Tower Story -- Chapter 15

(Just as a reminder, this is the final chapter for my $2 Patrons; the rest of the chapters will be gradually released as soon as the entire book is complete, leading up to its publication on Kindle)

Chapter 15

Bax instinctively used Identification on the Dwarf, and he was somewhat surprised at how high of a Level they were.

Unknown Dwarf

Level: 21

Highest Stat: Unknown

Weaknesses: Unknown

Danger Assessment: Very High

Level 21?  Perhaps the average Level of people in this world is higher than I thought?

“Uh, well, sorry about being wet,” he responded quickly.  “I accidentally fell in.”

The Dwarf grunted in annoyance.  “Obviously.  But you didn’t answer my question.  Who are you, and where were you working to have fallen in?  I don’t recognize you, and your Level is far too low to be useful on my docks.”

Glancing around, for the first time Bax used Identification on the various Humans helping to move boxes and other material on and off the various boats that were parked at the docks.  The lowest Level he saw among them was Level 5, which was only a single person that was built like a body builder; the average of the others was Level 8, with the highest at Level 11.  As for the other races moving in and around the docks, either assisting the Humans or directing them from the boats, they ranged from Level 4 all the way up to Level 18.

In other words, Bax stood out significantly because of his low Level. 

He didn’t really have a good story prepared, which in hindsight was a miscalculation on his part; the details of getting to civilization and integrating himself into it in order to help out hadn’t really been a priority – but it should’ve been.  Especially if he didn’t want to advertise how powerful he was… at least, not yet.

“Oh, uh, I’m actually a new arrival.  This town is unfamiliar enough to me that I lost my footing on the—”

“Of all the—” the Dwarf seemed to curse, but it wasn’t translated properly to his mind for some reason.  “Why are they sending these inexperienced fools out here?” he seemed to mumble to himself, shaking his head in disappointment.  “What were you sent out here for?” the Dwarf again addressed Bax.

He wasn’t sure why he said it, though he thought it was perhaps because he couldn’t think of anything else.  “I’m, uh, supposed to join an Adventuring Party and—”

Bax was interrupted when the still-unknown Dwarf literally guffawed up at him.  “Ha!  That’s rich!  A Level 2 Human thinking to join a Party on the frontier!  I don’t think I’ve heard anything as ridiculous as that before!”

The laughing pulled the attention of almost everyone on the docks, who seemed to see the half-naked man for the first time, but most of them looked away after seeing that the Dwarf was there.

Once the Dwarf’s mirth subsided a bit, he wiped his eyes where tears of laughter had spilled out, before asking more seriously, “No, really; who are you, and why are you here?”

“I’m… Bax, and I’m here to… help out however I can?” he responded, unsure what else to say.  He was tempted to simply run away from this confrontation, as he didn’t really appreciate being laughed at, but he still wanted to keep a low profile until he had a little better understanding of the lay of the land. 

His answer elicited another grunt from the Dwarf.  “Ah, one of those types.  Did you stow away on one of the merchant ships?  Was it the Dawnspire? Or the Verdant Hook?”

Bax shook his head.  “No, sir, I would never do something like that.”

The Dwarf looked at him with a discerning eye.  “Did you take anything from them that didn’t belong to you or deliberately hurt anyone to arrive here?”  Bax felt a tingle as something pressed against his mind, and he realized that the dockmaster had something like a Detect Falsehood or Divine Intentions spell at his disposal; based on the Dwarf’s Level, he suspected that it was the first one, as his research told him that Divine Intentions was only available to Classes at higher Levels.

“No, I didn’t take anything that didn’t belong to me, nor did I deliberately hurt anyone,” he said truthfully.  At least, he hoped that it came across as truthful; he’d technically killed thousands of people, but none of it had been deliberate.

Another grunt, this time sounding satisfied.  “Seems like you’re telling the truth.  It still doesn’t make sense why you would come here, unless you’re running away from something?”

“No, not exactly.”

“That’s a bit dubious, but I don’t have time to care, anymore.  All I know is that I can’t use anyone of your Level here, so GET OFF MY DOCKS!” the Dwarf shouted in a bellowing voice, before turning away to yell at a Human crew fumbling with an extremely heavy-looking box on one of the boats nearby.  “Lift with your knees and use your HEAD, for once!”

Shaking himself to get rid of the majority of the lingering water on his body, Bax quickly left the docks, walking swiftly toward the open gate that led through the stone wall into the town, feeling the suspicious eyes of the armored guards up above looking down at him.  When he got to the gate itself, he was thankful that the two Orc guards – each at Level 20 – didn’t stop him from walking through it, though he could feel their disdain like a palpable aura wafting off of them.

He ignored them, as he didn’t really care about getting into a confrontation with any people who were either racist or would disparage his apparent Level; such an interaction could only end badly.  Either he’d have to reveal himself as someone significantly stronger than they were, or he might lash out angrily and end up inadvertently hurting or killing someone.  He’d never been one to fly off at the handle at the slightest provocation, but he discovered that his patience for the actions of morons had decayed during his forced solitude.  Until he could try and build his patience back up again, he thought it would be best to avoid any situations where he might accidentally react poorly.

Stepping into the walled assemblage of buildings called Lodgepoint, he was immediately assaulted by the sights, sounds, and smells of what he would imagine a medieval fantasy town would be like.  There was a small marketplace with temporary stalls set up just inside the gate, with the majority of them being fishmongers displaying recent catches from the river, though he also saw some others selling other general merchandise and supplies like simple clothing, rope, candles, cookware, and a sundry of basic items such as soap and glass bottles.  Seeing that he was nearly naked with just his loincloth that had seen better days, he was most interested in the clothing stalls, but his attention was pulled away as he looked past the temporary marketplace at the wide street leading up to what appeared to be an enormous building in the center of the town. 

Dozens of groups were heading in and out of this building, which made him believe that this was likely the Adventurer’s Guild building – at least according to his research.  The Guild was the most important part of every village, town, or city in any world, as they were what ultimately kept everyone safe on a normal basis; Keepers might be the ones that were Tasked with eliminating greater threats, but 95% of everyday monster-killing was done by the Guild and the Adventurers that belonged to it. 

However, even knowing that fact, it seemed as though this building was even larger – both in height and width – than what would be expected in a town this size.  His quick assumption was that, if it was known that Keepers weren’t going to be there to help, then the need for more Adventurers and for their scope of Tasks would be expanded.  Whether or not this was the case was something he figured he would find out soon, as he was positive that he’d be checking out the Guild in one way or another, if only to see if he could find more information on what kinds of threats were out there.

The main street leading to the Adventurer’s Guild took the majority of his focus, however.  Permanent shopfronts showed carved-wood signs indicating that they sold weapons and armor of all kinds, as well as what appeared to be shops that had potions and other magical items that could be useful for Adventurers.  There was even one façade on the front of a larger space that appeared to exclusively sell larger weapon emplacements, or possibly ones that could be transported for use in the fields.

The sight of so many stores appearing to cater to Adventurers and the defense of the town wasn’t too surprising, given the importance of such things, but it also seemed like it was the main industry in the town by the way it dominated everything else.  Granted, Bax was far from seeing everything yet, but the general feel he got – along with the sight of so many armed and armored individuals moving around – made him fairly confident in his assumption.

Seeing the temporary clothing stalls, Bax was reminded that he was practically naked and it would be a good idea if he were to cover himself up now that he was back in civilization.  He’d gotten used to his state of undress while he’d been at the Co-op and in the Keepers’ Tower, but now that he was back among people, he needed to where clothes again – especially as he stood out like a sore thumb compared to everyone else he saw.  Getting pointed looks and hearing whispered conversations about his nakedness – and a few admiring giggles from a few Human women – made him increasingly self-conscious, even though his changed body was certainly nothing to be ashamed of.  It was just that he was feeling very uncomfortable under all of those staring at him.

As he began to walk toward the clothing stall, he realized as he took a few steps that he didn’t have any money to buy anything.  If he remembered correctly, the people living in the System didn’t use common fantasy currency like gold, silver, and copper coins as a means of trade; instead, they used something called “Magical Gems”, or Magems for short.  They were created by condensing down energy-imbued items through a special process that any merchant-type Class or those with a high Unity could accomplish.  The Conversion ability was apparently easy enough to learn by anyone with a Unity at 50 or above, but it was also something that the aforementioned Classes received automatically. 

What Conversion essentially did was destroy an item imbued with energy, such as what was acquired from monsters after they were slain, and in its place was a small Magem. These Magem would come in different sizes and colors, depending on how much energy was contained within them, and these Magems – along with certain abilities of different Classes – was what allowed the people who lived within the System to imbue energy into other items.  These items could be something as mundane as the stone used to construct the walls of the town, making them stronger and more durable, to improving weapons and armor, to providing the magical impetus for potions and other useful magical items.  Essentially, nearly everything that required energy to improve it needed these Magems, which was why they were the main currency throughout every world, able to be traded between worlds without any confusion.  Of course, that was before all of the other worlds had been compromised, so he supposed that it only really mattered for the current world of Derelya.

A glance at people shopping and exchanging a few Magems here and there for goods told him that the currency hadn’t changed all that drastically despite there only being one world that dealt in them.  Now all he needed to do was find someone who could help convert at least some of what he’d acquired from the Bugeels not too long ago into Magems and he could clothe himself again – as well as get something to eat.  He had been thirsty, but he’d ended up swallowing some of the river water to slake his thirst a bit; he could probably go for something that was a bit cleaner to drink to go along with some food, however.

Before he could begin to look for someone to do that, he noticed a pair of male Anjelou briskly jogging up to him from his right, dressed in the same sort of guard uniforms as the Orcs by the gate and those upon the wall.  “Halt!” one of them shouted, and he looked to see that both of these angelic guards were Level 22; they were stronger than most of the other guards, but not as strong as the Adventurers who had escorted earlier.

Bax could’ve run or even pretended like he hadn’t heard them, but he did neither.  He figured that if he was going to be questioned or accosted again, he might as well get it over with.  Instead, he just looked at the approaching Anjelou with curiosity, as he had no idea what they might want.

“You are in violation of our registration protocols; any new arrivals must pass through the western gate to register with their writ of passage.  If you are not a new arrival, then you are in violation of removing yourself from the population rolls, as you show up as ‘Unknown’ to our Identification.  You are coming with us until we can get this sorted out.”

Oh, hell no.  Bax was fairly certain he knew what was coming next.  They would take him to jail and then spend weeks trying to establish who he was and where he came from, all because of some bureaucratic nonsense.  He was having none of that, however.  While he was confident of extracting himself from any type of jail they might think to throw him inside, he didn’t want to have to deal with this crap just by walking inside the gates of the town.

Before he could flee, the powerful Human found his muscles locked up tight somehow, and he immediately looked at one of the Anjelou to see an intent expression on his face as he stared at him.  Struggling to break free from whatever was happening to him, he fell facedown on the ground, and he used every bit of his strength to force his body to move at his direction – but it was no use.

What?  How is this possible?

Abandoning the physical attempts at escape, he mentally looked inside of himself using some of the same techniques that had allowed him to bring his Unity up to 10 – and found something disturbing.  An outside force—likely the intently staring Anjelou—had wrapped itself around his Mana and had expanded throughout his entire body, locking it down tight.  He was fairly sure that if he had better control over his Mana, such as what would come with a much higher Unity, he was fairly certain he could overpower the force controlling him, but as it was, he was feeling quite helpless in this situation.

One of the angelic guards easily picked his stiffly frozen body up, still face down, and he had to endure the indignity of being carried throughout the town, staring at the dirt and stone street underneath him.  Eventually, he saw the one carrying him step up some stairs and into a fairly open building, at least that’s what it seemed like based on what he could hear; he couldn’t see anything but the stone tiles underneath him as he was brought down what he further thought was a hallway, before being literally dropped inside what was turned out to be an empty jail cell. 

He discovered what it was as soon as he felt control of his body return to him, and he immediately jumped to his feet and looked around.  The 10-foot by 10-foot room he was in was surrounded by stone walls on three sides, with the last one being completely empty of any permanent fixture.  Instead, covering the opening was a curtain of energy that he could feel even at a distance, and that same curtain covered not only the other walls, but the ceiling and floor, as well.  Stomping on it gently, he could feel that it had a minor shocking effect to it when he attempted to push through, and he surmised that it would only become more significant with additional pressure.  Overall, it was a strange sight, and not one that he was expecting.

I keep forgetting that this is a magical world; steel bars wouldn’t necessarily be a deterrent to those with high Strength, after all.

“What are you going to do to me?” he asked, intuitively knowing that even through the magical barrier, the guards that were still outside his cell could hear him. 

“As stated before, we will attempt to ascertain your identity, with or without your cooperation.  Until that time, you are staying here.”

The hell I will.

Bax was already testing the limits of the barrier, pushing through what was covering the floor, and he was fairly confident that it couldn’t stop him if he really wanted out.  It simply required a higher Strength and Endurance than anyone else in the world could boast having.

The problem, though, was that even if he broke out, the guards seemed to be able to lock up his body on sight.  He might be able to run away before they could catch him, but then he would have to leave and find somewhere else to go; there was a distinct possibility that he would run into the same problem no matter where he went, so he clamped down on his desire to shatter the barrier and attempt to walk out until he knew more about what was to happen.

“Can you at least get me something to eat?  I’m starving.”

That wasn’t far from the truth, either.  From his run through the last Floor of the Keepers’ Tower, to his experiences thus far in the world of Derelya, he hadn’t had anything to eat – and after the guards locked up his muscles, he found himself even more famished than before.

One of the Anjelou nodded before they both walked away.  He could only assume that they would be getting him something to eat, but it was too hard to tell from their stoic expressions if that meant right away or a few hours from that point.

After they left, he sat on the floor and considered what had just happened.  Searching through his memories of his time in the Co-op’s Archives, he couldn’t remember learning anything about a spell or ability that did what had just been done to him.  All he knew was that his poor Unity stat was a weakness that he had no idea could be exploited that way. 

I need to fix it, pronto.  Of course, to do that, he needed to get into a Party so he could unlock his Class, otherwise it was going to be stuck at 10 forever.  If that was the case, then he might have to forever be worried about random Level 20s somehow incapacitating him with a look.  Worse than that, the thought that some monsters that he’d never seen before in the Keepers’ Tower could do the same weighed heavily upon him.

Before he could go too far into depressive thoughts about his poor Unity stat and the possibility that monsters could somehow make him freeze up just like what the guard had done, he heard someone heading back his way.  He looked up and saw the same Anjelou he’d been thinking about and saw that he was carrying something in his hands.  A moment later, the guard reached through the barrier keeping him theoretically trapped in the cell as if it didn’t even exist, placing a large, square piece of what looked like bread and a stone cup full of water on the barrier covering the floor.  Bax momentarily thought about grabbing the Anjelou’s hands before the guard could withdraw them, but decided to let him go.

He'd brought food, after all.

It took no time for the starving Human to scramble over to the bread and he practically inhaled it, tearing into large pieces that he rapidly chewed, swallowing it down with his water at the same time.  While it wasn’t the best bread he’d ever had, as it was a bit more dense than he was used to, it was practically divine given how hungry he’d been.  It was gone too soon, unfortunately, and though his stomach grumbled for more, he was at least minimally satiated for the moment. 

Sitting back and relaxing as best as he could in what was ostensibly a magical box without even a bed or toilet to go in, he began to wonder how long he’d have to wait to get out of there.  He hoped that his original estimate of a few weeks was just an irritated exaggeration, but he honestly didn’t know what to expect.  Nearly everything he’d learned about the actual people and towns of the worlds that the Keepers protected had been fairly broad in subject, so he knew practically nothing about the rules and laws that had to be followed for normal people.  There were plenty of rules that Keepers had to follow, but those didn’t necessarily translate to his current situation.

Again, he internally debated on whether to reveal that he was actually a Keeper that was there to help, but he still wasn’t sure if it would actually help.  In fact, the more he was in this world, the more he suspected that it would be a bad idea, and would invite questions about the other Keepers that he really didn’t want to answer.

If this incarceration looks like its going to last longer than a couple of days, I think I’ll say “screw it,” and try my luck somewhere el—

“Get up,” he heard, and he looked up to see an Elf in a guard uniform that had appeared while he was being introspective.  While he didn’t necessarily want to jump to the beck-and-call of these town guards, Bax still got up off the floor and moved closer to the magical barrier blocking him from the Elf when they gestured him forward.  He was hoping that he might get some answers on how long he was going to be there and of what exactly they needed from him.

“Level 2, huh?  Do you have a writ of passage?”  At Bax’s head shake, the Elf sighed.  “Where did you come from, then?  Did you come in from the trading vessels?”

“I, uh, walked here,” he responded.  That was technically the truth, he supposed. 

“Right, sure, you walked here – even though the closest village is at least two days away for someone at your Level.”  The Elf stared at him as if he was using the same ability the Dwarf on the docks possessed, before shaking his head in disbelief.  “You’re telling the truth, or at least what you believe to be the truth.  Whatever, I’m not going to waste my time trying to figure it out, because I honestly don’t care.”

The Elven guard, who Bax learned couldn’t use Identification on through the magical barrier, pulled something out of his internal inventory space.  It looked like a flat, black, rectangular stone that reminded him somewhat of the control tablet in the Co-op, but it was much more crude and primitive-looking.  “Let’s get you registered and then you can get out of my hair.”  Saying so, he held the black stone up to the magical barrier and pushed it through just enough that it was accessible to Bax… and then looked at him expectantly.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked, clearly annoyed by this point.  “Put your right hand on the registrar.”

With a mental shrug, he did so, and there was a faint tingle that shot through his palm before fading away after a few seconds.  The Elven guard pulled it away at that point and then paused as his gaze went unfocused; Bax realized that he was looking at something that only he could see, such as a notification or his APPS. 

“Baxtonille?  You prefer to go by Bax?”

Crap.  I wonder what information they just got on me?  With only a slight hesitation, he answered, “Yes; I prefer Bax.”

“Fine, Bax.  It doesn’t appear that you have any outstanding infractions, so you’re in the clear.  As far as your inability to present a writ of passage—” The Elven guard abruptly cut off, his expression confused.  “Well, I’ve never seen this before.  Apparently, the System has given you automatic access to move freely wherever you want to go.”  Turning to look at Bax, his irritation was clearly back.  “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

“Uh, well—”

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but you’ve wasted enough of our time with this nonsense.”  The Elf suddenly made the black stone tablet-type thing disappear as he turned his full attention on Bax.  “Now, your punishment for failing to register upon arrival, as well as failing to mention that you have no need of a writ of passage, is to assist in the fields outside the walls for one entire shift without pay.  Once you’ve done that, you’re free to do whatever you came here to do.  Any questions?”

Bax thought about protesting, but the sudden change in his imprisonment had thrown him off.  Instead, he just nodded, figuring that it would probably be simpler to serve out his punishment rather than raise a stink.  Besides, it wasn’t as if he was in any massive hurry; he planned to be in this world for a long time, and he’d rather not get off on the wrong foot by arguing with the local authorities or even refusing to abide by the punishment.  While they couldn’t technically force him to work in the fields outside the walls, he’d also rather avoid them locking him up again with whatever ability they’d used before.

“No… no questions.”

“Good to hear.  And fortunately for you, the next shift is about to start.  Once I let you out, go see Paulina outside and she’ll get you started.”  The next moment, the barrier fell, freeing him from the cell.  “Now, get the hell out of my station.”  Before Bax could respond, the Elf quickly left, and it was only as he turned the corner down the hallway that he realized he’d forgotten to use Identification on the guard.

He stood there for a moment, not completely believing that he was actually free now, before he took off down the same hallway at a jog, intending to get out to the fields as soon as possible to get this whole thing over with so he could get on with his original plans inside the town.