The Harsh Realities of a Pre-Modern Society – Part 1

We woke up to a completely different city from the one in the previous day. The still, cool night air gave way to a stiflingly humid, pungent miasma percolating from the chimneys of the wood-processing factories. The raucous taverns were now deserted, being replaced by the low hum of factories and the sound of workers carrying all sorts of forestry goods around the streets. Airships came and went from the cloud-filled sky to export the goods produced in the city.

It was, frankly, a surreal sight in a world that was supposed to be squarely medieval and rather feudal. They basically invented Soviet-style closed cities in a measly one hundred years. Putting aside my thoughts on how basic sanitation even worked, I focused on our objectives for the day. We had three different errands to get to, and fortunately all of them were concentrated in the downtown area, which we located via the innkeeper.

The first order of business was to go get to the Temple of the Seven. From the Diviner in there, we could get that all-important Skill Scroll and know if they could even unseal the Dark Ruler class in the first place. I was still on the fence whether to let Yzara get it back, so knowing how much wiggle room I had was essential. In the game, the actual cost was dependent on the level of the class, and if memory serves, it ranged from a couple of Silver to as much as a few Gold coins.

You could say the Temple of the Seven made the surrounding area the downtown of any Polis big enough to house one. Every Temple of the Seven was shaped after ancient Greek temples, thus standing out as particularly ancient-looking in an otherwise barren industrial city. In Adaville, the Temple stood on an elevated fortified hill, accessible only via a long, wide, funneling staircase jutting from a large plaza. Aside from the Temple Hill—which had its own garden—the plaza was the only source of greenery we had seen in the entire city, having a few trees on its perimeter.

“Yer sure this is a good idea?” Yzara asked when we got to the bottom of the staircase. “Can we trust the Diviners? I’ve never actually used one.”

“Relax. The Temple of the Seven is supposed to serve all gods equally, right? You’ll be welcome in there with open arms.”

“And what about my sealed Dark Ruler class? I don’t want to show it to the guild.”

“Don’t worry. I have a plan for that too.”

“Sure ya do.”

Despite her snarky comment, she didn’t complain about this point again. What she did complain about—and me alongside her—was just how brutal that staircase was to climb.

“I swear, the next time I have to climb these, I’ll be flying right to the top.”

When we got to the top, a priestess-looking woman immediately went to our side to guide us inside. She was dressed in all white from head to toe, with her eyes covered by a veil, too. She looked like a stereotypical ghost, and frankly, she was a bit creepy.

We followed her through the immense, pure-white marble corridors, which gave the building a majestic, if not slightly cold, look. The scent of incense wafted from larger metal holders spread around the corridors. Eventually, we reached a corridor with wooden doors framed by marble columns, and she finally stopped in front of one random door.

“Please enter. The Diviner will be here with you shortly.”

In stark contrast with the rest of the building, the room was tiny, with just a couple of chairs and a translucent glass pane separating it from whatever was on the other side. It reminded me of a visiting room in a prison, except it was quite useless as a means to see the prisoner. Unlike those rooms, however, there was a small opening at the bottom of the window, likely to accept and give items.

Soon, we heard the sound of a door closing and steps. A shadowy figure appeared on the other side of the translucent glass pane, but we couldn’t see much of them, since their clothes blended in with the marble. Before we even had a chance to open our mouth to state our business, the Diviner spoke.

“Oh-oh, what do we have here? A Hero and the Demon Queen? Now that’s a rare combination these days.”

Yzara and I looked at each other in absolute shock, our jaws hanging open.

He saw right through us before we even said a word!

“Surprised? Keh-eh-eh. You shouldn’t be. As long as you are within these halls, I can see everything. But don’t worry—secrecy is our first rule.” Well, I sure hope so. “Well then. What is your business with me today?”

“We want a Skill Scroll for both of us.”

“And my Dark Ruler class is sealed, and I want to get it back.”

“A sealed class, and the very foundation of your being, eh? Very well. Extend your hand, Yzara the Demon Queen, and let me divine your god-given power.”

With some hesitation, Yzara put her hand through the slot in the window. I couldn’t see what was happening, but she flinched the moment the old man grabbed her hand.

“Hmm. I see, I see. It is as you say. Your class is sealed. Quite strong magic was needed to seal such a powerful class from the Demon Queen herself.”

“So? Can you unseal it?” She said as she pulled her hand away from the man as if she just had it inside a trash can.

“Of course. I call on the power of the gods themselves. There is no class I can’t unseal.”

“And the cost?” I asked, a bit hesitant.

“Fifty Gold.”

Yzara and I both paused at the massive number.

Fifty Gold equaled 1250 Silver. It was an outrageous amount.

“I-isn’t that a bit much? It used to be much less!” I said, somewhere between bemused and furious.

“You’ve been in these lands in the past, right, Hero?”

“H-huh? How did you—”

“I told you before, didn’t I? I see it all. A hundred years is a long time, Hero. The world has changed a lot since you were last around.”

“And that includes the prices of the Diviner services?”

“But of course. Especially out here in the Wastelands, our services are hard to come by. Keh-eh-eh.”

Did he give me all that spiel just to justify inflation?!

The number made my head spin. Fifty Gold was an amount that put you right on the upper echelon of society. We’d take a stupidly long time to get that money just doing normal quests.

“Guess we won’t be unsealing my class anytime soon,” Yzara said, with a face of displeasure that bordered on comical.

“Yeah, but still need money for living expenses, so we gotta get registered in the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Ah, yes. I almost forgot. You need the Skill Scroll,” the old man said. “That will be eight Bronze for each of you.”

Again, that was way higher than what it used to be—if I remember correctly, it was two Bronze back in Arcforge. But I didn’t feel like complaining.

“Sure, that we’ll pay. But I have a request,” I added. “Please change her name in the scroll, and omit her Demon Queen title.”

“Oh? A rather unusual request, but I suppose you are trying to keep her identity a secret,” the Diviner said. “But changing someone’s name and titles on the scroll would undermine the trust in our business, you see.”

What…?

Back in Arcforge, these were two requests you could make of the Diviner. Omitting titles and changing your name was only really useful for certain spy quests, as scrubbing out any of your identifiable elements was fundamental to infiltrate the target organization. As long as what was in the scroll was true, and you went by that name, it was considered a valid scroll. A basic Skill Scroll, on the other hand, showed only your current class; revealing unlocked classes/titles costs extra. In Yzara’s case, her current class was Holy Mage II, so her Dark Ruler class wouldn’t show up anyway, so we didn’t need to worry about that.

“Before, Diviners had no problems fulfilling those request,” I said, my tone revealing my rising irritation.

“I never said I wouldn’t do it.” I couldn’t see it, but I was sure the man was grinning. “I’ll do it for two extra Bronze.”

“You’re joking.”

“It’s the price of business, lad. Keh-eh-eh.”

This guy…

“Fine! Just do it already,” Yzara said, shoving the ten Bronze into the slot. Then, she extended her hand again, letting the Diviner fully read her skills.

“Hmmm… I see, I see! The will of the Gods reveals it all to me!”

Cut it with the theatrics, old man!

“It is a shame having to omit your unique title, but alas. What name would you like in the Scroll?”

“Chloe. Just Chloe.”

“Very well.”

After a few moments where only the sound of a pen scribbling could be heard, a roll of parchment emerged from the slot.

“There. Your Skill Scroll, Miss Chloe the Holy Magic Apprentice.”

I could almost see a vein popping on Yzara’s forehead.

“Grr… Thanks, and goodbye,” she said, immediately storming out of the room in fury.

“Now for you, lad.”

I paid my share up as well, and shoved my hand into the slot. His crinkly, slightly wet hand almost made me flinch back, too.

Guess that’s why Yzara was so disgusted before, huh?

Soon enough, the Diviner read my titles, and likewise produced a similar roll of parchment.

“Thanks, and sorry about Yzara. We’ll be back—”

“You’re not just any Hero, right, lad?” The Diviner interrupted, his voice noticeably more grounded and serious than before.

“H-huh?

“I can feel it… the gods are confused about you. You brought with you something that shouldn’t exist in this world anymore.”

Is he… talking about the Debuggun? Just how much does this guy know?

“Be careful, lad. There are many with hidden interests who seek to conquer even this broken world. But trust the Demon Queen, and she’ll trust you back.”

“Trust her, eh?”

“That’s my free advice for today. I hope to see you two soon. Keh-eh-eh-eh…”

With that strange laugher echoing in the room even after the man disappeared, I rushed back to Yzara, somehow even more confused than what I expected to be.