The Quantum Wanderer

Noon passes. The butler stays by the door, announcing nobles that start arriving. Counts and barons from nearby lands. A couple of marquises, including marquis Lebleu. Even his mana is a little unpleasant to me.

The look he uses to observe the room is not one of enjoyment; rather, it is an inspection, one that none may pass. He fixes his eye in the altar the dwarves had put together. I hadn’t paid attention till this minute, and I take a look. As always, their work is impeccable if just a tad lower in height. It feels like we are inside a church.

Behind the altar there is a base, made of four dragons and a woman. On top of it, there is a statue of a man with his arms stretched forward, holding a chain that with a broken link. On each of his shoulders is a crow.

Shandon looks at the statue and twists her lips. I don’t like that I am on top of the dragons either. She turns to the priest, and whispers in his ear.

“The statue is wrong…”

“Really, milady? How?”

“The man on top of the dragons…” I offer. “Perhaps side by side…?”

“Oh no, that is correct. First, we are females, we don’t have spikes. Second, we now have horn thing in our dragon shape. Kind of horns, but different. Females don’t have horns, either.” Shandon says.

“Shouldn’t the crows have four eyes as well? I think Muninn and Huginn would appreciate.”

“Four eyes?”

“Yes. They have four eyes in their natural shape.”

“By the breaker of chains… I apologize milady. I will see that this information is spread…” He puts the staff against his shoulder and looks at the ground. He starts putting his index fingers together. “Of course, your godlinesses, if you could show us your magnificent shape… That would make so many people happy…”

Opal sighs.

“Come with, little man.”

Opal and the priest get away from the group, while marquis Lebleu approaches.

“Aham!” He clears his throat behind me. We open the circle to look at him. He sees the family of dwarves.

“DWARVES!” He exclaims when he sees the group. The whole room goes silent. Lebleu fixes his posture. “Are those guards outside yours, dwarf? Who are you?”

Dávrin turns to me.

“Please, master Marcelo, please tell me you don’t have moronic friends.”

“I don’t.”

He sighs.

“It is your excellency to you, unbearded.”

Dalvina shakes her hand. “Burn!”

Lebleu doesn’t understand the insult. He notices that the group is hostile to him. The room is quiet.

“Very well, proceed.” Lebleu says, and turns around to some other place in the room, as if he were giving permission.

Dalvina is laughing. “He is lucky.” She laughs some more.

“Why?” Akiko asks.

“Uncle is not here at the moment.”

We all laugh a little bit. Akiko and Hikari go their way, they start talking with the nobles in the room, playing the good hostesses.

Brokkr, Ildra and the kids get back to us. The kids go to Addrianna’s side, Ildra notices our humor.

“Pray tell, did anything funny happen?”

“Just some noble.” Dávrin answers. “No sharpening can fix a blade with rotten core.”

Brokkr lets out a laugh.

“That bad, eh?”

At this point, Addrianna excuses herself to work the room a little bit. Something like marking the territory for nobles, showing that Hikari has a strong support behind her.

“So, lady Akiko, how are the Inns faring?” Ildra asks.

“Very well, milady. The second one we opened is already very popular. I don’t know why, but other people in the business are not really organized.”

“What do you mean?”

“We have different tiers of guests. For the highest tier, we provide carrying pigeons. They can start a reservation for the top room by sending a note. We send back a confirmation.

“Some places provide different experiences. In Shoria we have a more luxurious experience. We have some additional experiences, such as nail painting, relaxation, massages…

“In Buzios, we have more of a rustic experience. Would you believe that some nobles pay for a thrill boat trip? We have some experienced sailors that manage to put on a show. Every once in a while, we go into the guild, we locate a nearby quest. Specially if if is close to a safe area.

“The boat with the nobles is about 100 feet from a fight of adventurers against sea monsters. Everything is controlled and safe, of course, but you would be amazed at the amount of coin they part with in order to have the experience.”

Cecilia is now looking dejected.

“Why were we never told about that? We would have enjoyed some of it.”

“You just never asked, honored guest. Besides, the experience we have is that our masseuses can only work with people up to level 30…”

“Why?”

“We have had some experiences with mithril adventurers. The masseuses are not strong enough to press the muscles; it ends up not working. Most noble women are very low level, they generally top at 20.”

We kept talking amongst ourselves. Some nobles would come around and present themselves, bowing low for Dávrin. Most of them probing on the relationship between them and the baroness. Some of them would also go report back to Lebleu after leaving our circle.

A couple of hours went pleasantly enough, until trumpets sounded from both sides of the altar. From one the opposite side of the altar, Hikari appeared, carrying Toshiro in her arms.

Once she reached the altar, the priest looked at us. Dalvina told us to go to the altar. The priest positioned the girls and I around it, the baby lying on it. The priest takes the child arms out from the wrapping.

“We are here to celebrate a new member in our church. Toshiro is here to accept the benefits and burdens of being recognized by the breaker of chains as his agent.

“In life, we surrender to chains. We surrender to force. We surrender to sin.”

As each of these sentences is pronounced, a thin chain is wrapped around his left arm.

“In life we sometimes apply chains. We dominate by force. We pressure into compliance.”

As each of these sentences is pronounced, the other side of the thin chain is wrapped around his right arm.

“You, who were offered the position of godfather. Do you accept it freely?”

“Yes.” I answer.

The priest gestures me to hold Toshiro’s arms, close to the chain, so that he doesn’t hurt himself. I do. He turns to the mother.

“Do you promise to raise a free soul? A soul that will not bow to slavery?”

“Yes I do.

“Do you promise to raise a freeing soul? A soul that will fight injustices, that will not try to appropriate someone else’s work?”

“Yes I do.”

He lays his hands on the baby.

“By the power invested in me by the Breaker of Chains, I declare this a free soul! May all that have ears, listen, and all that have eyes, see! Toshiro Meerwasser, son of Hikari Meerwasser and Julian Meerwasser is record in the book of the free!”

Dalvina gestures me, with two hands, to break the chain and I do.

The trumpets by the side of the altar resonate, with a sensation of importance. I feel a tiny shiver close to the back of my head.

The priest hands the baby back to Hikari, she raises it and shows it to everyone. Some older women in the room put a handkerchief to their eyes.

The guests are a little lost on what is the protocol for this, they are not very used to this baptism in particular. Hikari is however placed to the side of the altar, and the priest announces to the room.

“Now is the time for the first greeting. You may bless the free soul!”

A line is formed, and people start joining it. The line is mostly composed of women. Some men are having some weird faces at the spectacle, but their female companions still join the ritual.

I see Hikari’s butler enter the room. He whispers something in Akiko’s ears. While everyone is distracted, she goes outside. Meanwhile, I see the line of people passing. They would raise their hands on top of the baby, bless him, and then congratulate Hikari.

After sometime, Akiko comes back. She is happy about something. I turn my attention back to the line of people.

I see that Akiko spends her time talking to the group of dwarves. Some nobles try to join the group with varying degrees of success. The more humble people manage to talk for some time. The group gets larger, with some people being added to the circle.

After the line is done, the girls and I join the circle. The group is talking about trading routes. I can’t say who is noble or who is a merchant in the group.

“I don’t think so. Even if what you say is true, they still have a lot of influence on the outside. Just the amount of riches they have…”

“But it is a body without a head. They won’t last long. And the news are starting to spread… If you were to choose one right now, would you bet on the falling or the rising? I don’t care that the falling is still ahead… What do you think, lord Dávrin?”

Dávrin passes his hand twice over his beard before answering.

“I can only base my assumptions on what you are telling me. There are no dwarves in the Holy Kingdom anymore, so I don’t care about their internal affairs.

“As for religion, they never managed to indoctrinate us. I mean, “ he gestures towards the altar and the statue, “we have our god, he walks the land and talks to us. Why would any of us bow to a human because he said that he was chose by a god no one ever saw?”

“Are you saying that the event in Esdhor was not just a rumor? Did it really happen?”

“Yes. Last I heard, Nergal’s cathedral is still cursed. It is said that only dwarves can enter. Without dying, that is.”

The people look at the statue. There is a moment of silence. They nod at it and turn back to the circle.

“We see that your god is also related to dragons, humans and crows. Is he somehow related to Wrax?”

“Wait! Isn’t there a rumor that the demons are worshiping a dark incarnation of Wrax as well? Is it the same god?”

The person that asked this question immediately regretted it. The others around him gave him a bad stare. Somehow, I remembered the gardener’s assistance in my estate.

Dávrin laughs at the situation, diffusing it.

“Good thing this is not as dark as the church preaches, then.” Dávrin answers.

“Why is that?” The noble that asked the question is happy to be given a life line.

“You mentioned about the rumor of Angelica becoming what the locals are calling the Lake of Remembrance, right?”

“Yes. I wouldn’t normally believe it, but we have received reports from more than one source about that…”

“You also mentioned that this happened only after the whole crowcide, right?”

“Yes.”

“That means that Nergal’s church was left along as long as they didn’t mess up. And boy, did they mess up… The god could just have done the same to all the cities in the country. Not doing so is already an act of mercy.”

The people are thinking, more than half of them stare back at the statue. I venture a question, out of curiosity.

“What is the current situation in the Holy Kingdom?”

One of the people in the circle shakes the glass with wine slightly.

“The latest information I have is that some remnants from the previous government, including some military, is trying to organize itself in Nergalea. The city is, or was, on the small side, their situation is not very bright. It was mostly a pilgrimage city before all of this. They are apparently amassing forces there to launch a counter offensive against the Crow Queen. Legend has it that she was anointed by Wrax himself.”

At this point, Hikari and Akiko join the circle. The circle opens to receive them.

“What do you think, baroness? What side are you going to take in the holy wars?”

“Oh, dear count, I am but a mortal. I am not going to meddle in matters of the gods.”

“Are you saying you don’t pray for either?”

“That is not what I said. I am just saying that if you have an all-powerful god, it is not going to need your help on anything. Nergal didn’t lift a finger to help the church, did he?”

That gets some laughs.

“What do you think, master Marcelo?”

I tilt my head.

“I am just an adventurer, so I have only seen a part of this world. I must say that I have never seen a god I could pray to. I haven’t seen any prayer to Order or Chaos working.”

“You are aiming too high, my friend, but it would make sense.” Brokkr answers.

The dwarves laugh at Brokkr’s joke, with Akiko and Hikari. The other humans fake a laugh so they don’t feel excluded. One of the humans clears his throat.

“While it is recognized that everything was created from the union of the twins, it is also said that they will not answer to prayers. For Order, nothing will change, no matter how much you pray. For Chaos, there is too much noise for any prayer to be heard. That’s why we have Nergal, Wrax and the others.”

The person start talking about the local religion. Although I am interested, the bored look from everyone else is apparent. They end up changing the subject to politics, talking about some of the neighboring nations and their status.

The time pass by fast. It is already close to sun set. The guests start to leave. At some point, only our little inner circle is around the empty and used ballroom. Some dwarves are disassembling the altar. I turn to the people around.

“Do you guys want me to portal you back?”

Akiko clears her voice.

“If I many, honored guest, “ She turns to the dwarves “ I would be delighted to have you as our guests of honor in our inn.”

Dalvina looks at Akiko, then starts pushing her father’s shoulder back and forth. He looks at Dyrgja, she smiles at him and nods.

“Hum. We are going to take you on your offer, then.”

“Great. Just a minute.” She does a gesture to her butler, and shortly after he approaches the group, with a notepad and a pen. Akiko writes something in the paper, folds it and gives it to Dávrin.

“Here, your majesty. This is a quick introduction, and it will provide you with VIP rooms. There will be accommodations for your whole entourage as well.”

Dávrin gets the paper and puts it in his bag of holding. “I appreciate.”

I take a look around at the ballroom. There might have been around 300 people in the room.

“Where all the nobles in here locals?”

She smiled.

“Not all the nobles, honored guest. But most of them, yes. I think only about a fifth of them were a longer trip. Those are choosing to stay with other nobles. Although our inn is rather comfortable, staying there would have sent a message of sorts.”

At this point, Addrianna is looking at Akiko. Akiko looks back and realizes the blunder.

“I am sorry, lady Addrianna… This was a big blunder on our part. You are, however, permanently invited to stay in any of our inns.”

Addrianna sighs, a little sad. I try to help a little.

“I wouldn’t mind opening a portal whenever you need one. You just have to cross the street.”

She instantaneously smiles. It looks like I bit the bait, hook and liner. I don’t mind, though.

We part our ways, we go to our room, to have our dinner in the food cart. I turn to the girls.

“Well, we have been around for two weeks now. No signs of attack. We can’t be completely sure, but…”

“But we can’t stay here forever.” Cecilia says.

“Yes. We can let them keep the bird, and we are going to react if something happens, but I think we could go back. We have missed a lot of school, already.”

Ruby takes a look at her nails.

“My lord, what about going tomorrow? I could use a touch on the nails…”

“Sure.”

We relax a little bit, and retire for the night.

Next morning, during the end of our picknick breakfast, I take the time to announce.

“So, Akiko, Hikari, the girls and I were thinking… Nothing happened. We are going to get back to our lives. The bird is going to stay, and anything that happens is going be noticed by Huginn immediately. But other than that…”

Both of them nod. Akiko mouths her understanding.

“We understand it, honored guest. We appreciate immensely everything you have done. Not only protecting, but also helping us with Addrianna and the dwarves… I want to make clear that you are the answer to prayers we didn’t even know we needed. There are truly no words.”

“Sure…?” I answer. Things like these always get blown out of proportion. The girls keep eating, while Sophia and Caius are looking at the baby. Addrianna is apparently having fun with my reaction.

After breakfast, we leave Akiko and Hikari with Toshiro. We go to the inn, to meet up with Dávrin and his group. the day is clear, the smell of ocean. It is a really relaxing day. There are a lot of dwarves in the restaurant, having breakfast.

There are some people that are outside the inn, we go past them.

“Hey, you have to wait your turn!” A man, in his fifties, shouts at us.

I look at him, I don’t quite grasp what he means. There are two guards by the inn gate. As we get near the gate, the guards stand in front of us.

“I am sorry, sir, but guests only. We proud ourselves on allowing relaxing time for our guests.”

I can feel the dragonesses mana starting to convulse around us. I turn to the girls, and I gesture them to calm down. I turn back to the guard.

“What is going on?”

“Are you not here to contact the dwarves?”

I look back at the group by the gate. The guy that had shouted at us is now looking smug. I turn back to the guard. I get closer, so that only he can hear me.

“Can you please tell Indira that the honored guest is at the gate? She will vouch for me.”

“The honored guest?” The guard repeats. He is white as a ghost. “I am sorry, sir! I didn’t know!”

He turns around and gives us passage. I can hear the guy at the gate complaining.

“This is absurd! You are going to hear from my master! You all better start looking for another job!”

We ignore him. We enter the inn and approach the counter. Indira is there, talking to the attendant.

“Good morning, Indira, how are you?”

“Honored guest! Welcome! How can I help you?” She looks at our group, notices Addrianna and her family, then back at me. “Or your guests?”

“Well, I was thinking of meeting lord Dávrin or Master Brokkr.”

“Oh, I am sorry, honored guest, that is not going to be possible.”

“Did something happen?”

“Nothing wrong, but they are enjoying our relaxation packages. Perhaps later I can pass them a note.”