《City of Captives》Chapter 13: Treasure Trove
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They had stolen themselves into a relatively small room. Nara managed to conjure a tiny light above her right shoulder to defeat the darkness. With the room illuminated, he could see wooden handles and a variety of brushes. “Well this is less grand than I thought.” He whispered in a bad attempt at a nervous joke. She did not look impressed.
Nara gave him a short look and she moved to the door. She peered around. When she was satisfied that there was no danger there, she gestured for him to follow her. Jano took a cautious look after she moved away, just to be safe.
They moved into a large room with a massive window stretching the entire wall opposite. It twinkled at the head of the room, even in the darkness. Light wooden pews stretched across the room. The smell of old paper was strong. “Are we sure this isn’t a church?” He whispered. Nara surveyed the room.
“This way.” She replied as her whispers rustled throughout the room. Scurrying along the floor like invisible mice.
They walked around the pews and kept to the shadows, passing through a door which led to another corridor. The path was streaked with windows, so there was nowhere to hide. Still, the corridor was empty. Walking quickly, they reached the end and turned right. The silence was awful, it made every step Jano took an exercise in trying to keep his heart rate down.
A massive stairwell spiralled upwards, stone steps with a gold plated metal railing. Are all the Mage’s buildings as fancy as this? He thought, but he dared not ask Nara. The stairwell led to multiple floors above them which branched off the stairwell. There was a dim lighting in these communal areas, but he could still not see the top of the stairs from where they were.
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Nara quickly but silently ascended the stairs and Jano did his best to follow suit. He wasn’t used to these shoes and so he strained himself to keep his steps light. Their shadows danced behind them as they circled upwards, passing the first floor.
The gold railing was stamped on either side with runes, similar to those on the arch in the Dome. They weren’t glowing here though and so Jano hoped that they were purely decorative. As they reached the middle of the stairwell, Nara slowed.
“Voices.” She pointed to the floor just below them. A light flickered into view and they both pressed themselves to the stairs. He gripped the handle of the dagger he had hidden away.
Two figures in plain robes came into view. They pushed up against the railing together. His body tensed as he realised they might come up the stairs and find the two intruders. “Sssssshhh!” One of the voices called as the other giggled.
“Are you scared the Archmage is going to catch us?” The more confident student replied.
“Am not! Come here.” The two figures embraced and Jano felt a little awkward. He was watching two teenagers kissing. It felt wrong. And they’d both be a higher Class than him.
“Let’s go down for a midnight walk.” The confident one said. The two students began walking down the stairwell they had just come from. Jano relaxed as he watched the two students descend. Their long hair flowing over their hoods.
“Brave kids. The University can be pretty strict on relationships between students.” Nara said. Jano was about to respond, when he realised Nara had already started her ascent once more. She stalked up the stairs, like an animal focussed on its prey. He didn’t want to think what was going to happen if there was someone lurking between them and their destination.
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It took another hundred steps or so before they reached the top. One hundred brutal steps. Jano was absolutely exhausted. He didn’t know that there were this many stairs in any building ever. Nara came to a stop just in front of a half moon shaped door. It had large black metal brackets across the front and it looked as though it belonged in one of the banks of the City and not the University. Whatever is behind that, probably isn’t good, he supposed. Or, it’s very good.
He rested against a large coloured glass window as he examined the door and Nara. He glanced outside and saw nothing but darkness. Then his eyes adjusted slightly and he saw how high they were from the ground, before quickly backing away. Heights weren’t exactly something he was used to.
“So what’s behind that?” He finally felt obliged to ask. Nara had been silent since they reached the top. It was quiet and cold up on this floor. As though there was a draught coming from somewhere. Probably from that death trap of a window he thought. She gave him a look, thoughtful but with a hint of annoyance.
“Are you going to get us in?” She replied, ignoring his question.
Jano nodded and moved to the stone which surrounded the massive door. He tapped his spirit and gathered the stone essence. He began manipulating the stone. A small screech accompanied him moving the first large brick.
He stopped and cast a glance towards Nara. She looked on expectantly. “Yes?”
“I just thought… never mind.” He said.
He began pulling the thick stone from its place, screeching and all. He took the brick from the top of the wall, to reduce the risk of collapse. It was even thicker than the outside wall. The amount of essence given off was so strong, that if Jano’s spirit was stronger, he was sure he would be able to do all sorts of things. He made a mental note to raise that point with the Mage.
“Take as small an amount as possible. We need to leave the way out open.” Nara whispered.
No issue there, he thought. He could feel his spirit straining moving and manipulating the ancient stone. As he got one large brick out, Nara began climbing and crawling through the small hole. Her swords scraped off the stone above. The noise crept up Jano’s spine and he almost lost concentration.
He settled everything down and followed Nara through the wall. He dropped down the other side and it was the exact opposite to the little supply cupboard they had found themselves in moments before.
Nara stood surveying rows and rows of artefacts and weapons. There were shining colourful jewels wherever he looked. It was overwhelming.
Nara realised he was by her side. “Good job.” She said.
“Thanks.” Jano looked at her nervously. “Now is probably a good time to let you know that my spirit is pretty exhausted. I’ve got maybe one or two left in me. Especially with this kind of stone.”
She didn’t look angry, just focussed. “Good thing it should be in here then isn’t it?”
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This Strange New Life
Seems like I got a new chance. Better not fuck it up then, since I really want to see what it feels to have a family. Power is pretty lame alone. Best used to build things and protect people. Did a lot of building 'till now, lots of research stuff and all. Now, let's protect the people that I love and that loves me back. An enjoyable life with my loved ones. Whatever the cost. Mufufu~~ What can I do, my siblings are so cute~~ maybe I'll try having children at some point~? --- PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION ^p^ ---- This is an extremely slow reincarnation story, with heavy usage of dialogues and diminutive descriptions. Chapter are posted whenever I feel like it, because I won't burn myself down like I did before. Chapters will often be around 2k words. The first arc, Life in Valince, will be at least 50 chapters deep, and the main character won't get to her 1 year anniversary over the span of this arc. As I said, it's a slow, character interaction, dialogue-heavy story. Lots of feeling, slice-of-life etc, with some dramatic events that shape the rest of the story ^^ AND PLEASE, STOP PESTERING ME ABOUT JAPANESE. this story contain a very limited amount of japanese words, used in context for a reason and that are part of the mystery of the worldAnd the bad guys use german (not because nazi buit because german is badass)And there’s also french. Please be open-minded. I’m not a delusional weeb and this kind of thing, and it would be very appreciated if people could be more polite.If you don't like it, I don't force you to read it, but a lot of people seems to like this novel nonetheless, so maybe you should give it a shot. ---- Lux's here! Yeah I know I should work on ToL and ToF but I had another idea, then another one. So here it is. Story talk about a war vet that reincarnate and can finally know what it is to have a family. I like engineering, creating things and all, so I'll try putting production scene in this. Like all my stories, it's about love, be it with family, friends or lovers. I like my coffee with so much love sugar that half the planet would get diabetes. You're warned. Also, the MC is quite OP, but I keep a progression curb and she still has things to learn, which she will eagerly do. After all, curiosity is one of her main drives, with a thirst for love and utter hate of loss, be it losing a battle or losing someone she loves. Ha, nearly forgot. CONTENT WARNINGS AREN'T FOR SHOW. Sex, of course. I'll try to explore sexuality as a male, a female, and some other PoV that can't be categorised like that, not exactly. Also, beware the yuri/yaoi. I don't limit myself to straight couples. Gore. A lot. Blood everywhere, guts spilling and all. I don't do censure. The Mc cut a wolf in half? you get the details of what is inside it. Traumatising content. I dunno. No NTR, no heartbreaking drama. However, some of you may dislike the way I handle bodies and flesh. Got some feedback about body horror on my previous works, but everyone as a different border separating transhumanism and body horror. Mine is pretty high. How high? Go read The Other Labyrthin to have an example. To put it in simple term, I've no problem at all to describe alien bodies, change in human bodies, interactions between differents strange species etc. Expect a lot of tentacle, bio-incubator, spawning pool à la zerg. Profanity. Well, I think you fucking got it in the very first sentence of this synopsis, ain't right? ---- THIS IS A WIP (work in progress)! Earlier chapters may get retconned or completely changed, structure of the story isn't set in stone, all the usual stuff. ANY HELP IS WELCOMED. Want to throw me your idea? Shoot! Spotted an error in the text? Comment! Seen a plothole bigger than the impact zone of a nuke? I'll gladly hear you out and try to fix the problem (somehow ;-;) --- Cover: John Martin - The Plains of Heaven (c. 1851) ---- Official Editor: TheZouave (starting from ch25 onward) ---- List of thanks: Necrotyr (English) Asviloka (English) Damokles (Review) David Talon (Review) JHA (English) Helbom (English) Slee202 (Common Coherence) NEEDS_MORE_DAKA (First First) Srayan (English) Koooomakimi (Dialogue Flow) Emagstar (English) Apocryphal (Review) ToasterForker (Review) Ellen Taylor (Review) Zak (English) PrimalShadow (English) Elliot Flanders (HUGE THANKS for the re-write of the poem "Tale of Ashen Night" Go check their work, it's good ^^) Lance Wheeler (Huge thanks for the English edit on each chapter ^^) (If you think you should be here because you helped me, feel free to ask, pointing the reason, like the comment you gave that could have helped me ^^)
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Year 202x, Earth discovered that they were not alone in the Universe. The governments were made known that Earth, was actually located in the backwaters of the Galaxy and even further from the center of the Universe. Located far away from where many of the other lifeforms were born and interacted. In fact they were so far away that the types of energy Earth is able to utilize, is really limited compared to those from the center of the Universe. It was a wonder, that the people of Earth could even develop to what they are even now. The following year, Earth has decided to join the galactic alliance. A decade later, the regular people of Earth could finally start entering the Universe. Albeit in a different form, from what many may expect. By me, Lostcattears I hope to write something that many will enjoy, and make it worth their time reading.If possible support me on Patreon, only if you think the story is worth it. I am a new amateur author, so go into this as if one is reading a rough draft.
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E se as estrelas tivesse um papel mais importante do que só enfeitar os céus? E se elas estivessem presentes em uma pessoa? E se alguém tivesse poderes de te encantar com apenas as cores e os brilhos de seus olhos? " Uma voz grossa ecoou atrás de mim, fazendo com que eu me virasse a procura do tal. Me virei e me deparei com um garoto, aparentemente pouco mais velho que eu. Ele se aproximava e me olhava de uma forma que ninguém tinha me olhando antes. Ele adentrou seus olhos nos meus e a cor deles me lembravam estrelas. Seus globos oculares eram tão brilhantes e azuis quanto e minha vontade de descobrir quem era, era maior ainda. Ele era indecentemente lindo, ele era perfeito, instigou meus instintos em segundos e meus lábios se puseram a arder e meus dentes a beliscá-los."Sarah era apenas uma em meio a milhares de outras garotas de dezesseis anos, mas quando o amor bate á porta, e um garoto como Rafael Lange aparece em sua vida, negar é apenas a segunda opção.- Capa feita por Laura Machado (Fábrica de Capas)
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