understood…” Elder Kihei sighed, gesturing to one of the Honu behind him to come forward. The honu approached with uncharacteristically normal speed and handed a shell to Shuji. Even in the heat of the moment, Tilly couldn't help by notice the beautiful flowing scarf that seemed to be drifting in an absent breeze.

“The divination is increasing in intensity, Elder. Whoever they are sending is very powerful.” He muttered, looking around as if something was going to pop out of the shadows at any second.

"Our guests know this... Franklin... Worry not... They are leaving now..."

Shuji easily pocketed the shell, “Yes, very sorry about that. We have a place to meet them set aside. We will be on our way.” Shuji said, accompanying his words with another bow.

“I will meet your people Elder. We will see what we can do in the time left to us.” Hiro said with a reluctant nod of his head. Then he turned to Tilly his look turning cold.

“If it is not too much to ask Mr. Tillman, we need to go now and get as ready as we can. They are coming, and after your performance today, they will have you in their sights as well.” Hiro challenged.

Tilly returned his look feeling slightly sheepish, but not at all apologetic. He quickly gave his own bow to the honu elder and then nodded in affirmation to the two lapins.

“Yeah... let's go. I hope you guys have one hell of a plan.”

At that, Shuji barked out a laugh, “Ha! Yes, Jonathan Tillman! You will love it!”

Ch. 28. Sninjas

After a hurried walk through more crowded streets and twisted back alley turns, they seemed to arrive at the edge of the city. The wall could clearly be seen in the distance and the buildings became less residential and more storage/industrial. Many of these seemed to have already been emptied, if not completely ransacked and it was one such a warehouse that Tilly found himself standing in front of as Shuji let out a cheerful huff of satisfaction.

“Good! Good. They left it exactly as I asked them.” He said, shoving through a large, clearly broken wood gate. At one point it had probably been designed to allow wagons to move in and out of the ancient commercial-sized building. Now it sat wedged into the opening as if someone had jammed it back in place after illicitly gaining entry to the space.

“You asked them to leave it like this?” Tilly murmured moving through the doorway into a sea of smashed crates, clay pots, and canvas. Hiro was scanning the room in a business-like manner while Shuji seemed to be fussing with something within a nearby crate and mumbling to himself.

“...I know I sent them the correct scroll… Ah. Here we are!” He said pulling a scroll from the rubble and throwing it open to reveal a surface covered in glowing script.

“Librarian arts, firefly swarm!” He stated in a strong ringing voice. The glowing scroll hovered in the air for a few moments glowing brighter and brighter before the script started to detach itself from the scroll and float up to hover all around the huge room. They danced in the air and lit the room, banishing the shadowy gloom of the unlit warehouse and giving it the feel of mystery and potential.

Tilly’s notification icon began blinking again and he opened it on reflex given that they had finally stopped moving.

You have entered a Librarian's Domain. All reading is 20% more effective and you may benefit from any prepared seals the librarian has set over his domain.

Huh, Shuji wasn’t kidding, they really did have something prepared. Although Tilly wasn't sure how effective a library would be at keeping them alive… Then Tilly’s blood ran cold at the sight of the notification just above the most recent one.

You have given into Corruption's influence and have gained 2% Strength and lost 3% Wisdom. Corruption Seed influence now: 7%

“Shit.” Tilly sighed, the heady sensation before his almost fight with the uppity Satyr coming to his mind in sharp relief. Something had definitely been affecting his mind, but he had been so caught up in the moment he had barely noticed at the time and then immediately forgotten the whole thing afterward. If this was how it would work, then this shit was insidious…

“-Tillman. Excuse my interruption, Mr. Tillman, if you would be so kind, we need you to follow us to the center.” Shuji said, looking back at Tilly with a mild but cheerful concern. He had clearly already asked Tilly something, and he had missed it.

“Oh. Uh, Sorry about that, it's been a long couple of days.” He said, doing his best to shake off the crawling sensation that covered his body as he realized he could no longer trust his own mind.

Shuji took his slip in stride and quickly covered over the concern with a token cheerful grin, “Oh, of course! With the threat we face, it is no wonder you feel out of sorts. Well not to worry, it will all be sorted out one way or another.” He said with a well-meaning pat on Tilly’s shoulder before moving deeper into the rubble, carefully following some path that only Hiro and he knew about.

Tilly quickly stepped after them, being careful to place his feet in the exact same places that Shuji did. As they navigated deeper into the large open building, Shuji started to explain, “This was once the hidden storehouse for all of our people's collective wealth and knowledge. When we got approval for our venture into the frontier, we slowly transferred all of it to the village before we were cut off from imperial support. Yet as a Librarian, I am only allowed one domain, and we thought it best to keep mine here where we had long prepared for discovery. This was to be our last line of defense in the capital. Now it will have an opportunity to serve that purpose after all.”

“So what, you have this place magically boobie-trapped?” Tilly asked, looking around at the warehouse with new hope.

“What a fascinating turn of phrase… ‘Boobie-trapped '. Due to the shared nature of our language on this plane, I can understand the basic meaning of the term… Nonetheless, I digress, over the years I have painstakingly set up many wards and seals to do my best to protect the treasures of my people. Alas, Librarian is not a militant class and I am afraid my preparations are more creative than deadly.”

Then Hiro broke into the conversation from the front,

“They will be adequate Shuji. We simply need to force their ace to show themselves before I enter the fight, or they will try and exhaust me with chaff. Normally, not even that would worry me, as it has been tried before, but I fear they have grown desperate at this late hour. I have no idea what the Marcellus family is willing to do now that the empire is on its knees. I will stay in reserve until I must intervene, you two must hold and distract them for as long as possible.” As he finished laying out the plan, they arrived in a cleared center space about twenty meters in diameter.

“Shuji, how much time do we have left?” Hiro inquired, his deep calm voice imparting a sense of control to his two companions, not that Tilly could see any sign of worry in Shuji’s manner. The lapin clearly had nerves of steel. This contrasted nicely with Tilly’s noticeably shaking hands, which he stilled by gripping the handles of his hatchets until his knuckles turned white.

Tilly took a few deep breaths, finding the place he always did when he was listening to radio traffic screaming down the road to a fire. Whatever happened, he had always done whatever he had to, so that everyone went home at the end of shift. If that wasn’t possible, if someone had to lay it all on the line, it would be him. It wasn't something he hoped was true about himself, it was something he knew from experience. Over and over he had tried and tested this resolve and he had never left one of his team behind.

This was something that had always made sense to him in the fire service. At home? In the hospital? He had no clue what was required of him, let alone what he had to do to give it. But this? This made sense. He had entered another building, knowing that he might not be the one to come out. He was with a small team, facing long odds against an unknown danger. He wasn’t afraid of dying, in fact, with this thing inside him trying to turn him into one of those monsters, that might not be too bad of an outcome.

This was just another day.

And for better or worse, he had lived all of his past life for these moments. His hands stopped shaking and he relaxed his arms and shoulders, taking in as much information from his surroundings as possible.

Shuji had pulled out a large piece of papyrus and had begun folding it while muttering to himself at Hiro’s question. Tilly realized with fascination, that he was creating another magical origami shape. Fold after fold resolved itself into a large open eye that floated up from Shujis hands and glowed with a malevolent dark red light.

“We are currently under divination, blood magic if I'm not mistaken” Shuji stated in a droning voice as his eyes looked off into the distance.

The eye started to glow brighter before it suddenly crumbled to ash. Shuji recoiled back as if struck and his head whipped towards the entrance. The sun had almost set, and long shadows reached into the building from the street.

“The magic is much stronger than I expected… And with this level of blood rite, there can only be one explanation.”

“Say something I can understand Shuji! I don't know what any of that means.” Tilly said, reacting to Shuji’s sudden movement by pulling his hatchets from his belt loops and easing into a ready stance.

Hiro quietly drew his black-as-night sword and settled down on his knees with the blade resting upon his lap, “It is worse than we thought, someone has let shadow hunters past the city wards. We face the Cult of the Serpent tonight, and they have a special hatred for our kind.”

“How close are we talking?” Tilly muttered, his voice growing quiet under the weight of anticipation for the coming fight.

“They know where we are, and they know that we have discovered their divination. They will move with all haste under the cover of darkness.” Shiji said, breaking from his revere and pulling loose different scrolls he had cleverly strapped around his person under his voluminous clothing.

“Ok, well you guys think I took out that corruption single-handedly, but I basically only have one attack right now, and that is to throw these hatchets and catch the things on fire.” Tilly rattled off, suddenly afraid they were depending on some hidden martial talent from the human that had defeated the Corrupted tree.

Hiro simply snorted in response, “Yes, that will be perfect for sowing chaos. Do not worry. This plan depends on our preparation and my blade. You will simply be a distraction.”

Tilly sighed in relief, “Perfect. I can definitely be a distraction.” Then almost unbidden, the heat in his chest built up and flowed down his arms igniting the heads of his hatchets simultaneously. The sensation was new, and Tilly did his best not to flinch at the sudden conflagration.

“Yes, very good.” Shuji nodded in approval, looking over at the sudden appearance of flames.

“We have laced explosives throughout this perimeter and amongst the debris. Your fire will save me from having to ignite them.” He said, cheerfully as he laid out the final scrolls before him.

Tilly watched his Mana bar critically as the cost of igniting his weapons slowly recharged. Right now using the ability twice had knocked his mana bar down 6% and he would doubtlessly be recalling his weapons every time he threw them. How much did that cost again? He dropped his ignited hatchet and recalled it back to his hand immediately. It reappeared in his hand, still ignited. He saw his mana tick down another 2%.

Ok, so if the weapons did not hit anything then they would stay imbued, and to ignite and recall his weapon would cost him about 5% in total. That gave him approximately 20 throws before he was out, not factoring in his dismal wisdom stat. Which was dropping further due to the freakin Seed of Corruption trying to take him over.

“Well, 20 isn’t bad. More than a typical quiver of arrows.” He muttered to himself, watching the small but intense blue flame burn on the stone head of the hatchets. He had to admit, it was pretty awesome that the blue flame had come out of him somehow and his mind wandered back to the temple in the mountains and the blue flame that probably still burned on the altar.

Then a paper bird zipped in through the open doorway from the dark street and up to Shuji, fluttering erratically. Shuji waved it away, and it unfolded and slipped into his sleeve. His cheerful smile flattened into something more focused and he whispered, “They are out there, probably surveying the building.”

Hiro continued to kneel with his eyes closed, not reacting to the news while Shuji whispered something else under his breath, and a muted hush fell over the building, canceling out all the noises that had fallen into the background. The creak of the thick timbers of the old building stopped, and the breeze playing through the door also quieted.

“Shuji, what was that?” Tilly whispered and then gasped as even his voice had greatly reduced in volume.

“We can talk in a normal voice, Jonathan Tillman. This will keep most of what is happening inside a mystery to those remaining without.” He said in a confident if significantly muted voice. Then his eye sharpened and Tilly whipped his head back to the entrance, where the already long shadows started to thicken.

“Wait to attack until I have one of them immobilized.” Shuji followed up, reaching for one of the scrolls before him slowly as if trying not to startle whatever figures were forming in the deepening shadows of the entrance.

The shapes resolved into four distinct figures. They were humanoid from the waist up with a long serpent's tail instead of legs. Two were male, with pairs of thin straight swords in their hands. The other two were female with long flat-bladed spears tipped with cruel-looking hooks. All four of their torsos were bare and absolutely covered with black tattoos that seemed to be bleeding ink and each of their heads was wrapped in dark cloth that drank in the light.

They raised up higher on their snake bottoms and looked over the room again, seeming to confirm that there were no other occupants in the building. Then, as one, they focused in on the group in the center, nicely lit up by the paper fireflies. It was then as their eyes caught the light that Tilly saw they were pools of oozing blackness, just like the infected creatures of the forest.

Whatever the Cult of the Serpent was, they clearly had embraced another source of corruption wholeheartedly. Tilly’s side throbbed at the realization and the fire in his chest roared in response. Looks like his new mantle was going to come in handy a lot sooner than he thought.

As one, the four figures rushed forward through the debris, showing a startling speed as they wove through the first rows of abandoned containers.

Ch. 29 Silent Library

Tilly stood ready to make his move as Shuji reached for one of the scrolls and began to mutter. The snake warriors wove forward through the debris but were unable to jump over anything because of their serpentine anatomies. This keyed Tilly in to just how well thought out the inconspicuous barricades were. As they approached Tilly’s Identify kicked in:

Level 22 Shadow Hunter

Level 23 Shadow Hunter

Level 21 Shadow Hunter

Level 28 Shadow Hunter

Ok, not great, but not too bad. With his damage multiplier, he still stood a chance to actually make a difference in this fight. Then as they crossed the halfway point of the large room, Shuji's voice rang out, “Librarian Arts, Flying Forms, Endless”

Several crates the warriors were passing exploded into glowing circles that shot out streams of paper at the nearby combatants. The forms unerringly flew towards their targets and the warriors tried and failed to dodge, getting pelted with rivers of paper covered in meaningless script.

Tilly did not wait to be told, immediately letting his two enflamed hatchets fly at the sword-wielding pair. He marveled at his increased accuracy as they both flew in an easy arc to land squarely in the chest and back of the distracted creatures. They both hissed in startled pain and tried to clutch at the weapons but Tilly immediately recalled and let fly again, deciding to focus on two same two targets. They however changed strategy. Instead of continuing to try and dodge the paper, the two wounded hunters sheathed their swords and faded into shadows, becoming intangible to the paper barrage.

The spear-wielding pair realized that paper was actually doing hardly any damage and powered through the barrage. At about 20 yards they hissed something and thrust out their spears.

Tilly watched as the first two shadow figures shot forward through the air, the passage marked by a fist-sized glowing blue ember lodged in their incorporeal forms chewing hungrily on the shadowy substance. They ignored Tilly’s follow-up throws, which turned out to be a mistake. As soon as the flame-covered stone axe heads touched their shadow forms, they were knocked back into normal existence, with hatchets lodged deeply in their torsos. Having their ability interrupted like that had caused them to reform around the hatchets and Tilly’s grim mask of focus cracked a small smile as he recalled both weapons back to his hand and saw both warriors collapse with blue fire consuming the black ichor that poured from their wounds.

“Librarian Arts, Restricted Section!” Shuji shouted next to him, bringing his focus back to the more present danger of the other two as two shadowy spearheads elongated from the shadow hunter's weapons and slithered through the air toward the two defenders.

Two enormous bookshelves exploded from the floor in front of them, sounding with a satisfying thunk as the attack was absorbed into the thick wood. Hiro’s voice emerged from behind them irritatingly calm.

“Keep eyes on your enemies. You are losing the initiative.” He said, watching from a relaxed kneeling position. Tilly realized that with the barriers in place, he could no longer see the approaching spear-wielders.

Tilly broke left rounding the shelves to try and get a jump on his attacker. Only to find one of the shadow hunters almost upon him. Tilly’s Dexterity was high for his level, but the shadow hunter clearly had a Dexterity build and reacted to his appearance much faster than Tilly planned.

“Librarian Arts, Dictionary Inquiry, Endless” Shouted Shuji from the other side of the shelves as Tilly dove to the ground under the spear wielder's thrust. Several thunks sounded from the other conflict followed by an outraged hiss, even as Tilly felt the bite of his enemy's weapon rip into his thigh. The tip of her hooked spear elongated and twisted, slashing along Tilly’s thigh mid-dive, and easily parted his protective leathers.

He attempted to roll upon landing, bringing up both his hatchets in a crossed block of the anticipated follow-up thrust. As expected she was already upon him bearing down with her spear with a vicious groin-level thrust. Tilly's block was woefully out of position and her glazed black eyes flashed with elation as she stepped into her thrust.

Then a dictionary the size of Tilly’s torso crashed into the shadow hunter’s side, knocking her thrust off course. The dictionary was followed by another and then another, pounding the creature into the ground. Without hesitating and giving up his chance, Tilly leaped towards the prone shadow hunter, some part of him reveling in the weakened position of his opponent. The burning sting of his wound drove up his adrenaline and his breathing quickened.

His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he brought down both hatchets empowered with blue flame on his opponent’s unprotected side. They landed like cleavers in the sides of soon-to-be butchered meat and he gleefully ripped them back to hack again.

“More are coming Jonathan Tillman,” Hiro stated in a flat voice.

“They are only testing our defenses. Ready yourself.” He finished with the more stern voice of a commander.

Tilly looked down and saw that his opponent was already dead and he had been about to attack a corpse. He stumbled back from the grizzly scene with a creeping sense of horror. The throbbing in his ears reduced in volume and he realized that the heat glowing in his chest was mingling painfully again with the pleasurable throb emanating from his side.

When had that started?

He looked towards the entrance and saw more forms emerging from the deep shadows pooling around the broken gate. His notification log was blinking, but he knew he didn't have time to read through it. Without pulling it up, he could sense that he had gained a level, so he just urged the free Stat points towards Wisdom, hoping to stave off whatever was happening inside him. He hadn't done the math on keeping his [Resolute] title, but he would worry about that later.

Ten more forms were disgorged in from the shadow, slithering forth eagerly. Shuji called over to him.

“As soon as they reach the outer perimeter, throw as many flame strikes as you can at the surrounding crates. Then take cover!” Tilly could tell he was yelling, but the words barely reached him. Nonetheless, he channeled more flame into his weapons and threw them hard at the perimeter. The charging warriors dodged easily, weaving around the crates that had caught fire. Tilly recalled and threw again, before ducking behind the large barricades. He didn't know if his hatchets landed on target or not, but he did feel a huge woofing boom reverberating through the building. The silence effect muted most of the noise, but the force of the explosions rocked Tilly back, even behind the thick shelves.

The charging warriors however were thrown by the blast like rag dolls, Tilly looked over at Shuji aghast. They had had explosives like this the whole time? He sure could have used them in the temple a few days ago! Shuji just looked back with a huge smile on his face.

“Those were our final gnomish explosives! Now we go out and finish off any left.” He punctuated his words with immediate action, rising up from behind the barricade and swiftly jogging out among the flaming wreckage that was the front half of the room.

Tilly mirrored the move and saw that Hiro was already gone from his spot, choosing to take the opportunity to take down easy opponents as well. Then a voice cracked like a whip through the space, “Enough.”

Tilly's eyes narrowed through the glow of smoldering debris and the haze of smoke. There at the shadowy entrance was a human snake hybrid twice as large as the others with four arms coming off her distinctly female torso. Each holding a scimitar with a barbed tip. Her eyes pooled with that same onyx-black substance, but none of her tattoos showed the running ink that the warriors before had displayed.

Level 58 Venom Assassin,

Her eyes were focused in the middle distance of the debris field, focusing in on a resolute Hiro, standing before her with a naked blade, darker even than her eyes.

“Always with your tricks and running. You should have died years ago on our glorious eastern march, yet here you stand caught hiding in another one of your warrens” She spat, revealing two wicked-looking fangs.

“I see your people have given into the abomination… Your shadow hunters are not what they once were, Apepi.” He replied cooly. The sound of a loud thud rang out from Tilly’s right and he shot a glance in that direction to see Shuji standing over another mangled snake warrior. He looked up sheepishly as he realized that his silence effect had been broken.

The Snake Lady however didn’t even flinch as her subordinate was killed, “This is but another path to power.” She said, lifting her arms to fully display her body covered with the dark disturbing tattoos.

“With it, I have broken through the first bottleneck and now it will be my pleasure to end you, prey.” She said, her eyes glazing over with anticipation.

“You know nothing of power.” The level 52 Samurai Lord declared, lazily bringing his sword back as if preparing to sweep it in front of him.

Her eyes flashed in response to his movement and she sucked in air, inflating her abdomen to a disproportionately full state.

“Do not breath in any of her filth!” Hiro shouted, before stepping forward and swinging his sword with unbelievable force. Tilly felt the blade pull the entirety of the room forward with its movement, before suddenly tearing free of the tension and ripping the air around it creating a sweeping arc of jagged darkness.

“Waxing Shadow!” His shout reverberated through the space like the thrumb of a particularly deep base note.

Tilly watched stupified as a jagged arc raced through the air towards the Venom Assassin, growing to the point where it could not be dodged. The Assasin crossed all four of her blades in a blocking motion as the leading edge of the arc crashed into her. She seemed to catch the majority of the damage on the blades but the attack did interrupt her inhalation and she prematurely released an explosive breath.

Out of her mouth flowed a torrent of sickly green smog populated with disturbing, wriggling black shapes. It rushed into the space filling the room and rolling towards Shuji and Tilly’s position like an oncoming wave. Hiro exploded forward up out of the roiling smog with a downward swing aimed at the source of the breath attack, and Tilly flung his head around looking for options.

Shuji muttered something and scattered papers rose up around him and started spinning around him forming a vortex of disrupted air. The clangs of metal hitting metal started to fill the space, cutting off the breath attack. But the sound was far heavier than you would expect from a sword strike. These reminded Tilly of the time he had heard a steel I-beam accidentally detach from a crane and strike the steel frame of the building stories below.

Tilly took a deep breath in just before the wave reached him, ready to hold it for as long as possible, and was surprised to feel his armor changing once again to its yellow sun salamander form. With its protective covering over his mouth and nose, he hoped it would make some difference. His eyes began to water and his exposed skin started to sting and then burn.

A shout of vindictive triumph sounded from the Venom Assassin, and Hiro grunted with pain before answering with a snarl of anger and a bellow laced with power. Blackness bled out from the epicenter of the conflict and overtook the poison area effect in moments.

Tilly felt like there was nothing more he could add to the fight besides hunkering down and trying to survive the increasingly deadly environment. He stumbled in the unnatural darkness towards the sound of a hacking cough in Shuji’s direction. The snake woman's boastful voice filled the room. “You think I need to see you to kill you, little rabbit? How much longer do your companions have do you think?” She cackled gleefully.

The only answer Hiro gave her was more crashing sword strikes. Each one somehow sounding heavier than the last. He was obviously now holding his breath too, but Tilly was sure his Endurance was more than high enough to last a few minutes more. Unfortunately, Endurance was obviously one of Shuji’s lowest stats and his coughing grew more ragged as Tilly approached. Tilly’s chest had just begun to tighten with discomfort at the lack of oxygen, and he marveled at his body's new ability to take punishment. At the same time, something in this fog seemed to be trying to worm its way under his protective layers of armor, focusing on his side, where the throbbing sensation seemed to almost wriggle in anticipation.

Then, even amongst the clanging strikes, the sound of Shuji’s shuddering exhale and failure to inhale stood out in Tilly’s world like a beacon. The soft whirling sound of the paper vortex died and Tilly groped forward for his companion.

Tilly had heard people struggle to breathe far too many times. Particularly, he had fallen asleep far too many nights to the sound of two small lungs fighting for air. It is a sound that comes back to you late at night when you are alone in your bed, far too tired to sleep. A soundtrack that had played incessantly in the background of Tilly’s life ever since he had lost his daughter to lung cancer.

He was the one who was supposed to die nobly in the line of duty. He had entered environments filled with carcinogens too many times to count and had never once popped positive on the yearly cancer screenings. Yet by some ironic twist of fate, his daughter had developed a persistent cough when she was 6 and it had only gotten worse.

Some deep part of himself, the wounded animal that had been backed into the corner too many times snarled and lunged forward. He had always wished he could do something… anything to make a difference in his daughter’s struggle and now here he was in a magical land with his friend dying right in front of him!

The warmth in his chest that accompanied his flame ability, exploded into a nova of bright blue heat. Suddenly the darkness in the area around him was banished, and blue flame rushed out from him in every direction, eagerly consuming all of the black shapes and patterns that had sustained and intensified the smog’s effect. For just a moment, Tilly saw that the twisted black shapes around Shuji had formed some sort of eldritch creature, and it had been trying to shove itself into Shuji’s mouth.

The flames pounced onto the creature, and it curled in on itself in the silent impression of a scream as it was consumed. The air left behind the fire's wake was hot, dry, and completely clean and Tilly smiled as he heard Shuji take that long-awaited inhale.

Suddenly he felt his brain being pierced by an ice pick and his legs buckled beneath him. Darkness crept in on the edges of his vision as deep bone-wearying exhaustion overtook his body. The last thing he remembered seeing was a Mana: -10% flashing at the top of his receding vision. Then a different kind of darkness overtook him. Not some magical domain, or the fretful darkness of nightmare-filled sleep.

Rather it was the peaceful darkness of long-awaited rest. Only available to those who give all they have and hold nothing back. His body was forcing him to shut down after burning far past his reserves, and Tilly no longer had any will left to fight it.

Ch. 30 Getting Better/Worse

Tilly groaned, rolling over on some padding that was doing a terrible job cushioning the hard stone floor.

“We need to leave soon if we are going to make the meeting.” The deep base of Hiro's voice cut through the fuzziness of Tilly’s mind and he looked up from his mat to find the Samurai Lord squatting down in front of him, with a focused scrutiny. He showed no obvious injuries, but his armor was damaged in a few places. The warehouse was now populated by about a dozen lapins, moving around, cleaning up, and packing whatever valuables were left in the wreckage.

“Where is Shuji? Did he make it?” Tilly blurted, his last moments before losing consciousness coming back to him in sharp relief.

At his question, the hard cast of Hiro’s face softened and a smirk might even have peaked out from the normally cloudy expression, “He will be fine I think. He recovered shortly after I slew Apepi. He then proceeded to fuss over you much of the night. You activated an ability without the mana to sustain it… A feat very few have managed and lived to speak of. Once it was clear you would recover, he went out to gather information and ready our people to flee in secret.”

“How long was I out?” Tilly grumbled as he rubbed his temples trying to ease the fantom throbbing that cropped up at the memory of the excruciating pain he had experienced at the end of the battle.

A lapin moved up to them and offered both water flasks. Hiro nodded to him and took a deep drink and Tilly matched him, suddenly terribly thirsty and hungry. He realized that he hadn’t eaten the entire previous day, and wondered if that was due to his increased endurance. Would he be able to forgo eating entirely at some point? Whatever the answer was, he was starving now.

“You have slept for 14 hours. My people have arrived after hearing that the premise was secure and they are now making it ready for our departure. There will be no trace of our battle by this evening.”

At his words another lapin, this time a female lapin approached with some boxes made out of bamboo. Hiro took his, and Tilly nodded in thanks before accepting his and lifting off the top. The inside was compartmentalized with a section for rice, more of the glazed carrot mixture, and some grilled fish. Tilly grabbed the accompanying chopsticks and started eating with fervor.

Hiro joined him at a much more sedate pace, occasionally pausing to eye the human who had become so entwined with the fate of his people. Tilly allowed himself the luxury of wondering out loud some of the many questions that had accumulated over the last week in between bites.

“So I get that we were attacked by the Cult of the Serpent last night. But it seemed like you knew them. Also, aren't they supposed to be in an army moving toward this city as we speak? How did these guys get in?”

“I have met Apepi and her hunters many times in battle. I once led the empire’s mobile skirmishers. The Satyr specialize in their square formations and are very difficult to beat in the open field. Something that my people found out long ago. But war is a mobile thing and they have traditionally relied on a mix of irregulars and mercenaries to fill the mobility gap. Apepi fulfilled a similar role for the other side, specializing in assassination and marauding.”

“I get most of that. But how did you beat her? She was like six levels above you.” Then, not being able to help himself Tilly reactivated Identify and was not surprised to note the change in Hiro’s Identifier.

Level 53 Samurai Lord

“There is much you have yet to learn about power on Nephesh. We did not always have these numbers assigned to us, and while in some ways they can be helpful, in other ways they can be very deceptive. For example, you have two weapons, yet you wield them like an infant when you are not throwing them. I have a hard time imagining you defeating anyone with skill in close combat, no matter the level.”

“I already tried to learn dual-wielding…” Tilly muttered darkly.

“I mean no offense, Jonathan Tillman. Without basic instruction and the risk of real bodily harm, you can neither advance nor learn any martial skill. We will rectify this shortly, your weapons and abilities were otherwise very effective against our foes, especially considering their altered state…” At this he trailed off, once again looking at Tilly expectantly, as if waiting for some explanation. A part of Tilly twinged at the memory of the throbbing that had filled him mid-battle. He tried his best to cover over his feeling of unease with a follow-up question,

“...Yeah, I would love some training with these,” he said with a gesture at the hatchets looped into his belt.

“But what about how they got in, didn't you say that the Marcellus family would be sending people after-… Uh, never mind, I figured it out on my own. The Marcellus family have some kind of alliance with the Cult of the Serpent and are working to undermine the Empire any way they can.”

If Hiro noticed Tilly’s attempt at subtly changing the subject, he didn't show it, “Yes. We have suspected something of the sort for some time. They own the Purists Party completely and have used that influence for great personal gain over the last decades. In fact, as the Emperor has declined, many have whispered in tavern corners that it is Augustus Marcellus that should next sit the throne… They are fools, all of them if they think the Serpent ever honors his agreements with anything more than a token effort.”

“So where is the Emperor? Is he dead? Sick? Can you even get sick here?” Tilly asked, excited to finally be scratching the itch of curiosity that had plagued him at every turn.

“He has not been seen in public in over a year. The Loyalists are completely silent on this subject and no one has had success at divining their minds on the matter. I can tell you however that if he still lives, the emperor is ancient. He was old when I was born, and the stubborn Goat had held on these last decades by sheer will. I know he was a just ruler once, and much of the filth we see infecting this empire is more a result of his decline without a successor than anything else.” Hiro finished thoughtfully.

Then another lapin approached and whispered something indistinct to Hiro. He nodded in response and then smoothly got to his feet, “Shuji sends word of the location of the meeting, we will leave in a few minutes. Prepare yourself, I will meet you at the entrance.” He said before turning to leave. Then mid-turn he paused and looked back,

“Jonathan Tillman, we have declared you friend… We do not take such things lightly. I have entrusted you with many of the deep secrets of our people, if you need something, do not hesitate to ask.” Hiro said, that same focused scrutiny coloring his gaze.

Tilly almost spoke up in response before catching a lump in his throat and settling for a nod of thanks. The emotions his burden was stirring up were just too raw… He would figure it out himself without bothering the already stretched leader. He had to.

Hiro nodded back and then moved over to some of his people working through the wreckage. Swallowing down his emotion, Tilly pulled up his notification log and winced at the text sitting amongst battle notifications and level-up notifiers:

You have given into Corruption's influence and have gained 7% Strength and lost 10% of your wisdom.

Corruption Seed influence now: 14%

Sure, there were other things to read. He had finally been awarded duel-wielding for his hatchets. That had probably occurred during his dismal attempt at blocking and then opportunistic follow-up strike on his attacker. He had leveled up his Axe throwing and whatever he had done at the end of the battle was apparently a new ability called Blue Flame Expulsion. Yet the elation that had typically followed these notifications in the past was muted.

Corruption Seed influence now: 14%

What did this mean? How did he stop it? He figured that until he thought of something better he would dump every available point he could into wisdom to try and offset this weird debuff while still keeping his [Resolute] title. The Corruption was his biggest long-term problem, but if he died in battle today it would'nt matter much. Now that he had the insurance of negating one blow per day, he really wanted to keep it. He was about to see if he could set the Corruption influence next to his mana and health on his always visible hud when he felt suddenly drawn to take a bird's eye view of his character sheet and get a good feel for where he was going.

He laid a critical eye on his new character sheet.

Jonathan Luke Tillman

Level: 12 (26,000 Exp to next level)

Display Name: Tilly

Race: Human

Class: Son of Flame

Titles: [Harbinger], [Resolute], [Origin’s Champion], [Corruption’s Host],[Trusted Gaijin].

Health: 100% (+1.2% per minute)

Mana: 100% (+.8% per minute)

Status Effects:

Stats:

Constitution: 12

Endurance: 71 (78.1)

Dexterity: 28 (30.8)

Strength: 10(10.7)

Wisdom: 13(11.7)

Intelligence: 8

Equipment

Origin’s primitive stone hatchets: +10% to Dexterity. (Legendary, growth type)

+Imbued Ability Recall.

Origin’s primitive leather armor: +10% to Endurance. (Legendary, growth type)

+Imbued Form Sun Salamander leather.

Skills:

-Forestcraft level 12

-Identify level 17

-Cooking level 12

-Beginner Hatchett level 10

-Animal Processing level 9

-Stealth level 7

-Herb Lore Level 3

-Ax Throwing Level 9

-Dual-Wielding (Hatchets) Level 1

Abilities:

-Blue Flame Strike: Channel the fire within you to strike at your opponents. Each strike leaves a smoldering ember at the point of impact and does damage over time. Ember damage is stackable. This Ability has been augmented by your mantle and does 200% more damage to Corruption.

-Blue Flame Expulsion: At the cost of 50% of your total mana, you channel the fire within you into a wave flowing from your center, impacting everything around you in a sphere. Ability scales with mana. This Ability has been augmented by your mantle and does 200% more damage to Corruption.

Titles:

[Harbinger]: One touched by Origin to bring about change, “None may interfere.” This and all other Origin-related titles, abilities, and items will be changed and seen as unremarkable by any deity or deity-aligned faction.

[Resolute]: Your endurance stat is higher than all of your other stats combined. As long as this remains true, you may completely negate one fatal blow per day.

[Origin’s Champion]: You have accepted the mantle of Champion from Origin. This will augment your skill and abilities over time to reflect your new nature.

[Corruption’s Host]: You hold within your body a Seed of Corruption. This entity's progress has been slowed by divine interference, but it will take every opportunity to grow until it has subsumed your will. Seeds influence: 14%

[Trusted Gaijin]: The highest honor that can be bestowed on a nonlapin by the ruling class. It marks you as “friend” to all Lapinkind and they will be immediately predisposed towards offering you any help they may.

So his base stats added up to exactly equal to his Endurance. But he had not lost [Resolute]. So that must mean it was calculated based on his (Actual) stats, not his base. He also saw why he had tapped out his mana reserve Blue Flame Expulsion cost a whopping 50%... That was probably a great crowd control opener, but not something to lean into far into a battle. Unless he could get his hands on some freaking mana potions!

Ok, so he had a magic/physical range attack, he finally had a skill to improve his close quarters and he had just learned a crowd-control pushback. With his main stats, it looked like he was destined to be some sort of dodge tank with damage over time multipliers for the bigger enemies. Overall he felt like his class was starting to make some sense and with the mystery of his growth-type armor and weapons. He thought he actually stood a chance of making something of himself in this crazy world.

He set his empty box aside, took another long pull from the water flask, and got up, dusting himself off. He would soldier on, and do whatever he had to to make a difference, just like he always had and that started with finding a way to get as many people away from these insane serpent people as possible.

He spotted Hiro standing in the shadow of the entryway way talking to a couple of lapins in servants' clothing and jogged over. His mana and health were both at 100% and for the first time in days, he actually felt pretty good.
“If I keep this up, I might actually get strong enough to kick some bad guy ass.” He quipped to himself as he moved easily through the remaining debris. He enjoyed the feeling of warmth that permeated his chest, as well as an energetic almost ticklish pleasure that was thrumming down his upper extremities from his side. Where the two sensations met in his lower ribcage, there was some slight discomfort, but that was to be expected after such a tough battle the night before.