The Innkeeper

Lex did not interrupt, though he had many questions. It was obvious that those who inhabited this place did not travel by walking the distance manually, and used some other means - the ferry being one of them, whatever it was. Such news actually made sense to Lex, for he could not understand how anyone could survive the randomness of Arch-Heaven. It was even more devastating than Abaddon.

The mention of the fact that the value of this fort - a bastion of safety in the otherwise chaos prone landscape of Arch-Heaven - could vary either meant that there were a lot of such structures available, to the point that the inhabitants could pick and choose which ones they wanted to inhabit, or that there were very few people in Arch-Heaven. It could also be both, or neither. He would just have to continue listening to find out.

"Besides me, there are only a few others here who have official positions," the farmer boy said. "There's the rancher, the town mayor, and the lord. I don't know the lord's actual position, but he's really powerful. He is the reason the others have left this fort alone, despite the decent conditions here."

Lex immediately suspected he was searching for this so-called lord, especially considering that the karmic string was traveling towards the main headquarters of the fort, but he did not do anything just yet. It was best to wait and listen.

"Most newcomers to the fort arrive in the town, through the ferry, or the cathedral. Once there, they need to pay the town mayor if they wish to rent a residence. Without a resident's token, it is not possible for them to roam the fort freely."

"Since we arrived through the fort's gate, do we also need to get a resident's token?" Lex asked the kid. "Did we get anything when we entered?"

The second question was from Mango, who was the one to bring them in. The fish merely shook its head while maintaining a state of looking down on the farmer kid.

"I… I don't know. I've never heard of anyone entering through the gates before. Technically, you're not even supposed to be able to enter the farmlands without me finding out. Since you already did… maybe you can enter the rest of the fort as well," the kid answered looking both anxious and confused.

"And what exactly was it that you were trying to do when you were… well, when we detained you?" Lex asked.

"I… I was informing the mayor. He… he is supposed to manage the fort for the lord. Ever since I started to plant the Effervescence Spirit Bulb, the fort has experienced a few raids, so we need to be careful," the kid said, looking incredibly nervous. It seemed that he wanted to add emphasis to the fact that he was the one planting the bulbs, as if to demonstrate his importance.

"What's the Effervescence Spirit Bulb?" Lex asked, turning to look back at the unusual plants sprouting from the ground. Yet the question stumped the kid, as if someone had asked him what the sun was.

"You… who are you people?" the kid asked. "How can you not even know the basics of the basics? The Effervescence Spirit Bulb can be used in the wild lands to search for Blessing Stones. In case you don't know what Blessing Stones are, they can be used by people to reduce their limiter. It's the only form of currency that exists in Arch-Heaven, and it exists in a permanent state of scarcity because of how dangerous it is to go search for them outside the security of the marble structures. The fact that only one stone can be used every hundred years is probably the only reason there's a supply of it to begin with, otherwise it would all be used up."

Lex nodded, not commenting. Finally, things started to make sense here. There was order, structure. There were safe zones and valuable materials, resources that were in high demand and served as the basis of trade.

"Do you have any Blessing Stone that we can look at?" Lex asked. Though the kid looked reluctant to answer honestly, the chains that bound him seemed to add some kind of compulsion, forcing him to answer.

"I have some. I am saving it so I can buy my way out of this cursed place, so please… don't take it. It took me a long time to save this much."

As he spoke, the kid produced a handful of small Blessing Stones. They were barely the size of pebbles, and shone with a bright orange light, making them look like tiny suns in the palm of the kid's hands. Lex could feel his body being slightly attracted to the stones, but not much. Mango seemed most interested, but the fish could not lower itself to steal from a kid.

"And you can buy an exit from Arch-Heaven using these stones?" Lex asked curiously.

"Yes, there's a rumor that if you can gather a ton of them and travel to Marble Sky Palace, the Overseer can grant you an exit. It's just a rumor as far as most are concerned, but it's not like I have a choice. It's not like I want to live here forever."

Lex nodded. It seemed that there were many in Arch-Heaven who wanted to find a way to leave, but it was easier said than done.

"Alright, tell me more about this fort. I'm looking for someone, and that person is in the noble section of this fort. Are there any rules I need to follow to move from one section to another? I mean the rules of the fort itself, not of the mayor or the residents."

Seeing that Lex did not seem too interested in the stones, the kid sighed in relief and quickly put them away before answering.

"Most people who come in need the permission of the area owner to enter, and a resident token helps in getting that. Considering you were able to enter the farmland without alerting me, I have no idea if that still applies to you. Maybe you could go out and come back into the fort from the other side. That way, you might be able to enter any section you want.

"Beside the town and the noble area, there is only the ranch, where the rancher lives. Usually, anyone who wants to travel outside the marble structures will need a transport animal, and the rancher can help with that."

Mango snorted, as if looking down on the need for a travel animal. Why did they need a ride when they had the magnificent and noble goldfish leading the way for them?