The Legendary Fool

141:

“Halt!” A gruff voice boomed outwards as the trio approached the wall, the language the command was called out in unfamiliar to Tom, even though he found himself comprehending the meaning of the spoken word.

[For entering the Aerianiculumn, you have been granted Feat: Boon of Many Languages. For as long as you remain within the tower’s territory, any widely spoken human language will be automatically translated for you.]

“We come in peace,” Tom called out in response, both his empty palms raised up in the air as a disarming gesture.

“That remains to be seen,” The gruff voice replied from behind the chitinous plates that served as the Nexus City’s defenses. “Consent to the undertaking if you wish to enter the city. Otherwise, scram,” He called out, an air of finality to his statement.

“What undertaking?” Aleph whispered and Tom was equally flummoxed. Even worse, it seemed like whoever was guarding the Nexus City knew well the avenues of attack offering a line of sight exposed himself to and had no intention of making such a mistake. Likely, they had other ways, whether that be through a card or an artifact, of spying outside on their immediate surroundings.

Thankfully, it is the Divine System that came to them with an answer.

[Do you wish to enter Nexus City: Bulwark?

Undertaking: During your stay in the Nexus City: Bulwark, you will abide by local laws and will not engage in any form of violence outside a system sanctioned duel.

If found in violation of other local laws, you may attempt to negotiate with the ruling power of the Nexus City and be punished by upto banishment from Nexus City: Bulwark. Unless you engage in violence, the punishment you face will be limited to Nexus City: Bulwark.

Do you agree to these terms?

Yes

No]

Tom exchanged a look with Aleph and Zirel, who had just gotten done reading the stipulations of the agreement themselves.

“As long as we don’t violate the sanctity of the safe zone, it doesn't look like there will be any lasting consequences,” Zirel whispered. “From the way the system is talking about these Nexus Cities, I’m guessing that there’s a lot more of them.”

“I agree,” Aleph replied. “The tales I have heard about the Aerinaculumn speak of an entire world within the tower. This nexus city doesn’t look like it can house more than a few thousand.”

“I don’t sense a trap in the undertaking, atleast,” Tom added. “If this Neem Guild makes a move against us, they will lose their city. And I’m guessing there’s a reason why they’ve focused so heavily on defense. If we stay out here, we risk finding out why.”

“A fair point,” Zirel replied, nodding in agreement. “Well, let’s hope their leader is more amiable than the shadow guild’s.”

Tom emphatically nodded, before all three of them accepted the undertaking.

“Okay, good,” The gruff voice from the other side softened by a degree. “Stay right there and don’t move. We’re opening the gate for you.”

‘A gate,’ Tom thought, raising an eyebrow at the statement.

His unspoken query was answered a few moments later, as a heavy grinding echoed in the air, the very earth trembling below him as one of the chitinous plates was raised, just high enough to allow them to pass if they crouched.

Tom immediately noticed that the plates didn’t go as deep into the earth as he had expected them to, suggesting that it wasn’t designed to guard against underground threats. Considering that Tom had been forced into an undertaking just to enter the Nexus City, he was starting to think that the defenses were not intended for humans at all.

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“Come on in. Can’t hold this open for long,” A man called out from the other side, his face not visible due to the chitinous plates blocking the view, but his light green leather armor and the bow slung on his back told Tom enough.

He decided to take the lead, followed by Aleph and then Zirel. A few moments later, the raised chitinous plate slammed shut back into place and they had stepped into their first Nexus City.

The first thing that caught Tom’s attention was a tower that seemed to be positioned in the center of the city, its sleek white marble construction too slender to support any residential or scouting purposes. It was crowned by a translucent crystal that was shimmering with a deep azure energy, a vase shaped metal receptacle holding it in place.

It could be no coincidence that the hole in the chitinous plates was positioned directly above the tower that housed the crystal, but it’s purpose was still lost to him.

A sweep of the rest of the city revealed fairly humble architecture. Tom hadn’t been sure what to expect, but modular brick houses didn’t quite live up to the mystique of the tower. They were uniform and evenly spaced out, painted in a grayish-white that roughly matched the hue of the chitinous shell that served as the tower’s outer walls. Perhaps a bit too uniform and evenly spaced at that, almost certainly because some card ability, or multiple card abilities in tandem had been employed in its construction.

They had stepped onto an arterial road that continued onwards to flow into a plaza that housed the crystal capped tower, flanked by one and two-storey modular buildings on either side that had their own network of alleyways that led deeper into what Tom suspected to be, at least in part, the residential area.

“You kids travellers or climbers?” The owner of the gruff voice asked, standing a little distance away from the trio. His gaze was alert, even though the only weapon on his person remained slung.

Tom refocused his gaze on the man, studying his appearance as the middle-aged man extended the same courtesy to them.

His black hair was kept short, his visage kept clean shaven. His weathered features spoke of a life spent doing more than just guarding the entrance to the Nexus City, his expression at ease and his calloused hands held open to his sides.

‘He’s got some practice with that bow,’ Tom thought as his gaze landed on the man’s inner palms, before his gaze focused on the metal necklace that was looped around his neck.

The pendant itself didn’t look like an artifact, but that wasn’t why Tom’s attention had been captured. Engraved on a rectangular metal surface that was tethered to a thin metal chain looping around the middle-aged man’s neck, was a symbol that depicted a vine wrapped around a tall tower.

Tom looked into the middle-aged man’s gray eyes and saw nothing but a measured calm. He blinked, before turning his gaze away, not wanting to come across as aggressive or defiant.

“If you’re asking for our long-term goal, then yes, we do want to climb the tower,” Tom replied, opting to go with the truth for now.

The middle-aged man sighed, before shaking his head in evident disappointment, “And how many nexus points do you have?”

Aleph and Zirel met the middle-aged man’s question with an impassive look, but Tom didn’t hide the blank look that made its way to his visage. While he was far from claiming himself a master of disguise, Tom was uniquely positioned to understand the value of a fool. He could be berated, scolded or chastised, but the thing about a fool was that they were seldom considered threats.

Sure enough, a disappointed sigh escaped the middle-aged man’s lips.

“Let me guess,” He began, his tone already sounding weary. “You kids are from one of the nearby nexus city and you were tired of being told no by your parents. So, you three buffoons, in your infinite wisdom, decided to sneak out to a different nexus city to try and gather points. Is that about right?”

“Uh… no?” Tom offered, not trying to be very passionate about defending himself.

“Look,” The middle-aged man raised his hands in mock surrender. “It’s none of my business why you’re here. As long as you stick to the rules and can actually afford to stay in the city, you’re free to accept a nexus quest and get killed if that’s what you want. My job is to make sure you understand what the rules are.”

“Please,” Zirel politely encouraged.

The middle-aged man nodded, making a show of clearing his throat before he began his explanation, “It’s simple. You’ve already agreed to the undertaking, so don’t break that. Sleeping on streets isn’t allowed. Either get an accommodation, or go to the Neem Guild headquarters and prove you’re worth keeping around. It’s next to the tower, though I suppose you can’t see it from here,” He said, as he gestured towards the left of the tower, which should’ve been within the plaza.

“Got it,” Tom replied.

“I hope so,” The middle-aged man retorted. “If you’ve got cards you want to convert into fragments, there’s enough Splitters in the city for that. Got a bunch of synthesizers too, all system standard so they can’t be tampered with. If you’re feeling lucky you can try and haggle with the local shops, but fresh faces like yourself are going to get ripped off for the clothes off your back. Better to just swallow the system’s fee.”

“Er… right. Splitters and Synthesizers, got it. Do you have any idea how much an inn costs for staying the night?” Tom asked, trying his best not sound dazed by the bombshell of information that had just been dropped on him.

“I wouldn’t pay more than a common side-fragment for a week, though it’s pretty unlikely you’ll be able to haggle down that much. If you get away with paying double, that’ll be a pretty good deal for you.”