To Our Fellow Exalted Sovereigns,
Greetings in the name of your patron Gods. To the Kingdom of Ocrana and Theocracy of Zurath, may the Holy Mother shield your people from illnesses. To the Kingdom of Fjellheim, may the Colossus strengthen your fortresses. To Ylvengard, may the Four Elementals continue to protect your forests. To the Hegemony of Vaspolia, may Solaris shine His light upon His children. And to the Empire of Aglaria, may Chorganak sharpen your weapons of war.
As per the ancient accords agreed upon by the founders of our respective nations, the Kingdom of Edria invokes its right to call upon the forces of every country in the continent of Gigas upon the appearance of a rogue Ascendant.
On the day before the arrival of Spring, the presence of a rogue Ascendant has been confirmed in Halros, the capital city of the Halros Marquisate. Attempts to apprehend the rogue had been unsuccessful.
This missive serves as the Kingdom of Edria's official invocation of the accords, and in accordance with the ancient agreement, all hostilities and territorial disputes in the continent must cease and reinforcements be sent to the state invoking the accords.
More information shall be given once representatives of each nation arrive in Edria. May the Gods watch over us all.
Odis Farud Bandar Edrana
Tenth Monarch of Edria
●●●
Empire of Aglaria
Redstone Arena
Imperator Calixto watched the battle in the center of the arena from his balcony with bored eyes. In contrast to his apathy, the air was rife with the manic energy of more than thirty thousand spectators, their fervent shouts for blood mixing into an unholy symphony that shook the walls of the Empire's largest arena.
Standing on the arena's battlegrounds was a large gladiator dressed in nothing but a few rags to cover his manhood and a metal collar that wrapped around his neck. His heavily-tattooed body contained rippling muscles beneath his dark brown skin, and together with his untrimmed hair and the large tribal axe he gripped in his hand, the warrior had the appearance of an uncivilized barbarian, albeit one with a serene expression instead of a bloodthirsty one.
Facing the gladiator on the opposite end of the arena was a monster as large as a Grisly Bear, but many times deadlier. It was a lion with a second head, that of a goat's, and a venomous serpent that served as its tail. It was an adult Chimera, an A-rank monster.
The lion head of the Chimera roared furiously at the cheering audience, sending powerful shockwaves capable of shattering concrete into fine dust. But the shockwaves were blocked by a translucent dome that shimmered as the attack reached it, protecting the audience from a brutal demise.
The audience's cheers grew louder and further infuriated the beast. The Chimera looked for a target to unleash its wrath upon and finally found the lone gladiator. The monster immediately pounced for the kill.
Even in the face of a powerful foe, the gladiator's expression remained calm as he received the Chimera's charge. Despite the large size difference, the gladiator easily matched the Chimera's strength and exchanged blows with the beast.
The audience's cheers were deafening, but inside the Imperator's balcony, all was silent. Glowing runes etched on the stone of the walls made sure that no noise or vibration inconvenienced Calixto as he watched the battle with disinterest.
The Imperator's peace was disturbed when the red gemstone placed on the table beside his ornate chair glowed.
“Let them in,” Calixto said with a bored voice.
A figure clad completely in black emerged from the shadows and unlocked the door to the balcony before disappearing.
The door opened and in came a calm-looking man dressed in a servant's attire. He gently closed the door behind him and immediately kneeled on the floor with practiced grace despite Calixto not sparing a glance at him.
“Your Imperial Majesty, I bring urgent news,” the servant said.
“On with it, Lukas. You're disturbing my leisure time.”
“A letter has arrived from Edria, Your Majesty. It bears the seal of the Royal Family.”
Calixto hummed with amusement as he looked at his head butler. “Give it to me.”
Lukas' wrist twitched and an envelope suddenly appeared in his hand out of nowhere. It was of exquisite make, scented, and designed with gold filigree.
“Did Odis finally succumb to the pressure of the throne, I wonder?” Calixto mused with a small smile as he channeled his mana into the envelope, allowing him to open it without triggering the self-destruct magic set into it in the event that it fell into the wrong hands.
As Calixto read the letter, however, his smile had turned into a deep frown that twisted his handsome features. When he finished reading Edria's letter, he folded it calmly and returned it to its envelope. He flicked his wrist and the envelope disappeared.
“You brought unpleasant news during my leisure time, Lukas.”
“I apologize if that was the case, Your Majesty,” Lukas replied without a change in his serene expression. “But I'm afraid I have more unpleasant news to announce.”
Calixto remained silent for a long moment as he watched the battle continue to unfold in the center of the arena. In the time it took for him to receive the letter from Lukas and read it, the battle had progressed quickly. Both the gladiator and Chimera now sported multiple injuries from each others' attacks, but the one with the advantage seemed to be the Chimera. Where the gladiator only had his tribal axe and tattooed body to fight against the beast, the Chimera could produce shockwaves with its lion head's roars, breathe fire from its goat head, and spit venom from its serpent tail. The gladiator's chances of surviving the round seemed bleak.
“What is this other unpleasant news you bring, Lukas?” Calixto finally asked as the Chimera started gaining the clear upper hand over the gladiator.
“Our infiltrators in Edria have failed their mission spectacularly,” Lukas said, showing no hints of awkwardness at the Imperator's long silence. “One is dead, another has disappeared, and their leader is asking for more reinforcements, convinced they could still salvage the situation.”
Calixto clicked his tongue in annoyance. “I don't care for the dead, but hunt down the missing one and kill them. I don't want a blabbering mouth telling everyone of what we did in Edria.”
“Tracking the missing one down is proving to be a harder task than expected, Your Majesty,” Lukas said. “The missing one is a lich, and it seems that when their vessel dies, the tracking magic that we placed on their bodies beforehand disappears as well. The lich could be anywhere in Edria by now.”
“Useless fools,” Calixto sighed. “Find the one responsible for putting together the infiltration team and have him fed to my dogs. I will not have their incompetence sabotaging my plans.”
“As you will, Imperator,” Lukas said without a change in expression. “Do you have new orders for how we shall respond to these events?”
Calixto went silent again as he watched the conclusion of the battle. Both combatants were now bloodied and sported grievous injuries, but the Chimera was on the verge of victory. The gladiator had fallen on one knee and was glaring at the monster. Just as the Chimera pounced for the kill, however, the gladiator's tattoos glowed with an unearthly light. With a cry, the gladiator moved with impossible speed and struck the Chimera midair with his glowing tribal axe.
Like crushing a plump tomato with one's hand, the Chimera exploded from the powerful attack, its blood and organs splattering all over the stone of the battlegrounds and further dying it red.
The sudden comeback sent the entire arena howling with approval. Those who won their bets celebrated by taking their shirts off and waving them around, while those who lost spat at the ground in dismay.
Calixto nodded in satisfaction at the outcome of the battle. “It seems the savages we acquired from the Janggu continent are quite powerful.”
“Quite so, Your Majesty.”
“Send word to the War God,” Calixto said as he stood up and walked to the edge of the balcony, his gaze fixed on the exhausted gladiator below. “He will go to Edria and serve as the Empire's representative.”
“Is sending our strongest Ascendant abroad a wise move, Your Majesty? The Hegemony has been gathering their strength and eyeing our borders for the past few years,” Lukas said.
“The Hegemony has always been eyeing our borders, there's nothing new about that. But even if the Desert King decides to make a move the moment the accords' peace ends, they won't find us as such an easy opponent,” Calixto said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. “I'm sending Chorganak to Edria because our infiltrators are embarrassingly so incompetent that they actually incurred losses while operating in the weakest kingdom in Gigas and failed their mission. They shame the Empire's glory. Thus, I am forced to send our own patron God to settle things through brute force.”
The corner of Calixto's lips quirked upwards as he watched the collapsed gladiator being carried away by the arena's personnel to clear the battlegrounds for the next combatants. “Send a contingent of savages with Chorganak as well. I'm eager to see how well they perform.”
“Your will is my command, Imperator,” Lukas said with a bow. “I shall inform the War God of his orders.”
Lukas immediately left the room, leaving Calixto alone as he sat back down on his chair. His bored expression from before was now gone, replaced with a growing smile. “Once Edria is under my control, I will have access to the rest of the continent east of the Titan's Belt, and everything shall be mine for the taking.”
●●●
Hegemony of Vaspolia
Ziggurat of the Sun God
The Desert King's chamber at the highest level of the Ziggurat was filled with the colored smoke of incense. Sensual moans from multiple women echoed throughout the dimly lit room, interrupted only by the occasional cry as a woman reached climax. The noises came from within the large veiled bed in the middle of the room from which the silhouettes of several people could be seen through the curtains.
Large stoic-faced guards stood vigilantly by the walls, the noises of coitus not bothering them in the slightest as they did their duty. What did catch their attention was the sudden knock on the door. They kept their hands close to their weapons as one of the guards approached the door to check who it was.
“Your Excellence,” the guard said after addressing the person outside the door. “A slave comes bearing an urgent message. A letter from the King of Edria has arrived.”
The moans stopped and the curtains on the bed parted as an old man peeked between them, his annoyed face dripping with sweat. “Execute the slave and his family for daring to disturb me. I will read the letter later.”
“As you command,” the guard said before promptly stepping outside the door with his blade drawn. The pleading of a man was momentarily heard before it was abruptly cut off as the guard shut the door behind him.
“You,” the old man said as he pointed at one of the other guards. “Bring me more slaves to use.”
“At once, Your Excellence,” the guard replied.
Two hours after the extra slaves were provided, the old man finally emerged from the bed and started dressing. “The slave with the short brown hair is pregnant with my child after I used her several days ago. Kill her.”
“At once,” one of the guards said before dragging the aforementioned woman by her hair out of the room. She struggled and begged for mercy, but the old man didn't bat an eye as another guard gave him the letter from Edria.
After reading its contents, the old man chuckled with mirth. “I couldn't care less about the rogue Ascendant, but the Empire should also be sending reinforcements of their own. One of their Ascendants, I bet.” After a moment of pondering, the old man began issuing his orders. “Tell the Sandman I have a mission for him. Summon him to my chambers.”
“By your will,” the guard replied with a salute before leaving to follow his orders.
“Let's see if we can get to remove some of the Empire's pieces off the board,” the Desert King chuckled as he finished dressing.
●●●
The Free States
Meeting Hall of the Free Council
The interior of the large hall was filled with wrathful voices as the participants of the meeting argued with one another. All eighteen Council members, each representing the eighteen members of the Free States, exchanged insults and barbs with each other without restraint as they sat around the circular table in the center of the hall. Behind each Council member were rows of ascending seats where people from their own faction sat, glaring at their counterparts.
The noisy scene was not an unusual one. With eighteen member states making up the Free States, disagreements between them were inevitable. The exhausted Chancellor, who was responsible for presiding over Council meetings and mediating disputes, banged his gavel repeatedly to try and take control of the situation, but the Council members were already too deep in their squabbles.
The entrance to the hall opened and the guards let inside a harried-looking messenger, who immediately rushed to the Chancellor's side. He handed an ornate envelope to the Chancellor's hand and waited nearby as he caught his breath.
After reading the letter, the Chancellor quickly picked up his gavel and banged it relentlessly until the rest of the Council was forced to put their attention on him.
“An important situation has come up,” the Chancellor said. After relaying the critical information, he passed the letter to the Council members so they could read the contents themselves.
After a short silence, the Council's discussions ramped up again as they considered the ramifications of the unexpected situation. The Free States had been founded by a collection of powerful merchants who sought to protect their interests, and the same ideology still holds in the present as their descendants argued on how to approach the situation without negatively affecting their profits. No matter how they saw it, sending reinforcements to Edria was nothing but a waste of their precious gold.
The argument became heated as the Council brainstormed for ways to turn the situation into a profitable venture. Nobody suggested even once to refuse to send reinforcements; ignoring the accords would ruin their reputations and the impact on their businesses in the continent would be unimaginable.
“Assuming that the Empire and the Hegemony received the same summons as us, I think we all know what those two giants would do once the truce is over,” an influential Council member said with a suggestive tone during a lull.
“Indeed,” an old female Council member replied. “Edria would become a big pie up for grabs, and it would be foolish for us to not secure a slice of our own.”
Murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the Hall.
“Then I suggest we send two mercenary companies their way as reinforcements,” an old man said with a glint in his eyes. “They'll have ‘special orders’ to follow, of course.”
The rest of the Council immediately understood the unspoken meaning behind the old man's words, and none of them protested.
“All in favor?” the Chancellor asked the room. For the first time in years, every member of the Free Council was in agreement on a course of action.
“Then it is decided. The Free States shall send two mercenary companies to the Kingdom of Edria, to act with special directives.”
●●●
Ylvengard
Edge of Elven Territory
Towering trees that stood at least a hundred meters tall lined the edge of Ylvengard, a massive forest where the ancient elven race lived in solitude. To the powerful and long-lived elves, continental politics was a nuisance that they spurned with a passion, and it was for this reason that the Edrian messenger found himself in a conundrum as he and his guards were forbidden entry to Ylvenguard by a large group of elves armed with bows.
“Do you know who I am?!” the Edrian messenger shouted furiously. “I am a Royal Messenger of Edria and I represent the King! His Majesty has invoked the ancient accords. You of all people should know the importance of the message I bear!”
“Be careful with your words, human. We know who you are and the message you bear,” an elf said with a sneer, one that seemed to be the leader. “And we know of the accords you speak of, though you greedy men seemed to have distorted the truth to your benefit. Although we've previously given help to countries who invoked the accords in the past, Ylvengard was never a signatory of the accords. The help we gave was of our own volition and we are not obliged to follow an accord agreed upon among humans.”
“Then why are you forbidding us from entering?” the Edrian messenger asked. “Surely the elves intend to offer their help once again to eliminate a threat to the continent's peace?”
The elf sneered. “As long as humans exist, there is always a threat to the continent's peace. Now leave, before my brethren decide to send you back to the land of men riddled with arrows.”
The Edrian messenger cursed as he and his guards turned their horses around and made the trip back to Edria with a failed mission.
●●●
Kingdom of Fjellheim
Throne Room of the Mountain King
In the depths of the Fell Mountains, Halgamar, King of the Dwarves, listened to the reports of his head attendant.
“Sire, we received urgent reports last week from our men stationed in the Dark Continent,” the attendant said as he read from a clipboard. “Eldritch activity has been few, almost nonexistent, over the past few months. Even the Keepers of the Night had enough leeway to send more of their Wardens to our continent.”
“Isn't that good news then?” Halgamar asked, his voice as deep as the earth.
“Despite low Eldritch presence, our commanders manning the fortresses in the Dark Continent report suspicious activity among the city-states,” the attendant said. “Victims of madness are on the rise and the city-states don't seem to be doing anything. They also reported that there's some kind of internal conflict among the Night Wardens, but they've been trying to keep it secret.”
Halgamar's bearded face frowned deeply. “Our duty in the Dark Continent is important. The security of our fortresses there is vital to the safety of the world, and I will not entrust their protection to organizations that cannot even do their duties properly. Inform our engineers that they have my express permission to send the Bronze Soldiers to reinforce our fortresses on the Dark Continent.”
“But Sire, they're still experimental!” the attendant protested. “They might do more harm than good if we send them without proper testing.”
At that moment, a dwarven messenger arrived in the throne room bearing a letter from Edria. After reading its contents, Halgamar turned to his attendant with a large smile. “Edria has invoked the old accords due to a rogue Ascendant and is asking for reinforcements. There's your opportunity to test the Bronze Soldiers.”
●●●
Kingdom of Ocrana
Rose Castle
Christine aloofly watched as the argument between the high-ranking nobles at the table slowly grew heated. On one side of the argument were the margraves: nobles with territories far from Ocrana's mainland and whose jobs were to guard the kingdom's borders against foreign enemies. On the other side of the argument were the inland nobles: those who lived far from the conflict and abhorred war because of the costs.
The formal letter from Edria invoking the accords sat at the center of the table, and it was responsible for sparking the intense argument. The margraves believed that the letter was a hoax by Edria to give themselves time to recover from their devastating losses from the first battle. The margraves wanted to disregard the letter and march their powerful armies into Edria to continue the war. On the other hand, the inland nobles, who had few soldiers to spare but were shouldered instead with the heavy burden of feeding the margraves' armies, did not want to continue the war and desired peace.
The argument had been going on for some time now and Christine was getting bored. She was about to yawn ungracefully but got elbowed by the Queen sitting beside her. Christine pouted as Nesta glared at her.
“I did not spend a fortune on your etiquette teachers just for you to disgrace yourself in front of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom,” Nesta hissed quietly.
“All I see is a bunch of old people too stubborn to come up with a compromise,” Christine grumbled quietly.
“It is not their job to come up with a compromise but your Father's,” Nesta said.
As if to confirm the Queen's words, King Milos beside her raised his hand. It was a simple gesture, but one that immediately shut up the arguing nobles.
“I've heard both sides of the argument and have taken everything into consideration,” Milos said. “Although the margraves are correct in that Edria will never stop hounding us as long as our countries exist separately, I'm afraid the invocation of the accords is too big an obstacle to keep the flames of war burning.”
The margraves groaned in disappointment while the inland nobles smiled victoriously.
“However,” Milos continued. “To let Edria off for invading our country without repercussions is completely off the table. Although the accords require us to assist Edria in the subjugation of the rogue Ascendant, it does not explicitly state that it must come in the form of arms or soldiers. Therefore, the only assistance we will render will be in the form of animal feed to keep their horses and donkeys well-fed.”
Everyone at the table, whether a margrave or an inland noble, laughed uproariously. No matter the faction, they took the same joy in seeing the plight of their shared enemy.
“But our retaliation does not end there,” Milos said with a sharp glint in his eyes. “While Edria hunts for the rogue Ascendant and keeps the Empire at bay, we prepare for war. The moment the accord ends, our armies shall march for their capital and end this feud once and for all.”
The inland nobles were the ones to groan this time while the margraves cheered, but they understood the necessity of such an act and stated their intention to follow the King's will.
As the discussion moved forward to the topic of war preparations, Christine got elbowed again by Nesta when she tried to yawn for the second time.
●●●
Theocracy of Zurath
Mother Cathedral, the Pope's Chambers
Catherine stared blankly at the letter in front of her. It was the letter from Edria invoking the ancient accords. Reading it had sent her into the deepest depths of despair.
A few months ago, Catherine had collapsed in front of the Council of Cardinals after witnessing a vision of the future. In it, she witnessed the Ascendant child she was supposed to protect become a massive threat as he slowly took control of the continent. In response, Catherine immediately sent Ellis, one of her Holy Paladins, to Edria to protect the child. But only a day after Ellis' departure, another missive sent through the Church's secret network had arrived from the Erfeld chapel reporting the death of the child's mother and his disappearance. Catherine had failed the task the Holy Mother had given her.
For the past few weeks, Catherine had been waiting for updates from Ellis on the state of his search for the Ascendant child, hoping that he would find success. Instead, things took a turn for the worse when Edria declared the existence of a rogue Ascendant.
Holy Mother, please forgive me for my failure, Catherine prayed as she held Edria's letter tightly in her hands, but there was no reply. The Holy Mother had been silent ever since the day they failed to protect the Ascendant child's mother, and Catherine feared that they had been abandoned.
But just as she was about to further sink into despair, the air in her room hummed as white lines glowed on the walls like veins. Catherine's eyes widened at the sight and immediately stood up, just as someone knocked on her door and opened it without waiting for her response. It was Giles, Captain of the Templars.
“Your Holiness,” Giles said with an excited expression.
“I know,” Catherine said as she rushed out of the room with the same elated expression. “A Divine Message from the Holy Mother has arrived.”
The Pope rushed through the Mother Cathedral's halls with her retinue of guards escorting her, the despair that had been festering in her heart dissipating like mist under the morning sun. She met numerous pastors and servants along the way, all of them sporting the same joyous expressions. Everybody knew of the Divine Message; after all, the walls of the entire Mother Cathedral lit up with glowing lines of power, not limited to the Pope's chambers.
After a lengthy trip, Catherine finally arrived in the deepest sanctum of the Mother Cathedral. It was a long hallway with its walls painted with the Church's history. At the end of the hallway was an antechamber with huge double doors on the far wall. Several members of the Council of Cardinals were already present, including First Cardinal Corbette.
“The Holy Mother awaits you within, Your Holiness,” Corbette greeted with his usual smile.
“May She continue to guide us in these tumultuous times,” Christine replied as she walked up to the double doors. Beyond lay the Holy Mother's Tomb, and only the Pope was allowed entry. The Cardinals and her Templars would be waiting in the antechamber.
Taking a deep breath, Christine placed her hand on the double doors, which lit up upon her touch. A small gap opened between the doors, enough for Christine to slip through. Once she was inside, the doors quickly shut behind her.
Christine shivered in the frigid air of the room, although calling it a room would be inaccurate. The Holy Mother's Tomb was dark, such that the walls and ceiling weren't visible even if one brought a lantern, so nobody knew whether the place was simply a room so large that light cannot reach its edge, or if it was an entirely different world altogether. Even Catherine, who was the only person allowed to enter, didn't know the true answer.
In the distance was a small illuminated area, a lone island in a sea of darkness with a narrow path of light leading to it. Catherine followed the path and arrived at a large casket set atop a stone platform. The casket was a plain white color and had a nondescript appearance, but hidden behind its simplicity was the powerful aura of countless invisible runes and enchantments that served as its protection.
Catherine knelt by a small shrine beside the casket, closed her eyes, and began uttering a ritual prayer. There was no response, but she didn't falter and repeated the prayer when she finished, her face a mask of perfect calm. The ritual demanded that the Pope repeat the prayer until the Holy Mother deigned to answer.
Halfway through the fifty-sixth prayer, Catherine's serenity shattered as she gasped and stood up in horror. Just like in past Divine Messages, the Holy Mother had directly communicated with Catherine's mind, but she wasn't prepared for what the Holy Mother wanted her to do, nor did she desire to do it. There has to be another way!
The mysterious light that had been illuminating the casket slowly dimmed as the double doors in the distance creaked open, signaling that the Divine Message was done and delivered. Catherine wanted to stay and ask questions to the Holy Mother, but the mysterious light was quickly receding along with the illuminated path that led to the exit. Every Pope was warned by their predecessors to beware of the darkness in the Holy Mother's Tomb, and as Catherine started hearing the whispers from within the darkness, she knew she had no other choice but to obey.
Catherine walked to the exit with a heavy heart, wondering how she would announce to the Cardinals that the Holy Mother wished to wage a Crusade against the entire continent to save the Ascendant child.
●●●
Outskirts of Wildpost Village
Broken Heart Company Headquarters
“There, that's not so bad, is it?” I said with complete satisfaction as I beheld my latest work of art.
“I don't know why you humans are so obsessed with clothing,” Disserla grumbled as she pinched at the one-piece dress I tailored for her. It was bright green in color that pleasantly contrasted against the brown bark of her skin and complemented her hair made of leaves.
“Clothes aren't there just for style, although it plays a huge role in why I made you wear them,” I said as I walked around Disserla to see every angle. “They can serve as protection against the elements.”
“We're not weak and squishy like humans. Our skin is enough protection against the elements,” Disserla grumbled.
“You have a point there. But there's no way I'm letting you run around my home in the nude,” I said as I finally finished my inspection. “I won't have my reputation as a merchant be ruined by a naked girl walking around my headquarters without a care in the world.”
“You already have an entire tribe of goblins living outside your home. One more naked girl isn't going to make your reputation any worse if somebody saw your headquarters,” Disserla pointed out.
“Bah, just get out of here and do your usual stuff,” I said in annoyance. Disserla nodded with delight and made for the exit to my bedroom. But for once, though, Disserla had a good point. I'll have to relocate the goblins to another spot where people wouldn't see them in case I ever get unexpected visitors in the future.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Disserla said right before she left the room. “The Matriarch has been wondering when you'd come to visit the Sanctuary.”
I groaned as I remembered my appointment with the Matriarch of the Dayadra. She had given me an invitation back when Wennena and Disserla were given to me as assistants. There was no strict date or time given, but the Matriarch had explicitly stated in her letter that she wanted to meet me at the arrival of spring. Two weeks had already passed since the end of winter.
“I'll go when I can,” I said to Disserla as I shooed her out of the room. To be honest, I didn't want to meet with an ancient and powerful tree right on her turf, but that was only a partial reason why I was delaying my visit to the Dayadra's Sanctuary. In truth, I was waiting for Belka to wake up. Two weeks had already passed since the events in Halros, and the injuries she sustained back then were severe, especially the loss of her right arm. She would've died in Halros if not for my desperate attempt to save her life, although the resulting blood loss led to a coma, which she still hasn't woken up from. I don't even know if I truly saved her life or if I just delayed her death.
As I forcefully pushed my doubts to a corner of my mind, something entered the range of my fabric sense from Wildpost's direction. I immediately recognized it as Selise's clothing and started making my way to the cave's exit to greet her.
I picked up the magic lantern beside my bed, left my room, and started making my way down Grisly Hall, the main and currently the only corridor of my factory slash headquarters. The entire place was currently experiencing severe lighting issues, with the only sources of illumination being my magic lantern and the sunlight coming from the cave's entrance. That was because I still wasn't able to get my hands on more magic lanterns to light up the place. Wildpost didn't use magic lanterns since they were expensive, so I couldn't buy some from them. They only sold torches and oil lamps, and I would have to be the biggest idiot in the world if I used fire-based illumination for a fabric factory. I'm gonna have to find another way to light this dank hole up.
Dozens of gray puppets moved silently but efficiently throughout the hall like worker ants as they performed their jobs with unrelenting focus, although they still took the time to greet me (quite enthusiastically) whenever I passed them by.
Since I came from my bedroom, which was the furthest room in Grisly Hall, the first room I passed by was the supply room. Puppets constantly went in to deposit finished fabrics, and with my fabric sense, I could feel the massive piles that accumulated over the past two weeks, bringing a large smile to my face.
The next set of rooms I passed by was the Weaving rooms, although only the one on my right was currently operational since all the rooms on the other side of the hall weren't fitted with equipment yet. Inside the Weaving room were a few dozen puppets operating the equipment in complete silence. Those operating the spinning wheels spun fibers into threads, which were then passed to those operating the looms to weave them into fabrics. The fabrics were then supposed to be passed to the puppets operating the sewing machines, but I decided not to assign any workers yet to the magic devices. Instead, the finished fabrics were transferred straight to the supply room.
The next room I passed by was the Scutching and Combing room. There, my puppets removed woody stems from fibers before running them through the hackling combs to smooth them, resulting in silky smooth fibers that would be spun into threads.
The next room was the noisiest one. Inside the Breaking room, puppets repeatedly crushed softened plant stems between the blades of the flax breaks. The equipment made only a moderate amount of noise by themselves, but it was an entirely different situation with twenty of them working all at once.
If the Breaking room was the noisiest, then the last room nearest to the cave's entrance was the smelliest. The Retting room was where raw plant stems were softened by letting them soak in water. Over time, the hardy stems would begin decaying, softening them and making it easier to harvest the usable fibers within. The decaying of the stems along with the stagnant water from twenty-five pools resulted in an atrocious smell that permeated the entire room. That was why I had my puppets close the door at all times unless a fresh batch was finished retting. I didn't want the Retting room stinking up the whole cave.
I finally arrived at the mouth of the cave where my puppets were waiting. Mr. Marion and Taloress were standing side by side while Tedd waved at me from atop Taloress' shoulder. Spider was facing away as he flawlessly did his job of guarding the entrance and intimidating any who approached, but he still sent a wiggling tentacle over as a greeting.
“Hey, everyone,” I greeted. Mr. Marion approached and lowered himself as his back opened up for me. I gingerly climbed in since I couldn't go outside and let anyone see my true body. “How are things going?”
No monssster has dared to trespasss on your territory, Massster, Spider hissed in his creepy mental voice. Despite my puppets having gained the ability to speak after I underwent an Awakening two weeks ago, Spider still preferred communicating mentally.
“Yeah, that tends to happen when you hunt down every single monster in the vicinity without mercy, Spider,” I said in exasperation. Spider wiggled his tentacles happily. That was not a compliment…
“The goblins have been a huge help, Master,” Mr. Marion reported in his gentleman's voice. His diction was flawless after two weeks of constant practice. “Not only is their waste a valuable resource for trading with the Dayadra, but they are also a good source of free labor.”
Riding inside Mr. Marion's body, I walked forward and fully exited the cave. A single glance at the clearing in front proved Mr. Marion's words. Dozens of goblins constantly moved around the area as they hung freshly-retted plant stems on dozens of racks and clotheslines, their little feet pattering on the muddy ground. Hanging the stems to dry was supposed to be part of my puppets' jobs, but Zerza had generously offered her tribe's assistance, easing the workload on my puppets since all they had to do now was leave the freshly-retted stems in a pile outside the cave and let the goblins do the rest.
In the distance, I spotted Manny, the General Manager of Grisly Hall. Ever since he gained the ability to speak, he had been ecstatic and immediately put his voice to use by ordering the other puppets around like a tyrant, making sure that fabric production continued uninterrupted. It just so happened that Manny's voice was similar to that of an asshole office manager, which was very fitting for his position. It reminded me a lot of my boss in my previous life. My sympathies to the Third-Generation puppets who work under him.
Currently, said General Manager was reprimanding a group of goblins who hung too many fibers in a single clothesline, causing it to snap. If there was anything that could set off Manny with certainty, it was slowing down the factory's production.
“I'm glad everything's working out so well, then,” I said before I turned to my oldest puppet. “So, have the goblins been exhibiting any strange behavior, Tedd?”
Aside from their habit of farting in each other's faces as a form of entertainment, I detected no strange behavior, Master, Tedd said mentally.
I did not need to know that, I replied in disgust.
Their Shaman has been observing the Third-Generation puppets quite closely as they worked, Tedd continued. Although I could not tell if it is from mere curiosity or if it stems from ill intentions.
She's probably just curious, but keep an eye on her. She's the brains behind the goblin tribe and if they decide to do something stupid, then she'll likely be the one behind it, I said before returning to speaking out loud. “Anyway, Selise is visiting us today. I'm actually on my way to meet her.”
“I wanna come, Master!” Taloress immediately said while raising her hand.
“Sure. How about you, Tedd?”
“As much as I would like to come, I think I'll stay and keep my eyes on the goblins,” Tedd said. “I don't want them trying anything funny while you're away, Master.”
“Alright, thanks Tedd. Sorry, Spider, you're gonna have to stay behind as well and guard the cave,” I said to the big guy.
Masssters' will isss my will, Spider replied, showing no signs of disappointment with being left behind.
Having Spider stay behind as a guard wasn't actually that necessary since Manny and the Third-Generation puppets could easily handle any threat in the forest with their numbers, but I wanted him to stay behind to prevent Selise from seeing him. Their first meeting a week ago didn't go well. Selise had already seen Spider a long time ago when I first brought her to my cave, but back then, I simply told her that he was a doll I made to scare away monsters. Revealing to her that Spider was, in fact, alive had elicited an… unexpected reaction from the young hunter. Selise was displeased, to say the least. Fortunately, Spider's body was too tough for Selise's dagger to pierce it.
After doing my daily ritual of visiting Mom's grave, we quickly made our way to the dirt road that led to Wildpost to meet up with Selise. The young woman had stopped walking, and I could feel another entity near her with my fabric sense. I immediately recognized it as Wennena, the first dryad that we encountered and the first that Selise befriended.
When we arrived at their location, Wennena and Selise were talking to each other with happy smiles, although I noticed that Selise had a sense of urgency in her expression. Could there be trouble in the village?
Upon spotting our group, Selise quickly ran toward us, excitement and trepidation apparent on her face. “Mr. Marion! Get to the village quickly! Aunt Belka's awake!”
Selise's words froze me in my tracks, and a second later, I picked her up unceremoniously and started sprinting toward Wildpost.
