"Hello, Lady Monique. I'm Robin, the aide sent by the emperor," the aide greeted the group the next morning. Well, not the group. He talked to Monique, who was well known as the representative of Minas Mar, and included the nameless rest with a polite bow.
In exchange, Monique introduced the rest of the party. At this point, she introduced them all as elite warriors of Minas Mar, again, to keep their actual standing a secret and avoid diplomatic stuff these feudalistic nobles liked so much.
"May I know...Is that a traditional outfit for an imperial aide?" Seth couldn't help but ask once introductions were over. The aide wore a black robe with white accents, which resembled a maid's outfit from afar. The blacksmith didn't judge; he was just interested in whether it was a personal preference or just the empire having a certain taste.
"Yes, it is the official uniform for aides of the Empire," the aide answered with a polite smile. Seth thanked him for the answer with a smile and a nod. he didn't feel like digging deeper into that topic.
After the awkward question, they finally started the briefing.
Since Robin had arrived in the night, he had enough time to rest. Now they were getting ready for the journey, and the aide was explaining the plan they had made for this journey. First, the aide brought out a couple of golden bangles with a clear turquoise crystal inlaid all along the body.
"First of all, please take these gate artifacts. They are strictly regulated items. Once a day, you can trace your finger along the gate stone, which allows you to travel to the next Imperial Gate," she explained the use of the artifacts, calling the inlaid crystal Gate Stone.
Following the explanation, he talked about their travel route. Even when not revealing their identity, the emperor wished to have them visit the capital before setting off on the journey to the Auk Archipelago.
Since they were offering a magic vessel for the journey, as well as a guide, the least thing they could do was play along with their self-presentation. It seemed like Monique had properly impressed them with her displays of power; maybe they were also a little worried.
After visiting Port Gula, they would travel to the port town of Larida, where the vessel and crew that would take them to their destination were already prepared. After roughing out the plan for their journey, Robin asked them to get ready for the journey.
It was mostly the aide who still had to have a conversation with the commander of the fort. Seth and the other didn't really have anything to finish, so they simply waited for Robin in the courtyard, talking among themselves.
When the aide returned about one hour later, it was finally time to set out. Robin told them to activate the bangles. Seth's finger swiped over the smooth blue stone the aide called the gate stone, and he noticed a similar feeling to when he used
It could be described as a short jump in your innards and a momentary loss of direction. The latter was way stronger than when using the skill, as the blacksmith was plucked from space and reintroduced to it almost 100km further away.
The place that came into view when he regained his place in the physical world was another courtyard. It was surrounded by alabaster walls, covered in unpainted carving that played with shadow instead of color. The floor was also tiled in the same white stone. At the center was a big crystal in a golden stand; it had the same turquoise blue color as the inlays of the bangle. Its sharp point was directed at the open sky above.
This had to be what they called the Imperial Gate. If everything said in the briefing was correct, this place was the gate in Blackfeather, the feudal capital with the closest teleport node. For a split second, he was alone, but then Robin, Monique, Mina, and Fin appeared in the courtyard, in that order.
They were only milliseconds apart from each other. It was an interesting thing to watch, seeing people materialize right in front of him. For a moment, he had worried that the system god's influence had taken effect again and someone, or just him, had randomly appeared somewhere completely different.
Unlike him, who was mostly unbothered, Monique, Fin, and Mina were a little unsteady on their legs. He was familiar with the feeling, since he used
While the others were processing their instant teleportation, Seth took a look at his
However, it did record the places he had personally visited. As such, it showed two small points, one was the mapped out cave system and the fort, and some distance from that, this small courtyard in Blackfeather. So even without system assistance, he could theoretically map out the place and at least rely on directions.
~Just rely on me if something goes wrong, Mom!- Group member No. 5 spoke up with his newfound self-confidence. Since their journey to the Adventurer Guild's Holy Land, Tatzel worried a lot less about stepping over the threshold to dragonhood.
Instead of worrying about his level and status, the Imugi had spent his time flying around the vicinity of Delta and further raising his proficiency in magic and skills. Since they couldn't use
Seth would have also brought Puffles, but the Ivicer was still out and about. He stayed mum about what exactly he was trying to achieve, but the blacksmith was sure it was something of importance to the nightmare centipede.
Although Puffles was not much older, he seemed to be more mature and confident in his own way from the start. Whatever he did, he was not slacking off somewhere, probably.
~I'm counting on you, Tatzel, -he answered telepathically, but he actually hoped that there would be no need for the pseudo-dragon to make an appearance. That would mean something went wrong along the way, and that meant they would lose time. He wanted to get in, take down the gorgon, and get out again as fast as possible. After all, they were on a schedule.
"Welcome to Blackfeather. Welcome back, Lady Monique!" and a man in pompous robes greeted them. Seth had no attention to spare for him, as his focus was on the guard behind him. This had to be what the reports called Dungeon Busters.
Again, his appraisal couldn't give any proper info, but that didn't stop the blacksmith from being able to evaluate the piece. In function, they were obviously similar to the power armors of Epsilon, but these completely relied on magic, making them much more similar to a golem than a machine.
Unlike a golem, these relied on the user inside to make the decisions, instead of a core. From the reports, he knew that titans and dungeon busters had cores, but they were purely to supply power for the operation and augmentation.
Seeing the Dungeon Buster in person, Seth agreed that the upper level of this kind of armor was around the early lv.80s of humanoid monsters, which was a commendable feat considering they used mostly uncommon and some rare components.
"Hello, Count," Monique said, relatively relaxed.
"Greetings, Count Clutcher," the aide greeted him with a formal bow.
Since he was not greeted directly, he gave the count a small wave, causing Mina and Fin to chuckle. Count Clutcher didn't seem to take offense. Not that he had much time to do so, since they were not scheduled to stay in Blackfeather,
While the noble and the aide made small talk, trying to integrate Monique too, the Count's men calibrated the Imperial Gate for the trip to Port Gula. It didn't take long, and they were on their way.
The travel with the Imperial Gate was very similar to the teleportation they used on Urth via Minas Palan, so everybody was fine when they arrived at the capital. Barely an hour had passed since they met Robin, and they had already reached their preliminary destination.