System Change

“All in due time,” Alanah said with a chuckle as they continued to make their way through the building, then, with a whisper, she said, “But let’s focus on this city for now—leave the questions and answers for later.”

“Sounds good,” Derek said. Her reply had all but confirmed that there was something going on with her passive ability to control people. Maybe it’s somehow changed from a passive ability that she couldn’t turn off to one that she can? He thought. Or she could just have complete control over it now. Did she evolve like me at some point? He had many questions racing through his head, but she was right. It wasn’t the time or place to ask or answer those questions.

Finally, the duo made it to the front of the building while being presented with bows from almost everyone they walked past. The only people who did not choose to bow were the ones who were busy cleaning or doing other tasks and didn’t happen to see them. These badges really make a guy feel like a celebrity, Derek thought with a grin.

“Allow me,” one of the workers said as the two stepped in front of the exit. Then, with both hands, he pushed the double doors open—revealing the city behind.

“Thanks,” Derek said as he fell in line behind Alanah and walked outside.

“This is it,” Alanah said. “Cordonia.” She looked around where they were and up and down the streets.

“Looks pretty normal,” Derek said. “I’m not sure what I was expecting.”

“This is my first time here,” Alanah replied. “But it’s about what I was expecting if the information given to us by the royal family of Indria was accurate.”

The surrounding city was basically a mini version of Eloria, just like how the teleportation center was a mini version of the capital’s teleportation center. Small children of many races were running up and down the streets—all the while laughing and giggling.

“That’s a good sign,” Derek said, pointing to a pair of human children—a boy and a girl—that looked well fed and happy. As they made their way past Derek and Alanah, Derek stopped them by holding out one of the very few silver coins that he was carrying. “You can have this if you answer a few questions. What do you say?”

“Is that a silver piece?” the boy asked with bug-eyes.

“It is,” Derek replied.

The boy hesitated and looked at the girl, who may have been a little older than he was. After a few seconds of looking at each other, then back at the coin, the girl answered, “Okay, but we can’t be long. Momma will be mad if we don’t get back soon.”

“Great,” Derek said and flipped the coin with his thumb to the little boy, who quickly snatched it out of the air. Derek waited for the glee and excitement to leave the boy before beginning his round of questioning. “How long have you lived here?” he asked. “In this city.”

“Don’t know,” the boy answered, then looked at the girl.

“We left with momma, then some elves brought us here. I was six then, I’m eight now,” the older of the two children answered.

“Great,” Derek said, praising them for their answer. “Do you like it here? Are you treated well here?”

“I love it!” the boy quickly answered. “I have friends here. Momma has work. And we always have food!”

“Good, good,” Derek said, and couldn’t keep himself from tousling the boy’s hair like he always did with Brandi and Thomas. “Nobody’s ever mean to you or your momma?” he asked.

“Some of the other kids are mean to me,” the boy answered with a pout.

“He’s not talking about the other kids, Paulie,” the girl informed her brother. “He’s talking about the elves—the ones that brought us here. Right?”

“Smart kid,” Derek said to the girl with a smile. “Yes, I’m talking about the elves who brought you here, or just the elves in general. Do they treat you well?”

“They don’t treat us bad,” the girl answered.

“But?” Derek said.

“But they aren’t very friendly,” she replied.

“How so?”

“We had a friend, but his daddy said he couldn’t play with us,” Paulie, the young boy, answered, then a bright smile appeared on his face. “But his daddy changed his mind, and he’s able to play with us again.”

“When did his father change his mind?” Derek asked.

The boy held out his fingers and began counting. “Five days ago! When we had fish for lunch. I love fish.”

“Five days ago, huh?” Derek said while scratching his chin. I guess Indria has had a long enough time to implement the new rules and regulation, and it has probably reached around the kingdom by now. Derek knew that many, if not most, of the elves in Indria would have a hard time accepting all the new regulations, but, if this first encounter was anything to go by, it seemed that they were at least slowly coming to terms with and accepting everything.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“Mhm,” the kid answered with a nod. “Five days!” he held up his right hand and showed all five fingers on it. “Agnon is amazing, too! He has some of the coolest ears,” the boy said excitedly. “They are extra pointy.”

“Oh yeah?” Derek chuckled. “Well, I’m happy that you and your friend Agnon get to play together again.”

“Can we go now?” the young girl asked. She had seemed much more cautious and skeptical over the encounter than her younger brother. “Momma will be mad if we stay out much longer.”

“You can go,” Derek said with a smile, and tousled the boy’s hair again. “Don’t spend that silver all in one place,” he said. “Now hurry on before your mom gets mad. Nothing is scarier than an angry mom.”

“Thank you, mister!” the young boy yelled as he took off down the street. The girl hesitated again, then lightly bowed before taking off behind her brother.

“Good kids,” Derek said.

“Most are at that age,” Alanah answered.

“I guess,” Derek said. “Now… let’s see. Where is the building that is supposed to sell those standard servant contracts?” he asked Alanah. What was it called again?

“It shouldn’t be too far from here,” Alanah replied. “Would want it to be close to the teleportation buildings and centers.”

“Right,” Derek said with a nod. “I should have asked the kids before they ran off…” he trailed off as he looked around and his eyes found another person walking down the street. “He’ll do,” he said and ran towards the man to catch up to him.

He was an elven man with blond hair and a very expensive-looking pair of clothes. He looked young, but that wasn’t something he could actually tell with an elf. The elf very much looked the part of a noble. If nothing else, it will be another good test, Derek thought as he drew closer. Of course, it wouldn’t be the best test, as both Derek and Alanah were wearing their impressive armor and badges, but he could at least get the feel of what a noble would think about a human and half elf.

“Hey,” Derek said to the man, causing him to turn around.

“Yes?” the man said with a slightly exasperated sigh. “What do you need?” His eyes fell on Derek’s ears and face, then trailed down his armor, eventually focusing on the badges on his arm. To Derek’s surprise, his demeanor didn’t change at all. He just kept his calm, but slightly ‘put out’ attitude.

“I’m looking for your uh… supply store…” Derek said. “Like, the building where one would go to get basic supplies and, like… standard servant contracts.”

“The Kingdom Supplier Store?” the man asked.

“That’s it,” Derek said. That’s what Osian called the stores in each city that offer the cheap servant contracts.

The man before him sighed, then pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “It’s right there… in front of you.”

“Oh…” Derek said, looking past the man and seeing the sign that said ‘Kingdom Supplier’ hanging on the building just in front of them. “Thanks.”

“Yes, yes,” the noble elf muttered. “Is there anything else the two of you need? If not, I need to go.”

“Go ahead,” Derek said. “That’s all I was looking for.”

Without saying anything else, or even giving a ‘goodbye,’ the elf turned back around and walked off.

“Strange man,” Derek said.

“Indeed,” Alanah agreed.

“But I’m pretty sure he would have acted the same way no matter who it was that stopped him in the street,” Derek said. “Well… unless it was like… Osian or something. I’m sure he would have acted differently with the king.”

“That is probably so,” Alanah said. “But at least I did not sense any animosity toward either your nor myself when he looked us over.”

“I guess that’s the best you can hope for in some cases with nobles,” Derek said.

“Yes,” Alanah replied. “Neither overly good nor overly bad.”

“Mhm…” Derek agreed, then nodded his head at the store in front of them. “Let’s go check it out.”

A few seconds later, the duo of two of the continent’s strongest people walked into one of the supply shops of the Indria kingdom. It was a regular-looking shop, not unlike his own—except for the shop not having weapons or a cool ethereal glow because of the material used to build it. There were cases with items—some potions, accessories, and other small items.

There was also what looked like a chalkboard on the back wall behind the clerk’s counter with a list of items and prices. On the board, Derek saw a category that said ‘NEW’ and underneath it, he saw the ‘Standard Servant Contract.’ Nowhere on the board did he see anything about the old contract, so that was good.

The shop was surprisingly empty, with he and Alanah being the only two customers. Derek walked up to the counter, and a bored-looking elf finally looked up to see his new customers.

“Welcome to the Kingdom Suppl—” the man started, but his eyes went wide when they looked upon his and Alanah’s gear. Then, though Derek didn’t know it was possible, they went even wider when they landed on the two badges on their arms. “Uhem…” the man cleared his throat and got a hold of himself. “Welcome to the Kingdom Supplier Store of Indria. How may I help the Honored Customers?”

“No need for all that,” Derek said, waving the man’s decorum off. “I just wanted to have a look at the ‘new’ servant contract.” Derek fished out another silver from his storage bracelet and tossed it onto the counter. “Keep the change,” he said. Osian wasn’t lying when he said that the contracts were cheap, was he? Derek thought. The price next to the contract didn’t even cost a single silver.

‘I may need some of your magic in a second,’ Derek said to Alanah telepathically, and she just nodded from beside him.

“Here you go, Honored Customers,” the clerk said as he handed the scroll over the counter to Derek.

Derek quickly took the scroll, opened it, and began skimming. Well, all this looks pretty good, he thought as he went over the requirements of the servant and their compensation. It’s like a real job or career now, he thought.

“Great,” Derek said to the clerk. “Now, do you have one of the ‘other’ servant contracts I can buy?”

“No, sir!” the clerk swiftly answered. “We were made to destroy those contracts and are no longer allowed to sell them.”

“Is that so?” Derek asked, then looked at Alanah and nodded.

“Answer me truthfully, and add anything you may think relevant to your answers,” Alanah said, and for the first time, Derek felt the telltale tug on his mind that comes from Alanah’s commands. “Did you really destroy all the other contracts?”

“Yes,” the clerk answered with blank eyes.

“Why?” the siren asked.

“The penalty and punishment for carrying or selling those contracts is severe. I would not dare be caught with them,” he answered.

“Good!” Derek said. “We’re good, Alanah.” Looks like she has no problem turning the skill on when needed. Interesting…

“One moment,” Alanah said, then focused back on the clerk. “Are there any black markets around here that sell those contracts or do anything shady with non-elves?”

“No, not that I am aware of. Any such known organizations throughout the kingdom have been snuffed out over the last months,” the clerk said.

“Very well,” Alanah said, and Derek felt the tug completely disappear from his mind.

“I think that’s good enough,” Derek said to Alanah as he turned and left the shop. “The kids seemed happy enough, and they have been here for a while, and it seems like the shops are on the up-and-up.”

“That seems to be the case,” the woman replied.

“Back to the teleporter?” Derek asked and took a step forward, but Alanah held out her arm and stopped him once again.

“Nope,” she said. “You said your little smith like golem cores, right?”