Ah the open road!
We've been through a lot this past week, my tour to all the Inner Disciples was an... emotionally draining series of events.
Psyche choosing to leave still hurts a lot. I know its what they want, and its whats best for them, but I still feel this aching loss in my heart.
I hope they come back after they've had time to figure things out, or at least stop by to visit often.
Oh god, am I an empty nester?
...Honestly, that may be the truth.
Anyway, I can worry about my potential attachment issues later.
Right now I need to focus on the path in front of me, in a very literal sense.
The 'path' in question was more a path of least resistance rather than any actual road. A treacherous ledge with nary 6 inches of space between sheer mountain face and a sickening plunge.
Should I be afraid of heights considering I can fly? Probably not, but lets keep in mind that just seven days ago I lived in a fucking bubble and had never seen a mountain with my own eyes. Vertigo hits a lot harder when the wind is whipping at your face and each step you take sends pebbles tumbling to their death a thousand feet below.
Just to be clear I voted to fly, or teleport or something, but Sophia, by being an invaluable voice of reason and logic, convinced me that it would be wise to at least try to get through the mountains on foot, considering our goal is to send adventurers back this way.
"I think—" Sophia said, sidling along the mountain ledge, "we may have a bit of an infrastructure issue."
"That is something of an understatement." Morgan replied. The Elf had elected to use their ability [Spider Climb] to walk right on the side of the Mountain, bypassing the thin ledge by sticking perpendicular to the cliff face.
"Understatement it may be, its a problem we'll eventually have to solve." In between speaking Sophia took a few more tepid steps.
"Lets just focus on the problem immediately in front of us." I say.
After a few more treacherous hours hugging the side of the mountain we manage to return to more stable footing as the mountains begin to shrink in size.
Normally around this point in a real adventure we'd stop to camp for the night, enjoy some food, maybe have some good conversation around the fire...
But as it turns out being in a Level 100 body means you don't really get tired. The other two need to eat and sleep, but can go without either for days at a time if needed. I can eat and sleep, but my body doesn't need it to function.
Even when the sun began to set, all of us have dark-vision, so the night posed no threat.
So instead of stopping, we just kept walking.
Soon we had more than made up for the time we lost fussing in the mountain paths, and had managed to pull into the foothills.
The Mountains we came from were tall, snow-capped gray monoliths which loomed over the surroundings. The foothills, by contrast, were green and rolling, and we started to see foliage and trees again.
After near 24 hours of straight walking, we decided to stop and rest.
If we wanted, we could have used [Gate] to return to Gentle Shade, then return to where we had left off and keep walking. Its pretty crazy how powerful a spell that is. I never picked it up for myself, I always enjoyed the process of moving through the world in Shangri-La, but now I'm starting to regret it.
I wonder if you can still learn spells in this new world? We'll have to try experimenting with that.
For the time being though, we decided to refrain from using [Gate] unless it was an emergency. We don't know the capabilities of the people of this land, and revealing our hand early could backfire on us.
So instead, we pulled out a tent and set it up the old fashioned way.
Well, 'tent' is a bit of an understatement. More like a small pavilion. And by 'old fashioned way' I mean its a Magic Item that assembles itself.
It wasn't anything hyper magical, and seeing as this is a world of Ice Dragons and Frost Giants we're hoping it won't stand out too much, and if it for some reason does draw the attention of shady characters then hopefully it will make them underestimate us and reveal their own hand.
Mainly though we just wanted to sleep somewhere comfortable.
The inside of the pavilion is modeled after the kind you'd see at those medieval fairs history and TTRPG nerds would organize. Big, colorful, and filled with modern amenities; totally divorced from any historical accuracy.
Around the edges were six different cots alongside sofas, cabinets, bookshelves, even a small kitchenette. In the center was a fire pit, itself surrounded by plush chairs and sofas. Being magic it requires no work to light. Its just always going...I guess. The more I think about how a lot of these magic items work, the less it makes sense, to be honest.
Its really quite strange- on the one hand it possess a level of realism that can only be explained by it being... real- like how the fabric has that smooth, silky feeling when I rub my hand against it, or how it rustles with the wind, playing a low drum beat whenever the wind throws it taut against the supports.
But on the other hand, it also works exactly how the item did in Shangri-La. Even down to how the flavor text described it- its all the same.
Its like if the fiction of the item in Shangri-La was translated into the reality of this new world as accurately as possible.
WHY THOUGH!?
It doesn't make any sense!
What force or phenomenon or entity caused all this to happen?
Why can we use magic and items and abilities like in Shangri-La, but filtered through this lens of ...real magical-realism?!
Then of course is the whole existential can of worms which is the NPCs— I mean, the Disciples.
Ugh. Its all to much for right now. We'll face any consequences from all that when it happens- for now I want to keep focused on the immediate objective: study the local area, find adventurers.
Right now I think I want to take a nap. Thinking about it I haven't slept since we arrived in this world. This new body is... something else. Well, I've had enough thinking for now. I throw myself into one of the cots, and drift to sleep.
Sophia lounged in one of the pavilion's central sofas, staring into the fire while it danced and flickered.
She figured she was just one in a long line of people to do so. Fire was one of the most significant inventions in human history, or at least that's what she had read. Most of the books she had access to were rather sterile, academic texts— interested in things like carbon-dating or the archaeo-botanical record which fire pits often preserved. She never managed to find any pure, visceral descriptions of what it felt like to stare into a fire.
She imagined that if even she(a magic fox woman) found its dance hypnotic, those early humans must have felt the same way.
What must they have thought? How did they reconcile what they experienced— the flickering, waving movements, the heat pounding against their skin, the smoke and ash filling their nose and lungs— with what they knew of the world? It would have been unlike anything they'd ever experienced aside from the sun itself.
Since they had arrived in this new world and Philo told Sophia the truth of their existence, she had been trying to take every experience in with as much clarity and presence in the moment as possible.
She considered herself to be like Mary, having stepped out of her gray room and seeing color for the first time, not simply having it described to her, but actually experiencing it. Therefore, it was crucial for her to engage the world with the same wonder and curiosity of a newborn, else she would grow stagnant and ignorant, useful to neither herself nor the Monastery as a whole.
Morgan, for their part, was doing sit ups.
"Morg?" Sophia asked.
"Yes?" Morgan replied, mid- sit up.
"When Philo talked to you about our... origins, what did you think?"
"...What do you mean?"
"I mean- how did you react? Were you afraid? Or confused or excited?"
"...I suppose I didn't feel all that much. Gratitude, maybe."
"Gratitude? Could you elaborate?"
"That Teacher would share that revelation with me."
"I see."
"Why do you ask? Did you feel something else?"
"Hmm. Yes- I felt... not confused, really, more like... vertigo."
"You mean you felt dizzy?"
"No- well, not exactly. I think its more like..." Sophia rolled over onto her back and stared up at the pavilion ceiling.
"I had come... pre-loaded with a lot of knowledge, both of science and philosophy." The kitsune weaved her hands together and rested them on her chest. "I knew in theory that a revelation like the one Philo gave us was always a possibility— things like the Boltzmann Brain, Simulation Theory— which now that I think about it turned out kind of correct in the end, and even Last Thursday-ism, which is even more correct in our case now that I think about that too, kind of funny—"
Sophia turned her head away from the ceiling and back towards Morgan "Anyway I knew of all those things, all those possibilities, but in that moment when Philo told me the Truth I actually used that knowledge for the first time. I realized all of a sudden the gaping, horrible distance between knowing and experiencing, and the fact that I had only just started to do the latter, and maybe never even the former." Sophia let out a deep, heavy sigh.
"And that's what the 'vertigo' was?" Morgan asked, now flipped over doing pushups.
"Yes, exactly. I intellectually knew that there was no point in allowing myself to spiral into existential despair over it, I'm as alive and real now as I've ever been, only way to view that is as an improvement from before, but I still felt... spiritually unstable. It was like, I had been reading about the mountaintop on which I stood for my whole life, but only in that one moment did I first look down."
Sophia sat back up and watched Morgan move in steady tempo- up down up down.
"You really didn't feel anything like that?" She asked.
Morgan paused at the apex of their movement. "Not especially." They said, lowering themself back down in a single smooth motion and continuing their exercise. "As far as I saw it, nothing changed. Philo still created us, still taught us everything we knew, and had stayed by our side even 'till the end. All Philo had really revealed to me was just the metaphysics which underpinned those other truths." They moved themself through another set of pushups. "I guess I fail to see why this revelation should cause some fundamental change in how I view myself and the world."
"Huh. That's a way to look at it, I guess."
"Its basically your view of it, but with fewer steps and angst."
"Excuse you? I do not angst."
"Would you prefer I describe it as 'Zielschmerz?'"
"Indeed I would."
"I thought you might."
"And you see, that's where the sense of Zielschmerz is coming from."
"Because I know you?"
"And now we have to use that knowledge to actually do something. We now have the chance to really help her—" Sophia leaned over and tilted her head backwards to look at the sleeping Philo, then returned her gaze to Morgan- "and honestly, I think she really needs it. I just worry I'm not up to the challenge, ergo—"
"Zielschmerz."
"Right."
"I think I understand that." Morgan said, finishing their exercise and walking over to take a seat next to Sophia. "Not to Zielschmerz all over the conversation, but I'd be a poor friend if I didn't ask: are you alright?"
Sophia sighed. "I think so. At least, whatever I'm feeling isn't so overwhelming that I can't focus on what's ahead."
"Not going to run off and abandon Teacher?" Morgan said. Sophia caught the tinge of malice in those words.
"Psyche didn't abandon us, Morgan."
They snorted. "I fail to see how. They responded to her kindness and honesty by packing their things and leaving."
"You know Teacher gave them permission to leave, right? Gave all of us permission to leave if we so choose?"
"That doesn't make it the right thing to do."
"I don't recall Philo teaching us that staying was the right thing to do either."
Morgan grimaced at that. "She created us, taught us, the least we can do is stay by her side."
"How very Confucian of you."
"I think many other philosophies teach the same thing."
"I think Philo—"
"Teacher."
"...I think Teacher would prefer you and Psyche stay on good terms."
Morgan didn't respond. Instead staring out towards the pavilion's entrance.
"Morgan?"
"Shh." Morgan put a finger to their lips, then pointed to their ears.
Sophia picked up on their meaning, and focused their senses.
Snap.* The sound of a foot stepping on a branch. The hushed voices of men.
Are those—
"Seems we have company." Before Sophia could finish her thought, Philo's voice came from behind her.
How did she wake up so fast? Did she hear us earlier? Sophia couldn't help but be impressed, even now Philo still found ways to surprise her.
"I believe our best course of action is to eliminate those men outside." Philo continued. "What are your thoughts?"
Sazh and his men crept closer and closer through the brush, inching towards the tent in the middle of the clearing.
Some idiot nobles had set up camp out here, fat and rich judging by the size of the tent.
Sazh let the corners of his mouth rise in a wicked grin. They'd had tough pickings in the last few weeks. The way Sazh saw it, bandits are a lot like hunters. The longer you stay in a single hunting zone, and the better you are at your job, the sooner you end up picking the place dry. People grow wise to your presence, wealthy snobs steer clear of the area, and what little there was to steal is probably already in your pockets.
They'd been operating at the end of that cycle for a couple weeks now. The loot had dried up and the villagers had all been shaken down for everything they had.
The Boss had said if they didn't hit a big score soon, they'd have to move somewhere else. Sazh was no military man, but he had lived the bandit life for a long time, and he knew that whenever a gang moved hideouts was when they were most vulnerable to being wiped out.
These fat cats in the tent would buy them at least another week before having to make that risk.
"Sazh!" The scouts he sent out had returned.
"Whats the deal?" he asked.
The scout, a rogue named Tilla, spoke in hushed whispers. "[Sense Life] is showing three people, women by the looks of it."
"Heh! Easy pickings... and a little extra treat to go with it." One of the grunts sneered.
Sazh was silent. Three noble women out in the woods, alone with no guards?
"Tilla." He asked. "You're sure they're the only ones in there? No escort, guards, nothin'?"
Tilla shrugged. "So far as I can tell."
"Hmm." Something about that seemed... off to Sazh.
"What— growing soft on us Sazh?" The grunt from before asked.
"It just seems... odd. Why would they not have any guards?"
"Probably just a bunch of young, stupid noble kids who snuck out. C'mon already lets go! My sword arm's getting itchy."
Sazh supposed the grunt was right, wouldn't be the first set of nobles to wander unprepared for the dangers ahead.
Besides, he can't look weak in front of the others. In the world of bandits that's a death sentence.
"Alright then— move out!"
The men around him nodded, and they all made for the tent.
Those clowns outside sure aren't very sneaky Woke me up from a nice dream.
Seems like regular bandits, based on their mana count and stats.
To be honest, even though I know they aren't strong enough to do anything to us, the fact a group of armed men are trying to break into where I'm sleeping still... frightens me. I guess at the end of the day, even in a new world of magic and adventure, violence and assault are still allowed to take place.
Now… how do we deal with them?
I've been reflecting on my conversation with Sophia about the Mountain King, and the Wrath of Heaven.
The world I came from, Earth, existed on one rule: the law of the jungle. A 'Survival of the Fittest' mentality came to dominate the world, manifesting in the form of mega-corporations who used immense wealth and power to crush the masses underfoot and keep them as a docile, servile class. It was a cruel, unjust world, co-opting Darwinian theory in order to justify its own existence. Human beings were fed into the machine of capitalism until they dropped dead.
Many people, out of desperation born from that cruel system, turned to crime and violence, assimilating into and perpetuating the violence at whatever scale they were able, just to survive. It doesn't justify their actions, but crime is always a response to a person’s material conditions.
In all likelihood those men outside the tent are in a similar situation. Maybe they were forced into this life due to a poor economic situation, war, or just plain bad luck.
It seems this New World shares many problems with the Old.
With how easily I was able to kill the Mountain King, I've clearly been given an immense amount of power. If I wanted, I could probably use that power to change the world in whatever way I see fit. To be honest, I'm already doing it by encouraging the village to grow and develop. Some may call me selfish, but the more I think about it, the idea of isolating myself from the world and allowing suffering to continue unabated makes me sick.
I want to live in a world where no one has to suffer or die, for any reason. Where no one has to turn to crime or violence just to survive. Where people can pursue their lives in peace, and all share in prosperity.
At the moment this world is not that.
Maybe it is selfish, but I want to use my power to bring about that world. To protect people from the kind of bandits moving towards us right now, and the environments that create them.
And while I may not like it, that means those men outside must die.
"Seems we have company." The two, who had also been scanning the status of the approaching bandits, snapped to face me. "I believe our best course of action is to eliminate those men outside- what are your thoughts?"
Morgan, stone-faced as always, just nodded in agreement.
"I would agree." Sophia said. "Driving them off would only leave them as a problem for others later, and we do not know whether this world has the means for incarceration yet." Sophia put a finger to her chin while her tails swoosh behind her. "Although, leaving one alive to interrogate would also be ideal. We could learn more about the local area, any nearby towns, and whether or not these bandits are part of a larger group located elsewhere."
"Makes sense." I said. "How should we go about this?"
Sophia put up a hand. "If I may, I would like to take care of these brigands."
"Alone? Is that wise?"
Sophia nodded. "I would like you both to be on standby if possible in case things should turn sour, but I'm rather confident these men do not represent a serious threat to us, and so I would like to take the opportunity to evaluate the average power of a human in this world."
Hmm. Well, if Morgan and I are waiting on the sidelines it should be alright. Sophia also seems confident, so may as well trust her.
"Very well. Go for it."
Sophia smiled. "Perfect. Then I will begin."
"ALRIGHT YOU LITTLE NOBLE SHITS! GET OUT HERE AND HAND EVERYTHING OVER! OTHERWISE WE SPILL YOUR GUTS!" Sazh shouted. His men had fanned out to surround the tent, preventing any escape while he waited at the front for the hapless noblewomen to reveal themselves.
The curtain covering the tents entrance flipped open, and out stepped a woman unlike anything Sazh had ever seen.
She was beautiful. Tall and athletic with dark skin and braided hair. She wore a set of layered green and blue robes, and on her face sat a pair of thin-framed round glasses.
Most striking, she had a pair of fox ears on her head, and nine tails flitting behind her back.
A beastman? Sazh thought to himself.
"Hello there." She said. "I apologize, but I do not have time for pleasantries. I have been tasked with eliminating your little band of hooligans. But before I do, I wished to confirm which one of you is in charge of this group." The woman locked eyes with Sazh. "I am guessing that would be you, given how you were barking orders before."
The way she spoke was far too confident for someone in her situation- the kind of confidence that either came from foolishness, or...
Shit!
"You're quite the mouthy one, ain't ya girly? I'll cut that tongue of yours right out!" One of Sazh's men drew his blade and ran forward.
"Wait!" Sazh yelled, but it was too late.
"[Mass Sleep]" The woman said. All around Sazh his men began to close their eyes and fall to the ground, knocked unconscious by some invisible force. The bandit who had charged the woman similarly fell flat on his face, weapon clattering to the ground.
Soon Sazh was the only one still standing.
"Dammit!" He yelled while drawing his own blade.
"Oh— you endured the sleep spell, seems my guess was correct. Very good. [Hold Person]"
Sazh was enveloped by a purple light. Above and below him spectral chains lashed out, wrapping themselves around his body until he couldn't move at all.
"Now if you do not mind, I will finish your companions." The woman said. She lifted her arm above her head, and opened the palm of her hand flat towards the sky. "[Dream Eater]"
From her palm burst forth a dozen pale green skulls. Each one gnashing its teeth and cackling as it flit through the air. The skulls flew towards each of the sleeping bandits, hovering Above their heads with their jaws open wide. Sazh watched as the skulls drew some kind of silver mist from the bodies of his companies and, one by one, the sleeping men stopped breathing.
Once all the bandits lay cold and dead on the ground, the skulls flew back to the woman, swirling around her head before diving back into the palm of her hand.
Just as soon as it had started, whatever dark ritual the woman had performed was over.
Sazh was aghast. They had made a grievous mistake. These were no petty noble children, but the retinue of a powerful Archmage, or some powerful adventurers! Either way a group of people well above Sazh's pay-grade!
I'm so fucked. He thought to himself.
The woman looked around to the corpses she had made, and sighed. "What a shame." She said, then flicked her gaze back towards Sazh.
"You. I believe I have demonstrated why continuing to fight is a poor choice. I will release you from my spell, and when I do so you will stay and calmly answer my questions." Her tone made it clear this was not something Sazh had a choice in, not that Sazh was dumb enough to disobey.
She snapped her fingers, and the spectral chains binding Sazh shattered. Sazh collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. He hadn't noticed in the moment, but he'd been holding his breath the entire time.
The woman strode towards him, looming over the collapsed bandit.
"First question." She said. "What is your name?"
The bandit glanced up at the woman towering over him. "S-Sazh."
"I see. Second question, Sazh, what were you doing out here?"
"Trying to find someone to rob."
"Hmm— at least you're honest. Why out here though, in the middle of the woods? Is there not a town or village nearby? I imagine there would be more marks around an urban center than out here."
Sazh shook his head. "There is a village, about two hours west of here, but we've already taken most of what they had. This was one of our last attempts to find plunder before we left."
Her eyes narrowed. "I see. What polity is the village a part of?"
"Huh?"
"Who is the sovereign of that village?"
Sazh returned her question with a blank stare.
Sophia made an exasperated sigh. "Who's lands are these? What lord or king?"
"Oh! The local lord is Count Carthon- he's one of the Terrem aristocrats."
"Terrem?"
"Thats the royal capital, where the king lives."
"I see..." Sophia put a finger to her chin. "Last question, for now. Are there more of your group elsewhere?"
"Yes. We were part of a larger bandit gang operating in the area. I'm just a patrol leader."
"Interesting... then who is actually in charge of this bandit group?"
"A Warrior named Elm Brightblade- he's considered one of the strongest in the Kingdom, probably even give you a run for your money."
She raised an eyebrow at that. "Is that so? And what, pray tell, is such an accomplished warrior doing out here plundering defenseless villages?"
"Honestly? I'm not too sure. He lost a fight in the arena a few years ago, and I think ever since he's been trying to find a way to get stronger."
"Hm. Another failed brute taking their own weakness out on the innocent. Can you lead me to this 'Elm' then?"
"Yes."
"Very good. Those are all my questions. I may have use for you later, but for now..." She grabbed Sazh by the chin, forcing him to meet her eyes. "[Empowered Spell— Sleep]."
Sazh soon found an inescapable weariness overtake him, and he collapsed unconscious to the floor.