“Come on now! Keep it orderly you lot! You’ll all get into the city before nightfall.” The guard at the entrance to the city was shouting out commands.

“Sir!” Another guard ran up to him and explained that there was something approaching at an incredible speed.

“Hmm? Is that the rumored silver carriage? Send someone to contact the council, I will handle this.” The guard got on his nearby horse and road out to the end of the line while informing people to stay calm.

A lot of curious on-lookers watched the dust storm approach. The silver carriage came to a stop by the guard. A man in an extravagant gray robe and a mithril mask climbed out along with a woman, similarly dressed.

“Scuse me sir, would you happen to be the one known as Hephaestus?” The guard asked respectfully.

“Depends on who is asking.” The masked man replied.

“Well, the council in charge of the city of Alta heard about you. A man who rides in a silver carriage who saved the caravan of one of our beloved councilmen, Barty Art Barlett. He sent word ahead to the city yesterday, we are to give you a warm welcome.” The guard spoke respectfully.

“Very well. Yes, I am Hephaestus, this is my companion Aphrodite.”

The guard thanked him for saving Mr. Barlett and led them to the reserved entrance that was used for people of influence. Phaestus stopped his Chariot at the entrance and caused it to vanish before everyone’s eyes, which were popping out of their heads at the sight. After the guard regained his composure, he had a fancy carriage pulled up and carried them to the council building.

Inside the carriage where Eric and Micah sat.

“I wish we stayed in the truck.” Micah complained.

She is too used to the luxury of modern day technology from my world. So cute.

“I was surprised that Mr. Barlett planned so far ahead. Do you think he knows?” Eric asked.

“I doubt it. He most likely sent word as soon as possible to tell them to NOT under any circumstance, turn away or insult The Great Master Hephaestus.” She smiled mischievously.

“Would anyone on the council be, what was it, lightheaded?” He used the term he heard from her before that was used for people who were loyal servants to the Church of Light.

“There is no way that would happen. The majority of people in Alta hate the church. Sixty years ago the church tried to suppress technological advancements here. I mentioned before that a lot of people were slaughtered, well, those were the people who resisted. The murders happened here in Alta, so the people here will never forget.”

“Has their influence been growing?”

“Last I heard, yes, but they have not taken any major positions. The one that may be in danger would be Fizzy’s family. Her father is on the council, and head of the largest crafting group in all of Alta. If he loses control of the group to his son Luxa, it would give the church a foothold in Alta.”

I will have to think of a way to keep that from happening.

“Does he have any other sons?”

“He does. His son Rakta, younger brother to Fizzy. He is a smart sort, he would do well with business and politics, but he is not much of a craftsmen.”

“Can Fizzy inherit?” Eric continued his questions.

“She can, but she doesn’t want to come back. She hates the water and is too afraid to try going through Goun’s land. They would do anything to catch and ransom her.”

“So we would need a new land path? Or maybe transport her in the Chariot? Why does she hate the water?”

“Even the Chariot would be too dangerous. She hates the water because she suffers from extreme sea sickness. A majority of dwarves don’t do well on the water. You mentioned a new path? Where would it be?” She asked, excited curiosity in her eyes.

Eric pulled out a small world map he purchased and pointed at a thin portion of forest that was between Dunlap and Meerka.

“But that is a forest area, it would be too dangerous to build a road there…” Micah stopped and fell into thought, then perked up realizing the truth.

“The new weapons!”

“Correct, if we make it easier to take down large monsters, we will be able to create a new road between Dunlap and Meerka. Info I picked up in Venta is that Alta is a single day trip while the one to Dunlap is nearly a month because of the difficult mountain path. I spoke with a cartographer about how long it would take to get to Meerka from Dunlap with a smooth forest path, he estimated a less than a week. Add on a week and a half and one day, and you’re in Alta.”

Micah was amazed that the single road would cut down travel time by over a week. “Merchants would love you.”

“Time is money.”

“Time is money? I have never heard that before, that is a nice saying.”

The carriage came to a stop. Time to be haughty.

“Welcome Master Hephaestus! Mr. Barlett wrote to us about you! Please, come in.” A kindly looking man with a long gray beard met them as soon as they disembarked the carriage.

“And you are?” Phaestus asked.

“Oh, I am Master Elliot, I am the head of the Casters Guild here in Alta, and a council member. Please, this way.”

Elliot wore a light blue magic robe that was tied with a golden rope, and a floppy hat that looked like an oversized beret. He was a lanky older man who moved quite well for someone of his age. Phaestus and Dite followed the man into the council building.

A large table with fancy looking chairs awaited them, along with five individuals other than Elliot.

There was a pudgy gnome with brown hair and a bushy mustache, he wore a brown leather vest with many pockets. He introduced himself as Poundpuffer, head of the Hunter’s Guild.

Next was a sultry woman who was barely wearing anything but a thin silk robe, she had purple hair and dark skin. Her ears were not as pointed as Micah’s, but she had two obsidian black horns coming out of her forehead. She introduced herself as Nadia, head of the apothecaries, brothels, and the Worker’s Guild.

Next was a woman with teal hair. She had some violet scales on her cheeks and neck. Her ears were like small fins and her hands looked to be webbed. She introduced herself as Voonia, head of the Maritime Guild.

Next was a muscular woman with many scars on her tanned body. She had dark brown hair and an intense look in her green eyes. She introduced herself as Eli of the Adventurer’s guild.

Last a burly dwarf with large arms, leathery tanned skin, and a large, magnificent, charcoal colored beard. “I be Rexar, head of the Crafters’ Guild. We appreciate you helpin out Barlett like that. He mentioned in his letter that you had somethin’ we would be crazy to ignore.”

“You would be.” Phaestus said, getting an angry look from Eli.

“Tell me, how many of you would like to no longer have to depend on the Church of Light to deal with monsters. To be able to hunt a chimera for components. Or to not have to fear basilisks as cataclysms?”

They looked at him skeptically.

“Allow me to introduce the first part of my plan.” Phaestus summons a weapon they have never seen before.

It looked to have a wooden body with a small bow on it.

“Is that the ‘crossbow’ we read about?” The gnome asked.

“Yes.”

“Hmph, I see no reason to waste time with it. A person can just use a bow.” Eli scoffed.

“An’ what benefits does it ‘ave?” Rexar asked, ignoring Eli as he was interested in it.

“Higher penetrating power, can be ready to fire at moment’s notice, and lower skill requirements. An amateur at archery should be able to hit a stationary target fairly accurately by using the sights at the end.” Phaestus pointed out a small metal circle at the end of the crossbow.

“So, you are saying that this can penetrate the hide of a large monster?” Poundpuffer, who approached to get a closer look, asked.

“Yes. Earlier today I put a bolt through a Chimera’s skull to kill it. Though I don’t know how well it will do against a basilisk’s hide yet.”

The whole group stirred at hearing he killed a Chimera.

“Y-You have to be lying. There is no way you could ha-.” Eli protested until the very corpse landed in front of her, the open maw facing her.

“Kyah!” She fell backward and looked at the head, seeing a bolt sticking out of the monster’s skull.

The group looked at the dead Chimera, confirming it was not only real, but it was indeed killed by the crossbow.

“What’s wrong with its eyes?” Voonia noticed its’ eyes were bloodshot.

“That is another part of my plan.” Phaestus said with a confident smile.

“Let’s hear the man out, this could be revolutionary!” Elliot cried excitedly.

Eric’s Perspective:

They entered the large room and were met with a group of colorful individuals who went through introducing themselves.

Poundpuffer… Micah was not kidding about the gnomes and their names, at least it is better than Jigglyb-, nope, not gonna think it. I bet a gold coin that demon-kin lady is a succubus. Whoa! That’s one of the merfolk! That is a very merfolk look, though her eyes are really cold… The only dwarf? That must be Rexar, that is, an epic beard, I wonder it Luna blessed it? Ouch! What was that headache?

Eric gave his pitch for the crossbow while pulling it out to show them. They were expectedly skeptical of him until he pulled out the corpse of the Chimera they killed an hour ago.

“Kyah!”

T-that was, a really cute scream from such a hardened looking woman. Yup the guys are blushing a bit over that. She is blushing crimson right now, let’s just pretend we all see nothing for her sake.

After they confirmed it was all real, they asked for more details. Eric explained his plan to use crossbows with special bolts that would hold vulta powder. After which they could easily bombard the monsters with magic or ballistae. They got really excited over the concept of the ballista, which Rexar asked a great question.

“Do ye think forest giants could wield those?”

Holy crap! That is a great idea! Oh wait, Buulgi suggested that too, I’ll run with that.

“A consulted a forest giant about the best woods to use for these weapons. They requested that I supply the weapons to their people as their village is in the woods. Which leads me to my next part.” Eric said as Phaestus.

He explained his plan for building a secure path straight through the Great Na’Eer Forest to connect Dunlap and Meerka. He also went into the overall benefits of doing so.

“That would save us an enormous amount of time moving supplies!” Voonia said, her face was cold but her fin-like ears were moving excitedly.

So cute…

“For you merchants, time is money.” Micah said, getting many praises over her wise words.

Really Micah? Bah, I can’t be mad, she looks cute the way she is showing off. That makes me wonder now, why are people of this world so cute? Could this be a hidden blessing of Luna? Ouch! Another headache?

World Perspective:

The council members finally calmed down and Phaestus stored the Chimera corpse.

“Huff, this is a truly amazing plan Master Hephaestus. I vote to give me support.” Rexar was first to give his support and the rest followed.

“The wood will be expensive though. Nackle and Ren wood are not too difficult to come by, but forest giants covet those two for their own use.” Elliot said.

“Not too worry, I have a special token.” Phaestus pulled out a stone token which caused the group to go wild again.

“You have a Help token! With that they will definitely trust your words!” They said.

“Funding may be a bit of an issue, does anyone have any favors for those nobles?” Rexar asked the group, but Dite answered.

“That will also be of no issue. We have a letter of recommendation from a Duchess Vannil of the city of Meerka.” Their jaws hung open at her statement.

“Um, so, uh, what should we do then?” The whole group became very respectful after being hit with so much influential support backing the two masked people before them.

“We will go and see our contacts to get things rolling. Master Rexar, I will leave the prototype with you to get things ready for making them. Will you be short on metals or crafters?” Phaestus asked, handing the crossbow to the dwarf.

“Nay, I will be fine on crafters, if ye can get the funding and wood materials, I can take care of the rest.”

Dite cut in, “Before we truly hand this over to you, we want assurance that it will remain safe. We heard some rumors that the influence of the church has been increasing here as of late.”

The council members stiffened, while Rexar looked a bit sad.

“Aye, they have. The bastards stole me son, Luxa. He was me pride until some priest and Heroes showed up here a year ago on a hunt request. Since then, he be spoutin all kinds of nonsense. He still has influence, but not more than I. Thank ye for reminding me, I will be sure to keep him out of this plan. Since this will stir the Minos herd and bring the church’s attention here once more. But we will never let that atrocity happen again.”

Each of the council members had determination and a burning anger in their eyes at wanting to make sure the plan succeeds.

“Anything else you might need Master Hephaestus?” The sultry demon-kin moved close to Phaestus, placing a hand on his chest.

But she backed away, seeing the angry look in his eyes.

“Do not do that again.” Dite commanded, her furious eyes boring into the woman.

“I-I’m, I AM SO SORRY FOR MY RUDENESS!” She cried out fleeing from the room.

The other council members merely shook their heads in disappointment.

“Ah yes, that does remind me, I do need one major thing. An expert on basilisks. I need to consult them on whether the vulta powder will work on them or not.” Phaestus said, which Elliot spoke up.

“I know of someone. A strange gnome by the name Simon has been obsessed with the monster for years now. Something about migratory habits or something. I can have someone take you to him.” Phaestus thanked him and accepted.

Phaestus, Dite, the attendant Michelle, and a couple of guards left the council building and headed off to the forest giant district that was to the south east end of the city, closest to the forest. Using the token, Phaestus was taken to meet the elder.

“Grrrreeeeeeetings tooooookeeeeen hooooolder. Whaaaaaaat caaaaan Iiiiiii dooooo fooooor yooouuuuuu?”

Phaestus shifted their conversation to the language of forest giants, to the amazement of Michelle and the guards. The language sounded like a deep baritone level of singing, they found it quite beautiful to hear. The two went back and forth for a few minutes before the elder forest giant, named Loonta gave an approving nod. Phaestus turned back to the group, “We have their approval and Elder Loonta will have the wood harvested and delivered to Rexar’s workshop. Next is the noble district.” Phaestus bowed and said his thanks to Elder Loonta and their group headed out.

Eric’s Perspective:

Eric shifted the conversation to the language of the forest giants quickly to make it easier for the giant. “Greetings Elder, my name is Hephaestus and I received the token from one in Meerka.”

“Oh, you do speak our language. You must be Eric then, Buulgi told us of you.”

“What?” Eric was dumbfounded, but did not let it show outwardly.

“Hahahahah. We can communicate long distances in our tongue by speaking through the forest. He told us you could help us with great weapons that could turn the tide against monsters like the basilisk.” The Elder had an amused look on his face.

“Y-yes, sigh, I really should not be that surprised, this is a world of magic.”

“Hmm? You are not from this world? But you do not bear the curse.” Elder Loonta was speaking about the Mark of Domination.

“Correct, I came here via a different method. The gods blessed me with great power and told me about the curse. A part of my goal is to end the Church of Light’s power in this world, free the Heroes that came from my world, and end the true source of the curse.” Eric said with determination.

He felt he could trust the forest giants. Everything he had heard about them from Micah was that they were a gentle race who valued their families and friends greatly, and they hated the Church of Light that had not only oppressed their people, but also hunted and killed them.

“A sworn enemy of that evil place is an ally to us. How can I help friend Eric?” Elder Loonta said.

“Did Buulgi mention the woods I am looking to get?”

The elder nodded. “He asked us to prepare some for you for when you would come to us. We have ten large trees of each right now. Where would you like us to take them?”

“Thank you Elder Loonta, please have them taken to Rexar’s workshop. He will be the one making the weapons. I will send word to him to have some of his team start making the ballistae for your people. Also, I wanted to talk to you about another plan of mine.”

Eric went on to explain his road between Dunlap and Meerka, which Elder Loonta received well.

“We would be happy to assist in the project. I will speak with the elders in our home village.”

Eric was asked if there was any concern with the connection between the forest and the giants, but Elder Loonta put him at ease.

“We will do it properly. We will cut down what is usable and move that which is not. I assure you, so long as you have us helping, you will not have to fear hurting the forest.”

Eric thanked Elder Loonta and asked him if he could thank Buulgi for him. The great giant nodded and smiled. Eric told his party what the plan was, thanked the elder once more and they headed out.

“What’s your business here are this estate?” A house guard asked. He was guarding the gate to a sizeable mansion.

“Hello, I am Michelle, the assistant to the Alta Council, I bring someone with a letter of introduction.”

“You Alta council, you gotta set up an appointment.”

Dite handed the letter over to the guard. “It is not a letter from the council fool. Inform your master that we bear a letter from the Ducal House of Vannil.”

The guard was skeptical until he saw the seal on the letter. “Y-yes madam! Right away madam! Please wait a moment!”

The guard sprinted like his life depended on it to the mansion. Some shouting could be heard and a butler came running out to the gate along with the guard.

“Huff, Greetings, wheeze, sir and madam.” The butler collected himself. “A pleasure to make your acquaintances. I am the head butler to the house of Viscountess Vibel. Please, come this way.”

They are taken to a waiting room and provided some snacks and tea. A short time later, a beautiful woman with a bit of graying hair entered the room. She had a slender body and modest chest, while wearing a set of riding pants, high boots, and a frilly white shirt.

“Greetings, I understand that you are friends of Ash? I read the letter. The rest of you but them, leave the room, now.”

Everyone was moved out of the room and only the woman, Dite, Phaestus, and a maid were left.

“Sarah, if you would please.” The maid nodded at the woman’s command and cast a spell. “Silence and prevent the unworthy from hearing [Privacy].”

A magic film spread out from her feet and covered the whole room.

“Now then, I am Viscountess Lucia Yun Vibel, I read the letter from Ash and I know who you two are, you can remove your masks, Eric and Micah.”

They did as she said and pulled their hoods back.

“Hah! The great mystery of Meerka has been solved. Good job Eric.” Viscountess Vibel joked.

I can see why the two of them are close friends.

“So, you came here for my support right? I am fine with that, but I must ask for your help. Her letter said that you have something that could make the need of Heroes insignificant. Is this true?” She asked.

“It is Viscountess.”

“Just call me Lucia, I don’t really like formalities.” She said, but her maid protested. “Okay, fine Sarah, just call me Lady Lucia then, happy Sarah?”

Eric almost laughed at how much she disliked formalities.

“Very well, Lady Lucia. We are currently in the process of having a new weapon mass produced.” Eric continued, getting Lady Lucia up to speed on the whole plan and current situation.

“That, is truly amazing. Your plan will set that shit organization back for good!” Sarah chastised Lady Lucia for her use unladylike language, which she brushed off.

“Very well, you will have my full support. I will speak with the other nobles who hate the church, or are greedy enough to see the value of this, and get them to fund the project. I will also see about sending additional guards to Rexar’s workshop to assist in keeping any nosy individuals out.”

“You asked us for help Lady Lucia?” Micah asked.

“Yes, you explained you need a basilisk to test your weapon on right? I have a village under my charge and they recently came under attack by one. I did not want to use Heroes, but I heard recently that someone of influence in the village might have hired some. Your timing could not have been better. I would like you to head out there with the adventurer group I hired and test it out. If it works, it will be a massive blow to that shit organization.” Sarah said nothing this time, only shaking her head in frustration.

“We’ll take on the job. We just have to get the expert named Simon.”

“Simon? Oh, I know who you are talking about, that gnome. His name translated quite badly, no one wants to say his real name and settled with something similar.” Lady Lucia got a sizable, mischievous grin on her face.

Phaestus left the room with dead look in his eyes while his companion Dite’s face was as red as a tomato.

“I-I, never thought it would be that…” She said.

“Is everything alright Master Hephaestus? Miss Aphrodite?” Michelle said with concern.

“No, everything, forget it. We have their support and they will get the funds and additional support to Rexar and the council in the next day or two. We will meet a group of adventurers at the west gate. After we get the basilisk expert Se… Simon, we will head to the town of Gould, where a basilisk was sighted.”

Phaestus’ steps seemed heavy as he trudged out of the mansion. Michelle noticed the word he almost said and realized then the reason for the dead look in his eyes, which was that he learned the real name of Simon, which she refused to think or speak of.

They arrived at Simon’s home, it was a simple house nearby the western gate. One of the guards with them knocked on the door. Phaestus did not seem very motivated to meet Simon.

The guard seemed a bit entertained and decided to be vulgar. “Hey Se-!”

“IT’S SIMON!” A grey haired gnome with a pointed goatee literally flew out of his home onto the guard’s face, punching, scratching, and biting.

“AH! AH! Get’em off! OUCH! Stop!” The guard cried, but no one moved to help him as they figured out what he was trying to do.

Phaestus sighed in relief that Simon seemed to not embrace his translated name.

“What do you want? Spit it out!” Simon was quite irritated over the guard, who was trying to hold back his tears, no one had sympathy for him.

“Greetings Simon, I am Michelle from the council. I came here to introduce this man here, he has questions in regards to basilisks.”

The eyes of Simon lit up, “Oh! Truly! Why didn’t you say so, please, ask away! If you have any information I don’t know about basilisks I am more than willing to pay for the information.”

Phaestus explained his plan to use vulta powder to try to blind and disable basilisk’s poison breath attacks.

“Oooooh! That is truly a great idea! Hmm, I am not completely sure, but I think it might work! All we need is to test it! Field test!” Simon cried as he ran into his home.

There were sounds of things being knocked over and rummaging. Simon came out shortly after with a full backpack and satchel on him. He also got changed out of his simple robe into some traveling gear.

“Thank you for the information, here is a silver, I will go at once to test the theory!”

Dite grabbed the excited gnome’s collar to stop him and explained that they already had a target that they were heading out to hunt.

“Truly! This is great! Please take me with you!” Phaestus told him that was the original goal and that they were to meet a group of adventurers at the western gate. Simon happily joined their group and they headed off to Rexar’s workshop.

They found Rexar heatedly arguing with another dwarf who wore clothes too fancy for a craftsman. He had a neatly trimmed, short, golden blond beard and hair.

“I told ye not to come here! Why are ye here?!” Rexar was visibly angry.

“Come now father. There is no need to be angry. The church teaches one to show kindness and patien-.”

“I don’t give a rat flip bout that damnable church!” Rexar roared.

“Get out.” Rexar said coldly.

The other dwarf shrugged his shoulders and calmly walked toward the entrance.

“Oh, new faces. Greetings, I am-.”

“Not who I am looking for.” Phaestus cut him off.

“Come now, there is-.”

“No reason for me to speak with you. My business is with someone else.” Phaestus cut him off once more, causing the dwarf to look at him annoyed before leaving.

“I am sorry Master-.”

“We can talk more in private Master Rexar.” Phaestus looked to the door the other dwarf left from. Rexar understood and led them into the back.

“Again, allow me to apologize Master Hephaestus. I took a lot of precautions, but I believe me son Luxa heard about the project. I don’t believe he knows the details, but he knows something big is going on.” Rexar bowed his head in regret.

“It is fine Master Rexar. I do not blame you. I wanted to inform you that we have secured the wood from the forest giants. Please have some of your people prioritize the ballistae for the giants. Elder Loonta said he would also lend his craftsmen with their tools to help.”

“That is great news Master Hephaestus! And the funding?”

“Done. Lady Vibel will get not only funds, but also guard support. We cannot allow the church to sabotage this project.” Rexar nodded.

“I have to ask Master Hephaestus, you seem to have a grudge against the church. We have our reason to hate them, what did they do to you?”

Phaestus looked to Dite.

“He learned the truth of the church. He learned that the Heroes are suffering, and he wishes to save them. It’s not particularly a grudge, just a desire to see the injustice end.” She answered him.

“A Hero of Heroes? Heh, heh, bahahah, HAHAHAHAHAH!” Rexar began laughing heartily.

“Thank ye for tellin’ me. I promise, we will make this project succeed. Even if it costs us our lives. Is there anything I can help ye with?”

“We will be heading out of the city for a bit. Lady Vibel asked us if we could hurry and test our project on a basilisk that appeared in a town called Gould. We are going to do a live test.”

“Be careful then. I wish ye the best of luck.”

Phaestus nodded and they headed to the western gate.