PATRIARCH FOWL
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Casual Heroing, Chapter 77
🕑 Added 2023-03-20 18:35:49 +0000 UTCRead-y Link (Mobile Optimized)
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1/4 chapters this week!
Next chapter comes out tomorrow!
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Chapter 77 – Yellow
I enter the Watch headquarters, the familiar bustle of the ground floor greeting me. Guards in polished armor turn, staring at me as I pass. The sound of chatter and footsteps fills the air, and I can smell the scent of ink and parchment from the clerks' desks.
Clerks, yuck.
"This way. The [Captain]'s office is underground. He's... particular about safety measures."
"Alrighty."
"Joey, there are two rooms. You'll be checked to make sure you have nothing dangerous on you. Don't do anything stupid. [Captain] Drusillus doesn't play games."
Heh.
Whatever.
Lucillus walks through a corridor before we reach a weird room with only a wide marble staircase descending underground. It's completely unadorned and creepy, to say the least.
"Are those the stairs?"
"Yes. I'll wait here."
"See you later, then."
The distant bustle of the main floor of the Watch is abruptly cut off as I take a few steps down the stairs. Suddenly not being able to hear anything is disconcerting, and I can feel the air pressure shift, pressing against me as if the silence had tangible weight. I can't even hear Lucillus's heavy breathing, even though he's barely a few feet away from me.
I walk for what feels like a good minute and turn a few times to make sure I'm actually moving. Everything looks the same, and if it wasn't for several [Lights] placed at equal distances along the corridor, it would feel like I wasn't even moving. The oppressive silence, coupled with the sensation of the earth's weight above me, adds an unsettling element to the descent.
I can feel some historical pressure here. I don't know if it's racist, but this is pretty much the first time I actually feel uncomfortable being a Human. I don't know why, but having pointy ears would make me feel much more at ease on this creepy staircase.
As I reach the bottom and the first room, I can see the dark armor of the guards within and hear the sound of their whispered commands. This is different from the friendly, welcoming duo I'm used to – this looks like the Watch that guards the city's secrets and dangers.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.
It's just a chat, Lucillus said. Just a chat, Joey.
As I step into the room, I'm greeted by the sight of guards in dark armor standing alertly, their eyes scanning me for any signs of trouble.
They’re wearing obsidian-black armor, glinting menacingly against the pale [Lights] in the room. They are both bigger than Antoninus and meaner-looking than Lucillus.
"Hello," I say with a forced smile.
“Your bag of holding,” one of the two armored colossuses says with an outstretched hand.
“Sure,” I hand it over, and they scan me quickly from head to toe before nodding to each other and gesturing for me to enter the next room.
"Go ahead."
With a deep breath, I continue down the hallway, the stone walls closing in on me. I can hear my heart beating in my chest as I approach the next room, my nerves on edge. This room is even darker than the last, with no torches illuminating it—only orbs.
[Mages] are standing guard here.
The faint glow cannot pierce the impenetrable shadows on their faces, hidden behind deep cowls.
This is all a bit much, isn't it? What’s this, Skyrim? Like, what's up with all this security and all the darkness? Aren't we going a bit too edgy with this?
I step forward cautiously, feeling the weight of their scrutiny on me. They are dressed in long robes, their faces obscured by hoods.
I have to say I'm much more curious than the situation would let on. In fact, I briefly activate [Advanced Mana Sense].
For a few seconds, I stare at two tremendously bright sources of Mana in humanoid form. Wow. Whatever level they are, it's pretty high.
I can basically feel their magic coursing through the air, crackling with energy. They approach me slowly, their eyes flickering over my body.
I stand still, feeling their magic wash over me like a wave. It's a strange sensation, like a thousand needles pricking my skin.
"Is this another check?"
Neither replies.
Before I can turn my skill off, though, they both stand back, and the magic in the air seemingly disappears.
"Go ahead," one of them announces as they step back.
"Alright, thanks," I nod at them and open another door. After a brief walk through another corridor, I find myself in front of a metallic door similar to a vault.
"Enter."
The voice comes from a stone at the side of the door.
Freaky.
I push the door open to find a man whose identity, I suppose, is the Watch [Captain], and he’s looking up from a messy desk. He has charcoal black hair and a rugged appearance, with deep lines etched into his face. He looks like a man who has seen his fair share of battles. He regards me with a steady gaze, taking in my appearance before speaking in a deep, commanding voice.
“Joey Luciani. Suddenly appeared outside Amorium on the thirteenth of this month. Hired by Happy Bakery after barely twenty-four hours since appearing. Been working there for three weeks. Within these three weeks, he has caused [Merchants] to move tens of thousands of golds due to Marcella Iulia Aureamanus increasing her stake in her daughter’s business.”
He looks up at me, and I notice that the man who’s just recited a bunch of info about me is bigger than Antoninus and the two massive [Guards] I met before.
What kind of magical corn do they feed these Elves?
“How you doin’ yourself, [Captain]?” I smile.
“You are here for a specialist interview,” he says calmly.
I nod and wait.
“No questions?”
“Heh, I suppose I should have seen this coming. A Human pops up out of nowhere in an Elven city and does what you just said? I understand. Would you mind introducing yourself first? As you said, I am Joey Luciani, but I didn’t catch your name.”
The [Captain] frowns, clearly taken aback by my reaction.
“[Captain] Drusillus,” he says, extending a hand over his solid desk.
I shake it, half-expecting the man to try and crush my hand. When he doesn’t, my opinion of him turns more favorable.
“The procedure includes a special truth stone. My chambers are enchanted so that not even an [Archmage] can try anything here. You can refuse to answer questions. If the questions pose a security risk to Amorium – or worse, Epretos – you shall be executed.”
Huh.
I suppose they didn't tell Lucillus that.
“Sure. One condition, though,” I say in response. “I don’t do paperwork, I don’t sign stuff, I don’t read anything—”
“I’ve been notified of your particular disposition toward bureaucracy,” his voice is hard but fair. “I will conduct every interview segment orally to accommodate your needs. Are you ready to start, or would you like a minute to gather your thoughts? This truth stone will reveal any objective truths you know or have known, not what you believe in. While it cannot be used to my new knowledge out of someone, it will bypass self-conditioning spells and mind wiping,” he says, pointing to the weird stone.
I shake my head.
"I'm ready."
“Let’s start, then.”
...
“Do you bear any association to Teiko in any way, no matter the degree of connection?”
“Not that I know,” I reply.
Green.
“Have you ever had any association, whether you currently know now or not?”
“No?” I reply, confused.
“Answer without formulating a question.”
“No. I have never had any association that I know of or don’t.”
Green.
“Are you acting on behalf of anyone? If so, are you aware of any possible connections to Teiko?”
“I am not acting on behalf of anyone.”
This time, the truth stone turns a lighter green, almost yellowish.
“List the promises, deals, and general agreements you have made that you are upholding and add, ‘these are all the agreements I have’ at the end.”
“Huh,” I scratch my head as the man slowly reclines in his chair, “well, I have made several promises to my mother. But they are all about work and my personal life. It’s stuff like ‘don’t get tricked into bad deals, don’t let others bully you,’ and... wait. Let’s say that all promises made to my mother have nothing to do with Elves and/or damaging Elves and Amorium. Is that good enough?”
The truth stone goes green this time.
The [Captain] nods and keeps staring.
“Right,” I swallow, “I also made some promises to my teachers about the ethics of working as a baker. I promised Clodia I wouldn’t leave Happy Bakery before at least a year of collaborating with her.”
Green and green.
I bite my lower lip and raise my eyes to the ceiling.
“I think that might be all? Wait, err; these are all the agreements I have.”
Green. There’s a slight discoloration, but the [Captain] doesn’t seem bothered by it.
“Are you trying to destabilize the economy of Amorium?”
Pff.
I actually start laughing in his face after he says that.
“What? Man, dude, are you for real? I can’t look at a contract, and I should be doing what, sabotaging Amorium?”
My man doesn’t seem entertained, though, and I sigh.
“No, I am not trying to destabilize the economy. If anything, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to provide cheaper bread to people.”
[Captain] Drusillus nods when the truth stone flashes a bright green.
“Are you helping Amorium’s homeless population out of self-interest?”
“Yo,” my eyes widen, “that’s very hard to answer. Helping people makes me feel better about myself, but I am genuinely concerned about those guys.”
I half-close my eyes, expecting the stone to go fully yellow.
But what filters through my eyelashes is nothing but a bright green.
“That was unprofessional,” Drusillus suddenly says, “I formulated it in a way that would satisfy my curiosity and let me know whether you are forming a band of [Rioters] or [Anarchists].”
“Oh... Hum, ok? Thank you? You... are welcome?”
“The next question is about your class,” Drusillus says. “Classes are a secret held close to one’s ears. I need you to write down your classes, Joey Luciani. It is my understanding that you’ve only recently gained your first classes, so it shall be less problematic than for a high-level individual.”
I shrug.
“Don’t worry. It’s fine. Oh, but I have yet to actually nap again? Lucillus came this morning after I finished practicing some magic. I might get a new skill that... well, breaks walls?”
“Just close your eyes, breathe deeply, and try to think about sleeping,” Drusillus says, nonplussed. “There are ways to induce the level-ups even while awake. You will receive your level-ups as long as your body enters a pre-sleep state. Some fighters have mastered this to the point where there’s a thing called counter-leveling.”
That is... interesting.
“Ok.”
Honestly, I don’t feel I have much to contribute to this conversation. [Captain] Drusillus seems like a straight-shooter, just a bit uptight—which is understandable, I suppose. Who wouldn’t be when you are in charge of stuff? So, I wonder if I can ask him some questions. I have always been fascinated with how police operate in various parts of the world. For example, NYC is very different from any other US city.
Yo, the NYPD is one of the oldest and largest police departments in the US. They’ve got a ton of officers, and they're rather mixed when it comes to ranks. They’ve got patrol officers, detectives, sergeants, lieutenants, and so on, each with their own nuts to crack. They’ve also got specialized units, like the Counterterrorism Bureau, that handle specific types of crime.
These people have a city-state approach to how their Watches work, which makes it similar to the NYPD. Cool, cool, cool, cool.
“Luciani,” the [Captain] clears his throat. “Move it along, please.”
“Oh, right. Sure. Sorry.”
I close my eyes and yawn profusely, trying to simulate a state of sleep.
Do I have to do anything specific to—
[Light Mage – Level 4!]
[Skill – Lightbolt Acquired!]
[Skill – Eyes: Major Light Resistance Acquired!]
“Huh, it actually worked,” I say with another yawn.
“Write down your class and levels on the paper and read them aloud for me.”
I take the blank piece of paper that [Captain] Drusillus is handing me and write down my class and skills. I wonder if this is really necessary. Thank God I haven’t gotten anything exceedingly weird from the book.
“So, [Light Mage], level 4. I’ve got [Advanced Mana Sense], [Light], [Flash], [Deep Focus], [Light Manipulation], [Lightbolt], and [Eyes: Major Light Resistance].”
I raise my eyes from the page and see the [Captain] with a deep frown on his face.
“What?”
He’s looking at the green truth stone before taking the page from my hands and looking over it.
“You have seven skills at level 4? One of them includes an ‘Advanced’ prefix too.”
The man drums his fingers on the table, “normally, this would be enough to clear you of any suspicion. But it’s been hypothesized that Humans might try to raise [Spies] inside Lucerna. So, Joey Luciani, who’s teaching you magic? That is your last question, and you’ll be cleared for the foreseeable future.”
“Oh, I have a book,” I say. “Just a book.”
I look at the truth stone and feel a flicker of electricity on my skin. Somehow, at the same time, the truth stone’s green trembles for a second before flashing bright green.
“Two magical prodigies in Amorium,” Drusillus says with a heavy voice. “I know you have already spoken with Lucinda. Are you going to pursue a career as a [Mage], perhaps following her to the Nine Towers Academy? Feel free not to answer. This is just a curiosity of mine.”
“Nah, to hell with that,” I smile at the [Captain], “I’m just a baker, through and through.”
Both our eyes are suddenly drawn to the truth stone between us as it’s flashing...
Red.
Comments
Fortunis
Yah, dude has clearly been in denial for years.
J
I felt that the end of this chapter needed something else. A sentance or two where the characters acknowledge or address the red light discrepancy of the truth stone, a dissmissal from the office, something along those lines. I found it hard to believe a suspicious, thorough officer like the [Captain] would just glance at the stone and then the scene ends with a "sounds good, see ya later!"
Nyroe
"I must admit that I am not truly a baker. I was forced to change my title due to a personal spat at the bakery, so I am now known as a capital B Baker."
David Zimmerle
"I want to just be a baker, but life and my subconscious won't let me."
Ari Grad
Seems like the 'special stone' can also spot lies someone does to oneself. I quite enjoyed this chapter, nothing seemed confusing - although perhaps a question on his fight/etc *before* the question on the homeless could be warranted (leading from 'you uplifted the homeless to your security got into a fight' to 'are you self-centered about helping them'). Looking forward to his backpeddling on the final question. No other real comments here, seemed fairly well laid out.
