Yae's journey 3

Yae comes upon a large monastery atop a hill somewhere in the outer city that spills over the inner crater city. Many people of different races, both small and tall, go about their day in long brown robes, their faces covered under hoods.

One of the robed people, short, reaching only the height of her waist, sees her group and quickly makes its way over to her.

"Greetings, I take it you are the refugees?" the hands of the small creature are leafy green and tipped with clipped claws, but all other features are hidden under its robes.

"Yes, we arrived here yesterday," Yae answers.

"Come! Come!" The green-skinned person says. Leading Yae's group through the Monastery grounds.

Getting a tour of the place, Yae starts noticing the simplistic buildings and aesthetic of the place; there are no decorations even if the place is well built. It reminds her that they really are in another place, that they are strangers in strange lands.

"I am G'Orn; may I know who you are?" The green-skinned person says.

"I am Yae. I'm sorry if this is offensive, but... what are you? Where I'm from, there are no other races."

"Do not worry, lost ones," G'Orn says, waving her concerns away. "I am a Goblin; we are peaceful people who make it our goal to seek enlightenment. In this city, there are also Fylox, who looks a lot like you; the Fylox make their place in this society as warriors, scouts, and hunters."

G'Orn leads Yae and her people past several statues, each with a projection lain over them, including one of Myrou. These statues don't share the same featureless qualities, though, except for Myrou's statue.

Instead of continuing his discussion about the races, however, G'Orn bows to each of the statues and starts talking about them.

"These are the various gods that people worship. Starting on the left is Venaro, the god of wisdom and learning. Then there's Varath, the god of war and battle, Sarafae, the Goddess of nature and destruction, Myrou, the Goddess of beauty and creativity, Urolon, the God of the forge and fire, Krasena, the Goddess of the sea and weather, and finally, Hopalan the god of Gold and Trade" G'Orn bows deeply to each statue and mutters a prayer before introducing each of the gods.

"Each race and profession favors one god more than the rest. Fylox and farmers worship Sarafae, Kobolds and merchants worship Hopalan. Orcs, Artists, and crafters worship Myrou, and while smiths do too, they favor Urolon more. Warriors, monster slayers, and gladiators worship Varath, and finally, fishermen and other sea goers worship Krasena." G'Orn moves on after offering one last prayer to each god and continues talking about the Races.

Yae doesn't interrupt, there is so much to learn, and there will be time for questions.

"Kobolds are generally the merchants and miners; Talva is a Kobald, in case you were wondering. Then there's the Loprae, the ones with the tall ears, they are mostly the farmers, but some decide to join the military. Joining the Loprae in the farmlands are Gnolls, but they are more interested in animal husbandry and game hunting. Lastly are Orcs who make up the majority of the high society; they value etiquette and politeness."

There is no hint of favor or distaste as G'Orn talks about each race; rather, he speaks of them as if reading a history book.

"Tell me about your people, miss Yae. Each race favors an aspect of society, so what do yours favor?"

Yae has little reason to keep it secret, and if they are helping her people, then they need to know some things.

"We are craftsmen who worship Myrou," Yae says.

"Very much different from Fylox, I see" G'Orn nods.

"You mentioned something about seeking enlightenment earlier; what do you mean by that?" Yae asks.

"It is a long and arduous journey that brings your mind and anima – the outer and inner self – together. By doing so, you take the first step of ascension wherein your whole being becomes one, you shed your flesh and become a being of pure life." G'orn says as they enter a large empty room. "Only three have ever ascended before, and if you're lucky, you may meet one of them. As for how close do people normally get to ascending... well, many are lucky to reach the first step by the end of their lives."

"Why bother then?" Yae asks. "If almost no one will ascend, then most are just wasting their time."

But G'Orn chuckles. "It's not about the destination, Yae; it's about the journey and the lifestyle."

That Yae can understand, at least the lifestyle part. Creation is a part of Runalymo life; it is the way to live a fulfilling life. So when G'Orn says lifestyle, it's probably a way to live happily.

"Here we are," G'Orn says, spreading its arms. "This will be where you sleep; we'll move beds in for you later. For now, we'll have a few people teach you our language, and we'll find work for you."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was easy to capture the second Runalymo group; they had no weapons, and they tried to initiate communication. Talva prepared some translation rings for just this occasion. Despite what Yae said, he'll formulate his own opinion on this group.

Around half of these people identify as some artisan, while the other half identifies as a warrior or mage, and none of them are particularly strong.

"I am Papuyo" Their leader says. Immediately Talva notices the difference between Yae and the one in front of him.

Where others followed Yae because she was the first to step forward, Papuyo leads her group with head held high and determination behind her yellow eyes.

"I am Talva, Captain of the Metal Corps. What brings you, people, here?" He already has one side of the story; now, he needs the other.

"We were banished from our lands," Papuyo openly admitted. Yae seemed to struggle with that fact at first, but she showed clear regret, Papuyo on the other does not; rather, the flames of revenge seems to burn within her. "Our lands are taken over by false ideals and followers of false gods; we would like to request your aid in taking back our homeland and reinstating the true faith."

She's trouble. A religious fanatic is never a good thing.

"What do you think, Kol?" Talva asks his second in command, whispering to him.

"She's a little naive; we should take advantage of that," Kol whispers back.

"Think we should play along and take them back to the city for questioning?" Talva asks. "They are likely to answer any questions we have if they assume we'll help them."

Kol nods.

"We can't promise to help you, but I can talk to my leaders who have the authority to make such decisions," Talva replies to the Runalymo leader. "Please, follow us back to the city."

This group's reaction to the city is very similar to the first; their eyes first set on the tall tower that pierces the sky even from the bottom of the bowl-shaped city. Then they gaze on the grand white walls before setting their eyes on the dragonbone golem patrolling around the city perimeter.

"Welcome to Whitecrest," Talva mutters before leading the group down the hill and past the fields.

The Loprae and Gnolls tend to their fields as squads of guards keep watch for monsters. Several farmers are arguing about something, but it doesn't seem to break out in a fight; rather, they seem to be talking about something, not bout each other.

On the left is a Grandy field with ripening pink berries growing on vines, owned by the Gall Wine Company. To the right grows sugar stalks, tended to by the Lopra Sugar Guild. The two farming factions have recently been getting into a heated competition as they try to get into each other's market.

Meanwhile, the Gnollish Kartis graze last year's Donnar Root fields; the animals are not known for their meat; it's too tough, but they are instead bred to produce milk which is then turned into cheese.

They arrive at the gates, and the guards let them skip the line. Once they arrive at the barracks, Talva has the group escorted to the cafeteria just like they did with Yae's group while Talva reports to the sergeant. The sergeant is a Gnoll about as tall as Talva. His ears perk up and pivot to the noises around him, and his grey eyes carefully observe his surroundings.

"So, the second batch didn't give you trouble, huh?" the Sergeant says, stroking his chin.

"Yes, sir" Talva salutes. "They are more co-operative than initially anticipated. We plan to use their co-operativeness to question them."

"Reasonable, what do you think we should do after?" the Sergeant asks

"That depends on the information they give us, but right now, with the limited information we have, some sort of house arrest where we can keep an eye on them but not make them feel imprisoned is a safe move to take until we can verify the information and know more," Talva replies.

"Hmm," The sergeant strokes his beard in thought. "We shouldn't risk alienating them while we know very little. Get information and report back."

"Yes, sir," Talva salutes and joins Bunu next to the cafeteria entrance.

They find Papuyo and sit down in front of her, asking a few inconspicuous questions to ease into the more targeted questions.

"You want us to help your effort in retaking your homeland for you. We first need to know where it is," Bunu asks.

"It is a place where the mana gathers and forms dancing lights in the sky." Papuyo continues to describe her homeland, and Bunu documents her words, but the most worrying thing to Talva is the obvious signs that they live near a nexus, a place of vast wealth, and that means the Runalymo will be wealthy and powerful if they have the means to exploit such resources.

"What about your military?" Talva asks. "What kind of resistance should we expect?"

"They have warriors training in a dungeon," Papuyo says.

"That can't be all," Talva says, "Forts? Cities? Weapons? We need to know."

Papuyo thinks for a minute. "Well, they have airships."

"No forts?" Bunu asks.

"None, we don't have any places like this city; we all live in villages built next to islands."

"You came from the east, right?" Bunu asks. "Is there a dragon named Safyr nearby?"

Talva raises his eyebrow, but the world messages of the 'Guardian of the East Nexus' may imply that they might come from near that Nexus, and in that case, even if they had the means to traverse the Leviathan Sea, they won't be able to slay the dragon.

"The Guardian, yes." Papuyo says, "The Guardian is the protector of our people."

Talva facepalms. Papuyo wants them to help her, but there's a fucking dragon as their military force. No wonder her information about Runalymo military forces is only about their warriors. It also explains several things, like the low level of their warriors.

The questioning lasted for several as Papuyo answers most questions, probably under the assumption that they will help her, even when they asked about what Papuyo did before her exile and what she would do if she had a chance to take over her homeland.

"I will purge the falsities from our people!"

The interrogation ended shortly after, once Talva had learned everything he could, and he reports back to the sergeant.

"So, what's the verdict?" His superior asks.

Talva set down a journal that Bunu wrote during the interrogation onto his desk.

"She'll co-operate with us so long as she thinks we'll help her," Talva says. "We either use her or get rid of her, but either way, she's potential trouble."

"I see" The sergeant leans back in his chair and starts reading the notes. "I'll discuss it with the higher-ups; you're free to go."