Chapter 3: Maliscade, The Bastion City

Subject: Caim Location: Sorus Valley

Alice and Caim conversed while they made their way through the Sorus Valley to the city.

“I don’t think you understand my question,” Caim explained, frustrated by a recent miscommunication on the subject of religion.

The seeker was having difficulty understanding that Caim didn’t need to believe in anything to be curious about worship in Shroud.

She said it was a theocracy. That sounds like an important detail, which is why I asked.

“I… You may be right. I think it would be easier for me to get if you said you weren’t religious.”

“I’m not religious,” he confirmed.

Alice, who looked as if she was just starting to understand where he was coming from, sunk back into utter confusion. She stopped walking and turned to face Caim.

“So, you were taught that religion is bad… right? That’s probably because of all of the cults you have outside the barrier. I remember hearing scary stuff about it in school.”

“No, I wasn’t taught anything about religion.”

“Then... you don’t like to pray to your gods?”

Caim rubbed his temples, trying to figure out how he could explain to her what he was actually saying.

“No, but it really isn’t important. I don’t know how to explain myself.”

The conversation wasn’t going anywhere, so Caim resolved to just end it.

“It is important,” Alice emphasized, unexpectedly pained by his dismissal.

She grabbed Caim’s arms and looked him dead in the eye.

“The Covenant of Shade is our religion in here. I am Shaden, which is the word we use to describe the faithful. Now… you are also Shaden. Oh, and we also call The Shrouded Theocracy ‘Shroud’, for short. Get all of that?”

Alice’s serious stare emphasized the warnings in her words. He needed to adapt if his infiltration was to go undiscovered. This was why she was giving him a brief overview of where he was and other relevant information.

Growing up in Shroud must have made it harder to understand that religions don’t always have to be confrontational with each other. Still, she obviously knows the fear of persecution. She is telling me how to stay safe here.

The explanations had begun immediately after Caim recovered from the revolting experience of ingesting the blightseed. Alice said that the seed wouldn’t affect him instantly, but that his body would slowly “strengthen” for an hour or so.

Caim already felt different. While he continued to absorb information about Shroud, he looked inward to discover what about him had changed.

“I’ve lived in the Shroud all my life, like almost everyone else here. That might be why it is confusing,” Alice acknowledged. “We don’t hear much about the outside world. You’re human, so I know you’re from one of the allied nations. You don’t need to be a model of faith, just don’t do anything blasphemous.”

Caim listened carefully to Alice so he could learn what exactly she meant by “blasphemous”.

“What are the Enforcers like? You only said not to look directly at them, and that they guard the city. Are they Shroud’s soldiers?”

“Enforcers sometimes back up the military, I think, but they mostly protect us and punish people who break the law. They’re easy to notice in their plate armor. You’ll see what it looks like soon. No one else would wear anything like it.”

Caim nodded while Alice went on. Her expression was severe, and the pacing of her speech was different from usual, emphasizing just how much she cared about preparing him.

“Don’t speak to one unless they talk to you. If that happens… uh... Just don’t let that happen. Keep your head down. No one would ever suspect you were guilty of something as crazy as breaking through the barrier with magic.”

Alice shook her head and laughed nervously at how ridiculous the very notion was.

“Understood. Thank you for the instructions,” Caim replied.

He felt invigorated. It wasn’t a sudden flood of energy, but a steady current that had been building throughout their journey down the path to the city. He didn’t question the source.

This was the blightseed’s doing.

Is this why Alice can fight like that? She eats these seeds?

“That reminds me, bladenay, you called me a soldier. Civilians usually get silly ideas in their head about what it means to be a seeker. Forget what you think you know. I also want you to forget everything you know about seekers and soldiers from your home. It’s probably different here. Mille hasn’t seen the outside world either, but she wouldn’t lie about something like that.”

Forgetting what he didn’t know was an easy task.

“We seekers take contracts from the Blightbane Guild. We enter festerfonts and cleanse the Blight. I… I’m going to tell Mille to give you a thorough explanation of everything I’m talking about. She is better with words.”

Alice’s personality really is different from when we were in the cave.

They had walked beyond the reach of the tree canopy, where smaller plants beyond grew more sparsely on a gentle slope. The depths of the valley below were no longer blocked by trees.

Caim gasped when he saw the city. Alice heard his involuntary reaction and giggled.

“Maliscade has that effect on newcomers. I’m from The Bastion City, and I’ve lived here all my life, but some people have never seen a city in their life. They are surprised by the many buildings bunched up and the high walls protecting them. Your reaction tells me you are one of those people.”

Alice seemed proud of her home. Giddy, it was like she was showing off a treasured possession.

But It wasn’t the fact that Maliscade was a city that surprised Caim.

Their high vantage point gave off a good view of the impressively-sized city nestled in the bottom of the valley. The thick walls and cuboid buildings were not at all what Caim had expected.

Maliscade had impressively clean architecture.

“We aren’t in the wilderness anymore,” Alice stated. “I saw you were a little uncomfortable back there. I don’t want to offend you, but you don’t act like you have spent a lot of time in the wilderness.

Caim swallowed hard and looked back the way they’d come.

“Or, maybe you’re used to facing more danger? Some memories that taught you to be afraid of any stretch of wilderness?” Alice shrugged. “It’s relatively safe here as long as you stick to a path.”

Caim nodded thankfully before returning his attention to the city and its outlying land. Alice patted him on the back, a little more forcefully than she probably intended.

Though she didn’t give off the impression, she was impressively strong.

Subject: Caim Location: Sorus Valley

Surrounding the city on two sides were farming fields, stretching out around the city’s exterior, like folded wings.

Smooth paved roads of dark gray branched out from the main gate of the city. One of the paths led up to the trail they were walking along.

The point where the road met with wilderness was clear. The development of the land did not extend beyond the farming fields.

It was the fields that impressed Caim even more than the buildings. Each distinct field was a circular pattern, clustered together with the neighboring fields.

No farmers tended in these fields. Instead, strange hulking beasts walked circular paths around them. These creatures walked on three thick legs, joining at a stocky, headless body. Their hide was brown, like tree bark.

Trained to stomp the land flat, Caim guessed.

His brain was racing as he tried to better understand the alien civilization around him.

Farming around Maliscade was highly organized, with three notably different crops growing in alternating fields.

It was too difficult to tell from this distance, but one crop grew in long blue stalks. These stalks were just beginning to rise above the soil.

Another crop was a kind of berry, or at least it looked like that was what would grow by the time harvest came around.

Finally, a small number of fields had small trees growing on them. These trees were covered in green bark, their branches were adorned with deep blue leaves.

This is too mechanical. How can they farm with this level of precision?

“What techniques are used in farming around Maliscade?” Caim asked.

“You’re interested in farming?” Alice replied rhetorically with an uneasy smile. “I have no idea what’s involved in all that. ”

Alice looked away from Caim and scanned the land ahead while they walked. Her gaze jumped from field to field as she tried to think of something to say.

“I guess you can see we’ve got trained Blunt Striders hard at work. Can you believe they enjoy stomping around in a circle all day?”

She laughed, but Caim was too busy admiring the creatures to smile back at her.

“Oh, and the theocracy has Synergists like you to make sure all the automated magical stuff works. What those mages do to keep it all running is beyond me. You’d probably understand, though! Maybe it’s a mage thing to be interested in all that?”

Caim was confident that he would understand nothing about the magic Shroud used to keep such an astounding agricultural system functioning. He was barely a mage and definitely not a mechanical engineer.

It was just all so alien to him. That was why he was interested.

“It is only a passing curiosity,” he answered. “It’s awe-inspiring.”

With agriculture this advanced. I wonder what other aspects of their society will surprise me.

“Yeah… the theocracy manages all of that around here. I think there are private companies in other regions. Plenty of food is one benefit of living in such a wealthy place. I don’t know what it was like for you out in the ravaged lands beyond the barrier… but we don’t starve here.”

Caim was relieved to hear this. If he didn’t need to worry so much about feeding himself, he might just be able to last a little while in this place.

That will make completing my first objective easier, he mused.

Caim was also happy that they were almost at their destination. Their brisk pace, set by Alice, had worn him down.

The energy boost from the blightseed wasn’t enough to compensate. Unlike Alice, Caim was not in shape. He wasn’t overweight, but he also didn’t have much muscle.

A mortifying thought crossed Caim’s mind. Without money, connections, and marketable skills, he would die. Forget offending the Enforcers, what was he going to do for work?

“Finding a place to stay is another matter entirely. It will be difficult for you in particular because you can’t apply for a government job, or you’ll be found out for sure,” Alice explained with a saddened tone. “But don’t despair! I have a plan for that.”

The seeker smiled excitedly, her green eyes sparkling with elation.

Alice’s words reminded Caim of what Vera had said before sending him here. Vera had her own plans for Caim, and those plans had plucked him from one regrettable situation into a dangerous one.

Now, to keep him alive, another person was making the decisions.

The warrior didn’t seem anything like Vera. Alice was genuine, honest, and heroic. Her magical regenerative magical and what she called her “Mark” were new to him, but the similarities appeared to outweigh these differences.

On the surface, at least.

“Thank you for helping me. I’m very fortunate to have met someone like you when I arrived,” Caim shared.

Caim tried to smile when Alice looked over. She smiled warmly in return, her green eyes glimmering in the daylight.

She didn’t say anything back. Caim didn’t need her to.

Then came the shoulder punch.

Subject: Caim Location: Sorus Valley

Passing the circular farming fields on either side, Caim noticed that gray metal boxes lined the outer edge of each field. He wasn’t sure if he imagined it, but there was a gentle shimmer of golden light leaking up from these devices.

Magic farming technology... What a place...

“I can see you staring again,” Alice whined. “Is that really what you want to be? A farming Synergist?”

Her tone implied that she couldn’t understand why Caim would be interested in a life like that. But then she lowered her voice.

“I-I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt your feelings or anything… but it isn’t something you can do here. Not without getting caught.”

“No… no, it’s fine. I’m just interested in how you farm. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Alice looked relieved.

“I get you, but you need to act less interested, especially now that we are nearing the gate.”

Alice tapped her middle and index fingers on her left hand to her right shoulder to emphasize her point. Caim nodded that he understood.

“If you’re surprised by how we farm, you’ll be speechless when you see how we get around. It’s too bad we won’t be using Tether Transit on the way to the headquarters. The building is only a short walk from the gate.”

Caim was beginning to come down from his experience in Shimmerden. Fatigued and overwhelmed, he no longer thought he could handle what awaited him in the city.

Alice looked back at him, saw that he had stopped walking, and beckoned for him to keep going.

“I promise you, Shroud is a good place to live. We became comrades the moment we shared that kill.”

Again, Alice tapped her middle and index fingers on her left hand to her right shoulder. Her lips curled slightly to form a determined smile.

“What is that gesture?” Caim asked.

“The seeker salute? Wow, you’re really new to this. It’s kind of hard to explain, but it has several uses. Casually, it is used to show you are serious, or, to show respect? I’ve never really thought about it very much. Huh.”

The cool breeze wafting through the lower plains of the valley accompanied the warming rays of sunlight. This part of the planet seemed to be in the midst of early spring. Temperate weather like this would place the valley somewhere far enough above or below the equator.

These weren’t calculated observations based on experience with climate sciences, Caim was just grasping at whatever he could understand in an outlandish world. He tried not to think about the fact that he

“I’ll find some way to repay you,” Caim promised, with equal determination carrying his words.

Caim copied the seeker salute. Alice was beaming.

“Don’t worry about that now. First, just listen to some things I need to say. I’ll fill you in on a few more things before we reach the gate...”

Subject: Caim Location: Sorus Valley

Alice and Caim passed the Shroud Enforcers posted on either side of the gate path. These city guards stood stoic in midnight black armor.

The Enforcers barely even glanced over before returning their attention to the road. The gate was already open. However, even that brief glance was enough to force the hairs on Caim’s body to stand on end.

Full helmets completely masked the faces of the reticent guards, lending to an unexpectedly disturbing presence.

Caim kept his gaze down, as Alice had advised, but he caught a glimpse of a symbol painted in purple on a pauldron. That same symbol adorned the crest of the portcullis.

Shroud.

The mark represented The Shrouded Theocracy. It consisted of a central black circle, outlined in purple. The circle had a diagonal line cutting across it, from the bottom left to top right. Surrounding the circle was a ring of triangles, unfolding like the petals of a flower. Each triangle was black and similarly outlined in purple. Together, the design looked like a cross between a star and a flower.

“Welcome to Maliscade!” Alice exclaimed once they had left the earshot of the Enforcers.

She spun around energetically and pointed to one building in particular. It was enormous, but only about three stories high. Most of its perceived size came from the fact that it looked like two separate buildings overlapping each other.

One was a rounded cylinder stretching two stories tall. Behind this was a wide cuboid that extended over the upper portion of the adjoining building and then continued far back into the distance.

Caim remembered seeing this structure on the way down to the city. It stood out against the neighboring buildings.

He continued to scan his surroundings. The city seemed to use a slightly different scale of measurement for what constituted a standard floor height, using a larger height than he was used to. Though it was difficult to tell without entering any of them, the placement of the windows lent that implication. All in all, everything seemed slightly disproportionate.

The buildings were very orderly. It was as if most of them had been copied from one of only three templates. The most common structures were uniformly rectangular, possibly residential.

The main street was vast, but many smaller streets branched off from it. All were paved with the same spongy gray material.

She mentioned something about transportation being special, but all I see are beast-drawn carriages and small carts. That can’t be what she meant.

Caim didn’t recognize any of the beasts, so he kept his distance. Alice noticed this and automatically stepped between a passing carriage and her companion.

“How many people live here?” Caim wondered aloud.

“I think around 60,000 or so,” came Alice’s quick reply. “I really don’t know the exact number. I could be off by about 10,000 in any direction.” She shrugged sheepishly. “It’s a little embarrassing to admit.”

Though the path to the city had been free of people when they were arriving, others were entering behind them.

They entered in groups. Strangers wearing different kinds of armor chatted among themselves. Almost all of them were armed. Most had sheathed blades at their waists, but Caim couldn’t identify some of their equipment.

There were axes and bladed poles. Some traveled light, while others hefted a large assortment of colorful backpacks and satchels.

More people milled about through the streets of the city. Caim was only just not beginning to take in this crowd. The streets weren’t packed, but they were lively.

A steady flow of visitors streamed to and from the building Alice had pointed to further down the main street.

I didn’t expect such an eclectic crowd like this. Their clothes, armor, and even their weapons...

Around the interior entrance to the city, there were deep purple pillars. Each of the three sides of these curious metal columns bore a sign. Two green semi-circles a short distance apart slanted diagonally like that of the symbol atop the city gate.

Even though there was no label accompanying the symbol, Caim immediately knew what they were.

Medical stations.

He closed his eyes when he felt a dull pain in his head, but it faded fast.

Is that right? Why would I know that?

Alice jogged over to the closest pillar, and Caim followed. Up close, he could see that it was about twice his height.

She pressed her hand to a silver plate on the pillar, and it produced a gentle hum. Wispy green strands of light reached out from the base of the station. A small accessory attached to the left shoulder of Alice’s damaged armor drew the strands to it. Upon making contact, the light receded.

“My Seeker Badge identifies me as an active citizen,” Alice explained in a low voice, pointing to the badge, which had been glowing a dull violet since the two met. “It saves me from having to carry my ID Plate around with me on contracts. Those are difficult to replace, and only citizens ‘in good standing’ can use these healing stations.”

Alice was slightly out of breath. This was the first time Caim had noticed just how tired she was. Her armor was in horrible condition, but her body had sustained more lasting damage than she let on.

An exuberant personality masked it well, but Alice was injured.

“Are you alright? I’m sorry I didn’t notice. Shouldn’t we go somewhere you can get proper treatment?”

Caim felt a pang of guilt. He had been thinking of himself and how he could survive life in Shroud. In doing so, Caim had ignored the wellbeing of the one helping him.

He looked closer at the wounds beneath her armor, only just now noticing the early stages of bruising around deep scratches. Those were from the blightbeasts she fought before he arrived, no doubt.

Caim remembered hearing she was clearing out the tunnels of Shimmerden alone, but she had also claimed these monsters were far less dangerous than the one varcer that nearly killed him.

“No, this station is all I need. Please stand back. I think it records each ‘treatment administration’ or whatever and links it to my badge. I don’t want it to detect you. Is that something magic can do?”

Yes, it can. Easily. I should be careful.

Alice held out her hand, and Caim stood back, watching in awe as black rods extended from the sides of the pillar. They curved inward toward Alice, enveloping her body like the bones of a rib cage.

A flare of green and yellow light erupted from the tips of these spindly rods. Alice leaned forward and allowed the pillar to support the weight of her body. She gave herself over to the relief of the healing process.

It was an entirely automated service, likely integrating magic and Shroud technology. Looking around, Caim didn’t see anyone else using the other pillars. However, their number communicated something about how frequently they were used.

Another possibility was that Shroud had resources to spare on free services like this.

Am I too cynical to think of what Shroud must be secretly gaining from services like this? Research data, surveillance, and social engineering all come to mind.

When the light had faded, Alice flexed her arms with renewed vigor. He could still see residual marks, though even these deepest wounds had faded tremendously.

Alice left the medical station, and Caim rushed to catch up.

“You still look like you’re hurt. Are you sure you’re done with that thing?”

“This is nothing. My body will repair itself a lot more quickly now that I’ve been treated. Advanced care is more than I can afford. Lucky for me, I don’t need it. A little leftover pain is nothing, and it won’t last. I’ll be back to full strength before you know it!

Caim gave her a critical stare, and she responded defensively.

“I’m not stupid enough to go back out there when I’m wounded. Give me some credit.”

This was news. The seeker intended to continue working like before.

“You really need to go back to Shimmerden so soon?”

“That’s the job of a seeker. It really isn’t so bad. Oh, and I won’t be going to Shimmerden, and I won’t be going alone. My party will pick up a contract somewhere more appropriate. I just need to get my armor replaced.”

Caim studied Alice’s face and her adamant posture, trying to figure out what would make someone willingly brave the horrors he had just experienced.

“Wait… Your party?”

“Yes. I’ve been taking on contracts with a team for about a year now. Seekers don’t last so long on their own, so I’m happy to have them.”

“I see…”

“Don’t give me that look. We don’t get stronger by sitting on our rears.” Alice’s gaze softened. “Come on now, I have a plan to take care of your needs, too.”

Walking down the main road, Caim looked up at a street sign by the entrance.

Maliscade Way.

“Having lived in the city my whole life, I can teach you a lot,” Alice boasted. “One day, I would like to travel the world, but you’ll soon find out just how amazing the people and places here are. I’m in no rush to leave.”

Alice’s eyes were gleaming with a love for her home. When Caim turned back to face where he was going, he was forced to hastily sidestep around someone coming the other way.

He quickly apologized, but the lightly armored stranger held up their hands. That was when Caim noticed that the man wasn’t human.

“I wasn’t looking,” he said in a lightly melodic voice.

Silver eyes met Caim’s speechless stare. Above and below each eye was a small silver dot. The stranger had pearl gray skin.

A beige gambeson only protected portions of his chest and lower body, with many stylized slits in the protective coating. Beneath this, he wore a dark gray shirt and cloth pants.

It was a strange style, especially compared to Alice’s modern look, but Caim was more drawn to the four fingers on the man’s left hand and the five fingers on his right. There was no stub on the left hand.

Fortunately, the stranger did not notice Caim staring because he had turned and recognized Alice. The silver orbs around his eyes pulsed green as he excitedly greeted her.

“Alice! Strange to see you breaking pattern. Is this your-” He stopped mid-sentence and stepped closer. “What happened to your armor? Do you need assistance?”

“Good to see you, Amelle. No need. I encountered a malevolent varcer in Shimmerden. It’s dead, but I’m on my way to report the sighting at the Guild right now.”

Alice nervously glanced over at Caim, but her friend didn’t seem to notice. His face was placid, apart from concerned eyes. Amelle’s cadence had shifted when he saw the signs of Alice’s life-threatening struggle. Yet, his voice remained noticeably different from that of a human.

“I can see you are headed out on a contract,” she said, pointing to the man’s badge, which he wore on a necklace.

The badge emanated a faint blue light. Amelle gave a firm nod.

“Correct. You can’t claim them all,” Amelle said, with a laugh that poorly masked his concern. “Malevolution around Maliscade is a bad sign. Siphon strength from Blight.”

“It can be bad, but let’s wait to hear what the Guild has to say about it. Siphon strength from Blight.”

After Alice repeated the phrase. Her friend gave a seeker salute and left. Then, she shot a serious stare at Caim.

“I didn’t want to get you involved. The Seekers of this city know me... but they don’t know you. We need to make sure to give you the right backstory before you start socializing with them. I can’t really come up with all that on my own. Better to get Mille’s help.”

Caim had noticed the pounding of his heartbeat pick up while Alice conversed with her friend. He swallowed hard and swung his gaze left and then right. He continued to take in the wealth of colorful clothing styles.

“Got that, Caim?” Alice asked, but Caim was too distracted to respond.

There were others in the crowd who weren’t human. All were bipedal and humanoid, but these strange species blended in with the predominantly human crowd.

Some had tufts of fur on their bodies, while others shared aesthetic similarities with Alice’s friend.

“Caim?”

It was hard to tell from a glance if there were only three sentient species present in the city, but that wasn’t what Caim was concerned with now. He’d acknowledged that there were other sentient species out there, but it was surprisingly harder to accept when he was seeing them firsthand.

This had always been the reality for these people. Caim alone was this unworldly.

And now, I’m trapped here with them.

The finality of his situation was dawning on him.

“Are you alright, Caim? You’re sweating a lot.”

Alice’s words were distant. Or, maybe, the strange sounds of this peculiar city blocked them out. Caim stood frozen in place, watching the streets bustling with people going about their afternoon activities.

His chest grew tight. It was hard to breathe the foreign air around him, like his lungs weren’t compatible. Rationally, that was a ridiculous thought, but his racing thoughts were straying further from rationality each second.

Caim had been doing just fine up until encountering this crowd of hundreds of people, none of whom were actually paying any attention to him.

Even so, it feels like they know. They know I don’t belong. They know I don’t belong in Shroud. They know I don’t belong on this-

“Caim?” Alice repeated, with a concerned look that roused him from this loop.

“You’re safe in the city now. The blightbeasts can’t get you. They never leave their territory. You’ve survived your first festerfont!”

Alice wore a smile of forced encouragement. Her nervous attempts at calming him down only reminded him that it would be awful if he had a public breakdown in the city. Naturally, that only made it more difficult. It was apparent that Alice was working hard to sound reassuring, but it was no help right now, and she could see that.

Failing words, Alice reached out to put a supportive hand on Caim’s shoulder. He recoiled, taking a few steps back.

“That’s not...” Caim began, but he ran out of breath before getting the words out. Even if Caim had managed to say more, his thoughts were still a panicked jumble.

Alice was a stranger who didn’t even know the root trigger. Caim barely understood why he was having this reaction. For a moment, Caim considered that Alice could be bringing him somewhere dangerous, intending to harm him. That was how untethered he was becoming.

Caim silently chastised himself for even thinking that, but then quickly doubled down and agreed with his previous thought. It was possible. Who meets a stranger, finds out they breached some kind of defensive barrier around their country, and then immediately agrees to help them?

No. This is paranoia. Just the shock of the transition catching up to me.

Caim looked around for a secluded place to retreat to but didn’t know where to go. Many identical streets branched off from Maliscade Way.

“I need to leave,” Caim mumbled, his lips barely moving because his whole body felt stiff.

Alice looked around them and finally settled on a destination. She reached out to lead him by hand, but thought better of it and simply waved for him to follow. They took one of the branching streets.

Resilience Path.