MM - Chapter 110 - SULARAB TOWN

The Town of Sularab ambushed the party. They were running headlong down a dirt road, their flight from the tower having ended an hour before. Out of nowhere, dark walls invisible in the night sprang up before them. The creak of drawn bows tickled their ears, and the bright flares of readied skills turned away the night.

Raine raised his arms, palms open, “Hail, my name is Alaric. We are Travelers from Silverlight City on a quest from the Nobles’ Faction.” If Raine's words eased the guard's suspicions, there was no sign of it.

A few tense moments passed before the heavy thud of boots landing in the dirt sounded nearby. A thick-chested figure dropped from stealth, holding a hand toward Raine, “Badge!” He snapped.

[Beguiler Champion (Noble): Level 118 (HP ?????/?????)]

Raine produced the requested credentials before finishing the man's information. This was close to the border with the empire, where battles and ambushes were commonplace. He wasn't fool enough to test such a powerful Vaaterran’s patience when showing up unannounced.

Seeing that Raine was, in fact, a noble registered with Silverlight City, the man's demeanor changed in a flash. He clapped twice, and the aggression in the town's guards dulled. “Come inside, quickly now. In the future, I suggest you not arrive in the dead of night.”

“It was unavoidable. My apologies for disrupting your watch, Champion Durant,” Raine's cordial tone had Talerra’s group looking at him like he'd finally revealed he was just as crazy as they suspected.

In the past, few who called the Silvergate Kingdom home didn’t know about Durant. Despite his young age, he grew into the first official fifth-class god. He would have married Queen Analice’s eldest daughter if not for the entire royal family being wiped out. Raine wasn’t about to miss the chance to make a first good impression with such a prominent Vaaterran.

The town gate's double doors creaked open, allowing a sliver of light to pierce the night. Durant stuck his fingers into the slit and pulled the large door—which must have weighed several tons—open with deplorable ease. He ushered them inside with an impatient wave, “Manners among the Travelers? I'd heard that was a rarity. Your good name precedes you, Alaric. May your quest find a swift resolution.”

The town was alight with activity and light. Vaaterrans hustled from street to street, shouting filled the air, and the cloying aroma of massed humanity assaulted their nostrils. None of which made it beyond the arrays that protected and hid the town. If Raine hadn't known the way, finding this place in the dark would have been a matter of pure chance.

While his companions blinked away the sudden brightness, Raine bowed, an arm crossed over his waist, the other hand over his heart, “You honor me, Champion Durant. May Her Majesty's enemies know infinite sorrow.”

The Vaaterran had been walking away but turned back, brows raised in surprise, “May it be so.” Then, he truly did leave them to continue his watch.

“What the shit—”

Raine's voice was stern as he cut off BrickAxely, “This way. Do not wander alone, or you will end up in a cell.”

BrickRoll picked up where his brother left off, “Just for being here? What kind of town has NPCs that would toss you in prison for nothing?”

“The kind of town at the edge of a warzone,” Raine responded, moving quickly toward the nearest tavern. Eyes watched them from all sides, displaying more than a little overbearing hostility.

They followed behind like ducklings, on edge at the prospect of an impossibly powerful Vaaterran snuffing them out before they could bind. Even with the three-hour flight covering most of the Alabast Lowlands, it had been a long journey. The desire to do it all over again was nonexistent.

The streets were poorly maintained and the subject of considerable rainfall, giving each step an unpleasant, sticky quality. The buildings were likewise in less than optimal repair, other than the roofs, many of which looked freshly patched. It wasn’t just the guards who gave them extra long looks; not a soul they passed didn’t check them out at least twice.

“This place gives me the creeps,” FierceFire complained, rubbing her neck with jerky motions.

Grunts of ascent were the only response as all three groups remained at Raine’s heel. Mudskipper’s Lounge was as filthy on the inside as the outside. That hardly mattered to them. They each eagerly downed a glass of water, creating a potentially instant connection with the distant town. Sighs of relief filled the room, equal parts from the delicious beverage as the messages flashing in their HUDs.

[New resurrection location bound: Sularab Town]

Knowing what they needed, Raine snapped his fingers to gather their already wandering attention, “Forty-five-minute break.” Raine’s people smiled brightly, ecstatic to get a longer break than usual.

Talerra’s people were the only ones to show signs of outrage, “We’ve been at it for hours, and you’re only giving us fifteen minutes?”

“We’re not your slaves! It’s already the middle of the night, and you want us to—”

Talerra cut off PristineCanvas with a cut of her hand to the side, “Enough. This is an official favor owed to Master Alaric. We will complete it without further complaint. Besides, we’ve already gained much from him tonight. You heard him, fifteen minutes.”

She clapped, and they logged out in rapid succession, leaving him alone in the tavern. Raine had meant forty-five minutes in reality, not ZionLine time. Since they were feeling masochistic, he wasn’t about to correct them with the steadily ramping impatience burning a hole in his guts all night. Shrugging, he trotted to the tavern's far side and sat across from an innocuous woman in a heavy cloak.

Raine placed a gold on the edge of their shared table and held two fingers to the bartender. The man nodded. The woman quirked a shadowed eyebrow at him, one corner of her lips pulling back in a slight smile, “Interesting. How did you know?”

“If you’ve signed a contract with a Traveler, they’ll always know it's you.” Despite her obfuscating skills and robe, she could never hide the little scroll icon floating above her head. It sat beside the numerous question marks hiding her level and health.

“Thanks for the tip. I have a feeling I’ll be working with your kind often.”

Not interested in dragging the conversation on, Raine got to the point, “Did you find it?”

“Wouldn’t be here drinking piss if we hadn’t,” she chortled.

“Good. How far? Any issues I need to be aware of?”

“Not that we found. It's not far. In a chasm near the border, about six leagues. Are you… sure you want to go in there? I wouldn’t step foot in that place, especially not at your level.”

There was nothing good that could come from talking excessively with Vaaterran mercenaries. Similar to dealing with the corpus, the best defense was silence. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, they were digging for information to sell, which could easily lead to an ambush by a third party. Especially when it came to raids. 

The most vulnerable moment of any raid came at the moment a party exited the dungeon. Not only did the ambushers have plenty of time to set up the perfect trap, but the players who cleared the raid stood to lose all the spoils they gained inside, making it a very profitable endeavor for players and Vaaterrans alike. 

Having been on the receiving end of too many such ambushes to count, Raine brushed off her question, “We’ll meet your people at the edge of town, top of the hour. Stay out of sight and keep the beasts culled as per your contract.”

The woman pulled her hood lower to hide a knowing smile, nodding, “You got it, boss.”

The drinks he ordered arrived, and Raine stood to leave. She tipped her head in appreciation for the rounds, but he didn’t see it, already falling up a tunnel of streaking lights to appear in his bed. It was an hour after midnight. Raine hopped up and stretched deeply, cracking his stiff neck. He pushed through five minutes of intense Qigong, then shook out his limbs and relieved himself. Grabbing a washcloth, he cleaned out the sweat from inside his helmet.

Gotta get me a capsule as soon as they're on the market.

He sucked down as much water as he could comfortably hold and logged in with two remaining before their break was supposed to end. Mel was the only one there when he appeared in the tavern. She bounced over to him, a bright smile on her too-pretty face, “Hey there, handsome. What brings you all the way out here in the middle of the night?”

Raine didn’t rise to her bait, instead sending her a contract he’d been picking at on and off for days. When she saw what it was, she gasped, moisture building at the corners of her eyes. Raine lifted a hand in warning, “I haven’t signed yet, and I won’t until you read and understand it completely. Go over it, and we’ll discuss the finer points the next chance we get.”

Mel’s face scrunched so hard she looked like a completely different person. She nodded vigorously, words failing her as intense emotions seized her lungs.

[Finally! I can let the guilt go. I’ll be his completely.]

The idea of submitting to such a powerful man brought heat to her cheeks; it was a pale sensation compared to the desire to no longer feel like his every overheard thought was a betrayal. She couldn’t read fast enough, devouring the words three at a time as she collapsed into a nearby chair. She quickly realized the verbiage of each paragraph was incredibly complex and slowed down, starting over with a furrowed brow.

She’s still serious about this. Looks like it's actually going to happen. Not that I mind. The Mel from the past was the kind of keeper anyone stupid enough to leave would regret for the rest of their days. This Mel’s even better.

Raine’s thoughts had Mel clamping her jaw as hard as she could to not outwardly react. Besides the stunning compliment, for the first time, she had a hint about the past he so often mentioned. She still didn’t know exactly what it meant. At least it was finally clear that he considered the past as something entirely different from the present, with different versions of people that weren’t the same. Celeste mentioned that Raine was a seer, so their best guess was that 'the past' had to be some reference to how his powers worked.

Before she could dive too deeply into the implications, Celeste appeared. She immediately floated a few centimeters into the air before tightening the hold on her outrageous Connection. She dropped to the floor with a thunk, saw them watching, and flipped them off.

Raine hid an amused smile, “Both of you, send me your nascent attributes right quick. Need to check something.” Mel’s arrived with lightning speed. Celeste clicked her tongue in annoyance, taking a few seconds longer.

Melbelle Nascent Attributes:

Potency: 5

Finesse: 6

Acuity: 7

Physique: 5

Connection: 5

Crimson Nebula Nascent Attributes:

Potency: 6

Finesse: 6

Acuity: 7

Physique: 6

Connection: 9

Raine wasn’t surprised to see Celeste’s Connection so much higher than their other attributes. He doubted more than a hundred people could match her innate ability to link with ZionLine. Unfortunately, the revelation didn’t bring him any closer to understanding why his Nascent Connection was at a whopping twenty-two. 

The difference in each nascent attribute represented a massive step forward in one’s capabilities in reality. A class three martial and a master might only be separated by two across the board. Yet a thousand class three’s would die at the hands of a single master.

Can’t wait to see how far they advance after taking the concentrated ReGen. Hopefully, Dr. Pamalaiha can whip up another batch soon. I still need to go over the formula she gave me. Doubt I’ll be able to understand why it's so much more potent than in the past without her help.

Mel and Celeste shared a panicked look. They had just spent the entire break talking about that very doctor and how dangerous it was that she could read Raine’s thoughts. It wasn’t their first conversation about the mysterious woman, and it wouldn’t be the last.

After pouring over their numbers and the best way to help them going forward, Raine locked eyes with each girl in turn, “You’re both doing well. Let’s meet at Galant’s Gym in the morning and start your real training.”

Celeste’s scalp pulled back in fright, and her ears even twitched. Mel, on the other hand, couldn’t have been more excited, “Okay! I’ve always wanted to see what that place is like. Besides, the gym in the hotel is usually packed with creepy old men who can’t take a hint.” She released a disgusted breath, her lips twisting in annoyance, “Obviously, a young girl exercising at a hotel can’t be anyone but a hooker. Jerks.”

If Raine didn’t know The Notlih Hotel had a guard posted at the gym around the clock, he would have done more than cough into his hand to redirect the conversation. Unfortunately, the arrival of the twins and Richtor's entire group cut him off. The tavern grew rowdy, everyone’s moods vastly improved despite the short break. Within sixty seconds, the rest arrived, and Raine ushered them out the door.

They reached the edge of the small town in minutes, then began another lengthy sprint down a dark, less-traveled road. The Vaaterran mercenaries stayed out of sight like Raine asked, though he caught glimpses of them on occasion when dispatching the beasts that wandered too close.

The roughly thirty-kilometer run took just over an hour. The sun wasn’t up yet, but its light was beginning to grace the horizon, revealing a flatland pockmarked by craters. The vegetation was withered. Where it did grow, it was only in sporadic clumps.

Finding the marker the mercenaries left, Raine led them north off the trail. Stepping off the beaten path for the first time immediately put everyone on high alert. He nodded back at them, pleased with their reactions. Another half hour of careful travel saw them arriving at a steep chasm. 

They looked down into the massive crack, not one of them having a good feeling about it. From deep within, an eerie crimson glow could be seen, and the wind rushing up was hot against their skin. Somehow, they knew it wasn’t the work of magma but some otherworldly force warning them to stay away.

TwistedReligion shook his head, sweat already sprouting across his forehead, “I’m getting killer bad-touch vibes from this… Are we really going down there?”

Raine’s response came in the form of an item tossed at the man’s feet. When the groups saw it, a chorus of groans found a home in the open air.

[Rock Climbing Kit: (Common Grey) A box containing various tools necessary for safely traversing vertical rock formations. Enhances safe climbing speed by 200% and reduces climbing stamina consumption by 50% for 1 hour]

Fingers twitching with excitement, Raine opened his own kit and strapped the provided harness around his chest, “Shut up and suit up. It’s finally about to get fun.”