Chương 51: Chapter 48: Quiet Night

Coming out of Ketzi's shop, Aaron found the streets almost entirely barren. Other than the patrolling guards, he couldn't see even a single person about, giving the street an eerie and peaceful feel about it. He also noted that, despite there being perhaps eleven people here total, seven of them were taurin, with only him, Aliata, and a single guard being human. He wasn't sure if the uneven split was because it was harder for humans to become guards, or something else, but it was noteworthy.

When someone stepped out from an alleyway across the street, Aaron expected trouble, but the guards didn't tense, so he wasn't as stressed. A muscular raven-haired man with brown eyes, a beard, and an exhausted look on his face smiled at Aliata and walked forward. She returned it, meeting him halfway, the two wrapping each other in a hug, and murmuring some things to each other.

Aaron guessed this was the man that'd been watching him back when he first met with Aliata, and suspected he'd been trailing them ever since. Chuckling at the dedication, he found the two wrapping up their quick update on each other, and Aliata leading her partner back towards Aaron, holding his hand.

"This is my husband, Halmis. I was just telling him it was Ketzi causing trouble, not you." Halmis nodded, still looking at Aaron warily, and he got the sense that Halmis was a bit of a protective fellow.

"Good to meet you Halmis," Aaron said, waving at him as he wasn't sure if handshakes were a thing here.

"I'm Aaron. You were the guy that peeked over the wall earlier, yea?" Halmis blushed, and the guards laughed good-naturedly at him, Aaron joining them. Aliata slapped her husband on the shoulder when she heard that, smiling lovingly at him.

"Yea, that was me," he said, embarrassed"Eh, don't feel bad about it, I thought it was sweet. A pretty good introduction to the town honestly." Halmis relaxed when he found that Aaron wasn't bitter about it, likely putting him in the man's good graces as it was clear Aaron wasn't thinking of making advances on Aliata.

"Well… it's good to meet you Aaron. Aliata and I are going home for the night, but perhaps you could join us for lunch one day? I'd love to hear more stories about how you grew up, if you're willing to share it." Aaron hesitated, but said "I wouldn't mind coming over, but I might bring the mood down a bit." Halmis smiled knowingly, waving him off.

"No problem at all, grief can only be halved in the presence of friends." Aaron nodded, smiling softly, and soon they went their separate ways, waving to each other as Sheriff Utrisnic walked with Aaron, guiding him to the inn he'd be staying at for the night. Utrisnic sent the rest of his guards off, leaving him alone with Aaron, the two of them walking slowly under the candlelit streetlamps.

Despite his weariness, Aaron found that his mind kept turning the issue with Ketzi over, the man's downtrodden face bothering him more than it should've. According to the law, Aaron was supposedly owed a lot, but he just didn't get why. Yes, in the moment, it felt good, but now that his anger had fully dissipated, he found the outcome… unreasonable. At least according to the standards he was used to.

"Hey, Utrisnic, can I ask a question about…" he said leadingly, waving his hand to the air. He knew he wasn't supposed to tell others what'd happened, so he wanted. Utrisnic picked the signal up, and the ambient murmurs were muffled further.

"Yes?"

"Well… I don't know, I suppose the entire thing with Ketzi is really bothering me. I feel like he was punished pretty unfairly." Utrisnic donned an amused expression, glancing at Aaron's new backpack that held the items he'd chosen.

"You're aware you technically punished him by taking from him, right? You could've refused." Aaron huffed, "I know. It felt right at the time, but it feels incongruent now. I guess… I don't know. Ketzi's a smith, not a warrior. Is it really fair that he hesitated when his life was put in danger? Especially after I inflamed his instinctive response? I feel like it's generally a faultless situation.

Sure, if my Memorabilia had broken, I would've been pissed and maybe actually attacked him, but definitely not killed, and since it didn't I think I got out of that unfairly advantaged." Utrisnic didn't answer immediately, letting the sound of their footsteps fill the air- and reminding Aaron that he still had no shoes or actual clothing.

"How much do you know about Memorabilia?" Aaron shook his head, "Pretty much nothing. I hadn't even heard of them until last week. We didn't have them in the Overworld." Utrisnic nodded along, "As I expected, so allow me to enlighten you. Tell me, do you have any stories in the Overworld? Fictitious, powerful figures for children to look up to?"

"Of course."

"And in these stories, are there items that are equally as powerful? Clothing, tools, weapons that are able to keep up with their blistering talent?"

"Like a Hero's sword? Yea, that's pretty common," he said, suddenly aware of the weight hanging off his back.

"Well, to us, a Memorabilia are those," he said, and Aaron felt understanding flicker through him.

"In these stories, there are always True Memorabilia, as we call the next step past Burgeoning, that give the hero the leg up needed to reach victory. Burgeoning Memorabilia are very tough or effective mundane items, while True Memorabilia are just a single pace away from myth.

"In all recorded history, we've only had a little over two hundred Burgeoning Memorabilia pass through our walls. Of those, only twelve ever made it to the status of Memorabilia, and of those? Zero were mushki feathers.

"Three feathers. That's how many we've managed to secure, and they are historic pieces. Of them, I hold one, the eldest holds the next, and the last is considered a work of art to stare at in wonder- the feather, just up here," he said, and they stepped into the town square, letting Aaron see the feather in question.

Even now, despite the empty streets, there were a few hanging around, chatting quietly with friends, and more than a few stared at the mushki feather, lost in their imaginary wonderlands as they unwound from whatever stressful jobs had carried them deep into the night. Taking them in, Utrisnic continued.

"Not a single feather has made it to Memorabilia, because we simply could not risk losing them. There are some beasts in the mirrorlands that can be cut by nothing else, one of which you've even run into yourself- Abyssals." The air seemed to chill even at the mention of them, and Aaron suppressed a shiver.

"Brightsmithing is known to be a complicated, difficult profession. You must be able to think on the fly, to work well under pressure in order to corral Imprints and Burgeoning Memorabilia, but even the most experienced brightsmiths balk at the idea of using a mushki feather, because the cost of failure… could not only be apocalyptic, but would be immediately deadly.

"Destroying a potential Memorabilia? You will be shamed, and forced to change professions as nobody would ever buy from you again. Destroying a mushki feather Memorabilia…? Well, the planned 'Exile' I posed would be a mercy for Ketzi if that'd happened, but I doubt he would even have made it to the law house. An angry mob would have pushed past my men and gutted him in the streets.

"Mushki feathers aren't just valuable, they are a matter of life and death. Objects of borderline worship. Don't let the church hear I said that," he quickly added with a chuckle, and Aaron laughed along quietly.

'So it would be like if the "Hero" took their sword to a legendary blacksmith… and, said smith shattered the sword. Death would be a mercy in that case. It wouldn't even matter if the smith shattered it in self defense, nothing would, that'd be the end of his life.'

"So, I'm guessing Aliata and Ketzi jumped the gun to let someone work on my Mushki feather?"

"Yes." Utrisnic said, void of any humor.

"They did. Aliata was careless, and Ketzi was arrogant to think he wouldn't be as shamed if the feather didn't belong to the town as a whole."

"To be fair to Aliata, I believe she took me there so Ketzi could make a sheath for me, not actually upgrade my feather, and things just got out of hand from there."

"Still, she should have stepped in, and explained it… though perhaps she believed you knew better." He sighed, "This entire ordeal was so very complicated, and I suspect Ketzi will suffer further when the elders find out what he has done to a Demigod of all people." If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Yea…" Aaron said unsurely, still settling into the title. Utrisnic, though, immediately latched onto his single word.

"So you admit to being a Demigod?"

"... I will not lie, I don't really… know what the title entails. I think there's something lost in translation, if you could enlighten me?" His response seemed to be the right one, as Utrisnic's lip quirked upwards. A moment later, though, the expression was doused, replaced with a far-off, haunted look.

"Demigods…" he said quietly, though his deep voice made the word reverberate.

"It depends on who you ask. Some claim they aren't real, others say they walk among us quietly, but so very few understand the full picture.

"Some claim they are fell gods, others that they are the fragments of divinity, or perhaps even the embers soon to birth divinity. Some claim they are children of power, others that they are coalesced ether given human shape- or maybe even what happens when an Imprint and Memorabilia meet in perfect sync." Aaron could only blink, as he realized he'd fully misunderstood what people were calling him. Perhaps they didn't understand anything from the sky…

but that couldn't be right, as they knew of others considering the stories of purges.

"It sounds like you know something they don't, though," he said experimentally, and Utrisnic nodded a single time.

"Perhaps." They traveled through the square, and down a more brightly lit street, the concentration of people growing slightly as the noise level did as well, louder drunks partying through the night, occasionally calmed by a stern glance from Utrisnic.

"I don't think I'm a Demigod," he admitted.

"Maybe not," Utrisnic agreed.

"But none who deserve the status do.

"But, that doesn't mean you can't be the ideal it stands for. Strive to meet the standards that people set for you, and you'll soon be the beacon they wish for all along. Tell me, Aaron, what are you going to do tomorrow?" He asked, and Aaron noted that he'd actually left off the title. Aaron thought deeply about it, but Ketzi was too fresh in his mind, and he could only come up with one answer.

"I'm going back to Ketzi. I want to apologize, and let him study End as he originally wanted." Utrisnic smiled softly at him.

"I think you'll make a fine Demigod, Aaron." Stopping in front of a building, the Sheriff abruptly tapped against Aaron's head, "But don't let the title get to you, this I warn. At the end of the day, no matter what others think, remember that only you understand the limits of your ideals.

"Having confidence in yourself and inspiring others will always feel good, but don't trick yourself into believing the image of unstoppability you project is anything but that. A projection. When the shards rain down, and the monsters burst forth, do not be afraid to run." Rubbing the spot where he was tapped, Aaron nodded, and Utrisnic led them though the doors of the building dropping his noise suppression as they walked towards the front desk.

The lobby area was rather sparse, with no tables or chairs, though he did see an open doorway to his right that led to a brighter, rowdier "Bar" attached to the inn. Utrisnic, though, ignored that part entirely.

"Good morning," he said to the front desk worker, a female taurin. Aaron steeled his will, locking onto her face and not the four big biological traits that came with having four arms- he hadn't even noticed on the others until now.

'Really, does all life in the universe have a set? Well, other than grays, I suppose.'

"Hello there," she said conversationally, "Could I do anything for you, Sheriff?"

"Yes, could I reserve a… let's say, middling room for a week? It'll be for this man right here." She nodded, "Of course, sir. May I have a name?" she asked, leaning over the desk to get a better look at him.

"Aaron," he said, internally sighing in relief when his voice didn't crack.

"Of course, profession?" Aaron glanced at Utrisnic, who gave him an encouraging smile.

"Demigod." Her pencil froze, and her head snapped to Utrisnic, who gave her an amused look. While her expression didn't move an inch, he could tell she was struggling to comprehend whatever was going through her head, her face twitching, and the pencil suddenly cracked, turning to woodchips as she crushed it in her fist. Knowing what he did now about taurin, he could see how their instant aggressive response would make life hard. Humans had four: Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn.

In a situation like this, a human would've defaulted to "Fawning" over the person of higher social status, so that Aaron or Utrisnic wouldn't be tempted to make their life harder- even if Aaron knew that he'd never do such a thing. This taurin looked like she wanted to wring his neck, but she herself didn't understand why. Taurin really only had Fight, nothing else.

"Please allow me to get one of my coworkers," she said with a monotone retail voice, and stood up robotically, walking through a door behind her. A few seconds later, a short human woman came out, stepping up a ladder that was hidden behind the desk to sit in the newly vacated chair.

"Hi there!" she said squeakily, in an octave obviously much higher than her natural voice.

"So I heard you were looking for a room, perhaps one that's a luminate per night?"

"That sounds fine, I'd like to pay a week in advance, though." Utrisnic said, and the woman nodded.

"Of course, that comes with a ten percent discount, so how about six luminate and a dim?"

"Sure," Utrisnic said, pulling a pouch off of his hip and counting out a few of the ebon opal coins Aaron had seen earlier, sliding them over. After a moment of thought, Utrisnic turned to Aaron, handing the entire pouch over to him "Actually, you keep this as well. Consider it an apology for the confusing introduction to Halisn." Aaron wanted to turn it down, but honestly, he really needed clothes and food, so he took it gingerly. Still, he shook his head.

"I appreciate the generosity, but I've been treated well so far. Once I have a stable source of income, I'll pay you back."

"It's not required, but knowing what I do of you, I understand. Ah, also, just so you know, there are three big denominations of coinage in the town: dim, luminate, and radiant. Five dim are worth a single luminate, five luminate a single radiant, and generally speaking, you can get a full meal in most places for two dim."

"Here too?" he asked, and the woman was the one to respond.

"It comes with the room!" she said happily, "Three meals a day, access to our showers, and one change of clothes per day if you want it." Aaron blinked in surprise. He couldn't imagine a regular hotel giving an entire change of clothes, and three free meals. Breakfast? Yea, he could see that. Three meals? Now this was fancy.

"It seems I've carried you far enough. I'll tell my men to make sure nobody causes you trouble, but I'm sure you'll make waves when others find out you're here, so be ready. This inn is pretty good about their privacy though, so you shouldn't be harassed in your room- or at all, honestly, but nobody will follow you to your room."

"Thanks, Utrisnic. I hope there are no restrictions on leaving the town at night? I intend to go back to Bwurzix tomorrow night." The Sheriff barked a laugh, "Oh, there's countless restrictions on nightgoing, but I'll make an exception for you. And Bwurzix- that's the…?"

"Yea, that's them."

"Got it. Sleep well Aaron, even if morning is only a couple hours away."

"Thanks, you too sir." As Ultrisnic walked out, he turned back to the woman, who gave him a beaming smile.

"We're glad to have you here sir! Would you like me to show you where our showers are?" Aaron nodded, "Yes please, and is it possible to bring my meal to my room, and get a change of clothes?" Looking down at his yellow bindings, he was glad Onward had the courtesy to send its leaves out between the petals, so he at least wasn't left naked, but the petals were starting to fade in color.

"Of course!" she said, beckoning him to a side door, before making conversation.

"Why change your outfit now? I believe yours looks good on you, does it not? Quite fancy, to have such a bright yellow suit." Aaron laughed, "It's not actually a fabric, it's several giant flower petals tied together, and they're starting to crack a bit." She glanced, then openly stared at him, walking without even looking where she was going.

"Huh…"

"It's comforting to know it's at least not too obvious."

"Certainly! So you're going to throw them away afterwards?"

"That was the plan, yea."

"Would you mind if I took them?" she asked excitedly.

"... I… would actually. I'd rather… not let anyone have these. I haven't slept in like two days, and they're sure to smell pretty bad." She turned bright red, but her voice remained even, but she said "Of course, I understand! My apologies, that was a bit thoughtless."

"No, no, it's alright. If I'd been in your shoes, I would also want a flower petal the size of my arm. If you'd like, I can get you a fresh one when I come back tomorrow morning?"

"That's not necessary sir!" she said quickly, and pointed him to a door, saying "The men's bath room is right in there, I'll be sure to have one of my male coworkers deliver you something to wear, and dispose of your wrappings. I'll personally make sure they're burned so nobody takes them! Okay, see you later!" she said quickly, speedwalking away. Aaron laughed, knowing he wasn't the only one to say awkward things at the wrong time, and made his way into the bathroom- or bath room, as he soon found.

Steam hit him, and he was met with a large-ish area, a kind of terracotta flooring and walls as opposed to the wood it'd been before. To his left was a pool of warm water, constantly cycling, and the right were more private shower stalls.

'So, public bath or private showers.' It was currently empty, but he still chose a private shower. Breaking through his bindings, he set the backpack down on the hook right outside the stall door, but brought End with him, leaning it against the wall as he finagled with the shower controls. After a few seconds, he sighed in relief as warm water hit his face, running down his body.

He stood there, enjoying the sensation for several seconds before he even realized the dirt and muck was practically sliding off him, and his Sensitivity finally caught a whiff of how the water was tinged with magic.

'I suppose that answers how they have running water and drains and stuff despite the technological age. Magic.' Halfway through, someone came by to drop off his clothing, and when he was done, he got out, dried off with a provided towel, and dressed himself in a loose linen shirt and pants. The water fell off his Memorabilia easily once he simply shook it, allowing him to wrap it around his back once more without being bothered.

As he walked back to the counter, he saw that there was now a human male running the desk, who waved at him.

"Heya!" he said in a friendly tone.

"Mali forgot to give you your key, but here you are," he said, and handed Aaron a key with two strange symbols on it.

"You're on the second floor, room eight. Your food should already be there."

"Thanks," he said, and went up, matching his key to the one with the right symbols on the door. Walking in, he found two bowls of stew, and two rolls of bread on the table. Without even looking at the rest of the room, he ate his food, flopped into his bed, and was out like a light.