A new city

Chapter 28: A new city

/Order is a magnificent thing. In the end, all things lead back to order. It is the one determining force everything relies on. Without order, there can be no rules. Without rules, there can be no existence. These laws can be as large as whatever attracts us to the floor beneath our feet, or the rules magic follows, or, even grander, the rules of the system.

Yet order can be found in the smallest structures. Buildings need to be built orderly or collapse. Families need to have order in them, or conflict will arise. Any of us need to hold order in our heart, for otherwise, we will only breed turmoil and disrupt the order that is greater than ourselves.

We find order in the grand scale of all that is, and yet, we also find order in the smallest things. Grains of sand follow order, being eroded into tiny spheres, then stretching out in endless plains, or soft beaches, all incredibly similar to one another, because order determines it so. Every grain of sand has its place.

This order must be mirrored in every one of us. In every being, everything in existence. For without order, there is nothing worthwhile, and only with order in your heart can you hope to find true salvation./

The first scroll of the series "The grand Church of Order" by bishop Nemo the faithful.

- - - - - -

Stormbraver was large.

It was a genuine city, much bigger than Treyno, with infrastructure Mercury would have thought impossible. The first thing he noticed was that in the center of the stone roads, there were grooves, perhaps a third of a meter wide. These grooves has grates at regular intervals, leading down into the sewers of the city, as well as blue crystals, that activated every half hour or so, flooding the whole construction with water and washing all the waste away.

It was quite impressive, an almost modern sewage system, created using magic instead of electricity. Mercury was a little surprised at this, especially wondering what those gem were made of, since he hadn't quite seen anything like them quite yet. Perhaps he'd find out later.

In any case, magic tools were much more prevalent here than he had seen them anywhere else. They weren't abundant at all, but instead, they were available, sometimes for the use of the general populace, but more often than not a luxury good. Some of them were used in infrastructure, like the sewage canals, while others were used to create magical weaponry from scratch.

But what intrigued Mercury much more than these creations, that seemed to mimic modern society, were the buildings. The city was a little segmented, right when he came in he could see some street signs, showing directions to temporary shelters or general residence quarters. The temporary shelters were... somewhat dilapidated. Buildings using stones and wood beams, to create buildings that were long rather than wide.

Covered in thatch roofs, these buildings were held together by cheap mortar, made to withstand rain and keep in the bare minimum of heat at the lowest cost possible. Meanwhile, the living quarters of the general populace was much more reminiscent of medieval Europe, featuring buildings that expanded as they went upwards, made from wooden beams, and what he guessed was hardened clay.

But already, just from the entrance of the city, he could see the noble district. It stuck out like a doorknob from a door, literally. Their mansions and spires towered much higher than any of the other buildings, and while Mercury couldn't see a whole lot of details, he most certainly knew they were more decorated than they had any right to be.

In general, these noble buildings were found to the more northwestern side of the Stormbraver, built on the soft slopes of a hill there. To the south, the city featured empty plains, giving good visibility, while a little to the west, there was a forest, where all the city's wood came from. The north and east were dominated by a nearby lake and the rivers leading there from the mountains far northeast.

This was the place where commoners would live, buying their groceries on the lakeside market, where merchants would peddle wares from distant lands, while the farmers from down south and the fisherman from the area would make sure food was well supplied.

The city even posted a granary in case of famine!

That and more was what Mercury picked up when he followed around a guide, giving a small tour to some visitors of the city. Sometimes being a cat had its advantages, no one suspected you when you were actually spying on them, heh.

Well, at the very least he now knew a little more about the city and its origins. Stormbraver hadn't been named that. It had more than earned its name over the time it was here, being first established as a fortress city. Now, it had enough infrastructure to support travellers, merchants, nobles, and families alike. It was one of the better places to live in, so long as one ignored that fact that the nation it was stationed in was currently at war.

Well, at the very least, Mercury had gotten a few rough directions for where he could stay in the city, with a few inns being recommended. Unfortunately, those were the recommendations of a tour guide, seeking to leech as much money from him as possible, but he knew quite a bit better.

Kintra was a receptionist after all. She knew just about every little detail about the aristocracy she was living in. She had pointed him straight to the Fountain of Luck, a small back-alley inn that her mother had apparently taken her to a few times when she was little. It was affordable, clean, and honest. Mercury nodded to himself, as he walked into the establishment under the saloon doors.

It was a little loud in there, like most inns would be, people eating, drinking and laughing all around. Fitting, given the later afternoon.

Mercury swiftly made his way through the crowds and hopped onto the counter, choosing the spot in front of an empty seat. He eyed the bartender for a moment, a young man in his late twenties or so. Blonde hair, tied into the tiniest of ponytails, barely enough to even qualify, with warm blue eyes. He had a calm face and a warm smile, making him easy to talk to and even easier to order drinks from.

He was decently good looking and wore black pants with suspenders, over a spotless white shirt. The man obviously took quite a bit of care to not get himself stained, and maintain his friendly appearance.

This was even more obvious when he didn't even flinch when Mercury called out to him.

"Excuse me, could I rent a room?"

"Hm? Sorry sir, could you repeat that?"

"Yeah, uhm, I would like to rent a room."

The barkeep gave Mercury a small smile and then nodded again. "Of course. How many days are you intending to stay sir? Would you like a normal room or a luxury one?"

"Normal, for a month if possible." Mercury gave a nod at the end, trying his best to hide his surprise at the nonchalant demeanor of the young man.

"Of course, that would be two Pales and five Dims, sir."

Mercury pulled out some of the coins he had gotten from selling the bandit's loot. Plenty of pawnshops around. He probably had gotten a rather poor deal, but a poor deal with no questions asked was better than going to prison for a good one. He tipped the barkeep a little, before picking up the keys to his room in his mouths.

"Fenks."

"Of course, sir. The room is right up the stairs. As long as you stay here, you also get 25% off any meals you purchase, so please consider it. Have a nice stay!"

And just like that, Mercury had acquired his own room once again.

He also still had some money left over, though he most certainly would need to figure out a way to make more. Well, that could wait in any case. He had priorities after all. And his highest priority was finding some books at a library that he could buy. Books about revival or that kinda stuff.

At the very least, he was pretty sure necromancy wasn't outlawed in this world, so he'd hopefully be able to find info on it.

Mercury took some time to make himself at home in the inn. He unpacked his log and stole the blanket and pillow from the rudimentary bed. Then he also unpacked all the sleeping things Kintra got for him and quickly added them to his log. He nodded to himself at the absolute mess of pillows in front of him. This was a perfectly suitable bed.

He kept wearing his dracoleather cloak, just to see if that alone was enough to make it grow, and also to make him more recognizable than just by his fur colour. Maybe cats in this world commonly looked like him? He definitely wanted to make sure the bartender didn't let anyone else into his room. That would suck.

So, after the absolute ordeal of getting his room locked, he managed to do it by jumping on top of the key and twisting it slowly but surely like that. Pulling the key out was just as hard, but he managed by activating throw on it a bunch. Man, what he would give once more for thumbs.

Afterwards, he went down and quickly spoke to the innkeeper, Davis, again. He got directions to the one public library in the city and headed out.

It wasn't that long a walk. The building was recognizable, since it had stone pillars at the bottom to help support the upper floors. It was well constructed, better than most of the surrounding houses, and was a fairly large building. Apparently it was paid for with taxes and entirely funded by the state, and the book sales they could make. After all, there were magical tools to process wood into paper, and most people were entirely required to be able to read because of the system.

This made this world once more different from the medieval times Mercury was used to, where paper was expensive and only the church and state could read. He preferred it this way quite a bit, to be honest.

Well, in any case, there was a public library, and they sold books. Sometimes. Turns out they did have some sort of printing press, but it was only used for things like monthly newspapers. The presses were not nearly advanced enough to print enough newspapers for the entire city within a day or a week, so monthly it was.

As for the books in the library, it was quite frowned upon to have them reproduced via printing, or so Davis told him, since it was seen as disrespect of the author's work. Okay, a little dramatic to be sure, but whatever. Scribes were apparently quite valued anyways, since they oftentimes could also do some minor enchantments.

So essentially, these scribes were the ones that opposed the use of printing in reproduction of books, since it would remove their jobs, and they had enough power to do so, since their capabilities was highly valued for the production of legal documents. In addition, many people used their enchanting services occasionally, giving them a sway over a large part of the city.

Sigh. This was all too complicated. Whatever. This made books expensive, in the end, which fucking sucks, but it was still better than being entirely unable to buy books. He would simply have to rely on the library already having copies of the ones he wanted, or place a custom order with the scribes, which could get both pricey and take its time.

Again, he would need money. What a bother. Now he needed to pay rent, buy books, pay for food... So instead of going to the library immediately, Mercury decided to head to the gloryhall in Stormbraver.

- - -

It was loud. Extremely loud, in fact. This was perhaps the biggest building he had been in yet, filled with men and women of varying ages, though none that looked actually old, chatting, laughing, and drinking all around.

It reminded him much more of a disco than anything else, though without the loud, droning music and flashing lights. Nevertheless, Mercury was already starting to get a bit of a headache, so he decided to make this as quick as he could.

He hopped on top of the counter where multiple receptionists worked, and called out for them. After a few curious looks, a young man with brown hair and hazel eyes came over to him. He wore a uniform a little different from Kintra's, not just because it was the male version. Instead of a green jacket, his was light blue. It also had the crest of Stormbraver sewn into it.

"This is Marcel, how can I help you today?"

"Mercury Rainfall Starlight. Here to report my shift of activity into this city."

"Ah, yes, of course," the young man said with a smile. "Could I quickly see your license?"

Mercury nodded and pushed it across the counter, where Marcel quickly inspected it.

"I see. So you have not yet completed any commissions then?"

"I have. I fought in an arena, back in..."

"Ah, yes, I see. I'm guessing it didn't count as completed, since you never turned in the signed commission slip?"

"Uhm, no, did I have to do that?"

Marcel gave a small nod. "Yes, you do. For now, I will manually add it as a completed E-rank commission, but please make sure to hand in the finished commissions in the future."

"I will, thank you again for the help." Mercury gave his best cat-smile. He was once again surprised at how helpful these people always were. He couldn't really imagine ever being a receptionist.

After another moment of Marcel holding Mercury's license, small stripes of magic flew from his hand into it, the same pinkish colour as the crystal sheet itself. Then, Marcel quickly handed it back to Mercury.

"There, all done," he said. "Now that you have completed an E-rank commission, would you like to take the exam to increase your rank to E? Since you completed one mission above your current rank, it's possible for you to immediately increase it."

Well, well, well. Wasn't this a schemer. Sneakily trying to rank him up. For some reason, Mercury was sure he didn't do it fully out of charity. He was just guessing, but perhaps receptionists would be given credit, depending on how many godseekers they ranked up?

In any case, Mercury nodded quickly again. "I would, yeah. What do I have to do?"

"This exam differs from city to city. In Stormbraver it is quite simple. Just head into the forest to the west and bring back a boar's tusk. On that note, here is the commission for the rank-up mission," Marcel said, as he quickly paced a piece of paper in front of Mercury, repeating the details he had just stated.

"Would you also like to register me as your dedicated receptionist while you remain in Stormbraver?" Marcel continued. "Having a dedicated receptionist essentially means that whenever I am present in the gloryhall, you will work directly with me. It simplifies paperwork and keeps you from having to reintroduce yourself every time. It also only applies for this city, and your dedicated receptionist in other cities will not be changed by this."

There it was. Seems like receptionists most certainly got part of the credit of whatever the adventurers they were partnered with did. Well, it didn't bother Mercury in any case. To him, it just simplified things, so he quickly agreed.

"Thank you very much. I will add that to your license as well."

"Quick question though. How can you read so much from my license when all I can see are my name, occupation, and rank?"

"Ah, that." Marcel flashed another quick smile as he answered an obviously frequent question. "Your license holds all information about your work as a godseeker. Additionally to what most guards can read off it, receptionists use a special version of <Appraisal> to read the hidden information. This includes completed commissions, dedicated receptionists, documented skills and specialities, as well as feats outside of your normal work, for example."

"I see. Can I also choose to hide that?"

"Of course, though not everything. We will still need insight into your commissions and coworkers, though you can hide the exact nature of your completed contracts. Other than that, you can hide most details with the editing function of the system. If you prefer to have even more control, we can sell you an <Edit License> skillstone, which are custom made for this purpose."

"Ah, alright. Thanks. I'm fine for now. I'll be off to get you a tusk then."

"I hope to see you soon!"

Marcel saw Mercury off with a small wave after he ripped the rank-up mission paper. Time to go find himself some food again.

- - - - - -

Once more, the head priestess was disappointed. Had the Church of Order really fallen so far in this country? Did they seriously need a state verdict to crack down on criminals?

It was pathetic. She could only shake her head at them. This petty country thought they could reign in their activities? That stupid council of senile, old men, thought that they had any chance to control her? Did they seriously think she would listen? Hah!

She'd show them. She'd show them justice.

Lucia got up from her chair. She had been resting her voice after performing a sermon, drinking tea and having her attendants report all important ongoings to her. It was nothing much. No new cracks or gates showing up, no high-rank godseekers entering or leaving the city, no message from any of the bishops.

It was a quiet report, until one of her closer aids told her about how the guards stopped a raid on a shop.

City guards stopped the Church?

To Lucia, it was laughable. They didn't stop them, they stalled them at best. Mostly, they really just insulted them. They, the Church of Order, could report the shop to the authorities, where the owners would be tried by the free court of Stormbraver.

Pfff. Free court. Lucia stifled her laugh in her throat once more, as she worked hard to make her face remain calm.

The free court of Stormbraver was nothing but a puppet. Their strings were pulled by heretics, and their decisions influenced only by bribes.

No, only their Church was truly independent. Truly objective. Truly fair.

The petty laws of local governments could never hold up to the true justice the Church of Order enforced. True Justice. True Law. True Freedom.

After some moments of thought, she spoke out.

"The recent actions of the Nevarzahri Aristocracy deeply sadden me," she said. "I had thought, or rather, hoped, that we could come to an agreement with the heads, but it would seem they refuse to listen, would you not agree? This behaviour is becoming intolerable to us. It seems they are determined to insult us in any way they can."

"They wish to take away our influence? Well then. Let us show them our influence. Let us show them our power! Let us show them our ORDER!!"

"By tomorrow morning, I want to have a list compiled of all shops suspected of heresy. The owners will be taken in for trial. All of them need to be in our courtroom by evening. If the guards resist, push your way through. Use violence where it is necessary. Dismissed!!"

And within a moment, Lucia was alone again, calmly sipping tea to rest her voice.

But no matter if she was resting or not, she would always bare the weight the Crown of Order held with pride.