Chương 71: Chapter 70- Registering with the League

Elias looked around the square as they exited the armor shop while he carried a sleeping Tia, " What's next?" Astra spun on her heel, gave Mason a nod, " As long as this one promises to keep it to himself we are off to register you with the League. You should wake Tia, if you need to enter a town or city by yourself it will help to have a badge for her too." Eli poked Tia's cheek, " Time to wake up girlie, it's time to get your adventurer badge."

She looked up at him sleepily before dropping to the ground to yawn, stretch, and flex her wings. What's that? Eli shrugged, " Like a metal tag that says who you are and how strong you are." Ooooh shiny metal? Yes brother, the first piece for my hoard! Eli laughed as her little bird-like chirps translated to cackling in his mind, " Sure thing Tia, the first step on the road to the legend of the fabulously wealthy Tiamat, the envy of all dragons. One day you'll be richer than Smaug himself." Yes brother!

Who is this Smaug, was he rich? Did he have a huge hoard? Eli smiled, " Oh the biggest in the land. It's a long story, are you sure you want to hear it?" Yes" Well unlike many tales this one starts in a hole in the ground, not a dark dingy hole, but a hobbit hole…"

The trip to the league was not very long so they did not make it very far in the tale, but Tia seemed to enjoy it for now and that was enough for Eli. The Pathfinder's League occupied a large three story building, and as they entered through the front door they were greeted by a public area with a few collections of furniture and a large reception desk with a man and woman in neat uniforms seated working on some paperwork.

The noise drifting from the double doors from the back led Eli to believe there was a more stereotypical lounge further back. The man at the reception desk stood as they entered, " How can we help you today?" Astra pulled a badge from her pocket and flashed it at the man, " Just getting these two registered." He smiled at the badge and sat back down waving them through the doors. Eli arched a brow as they continued, " We don't register out front?"

Astra gave him an odd look and snorted, " No they are out there for the public, they work intake filing commissions to be submitted to the members. You would not want the general public wandering into an area for members right?" Well, no shit. Reality 1, fiction 0. Now that I think about it, that stereotype of a wide open reception area with a bunch of rowdy alcoholics in the adventurers guild is kind of silly. Who would want to commission a bunch of mercenaries who are openly day drinking?

As they strode through the double doors they let into a large lounge in the back, there was a scattering of tables where various groups of armed men and women were gathered in discussion and a row of booths lining the walls. A small sign hung above each section denoting their purpose, even though it was readily apparent for the most part, if the man at the counter discussing a pile or assorted monster parts wasn't collecting the results for a commission he would have to have a very strange hobby.

Astra guided them over to a counter where a young man was writing in a ledger with a series of small cubbies on the wall behind him. He looked up to greet them as they approached, only pausing for a moment as he spotted Tia, " How can I help you today?" Astra gestured towards Eli and Tia, " I need to get these two registered today." He closed his book and opened another much larger one, " Very well, do you know our rules and by laws Mr…?" Eli spoke up, " Mercer, Elias Mercer. And no?"

Astra butted in, " Do not worry I will fill them in, but I will take a spare handbook if you have one." The man reached under the desk and handed a small book over, " Here you are, [Appraisal] or assessment?" Astra shook her head, " Just a basic assessment if you do not mind, we will not be doing much work for the League." He arched his brow as he handed over a form, " If you are sure? He will be restricted to Iron rank, Steel at best."

She shrugged as she took it, " That is fine, as long as we can take requests up to Copper and turn the occasional carcass for processing we will be fine." Astra turned to Eli and leaned in, " The ranks are pretty straight forward, two per tier starting at tier 2, one for low and one for high. Iron, Steel, Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril. You will be able to take low tier 3 commissions and turn in monsters for processing of any rank. Does that work for you?" He gave a nod, " Fine with me."

She looked at Eli for a moment, " I do not think I ever asked, can you write in common?" Eli grimaced and shook his head, " I can read just about everything fine, but when I try to write the magic doesn't trigger. I can write in a couple languages from back home but I doubt anyone here can read them. Actually Mira promised me that they wouldn't, saying they would actually make an excellent cipher." Astra smiled her bright blue eyes sparkling with excitement, " Oh!

I guess that just means that if I promise to teach you common, you will have to teach me your language!" She leaned in to whisper to Eli, " It can be our own secret code." Eli laughed, " Sure, it's a promise." She started to fill out the sheet for him, " Striker, Speed type, Outlander, what is your weight and how tall are you?"

As they went through the form, they filled out the specifics for Eli and Tia, and when they handed it back the man scanned it over his brow raised as he leaned forward to look over the counter at Tia, " A bonded wyvern, and she can communicate?" Eli smiled, " Just with me for now, but we have it on good authority she can learn the applicable skill later." Tia trilled a chirp as she craned her neck to peek over the counter.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Eli laughed, " Not yet, in a minute once we are done. She is excited for her badge, the first piece of her hoard apparently." The man smiled, " Well let's not keep her waiting." He placed two small transparent orbs on the counter, " Squeeze the one on the left, and channel a thread of mana into the one on the right, we will do the little Lady first."

Eli handed them down, and when Tia gripped the orb in her claws it shifted colors the same as when she channeled mana into the other. The man noted the result, " Oh you will be a strong one when you grow up, double digits for strength and intelligence for sure." He tapped both orbs, turning them transparent again, "Your turn Mr Mercer."

Eli squeezed the first turning it a deep orange almost red, and the second turned a bright blue edging into white with small motes of light shifting through the globe, the clerk gave a low whistle, " You must have a strong class to have such great scores, probably getting close to the third tier eh? I'll put you down for steel for sure." Astra snorted and mumbled under her breath, " You have no idea."

The man finished filling their forms with a flourish before leaning forward, " All right, I always save the best part for last, do you have a call sign or alias you would like to go by?" Eli could feel Astra practically vibrating with excitement, " Oh I have plenty of ideas! I still like Pathfinder of the Shattered Veil. How about Worldstider, the Shadowed Blade, or the Seducer of Dragons?" Eli groaned, " Astra."" Survivor of the Burning Sky?"" Please stop."" Ooooh, the Breaker of Hearts and Chains?"

Eli just stared at her." What?" She waggled her eyebrows at him with a grin, " Do not think I missed the way Evelynn was looking your way during breakfast." Taylor burst out laughing in the background as the clerk gave Eli an amused but sympathetic look, " Well just let me know what you decide."

It took a while to finish up, but after about 15 to 20 minutes Elias was able to convince Astra that a callsign was unnecessary, although he was a little worried about how excited she got when he promised her he would consider it if she came up with a really good one. Tia was thrilled with her shiny new steel badge, the clerk was even able to provide a little stretchy band of fabric so could slip it over her sinuous neck to rest on her chest.

She kept stopping to crane her neck down and admire the badge and her reflection in the shiny surface while tracing over the etching of her name with a single claw. If he knew how excited she would be for jewelry he would have bought her something at the market, he made sure to make a note for the future. Now that they had badges, Eli and Tia would be permitted to access the upper levels of the fracture, and Astra thought stopping by to take a look would be good next stop.

As they passed by the garrison the group stopped for a moment for Mason and Taylor to swap out for the afternoon watch with Craft and Hastert. As Eli and Astra chatted for a moment, he felt a tug on his pants and looked down at Tia. Brother-eli, can I go show foodmaker-Cooper and fruitbringer-Sasha my new treasure? Eli smiled, the little wyvern made friends almost as easy as Astra, " Sure no problem, have fun. Just make sure to be back at the inn before bedtime." Ok, up first.

She lifted her paws as he picked her up and gave her a hug before setting her down as she scampered off in search of Coop and the Gang. He turned back to Astra smiling at the warm look she gave him, " You two are just so adorable." Eli laughed, " Please it's all Tia. She's just cute enough to make me seem loveable by proxy." She shook her head and laughed, " That she is. Are you two ready?" Craft and Hastert snapped a sharp salute that Astra returned, before they turned to head off to see the fracture.

Astra had to pull Elias out of the walking path as he stopped to gape up in amazement once he walked through the gate. The shattered glass fractal pattern stretched into the sky far higher than Eli could see, even with [Eagle's Eye], and as he followed it down to the ground the whole base was in a slightly sunken bowl. The edges of the fracture shifted and refracted the light, but it almost looked like it descended deeper into the stone below, as if entering a cave.

The guards at the gate had a double posting, one pair from the town watch and a second from the garrison, and both were checking everyone passing through for either a badge from the League or one from their own organizations. Eli had expected the garrison troops at the very least to just wave them through since they were with Astra, but when he asked after they entered she gave him a wary look that shifted to a hint of pity before sighing."

I need to remind myself that you are an outlander and curious, but it does make me wonder how rampant political corruption must be in your homeland." She gave him a pat on the arm, " If I found one of my men doing such a thing I would have them up on charges. The security of the fractures is of vital importance to our nation, sure if one occasional unprepared idiot enters he may only be risking his own life. But enough of them, or a team of professionals with nefarious intentions?"

She shivered at the thought, " They could spawn a monster tide, right here next to the town, and it would threaten everyone." She gestured at the walls of the enclave, " That is why the fracture has its own curtain wall, and its own well armed guards. They should be able to stop an incursion here by themselves, and if necessary close the gates and hold them off until reinforcements arrive."

She looked up at the streams of mana in the sky, up close they were thick and heavy enough to warp the air slightly like the ripple of heat of a warm surface." In any case every fracture itself is a national asset, bringing not only wealth but a convenient source of essence to help grow the strength of our citizens." She shook her head, " No.

Security at these sites is of dire importance, and I am not so full of myself that I would expect my men to disregard their duty just because I was lucky enough to be born into the right family. Look, they are going in!" Eli glanced over as a team of adventurers, five strong, touched the fracture in unison and closed their eyes.

After a moment, the party vanished, here one moment and gone the next, just like when Mira left the dome. Astra smiled as the look of wonder on his face, she gestured at the fracture, " Want to take a closer look? It is quite safe. Just decline the offer of entry from the great System."

They walked forward and Eli reached up to touch the same spot where the group had a moment ago, he could feel the shape in the air almost as if there was a bent pane of glass, and as he smoothed his hand against the surface there was a subtle flicker of light before a notice popped into his vision. Ding [Abyssal Node Identified] Classification: Surface Instance Tier: II Integrity: Stable Recommended Level: 12–18 Hostiles: Detected. Small humanoids and beasts.

Environmental Effects: Obscured vision due to heavy foliage and minimal sightlines. Entry Available but Not Recommended. Entity survival is unlikely when of a lower tier. > Enter / Decline Huh, makes sense that they believe the system is here to protect them, pretty clear what to expect. Eli declined the offer, and gasped as he looked down. The fracture continued far into the ground, easily hundreds of feet before it twisted in a direction that obscured the depths of the furthest reaches.

Luckily the fracture had a physical presence and there was no danger of falling down the shaft as it filled the whole diameter." How far does it go?" Astra shrugged, " I am not sure with this one, but some of the largest breaches supposedly continue all the way to the core of our world. Albeit no one has made it that far." Elias triggered [Mana Sense] and looked down to see if he could trace the flows of mana inside, but a short way within his vision was restricted as a plane of glowing sigils obstructed the view.

Makes sense, must be the seal the system uses to maintain the fracture. Eli pulled out his notebook to compare the sigils to some of the ones he had seen before, and took some notes as many of them were new to him, adding them to his growing dictionary of symbols in the back.

As he worked his way across the formation he came across a curious section in the center, a circle with lines of symbols stretching outwards, and in the black circle in the center there was a red seven pointed star and another single sigil by itself. A sigil that looked vaguely familiar. A chill ran down his spine as he realized where he had seen it before. That was on the token we got from the slavers." Hey Astra? Come here for a minute, I need you to look at something."

He asked her to trigger mana sight and take a look at the sigil in the middle of the formation. Eli kept a sharp watch on her expression hoping that he was wrong, and he was just imagining things. Astra grew extremely pale as her face was transfixed in an expression of indescribable horror, " Ohhhhhhh fuck." A mask of stoic resolve clamped down over her face as she stumbled backwards, lifted an arm to the sky and blasted a brilliant white flare into the air.