Chapter 38: Chapter 38 – The fantasy tower

The first location Scarlett visited with the others was a shop located in The Coins district. She knew from the game that it dealt mainly with magical equipment and artifacts. When she had been thinking of what to do with the Cabal Adepts' armor it had been one of the first places that came to mind. With most other places, she couldn't be 100% certain whether they had a tie to the Cabal or not—even though she assumed most didn't—but this one she was sure could be trusted. Chiefly because it, along with the old man who owned it, was involved in one of the questlines to repair a divine piece of equipment—the most powerful tier—when you played the 'good' route in the game.

After arriving at the place, she'd had Fynn and Rosa stay behind as Allyssa and Shin helped her bring the equipment inside the shop. The old man working there—who'd been a dead-ringer to how he appeared in the game—had looked surprised at the assembly of gear, but hadn't made any special comment about it. It was possible that he recognized what it was, but Scarlett doubted that. It was more likely that he was just taken aback at seeing several identical sets of such quality, especially with the damage some of the pieces had.

It turned out the equipment itself wasn't of much use to him—he didn't show much interest in reselling it, and Scarlett had subtly warned against doing so—but after some negotiating with the man, they had instead come into an agreement regarding the materials themselves, which he did have some interest in. In the end, they agreed that he would buy six of the eight sets she had, with her deciding to keep the two most intact ones in case she ever needed them in the future.

Unfortunately, the owner hadn't been able to immediately give her a price for the six sets he bought. He was uncertain of the exact material, and enchantments, placed on the equipment, as well how much of it was repurposable. Apparently, some enchantments on gear could essentially be recycled depending on some factors Scarlett didn't quite understand, which wasn't a feature in the game. But that was something Scarlett had had an interest in, so she had asked him to send her a notice when he had appraised everything and to inform her if any of the enchantments could be recycled. His rough guesses for a price from just the first glance had been somewhere in the upper thousands for all six of the sets, which had been less than Scarlett had wished for. But hopefully that estimate would change in the future, after he'd had more time to look into it. The sets were mixes of rare and epic equipment, after all. In the game just one such set could probably run for well over twenty thousand if it was brand new.

After having finished at that shop and bid their goodbyes, Scarlett had left The Coins district behind along with the others. Traveling along the bustling Sunset Walk to the Ascendant Court at the heart of the city, they'd journeyed past the ever-active Mausoleum as well as the grandiose Ustrum Assembly, all the way to the northern part of the city, where the Wise Quarter was located.

Elystead was divided into eleven districts, and of those, the Wise Quarter was one of the smaller ones. This part of the city was dominated by fewer, but more extensive, buildings — several of which Scarlett knew as schools or academies of some sort from the game. It wasn't quite as busy as the rest of the city was, though there were still a decent amount of people here as the Light Fest itself was just one day away.

They were currently nearing the eastern end of the district, where a tall and wide tower of smooth white stone stretched into the sky, a few balcony-like framings with blue light hovering above them jutting out from the structure at even intervals all the way to the top. This was the Elystead Tower: the most prominent mage tower in the empire.

Officially, all of the mage towers in the empire were subsidiaries—for lack of a better word—of the Ustrum Assembly, although Scarlett recalled that it wasn't quite that simple in reality. While the Ustrum Assembly was the main authority on matters of magic in the Empire, it acted more as an organization or guild. One that the towers belonged to, but didn't necessarily heed all the time.

Regardless, Scarlett's visit to this place didn't have anything to do with its internal politics or workings. Rather, she'd gone here mainly to get information on a certain matter that related to some of her future plans.

When the carriage stopped at the edge of a round square in front of the building they all exited the vehicle in short order, with Rosa gazing up at the tall tower and letting out a whistle.

"It looks even taller up close," Fynn said as he too admired the complex structure. "I almost find it hard to believe that humans could build something like this."

"It's the second-highest structure in the capital," Shin commented, his head turning around as he appeared to take in their surroundings. This square was one of the most active spots in the Wise Quarter, with people in different-colored robes milling about to and fro. In other parts of the city it wasn't too uncommon to see guards and people walking around with weapons on them, but here there was almost none of that. The young Shielder appeared to have observed the same custom, considering he had left his sword and shield in the carriage. "The twin spires of the Dawnlight Palace are the only ones that are taller."

"Really?" Fynn turned to him with an impressed look. "I've only seen them from a distance before. I had no idea they were also that tall."

"It's because the palace is built on elevated cliffs. Otherwise the Elystead tower would be thirteen meters higher. They purposely made it shorter back when it was built, as not to offend Emperor Gautier. He was said to be an irritable man."

"Even when he was the emperor?" Fynn furrowed his brows. "Why didn't people just stop following him then? I've heard rebellions have happened before."

"There are a dozen different reasons, and while it is true that rebellions have felled dynasties in the past, that has never happened in the empire. It also didn't help that Emperor Gautier was famed as one of the strongest warriors of his time."

"Oh. That makes sense then." Fynn nodded his head. "But how do you know all of this?"

"It's because he spends all his time with his nose in books," Allyssa said with a joking grimace. "Nobody cares when Emperor Whatever did who-knows-what, but he can't get enough of it."

"Maybe if you did care about some of it, I wouldn't have had to do all of the homework your dad used to give you," Shin casually shot back.

Scarlett watched the young Shielder girl jam an elbow into her colleague's side. "Maybe you should keep your trap shut."

Rosa also looked on with a smile. "Ah, young love~" she hummed.

"Hah." Allyssa let out a short laugh. "He'd be lucky if a girl so much as talked to him. You know, he hasn't even danced with a girl once in his life."

Rosa raised a brow. "Oh? But he's pretty handsome, isn't he? He's got that look to him. Cute, with just a splash of rugged to the side. Add a smidge of cool nonchalance, and most girls would be swooning."

Allyssa shook her head. "It's the opposite. He just scares them off. If anything, then Fynn would be the handsome one." She gestured towards the white-haired youth that walked to the side, causing him to turn to them with a perplexed expression.

"Did I do something?"

"You can ignore it. She gets riled up easily," Shin said.

"I do not," Allyssa exclaimed.

Fynn looked on at the two. "But I'm not even a—" he began, but stopped before saying more.

"If you are about finished," Scarlett cut in as they closed in on the large open brass doors that served as the entrance to the tower. "You can save those conversations for a later time. There is business for me to attend to here."

Rosa let out a light laugh. "Ah, but don't you think it's at least a little bit interesting?"

"I have no interest in matters of romance, or the lack thereof," Scarlett said. It really was one of the last things she cared to think about in her current circumstances. She hadn't been on a real date for years before coming here, and now certainly wasn't the time to start bothering with that. It was bad enough that she had a fiancé she barely knew.

She pushed those thoughts to the side and walked through the open doors, entering into a large lobby—it was almost like a chamber, with a curving ceiling lit up by blue magical lights—and moving towards the center of it where a circular area not too dissimilar to a reception was. The rest of the lobby was filled mostly with people in robes, walking between different bookcases spread around the room or conversing at tables that lined the walls.

Scarlett spotted an empty table and pointed towards it. "These particular proceedings will not require the assistance of any of you. You can wait there until I am finished with what I have come here for."

"You're going alone?" Allyssa asked.

"I am in no danger here."

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"I guess not. But..." The young woman glanced around the room.

Scarlett stopped for a moment and looked the others over for a moment, considering. "Very well. It would be inconvenient if you all came with, but one of you can. Decide amongst yourselves who." With that, she began walking towards the center of the lobby again, leaving them behind. A little while later Shin caught up to her, giving her an affirmative nod before silently closing in to walk behind her.

When they reached the center area of the lobby a man sitting behind a crescent-shaped desk peering over a pile of papers looked up at her. He had short, balding hair and wore a deep black robe with long sleeves. "Can I help you?" he drawled out with tired eyes.

"Yes," Scarlett said, setting herself into the noble persona. "I wish to meet with one of the tower officials."

There were a couple of things she wanted to discuss with the people here. There were some basic matters that any member could probably give her answers to, but the most important subject point was something that only certain people could help her with. She was going through the list of names in her mind of those who fit that criteria.

"For what reason?" the man asked, idly bringing out a new piece of paper from a pile to the side and bringing a black pencil up to his lips.

"Inquiring into the purchase of several magic-related articles, as well as the trade of some highly valuable information."

He started writing something on the paper. "We have a branch who handles the selling and buying of material and items further down in the Wise Quarter, as well as a small establishment in The Coins that handles any common official requests. I recommend that you try visiting those, I'm sure they'll be able to help you."

"Common requests?" Scarlett felt her eye twitch. "I believe I said I wished to meet with an official, not send in a petition."

"This is the imperial mage tower. Our members are some of the most esteemed mages and wizards in the empire. I realize it might be an inconvenience for you, but they simply don't have the time to meet with just anyone that asks. The other places I pointed you to are more than capable of assisting you, so once again I recommend that you turn to them." He stopped writing and looked up, his eyes glancing over to Shin who stood behind her. The man's eyes seemed to stay on the scar above Shin's left eye for a second. He then looked back at Scarlett, only now seeming to take in her appearance. "What was your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Scarlett Hartford," she answered. "Baroness Scarlett Hartford."

The man was quiet for a few seconds. "...Perhaps there is someone who is available at the moment." He bent down, picking up a thick tome from beneath the desk and placing it beside the arcs of paper in front of him. He opened it and flipped through it, stopping at one page and trailing his finger down it. "It appears that Adjunct Mage Allen Fletcher is free. I could have a meeting arranged with them if you wish."

She had no idea who that was, but an Adjunct Mage wouldn't be of any use to her. "Is Adalicia Mendenhall here?" she asked.

The man paused, looking up at her. "...Emeritus Master Docent Grand Wizard Mendenhall is currently on an exchange expedition to the Rising Isle."

Oh, wow. That was a mouthful. And Emeritus? She was expecting some Latin terms here and there considering how prevalent it was in the English language, and she knew Docent was a rank here so that didn't surprise her, but straight out hearing an adjective Latin term like that used as one might back in her world felt weird. She really had to look into the linguistical history of Modern Imperial sometime in the future.

Still, it was a shame that Adalicia Mendenhall wasn't here. The woman was one of the more important people in the tower, and the one Scarlett felt most confident about being able to work with.

"Then Kinnard Berkeley?" He wouldn't know anything about what she wanted, but he should at least have the authority to make a deal with her.

"Master Docent Mage Berkeley is also on the Rising Isle..."

Scarlett frowned. "Very well. Then is Swale available?"

"Do you mean Master Docent Wizard Swale?"

"Yes," she said. She barely remembered anything about him but his last name, but he was the head of one of the tower's departments so he should still be able to help her.

The man gave her a long look. "He is also away on the expedition."

Was every member of the Elystead Tower on this damn expedition!? Or was this man just straight up lying to get rid of her? She swallowed back a sigh. "If so, then I do not have many other options. Is Merlion Rowley still present? I presume he would not have joined this expedition." He was far from her first choice, but it should still work.

She saw how the man's expression grew a bit stale. "Baroness, I understand that you have business you want to carry out with us, but all of the people you have mentioned are highly influential and busy members of the tower. Even if they were here, I would not be able to arrange a meeting with them for you. And that goes twice for Vice-Dean Rowley."

Scarlett leveled her gaze at the man. "I would not be so certain of that. Inform Rowley that I know the location of a primordial spell and am willing to trade it."

The black-robed man froze, his mouth stuck in a half-open grimace. "Surely you can't be serious. This isn't the place to joke around like that."

She kept her eyes locked on him. "Do I appear to you as a person who would so carelessly lie about such significant matters?"

"That's not what I mea—"

"Then contact him. Inform him that Baroness Hartford wishes to meet, and that it will not take long."

The man stared at her for several seconds.

She crossed her arms. "I am waiting."

"I-I'll see what I can do," he eventually said, and began sifting through drawers under the desk. "But I can't promise that he'll be available, or even answer. It will take some time."

"Then I will wait here." She turned, gesturing for Shin to start moving. "Notify me when you have an answer."

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