Chương 8: Omnimancer 8: Cloud City

Seriously, what the fuck does Soulfire even do? That was the puzzle Jax had been trying to solve over the last hour, but he'd made zero progress on that front, and by the time he landed at the bottom of the mountain atop which a walled fortress of a city sat, he'd just about given up. For now. Luckily, he had a whole trove of other shinies to think about, so that's what he did. Soulfire could keep its secrets, but he'd break it down eventually.

The first challenge confronting him was that getting in wasn't going to be easy. At least, not without drawing a lot of attention. Not the least of which because the temperature had plummeted as he rose. Fourteeners were rarely ever warm places, but what people didn't realize was that a given temperature felt colder higher up. To say nothing of the windchill when he flew.

Despite his enhanced Vitality, his base layers quickly became inadequate, though he was honestly shocked he didn't feel much colder than he did with just two layers on. The cold had forced Jax to don his 8000-meter suit, granting him some water and wind resistance, which was sorely needed when piercing through the many low-lying clouds that sat well below the city. The ski goggles and the oxygen mask helped an incredible amount with that, too, even if his oxygen tank was empty and currently stored in his inventory.

Contrary to all the romantic ideas of flying through clouds, the experience was actually quite miserable. Visibility went to nothing. The temperature plummeted by twenty degrees or more, and the humidity would've drenched him were it not for the waterproofing on his suit. Luckily, Jax's speed saved him. Accelerating to his maximum of two hundred fifty miles an hour, he pierced through in seconds, leaving Jax mostly dry… and screaming like a maniacal fool in glee.

More than the speed, it was the rush of the acceleration that was the best part. At one point, Jax had wondered whether there was anything quite like gunning it on a fast motorcycle. He wondered no longer—this sensation was in another realm entirely. Once above the cloud layer, Jax had a pretty good view of the city, as well as the several problems that awaited him. Sure, he could just fly over the walls, but this city was far vaster than he had thought.

Forget tens or hundreds of thousands of people, the sprawling city in the crater of this ancient snow-capped volcano numbered in the millions, rivaling any modern city on Earth. With that many people, he'd undoubtedly be spotted. Not to mention any air defenses a city of this size might have. Jax didn't know much about walled cities, but he was pretty sure you didn't build a miles-long wall at the top of an absurdly inhospitable mountain unless you wanted to keep bad things out.

Nor had he seen a single other person—or anything— in the air. Maybe that was for a reason. And ignoring all of that, there was the small issue of showing up wearing a bright yellow 8, 000-meter mountaineering suit. Yeah, bet that'll go over great. Between the alien clothes, the language barrier, and the fact that his last 'first contact' with locals had gone about as smooth as a Class V avalanche. The suit, at least, he could do something about.

Landing on a remote part of the slope far away from the city, Jax put a hand on his suit's sleeve and willed it into his inventory. The thing vanished, only to reappear in his hands, neatly folded. Never gonna get tired of that, Jax thought with a grin. He then flipped the suit inside out before putting it back into his inventory and summoning it again, this time over his body.

An exercise that ought to have taken ten minutes took only a handful of seconds, and Jax was now clad in a full gray suit instead of a bright yellow one. He lost much of its waterproofing and insulation this way, but it'd at least attract less attention than cosmic yellow. Jax took to the air, climbing past the city to circle the summit crater from high above. He made sure to stay at least a mile out as he scanned the sprawling city below.

Before he realized it, he wasn't so much scanning the civilization within that deep crater as he was staring in awe. At the sea of clouds that surrounded the mountaintop, beautifully reflecting the golden sunlight. At its vast winter gardens and the countless trees that dominated the place, giving the city more of a snowy forest vibe than he would've thought possible. Homes were built directly into the crater walls, their countless glowing lights hinting at a vast network of tunnels within the rock.

Even the buildings on the crater floor seemed to be built into the rock rather than above it. It was why the trees seemed to dominate so much. The only tell of civilization were the lights that poked through, or the smoke from their chimneys. And despite its winding, never-straight roads, this was clearly a radially planned city, with all the streets converging on a gigantic square pyramid at its center—so tall it actually rose above the crater rim. It reminded Jax distinctly of Mayan architecture.

In a word, the city was beautiful, and it was beautiful in a way that Jax had never known cities to be before. From a single glance, it was obvious these people lived in harmony with nature. Jax felt a chill down his spine as the explorer within him stirred. If the city was this impressive from so high up, what would it be like to walk its streets? To meet its people and experience its culture? A strong gust of wind buffeted Jax, chilling his bones and breaking him out of his thoughts.

Thanks to his inside-out suit, his body was cooling rapidly at this altitude, and it would only be a matter of time before hypothermia kicked in. Refocusing, Jax spotted two main entrances with massive gates and switchbacked roads winding up the steep slope beneath. Both were heavily guarded, with wagons and travelers being stopped and checked before entry. Whether it was some kind of visa check or toll collection, Jax couldn't say.

Either way, his total lack of communication skills was bound to cause a mess he didn't need. After some thought, the answer came to him. It'd be gross, but simple, and as a mountaineer, Jax was no stranger to getting dirty when he had to. Dropping below the city, Jax circled at a distance until he found a remote section of wall with no roads, no people, and a very particular feature common to all cities in any world.

Jax touched down softly on the snow several hundred yards away, his crampons biting into the slick ice as he trudged up. It was just past noon and anyone looking for him would've spotted him, but few guards patrolled this stretch of wall. For good reason. Nobody in their right mind would try to approach the city on this sheer slope where a single slip spelled death. Which was, of course, exactly why he'd picked it. It didn't take long before he spotted what he was looking for.

A drainage grate built into the side of the wall. As Jax approached, he realized this area wasn't as deserted as he'd hoped. The snow near the grate was packed flat. Not just by a couple of boots, but by many, and recently. Dozens of people, judging by the tracks. Some of them had been carrying heavy things, too. The packed snow wound its way down the mountain, disappearing off into the distance. That was interesting. Who would be moving so frequently through the sewers?

Thick metal crossbars reinforced the grate, no doubt meant to stop people like him from slipping in. For someone who could teleport, though, it was practically an open door. What he found there, however, surprised him. Instead of an open drainage spewing out the mountainside, polluting it, the sewer emptied into a metal pipe almost as tall as he was, which disappeared underground, down the slope. Furthermore, he was met with a swift wind blowing out of the sewer's grate, even if it smelled something godawful.

That meant the area was well-ventilated, and likely well maintained too. By the owners of those footprints in the snow, perhaps? It was why he even considered venturing into what would otherwise have been an extremely dangerous area. He also appreciated that whoever had designed this clearly cared for the environment—or for aesthetics, at the very least. Jax crouched beside the grate, glancing around one last time. Seeing no one, he teleported through. The other side was pretty much exactly what he expected.

He found himself standing on a narrow stone walkway beside a river of foul, rushing water. The stench hit him like a wall, nearly making him puke. The sewer was enormous—wide enough for carriages to pass through, with a ceiling so high he couldn't reach it even if he jumped. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. No light, of course, but that was easy to fix. Thar'koven sho'rek ai navaa!

Sparks crackled around Jax's arm, catching into puffs of smoke that combusted into a small flame. It hovered just above his palm, but instead of the usual burst that came with a normal [Lesser Fireball], it simply sat there.

"Nice," he muttered, grinning. [Lux Compressor], it turned out, worked both ways—he could overpower or underpower spells at will. By using a tenth of the usual Lux, what he got was a floating ember that glowed a bit brighter than a candle. Just enough to see by and no more. A flame in a sewer was dangerous enough, even with the breeze. He didn't need an explosion to make it worse. Jax followed the main sewer channel deeper into the city.

Before long, the tunnels branched into several junctions—arteries leading in different directions, resembling modern sewage systems far more than any primitive system as Jax had come to expect of this world, but maybe he'd been premature in that assessment. Maybe the village with its thatched roofs and earthen buildings had simply been too poor to afford any better. Any of the branching arteries would have worked for Jax's needs, since they'd likely eventually connect to some kind of exit or manhole.

One tunnel, however, was larger than the others, so Jax went with that one. The stench he could deal with, but he wasn't exactly eager to step into the literal river of filth beside him. It wasn't long before he didn't even need the firelight anymore. The walls were lined with crystal orbs that emitted a soft glow, mounted in sconces like torches. He didn't see any obvious wiring connecting them, and the tech was unlike anything he'd seen. Magic, probably.

Jax continued down the passage until something unusual caught his eye—a wooden door embedded into the side wall. Except it didn't look like part of the sewer system at all. The stonework around the frame was jagged and uneven, like someone had blasted or hacked through solid rock to make space for it. Curious, Jax tried the handle. Locked, of course. He was about to move on when he noticed the oversized keyhole. Peering through, he could clearly see the room beyond.

He muttered the incantation for [Voidstep] and teleported straight through, appearing on the other side without a sound.

"All too easy," he muttered, smirking. Whatever this place was, it clearly wasn't built to handle intruders capable of bending space and time. Finally free from the stench of the sewer, Jax followed the narrow hallway ahead. The same crystal sconces lit the way, growing more frequent as he moved deeper. The air felt cleaner here, too, with far less of the sewage stink. The stone was smoother, and the architecture felt more deliberate.

Along the way, small hallways extended off to the side, dead ending after a few feet. Then, abruptly, the hallway ended in a solid wall. Jax frowned.

"That can't be right…" A dead end? Jax backtracked to the offshoot halls, confirming that he hadn't missed anything, but nope. Every path he tried ended the same way. He was about to head back to the main sewer when a sound from the other side of the main passage wall made him freeze. He got down and put his ear against the wall, only to hear muffled voices and sounds of movement. Someone was definitely on the other side. That was when he caught the faint smell of something nasty, almost like tar... but sweet.

"No way," he muttered, frowning. Jax ran his fingers along the surface of the wall. It looked like stone, but it was soft to the touch. Acting on a whim, he pressed harder. The wall gave way and his finger sank right into it. It wasn't rock at all, but some kind of fabric. A heavy, treated cloth painted and textured to look like stone, which reflected light in the same way stone would. It even felt as cold and wet as stone, which had to be the result of some illusion magic at work.

If he hadn't been pressing against it, he'd never have known. As for what it hid… When he poked through, a puff of fine white powder spilled out in a little cloud. He instinctively pulled his hand back, staring at the stuff clinging to his gloves. Hesitating, he dabbed a tiny bit on his finger and brought it up to his nose and sniffed. The smell hit him harder this time, stirring memories of remote Himalayan villages in winter.

"Yep. That's the stuff, alright." Opium. While he'd never partaken, the smell was rather unforgettable, and not in a good way. Which meant this 'dead end' wasn't a wall at all. It was a barricade of opium sacks stacked and disguised to look like the sewer's stonework. Which meant he hadn't stumbled into just any hidden room. This was a den of drug dealers, or something similar. Jax stood there a moment, weighing his options. The smart move would, of course, be to leave.

Go back to the sewers and find another way into the city. Then again, most other exits were probably guarded. He'd have to figure out how to get away without anyone questioning him. And he still needed clothes. He still needed a way to communicate with people. If he was lucky, maybe he could just kill two birds with one stone here. And while Jax wasn't the type to steal, it wasn't like he'd lose much sleep over taking from criminals. At least he assumed they were criminals.

He doubted very much they'd be hiding and smuggling opium if it wasn't outlawed. Jax's sense of adventure flared up as it always did, drowning out the voice of reason. With a grin, he slipped his fingers into one of the cloth bags and tugged, carefully prying it loose. Just enough to peek through. That was all he needed. A narrow corridor lay beyond, dimly lit by those same glowing crystal sconces. No movement and no sound. Perfect. Jax waited a few seconds longer, listening to make sure the other side was quiet.

Then, without another thought, he muttered the incantation for [Voidstep]. Space warped and folded in a bubble around him, and just like that, he was in.

"Hmm, this one is… my name? No, my age. Ah, no I have it! This is my Guardian identification number, yes." Nimashi stood with his body curled at the counter, squinting at the stone tablet's tiny text, using the very tip of his claw to scribble his number on the very small line.

"Truly infuriating," he mumbled to himself.

"To make it this small." Now, granted, he was on the larger side for a Water Panther, and his eyesight wasn't what it once was, but still! After painstakingly scrawling his information on the tablet, he took it to the counter.

"How may I help you, sir?" the Water Panther asked.

"I, the great Nimashi, hereby formally submit my intent to leave my post!" he proudly declared. The clerk blinked at the tablet, then looked up to him.

"Sir, this form is for Water Panthers only. Please fill out the correct form."

"H-how dare you! I'll not abide by this slander! For I am Nimashi, Water Panther of the—""Sir, you are a horned serpent. Please proceed to the horned serpent line." Nimashi stared at the female Water Panther for a long moment before sighing. Every single time… He'd hoped this time they would see him as he truly was, but alas. The world was full of the blind.

"Horned serpent my jaw," he mumbled, floating over to the Horned Serpent paperwork.

"I swear…" Grumbling, Nimashi searched for the corresponding form from the Horned Serpent area. At the very least, the Horned Serpent forms were written in a size he could easily read.

"Let's see, here," he said.

"Vacation… Sick Leave… ah, here we have it." Plucking the stone tablet for 'Leave of Absence', Nimashi swiftly filled out the relevant details, finding its size far easier to write upon. Resigning himself to his tragic fate, Nimashi joined the back of the Horned Serpent line.

"You hear about the beasts acting up on Luxspire?" someone grumbled ahead of him. A spry-looking whelp of a girl.

"Apparently Adronach acted up and went and chomped the whole summit off!"

"Adronach the Doombringer!? The Prime Emissary to the Goddess!?" the other girl gasped.

"The same. My manager said we're gonna have to work overtime to clean up that mess…"" Overtime," her friend scoffed.

"At half the hourly rate."

"If we're lucky! I just feel bad for Caua. Seems they're calling him back from medical leave for this…" Nimashi stiffened at that. Overtime? Recalls from medical leave? Would they deny his request, then? Nimashi ambled along until his turn was finally called.

"M-my application for a leave of absence," he said, sounding far less sure than he would have moments prior.

"Let's see here," the Horned Serpent clerk replied, scanning over the tablet.

"Yes, all seems to be in order… however I'm afraid I will have to deny your request at this time. We are shortstaffed and require all available claws, you see." Nimashi went stiff. No. No they can't!

"Unless…"

"Yes?" Nimashi asked, surging up to the clerk's nose. He caught the smug smirk too late.

"Unless, of course, you pay the fine."

"H-how much of a fine?" Nimashi asked, squinting.

"Oh, let's see here," the clerk said, claws flicking over this abacus.

"Let's see… yes. The sum comes out to 66, 230, 000 even."

"Sixty-six million!" he thundered, earning the eyes of everyone in the room.

"I'm afraid so," the clerk said, showing his fangs.

"Please," Nimashi begged.

"You can't ask this of me! I've only just had to part with a sizeable portion!" To a Water Panther, their hoard was everything. The core of their very identity! He may as well cut his very heart out.

"Those are the current rules, er… Nimashi," he added, glancing down at the tablet.

"Coffers are a bit dry at the moment, what with all the chaos. I'm sure you understand…" Nimashi understood all too well. They wished to use his coppers to pay for this wretched 'overtime'. Not on my watch!

"Surely, we can come to some… arrangement?" Nimashi said, batting his eyelids, deploying the most devastating attack he had.

"Perhaps… a third of that sum?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid I will require it all."

"Ah! Such a pity then! I must have misspoken. I meant that was the third time I've lost my whole hoard, you see!" Nimashi said, pulling yet another sly tactic from his vast arsenal.

"Indeed, I have not one copper left to my name! Truly a tragic turn of events."

"I'm sorry, sir. I believe you in fact have 66, 230, 005 coppers to your name."

"How!?" Nimashi asked, jerking back.

"How could you possibly know this!?"

"Because… you wrote it down, sir," the clerk said with narrowed eyes.

"Ah. Yes. It would appear I did," Nimashi replied, forgetting they'd asked for it.

"There is… truly no other way?"

"I'm afraid not, sir." Nimashi dug deep. To the spark he'd felt when Yellow Jacks had left him. The spark that had now blossomed into a flame. A flame that filled his every pore. Yes, a Panther's hoard was his identity… but was Nimashi not about to set out to forge himself anew? What better way than to cast off the one he once was? Nimashi straightened, eyes boring deep into the clerk's own.

"I, the Great Nimashi, Fadeguard's Chosen, accept your challenge!"

"Sir, there's no challenge. I just need you to sign here."