City Of Stone
The plan was simple, yet successful. Felix released a prisoner loyal to Asil and requested them to deliver a message to the Supreme Demon Lord. Within a week, a letter was received detailing a location of neutral territory to discuss terms.
"You actually did it, Fable!" [Pilton]
"Of course I did. It was all part of the plan." [Felix]
While the deal did make it through, there was a chance the meeting was a trap.
"The conditions of the meeting are standard practice, but what if they don't follow it?" [Erise]
With the letter, it also stated that both parties will only bring two guards. While Felix did decide on Adam and Tiffany, it did not guarantee complete protection.
"It is a risk we must take. Pilton, I leave management of the fort reconstruction to you. Erise, handle the protection of the fort. Also, be sure not to mistreat the prisoners. I've left a list of rules to how they are to be handled." [Felix]
"Yes sir." [Erise] [Pilton]
With that, Felix left his office and called on his friends.
"Are we going?" [Adam]
"Yeah." [Felix]
"Where to?" [Tiffany]
"I'll show you." [Felix]
Copying Adam's method of floating, Felix solidified a platform of space beneath him.
"Get on." [Felix]
Adam and Tiffany stepped onto the hardened space. The space itself was quite solid, with the same appearance of that of glass.
"Off we go." [Felix]
Controlling the hardened space, Felix used his ability to lift them up and fly away. Within a few moments, the fort had become a speck in the distance.
"Huh? There's no wind pressure?" [Tiffany]
Flying through the air at their speed should be deafening, not to mention the wind threatening to blow them off the platform.
"I also hardened the space at the front to keep the wind out." [Felix]
"Smart." [Adam]
"Of course. Who do you think I am?" [Felix]
There appeared to be an incredibly clear half-dome connected to the front of the platform. It wasn't very noticeable at first, but now Adam could see it.
"Hm." [Adam]
Looking down, he was surprised at how quickly the surroundings passed.
"This is pretty fast. How long until we arrive?" [Adam]
"I estimate around four to six hours." [Felix]
"Seriously?" [Adam]
"The neutral territory is pretty far. I think it's around a month's walk." [Felix]
"In that case, this is pretty good speed." [Tiffany]
"When was the meeting scheduled?" [Adam]
Felix took out a rock with some sort of inscription on it.
"This is a waystone. Or something along those lines. They have a teleporter there that can transfer them." [Felix]
"What? They're making US call them?" [Adam]
Felix shook his head.
"They're also expecting us to teleport. The normal means is to send a servant to summon us both. They think we're with the temple, which is kind of funny. Either way, it works for us." [Felix]
"Oh ok." [Adam]
"By the way, what was that ability you used before? I don't think I've ever seen you use that before." [Felix]
Felix made a motion to mimic unsheathing a sword.
"That's a trick I learned from Asil. I just adjusted it to work better for me." [Adam]
"Can I learn it?" [Felix]
Adam shrugged.
"I can try explaining it to you." [Adam]
"I'm listening." [Felix]
After several hours, Felix found himself unable to understand it.
"What does "be still like earth and cut like water" mean? Like, I understand it. It's just… how am I supposed to perform it?" [Felix]
"It's kinda like this." [Adam]
He made a slashing motion that couldn't be identified as a unique method.
"That's just a normal cut." [Felix]
"No? A normal cut is like this." [Adam]
Adam recreated another slashing motion, almost indistinguishable from the first.
"That's the same thing." [Felix]
"Okay, lemme explain. It's more like a "zween" motion rather than a "swoosh" motion. Ya know?" [Adam]
"I hate you. I hate your all brawn and no brain tendencies. I hate how you explain things. I hate how you eat your breakfast." [Felix]
"...Why bring my eating habits into this?" [Adam]
In the end, Felix gave up on trying to learn Asil's skill.
"What a waste of time." [Felix]
"At least we're pretty close to our destination, right?" [Adam]
"Is that it?" [Tiffany]
Pointing into the distance, they could see a city dominated by the color gray. It had high walls and was pentagonal in structure.
"That's the stone city of dwarves. A neutral race." [Felix]
"Dwarves? Like, as in short muscular dudes?" [Adam]
"Yes, that fantasy trope. Except that I doubt they'd ALL be muscular. Remember this is real life, not fantasy. There could be fat ones for all we know." [Felix]
"That'd be kind of funny in itself." [Adam]
Felix brought them down to one of the many entrances to the city. Those below were surprised to see the three descend, but it wasn't too much of a strange sight for anyone to make a fuss.
"Now we wait in line." [Felix]
"Aw man…" [Adam]
The line was incredibly long. Or rather, lines. There were four lines in total, with four guards ensuring identity and safety at the entrance.
"How long do you think it's going to take?" [Tiffany]
"I'd say several hours." [Felix]
It took thirty minutes. The identification checks were rather short, and there was seemingly no delay.
"Now where do we go?" [Adam]
"Just follow me." [Felix]
Felix took out a map and guided them throughout the city as if he'd lived there for years. In the meantime, Adam admired the city.
("Everything is literally just… rock.") [Adam]
Stone homes, stone pavement, stone tables, stone chairs, and so on. The only exceptions were tools or utensils that served a specific purpose. It was a relief that Adam could see people using wooden spoons in restaurants.
("Not sure if I'd like to eat out of a stone spoon.") [Adam]
After walking for around 5-10 minutes, they arrived at their location.
"Is this… a temple?" [Adam]
Before him towered a white marble building resembling a Greek temple. Standing guard were short muscular men donned with black armor.
"Excuse me, I have a reservation under the name Fable?" [Felix]
Approaching one of the guards, Felix showed the short statured man a sheet of paper. It had a recommendation that came along with the Supreme Demon Lord's reply.
"Ah, it's room 47." [Short Guard]
"Thank you." [Felix]
Felix motioned for Adam and Tiffany to come along as they entered.
"What is this place?" [Adam]
"A teleportation/meeting center. They let us rent out rooms to conduct private business." [Felix]
They walked through a wide hallway which opened up to a massive area filled with people.
"This is the public teleportation service. It's just for people to go whenever and wherever." [Felix]
"And I'm assuming where we're going is someplace else?" [Adam]
"Correct." [Felix]
They passed through the public service area, entering another long hallway. There were doors lining the walls, each marked with a number above.
"What do those signs say above?" [Tiffany]
"They're numbers. We're looking for room number 47 so keep a lookout." [Felix]
"Got it." [Adam]
As they went further in, the group eventually happened upon room 47.
"Here it is." [Felix]
There wasn't a need to open the door, it simply swung open itself.
"Okay… that was weird." [Adam]
"It must be reacting to the teleportation stone in my pocket." [Felix]
The three entered to find that the door also closed on its own.
"If I didn't know any better I'd think we're in a horror movie." [Adam]
The room itself was rather simple. A large table in the center, two chairs facing each other, and a beam of light carved into the back wall. The light itself looked like rushing water, with random colors sometimes flying by.
"Can I touch it?" [Adam]
"Not unless you want to end up somewhere strange." [Felix]
"Oh. Guess not, huh." [Adam]
Felix took out the stone provided by the Supreme Demon Lord and tossed it into the light. Within moments, three figures emerged. The first one was someone tall. Eyes crimson red, gray hair, and four blackened horns. They also wore a dark fur coat over their shoulders that covered their overall body. The second was a woman. Shorter than the man, had two horns, red hair, and wore metal armor lightly for easy movement. The last was an old man. He had a hunchback, rather short, also had two black horns, bald, and was constantly fiddling with some kind of golden scope placed on his right eye.
("I hope this doesn't go awry.") [Felix]