Tal Salunbal II

"I… see. Well, with that response, I only did what I felt was the right thing to do. Now… I apologize, I know you want to remove formalities, but I've been practicing this for a little bit…" With that, she curtsied, then began her introductions after clearing her throat. He waited for the beginning that they had bypassed. Sultan Arun smirked and glanced at his son for a moment.

"Greetings, Sultan Gazi Haref Arun, ruler of Tal Salunbal and neighbor to the borders of the Clockwork Empire. I'm happy that your son has returned without issue, that you have not had casualties due to the… inconsiderate actions of the former king of Artinia. I would hope that we would have a much better relationship between our people than your former enemy. I have brought a gift on behalf of my empire, I hope it pleases you." Gazi laughed heartily as a small gilded container was brought before him by the ambassador; inside was a ceremonial dagger, amulet, and intricately embroidered scarf. A pack of molted gryphon feathers was also placed inside, along with a bottle of high-quality iridescent ink.

"They were not our enemy, Empress Selene. They were barely a threat to us, though you… I have heard quite a bit from my Commander of the Hidden Path." He was gesturing softly with his left hand, pointing every so often at her. "Your army is… impressive, to say the least. These, these machines you have at your beck and call… it opens the eyes to the wonders of the rest of the world. This is quite rare… practically nonexistent to be exact."

Are there others who use steampunk? Has he seen them?

"I take it you have met others who can create what I have created?" she queried quietly. Two chairs were provided quickly by servants, along with large cushions. Tea was immediately served with small sweet pastries. This man wanted to show as much respect for her as she did for other rulers. He felt open, inviting, and patient; he also didn't want to be proper when he spoke with her, which seemed rare compared to other rulers. Her scanner revealed him to be of chaotic good alignment, with a karma rating that seemed roughly at four hundred. It at least let her know that he was willing to take a few risks and get his hands dirty when required to do the right thing. His personality, from what she heard so far, told her that he was quite wise, with dreams and aspirations for his people well beyond the next decade.

"On the contrary, there have been none other than rumors of a few inconsequential heroes that disappeared throughout history, never arriving in Tal Salunbal. A few of their creations have been found in the past by many, none of which were in working order or could be repaired. I am referring to the weapons in your soldier's hands, of course… I mean, more advanced than what I had read about…" He watched her honor guard stand next to her with a sparkle in his eyes, finally getting to see these creatures for the first time instead of just finding hidden passages in an old tome. "None of what was ever found could even match what I am looking at here. None have created such… such…"

Huh… so players arrived with advanced weapons… I thought he was referring to automatons. Yggdrasil had robot NPCs that looked like the characteristic android, just with the personality of a toaster. I doubt anyone who had even one of those died quietly, probably ruling some nation somewhere.

"Impressive tools?"

"Yes, yes, that is what I believe I am trying to say." He clapped his hands three times after pointing at her, getting an idea in his head. It was a signal somehow understood to mean bringing specific information to him by a servant. Nothing happened for a few minutes while he rubbed his black goatee, lost in deep thought as he broke into a smile every so often while looking at her guards and the empress. Soon, three servants arrived with multiple books, each being opened and flipped around for the dev to peruse. "You see? These are what have been found, sketched with as much detail as possible."

What she saw confirmed her suspicions; there was no real steampunk or even hyper-advanced tech. A flintlock was shown, along with a homemade grenade, the earliest design for a bicycle, and other contraptions. Selene tentatively grabbed one book and flipped some pages, seeing alchemical mixtures for crude gunpowder and even Greek fire. She sighed and nodded, realizing it was concept art for Yggdrasil, each drawing proving it. One picture showed what looked like a modern rifle, magazine inserted, and trigger guard attached with scope. He had an artbook somehow, potentially from a player long ago that had a collector's edition of the game. The cover was worn away, with little visible but pressed cardboard that had been meticulously protected by a librarian in the palace. Whoever brought it with them had the digital version.

"So… you don't know how these weapons work?" she queried. Gazi chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"I am not a fool, your imperial highness. I understand that that trigger there fires the weapon, and we have firearms that are called arquebuses. I simply am unsure of how the rest functions. We may reach the same progressive level as you eventually, in time. I, for one, wish for there to be little need for destructive tools as you have created. It seems you have needed to fight far more than you should have in these lands." Selene gave out a dry laugh and leaned back in her chair.

"You have no idea…"

"Perhaps one day I will; I hope that day never comes to pass, however. If it does, I would like it to be standing together instead of against one another. You might be wondering why I share any of this so early in negotiations; I sense a kindred spirit in you, beyond anything I have sensed before; not quite like my wife, though almost like a sister in another land. Maybe I'm a fool for thinking as such, but I would like to believe in the good of others before I can honestly judge them. Now, as much as I would like to continue speaking of anything other than business, this is what we are here for, is it not?" A smirk crept up on both of their lips as he leaned forward and glanced up at Aldemir, standing like a statue. "Shall we begin our informal negotiations? Don't assume we need to spend all day, you can come back as often as required; there is much I wish to learn from you just as you may wish to have a tour of my lands I rule over."

Meanwhile

Dina walked down the streets of Aureos, finally getting a day off to just shop by herself. Ezra had talked her ear off the day before, with the rest of her team heading off to enjoy a day of sitting in the tavern and just chatting, even people watching from the second-floor balcony with spare bar. While some wouldn't believe they were into that sort of thing, it helped them all understand who they were working with, fighting for, and getting paid by.

The ranger started to window shop as her feet slowly carried her from the Copper District into Iron, then Silver. While copper was the most decrepit district, it was being improved by leaps and bounds, with new city planning changing everything about it. Gone were the days now of slums, with quite a few of the homes rebuilt. Costs continued to increase until finally, she reached the Gold District. There was a small line to enter past the checkpoint, though she spied a new friend they had made yesterday that was a mercenary. "Dina!" Ivan waved at her.

"Ivan! I'm trying to get into Mithril District, can you help?" she asked him as the woman jogged over as her brown hair bounced a little in a braided ponytail, leaving the line of traders and businessmen. The economy was starting to pick up, with the city bustling again. Most of the damage had been repaired already, the frighteningly effective mechanical engineers that the empress had brought hastily getting walls and roofs to pristine condition. That wasn't all they did, however, as entire city blocks were ripped down and rebuilt up to a specific code that was purported as required to be followed by all carpenters or masons, with supports and foundations shouted at architects who thought they were better than a certain metal woman barking out orders. They learned very quickly not to mess with the lady named Juliet, who looked more than capable of throwing them across the city. While her construction teams were the main force redesigning the city, the human construction workers had to at least learn the basics, with guild members from towns and cities that had been a part of the empire longer coming in and showing off.

Basic plumbing became standard along with direct connection to the sewer system constructed underground; however, there was still the issue of black markets and crime rings still being found, hindering improvements at times as the engineers waited for adventurers to complete quests, get paid, then clean up the sector the crime ring had set up shop in and unclog whatever was there.

"I can only get you into Platinum District through this checkpoint, hun, sorry. Why do you want to go to Mithril?"

"Oh, I'm um… shopping."

"Have your eye dead set on that new bow you saw, don't you? That's going to take every ounce of savings you have right now, you told me that!" she sighed in frustration, realizing he was right. He facepalmed as his dark brown top knot waggled slightly.

"I know, I know! I just… we aren't going to get anywhere unless we can get better equipment faster, and… I just… I just want to improve our chances of not sleeping in the adventurer's barracks anymore." She had been saving as much as possible, with the new gold rank now allowing more money to come in from better-paying quests. Most of her team's coin went into new equipment at the moment, though Dina had aspirations to jump well beyond her gear right now.

"Did those whoevers really get to you that much? Look, Dina… we mercs do what we can to get better equipment just as much as you adventurers. You don't just splurge on a new weapon though, you need to look at what you'll be doing and where you'll be going. Your bow is still decent, and all-" She pulled off the bow strapped to her back and showed him how worn her string was at certain spots. One of the limbs looked like it needed to be reinforced, or it would crack eventually. Even though it was magical, with an enchantment that provided durability improvements, it was showing its age. The weapon was most likely an old family heirloom the way it appeared. "Ok… so… just need to get the wood replaced. I don't really know much about that sort of thing, but I'm telling you buying some of the best when you can barely afford it is-"

"Getting something like what I saw will improve my accuracy well beyond what it was."

"No, practicing will improve your accuracy. That weapon will just make you hit like a building dropping on whoever you shoot." It was true, the weapon she had in mind could amplify the arrow fired, with each one armor-piercing due to the magic provided. On top of that, it could shorten and expand depending on the situation, allowing her to use it in caves or out on the open plains for long-range attacks. There was an explosive enchantment as well, with each arrow detonating once it impacted. In emergency situations without ammunition, it could fire unimproved magic arrows.

"You didn't see the practice event showing off its capabilities!" she exclaimed, bringing her hands up with fingers splayed out in a clutching motion, looking at the sky as she remembered every display, watching a high elf that came to test the weapon and prove to everyone that it was beyond any other bow sold in Aureos. Most crossbows couldn't even come close to it in power.

"Look, I can't force you to not spend your money. I'm just saying, get another bow equal to what you have now, buy a few throwing knives, some steel-tipped arrows, and some enchanting oils. Same thing."

"No, it isn't. Can you… can you let me through? Please?" she quietly ended the conversation with her begging. Ivan put his hands up in surrender, clearly seeing it was just annoying her.

"Head through the tower entrance, not like we haven't let you through before when you were chasing some of the rabble," he sighed out. "Just at least promise you'll think about what you're buying before you get it, ok? I'm serious, I have a flaming sword, it doesn't mean I don't keep a steel gladius with me that's cheap. Oh, and don't forget we're playing cards at the Fox's Escape in two days, we invited you and Pops." The ranger nodded and looked at his armor, improving since yesterday. It was required that all mercenaries that worked the checkpoints have at least some decent protection, with reinforced plate mail being a standard with resistances against magic. While not the best, they were at least capable of defending themselves against magicians and wizards.

Dina patted him on the shoulder and opened the door to the tower controlling the main portcullis, slipping down some stairs then through a small barracks with mercs sleeping or watching her run through and heading out through another exit to Platinum District. Up above, she noticed movement along the rooftops, spotting a thief trying to make their escape. Someone was following along right behind them, a warrior in red armor jumping effortlessly across the city. He caught up quickly and got into a small scuffle, ending it with knocking away the woman's daggers. He seemed incredibly strong, his weapons damaging the metal of the opposing weapons with each strike. A jangling plate could barely be seen of platinum rank.

Having arrows that could hit like that would be great… a bow that could naturally enhance them without ever needing to buy those types of projectiles would be better… of course, being no longer useless when I run out of ammunition could help the entire team.

As she made her way to the Mithril District checkpoint, waiting another twenty minutes as the wealthy slowly sifted through, the ranger finally made it into the shopping center that was five stories tall. There were so many people walking around inside, bumping into her shoulders and clogging up isles, that it made it difficult to head up to the next floor. In a small store in the corner, just next to the signage to point at where everyone should go for equipment, was the bowyer she knew carried some of the best enchantments back when Artinia was still around. Alyano's Finest was written just above, the glass windows showing off some of the best-ranged weapons she had ever seen. Unfortunately, it was closed right now. "Damn it…" she cursed softly as her eyes landed on Dragon's Reach, the very bow she had hoped to buy.

The cost was an astounding ten platinum pieces, increasing beyond what she had thought it was before… and exceeding her limit by one coin. The young woman just stared at the window, mesmerized by the stylish look of the elegant weapon, flaring at the tips of the limbs with gold and silver shining, the double bowstring an incandescent blue, clearly enchanted to make drawing back as natural as breathing. Suddenly, the closed sign flipped to open, with two men and an elven archer walking to the door. Dina watched as they entered, said something to the shopkeep, and gawked as he walked over to pick up the bow.

No, no, no! Please! Just another day or two! I can get it, just… just hang on!

She instinctively entered the shop, her eyes landing on the large purse placed on the counter, which was quietly opened by the elf. The owner of the establishment counted out the coin and nodded at her, having a piece of paper written on as a receipt and having her sign it. "Wha… wait." The three very high ranked adventurers turned around, blinking at her. The elven woman simply stared at the ranger, wondering what she wanted. "I…"

"You… what?" the elf asked, her friends crossing their arms and standing patiently. Nothing else came out of her open mouth, the words unable to leave her throat. There was nothing she could do, there was no hope to get the money in time. "Well, whatever." The team picked up the bow and walked out, Dina being bumped into accidentally as if she was just a piece of furniture, seeing their rank plates twinkling. Adamantite. This team was well beyond anything she had seen before, easily capable of handling the hardest quests the guild could provide. They were practically heroes, some of the few almost as powerful as the legendary Morlan and others of his ilk. She was barely a gold rank, newly initiated. The man who bumped into her apologized as he left, no ill will meant towards the teenager.

"Is there… something you need, miss? A new bow, perhaps? I believe I have a few commission slots open right now." The shop itself did not have many weapons available, but what was shown were all some of the best ever seen. The man himself never bought other's crafts, only created his own based on what was requested or what was considered unique at the time. His name was well known throughout Aureos, even as far as Silvinholm. Anything past that, and she would need to travel to Eil'Ta or Olva'lore forests to get her hands on an elven made bow. Why the elf that had just entered didn't have a much more advanced archery weapon made by her own people was beyond the brunette.

Shit, I forgot he doesn't create basic weaponry, only customs and specialty ranged weapons.

"Um… can you… are you able to replace the string?" she asked quietly.

"I don't do repairs or sell replacement parts, I never have time for that. Head to the Silver District for those, good repair smiths available, we only sell pristine wares here. Gold District can reinforce that limb if you need it; get a new handle as well, it looks worn." That really annoyed her, the fact that she had come all this way and would leave empty-handed, even if the shop seller wasn't rude. All the other bows shown were well past her price range, forcing her to finally leave as he wondered why she was even there as if knowing she didn't have the currency to pay for anything. As she walked down the stairs, her eyes moved past another window that was almost a mirror in quality, a display of dashing armor behind it. While her eyes landed on the suit of chainmail and segmented plate designed for a fast-moving archer, with a full armor set next to it made for a frontline warrior. There was even a dragon scale robe for high-end wizards.

As her eyes adjusted back to the window, her appearance popping in front of it, wearing studded gambeson armor and a cloak, she sighed and closed her eyes for a moment.

It's taken a few years to get to this point for me, nearly losing my entire team in the process. It's going to take many more years to reach platinum rank, and by the time I even think of reaching Adamantite, I'll be a frail old woman. What were my goals even before all of this? I think I've forgotten, just like the faces of my parents and brother so long ago.

"No, keep focused… one day at a time…" she whispered to herself. "Just gotta stay positive. Tilly will have some new quests to deal with in the next few days, should make getting much better equipment a breeze."

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little ranger." Dina spun on her heel, looking for the owner of the voice. The group that had made fun of them before was walking down the hall in her direction. "Come to look at everything you can't afford? It's ok, happens to the worst of them. Gotta keep your chin up; maybe if you work really hard, you'll get the chance to carry our loot! Hah!" the warrior, Nixon was his name, said to her as he let out a guffaw.

"Leave me the hell alone."

"Oh, I'm sorry, were we disturbing you? My mistake, I guess you were too busy waiting for the next thief to catch. Hope you grab him, whoever it is. Leave the heavy lifting to us while we save this new empire and protect that beautiful empress." He gave her a big wink with his mouth open in a goofy smile, ruffling her hair as she pulled back and threw his hand away. He chuckled as the rest of his team followed behind, completely ignoring her now.

"Fuck off!" she snapped, with the group not even listening anymore as they entered a shield smith's shop. No one looked in her direction as she glanced around before the ranger stormed out of the shopping center and started to jog. The look on her face told everyone that she was pissed, ready to stand up to the challenge of an Adamantite rank. She didn't know how to do it just yet, but she'd figure it out somehow. As if on cue, a poster was seen in the distance on a wall, part of it being blocked by a crowd of people. Dina slowly pushed her way through the throng of arms and bodies, nearly getting knocked back a few times by annoyed onlookers as she deviated her path to finally get near the front.

A sign up for a tournament was happening next to the wall, sponsored by the noble houses. Heroes, adventurers, warriors of high renown were needed to enter. The winner or his party would receive the grand prize, an entire upgrade of their equipment, land bequeathed to them with home, and a stipend of coin. The second place had equipment and currency, with the third-place just receiving money. There were multiple areas of expertise to sign up for, to prove who was the best in that field. A parade was set before it, market stalls were getting prepared. The whole event was scheduled in two weeks, giving her just enough time to run it by her team and get ready.

There really isn't any direct combat unless we go for the arena, which I have no intention of jumping into. Fire at a few targets, hit some things thrown in the air, do a few trick shots, and it should be no problem to at least get third place. Most of the supposed heroes of Artinia were roasted alive by the demons before the Clockwork Empire showed up. Those stupid idiots, thinking they have what it takes to be anywhere near the empress… I fought alongside her when we went to Elesia's Abbey… or at least… I was nearby…

"Psst," she heard as the teenager looked around, finding titian curls waggle nearby. "Dina, are you signing up here?" Tilly asked.

"Tilly? What are you doing here? I uh… I haven't decided yet."

"Oh, me? Well, the guild has to always watch out for things like this; adventurers join up all the time to show their mettle, which tends to lead to disturbances with mercenaries, the city guard, noble houses. We stick around to make sure nothing happens in the background, make sure everything is fair."

"Isn't that a little difficult?"

"Extremely! Surprisingly, adventurers and mercenaries are the first to jump to using underhanded and illegal weapons or tools to win in one of the events. We're the ones that had to set the guidelines for everyone, so it's as controlled as possible. Luckily, I don't have to staff the table this time, Jules gets that honor." The receptionist motioned towards a man staring at her, his forehead almost covering his eyes with a constant frown while his hand went through the motion of signing acceptance of the waivers given to him. Dina had no idea of whether he was unhappy with Tilly, or that was just the way he looked all the time. "So, still deciding?"

"I… probably shouldn't just yet without talking it over with my team." The brunette teenager looked over the choices of events, which was reasonably large. Supposedly, there were a few exclusive rewards for style usage and impressive flare, allowing anyone who wanted to show off to get something a little extra. There were no restrictions on rank, and the tournament didn't stop civilians from entering that had the means to fight. There were even cooking contests available, smithwork challenges, gauntlets, and magic contests.

"That's understandable; just let me know if you're interested later. The signup list will be sealed by the end of the week. Oh, one last thing, pets aren't allowed in the tournament, they cause too many issues for one on one battles or team combat." That meant her hawk would have to stay back in the inn if they went ahead with joining.

"Ah… alright, I'll… I'll see if they are willing." Tilly waved goodbye to her as the ranger stepped out of the crowd and headed down the street, seeing quite a few windows that displayed plenty of other items that weren't for warriors. Dresses that would be the envy of most nobles, perfumes, toiletries, and different food, with a stall that had a small gathering around it for something fried. The same woman that had past by her the other day with odd eyes showed up, heading in another direction yet again. This time, Dina could see her irises were, in fact, rainbow-colored, settling finally into a soft frost blue. She gazed at the ranger the entire time while walking, turning a corner, and entering a building for a high-quality blacksmith that didn't work on weapons. The agent's long black hair seemed to flow effortlessly behind, almost like smoke as the door closed behind.

I wonder if her hair can change color as well?