Chapter 106: 104 – The Sect Compound

Through the city they made their way, finding that yet more Kargarian merchants were openly setting up their cart stalls on the major streets. Besides Zelsys being recognized and called out for her involvement in the preceding day’s unrest a few times on the way to the property, they got there without incident.

It was situated in the north-eastern quarter of the city, about two-thirds of the way down one of the primary roads. This quarter was… Nicer than the others. Dominated by old buildings for sure, but those buildings were universally well-maintained and on average larger and more opulent than the rest of the city. In short, it was the wealthy part of town. Just like the rest of town, however, many of those buildings sat abandoned and the well-to-do here looked no wealthier than those on the main street. 

After a while of walking through the sweltering summer heat, the property finally came into view. It would’ve been hard to miss, really, as the street abruptly went from a gentle curve to completely straight, the facades of buildings replaced by solid wall. Two guards were stationed nearby clearly meant to watch over the place, one a large adult man with a boar-killer spear, the other nearly skeletal, white-haired, and elderly, clutching an appropriately ancient-looking bladed spear.

Approaching the property had the old man staring at them instantly, approaching them with an utterly unfitting amount of energy within seconds. He raised his spear, pointed it at them, barked out, “I already told one of you this property is off limits! Unless you can walk right through that barrier you’d better-”

Zel did exactly that. She stepped a bit to the left and reached her hand right through the barrier, feeling that mighty arcane membrane wash over her as it bulged like a bubble around her forearm. The buzzing of the barrier recognizing her and giving way wasn’t even comparable to the barriers around the forest shelters, it was an order of magnitude beyond that, clearly intended to hold in the face of a direct assault from multiple powerful cultivators at once.

The old guard froze where he stood, staring. 

“You… You have the deed?” he asked. Zel nodded, pulling out her Tablet and quickly retrieving the deed from storage, only long enough to show it and put it right back. He looked her up and down, returning to a relaxed stance. A resigned smile took form on his face and he chuckled before turning on a heel and returning to his post. 

Even though Zel could’ve stepped through the barrier at any point she remained where she stood as the others caught up to her, looking at that statue. The horse-man.

This up close, one could plainly see it to be adorned with several articles of what could ostensibly be called clothing.  

It had paper seals over its eyes and a wide stomach belt made of similar, but notably different seals, as well as wrist and ankle bands made of thick, dark metal chain links shaped to form the same symbols as those covering the seals on its stomach. 

Seemingly out of nowhere, while they were busy loitering at the edge of the property that by all rights belonged to them and observing its imperious grandeur that contrasted so sharply with the decline wrought by the war, a voice called out to them out of nowhere. Zelsys felt it in her core that it was targeted at her.

“Took you long enough to come here,” it said. An older woman’s voice, possessed of an accent that Zel recognized as Kargarian and painted by consistent, long-term smoking. The sound of a pipe being dragged from was heard well before any of the four turned around. 

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“You…” slipped out of Zel’s mouth as she narrowed her eyes. The Woman in Red, with the entirely impractical outfit that all but screamed at any observers to “look, don’t touch”. The red cords holding her cleavage together damn-near made it look like a tied ham.

She took another drag of that dragon-adorned pipe, openly admitting, “Yes, we’ve met before… In a manner of speaking. It’s a shame that I couldn’t get into that gambling parlor, I hear you put on quite a show, Lightning Butcher.”

“That name is-”

“Your weapon, yes. A great warrior is synonymous with their weapon in my homeland. Just as you are the Lightning Butcher, so I am the Pinnacle of the Glass Spire…” the woman trailed off, wearing an enigmatic smile before she let out a stream of smoke. “I’ve come to make an offer. You are aware of the caravan’s arrival in the coming days, is that correct?”

Choosing to play into the woman’s game she replied in kind, “It would be difficult not to notice Kargarians with holes in their heads setting up stalls on the corner of every major street… Much less this morning’s news headline.”

“I take it that you are willing to hear me out, then? If so, I believe it would be more appropriate to discuss the details of my offer with the full context of the property,” suggested the woman, subtly gesturing towards the barrier with her pipe. 

Besides her overly formal wording, the Woman in Red seemed honest enough. Zel stepped through the barrier, it bulging inward as she passed. The ornate gate of the property was a solid half-meter inside the barrier, and just like the deed it too had a keyhole-less lock which snapped open with a burst of black smoke at Zel’s touch. Pulling the gate open took no effort at all, and soon the beast-slayer stood in the middle of that sprawling courtyard, seeing it for the massive outdoor gymnasium that it was.

She restrained herself from gawking for the time being, but just at a glance Zelsys knew that this place would more than suffice her needs. A majority of the outdoor training equipment - or the numerous other structures littering the pavilion, for that matter - hadn’t even been visible from outside the barrier, entirely filtered out of sight.

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