103 - Book 2: Chapter 40: The Gates of Elyra, At Last

103 - Book 2: Chapter 40: The Gates of Elyra, At Last

Elyra's walls loomed over the horizon.

Vex's stomach turned a bit as he stared at them he never thought he'd see them again so soon. He knew, objectively, that it had been more than a year since he'd left; it still felt like he was returning too early. He'd expected to have three years before being forced to return.

It had only been one and a half.

Only a few weeks ago, Vex would have said he wasn't ready, even with all the progress he'd made with the Guild and with his friends. Now?

He still didn't feel like he was ready; he wasn't sure he ever would. But at least he felt like he could do it, even if he wasn't ready. He could face down his parents and demand they give up his little brother, and convince all his siblings to turn against them...

...well, no, that second goal was a little more far-fetched. Vex knew most of them bought into what his parents had told them. Even his sister, who sympathized with him the most, believed it was simply a necessity to maintain their noble status.

And they weren't even wrong, was the thing. He couldn't dispute that it was the truth. It was the fact of what they were doing that rubbed him the wrong way starting at the age of six, too young for them to really understand what they were accepting, what they were giving up

"Are you okay?" Derivan's voice interrupted his thoughts. He spoke in his usual calm baritone. The lizardkin paused, brought back to reality, and gave Derivan a small smile.

"I will be," he said, turning to stare back up at the walls.

"You have us, whatever you need," Misa said. "Although if I get my hands on your fucking parents"

"Misa," Sev warned quietly. Vex could tell his heart wasn't in it, though; it was more an automatic response than anything else.

"I know," Misa said, looking down and gritting her teeth. "I know. Just... why aren't you angry?" she blurted, directing the words to Derivan. "Even Sev is mad, no matter how good he is at hiding it, and you're not? I don't get it."

Derivan was silent, and for a moment, so was the cabin; Misa opened her mouth to apologize, looking awkward, when Derivan finally responded.

"No matter how much I wish to be like all of you," he said. "I am different, I think. My thoughts do not turn towards anger. I do not understand revenge, except perhaps in a very abstract sense. When those that are close to me are hurt, I think only about protecting them, not about harming those that caused it. And... perhaps this is a blessing, or perhaps it is a failing. I do not know.

"I do know that I have little control over it. Perhaps I will feel differently when we meet them. But I find my thoughts veer more towards the direction of keeping his brother safe.

"I am sorry if that answer was disappointing."

Misa just sighed. "No, I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have put that on you. It just... it feels fuckin' weird that I'm the one most angry about all of this."

"Is it that weird?" Sev glanced at her, offering a small smile, though it was a little tentative. "Aren't you always?"Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

"Kind of." Misa frowned a bit. "I dunno. This feels different, you know?"

"Let's not talk about this?" Vex gave them all a strained smile. He appreciated them all, but he didn't know how to handle that; having people angry on his behalf or wanting to protect him, in Derivan's case was somewhat foreign to him still. "Come on. We're almost at the walls."

And they were.

The gates were well-guarded, built several lengths high with spellcraft-shaped red stone; the mana traces were a telltale giveaway, and they created lovely little striations in the rock, too, for anyone with mana vision.

Near the far-too-ornate gate was a troop of about ten guards; two stationed on either side of the gate, two at the center, and the remaining six lining the walls on top equipped with ranged weaponry, if the shadows of their staffs and bows were anything to go by.

His mana sense brought up several people skulking around, too, invisible to the naked eye. He had no doubt there were a few more that even his sight wouldn't catch; at least, not at his level.

Probably too many.

He hated this, though. This was another part of the reason he'd left Elyra in the first place too much worship and attachment that came with his name. No one treated him like a person.

He just wasn't above using his status to let them get into the city faster.

"There's something wrong with the Guild here," Sev muttered to himself, already busy with his system and apparently rapidly scanning through a message, if the way his eyes flickered was any indication. "They haven't responded properly to Guild communications in days."

"They went dark?" Misa asked.

"No." Sev shook his head. "They're responding. Just disregarding all the communications protocols. The Guildmaster says she tries to rotate people here to make sure corruption doesn't take root, and the last shift was pretty recent, so I can't imagine..."

"I guess we better visit the Guild branch here first thing, then," Vex said quietly. "It's this way."

He knew the way by heart, and he quietly adjusted the caravan's magic to account for the new route. He'd been planning his journey for so long, after all he knew that the Guild was his one shot at getting out of Elyra and having a chance at earning something close to prestige. There were, technically, more opportunities by his parents' sides, but...

Those opportunities felt tainted, somehow. Becoming an adventurer was, at least, his own choice.

The roads of Elyra, unlike many of the towns they had been in prior, were more built for caravans to make their way through and so they had no issue navigating the surprisingly crowded streets. There were other caravans on the street, too, doubtless owned by nobles, for how big and ostentatious they were; the streets were only built as wide as they were so they could accommodate the absurdly overbearing vehicles.

And yet, besides the prominence of moving caravans as a mode of transport, the place felt surprisingly... quiet.

Part of it was doubtless the food shortage. Vex's heart sank to see how different it was to what he was used to he was not a fan of Elyra at the best of times, but often there were people in the streets that were happy, at least; now there was an empty listlessness with which they walked the streets, and too many people seemed too thin for their clothes.

Hunger was a very real ailment, despite the system. Health wouldn't prevent death by hunger; it would simply appear as a [Malnourished] status effect that got steadily worse, cutting off more and more maximum health.

Sev let out a sharp breath, at this point, and Vex looked up, alarmed.

"Is the Guild building supposed to be that... you know..." Sev gestured, staring up at the Guild branch.

And he really did have to stare up.

The building definitely had not looked like that when Vex had left.

When he had left, the Guild had certainly been a well-maintained building, with ample space for its adventurers to room and sleep in, as all the Guild branches did. It had not been a massive cathedral, which was the best word Vex could think of to explain the vast change in architecture that had occurred. He was pretty sure at least two adjacent buildings had been demolished just to make room for the damn thing.

"Uh... no?" Vex managed. "No. It definitely didn't look like that before."

"Something's up?" Misa said.

"Something's definitely up," Sev agreed.

"I have a number of concerns," Derivan said, and cocked his head forward slightly. "One of which is related to the fact that that building is connected to the system."

"It what?" Vex jerked in his seat. "A building? That's"

"It appears to be connected to the system in the way that monsters are, yes," Derivan said. "If it is any consolation... there are many smaller signals within, as well. So the Guild branch here is not dead, at the very least."

"Gods forbid we have to deal with a building-sized mimic," Sev muttered. "Okay, come on. Let's go."