Chapter 37 - Welcome to Neftasu / Chapter 38 - Taxes / Cultist Access (Patreon)

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Chapter 37 - Welcome to Neftasu

Their baskets of Moss were taken and set aside under the eye of another guard while their escort led them through one of the smaller doors. There was another entryway they had to pass through and then a short but maze-like path through the stone walls. The shiny metal exterior had led Elania to believe the interior would have been the same, but it was closer to the stonework of the ruins she’d seen or the cultist dungeon. She was excited to see the crystal lights that replaced the torches, though, and it was more evidence like she had seen in the Waystation that the world wasn’t entirely a medieval as she had thought.

For one thing, there were a lot of metaled decorations despite the structure being stonework. The walls were periodically reinforced with beams with metal bandings, and the crystals were held in metal sconces. Although the metal did look like it could use a good dusting, it didn’t show any wear or rust.

There was a [System], so why not Arcanepunk too? What she had seen wasn’t quite the level that she remembered in Skyrim’s ruins or on an Eberron Campaign, but she wasn’t going to be picky if it meant things like showers. The next turn ended in a smaller room with a less armored guard sitting at a desk.

The man--- No, the officer--- didn’t look up at them as they entered, instead focusing on some paper report in his hands. Elania took in the naval blue of his beret styled hat and uniform. It looked almost like something she would have expected from a world war one museum. The way the cloth and buttons were styled suggested that the Guard was more polished than she had thought from her encounter at the Waystation.

Her eyes homed in on one thing, though.

‘Paper!’

Her exciting discovery was interrupted by their escort’s announcement.

“Lieutenant Gaston! Six for additional screening.”

“Separate them.”

“Sir, one is a Demon.”

That had Gaston’s attention as he carefully set the paper down and looked at the group for the first time. She noticed he had a narrow face, but then his eyes inevitably fell on her, and she shrunk a little from his quiet yet intense gaze.

It felt like he was examining her forever before he spoke.

“Which one of you is the Demon’s master?”

When no one answered, he frowned, a flash of annoyance crossing his face.

“The Mercenary Guild I’d expect to be lazy about protocol, but the Conclave? Tssk.”

“She’s…” Tanyan clipped off and was silent as Taniel put a hand on his shoulder.

“Separate them. I’ll talk to them each individually.”

The plate armored guard saluted, then turned to them and grinned, “You heard’em. Move.”

Elania didn't like the idea of being separated from the others, but she was following their lead, and they complied without further argument. It really did feel like going through airport security at Pittsburgh International, although she'd never actually received additional screening there. She had read and heard about racial profiling, though, and her being a demon seemed to be the trigger for them being held.

Through the next door, there was a long hallway lined with stout looking doors on one side. Two other guards were standing at the end of the hall, guarding another entrance that she assumed led deeper into the fortification. This was their stop, though.

Marcus was first, then the novices, then Taniel and Tanyan. Being last, she expected some harassment, but the guard remained professional and shut the door behind her as soon as she stepped through.

Without any other entry or exit, the room was nondescript and lit by a single set of light crystals. A table with two chairs were placed in the center.

'Great, I'm in a detective novel now. Is this world made up of nothing but fucking literary devices?'

She took a seat and sat down in the one that placed her back to the wall and not the entrance. That was a habit of hers she had picked up even back home. She hated having the majority of any crowd to her back, especially in restaurants and the like, and would always claim the seat with the best observation potential if she had the chance.

'Now it's a waiting game.'

After a few minutes, she decided to take a nap, put her head on her forearms, and block everything out. She didn't quite make it to a nap state when the door finally opened. Looking up, it was the Lieutenant.

"Hi, Lieutenant."

"Who is your master?"

He frowned when she didn't answer, and didn't enter the room; instead, he left the door open and leaned back against the wall. She thought that was a bit strange, but then she realized he was likely wary of her. Well, that was smarter than others had been, had the others told him about the innkeeper?

"We will leave that then. Do you plan on going on a rampage inside the city?"

"No."

"Are you afflicted by any contagious diseases magical or non-magical in nature?"

'Thank god I didn't get the Fenicia on me.' She shook her head, "No."

"Are you in possession of any dangerous artifacts, objects of mass destruction, or items that might cause undue damage to people or property?"

"I don't have anything like that."

"Do you plan to harm any inhabitant of the city?"

She started to answer the standard 'No' again but stopped herself, "Only if they try to harm me first."

The first crack in the Lieutenant's business-like demeanor appeared as a slight smile, "I'll put that down as 'No' as anything else means being refused entry."

He stepped forward and pulled back the chair to sit down across from her, "Who is your master?"

Elania licked her lips and stayed quiet, still trying to think of a decent answer. Maybe she should just tell him the truth, but she wasn't sure that would be safe, even if he represented whatever passed as the police for the city.

He didn't seem angry at her refusal to answer, though, and he moved on to the next question, "What’s your purpose in Neftasu?”

“Are all these questions really necessary?”

“You tell me.”

Elania decided to be honest,

“I plan on selling some loot, a Monster Core I picked up from an Alpha Ralfot. Then I plan to upgrade my equipment, and then hopefully do some mercenary work while keeping my head down.”

He didn’t have a notepad; shouldn’t he have a notepad? Maybe not; he looked more like a World War One officer rather than an L. A. Noire detective.

“That is very interesting, Elania.”

“Very well, I don’t see any reason to hold you, but I will caution you to keep your head down.”

Elania wasn’t sure what part of that was interesting to him; she felt a bit of elation when she realized she would be let go without any further issue.

---

Elania fingered the small steel badge she had been given and breathed a sigh of relief as they filed out of Lieutenant Gaston’s office. She was told to keep it on her, as a token that she’d passed ‘inspection’ and had been permitted to traverse the barrier. That made her feel like livestock, but she was happy to be let through. The exit led them into an arched tunnel that she figured was on the other side of the metal gate. It reminded her of a hatch from Fallout, except it was square and in the shape of medieval doors. She realized maybe it wasn’t exactly the same after all. The walls were lit with torches rather than the crystals; as she looked further down the tunnel, she noticed there was some type of shimmering barrier.

“Like that do ye? Is the reason we hafta’ listen to those Guard bastards, the city barrier can only be unlocked and traversed at the Checkpoints,” Marcus said to her.

“Is it like the one at the Waypost Inn?”

“Aye, tis like that. There are three o’ them. The first is the lightest and supposed to keep the smaller bad things out, ‘s well as diseases en’ the like.”

At least it wasn’t going to spray them with some kind of decontamination mist or quarantine for a few weeks. Although it did make her wonder just how many infectious things were lurking around in the world.

The Guard escorting them stopped in front of the barrier and turned toward them, “Keep going through. When you get to the inner barrier, make sure to have your tokens ready.”

Elania’s hand squeezed the badge in her hand a little tighter, glad she hadn’t already stuffed it away in her backpack. The small oval-shaped piece of metal wasn’t really going to protect her, but it was a little comfort that it would be the key to letting her get into the city. A slight smile erupted on her face as she thought Lieutenant Gatson was not all that bad, even if she had not enjoyed the light questioning or being held.

Stepping through the shimmering barrier was almost anti-climatic, as it felt like stepping through a sheet of thin plastic for a second before the sensation disappeared.

The distinct smell of ozone hit her, but the other side of the barrier was a long tunnel, seemingly the same as the one they had just gone through. She noticed that a few of the crystal lights were dimmer than others, and one was even flickering.

‘Would fit right in beside an old subway. Although it is hardly creepy since I’m not alone.’

The trip through the corridor was made in silence, and they were to the door on the other side in a few minutes. Marcus went through first, and she noticed the others pulling out their little symbols. She got hers ready as well and then moved through the door last.

The room was square, and the ceiling shot up to tower well above them with tons of empty and unused space throughout. There weren’t any of the crystal lights because there wasn’t any need for them. A massive shimmering yellow wall of light neatly severed the room in half, and it was just a haze that could be seen on the other side. Whatever it was, it was magical for sure and the source of the ozone smell. Someone had been ahead of them, and she watched as they hurled themselves into it and then disappeared into a hazy cloud on the other side.

A guard was waiting and inspected their passes, then explained.

“Don’t take too long in the barrier. You’ll want to jump through it in one go.”

“Ye know we’ve all went through it before ta get out of the city ‘afor, rookie?”

Elania bristled and wanted to yell at him that she hadn’t been through it before and that she’d like a more detailed explanation. Marcus had already started hurrying toward the barrier when Tanyan spoke up.

“Elania is a demon. She can’t just walk through it.”

The guard looked at them blankly like he didn’t understand when a more senior guard showed up. It didn’t take long before he was chewing out the guard that had greeted them.

“You trying to fry someone crossing over, recruit? It was explained what to do in the case of non-human races.”

“I didn’t realize she wasn’t human, sir.”

“You mean you didn’t even [Identify] them, then? That’s the first thing you do for everyone.”

“Sorry, sir.”

“Go get the barrier device while I consider your punishment.”

The man in charge turned to look at her and frowned but didn’t say anything or apologize for what she assumed would have been cooked-Elania meat.

“Thank you, Tanyan,” she said.

He looked at her and nodded, but she realized he had been obligated to protect her by the contract. She wanted to think that he would have done so without it, but now she wasn’t sure if that was true or not. Maybe they would have been happy to have the little demon following along with them to sizzle.

She shook her head and pushed away from the thought. That wasn’t fair, as Tanyan had been the only one of them who had been friendly toward her, although she had realized he wasn’t someone she could rely on.

A rattling sound drew her attention, and her eyes widened as she realized what was approaching. It was a metal doorway on trolley wheels, and it made a loud racket as it rolled over the uneven paved stone.

Chapter 38 - Taxes

The doorframe trolley cart looked a bit ridiculous, but the guard rolled it right up to the barrier.

“Listen girl, I’ll only explain this once. Once the hole’s in place, you go on through and don’t dawdle. Protocol says more than thirty seconds is a violation, but if ye take more than half that I’ll yank it out and fry your ass.”

“Ok.”

Everyone was watching the noisy cart, but they appeared a bit uninterested. Considering that they had a ‘protocol’ in place, it stood to reason that others like her came through the barrier from time to time as well.

The rest of the party had hesitated, and Elania realized that the possibility of going through with her might have slowed them. The officer must have come to the same realization as he waved them on, “No doorway for the rest of you, go on.”

Tanyan was the last to go through, looking back at her briefly before hurrying through the shimmering light. The whole ordeal of going through the checkpoints was starting to make Elania feel impatient. She just wanted to get to the city, now, and all the barriers and delays were getting in the way.

The officer walked her up to the spot she presumed was the opening point, and the guard rolling the trolley looked at him for confirmation. “Don’t dawdle.”

The reminder seemed unnecessary to her, and she nodded her acceptance, but when that didn’t seem enough, she confirmed, “I won’t.”

Come to think of it, was nodding even a universal gesture? Tanyan had her rotate her head left and right, and she hadn’t thought of it at the time, but wouldn’t up and down have been easier?

A hand pressed into her back and she realized the doorway was in place. She could clearly see the group looking back at her waiting for her to cross.

She almost jumped through. The barrier wasn’t that thick she realized, only six or eight inches wide, but whatever magic that powered it must have been incredible since it seemed to cover a massive area. Not that she had very many things to compare the size and scope of the magic with, other than her own abilities she barely understood.

“Thought ya’ had decided to stay on the otherside.” Marcus commented.

“No, just contemplating the details on the barrier thing.”

“It’s powered by the city’s celestial-engine, so it is a bit impressive.”

Celestial-engines, alright. Divine-magic-tech? Would she be dealing with theotechnicans now? Honestly, everything was so thrown together, Elania thought she might have been able to do better world-building than whoever came up with this mess.

Her curiosity had burnt itself out and a weary, “Ok,” escaped her lips. Selling the monster-core and finding a place to rest and stay at for a while seemed to jump out at her as a huge priority.

The last barrier seemed almost anti-climatic as it seemed to just be a metal wall and door, with a few guards near it. What set it apart was there was a building beside it, with a shop counter. A poorly painted sign stood askew above it that simply read, “Taxes.”

Elania frowned right away. She didn’t actually have any money to pay anything yet.

It turned out money wasn’t the ‘tax’ being sought, though.

An older man appeared from inside, with a glowing orb. His movements were jerky, and Elania swore that he make a creak just by moving. His voice carried clearly, though, and his eyes moved purposefully between each one of them.

“Ey, you lot not paying in coin ar ye?”

“Mana.”

“O’ course. No one pays in coin anymore, not after the Immortals raised the price.”

Marcus set his hand down on the orb, and for a brief second, a dim light appeared in the crystal then died. Taniel repeated the gesture without a word, and finally, Tanyan. The Holy Monk’s donation seemed to cause a bit more of a reaction in the sphere, but it was still faint. The gesture from the novices was barely able to be seen.

Then it was her turn. Well, it didn’t look so hard, so Elania was confident when she placed her hand on it. The crystal was cold to the touch, and at first, nothing happened.

Then the deluge of system messages appeared.

[Manager tag-detected.]

[Management interface enabled.]

[Core drain status: Enabled, 5%]

[Core capacity: 433/799]

[Please select an option.]

[Core transfer.]

[Standard interface.]

[Unlink.]

It was a lot, and by the time she read it all, she realized the others were frowning at the non-reaction. She realized it wasn’t the same for her for whatever reason, and she wondered if it was the first bit about being a ‘Manager.’

Elania didn’t know what any of the options did, and wanting to avoid any more scrutiny, she quickly accepted the [Standard interface] one. The box disappeared and was replaced with a new one, the orb lighting up much more strongly than for even Tanyan.

[Core Link, 5% Power tax.]

She could feel the sudden surge, and then the message box disappeared as it glowed, noticeably brighter than before, but quickly turning back to its normal color. She noted that her power had dropped down about 5% give or take, which put her just under her new maximum.

The old man seemed surprised, but the monks and Marcus looked like they had expected something like this and were bored. Well, she had given them a graphic demonstration of her Power capacity.

Without any more fanfare, the old taxman was satisfied, and he waved to the guards. The smaller door in the gate opened and they filed through.

Elania couldn’t help but think whoever had designed the multiple layers of the city’s defenses seemed to have been paranoid. What kind of things were they planning to keep out? There had been mention of diseases and the like, but she has a chilling thought that maybe the barriers were to keep people in.

She didn’t think anyone was going to manage to forcefully make it out through all the things they’d just went through.

As they crossed over the threshold, one of the guards uttered a bored welcome, “Welcome to Neftasu.”

It was almost anti-climatic as she took in the nondescript tunnel on the other side of the gate. It was just another tunnel like all the others they’d been through. It was sloped downwards annoyingly, and she had to watch her step. It was quite a ways down to the first flat spot, which then turned at a 90-degree angle.

“I thought there was supposed to be a city,” Elania complained.

“Just wait, the view is up ahead,” Tanyan answered.

It was a faint sound that reached her first that told her something was changing. She couldn’t quite place what it was, but she could tell the air had a slightly crisper feel as if the temperature had dropped and it was slightly more humid.

Reaching the turn, Elania suddenly understood what he meant by ‘the view.’

The downward slope turned into a long set of stairs that would have violated every safety requirement about staircase length ever made as it plummeted hundreds of steps down without a break. The ceiling didn’t follow them, instead of carving itself upward into what would have been a massive dark expanse above, except for the hundreds of massive chains that were bolted into the rocky ceiling. Each length had hundreds, if not thousands, of light crystals of varying sizes hanging below them.

It lit up the entire spectacle of the city, which was still miles away. A massive lake covered the closer side of the cavern to them, and a gigantic waterfall that would have challenged Niagara falls plummeted into a black abyss that disappeared into a black mist that even her [Darkvision] didn’t penetrate.

But it was the lights from the city that drew her attention the most. The light crystals were built into the structure of everything, and the myriad display showed that even if it was a city buried deep underground, it had taken the ‘city of lights’ to a whole new level.

The massive scale of everything threw Elania off. She realized that the city still had a huge wall, two or three stories high, built around it, but at some point, the population had expanded out of that confine and throughout the entire cavern. Massive towers jutted out from the chaotic sprawl, with spiraling works of unbroken crystal dancing up their structure. They were all topped with lighted beacons, and she realized that all the towers were connected to a central structure in the city center by wires.

‘Really long power poles?’

That was the first thought that came to mind, but that seemed silly to her.

“Are you coming?”

Elania looked down at Tanyan, who had paused to look back at her, the awed expression on her face prompting a bit more, “We’ve seen it all our lives, so I guess it has lost its effect. This is definitely the best view any of the checkpoints have though.”

She just found herself nodding. Topping the sight would be a major challenge.

---

She’d been lied to. They had spent hours climbing down the cliff-like path down to the floor of the cavern and then winding their way around to reach the city. There hadn’t been any more checkpoints, and the press of humanity had slowly become more apparent as the ‘road’ they were on became more cluttered with people.

That was something she had to get used to, as the weeks being nearly alone has ill-prepared her for the sudden noise and press of people even if the waystation had been a small inkling of what was about to come.

But for all of that… getting through the checkpoint had not meant they’d arrived in the city. Thus the lie.

The buildings alongside the main road they were on all had the same run-down appearance. They were made of solid stone, though, and she supposed that the area was not prone to earthquakes, or half of them would have collapsed by now. Despite their appearance, she noticed the people didn’t seem to be in too sorry a state, with few beggars or others in sight.

The reason for that soon become evident when she noticed two guards ganging up on a haggard-looking man. He looked the part, anyway, and when he tried to escape, the guards had beat him and lifted him up and dragged him away between them.

“What did he do?”

“Not our concern. Don’t ya go poking yer nose in things, girl, if ye plan to stay here.”

Marcus’ non-explanation made her feel bad, but she decided he was right. Whatever the man had done, she needed to add other people’s trouble to her own. She already had enough problems.

They were heading up into the ‘Old City’ within the walls. It was there that the main markets and the Conclave was housed, along with the other important quarters of the city. The sprawl outside the wall was mostly housing with smaller markets geared for domestic use. One thing was made clear to her, she needed to find an artificer if she was going to sell her Monster Core, and they were mostly in the Artisan district inside the walls.