Chapter 21: 2: Two

Bright and early the next day, I found myself sitting at breakfast with Ghaldor and Commander Yorn. We were eating at the Hortenz’s main restaurant which was located on the ground floor of the massive building. Just like the rest of the establishment, the restaurant was classy as hell with all the tables covered in pristine white cloth and all the servers dressed in finely-pressed tuxedos. A live orchestra was present, its members seated atop a stage at the far corner of the dining area, playing various medleys that kept the atmosphere of the restaurant calm and serene.

I had ordered myself something called a trosedo, which was a local Scepteran dish. It was like a mix of an omelet and a waffle with ham, cheese, and a strange red syrup that tasted both sour and sweet. Trust me, it tastes much better than it sounds. I happily ate the meal along with a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and some powdered toast. While eating, Commander Yorn briefed us on our itinerary.

“Once we’re done here, we shall travel to Actenna Station,” he said. “The train we will be riding is called the R.L. Swift Spirit.” Apparently, in this world, the people named their trains similar to how naval ships were named. The R.L. stood for Republic Locomotive, which was the company that owned and operated the line.

“The Alliance has reserved us four private cars,” Yorn continued. “One car will be for the security detail, the others are for our private use. The trip by rail will take approximately two days. We will make short stops at the towns of Fairdale, Coltuna, and Povos for the train to resupply. Once we arrive in Altrech, transportation will be provided to take us to the Tower of Convergence where you, Lady Amelia, will meet with High Summoner Rintell of the Holy Office of Summonings. Afterward, you will then meet with the other five Heroes.”

From what I had gathered, the Tower of Convergence was the place where all Hero summonings (well, except for mine) were performed. The Holy Office of Summonings was the organization that oversaw and did the actual rituals for the summonings. Despite the name, they were not a religious institution; the “holy” part was just a holdout from the Imperial days when people still worshiped gods officially. The HOS was actually a secular organization, one that was independent of the Alliance government. This assured their impartiality when performing the summonings for each member nation.

“Be wary when dealing with the Office of Summonings,” warned Ghaldor. “Despite them touting their so-called non-biased neutrality, all of their numbers come from the Synod.”

“What’s the Synod?” I asked, not familiar with the term.

Ghaldor’s face twisted into a scowl. “The Synod of Magicians,” the wizard all but spat. “It’s an organization that stifles creative thinking and holds back magical progress. Nothing but a corrupt band of simple-minded imbeciles who follow tired traditions as if they were dogma. They have the gall to believe that they speak for all magicians; that they are the ones who govern over all magicians. The nerve! The arrogance! Magic will never be suppressed in such a way!”

Oh. So they were bad people then.

Before Ghaldor could continue to rant on about the Synod, Commander Yorn cut in. “Despite what we feel about that particular organization, I still urge you to act politely towards High Summoner Rintell, Lady Amelia. We are on a diplomatic mission, after all. It wouldn’t do to burn bridges within the Alliance when Duncan still hasn’t been inducted as a member yet.”

“I understand,” I told him.

Breakfast was soon finished and our party was on the move again. Outside the hotel was the royal carriage along with our escorts who awaited us patiently. I wondered where the knights had slept; I doubt they would have camped out like they usually did when we were on the road in Duncan. Maybe the hotel gave them lodgings somewhere?

Porters loaded up our luggage while Ghaldor, his apprentice, Griselda, and I climbed aboard. Yorn and his knights mounted their horses. Once everything was ready, the carriage driver flicked his reins signaling the magical horses to move. Soon our party was on its way through Morro’s streets heading towards the center of the city where the railway station was located.

Along the way, I spotted something I was not expecting to see in this world. Passing by a large, stone structure, I saw the familiar sight of a crucifix hanging over the entrance. Looking closer at the building, I realized that it had a similar style to the gothic cathedrals of my world. It had large, pointed arches, stained glass windows, and even flying buttresses. Although not as massive as the structures I’ve seen pictures of in Europe, it was still a shockingly familiar sight.

But what was a Christian cathedral doing here in Scepter?

Ghaldor saw what I was looking at and seemed to hear my unspoken question. “Ah. That is a temple of the Church of the One True God. From what I understand, it is a religion from your world. Its practice was brought over by Heroes of the past and grew popular in the Alliance. It hasn’t quite gained much traction in higher society, but the common folk seem to flock to it. Humph. Religion is nonsense, of course, but it seems harmless enough.”

The countless dead in the various religious wars of my world might disagree with you there, old man. Oh well, at least in this world the church doesn’t seem to have as much power as the Catholic Church did on Earth. Hopefully, I won’t be meeting with any inquisitions anytime soon.

Actenna Station was quite a massive facility consisting of five large, hanger-like buildings that took up several city blocks. It was also crowded with people, many of whom were likely to be travelers from their rugged clothing and the baggage they carried. Thankfully, station security was there to greet us upon our arrival and made a way through the crowd for us.

It was at this point that our escort would be splitting up. Half of the knights would return to Duncan to escort the royal carriage and the horses back to the castle. The other half would travel with us to Altrech and serve as our security detail. I waved goodbye to the men returning with the carriage before following station security as they escorted us through the crowded staging area.

We were led past the throngs of other travelers to one of the lesser-used of the station houses. Here the platforms were all but deserted with nothing but cargo and uniformed railway employees going about their business. In front of the platform sat a large locomotive, which I assumed to be the train we would be traveling on. Upon the side of the boiler, painted onto the black metal, were the words “R.L. Swift Spirit”.

If I were to be honest, I was a little disappointed upon seeing it. Overall, it was a fair bit smaller than the train I saw in the Harry Potter movies. The boiler for the steam engine wasn’t as massive as the movie train, though the steam stack was much larger and shaped like an upside-down bell. It also only had four cars and the fuel cart (which was filled with stacks of wood) unlike the movie trains which had dozens thus making ours look quite puny by comparison. It was a private train though, so I guess it was supposed to be small.

As we approached the locomotive, my companions suddenly began to hack and cough at the smoke coming from the engine. I was confused as to their reaction since I wasn’t affected, but I quickly realized that my passive barrier was filtering out the pollutants in the air before they reached my lungs. All I could really sense was the smell of burning wood coming from the open mouth of the boiler where some engineers were feeding it fuel. Commander Yorn and Ghaldor powered through the smoke, waving their hands in front of their faces to bat away the foul air. Griselda pulled out a handkerchief and covered her mouth and nose. The apprentice didn’t seem affected at all, but that was pretty much a given due to the large, beaked mask he or she wore.

We boarded the first train car and found that it contained two rows of wooden bench seats. This was where our knights would stay for the duration of the trip. I felt kind of sorry for them as I watched the station employees show them how to stow their gear in the overhead compartments; the knights had to sit on those uncomfortable benches in full armor for two days after all.

We were then led into the second car which turned out to be quite finely appointed, containing luxurious seats and tables along with carpeted flooring and finely polished wood panel walls. Ghaldor strode over to one of the sofas where he took a seat, grumbling about a stiff back. His apprentice joined him on the seat across from his, content to sit silently like they always did. I saw Commander Yorn heading towards the back to check the rest of the cars. Griselda was following him so I decided to tag along.

The third car looked to be where the sleeping compartments were. Yorn was opening up each door in the long hall, checking each room to make sure they were all secure. I peeked into the first door and saw a small compartment with a coffin bed built into the wall along with a chair and desk. Cozy. I looked back into the hallway and counted three more doors. Wait. There were five of us and only four rooms.

“Hey, Griselda,” I called out to the maid who was in the hallway with me. “Where is everyone gonna sleep?”

I checked the next two doors and found that unlike the first, these rooms held two coffin beds, one on each side. The final door led to a small compartment with a toilet in it.

“The first room is the single, so that is yours, My Lady,” the maid explained. “Master Ghaldor and Knight Commander Yorn will share a room. The apprentice and I will share the other.”

Oh. I felt kind of bad that I was the only one to get a single room. I guess being a Hero had its perks. But… wait. Did Griselda say that she and Ghaldor’s apprentice would share a room? Did that mean that the apprentice was a girl?

Huh.

I headed further into the car towards the back door leading into the final compartment. Yorn had gone in there a few minutes ago and I was curious as to what was back there. I opened the door and saw that the rear car served as a kitchen slash storage area. There was a small stove as well as several shelves and pantries. Pots and pans hung on the walls. Commander Yorn was opening each shelf and drawer, checking their contents with an appraising eye. I wonder what he was looking for?

The back door of the car was open, leading outside into the station. Porters were coming in and out, carrying what I recognized to be our luggage along with boxes of canned foods and other supplies for the trip. I saw Commander Yorn pick up one can from a box that was just loaded in.

“Beans?” The soldier asked after reading the label, utterly astonished at the canned food.

I decided to leave him to the mystery and made my way back to the fancy living room car. Griselda stayed behind as she began supervising the porters, having them separate my luggage from the others and ordering one of them to take the smaller bags into my room. Wow, she can be quite bossy when she wants to be.

I took a seat on one of the plush sofas and looked out of a nearby window. The station outside was abuzz with activity as the uniformed employees began their preparations for our departure. It was neat watching them run around and I tried to guess at what their jobs were. After about forty minutes of waiting, everything was set. The train’s head engineer came inside our car and introduced himself along with two well-dressed stewards. He explained how long the trip was expected to take along with our stops, information that Yorn had already briefed us on. After finishing, he wished for us to enjoy our trip before heading to the front of the locomotive towards the engine. Some minutes later I heard a loud whistle and the train was off.

---

Although the trip took two days, the time seemed much, much quicker. Part of that was probably my excitement. This was the first time I had ever ridden on a train; heck, it was my first time riding an actual mechanical vehicle! (The horse-drawn and magical carriages didn’t count.) A year ago I never would have expected to be doing this. A year ago I was barely even living.

It was quite enjoyable to watch the landscape pass by outside my window as the train chugged along on its rails. It was amazing to realize that I was seeing an entire country passing by my eyes. We journeyed through farmlands, forests, swamps, and even towns. It was all so cool!

We arrived at Altrech in mid-morning. I first caught sight of the city when our train was rounding the bend of a large hill. We were in a heavily wooded area but as soon as that bend ended, the trees had opened up. Through the branches, I spotted the wondrous sight of an absolutely massive city. We must have been several miles away yet I was easily able to see the pristine white buildings and bustling streets. The city’s borders seemed to stretch from horizon to horizon; it was definitely much larger than Morro or Vilgur. Its sheer size might even have rivaled some of the metropolises on Earth.

Despite the city being visible, it took our train an entire hour before we reached Altrech itself. As the train passed into the city, I saw why many people claimed that this was the capital of the world. We rushed by hundreds of shops, parks, residential areas, schools, and government buildings. In the streets, I saw thousands of people going through their day, a walking throng that moved along with countless horse-drawn carriages and even some automobiles. A thick, cloying aroma passed through my nose then, not enough to gag me thanks to my passive barrier, but definitely enough to be noticed. It wasn’t a foul smell, not really. But it was definitely distinct. At first, I didn’t know what it was, but then I realized. This must be what hundreds of thousands of people, animals, and machinery all bundled together must smell like.

This was the smell of a living, breathing city.

Vilgur didn’t smell like this. Because of the lack of indoor plumbing and sanitation, the capital of Duncan actually smelled pretty bad. Morro wasn’t like this either, but then again that city was pretty small; it wasn’t even half the size that Altrech was. The capital of the Alliance smelled so much different than any other place I had been in. It smelled busy and thriving and alive.

I was definitely buzzing with excitement when our train finally pulled to a stop. I looked out the window and saw that the station we had arrived in looked pretty much the same as the one we had departed from in Morro. There was a platform with busy employees running about as well as the tall, slatted ceiling above.

Knight Commander Yorn got out of his seat as soon as the train had stopped and made his way into the first car where the other knights were located. I moved up to follow him, thinking that we were getting off, but Griselda told me to wait a moment for Commander Yorn to make sure the way was safe. I really didn’t see the point since we were in the middle of the Alliance’s capital; what place could be safer? But I guess Yorn had a job to do so I should just be quiet and let him do it. He had to earn his paycheck, after all.

Huh, did they even pay with checks here?

We waited for about twenty minutes while Commander Yorn performed his duties. I saw him and the knights exit the train and surround it. The commander then began to look around the area with his lieutenant while the other knights stood around in their full armor “guarding” us. When he was satisfied that there wasn’t an enemy army hidden in the shadows somewhere, Yorn allowed us to step off the train.

Once my heels stepped upon the stone of the platform outside, I took a deep breath of Altrech air. The same smell that I had noticed from before was still there, mixed with the scent of burnt wood and steam from the locomotives in the station. I heard Griselda’s stern voice and saw her supervising the porters who had begun to offload our luggage. Ghaldor was standing on the platform in silence, his arms crossed, while his apprentice stood beside him silently as well.

“Are we waiting for something?” I asked out loud, wondering why we were just standing around. My question was quickly answered when I saw Commander Yorn headed in our direction followed by a man in a set of bright, white robes.

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“Lady Amelia, Master Ghaldor,” Yorn stated when he reached us. “May I present Master Summoner Larras from the Holy Office of Summonings.”

“A pleasure to meet you both,” said the man in the white robes. He was middle-aged with graying hair and a pencil-thin mustache. “As a member of the Holy Office of Summonings, please allow me to welcome you both to Altrech!”

Master Summoner Larras proved to be a nice and personable man. He made small talk as he escorted us through the station, making sure to give out random bits of information about the train station and its history. According to him, this was only one of five stations in the city. Each station served traffic for each of the member nations, with the station we were currently in serving the Scepter Republic.

Upon exiting the station, Summoner Larras took us to the transportation that would ferry us to the Tower of Convergence. I almost tripped over my feet when I saw what would be riding. When Commander Yorn told us about there being transportation to the Tower, I had been expecting a horse-drawn carriage. Instead, directly in front of us were a set of honest-to-God cars!

One of the cars was pretty fancy. It was painted white with gold trimmings. It had large, spoked wheels that kept the body high off the ground. The cab was divided into two sections, a front part with two seats for the driver and a passenger, and the back area with two sets of seats facing each other. There was no roof, leaving the riders completely exposed to the outside. Thankfully, it was bright and sunny out today.

The second car was much larger and could probably be called a truck. It looked much more rugged than the first car, having thicker wheels and a larger engine compartment. There was a small cab upfront for the driver and a passenger as well as a large cargo bed in the back. A clean white canvas tarp covered the cargo bed like a tent on a wagon. The entire thing was painted red with the words “ALLIANCE ARMY” stenciled on the side of each cab door.

Summoner Larras herded Ghaldor, his apprentice, and me into the back of the first car. Griselda hopped up in the front seat next to the driver, who was a young man dressed in the same white robes as Larras. I sat on one of the seats facing the front while Ghadlor took the seat next to me. The cushioned bench was a bit bouncy but comfortable. I looked behind us and saw that the knights were being led into the back of the truck. More than a few of them eyed the contraption wearily, but they followed their orders and entered the vehicle. Yorn rode up in front with the driver.

Once everyone was situated, Summoner Larras signaled the driver to depart. The young man began pulling a series of levers. The car’s engine rumbled to life and soon we were off, pulling away from the station and entering street traffic. We passed by a couple of carriages before trundling quickly down the cobbled road. The wind was blowing at my hair and the sun was shining down my face. Despite my pale skin, I knew I didn’t have to worry about sunburn thanks to my passive barrier. So I just enjoyed the ride.

“The other Heroes are very excited to meet with you!” Summoner Larras all but shouted in order to be heard over the loud roar of the car’s engine.

“Really?” I asked, somewhat surprised but pleased to hear it. After meeting with Andre, I wasn’t too sure how the others would react to me. I was happy to hear that they were just as excited to meet me as I was to meet them. “I’m very eager to see them, too!”

“I’m sure you’ll get along famously!” said the summoner with a smile.

To my utter disappointment, the Tower of Convergence was not a gigantic wizard tower full of magical mysteries. Instead, it was just a large facility in the center of the city. Its buildings looked just like any government edifice: square and ordinary, so utterly boring with nothing magical whatsoever. Summoner Larras told me later that there once used to be a true tower here, but around four hundred years ago it collapsed during a fire. The authorities at the time thought it would be much more efficient (and cheap) to build a series of buildings instead of a giant tower, so that’s what they did.

Lame.

Larras escorted my entourage through the main entrance of the central building. Thankfully, the interior of the structure was much more impressive than its outer appearance would have you believe. The walls and floor were pure white marble while the ceilings had masterful scenes painted upon them. Larras said that each work depicted the feats of a famous Hero, and I was in awe. One picture had a muscly man with a beard (I guessed that he was the Hero) fighting a black, shadowy figure that I later learned was a Dark Lord of the Unholy.

Ghaldor and I were soon separated from the rest of the group when it came time to meet with the High Summoner. The others were told to wait at a side area with couches while Larras took us to a room that held what looked like a large bronze cage. The summoner led the two of us inside the cage before pulling the door closed.

“Mind your hands and feet,” he said before yanking down a nearby lever. Suddenly, there was a jolt and the entire thing began to move upwards.

It was an elevator!

The ascent to the tenth floor took a few minutes as the elevator slowly creaked upwards. Once the contraption stilled, Summoner Larras pulled open the door and stepped outside. Ghaldor and I followed. Larras led us down a short corridor to a large set of double doors. He knocked upon the wood loudly.

“Enter!” called out a voice from within.

The room inside looked to be a study. Much of the walls were covered in shelves filled to the brim with books. The marble floor was covered with numerous richly woven rugs, and the ceiling had more paintings depicting the epic acts of past Heroes. The far wall opened up to a balcony overlooking the scenery outside. Bright sunlight filled the room, making it look twice as big as it actually was.

Seated behind a large wooden desk was an old man with long white hair and a short beard. He was dressed in robes similar to what Larras was wearing, only his had red trim running along his collar and sleeves. The man’s eyes were focused and sharp, also shockingly green, a shade that made it look like his eyes were glowing underneath his steady stare.

“Sir, I present to you the Hero Amelia and Master Ghaldor, Chief of Magic for the Kingdom of Duncan,” said Summoner Larras as he entered the room. He then turned to us and waved a hand towards the man. “And may I present to you, his excellency, High Summoner Rintell.”

The old man rose from his desk with a wide, welcoming smile on his face. He raised his hands up to his chest in some sort of greeting and bowed. “Ah, it is such a pleasure to meet you, dear Amelia. And it has been a long time, Ghaldor. It is so good to see you in fine health.”

Ghaldor snorted, holding a tight sneer on his face. “I’m sure it is. Still have the silvered tongue of a snake, I see.”

Larras’ eyes widened in shock, as did mine. Uh, weren’t we supposed to be polite?

I saw the High Summoner’s face twitch a little before he smiled again, turning his full attention to me.

“Lady Amelia, I hope your trip was an enjoyable one,” he said.

Okay, I guess we’re all just going to ignore what Ghaldor had said. Fine by me.

“It was pretty fun,” I told him.

“Excellent. I am very happy to hear that-”

“So, how is the council?” Ghaldor cut Rintell off. “Are you still doing their dirty work? Still wiping their asses after each and every bowel movement, hmm?”

A long, awkward silence descended upon the room. Summoner Larras looked like he was about to faint while High Summoner Rintell seemed as if he had just swallowed something vile. I was simply wide-eyed and confused. Why was this happening?

Ghaldor, meanwhile, smiled like a vulture.

“I’m guessing that you two know each other?” I asked.

Rintell opened his mouth to say something but Ghaldor beat him to it.

“Oh, we’re old friends,” Ghaldor said, though his tone was heavy with sarcasm. “Until he lied, cheated, and stabbed me in the back!”

Oh, wow. Ghaldor really didn’t like this guy. Actually, this was much more than simple dislike. It was outright hatred. But, if everything Ghaldor had said was true, then this High Summoner guy wasn’t a good person. He was a liar, a cheat, and a backstabber. I guess I should show some solidarity with my summoner here. I’ll hate him, too!

I crossed my arms and gave Rintell a dark glare.

The High Summoner sighed, rubbing at his eyes in frustration. He finally looked away and addressed Larras. “Master Summoner. I believe it might be time for Lady Amelia to meet the other Heroes.”

My expression brightened at his words. Finally!

I looked over to Ghaldor, to see if he might still need me with him. We could both frown at Rintell together! But he merely gave me a nod, his hand giving me a shoo-ing motion, telling me to go and meet the Heroes.

I smiled in thanks and rushed after Larras, who had begun to exit the office in a daze. As the door closed, I heard the two begin speaking, though what their topic was about I could not tell you. Probably old man wizard talk.

Larras and I took the elevator down and soon we were back on the ground floor. The summoner led me outside where we entered a large courtyard. There was a plaza at the center of the yard where an ornate fountain lay, and it was here that Larras took me. A crowd was currently gathered around the fountain, most of them dressed in the usual frock coats and hats that were all the rage in Alliance fashion.

Except for the four people directly at the center of the scene, standing next to the fountain. They were different, and not just in clothing. They stood out. In both fashion and how they held themselves. Unlike the rest of the people here, these four stood proud and tall, their gazes firm, their stances wide. Their confidence was undeniable. They belonged here. They had no fear. They were untouchable.

These were the Heroes. And now, I was one of them.

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