Merchants' Aisle

I heard a voice call out to me. Mineself had been walking through the halls once finished teaching, twas then it spoke. “Can you hear me?” It twas clear. Uda simply stared at me, confused. Regardless, we searched for the voice. Eventually, stumbling across a wall. The voice called out “Let me see you.” from behind it. The building the church had used for its school is ancient, many passageways dot its architecture.

Mineself pressed on stone after stone until eventually the wall slid out of place. Uda watched me curiously as usual. We entered the passage, the dust indicated it had not been touched for centuries. After a few moments of walking we entered a room. It was ornamental, beautiful pillars and arches lined the walls, and in its center a podium. A maroon cushion laid on top of the podium, in its grasp a set of glasses. “You there, what world do you want to see?” they asked me.

-Excerpt from the recovered journal of Absalon Ramorski.

♕♛♕♛♕♛♕

Mr. Uzziel brings the tickets down and places them in his pocket.

“What?!”

“Well, I’ve said what I need to. See ya!” Uzziel turns and walks toward the door.

“Hey!” Helia calls out to him.

“So… What's our plan now?” I ask.

Helia turns towards me, her face looking exhausted.

“I… We’ll go to the station and buy some more tickets.” She says, energy slowly filling her voice.

“Oh yeah!” Uzziel peeks his head back into the dining room. “I already tried buying some at the station. They’re all sold out. Bye!” Uzziel says, finally leaving the building.

“Guh!” Helia drops to the ground. She stares at the floor.

“So-so what now?” Yoshida asks.

The rest of us stare at Helia on the ground for a moment. She sniffles quietly a few times before jumping to her feet.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. We just have to find 7 tickets in the city. In 8 hours. That are sold out.” Helia trails off.

“Um…” Eris looks worried.

“Listen… There's probably a way!” Yoshida says, trying to calm her down.

Locke steps behind Helia and rubs her back.

“Haah. Okay. Okay. Thanks, Dad.” Helia says after a deep breath. “We’ll split up. I’ll go to the station with da- Father.”

“But aren't they sold out?”

“That's what he said, but he may have been lying. I don’t trust him.” All of us nod our heads in agreement. “ I get the feeling he’s lying about this all being a “Test.”

The rest of us nod once again.

“Regardless, it might be the case that if we ask hard enough, they can make some exceptions. It’s also possible that someone will return their tickets. So we'll go check.”

“And the rest of us?” Eris asks.

“Well, we’re in the merchant capital, the city of gold.” Helia looks at all of us. “You guys are going to look through the Merchant’s aisle!”

♕♛♕♛♕♛♕

The city of Lycynal is carved out of the side of a massive plateau, titled the Uniphon plateau. Known as the largest and tallest Plateau in the world, it is measured at 2,500 meters tall. The most striking detail about the Uniphon Plateau is the nine layers of differently colored sediment that make up its cliff. Ranging from reddish brown to gray, the cliff appears more like a painting than a naturally formed landmark.

The city of Lycynal is said to have started as a mining town, where men were forced to dig a massive stairway to the top of the plateau. It’s said that the overseer of the project allowed the men to sell any ore they found in the caves, thereby establishing the trading culture of the city. The men bartered and sold amongst themselves, word eventually spreading to the surrounding towns. From there, an influx of merchants flooded the city, seeking to buy the ores dug up from the caves. After years, the city and its path to the plateau were finalized. Even further merchants came as the city became the main entryway to the plateau. Selling wares between the kingdom at the bottom and the territory at the top.

The city became rich, richer than many small countries, which attracted a god. The god claimed to be a god of Gold and wealth. They decided to settle at the top of the massive tree at the center of the city. The city praised the god, praying to it for good fortune and profits. This pleased the god, who eventually offered a deal. That day came to be known in the city as Gold Day and is celebrated as an independence day of sorts. The god, in exchange for gold and currency, gave the Merchant city of gold and Wealth the authority to become its own territory, a city-state.

♕♛♕♛♕♛♕

“Ugh, she pisses me off!” Eris shouts as we walk down the main road.

“I know, but please calm down,” Yoshida says beside her.

Manako and I trail closely behind.

I understand why she’s upset…

To put it simply, Eris was upset due to what Nerissa had said in response to the switch of plans.

Helia had told us to search the Merchants' aisle, the stretch of the city that congregated the most merchants. The rest of us agreed, not really having much choice; however, Nerissa turned down the plan, saying:

“There is no need for one such as I to mingle amongst the riff raff, I shall simply go speak to mine father about getting a replacement for mine ticket.”

Helia asked her to also speak to their father about further replacements, but Nerissa simply scoffed and walked off.

“Seriously, does she not understand that she won't be seen favorably if she shows up alone?!” Eris continues.

“Well…”

I watch the two as we continue down the road. It’s the same road as Manako and I had run down before, leading downwards towards the massive tree behind the square with the fountain (and weird statue). In the square is a congregation of stalls, merchants selling their wares.

The plan was simple: ask merchants if they had bought any tickets to sell at a higher price.

“I guess scalpers are everywhere…” I mumble.

“..?” Manako looks at me. “Are you still thinking about that statue?”

“... No.” I mean I thought about it for a second, but that doesn't count.

“Hm~?” Manako looks up at me with a smile that tells me she doesn’t believe a word I said.

“H-hey?”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think of that guy?” Her eyes turn towards Yoshida. She stares at him like a dead rodent. “I mean, as in him being a… You know what.”

“Oh.” Her eyes change slightly before she looked at him like she hated his existence, but now the hate seems more personal. “I have more reasons to hate them than most people… But there's nothing anyone can do as long as the church is involved.”

“I guess,” I say back. The church is something I’ve avoided so far… Their teachings just don’t seem… right to me.

The church believes that humans are placed above all. This is due to one specific trait, Elemental affinity. Most of the time, someone's race is directly tied to their affinity, whether in magic, martial arts, or Pneûmas. A beastman’s affinity would be earth, Merfolk water, etc. However, humans are an exception, being able to have different affinities based on the person.

Why would the church sponsor a demon, I wonder…

As I finish my thought, we reach the base of the street. From the angle, I could now see the Merchants' aisle. The two streets that match the one we had just descended from, on either side of the tree, are lined with stalls and shop fronts. From the top of one street to the top of the other was the aisle.

“Okay, let's start looking!” Yoshida calls out, crossing the street next to a pouting Eris.

Manako and I cross afterwards, stepping foot back into the square. We walk into the square, and on either side of the fountain are rows of stalls. Smells come from either direction, mixing like an olfactory stew.

My eyes drift across the stone statue once more. Wait…

“Hey, you two!” I call out to the two in front.

“Eep! What's up?” Yoshida responds. I didn’t say anything scary.

“I was wondering if you guys knew about this statue?” I point to the fountain. Manako looks at me but I ignore her.

“Um… No, sorry.” Yoshida says. “It is weird, though.”

“Yeah, no idea. Why?” Eris looks back at me.

“Oh, I thought maybe it was a weird depiction of Iris…”

“Huh? No, Iris was a chil-” Eris cuts off.

The reason is that the square has been enveloped by shadow. At first, it seemed like a cloud had simply covered the sun, but it only took a moment to realise that wasn't the case.

The entire square freezes, the once bustling streets and stalls going quiet. Everyone looks up, staring into the sky.

CRUOOOOR

The ground trembles. Children scream and run to their parents. Everyone tenses, their eyes following the source of the sound.

It’s serpentine, it's writhing shadow painting over the city. Its roar raining down on us, like a hurricane. Only its outline is visible above the clouds, but even then, its name is clear to everyone.

“DRAGON!”