CH 25: Axendre Customs Office

At the appointed time Baldeur and his companions arrived at the courtyard that contained the gate to the world of Axendre.

It was the most fortified gate courtyard that Baldeur had been to. During training he had only ever been to friendly worlds.

It looked like a military camp made up of Gate Guards.

After a quick inspection, the strength here was to protect from the other side, not citizens of the city, they stepped through the dull mirror like surface of the gate.

The scene on the other side was that of a large cathedral in a medieval European style that he remembered from Earth. Since it was his first life, Baldeur had a habit of comparing things to how it was on Earth.

The actual building looked a little run down but just like the side they came from, this side was heavily fortified.

Around the cathedral were a few members of the Arazca Historical Society. Until the gate was reconnected to the city, this place was used by a religion in decline. They believed that their gods lived on the other side of the arch that their house of worship was built around.

Once it became clear that gods didn't live on the other side of the arch, the religion fell apart completely.

This was a gold mine for the Historical Society.

The inspection this time around was a lot more lengthy and thorough. After having their packs and dimensional pockets looked through. The six of them were brought into a separate room and asked to give their names and details about their Sources.

Their inspectors didn't have many reactions to their companions, though some tensed when Piaras listed four aspects of nature.

It was when they got to Aisling that things took a turn.

"My Anodular aspect of nature is the Wild Hunt and my second Source is Infernius, with my primary sin being wrath." Aisling said.

Baldeur sensed a bit of excitement when she said she had a second Source. That emotion changed to fear and a bit of anger when she mentioned Infernius.

"How many people have you killed with your… Source?" The lead inspector asked.

"That wasn't a question you asked the rest of us." Piaras said.

"We're in charge of the questions and can deny you entry for any reason." The inspector said.

"I don't keep track. Not because I'm callous of who I've killed but because I've only killed in defense of my life and protecting those around me. I don't see a point in keeping track of them." Aisling said.

"You'll need to turn over any Infernius stones or other implements related to that Source." The inspector said.

"I didn't bring any since I was told they were banned." Aisling said.

Baldeur hadn't been told about this restriction since no one knew he had that Source. He actually did have a few stones in his dimensional pocket. Well they were in his secondary dimensional pocket, so no one saw them when they did their inspection earlier.

"We'll have to search you again." The inspector said.

"Is that really necessary? You were already very thorough." Piaras said.

"I think after we get this young man's information we'll have to reinspect all of you." The head inspector said.

There was nothing for them to do but to take it, if they wanted to search for their missing team.

Baldeur had known that those with Infernius as a Source were discriminated against at times. He just thought that it wouldn't be on a newly connected world without it as a Source.

How could they obtain this much of a dislike for it this quickly?

He could only think that someone from the City of Gates with that Source did something terrible. Maybe they slapped a priest or f*cked the princess.

"My name is Baldeur Aslanbek. I'm a second circle mage, very close to third. My aspect of nature for Anodular is winter." Baldeur didn't wait for them to start asking questions.

The tension in the room dropped once he mentioned a second Source and a sense of anticipation came over the inspectors.

The head inspector was about to say something but Baldeur continued.

"My third Source is Divinus and I can sing in the second choir at this point."

Their reaction to that was a bit extreme in Baldeur's opinion. The scribe who was writing their answers pressed too hard on the page and snapped his quill. The other inspectors in the room halted their breath for a moment, as the head inspector's eyes went wide.

"Pl..Please hold on a moment." The head inspector got up and left the room.

Everyone in their group was completely confused. While they had knowledge that Infernius was looked down on in Axendre, they hadn't heard anything about Divinus being special.

"Is this going to take long? We're here on a search and rescue mission and time is important for us." Piaras said.

"Please just be patient with us. It will only take a moment." The inspector that spoke was talking to Piaras but kept glancing towards Baldeur.

In fact all of the inspectors left in the room kept glancing at him.

Baldeur leaned towards Aisling and asked. "Is there something on my face?"

Without even looking at him she replied. "Nope. It's as ugly as ever."

Even though they were whispering, everyone in the room heard them. And to their surprise some of the inspector's glared at her when she insulted him.

She was a little upset at this point that this lazy bum was getting special treatment, while she was looked down upon.

Something clicked in Baldeur's head at that moment and he really hoped it wasn't true.

In several stories he read on Earth, there ended up being a chosen one, prophesied to save a world from certain doom. He was really hoping that his imagination was just running wild at the moment.

Even though he had a flirtatious attitude and let people know he had three Sources, he was still trying to remain low key. Being a flirtatious bum was a bit of a cover. Only a bit, since he really did enjoy flirting with various women.

At that moment Baldeur was praying that he was wrong and was ready to curse someone if they had any foreknowledge of this and didn't warn him.

In another dimension Volundr let out a sneeze and he had the feeling someone meant him ill will.