"There haven't been any Alpha appearances have there?"

"Thank Qosus no," she sighs with relief.

"Qosus?" I can't help myself asking.

She gives me a sly smile and says, "The Synagogue and nearly everyone on this continent venerate Anera but some of us are keen enough to sense or even see that the Goddess is hindered. She has been since the war. Qosus is the God of Fire of the Hearth to be specific, not to be mistaken with Luxtis, God of Fire, Flames and all that burns. Qosus is the one I worship."

"Isn't that Heresy?"

…

With the silence and her stare, I immediately want to retract the statement but she speaks first and with mirth. "Only if you tell."

I shake my head fiercely and her smile only widens. Such a scary woman.

"Good. Now, if any of what you've told me has an iota of truth to it, then you're a very promising Mage. Self-taught yet you're peaking B-rank or perhaps I'm in the presence of a rare magical prodigy, you could be well on your way into the levels of the very best, the S-ranks."

A sheepish smile slaps itself on my face as her words just warm me up until she says.

"Well, I think we'll have to test your skill, words alone are not sufficient, now are they?"

"Test my skill?" I sputter, "You mean?"

"A friendly bout with the best this place has to offer."

"Audwin?"

"Goodness no, Audwin is simply the children's butler, I wouldn't throw him to a predator like you. I have someone else in mind." Her smile turns…sinister?

"Uh, no thank you, I think I'm just fine as I am. Besides, I have to get going to Aste, recruit as many Mages."

The smile falls off her face, "A shame then, I would've loved to see what you're capable of, you know, there is much more I can do for you than simply have your carriage fixed."

Now that is tempting. Unfortunately, I'm not quite ready to waste any more time here or out myself as a Necromancer to these people, however polite they might seem there is always an ulterior motive behind a helping hand.

"It really is a shame." The firmness of my words immediately discourages any further probing and she stands to her feet. I stand with her.

She speaks as she walks towards the door, her voice still calm and sweet, "It's been a pleasure then, Asher. Audwin must have your carriage and belongings ready at the gate for whenever you want to leave."

At the door she turns, her nose twitching about again, "Whilst you stay here, don't be afraid to use the bell, our staff is active all through the day and night."

"I'll be sure to do so."

Once she's out the door I turn around and size up the bell that sits at the bottom and first of the rails that guide the stairs. It's a small silver bell with a slim wooden handle.

Stepping closer to it I imagine just a few of the things I could request…

Mm. Not worth it. The Matron is obviously sinister.

***

The next day I woke up feeling fulfilled at resisting my temptations with the bell but also ravenously hungry. I find the house empty and everything as it was when I went to bed but of course it would be.

Spirit Summon would have timed out within an hour after I fell asleep, Anselm surely didn't get to talk his pants off with the Mevir boy and I'm pretty certain Mevir himself needed to head to bed at some point.

I wander about for a while before finally settling at the dining table. The sun has yet to rise but I'm up anyway, long days of travelling the road has set my internal clock back a bit. I don't mind, waking up early is a sign of a successful and productive life, isn't it?

I sigh to myself as I grip at my hair. The house is large and a bit imposing even. The entirety of it, the crickets singing, the quiet wind blowing against the windows and the deafening silence, all of it begins to be filled up by the deep emptiness that spills out from me. And it hurts. I don't understand it but it hurts, this silence, this emptiness.

I take a deep breath and try to calm myself as I'm pulling out the hair off of my head now. I blink, disappointed with myself. I can't believe this thing followed me all the way here, all the way into another world and even into a new body.

It doesn't take long for me to succumb and finally summon Anselm.

"Hey!" I yell, surprising the both of us but I continue with my voice elated nonetheless, "Want to get out of here? Aste is just a short ride away!"

"You're prattling." He blinks at me, unsure of what to think of my unsteady and oddly energetic state. "Are you alright, Asher?" his eyes land on the pile of hair I've let fall onto the dinner table. His voice is soft for once.

I shake my head as I bury it into my hands, my legs tapping uncontrollably. "I'm fine, I just…I want to move."

"Move? You mean to Aste."

Another deep breath. "I'm not sure. Anywhere. I'm also hungry, and tired, very tired."

"Right, right. I can see that." He eyes me warily and I burst out laughing making him narrow his look even more.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine." I insist.

"I know, I can see that." He isn't laughing. He's taking things too seriously. "Let's go to Aste then."

Again, I laugh, chuckling at a joke Anselm hasn't heard or hasn't gotten yet. But really, what am I laughing at?

***

Only a few of the maids we saw milling about earlier were up. It was one of the few that met us at the gate and begged us not to leave before she notified either Audwin or the Matron herself.

Anselm convinced me that the request is pretty reasonable, although, in hindsight I didn't need him to tell me that telling your host you're leaving is only polite, I just wasn't in a good mood or state to think much about decorum.

I've much calmed down now. A lot of that unease has dissipated and I can finally stop laughing at the slightest thing and have my legs stop tapping restlessly. The maid we met offered us a seat and some biscuits before she left for the call too so some of my hunger has been sated.

It takes but a few minutes before I see any sign of Audwin or the Matron. Turns out both came up to bid us farewell.

"Leaving so soon?" I hear the sarcasm drip from Audwins voice so clearly. I'm not sure what the man has against me or Anselm, he could just be some sort of xenophobe perhaps.

"Yes, we do have people back at Carbina we need to aid."

He scoffs and mutters under his voice, "That place is better left for dead."

I ignore the comment and turn my focus to the Matron who brought along with her several other maids, particularly maids carrying several bags containing what I can only believe to be farewell gifts.

As if reading my thoughts, she says, "Well it is only proper you leave our company with a richer bounty than when you came."

The maids load up the back of the carriage with the bags while she personally hands me a box. It's small and black like the box of a traditional wedding ring. I am filled with apprehension as I peel the lid back, relating with the women of my old world for a moment.

"It's a crystal." I gasp out at the sight of a glowing crystal sitting at the top of an smooth steel ring.

"Gem." Is the chorus I hear from Anselm, Audwin and the Matron.

She clears her throat and continues, "I'm sure Audwin has given you a brief demonstration of how these gems work. After all, he is the one who noticed you 'drooling over it'" she smiles.

It's hard to hide my embarrassment as my blatant greed for a gem is revealed as a poorly kept secret.

"Well, he showed me how useful it is to him, but on how to use it? No."

With her smile in place, she goes into a brief explanation on how the gems work, "There are a range of gems employed here in this lodge, our maids have theirs according to their station and jobs in the lodge, giving them access to rooms and items to use in their day to day. For Audwin, a Mage, it is set differently."

"His and hence yours, stores up a bit of mana for emergencies and difficult situations, situations I can clearly see you getting into with this quest of yours. All you need to do is introduce the gem to your mana and it will begin to suck it up until glows a bright red to let you know it is at full capacity."

Perfect! "Does it have communications?" I ask excitedly. I'm not sure who I'd talk to but when I do meet someone it'd be nice to know I can do so.

Unfortunately. "Mm, no. Yours isn't fitted for that. You can rectify this at the artificers in Aste if you want to, you can also upgrade the gem so it can contain more of your mana."

"Thank you. I appreciate this." I do. It's a surprise truly. With how much the two are opposed to fighting the Cult, I'm surprised they'd help me out this way.

We linger around for a bit as Audwin mentioned that Mevir wanted to see Anselm off. I'm still quite lost on the depth of the friendship the two made. But alas, the boy went to bed late that night and was refusing to wake up.

In the end, Audwin hands Anselm the boy's gift to him. A very large and old brown book. By the look on Anselm's face, I'd say it's the perfect farewell gift.

We say our final goodbyes and ride off just as the sun begins to come up, heading for Aste once more.

***

I find myself getting excited for the journey ahead once more. Well, there wasn't much journey left to be honest, the large walls of Aste can be seen looming just ahead, encasing the entire city of nearly over three thousand people.

In Carbina's fashion most of the population is centred on the outside, living on their sprawling farmlands and living by whatever they reap.

These lands are much larger than the ones that greeted us at Carbina, so much larger that pinpointing exactly what building was what proved to be a bit difficult.

Over the farm lands and several ranches, there were plenty interconnecting roads joining up at places and all leading or starting from the walls of the city itself.

I suppose they'd require separate traffic free routes to deliver the much-demanded crops and livestock into the city without the hassle of the guards I see taking shape ahead.

The route we ride on is busy with several carriages ahead and behind us, I'm not certain how or when it became this way but somewhere along the way we picked up on the trail of traffic into the city.

Also, like Carbina, the city had several entry points to it too; mostly following the regular north, south, west and east directions but like the spaces made for the farmers and their livestock, there were other routes.

Most noticeable or rather odd of the routes would be the one right beside us that bore no carriages and was simply not in use. It perturbs me and as far as I can feel, I'm not the only one.

It's an audible complain from the other riders to grumble at the inconvenience of using only one route for their deliveries and the such. Their collective boisterousness reminds me that Carbina had long sent out a caravan filled with goods for trade to Carbina.

I didn't stay long enough for the caravan to return I and I left too early not to catch them on the way to Aste so I had a sneaking suspicion they were victims of the wisps we encountered earlier. That broken carriage looked all too familiar.

Still, none of this; the noise and complaints of the riders, the slow-moving line nor the implications of the caravan failing in its mission, put a damper on my mood. On either of our moods.

I held the reins on the horse the Matron had been so kind to gift us after the last die so…unexpectedly, while Anselm sat at the back reading over and over the book Mevir had gifted him.

Every now and then he'd pop up with a fun factoid of sorts about the old fallen kingdom of Saia.

He's yet to give me the full picture but with the line moving so slow I've gotten to the point where I look forward to his little factoids, with them I piece up a vague picture of what his birth Kingdom looked like.

Although, most of the factoids were related to ceremony of Knighthood and Martial achievements.

I have my own happiness inducing trinkets too, and more than just the crystal ring the Matron gave me. The crystal has long been filled up with my mana and now glowed a calm crimson under the risen sun. The gem managed to take up about a third of my mana.

Which sinisterly amounted to a healthy sum of 666MP.

There's a bit I could do with that still, it is especially impressive since that is about a hundred more than the amount of mana I started with in the cave.

With my proficiency higher the cost of familiar spells like Spirit Summon and Death Grip goes down significantly so I trust the crystal would be big help in an emergency.

Another trinket is really the fun pack that I rummaged through once we were out of view of the lodge.

The maids had wisely packed in the bag's food, a flask filled with water that I could reuse- very useful- a healthy amount of whetstone for our weapons and most excitedly, another flask, empty but tied to three gourds of pure riot fun!

Again, I've never been one with a taste for alcohol but any mind-numbing substances would do right about now.

Looking back, I've gone through a lot sober; eating rats, failing to steal a sheep, pretending to be divine for money, harassed for my clothes by bandits, encountering a talking giant wolf and nearly losing a leg to crazy Cultists.

Frankly, it's begun to take a toll. But we move nonetheless.

We begin to make a small breakthrough in the line of carriages trotting along into the city with abandon. Soon the very guard that's taking note of the contents of the carriages and the people at their heads is clearly in view.

This close to the city begins to enunciate quite clearly how massive the stone cobble walls that circle around at. Atop the walls I can see figures and even battlements mounted at various points.

There are a few towers scattered around and the checkpoint into the city served as a pretty large one with men and women in various uniforms milling in and out of it with easy.

The walls are strong and sturdy but paradoxically, the gates are anything but. The were the regular type of gates I'd seen in Carbina, wooden and iron reinforced at breakpoints. Nothing too fancy at all. But for a city it's a bit underwhelming really.

I turn my focus and awe to the uniformed man at the gate.

He is much unlike the haphazardly dressed guards back at Carbina, instead, his brown light armour held a clear sheen of strength and sturdiness too it even with the few scars scattered along its body.

He wears tight fitted black trousers that held up in the same regard especially with the thick boots that covered nearly up to his knee. Overall, there's a very professional feel to him, or perhaps that was just the boredom oozing off of him.

The man held in his hand a heavy round crystalline ball in his hand that glowed briefly after each person presents their arm to him. I suspect it has to do with that citizenship registration Mathilda mentioned.

…

I don't have that. Do I? I could have it; this isn't my body after all. I am fairly certain I had it on my arm at some point in time…likely before I got stuck in this body.

The mark could have faded off when this body was killed or heck, given the suspicious nature of Pluzur death, it could have been rubbed off.

I'm not completely certain of anything at this point and it's a real inconvenience.

I realize that the further I go into this Kingdom the more things begin to unravel and my preconceptions about the state of living in this world are thrown out the window.

Exhaling, I look around for help or some form of escape. I've seen what they do to people who get rejected. They push their carriages off the road and keep the line moving like nothing happened! How embarrassing for those folks.

I don't want to be those folks. If it comes to it, I could try having Anselm fly me over the wall and security. Right now, I'd much rather save face, I had no idea there would be some scanning device at the very first checkpoint!

As it stood now, I had no out. All the carriages at the back filled up the space really quick so manoeuvring is limited to simply moving forward and forward alone. Trapped.

Before I can make any sudden moves, I'm forced to move the carriage into place. We're next.

Moving into place I slap on an excessively large grin on my face and greet the man hello. Upon closer inspection of his uniform, I see he has on a soft jacket or wannabe cloak that covers his arm and falls just short of his knees, at the breasts and arms of this jacket there's a familiar insignia smeared all over it.

A very familiar insignia.

"Welcome to Aste what will be your business?" he drones shoving the orb close to me and expectantly waiting for my arm.

I force a smile and give it up for the orb and sputter about a bit, "I'm here for, uh that might not work exactly…listen can you just..."

"Citizens of Ire, Mafiel and the Theocracy of Veril only." He announces shortly after eying the blaring red orb.

I'm not from any of those places.

"Alumni of the College of Magical Arts and members of the Hunters Guild are accepted in as well."

He continues on with the drone and finally his eyes meet mine and he sighs. "If you aren't a member or citizen of any of these places then I'm afraid I can't let you in. Brace yourself."

Brace myself? "Wait! No!" I wave my hand frantically at him.

He levels his gaze on me again, "Sir there's no point trying again if it failed the first time."

"No, no, I don't mean that."

His visage doesn't change.

"I can give you coin. I have a lot of it, so much I don't even know what to do with it."

This breaks a smile on his face. "You couldn't possibly afford to bribe me sir." He says, snidely eying the carriage and my outfit.

How insulting.

"Name it."

His smile falls and I can tell he's contemplating the sweet offer. I nod and smile, nudging him along.

"How about ten gold tokus." He calls out with a snort, obviously doubting my riches.

Ten gold tokus is obviously a large amount if that's the ridiculous amount he calls out, there's a lot I could purchase with that and I'm sure of it. This could well be his retirement fund.

I groan and wince at the sum. He nods his head and quickly falls back into his bored visage.

"Thought so, please brace yourself sir."

"I think I can manage that."

"…" Immediately I can see the shock on his face. It is hilarious and deliciously feeds my ego.

"What?"

Reaching into my belt I count out ten gold coins and jingle them a bit in my hand. Truly this doesn't even scratch the surface of what I've got in my belt and tied in a small pouch in the back.

All gold coins. And I've never really gotten a chance to spend any of it so I'm feeling pretty liberal with this ten.

He shakily holds out his oddly sweaty hands and I let two-solid gold tokus coins drop.

"Ten is a lot for just letting me through don't you think?"

"Huh?"

"I have a few more favours to ask of you, then you'll get the rest of the bounty." I say with a shit-eating grin.