Investigation

"Hear ye! The Empire declares war on the Republic!"

Leaving the Tavern-Hotel, Lua heard the paperboy shout at the top of his lungs. Lua was momentarily stunned, but it didn't take him long to get back to his senses. This turn of events was predictable.

The Empire of Corunna of the far south was a wildly militaristic government, and currently had massive territories on the continent of Atherim, especially on a particular peninsula to the south. This particular peninsula was shared with the Republic of Ravenna, who had a long standing rivalry with the Empire. It was inevitable a war would break out eventually.

Paying the paper boy a pence, Lua grabbed the newspaper and quickly skimmed through it. The news described exactly what he was thinking.

'The Empire of Corruna declared war on the Republic of Ravenna earlier this morning, leaving no time for the Republic to prepare its forces. Now lies the question - will the Federation honor its alliance with Ravenna?'

The Federation of Armor was one of the largest countries in Atherim, falling just short of the Union of Eastern Provinces. It had territories bordering Corunna, Ravenna and Dernf. It was also Dernf's longest standing rival, and also the reason that Dernf had refused to enter an alliance with Ravenna, instead opting to stand neutral.

It was clear that Dernf wouldn't enter the war, but it was unclear which side they'd rather support.

The Union of Eastern Provinces, on the other hand, refrained from going to war due to their sheer size. Their massive land prevented them from moving easily, and any misstep would lead to rebellion from any of the people in their domain.

Lua shook his head, and moved on, not letting the news bother him. He had a few ideas for what he wanted to do today.

First, he wanted to go to the post office to learn if he had any mails. He had asked his father for information on evolving, and wanted to see if he had gotten a response just yet. While there, he also wanted to give them a new letter, to save Vision from having to deliver his letter once more.

Post offices were handled by Wanderers, which made it convenient for people to deliver mail. It was also nearly instantaneous.

Lua entered the post office a few blocks down the street, and was mildly surprised to see the building crowded already. He walked up to the counter, and asked the receptionist for any letters for Lua Moonsilver.

He was met with a positive response, much to his pleasure. The receptionist handed Lua a letter, one that had his name on it. He made sure it was from his father, Daniel Moonsilver, then proceeded to open up the letter and skim through it. As soon as he opened it, he felt his expression freeze.

"I've attached the documents."

A single sentence? You could at least talk to your son! Lua was absolutely flabbergasted. Dumbfounded, Lua decided to close the letter back and read it after he had arrived in his room. The documents were classified, and Lua wasn't interested in being designated as a national criminal.

He was glad that his father had at least paid the fees for the mail. Lua signed in relief that didn't have to spend more pence on needless things.

Leaving the post office, he decided to do the next thing on his list - he was going to investigate that priest.

Seeing him yesterday, Lua instantly felt that something was wrong with him. Although he played it off to Arc, he knew Arc would understand the hidden message. He didn't want to being killed by whatever that priest was during his sleep for leaking the fact that he was unnatural. 

In return, Arc had spent the night awake, under the guise of working on the device. In actuality, Arc was in no rush to finish it.

By saying "The machine almost detonated while you were asleep" Arc was actually hinting that he had sensed something was amiss during the night, but he didn't dare investigate deeper. Lua decided now was the time to dig the true meaning behind the matter.

Approaching the Cathedral again, he decided to take a different route this time. Wearing a 'Comedy' mask he had prepared ahead of time, he circled around the Cathedral, looking for entrances that weren't the front door.

Lua spotted an old wooden door that stuck out in contrast to the outside walls. Lua knew he had found his entrance.

Lua couldn't possibly know if something was waiting for him behind the door. Although he was being cautious and ensuring he wasn't being watched, there was no making sure something terrifying wasn't waiting for him behind the door.

Lua listened at the door, hearing nothing. Not even breathing.

Trusting it to be empty, Lua slowly creaked the door open, checking inside. It was a dark, dusty room. It resembled a storage room with paintings with cloth hung over them, preventing them from getting dusty. He entered the room, slowly closing the door behind him.

He held out a small candle he had prepared beforehand, lighting it to see better. The room was just about as he had seen before, but it felt very claustrophobic. Every hair on his body was standing on its end, ready to escape on a moments notice.

Ancient torches adorned the walls, not lit for clearly a long time. They had gone cold, no hint of the flames they had once blazed under. Of course, in recent technology, gas lamps were more common. It meant that this room was quite old, out of place in modern society.

Lua gulped and proceeded further to another door at the end of the room, and did the same thing as before. He listened closely on the door. His eyes widened as he heard speech.

A voice, young, was talking to someone. "%$@$%!@)$_@)$_$%@{{4*@"

What in the.. I do not recognize this language at all. Lua was perplexed, not understanding what the young man was saying. The other party was silent, not responding to the young man.

Lua had mastered the Atherian langugage, allowing him to understand all the words being spoken on the continent excluding dialects, and a few ancient languages, but he was unable to recognize whatever the young man was saying. This meant that it was either a dead language, or one that..

One that doesn't belong to humans! Lua felt intense alarm.