Chương 94: Chapter 93 - Head Councilor

"Hemm?" Atzi called again from within the dark inn. Someone ignited a lantern from the back.

"Atzi?" She was alive.

"You're alive!" Atzi rushed forward. Hemm looked at her with confusion.

"And you're here. Somehow. Did they lift the ban on going out?"

"No." Atzi shook her head.

"This is hard to explain. I caused this. I didn't mean to. I told the Serpent that the city was in danger and she decided that helping out meant she deserved to be in charge." Hemm frowned.

"She said Malus was a false prophet. And that the Saintess was dead. Then she turned into a giant snake and ate Malus." Her one big eye widened even further.

"Right atop the central temple!"

"The Saintess isn't dead." Atzi hesitated.

"Not exactly. She died. Malus hid that. And did something very, very stupid to bring her back." She took a deep breath.

"Hemm, I'm the prophet of the Saintess, now. I know how stupid that sounds. It's the truth. I was walking near the place she did the ritual. It was pure, dumb luck. That's why the Serpent listens to me." Hemm blinked.

"Atzi, what?"

"It's true. I was just in the street and I collapsed and started seeing her. I can talk to her, any time I want. And I see things that I shouldn't know about. Like what Malus did. So I had to find someone to tell! And the first god procession I saw was the Serpent's. In the streets outside here. I just ran out and tried to get her attention."

"And you told her. And then she-""Then she did all this. Yeah." Hemm staggered over to a chair and sat down, resting her head in her palms.

"I didn't mean to. I swear. I thought she'd just stop the disaster coming, not take over! She said she'll declare me the public prophet of the Saintess later, but not until the civil war's over. Not like I'd even make a good prophet," Atzi trailed off.

"Atzi, I- I'm sorry. This is so much."

"I know. Sorry. You follow the Saintess, this must be so weird."

"It's horrifying." Then Hemm looked up.

"I don't mean-""She's really weak, Hemm. I don't know when she'll be okay again." Hemm was silent for a moment. And then she asked, "Where is she? Is there some way to help her?"

"I don't know. The only time I tried, I found a goddess that could possibly heal her, but she freaked out when she saw her. I don't know what that means."

"Freaked out?"

"She said it was 'wrong' Really, really got angry. Started screaming that I needed to die. It was awful." Hemm had a small smile.

"I'm glad you made it out okay." Atzi smiled back bitterly.

"Yeah. Me too."

"What are you going to do, now?" Hemm asked.

"I have no idea." Atzi moved over to a chair across from Hemm and slumped down.

"I didn't even think I'd make it back here alive, honestly. Let alone all of this." Hemm looked like she realized something.

"So that's why you gave me the gold." Atzi nodded.

"Yeah. I thought, you know. I wanted you to do alright." Hemm stood up. She walked over to Atzi. And then punched her, lightly, in the arm.

"Don't go on suicide missions." Atzi rubbed her arm.

"I don't wanna go on them either, trust me."

"Does the Saintess have any ideas?" Hemm scratched her chin.

"She must, right?" Atzi shook her head.

"She doesn't remember a thing. I only found out she was the Saintess from describing her to someone that had seen her, once. I'm teaching her about the world. I'm sorry, in advance. I'm sorry I'm teaching her badly." Hemm laughed.

"I don't know why that's funny. And in a situation like this. Maybe I've just lost it."

"I feel like I lost it a while ago." Atzi shuddered.

"You know what I was looking forward to, a week ago? I was gonna get back together with some old friends, and finally have a real job again. Not happening now!"

"Are you staying here? Or are you going?

"No idea." Atzi shook her head.

"I might have to stay in a temple, now."

"I see." Hemm hummed.

"I can move around the city, but all of this is," Atzi spread out her arms, "I dunno what's going to happen."

"Be safe. Okay?" Hemm's expression turned serious.

"No matter what, be safe. Don't get yourself killed."

"I'll do my best."

"You might think this is your fault, but it isn't. You just got caught up in something and trusted the wrong god. It's the Serpent's fault."

"Yeah. She seemed really helpful, too. But I think most gods might be insane."

"The Saintess isn't."

"No. She's" - Atzi felt guilty as she remembered yelling at her again - "She's nice. She's never been mean or crazy or anything like that. Never. Well, I dunno how she was before all this, but she's nice now. That must mean something." Hemm nodded.

"None of us would be here without her. She's helped all the people of Sostra." Atzi laughed a little.

"I'm technically in the Water temple, you know? That's gonna be so awkward to explain to the priestess." Atzi turned her head to speak to an imaginary Jem.

"Sorry, didn't mean to become the prophet to another Goddess!"

"Atzi, you should just, I don't know. Let this sort itself out. Don't be a hero. Just step back and be involved as little as you can."

"I guess, yeah. Ever since this started I always feel like I've gotta do something, you know? I have this big chance, and it ruins my life if things go wrong, so I need to fix it or no-one else will." Atzi laughed awkwardly.

"You're the prophet of the Saintess now. I'm pretty sure you can do what you want. And I don't expect that to be saving everyone. Not while the Saintess still needs help herself."

"So just enjoy myself while things go crazy?" Atzi sighed.

"That sounds good, honestly." Hemm looked at her for a moment.

"No. Stay safe while things go crazy. But yes, you're allowed to be happy too."

"I can enjoy myself and stay safe!" Atzi complained.

"I'm way safer when I take it easy." Then she blinked and thought of something.

"Do you wanna go anywhere in the city sometime? You never get a break normally, right? I could sort something out so you can move around with me."

"What? I mean, I don't really need to do any shopping. And all the stores would be closed anyway."

"For fun, I mean. Like- oh, I guess all the taverns are shut." Atzi groaned.

"No more festival. Great."

"Also, I have alcohol here," Hemm added.

"True. How about we do that the coming night, then? I'm gonna go talk to someone first, an important thing to figure out. Then I'll come back and we can have a good time." Hemm smiled.

"Sure. I'd like that." Atzi crossed her arms.

"And I promise the Saintess doesn't get drunk when I do." Hemm stared at her with a sense of confusion so profound that Atzi flinched. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Atzi tried to explain, "There's some drugs that affect a god if their prophet takes- you know what, never mind them." Hemm continued to stare at her.

"Please don't do god drugs."

"I'm not going to! I'm a responsible prophet." === After talking with Hemm, Atzi went up to her room to sleep. She slept all the way to the afternoon. Then she headed out to talk with the new head of the university. Kurgi, you ditzy bitch, you are my ticket to finding out how to get into these vaults. As expected, she had no problems getting there. It felt weird to her to be the only person the guards wouldn't bother for walking around, though.

The empty streets had an oppressive quality under the afternoon sun, especially with all the people glancing out at her. When she made it into the college, it didn't really look different than usual. Students were even walking around like normal. Atzi just wandered up to the Head Councilor's office. She remembered it was one of the places she could get to without having been there before. Atzi knocked on the door and called out, "Hi, Kurgi." She heard Kurgi's voice from the other side of the door.

"Huh? Who is it?"

"A friend of your mom's." Atzi waited for a moment, and then the door opened. Kurgi was dressed exactly as she normally was.

"Well, you're alive, so she didn't have sex with you. What do you mean by friend?"

"I'm the new prophet of the Saintess. I told her about all this stuff that put her in charge."

"Oh neat!" Kurgi opened the door further and let Atzi into her office. It was as Atzi remembered it, mostly consisting of several book cases, portraits hung on the wall, and a long desk in the center. Though there were also several plates with crumbs on the desk.

"Running the college is fun. I just told them to keep doing what they're doing but also bring me lots of food. Also a few students came to me about their status and I got to sleep with them!" Atzi nodded.

"Yeah. By the way, the Scabiel you met was the shapeshifter's prophet in disguise. I dunno if you can fix it with her right now, though."

"What!" Kurgi shrieked.

"That's awful!"

"You notice how she acted really weird, right? Then showed up a second time, later, and acted like she didn't know that happened?"

"Yeah! I just thought she regretted it, but wasn't willing to admit she was wrong!"

"She had no idea, sorry. Hope you guys can fix that." Kurgi crossed her arms and hurrumphed.

"So, why are you here?"

"Oh, I need your help with something. You're in charge, so they have to tell you how everything works, right? Is there a way around the thing that makes you get lost if you haven't been somewhere yet?"

"Yeah." Kurgi nodded and made her way to the room's long desk.

"Cool. What is it?" Kurgi opened a drawer.

"Wait, the other one." She opened another one.

"Wait, no." She went back to the first one.

"Aha!" She took out a map and handed it over to Atzi. Atzi blinked.

"Yeah, but how does this help? I know the map, I still get lost if I try to go somewhere I haven't been taken to before."

"Oh, do you need a compass?" Kurgi asked. Atzi looked down at the map in Kurgi's claws.

"This is a map of the city."

"Yeah!"

"I don't get it."

"Huh? You said you get lost if you haven't been somewhere before. So you just look at a map instead and you know where to go. Duh, everyone knows that." Atzi spoke very slowly, "Kurgi, there's an enchantment in the university. It forces you to get lost if you try and go somewhere in the building you haven't been taken to before. You didn't know that?" Kurgi made a long sound of understanding.

"Is that why I kept getting turned around?" Atzi rubbed her forehead.

"Okay, I have two things. First, I have the power to go back in time. So if you help me, here, I promise that I will help you and Scabiel out and stop that asshole interfering. Sounds good? I can prove it, too."

"You can? Oooh. Show me!"

"Okay." Atzi took a deep breath, for her genius plan.

"Sleep with me and I'll prove it."

"Okay!" -"I bewieve you," Kurgi said from the floor, too tired to stand up.

"Cool." Atzi stood up.

"That's our secret, though. It's harder to explain to anyone else. I know someone in the building who does know how things work, though, and you're technically her boss. We need Terra. I need to learn some things for next time. How the university works and how the vault works."

"Can you help me up?" Kurgi asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Atzi held out her claw. Kurgi took it, and had Atzi plop her back in her chair. She still wasn't wearing anything below her waist.

"Let's get Terra here. You got a way of summoning people easily?"

"Yep!" Kurgi picked up a bell and rang it. Atzi chuckled. The magic of authority. Eventually, the butler who Atzi had dealt with many times at the front desk stepped in. He took one look at the room and wrinkled his nose.

"Do you need the room cleaned? Again?" Atzi waved him away.

"Get Terra for us, yeah?" He looked towards Kurgi.

"Go get Terra!" He paused, and then nodded.

"Very well." And then he left.

"You've got someone to clean the room anytime you need it? Cool." Kurgi nodded, and then she looked up at Atzi with a look of concentration. Finally, she asked, "Wanna eat me out while we wait?"

"Sure!" Atzi dove under the table. As a result of this wise decision, she was still going on a moaning Kurgi when she heard the door open. Atzi stopped and banged her head on the desk as she pulled away.

"Bugeh!" Kurgi looked down at her, "Awww, why'd you-" Then she looked up.

"Oh, are you Terra?" Atzi rose from under the desk. Surely, Terra was standing there, looking as high as the first time Atzi met her.

"She is." Then she turned to Kurgi.

"You didn't even meet with the sage yet?"

"I do not wish to join in sexual activities," Terra said, unprompted. Atzi rolled her eyes.

"I know, you're only interested in strong enough mages, that's not what this is about." Terra looked at Atzi curiously. Kurgi looked between the two.

"Is she important?"

"Extremely! She's the best mage in the city."

"Oh!" Kurgi wiggled her claws at said best mage in the city.

"Hello, Terra! Nice to meetcha!" Atzi figured things would go faster if she explained.

"Terra, it's about the university's systems. It looks like no-one's filled in Kurgi" - Atzi caught herself - "explained to Kurgi how they work." Terra nodded, her large hat shifting slightly.

"Right. You can circumvent the wards if you have been to that location before, or have a map and appropriate pass."

"That's it? You can't any other way? There's no way for someone to walk in for the first time and reach parts of the university? What if Kurgi forgot her pass?"

"Then she would speak to the front desk. Though for high ranking officials such as Kurgi, it is possible to get the pass as a tattoo." That doesn't help for a loop!

"What level of pass do you need to reach the vaults?" Terra narrowed her eyes at Atzi.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm the prophet of the Saintess. The new one." Kurgi nodded.

"It's true. We had sex to prove it." Atzi coughed.

"Yes. The Serpent's verified me, that's what matters."

"I see. In that case, access to the vault is under control of the university, not Sostra. Rather, due to our close relationship, when Sostra wishes to claim gems from the vault, they pay a nominal fee to the university. Only the vault master may access the vault for safety reasons."

"It's that asshole?" Atzi remembered the man with small pupils and velvet robes who'd gutted the chicken. Terra echoed, "'That asshole'?"

"The guy that punished those students for losing some gems."

"Are you referring to the students tasked with retrieving gems, but had several eaten by a chicken?" Atzi nodded.

"Yes."

"I see. It is a shame we did not recover the fowl."

"Yeah, someone else found it," Atzi guessed the demigod had grabbed it again.

"Doesn't matter now, anyway. So there's no way for Kurgi or anyone else to access the vault without that guy letting them in? How is it even defended?"

"It has several layers of wards, and different compartments for each type of gem."

"Can any level of pass reach it without him knowing?"

"No. The highest level of pass - held only by the head prophet of the current government of Sostra - allows emergency access, but will immediately set off several alarms if used for such a purpose."

"So I'd have to get it from Malus to begin with, and it'd set off alarms." Atzi groaned. Terra asked, "Is that all? I have to reconstruct my spell book." Sorry about that, Terra.

"What kind of wards? What do they do?"

"Obliterate. Fry. Electrify. Freeze. Crush. Distort. Teleport. Sleep. In that order." That's very, very bad.

"There's magical ways around those, aren't there? Of all the-" she groaned again.

"Yes, but messing with any one ward will set off the others. And the alarms."

"The Saintess wants me to become a mage as fast as possible. The entire future of Sostra depends on this. Is there any, any way of getting around them? You're a genius, Terra, you must know something. Hells, you probably made some of them, right? You made a load of the other defenses." Terra raised a single eyebrow.

"If you're simply looking for access to gems, couldn't you simply receive government approval to buy some?"

"Maybe. But what if the Serpent demanded the exact way to get around all this, would the vault master have to explain it?"

"I don't think we've ever had a situation like that occur before. I believe the bylaws would be checked." Terra said dryly.

"Let's pretend there's a situation where I don't have any public backing yet, Malus is alive still, and it's really important I get in there. There must be something!" Atzi waved her arms.

"Any flaw, any little problem, anything!"

"I perform active maintenance on all university wards. I last touched those wards in the vault five years ago and won't need to touch them for another five." Fuck you for being good at your job!

"Fine!" Atzi made a long whining noise.

"I'll get permission then! Argh." Maybe if I can be let in there personally, I can find a flaw.

"If that's all?" Terra asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Atzi waved her off, and Terra left. Atzi didn't have anything better than going back to the Serpent and asking for permission, anyway. But she wouldn't be doing that until tomorrow. Tonight, she had something much more important to do. She had a date with Hemm.