Chương 151: Chapter 156: The Stylo

I reached Rhea's tent. The rituals lay there inert to my passing, but a gremlin stupid enough to follow me got incinerated as it stepped into the first line of defenses. I purposely kept it alive, allowing it to follow me just to see what would happen. All the others I killed along the way. There was something profoundly bothering me as I walked in the forest, and I came to the realization that it was the walking itself.

I wanted to fly, to feel the wind on my skin, to avoid any obstacle and move with the freedom of a bird. This damn aura was still bothering me, but now that I arrived I could finally rest. I opened the flap of the tent to be greeted by a strange sight: Rhea was crying. Alya was crying. And both were hugging each other over a little table, two steaming mugs precariously set between the two girls. My headache was about to tear a hole into my head.

Before I could do anything, Rhea raised her head, dark makeup smeared all over her face, tears streaming down and making more of a mess. As she saw me she quickly gestured for me to go away as she hugged Alya tighter, resuming her sobbing. Yeah, no shit, there was no way in hell I was going in there. I exited again, then retraced my path and went back to the shop. I perused some items similar to Rhea's tent. In the end I chose something much more versatile than a tent, and much pricier.

I burned through a hundred-something thousand points for that, and a magical repair kit for my clothes. I was tempted to buy more items for increasing my stats, but right now I couldn't even use the ones I had properly, and mostly I was afraid that my aura would become even harder to control. For the same reason I didn't open my notification to trigger whatever achievement or message I got after killing that guard. I stopped for a second after crossing outside. I killed a guard.

An alien, yes, but a living being, with hopes and dreams. Someone could argue that he tried to kill me, but the truth was that if I had to kill all the guards here for some reason, I wouldn't feel any remorse. Was I racist? Specist? Or was it something else? I pondered that question while moving to the edge of the forest. As soon as I reached the first tree big enough, I went around so that I was hidden from the town's view, and took out my new purchase. A stylo.

──────────── [The Vermilion Key] – 113000 TP An old-fashioned writing implement, the bright red plume seems to never stay still. Draws a door on any sufficiently large surface to connect you with your personal abode. Some say it once belonged to a forgotten cartographer who explored many uncharted worlds, but always longed for his home. ──────────── I infused mana and a sliver of aura into the beautifully crafted item, linking it to myself.

I could see the magic item's colors despite my aura suffusing my eyes still. It must have been pervaded in magic for that. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it The bright red plume flitted about in the air as the golden point started carving more than writing on the tree trunk. Bright orange lines of light appeared in less than twenty seconds, all connecting through swirls and pleasant lines. In a way, it reminded me of Rhea's rituals.

After the stylo stopped drawing it returned to my hand. I stored it again in my satchel, then waited until the lines finished rearranging themselves into the shape of a wooden door. As I reached towards it with my hand, a wooden knob started protruding from the tree. Tentatively, I took it and twisted it. The door opened with a click, and swung without any kind of noise. As I stepped inside I looked around in wonder. The place was much more than I thought.

A polished dark marble floor with bright veins was covered by carpets all around. Wooden panels went from the floor to waist height, then continued with more marble, lighter with dark veins, for walls. The space was large. It looked like an old manor, with a couple of leather couches and armchairs sitting around a massive fireplace, which was currently lit. A bright yellow and white flame illuminated the place, together with smaller braziers hanging from above, lit by the same strange flame.

It must have been magical too, because it burned slowly, as if it were slowed in time. I double-checked to make sure I wasn't in any kind of accelerated perception, but I wasn't. I stepped further inside. There were cabinets on the other side of the room. I opened one but found it empty. I noticed that the walls were empty too. No paintings, no tapestry, no objects of any kind placed around. It was a clean slate, functional and ready to become a new home. It reminded me of when I moved into my new apartment.

After closing the door behind me, in a scant few seconds it transformed into a painting on the wall, then slowly into glowing lines, until it disappeared totally. I would have to use the stylo again, it seemed, if I wanted to leave this place. A safety measure, probably. I was starting to think that I could abuse this place quite a bit. I could fill it with my people, move fast, and then reopen the door at the next safe zone. Easy and safe. I'd have to test this.

With those thoughts in mind I started exploring the place. After the entry hall and living room, I found a really old-style kitchen. No microwave or any other electronic device, pity, but I was sure I could find the magical equivalent in the shop should I need it. Then I found a pantry, a dining room, a bathroom, and something that I could only describe as a trophy room. Something that reminded me of Brick. Hangers and hooks made to place items and heads of beasts. Cool.

Pity that the Venomfall Serpent wouldn't fit through the door. I continued my search and found a set of stairs, one going up, and another going down. I decided to go up. The red carpet lining the stairs muffled my steps as I climbed. The rail was made of intricately carved marble, like the floor. I went up the ramp as the ceiling was high, then arrived into another hall. The first thing that came to my attention were the two big polished wooden double doors. I went and opened them.

Inside, a master bedroom opened up. It was fit for a king. A giant baldaquin bed, because I had no idea the real name and it was that big, dominated the center of the room. The red curtains fell down nearly to the floor. A great mirror occupied most of the left wall, while on the other side were bookshelves, all empty. I entered two doors, one on the left and one on the right. The left one led to a bathroom, with a gigantic jacuzzi, or something similar, while the other led to a study of sorts.

A great desk sat in the middle, with a fireplace on the right side, while bookcases and other furniture were placed around the walls. I noticed something. There was a big window just behind the desk, covered by tapestries. I had seen many other windows, but this one caught my attention. I went and pulled them apart. More stone greeted me. No outside view for me. Not that it was a problem, but it would have been nice to see something at least.

I went back and exited the bedroom, finding a library, empty, and a couple of smaller bedrooms with attached bathrooms. One other room piqued my interest. A nearly empty room, quite big, and void of any wood. The door was made of metal and the only thing present inside was a plum pillow in the center. I looked for any other clue but couldn't really figure out what it was used for. Contemplation maybe? Meditation? Whatever it was, it wasn't of immediate use to me. I went down the stairs until I reached the bottom.

There I found a cellar. Barrels and boxes were everywhere, but all empty. I left the place as there was nothing really useful right now, but I would like to properly store some wine or rum as soon as I got the time to enjoy it again. Instead I moved toward the other end of the basement. There, at the end of a long corridor, a heavy steel door was firmly shut. I removed the heavy metal bar which was keeping it closed and pulled it open. Inside I found something that I didn't think I would see in a place like this.

A dungeon. As in an old-style prison, complete with multiple cells and chains and manacles. Ok, this was starting to become strange. Why would I need a prison in my own house? I had no idea, but I had no intention to use it. I stopped while I was about to close the door again. Actually… I had a use for it.