Please Note: Statements between % something in italics % are game system messages.
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The 8th floor of the magic academy. Raka followed the four men in armor including Emilius and Lord Holtimius inside a big room full of mirrors hanging on many sided walls. There was an ornate basin in the center of the room. There was also a bookshelf containing various books and a large map of the island on one of the walls. The room was designed in the shape of a decagon, with nine walls having a mirror each.
Raka observed the peculiar design as he entered. An older man with lots of grey in his hair but still having the feel of energy was filling water in the basin. He turned around as he heard the company enter and started greeting them.
"Welcome Lord Holtimius. I hope you are well. How's the Lady doing?"
"Yes, she is fine. Still gets tired easily but the medicine this time is helping a lot. She almost has the color in her face back."
"Ah that's wonderful to hear. And how are you General? Having good food as usual?"
"Don't joke with me Sambal. I have been hungry since my wife put me on that healthy diet! Ah never thought I could miss meat so much. I lost around 10 stones atleast."
"Hahaha...." and the group laughed.
'So this guy was a general.' There still remained one guy in armor who remained silent. 'He is dressed similar to Emilius, so he might also be a guard captain', Raka deduced.
"Hmmm...what do I see here? Is he one of the Goddess's children? Why is he here?" Sambal asked in a concerned tone.
"Oh...pardon me. I thought it would be a good idea to have him here." Lord Holtimius replied. "His name is Raka and apparently he is Verina's student." he continued.
"Ah you're the lad who asked for an appointment just now aren't you?"
"Yes I am" Raka replied.
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Meet with Sambal complete.
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"Well it still doesn't answer my question...why is he here?"
"Ah...seeing as he was the one who alerted us to the situation in the first place, I thought it would be a good idea to have him around. So he can answer any questions we might have." Lord Holtimius said.
The general nodded.
Sambal sighed.
"Alright. But he will still have to sign the official secrets agreement if he is to stay here. If not, he will have to leave." Sambal said.
"Um...what is the official secrets agreement?" Raka asked interested.
"It is basically something which ensures that you do not tell what happens here to someone. And if you wish to stay here, you need to sign."
Raka pondered for a bit. But looking at Lord Holtimius and the general's encouraging nods, he decided to take the plunge.
"I agree."
Sambal went to the book shelf and took out a page. He then waved his hands and then wrote something on it.
"Please put in your name where I have left it blank, local language is fine, and put your thumbprint at the bottom with a prick of your finger." Sambal directed and Raka followed.
As soon as Raka touched the paper he realized that energy had been embedded into it. This was a spell scroll though different from the ones he was used to making.
Written in both magic language and local language, the document said,
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I, Raka, do hereby solemnly swear to honor the Official Secrets Agreement, henceforth called Agreement, as defined by the law of the Nation of Ilmentia.
I, Raka, do hereby solemnly swear to honor and keep hidden, the informations, items or otherwise classified as Secrets, as defined by the ruler of the Nation of Ilmentia or by another signatory to the Agreement.
I, Raka, further swear not to disclose the existence of the Agreement, its nature and details to anyone, not a signatory to the Agreement.
The agreement also prohibits mention of the Secrets between signatories unless steps to protect unauthorized or accidental disclosure have been taken and enforced. The agreement is binding and exceptions can only be made by order of the ruler of the Nation of Ilmentia or their authorized representative.
Signed by:
Witnessed by:
Accepted on behalf of the Queen of the Nation of Ilmentia by Sambal, Advisor for Magic to the Queen:
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Raka pricked his thumb to draw just a little blood and put it on the paper. Lord Holtimius did the same as the witness. And finally Sambal himself repeated the process imprinting his thumb print.
Just then,
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Official Secrets Agreement is in effect.
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Raka could understand that what he had just witnessed was a very complex bit of magic. He first thought that this might be the curse magic Lady Verina had talked about before. But he threw that thought out. Curse magic as Lady Verina had said, required great amounts of energy and focus, even with the help of a magical object. The agreement, even though a complex bit of magic, was performed instantly. And as far as he could understand, the other five people in the room were signatories so this couldn't be curse magic. Maybe some other explanation is there which he will have to discover.
Raka moved his thoughts to the back however, as he saw Sambal making the paper disappear with another wave of his hand, and then resuming to fill water in the basin. Having done that, Sambal waved his hands on the water. The water stuck to his hands like a glove. He then moved on to one of the mirrors on the wall and touched it. The water flowed from his hand on to the mirror. He whispered something softly and the water shimmered. And then, slowly something started appearing in the mirror.
It was Lady Verina who looked back from the mirror. She looked around at everyone present.
"Greetings Sambal, Lord Holtimius, General. Do I see Emilius and Maltus as well...! Nice to meet you too....eh!"
"Raka! WHAT are you doing here?" She started a loud exclamation but controlled herself midway apparently.
Raka simply smiled sheepishly. He hadn't spoken to her since the graduation ceremony. Remembering that, he blushed. Lady Verina, who was staring at him....suddenly blushed as well. Raka felt the others were confused at this exchange, but no way in hell was Raka about to offer an explanation.
"Hello Verina," Sambal spoke scattering the discomforting atmosphere which had developed. "How are the preparations?"
"Ye...yes, the preparations...it is completed. Altia reports that she and her company are ready to move at a moments notice. How are preparations at your end?"
"General, if you may" Sambal spoke.
"3 companies are armed and ready" the General replied.
"Um...is it ok to speak freely with Raka present?" Lady Verina finally asked with a concerned look.
"If it wasn't we wouldn't be speaking to you now, would we?" Sambal retorted.
"He is here at my invitation as the witness to the intrusion." Lord Holtimius spoke.
"WHA....He ....YOU encountered the beastmen?!" Lady Verina spoke flustered.
Raka looked around to see if he was allowed to speak. When Sambal nodded,
"Yes" Raka replied as he repeated the incident.
"Oh you were lucky to survive young man." Lord Holtimius spoke.
"Yes, it is beyond words at this point!" the general agreed.
"Well in any case, it is good that he did bring us the news!" Sambal added while Lady Verina simply glared. "Now lets move on to the other thing. We have found out that the beastmen belong to a group of pirates who have recently started operating near our shores. You remember the two ships that were lost four months ago and we assumed they were lost in the storm. Now we suspect that it may be the activities of those pirates. Which makes it doubly important to capture the beastmen alive for interrogation. Cassian is also trying to find another way but till then we have to rely on this."
Raka pricked his ears. 'Cassian? Could there be two people with the same name?'. Raka knew it was possible. With so many npcs in the game it was impossible to give unique names to everyone. So like players they allowed the npcs to have the same names as well. But in any case, this was worth checking into.
"Alright. We will keep in mind. Any news on their location?" Lady Verina asked.
"Not yet!" the General replied.
"Our scouts have been following their tracks but we cannot afford to close the distance, lest they find out! After all they have improved sight, smell and hearing. Any mistake and our scouts would be dead and we will lose any chance of tracking them again" Emilius spoke expanding on the general's answer.
"Hmm and they are still somewhere between Gurrow and Thelmova?"
"By last reports, the tracks were seen there heading in a south westerly direction towards the forest on the other side of Gurrow!"
"Hmm...so would they be heading to the sea again?"
"Probably. There is not much they can do if we are on alert. Though it just might be that they were scouting us in the first place."
"Verina, that's the case. Keep an eye out from your side. I will try to send some additional people to help you." Sambal said.
"Alright. Any plans to counter them at sea then?" Lady Verina asked.
"Not yet but I have apprised the Queen. She may make a decision soon enough. So for now we focus on getting more information" Sambal replied. "I need to remind you not to let your insatiable curiosity take over...I know fully well you haven't met the interesting beastmen before."
Lady Verina pouted after hearing that.
"Lord Holtimius, General do you wish to add something?"
"I am good" replied Lord Holtimius.
"Yeah me too. Be careful though and say that to Altia as well. No one questions your courage or your intelligence but always remember that these are beastmen. Practice caution. If you and Altia lose, not only your company but the entire Gurrow village might be put under risk. I will be sending the 3 companies with Emilius and Maltus there. They will leave sometime today, so expect them tomorrow" the General added.
"We will. Thank you for your concern General."
"We will make haste to reach there as soon as possible as well" Emilius and Maltus added.
"Alright that's all for today Verina. Same time tomorrow."
"Alright Sambal. Oh, a small request from me. Give Raka your special course. I am sure he can handle it." She smiled an evil smile.
'What exactly have I got myself into!!' Raka worried.
The conversation done, Sambal moved his hand on to the mirror. The water stopped shimmering and Lady Verina disappeared as the reflection of the people standing in front of it returned. The water made a glove on Sambal's hand again and he carried it back to the basin. Then he simply let the water drop in it.
Having done that, he turned to face Lord Holtimius and the General.
"We need someone to update Cassian of this as well. Will you send someone to him?" Lord Holtimius asked.
"Yes, I will send one of my assistants to him with a letter." Sambal replied.
Raka suddenly had a brainflash. 'This is a chance!'
"Um, sorry to interrupt but I could deliver the letter to Cassian, if it is alright?"
Sambal stared at him for a while.
"Well, we did have him sign the agreement after all, so it should be alright!" the General added. He finally conceded. "Alright I will let you deliver the letter. Make sure you deliver it to him and only him!"
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Deliver letter to Cassian
Sambal requests that you deliver a letter to Cassian containing details about this meeting and other things. The letter has been classified as a Secret and Official Secrets Agreement applies.
Difficulty: E
Reward: Intimacy increases with Sambal.
Obtain the letter and Cassian's location from Sambal.
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"I will" Raka replied.
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Quest has been accepted.
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"That's it for today gentlemen!"
After the others left, Raka was led outside as well while the room was locked.
"Please come to my office" Sambal said.
Raka nodded and followed Sambal to the 5th floor which was bigger and had more rooms. Sambal unlocked one of the rooms and invited Raka inside.
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The room was full of shelves and shelves of books and papers of all kinds. And a large desk also full of papers but also some quills and some other things Raka did not recognize. But unlike Lady Verina's office, it was kept organized and tidy. Raka was impressed. The good thing about organization is not only to keep things clean and tidy, but to make sure you always find the thing you are looking for. Some people find organization in chaos, Raka was not one of them however.
Sambal took the chair behind the desk, motioning Raka to take one of the other chairs in the room.
"Ok...first of all I am sorry. I cannot accept Verina's request and train you in magic. Contrary to her understanding I just don't have any time. I hope you understand!"
Raka nodded looking disappointed.
"On the other hand, I will give you the next 2 hours. You may ask me any questions or learn any specific magic you may be interested in. I will try to teach you within my ability but most of it depends on how fast you learn."
"Thank you for that." Raka's mind quickly started whirling around with all the things he wanted to learn.
"Um..could you teach me how the agreement thing works?" Raka was really intrigued by it. He never thought writing local language and magic language together, works.
"Ah..the first thing you ask me is something I cannot disclose. The agreement is one of the most highly classified magics on the island."
Raka nodded. 'That makes sense'. After all it was called Secrets agreement. It wouldn't be any good if people simply knew how it worked. Raka thought a bit more about the magics he had seen. Reading in the magic library in Gurrow village, he had figured out a lot of magics and its workings. Actually doing them, involved practice which could be done anywhere. He should invest in something which could be useful in the future. Finally deciding, he asked.
"Could you teach me how you used the mirrors to communicate?"
Sambal looked at him for a while after this question. Raka thought maybe he had asked something classified again and Sambal was thinking on how to refuse politely.
"Alright I will teach you!" He finally said smiling.
Raka breathed a sigh of relief...'What was all that suspense for then!'
"It is just that most people would have picked up some different magic. Maybe something which helped you to fight or maybe which gave you advance warnings on approaching enemies. But this is strange, especially because you are one of Goddess's children."
"Why is it strange?" Raka asked perturbed.
"Well don't you guys already have a way to talk to others far away? I think its called a PM or something, whatever that is."
Raka was shocked. But then he remembered. Sambal was one of the few who believed in Lady Verina's words. 'Could it be...'
"Um do you also know about us?"
"Ofcourse! You don't live among us without us picking off a few things too. We are not stupid, you know!" Sambal retorted. "I was interested in the Goddess's children ever since they showed up. And I, who was the head of the magic institute could learn a lot more than kids who accidentally saw something, don't you think?"
'That actually makes a lot of sense.'
"Don't worry, its not like people believe in your secrets anyway. Although I expect people will soon realize that you guys are immortal. After all, so many Goddess's children from the village will soon be able to leave. They will fight and they will die. And then the people of the island will know!"
Sambal mirrored Raka's thoughts perfectly. He knew that this was not a secret that could be kept indefinitely. Wonder how the game system will act then. The entire point of having artificial intelligence is to give it the freedom to act based on what it thinks.
"So do you still want to learn communication magic?"
Raka thought for a bit about how much he could tell.
"Yes. You see, we can communicate only with the other Goddess's children using the PM method. Distance does not matter when using that. But if we want to communicate with the islanders or other people, we cannot use this method and have to actually talk to them face to face. Communication magic as I understand allows you to talk to anyone, us or the people of the world I believe."
"That is true. If you can learn our magic I assume it is possible that you can communicate like us as well."
After pondering for a bit more, Sambal said,
"Alright! I will try to teach you this magic. Whether you learn is something up to you, is that ok?"
"Yes please."
"In turn, can I request you to answer a few of my questions? Ofcourse only the ones you can answer! I am sure you people have your reasons for keeping your secrets. May be the Goddess forbade it or something."
'Uh oh...this could get weird!'
"Um I will try to answer but please understand if I do not answer a few."
"Hmm...ok I don't know what I should ask...there are so many things I want to know...." Sambal said excitedly.
"Do explain to me why do you guys die though? It doesn't make sense to die if you are immortal anyway, right? I first thought you were like a pheonix which is born from its own ashes but the phoenix is born a baby. But nothing of that sort happens with you guys...does it?"
"Um...its kinda like that. Its just that instead of being born new every time we die, we get weaker instead" Raka answered.
"Oh..but you can always regain your strength back can't you?"
"Yes, we can. But it is very difficult for us to gain strength in the first place. If we die a lot, regaining all of the lost strength would become almost impossible."
"Ah! so if a person dies a lot, he could be as weak as he was like when he was born, not knowing the language and what else?"
'Eh! I didn't think of that!' Raka was now seriously worried. His character window did not show the Ability to learn languages skill, so maybe it was a kind of a special skill. Maybe it won't be affected by death. Raka decided to check afterwards.
"I cannot be sure. You see we are discovering as much about ourselves as we are learning about the world."
"Hmm...well alright. I guess I have spent too much time satiating my own curiosity. I am sorry it has taken your time as well. Lets move on to the training area. And we will need two mirrors."
The training area was again in the basement and much larger. Though there was no secret door this time, just normal stairs which led down. Unlike the magic institute however, this training area was inhabited by other students, both young and older. They went around practicing magic and fighting. It was the first time Raka saw other people fight and he was highly interested in their methods. It seems a lot of the students were already quite learned. They could use both embedding and also free form magic attacks. A couple were even more advanced it seems. They were practicing jumping and landing on the walls and ceiling and sticking there. They looked like bats hanging upside down from the ceiling. Raka could not wait till he reached that level of magic.
Sambal and Raka headed to the side to avoid the others.
"Alright, first thing, what do you think of distance when doing magic?" asked Sambal.
Raka thought for a while.
"It becomes harder to do magic at a distance."
"And why is that?"
"Um...because you cannot perceive energy clearly at a distance."
"Ok, so is the energy at the distance different from the energy close to you?"
"No, all energy is the same after all."
"So, why can't you perceive energy clearly at a distance?"
"I don't know. I thought it was natural that you can't."
"It is natural, though in a different way than you understand." Sambal added cryptically.
"You see if energy is the same then perceiving it shouldn't matter ideally. If you cannot perceive you can simply imagine it and perform magic and it should work because it is the same energy. For example like this mirror here. Lets say I want to set fire to the mirror, only the wooden frame would burn, but I can do it. Why does it matter if the mirror is in front of me or the next continent? Shouldn't I be able to set fire regardless?"
"Um...if you say it that way it sounds feasible. Maybe its because it is difficult to transform stable energies like that of the mirror over distance? Maybe it would require more focus or something."
"In that case what is focus? Isn't it simply concentrating enough to transform energy! Does it have to do with the distance the energy is being transformed at?
"No. I think not."
Raka thought a little bit more, but he could not understand where Sambal was leading the conversation to.
"Isn't it the nature of magic which is stopping us from doing that?" Raka added.
"Yes. The nature is the problem...but not the nature of magic." Sambal smiled before he continued.
"You see nature limits us by our senses. The concept of distance is something which is defined by our senses. The things you see are near or far, the things you can feel like heat or cold are affected by distance. Same with hearing. Closer you hear things clearly, far away its difficult....etc. In all cases our senses and nature is defining distance."
Sambal stopped for a moment to let it sink in.
"Magic, however, does not have these rules. The transforming of energy a continent away has got nothing to do with and is the same as transforming energy a few metres away. But we still can't do it. Can you guess why?"
"Um...is that because of our perception of distance?"
"Exactly. The concept of distance is deeply ingrained in us by nature since we were born. We apply this sense of distance even when we do magic. We can try so that it may not affect us, but it is so deeply ingrained that it becomes impossible to not think about it subconsciously. Even in our imagination, it becomes difficult to not think of it. We are the limits to magic!"
Raka could understand but he knew he will never fully understand it without giving it a lot of thought. It made sense though when he thought about it a little. Sambal waited for a while this time, watching Raka process all this complicated talk.
"So if by some means we are able to imagine that there is no distance, long range magic become possible. Which brings me to the concept of Bonding. Bonding allows us to connect two objects in such a way that hese objects could be considered as one. So even when we take these objects far away, we can still imagine them to be the same object and apply magic as usual. Communication magic as we call it, is just a simple application of Bonding applied on two mirrors. So lets begin with that."
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Skill Bonding: You can now learn how to bond two objects. Bonding allows magic to link two objects in such a way that affecting one affects the other. Sambal offers to teach you the skill.
Requirements: Apply magic to create bonded objects.
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"Have you learned how to embed energy into objects?"
Raka nodded.
"It is the same principle. Imagine that you are embedding energy in two objects at once. In this case the two mirrors."
Raka did as he was told. It turned out easier than he expected. Not being able to perceive different objects became his advantage as he held the two mirrors together and could easily imagine them as one. He embedded energy into the mirrors.
"Very good. These two mirrors are now bonded. To make things simpler, here give me a mirror!" Then Sambal took out a pen and started writing on the mirror. Lo and behold the same text appeared in the mirror Raka was holding.
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You have learned the skill Bonding.
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"Wow"
Sambal smiled, "Wow indeed! Now you can pass on messages. The second step that is actually being able to look at the other person, is a little difficult. For one thing, you need an element like water which is malleable. When you imagine the face of the other person or the location, the water will change to reflect that. To make it work as connected however, someone will have to apply the same magic on the other end, except they will imagine your face or location."
Raka thought it was like making a video call except water acted as the client, like skype. Practically it was more like the bonding created a connection through which you can chat, and then water made the video possible. Or atleast that's how he understood it.
Raka opened one of his canteens and poured some water over the mirror, while trying to imagine Sambal's face. Nothing happened!
"Transform the energy into the water element! What are you doing pouring water over the mirror, you idiot!!"
Well that would make sense but Raka had still not been able to use the water element yet.
"I am sorry, I still have not been able to use water magic yet."
Sambal stared for a full minute.....then shook his head!
"So lets start with transforming energy to water first, shall we." Sambal retorted!
A couple of hours later, Raka was still not able to use water magic.
"Well that's all the time I can give today. You know the basics already, so now you just have to practice on your own. Once you pick up water magic, try communication as well. You can come and use the training area. Well anyways, deliver the letter first" saying which Sambal headed to the office and wrote the letter, while Raka waited outside. The letter done and sealed, Raka obtained the location of Cassian's residence and then he was off.
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Cassian's residence was located in a quiet part of town. It was near the wall amongst a cluster of nondescript houses towards the gate on the other side of the city. There was no sign on the gate as if the person living here did not want to be found out. Having precise instructions helped, otherwise Raka was sure he would never have found it.
He entered the gate which lead to a small yard, which had been surrendered to the weeds. He knocked on the door. Silence. Was the guy even in? Maybe he was out! Raka knocked again.
Then a voice came out.
"Who is it?"
"I am Raka, sir!"
"What's your business here? If you are selling, I am not interested. If you are buying, I am not selling. If you are lost, I don't know the way so get lost!"
"Sambal sent me for Cassian, sir!"
......No reply!
Then he heard the locks open. 'Wow this guy has too many locks on the door' as Raka heard lots of clicking and whirring sounds. The door opened and a young man faced him. Raka was a little taken aback. 'This couldn't be Cassian, the friend of Neona's father. He is too young.'
The young man invited him inside and asked to follow him upstairs. Some creaking steps later they arrived into a hallway with a few rooms. The young man headed into one of them and Raka followed to find an old person lying on the bed. Light from the windows illuminated his face and he could see the several wrinkles formed on it. Looking closely, the guy did not seem as old as he looked. Maybe because of the sickness, he seemed older than he was.
The young man approached the older man and in quiet voices said something. The old guy, woke up from his sleep and blinked his eyes to gather his bearings. Then the young man helped the older one to sit up.
"Hi, I am sorry but Cassian is not in a situation to move a lot. Could you come closer so that you can hear what he speaks" the young man said.
'So the older guy is Cassian' Raka thought as he moved closer and took a chair next to the bed.
"Hello, I am Raka. Sambal, the Advisor for magic, sent me with a letter addressed to you" saying which Raka handed out the letter to Cassian. Cassian's hands shook a little as he held the letter.
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Deliver letter to Cassian complete.
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Cassian slowly moved his hands to break the seal and then he read the letter. Finishing it he nodded and then started whispering to the young guy.
"Thank you" Cassian said after a bit. At that the young man stood up as if to guide Raka out of the house.
"Um...could I ask you something? Do you know Neona of Gurrow village?"
The old guy raised his hand to stop the young man.
"Yes. Why do you ask and how do you know her?
'Bingo
"Actually I am one of her friends from Gurrow village. She was worried about you so she asked me to check up on you!" Raka replied.
"Is that so? I am sorry she never mentioned you in any of her letters."
"That is because we became friends recently. As you see I am one of the Goddess's children and we appeared just a few months ago."
Cassian nodded.
"Also she gave me this ring, to prove I know her..' saying which Raka brought out Neona's ring. He had still not been able to identify it.
Cassian gingerly took the ring in his fingers. He turned it around and around with a look which said he was remembering things of long ago.
"Yes this is Neona's ring. It brings back memories. It was her father's originally. He had proposed to her mother with this ring. I remember it like it was yesterday...." and Cassian went quiet again as he delved into his memories.
"Ah but that can wait. You are a guest and I haven't even offered you water! Please excuse my rudeness" the young man said breaking the quiet.
"Its ok. I wouldn't refuse a drink but please call me Raka. I am no sir!" Raka replied.
"Ah! If that pleases you. Raka, nice to meet you. My name is Taum. I am Cassian's assistant."
"Nice to meet you too. Um if I may ask, what exactly do you guys do?"
Taum seemed shocked by Raka's words.
"You mean you don't know? Why did Sambal send you then? Didn't you sign the secrets agreement?"
"Um maybe because I asked for it, because of Neona. Also I just signed it today so I wouldn't know a lot of things now would I! Ofcourse you don't have to tell me if it is secret."
Taum seemed even more shocked hearing that. But,
"No, its not much of a secret though not many people know about it. You see Sir Cassian is the spymaster or head of the Frumentarii(*google it) better known as the intelligence corps of Nation of Ilmentia. And I am his assistant."
It was Raka's turn to be shocked now. There was a spy agency in this world....that was kinda cool.
"Can I join?" Raka said in an excited voice before he could think things through. Taum simply smiled while he heard laughter coming from Cassian. It seemed he had come out of his reminiscing at just the appropriate time.
"It is not as exciting as you think!" Taum replied.
"So you want to be a spy eh! Well I daresay you have the required courage what with being able survive the beastmen" Cassian spoke as he returned the ring.
"But you are still too young and too inexperienced in the ways of this world. Travel the world, experience life, make some friends, earn some trust. And then maybe if you are still interested, you can apply for the corps!" Cassian said, still chuckling.
Raka made a face.
"I see how you became friends with Neona" Cassian laughed a little more. "Say, wouldn't you drop down here and chat with me more. Have some tea at my house. I would like to hear more about Neona as well. Being a spy has its disadvantages, you never find open hearted people around! I will make it worth your while to spend time with an old man." Cassian said winking.
Raka liked this old man. He did not know why but he felt a sense of familiarity like he had met his grandfather.
"Yes I will come. I cannot come daily though. Also could you tell me how I can send word to Neona. I promised to tell her about you after all."
"Do you know communication magic?" Taum asked.
"No I actually haven't learned it yet."
"Then you need to head down to the pigeonhole. You can buy a pigeon to carry your message. It is just inside the palace gates. Just ask there and they will point it out."
"Ah...but I was thinking of heading down to Gurrow and speak to her myself."
"You can't do that. Haven't you heard? They have closed the road between Thelmova and Gurrow.
"Ah I didn't know. Is it because of the beastmen incident?"
"Yes. And it is having quite an effect on Gurrow as well. It is a hunting village with no farming, and most of the things are carried over from Thelmova. But now with the road closed and the threat of beastmen, there is a distinct danger of running out of food and other necessary things, if this issue is not resolved before long."
"Oh! Is there some way I can help?"
"Oh don't worry about it. We have enough forces to deal with an incursion of this level. Your help is not required this time" Taum answered.
"Alright, now I should go."
"Yeah come back another time. Its been a while since I have seen Cassian laugh." And Taum led him out the door.
Raka headed down to the docks for another few hours of Salmonization or Salmonification or whatever you could call spending time with Salmon. And then he logged out.
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Swamy woke up in the morning to get ready for class. As was his routine he opened his laptop to do a quick check of the Long Island forums for anything interesting. This topic immediately caught his attention. It had become the most popular for a reason.
"Event Quest: Help the village
We, in the Gurrow village, have just received our first event quest called Help the village. It has two parts, one for people who have reached the age of 14 and can leave the village and the other for everyone else.
The ones who can get out have got the quest to help capture the beastmen and they are going to join the guard led by Lady Altia and will be heading out.
The ones left behind have got another quest to help protect the village while the guards are away.
The difficulty is D+ for the event quest and the rewards are contribution towards the village. We are all very excited. So long have we felt regret of not starting in Dalmund but this makes up for it!!"
"Holy shit...that's awesome!"
"Yeah wish I was there!"
"Details, post some details!"
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Swamy just made a face. 'What was the phrase that went....you win some...you lose some...'
Lunch and he got to listen to all the details of the supposed event quest from Manish and Himali who had turned Age 14 and had got the quest to capture the beastmen!
"We got armor and weapons from the guards. By the way Manish graduated battle school so he got armor with options. The guard given ones don't have the options but the defense is higher. I still haven't learned magic though" Himali said.
"But you got the strength stat even in the magic institute right!" Manish added.
"Yeah that was really strange. Hitting dummies even in the magic institute gives you some stats, I never thought it would give me the strength stat or even the agility stat! Though it did take me a really really long time...I am happy!" Himali said.
"Yeah I got that too...apparently hitting dummies for a really really long time is enough for the strength stat. But how do you get agility. I still haven't got it yet though I got the magic skill just yesterday. Its really fun learning to do magic...but girl..it hurts like hell if you fail!" Sneha said excitedly.
"Yep, I got the strength stat too and I think my instructor is impressed enough that I can now graduate soon. I have been Age 12 for a while now and I am so eager to go out. Was just waiting for the strength stat and lo and behold! I got it" Rajan said.
"Um Himali, your agility stat, you simply got it from hitting dummies?" asked Swamy with a rare question.
"Ah Swamy you started in Gurrow too right. I almost forgot about it. You know you can come find us if you need help" Himali replied, and it was assumed that Swamy needed help.
"Ah yeah..I will ...thanks for the offer! But the agility stat?"
"Yes I am not sure how I got the agility stat really. I was just busy in my head with the thing at my dance school and I was pretty much thinking about it when I was hitting the dummies. I think I might have danced a bit or something I was so involved....." Himali answered giggling. "Anyways somehow I got the agility stat."
"I should try dancing like you did. Maybe I will get the stat as well. My club moves ain't that bad you know!" Rajan said.
"Haha....yeah I have seen that! I agree..it is just not bad!" Sneha added.
"Anyways I can't wait to see what happens in the event quest you guys have. Its like D+ so you guys must get a lot of contribution if you succeed. Not to mention you get to step outside."
"Yeah also I wanna look at the beastmen! They could be the second race in the game. Maybe the quest will unlock it!"
"Wonder what kind of abilities they have....
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And the talk went on about how excited they were and what else they will do, etc.
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The next time Raka logged in, he headed towards the pigeonhole. The palace was huge and grand. It shone in the sun as if it were made of gems. 'It just might be!'
He reached the gates and found it guarded.
"Halt! State your business?"
"I have come to use the pigeonhole."
"Use the small gate over there, turn right immediately."
Raka entered and found a building full of pigeons. All kinds of pigeons. All colors of pigeons?! 'Wait, could you have so many colors of pigeon!'
Raka moved in to the huge reception area having several counters and manned by as many people. The pigeonhole was packed with people sending mail. There was a huge board with prices written on it.
Grey pigeon - 15 coppers, Pink pigeon - 30 coppers, Blue pigeon - 45 coppers....
The grey pigeon which looked like the one in the real world was the cheapest. He approached a counter and asked about the details.
"Grey pigeon, max distance 10 leagues, max weight 1 stone, chance of getting lost 50% speed 3 leagues a day, Pink pigeon, max distance 15 leagues, max weight 1 stone, chance of getting lost 40%, speed 4 leagues a day, Blue pigeon max distance 10 leagues, max weight 2 stones, chance of getting lost 30%, speed 4 leagues a day".......so on and so forth!
The costliest bird was the gold pigeon aptly named as it cost 10 gold, max distance 15 leagues, chance of getting lost 0%, max weight 4 stones, speed 5 leagues a day.
Raka paid 5 silvers for a silver pigeon, max distance 10 leagues, max weight 1 stone, chance of getting lost 10%, speed 4 leagues a day. He hoped the odds were good enough. He rolled his letter and put it in a container tied to its leg. Looking at the container it seemed too big for the bird. But it lifted off efficiently and went heading towards Gurrow.
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Check up on Cassian complete.
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And then he went to the docks. He still did not learn the woodworking skill today. But thankfully Salmon was too busy to shout much. After he was done he headed to the training area in the Magic Academy to try and get the water magic working. He also practiced Bonding. He very soon found out that Bonding is also based on imagination. If you cannot imagine the things you are bonding to be one and the same, it won't work.
And then he headed to Cassian's home for tea.
Taum opened the door and led him to Cassian and then excused himself by saying that he had to run an errand. With Cassian in the house, Raka offered to make the tea. He soon found the kitchen and the ingredients in one of the cupboards. Making the tea he brought them upstairs to Cassian.
They sat there sipping tea for a while in soothing silence.
"So tell me, how did you meet Neona?" asked Cassian.
"I found Neona when I went to beg food from her. She was kind and gave me food many times after that. And then when I started talking to her...I found her to be a really friendly person. Well that's how we became friends anyway."
"Oh.....
.....
.....
And the talk went on about this and that. There is just something about a spy. He is very good at getting information out of people. Raka realized it later, but he talked about a lot....and the old guy about very little.
Mostly Cassian listened and smiled and laughed and seemed interested, while Raka spoke about his experiences. About Altia, Verina, Neona, Salmon...about his attempts to learn communication magic and other miscellaneous stuff. He did appreciate Raka's conundrums about women though, giving gory and rosy details about the women in his life while Raka listened with both ears and eyes wide open.
It happened when he was about to go.
"Alright so I should go for today. I will come again." And Raka stood up to leave.
"Why don't you spend a few more minutes. You have brought joy to an old man's dying moments."
"I have been meaning to ask you but Neona said you were recovering. You don't seem to be recovering?"
"Ah...there is not much I can tell you, but I was poisoned. Its a poison with no antidote so eventually I will die. The healers in the palace can atleast delay the effects. That is why you see me sitting here and talking to you. It was far worse before but one of the healers got lucky in his treatment. Giving me some more time."
Raka was sad.
"Neona is like my own daughter now. But I have not been very good at taking care of her. Its just a letter or two every month between jobs which connects me to her. I always eagerly wait for her letter, if you can believe me. It is the shine of innocence and honesty in the darkness of lies and treachery of our world. Which is also why I do not wish to dampen her light with my sad news. I was really ill before, but I got a bit better. I knew she would try to find out through other sources so I had Taum keep an eye on her for a while.
I found the merchant she asked and let Taum give some information about me. I was planning to do the same with you!"
Raka did not know what to say.
"I changed my mind however, after I met you. Friends are what you need in life. They carry you over tragedy and accompany you in happiness. Neona, despite being friendly does not have true friends in her life. I hope you will help her get over me, when I pass away!"
Raka felt sad but nodded.
"Do not be sad. It is the nature of life to begin and end. But it does allow us to have fun in between. Which reminds me, I did say I will make it worth it, didn't I?" Cassian said smiling.
"Bring the mirror, its in the room on the right...." he said.
Raka did as he was told and brought the mirror.
"Place it on the wall, you see that unused nail there..." Raka did as he was told.
"Bring me some water will you..." When Raka brought him a glass of water, Cassian took the water and threw it on the mirror.
"You said you have been learning communication magic. Well then you know you don't need physical contact to do magic. And you will probably appreciate this" he said winking again.
He waved his hand. The water shimmered like before and slowly a scene came up. Blurry, though Raka could tell it was indoors somewhere. Raka watched as the blurry scene cleared up just a little. Oh there was a tub so it was somebody's bath. Then there was movement and a blurry shadow appeared slowly heading down to the tub. The curves and the figure....that definitely was a woman...entering the tub. Splish splash the water made sounds at the touch.
Raka quickly turned to look at Cassian, mouth open in shock, unable to speak. He made a sound which sounded very much like a whimper and Cassian simply smiled putting a finger on his lips asking to not make a sound. Raka turned back to the mirror and his eyes were round like goggles. Thinking can be done later....what his head was being used for was imagining the sight happening before his eyes, filling in the blanks.
Cassian waved his hands again and the picture disappeared. Raka still stared at the mirror with his eyes wide open, before he shook himself awake.
"Wha.....How....EH!" summed up everything he had to say...or could say for that matter!
"You liked that eh. I thought you would like it. This is an original magic I made after years of experimenting. It is a variation of communication magic, where you do not require the other side" Cassian explained. "Well it made perfect use for spying on someone. Ofcourse for a man like you, it could have more purposes than just one. Oh, by the way I sent a mirror to Neona, you know to check up on her once in a while. I did write to put up the mirror in the living room but she put it up in the bath for some reason!"
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"Eh....eeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhh!!"
"Well do you want to learn this...? Ofcourse if it conflicts with your morality and you refuse, I will understand. And its a official secret as well. Just a handful know about it and so far I know, only I can perform it successfully. Ofcourse I am just talking about Ilmentia. You may find similar magics abroad. So are you interested?"
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Skill Peek (secret skill): You can now learn to use Bonding in a different way to allow variation on the connection between objects. It is an original magic developed by Cassian so only he can teach it. Cassian names the magic Peek. Cassian offers to teach you the skill.
Requirements: Perform Peek without help from Cassian.
The skill is classified as a Secret and the Official Secrets Agreement applies. Teaching the skill to others is not allowed.
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'This ****ing perverted old man ..............is a genius!'
"Yes I am!" Raka said with a broad toothy grin.
"Just one thing though....do not tell Taum! He does not know about this."
Raka nodded in agreement. He intended to keep it a secret from everyone!