02-04-2018, 04:44 PM
“... and we would be looking like sun-dried raisins under all those coatings”, Fiara finished the sentence she'd started mid-warp. A wave of cool air hit them in their faces as all four of them - Oki, Fiara, Urist and Amaterasu - entered the Frozen Fields through the Nexus Gate and stumbled straight into the cold climate. Fiara stopped the Nimbus cloud that they were riding to tug her hood over her head, and the others imitated her to guard against the snow and hail.
“I thought you were a Phoenix”, Amaterasu pointed out, grinning broadly. “Shouldn’t you be resistant to that kind of heat?”
“That’s not how it works… besides, things are weirdly different in these parts, my whole body functions in ways different than it did back at home.”
“Hold on”, said Oki. “Look at this just ahead. This wasn’t there when I first came to this place.”
“What do you mean?” asked Amaterasu. She followed the warrior’s pointing finger with her eyes, and… a settlement? It was dominated by a large snow building but there were a few smaller structures around it. Wooden poles, a sort of first line of defence… interesting. “It would seem that someone has set up here. I can’t remember seeing this before either. Urist, does this seem familiar to you?”
“Nay. Musta happened while ah was with ye guys… and tha’s not too long ago.”
“How long would it take to build something like this?” she asked rhethorically.
“With a good crew? Ah’d say a couple o’ years if ye want it stable. An’ tha’s seven days a week o’ dedicated labor.”
“In other words, too fast for trolls or dwarves to have built it up… there was likely a Prime involved. Let’s check it out.” Fiara accelerated the Nimbus to traveling speed again and they crawled through the sea of the Frozen Fields, mindful of the thin ice under their feet, until they reached the fortress that they would later find out was Atlas. As they came close a guardsman spotted them and called out: “Hoy there, strangers!”
“Greetings!” Amaterasu shouted back. “Might we ask what this place is?”
“Atlas, if that suits you. You new ´round here?”
“Not quite, but we’ve spent most of our time deeper in the verse!”
“You came from the Nexus gate”, the guarded responded with a frown. Obviously he was suspecting a lie.
“We did. We only came back to the Frozen Fields recently.”
“Then you must have spent a good amount of time away from the Gate. This fort’s been here for a while now.”
“I imagine that it was built by a Prime, no?” asked Amaterasu. Now was the time to ensure.
“That it was. Its walls are sturdier than anything manmade, so don’t go tryin’ to bust your way inside.”
“Actually, we were hoping to come in, if that would be possible… those tracks of caravans you have leading up to the gate, you have traders coming in, right? We’re looking to do some trading.”
“You don’t look like traders… what do you have?”
Amaterasu detached one of the golden ink pots from her sash. Lacking gold pieces, she showed that to the guardsman, hoping that the distance would deceive him. “Money. And information.”
The guardsman considered for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, you may pass. Just stay out of trouble.”
As the gates opened and Fiara drove the Nimbus in, Urist asked: “Why are we going in here, Ama? Ye got some sorta plan?”
“I do”, she replied. “Whoever made this… they are a Prime, and they’re intelligent enough to set this fort up at an advantageous point for traders willing to come in. They have also built this place out into a small trading outpost in… a year, at the most. They may not have the same goals as we do, but they could be a very valuable ally. If I can get in contact with them I am sure that only good can come of it.”
“An’ what if they ain’t interested?”
Amaterasu shrugged. “Then we’ll just need to see if we can go up against a competitor. Anyway, for now you guys keep quiet about everything… out of the ordinary. If any of the merchants ask: Urist, you’re the leader of a small trade caravan, Fiara and I are mages and Oki is a mercenary. We’re on our way back from… from Camelot, having traded various goods there, and now we have some gold.”
“Oki doesn’t have a sword”, Fiara pointed out. She was just parking the Nimbus next to the horse stables inside the fort’s outer perimeter in its walls.
“An’ we don’ have gold”, added Urist.
“I’ll summon some of both. Fiara and Urist, you guys go out to see if you can gather some info on who is in charge here. A warlord or anything of the kind. And try to find out what race they are… might not be a good idea to stay around if they’re trolls. Oki, you stay with me while I summon our items. Don’t let anyone see it.”
“Wha’ do we tell ta the people in charge?” asked Urist. “If we meet any.”
“To the guards, keep the story I told you. To the people in charge, we can be a little more honest… but don’t tell them about my Prime powers unless it’s necessary. I trust your decisions on this matter. And remember, not a word about it.” Then she tucked her hands into her sleeves to hide the glow of the Omnilium orbs she produced to summon gold, while Urist and Fiara went out pretending to examine the other merchants’ wares while gathering information on this place.
“I thought you were a Phoenix”, Amaterasu pointed out, grinning broadly. “Shouldn’t you be resistant to that kind of heat?”
“That’s not how it works… besides, things are weirdly different in these parts, my whole body functions in ways different than it did back at home.”
“Hold on”, said Oki. “Look at this just ahead. This wasn’t there when I first came to this place.”
“What do you mean?” asked Amaterasu. She followed the warrior’s pointing finger with her eyes, and… a settlement? It was dominated by a large snow building but there were a few smaller structures around it. Wooden poles, a sort of first line of defence… interesting. “It would seem that someone has set up here. I can’t remember seeing this before either. Urist, does this seem familiar to you?”
“Nay. Musta happened while ah was with ye guys… and tha’s not too long ago.”
“How long would it take to build something like this?” she asked rhethorically.
“With a good crew? Ah’d say a couple o’ years if ye want it stable. An’ tha’s seven days a week o’ dedicated labor.”
“In other words, too fast for trolls or dwarves to have built it up… there was likely a Prime involved. Let’s check it out.” Fiara accelerated the Nimbus to traveling speed again and they crawled through the sea of the Frozen Fields, mindful of the thin ice under their feet, until they reached the fortress that they would later find out was Atlas. As they came close a guardsman spotted them and called out: “Hoy there, strangers!”
“Greetings!” Amaterasu shouted back. “Might we ask what this place is?”
“Atlas, if that suits you. You new ´round here?”
“Not quite, but we’ve spent most of our time deeper in the verse!”
“You came from the Nexus gate”, the guarded responded with a frown. Obviously he was suspecting a lie.
“We did. We only came back to the Frozen Fields recently.”
“Then you must have spent a good amount of time away from the Gate. This fort’s been here for a while now.”
“I imagine that it was built by a Prime, no?” asked Amaterasu. Now was the time to ensure.
“That it was. Its walls are sturdier than anything manmade, so don’t go tryin’ to bust your way inside.”
“Actually, we were hoping to come in, if that would be possible… those tracks of caravans you have leading up to the gate, you have traders coming in, right? We’re looking to do some trading.”
“You don’t look like traders… what do you have?”
Amaterasu detached one of the golden ink pots from her sash. Lacking gold pieces, she showed that to the guardsman, hoping that the distance would deceive him. “Money. And information.”
The guardsman considered for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, you may pass. Just stay out of trouble.”
As the gates opened and Fiara drove the Nimbus in, Urist asked: “Why are we going in here, Ama? Ye got some sorta plan?”
“I do”, she replied. “Whoever made this… they are a Prime, and they’re intelligent enough to set this fort up at an advantageous point for traders willing to come in. They have also built this place out into a small trading outpost in… a year, at the most. They may not have the same goals as we do, but they could be a very valuable ally. If I can get in contact with them I am sure that only good can come of it.”
“An’ what if they ain’t interested?”
Amaterasu shrugged. “Then we’ll just need to see if we can go up against a competitor. Anyway, for now you guys keep quiet about everything… out of the ordinary. If any of the merchants ask: Urist, you’re the leader of a small trade caravan, Fiara and I are mages and Oki is a mercenary. We’re on our way back from… from Camelot, having traded various goods there, and now we have some gold.”
“Oki doesn’t have a sword”, Fiara pointed out. She was just parking the Nimbus next to the horse stables inside the fort’s outer perimeter in its walls.
“An’ we don’ have gold”, added Urist.
“I’ll summon some of both. Fiara and Urist, you guys go out to see if you can gather some info on who is in charge here. A warlord or anything of the kind. And try to find out what race they are… might not be a good idea to stay around if they’re trolls. Oki, you stay with me while I summon our items. Don’t let anyone see it.”
“Wha’ do we tell ta the people in charge?” asked Urist. “If we meet any.”
“To the guards, keep the story I told you. To the people in charge, we can be a little more honest… but don’t tell them about my Prime powers unless it’s necessary. I trust your decisions on this matter. And remember, not a word about it.” Then she tucked her hands into her sleeves to hide the glow of the Omnilium orbs she produced to summon gold, while Urist and Fiara went out pretending to examine the other merchants’ wares while gathering information on this place.
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