The Way Ahead

“Lady Tara! Welcome! What brings you to my office today?”

“Rizzali. Good to see you.” The Enforcer greeted the gnome- Edwin updated his tag, which was apparently misspelled- and turned back to him, “I thought you’d be dead for sure.”

Edwin shrugged awkwardly, “Ummm… surprise, I guess? Why would I be dead?”

“You dropped off the map for some three months after leaving Lefi without a trace. The only explanation for that incredibly stupid move would be that you got yourself killed somewhere. Which would be an absolute waste, but…” she sighed, “I am pleased to see that you survived. Come, tell me of your endeavors.”

“Umm… I’m in the middle of my debrief with Rizzali? And I kind of wanted to ask a few questions?” Edwin hazarded.

“Not a worry! The lady’s time is far more valuable than mine. If you desire my advice, I shall be here when you return!”

“Come along now. We must speak in an area more private, regarding your more sensitive matters.” Tara motioned for Edwin to come along as she entered the stairwell and started climbing.

“Wait, actually? Why?” Edwin hastened to catch up with Tara, “What does it matter to you?”

“Because my superiors,” she hesitated on the last word, seemingly conflicted about something, “have deemed that I be assigned to you as a liaison. You have been deemed interesting enough to be kept up with, and I, with my preexisting relationship with you and geographical proximity, was assigned to the task.”

Edwin frowned, “Why am I so interesting? I thought you weren’t going to tell them I’m a-” he cut himself off as they passed an open archway, “My condition.”

“I did not. However, it is my duty to report low-threat persons of interest to my superior, and you most certainly qualify. That I was unable to explain to them why I considered you such a person of interest merely heightened their certainty.” she sighed, “It is objectively good for you. You have been officially designated as an Ally of the Empire- which I assure you is not a simple matter, nor so easy for most individuals- and are granted access to additional services in exchange for task-based taxes.”

Edwin frowned, “Don’t I get a say in this?”

Tara didn’t answer as they reached the floor she was leading him to. They ventured down a short hallway lined with doors far too close together for most purposes until Tara picked one seemingly at random. It opened up to a comfortable, if sparse, room with a few chairs and a table in the center. It was, naturally, far larger than it should have been due to the distance to the doors on either side of it, but that was hardly a surprise by now. They ventured inside, and Tara closed and locked the door behind them.

“There. This is as much privacy as it is possible to find within the garrison.”

“Nobody’s listening in?” Edwin was hesitant, and Tara picked up on it.

She sighed, “To the best of my knowledge, there are no spies, eavesdroppers, or other parties capable of listening in on the discussion we are to have, save the Emperor himself. Nor am I aware of any efforts to circumvent the privacy Skill upon this room. This I swear on the Honor of the Empire.”

A notification popped up.

Silver Blade Tara Lisana has sworn an Oath of Privacy and Secrecy

Silver Blade Tara Lisana has broken: 0 Oaths

Edwin waved it away, “You didn’t say there’s nobody listening in. Just that only the Emperor could manage it.”

Tara grimaced, “Yes, well. I never know if he is going to listen in. This being very decidedly his land, he is fully capable of listening in if he so desires. I don’t think he’s trying to do so today, but rest assured that he almost certainly is already aware of your status. He is quite able to listen to all within his domain if he desires.”

Edwin raised an eyebrow, then sighed. The Empire had… honestly been pretty good to him thus far. From the sounds of it, they wanted to use him, but he’d take being useful over nothing, he supposed.

“Alright, fine. I guess.” Edwin sank back into his chair. It felt so nice, “What’s the ‘service tax’ thing, though? I’m not going to be enslaved again, you can count on that.”

Tara shook her head, “No, nothing of the sort. It just means that if I’m in the area on a mission and deem it useful, I can recruit you to aid me.” Edwin eyed her warily, and she clarified, “I am already within my rights to recruit... Adventurers freely for short-term tasks, and citizens with appropriate compensation. The service tax merely requires you to do so willingly and not attempt to flee your duties if given the chance. Worry not, I rarely exercise this right with your kind. Adventurers are so unreliable it’s usually better to do it all myself.”

“I guess that’s not too bad,” Edwin conceded, “It would have been nice to be consulted first, though.”

Tara looked confused, “Why? It was objectively the correct decision, why would you care if you had the opportunity to refuse prior?”

“Just… I value having a choice, I guess? Like, even if I already know what I’d pick, the option to do otherwise is valuable.”

Tara waved him off, “Nonsense. To do so is to merely grant the chance to worsen your life. You are free to make many choices, but we will not allow persons to waste their life. That is the core belief of the Empire, that all are valuable and may be useful.”

“But like… you can’t know everything about me. What if there was some reason you thought incorrectly about what I would want?”

“Such is impossible. We have teams of individuals working to determine what is best for every citizen and where they would be the most content and useful. Maximizing productivity and satisfaction is our primary directive.”

It still didn’t sit right with Edwin, but he let the matter drop for the time being. It wasn’t worth pushing, not at the moment. He had an inkling that was probably the philosophy behind their Skill control, which he did have mixed feelings about. It seemed effective, if nothing else. They also had the benefit of being able to regularly evolve their Skills, which he was jealous of.

But still, people ought to have a choice! It only made sense. Actually, no, he wasn’t about to let this drop. He would fight Tara over this if he had to.

“Edwin? You went quite quiet there. Are you thinking about something?”

“...No.”

“You’re lying, but no matter. Tell me of what you’ve done.”

“Well, Lefi was getting sick of me-”

Tara scoffed, “I have never seen that man act even remotely annoyed with a single person. Ever.”

“Yeah, I know the type. It just means they’re better at hiding it from what I’ve found. Nobody likes everyone.”

“Hmmm. Well, very well. Carry on.”

“Lefi was getting sick of me, and I dislike… causing a problem for people? Being a bother? Regardless, I don’t like being around people who don’t want me around. So, I left him with a note and snuck off one night to keep him from having to put up with me.”

“He was mandated to aid you for quite some time. Regardless of his personal thoughts on you, he was still to treat you with respect and patience, and aid you while you found your feet. What does it matter his personal thoughts? He was a valuable asset.”

Edwin shrugged, “I guess that’s where we disagree. I figured I could make it fine on my own, so I made that choice.”

“This is why individual choices don’t work,” Tara muttered, “People like you make utterly absurd mistakes due to the flimsiest of reasons.”

“Yeah, but the important thing is that it was my mistake to make, so…”

Tara made some vaguely exasperated noise, and Edwin pushed on.

“Anyway, after leaving Lefi, I found myself attacked by some bandits.” he ignored Tara’s pointed muttering and pressed onward, “Who I successfully fought off. I then decided to follow the one that ran off to see if I could track them down to their base, possibly eliminating them as a threat for further travelers.”

Tara nodded approvingly, “I take it went well?”

“Ehhh…. Well enough? I found the place, a big abandoned tower in the middle of nowhere. Broke in, ended up befriending the alchemist inside- I guess he saw my class and figured I’d be interested in learning from him. I was, admittedly, at least until I found out he was regularly kidnapping and murdering random passersby for alchemical ingredients.”

Tara frowned, “Why did I not hear of this?” she muttered, “I should have heard of this if it were regular.”

Edwin shrugged, “Maybe they were smart about who they grabbed? In any case, I managed to take them out and tied up the survivors, delivered them to the closest town for judgement, and ducked out.” he paused, “I did snag a few alchemical ingredients- nothing from humans, just herbs!- and a book on alchemy, so I count it as a win. I burned the tower down after I was done with it, trying to get rid of any hauntings that might be around.” he paused, “Are ghosts a thing here?”

“Ghosts?” Tara nodded, “Obscenely difficult to be rid of without a priest, they certainly exist, yes. Impossible to predict when they might manifest, though. Good job dealing with the bandits, though next time, just execute them yourself and be done with it. Delivering them for execution is adequate, but runs the risk of them escaping and causing further mayhem.”

Edwin frowned, “I dislike the idea of deciding life and death, though. It shouldn’t be my call.”

“They wasted their life, they had no value, and were harming others. The decision is barely one.”

“Maybe,” Edwin hesitated, “but it’s still not my preference.”

Tara clearly disapproved, but didn’t try to persuade him otherwise, which was nice. She indicated for Edwin to carry on, which he obliged.

“Anyway, I came back this way to try and shake off anyone who might be on my trail.”

“You certainly managed that. Even Lefi hadn’t the faintest clue where you might have gone.” Tara tapped her chin, “Though he may have been lying. He sent a letter, I haven’t seen the man since he left with you. It’s been… blessedly quiet, though that just means it will be even worse when he finally does show up again.”

“I picked up a few supplies in the outer-city markets.”

“Outside the walls?” He nodded, and Tara shook her head, “You were most likely severely overcharged. There’s less oversight out there.”

Edwin shrugged, “I wanted to be seen by as few people as possible. You would have sensed me entering the city, wouldn’t’ve you?”

“What makes you say that?”

“You sensed me this time, didn’t you? You showed up exactly where I was less than an hour after I crossed the gates. And Rizzali’s reaction tells me you don’t usually go to his office. So, you had to have gone there for me.”

“...Very astute. Yes, I suppose there’s no harm in saying that much. I do indeed have a Skill- an upgrade of Watchman’s Intuition, as it so happens- that broadens the scope of what I am capable of sensing. Persons of interest entering the city is one of them. So, yes. I suppose if that was your goal, you were right to not venture in, previously.” she thought for a moment, and Edwin waited for her to continue. When she didn’t he carried on.

“Anyway, from there I went to the Verdant.” that got an eyebrow raised, “And found a place to settle down.” It kept climbing, “I ended up building a home out there, working on growing some crops, training up my Skills to help.”

“You’re living in the Verdant?” Tara asked incredulously, “And here I thought I already had examples from you as to why people shouldn’t be allowed to make such egregious mistakes.”

“Hey! It’s not that bad. It’s pretty simple, I don’t have to worry about other people if I accidentally blow something up. I even met a friendly face. I think that it’s not a mistake for me, at least. Lots of magic in there, lots of magical plants, lots of ways for me to level my Alchemy.”

“You met another person living in the Verdant?”

“Basically, I guess? I ran into Inion, who helped me get my home established and nursed me back to health after a run-in with a panther.”

“I see. And where is she now?”

“Outside the city. I was going to bring her in, but the guard at the gate refused her entry on the grounds of her not being a Citizen. Then he stabbed her. She’s fine, for what it’s worth. But yeah. Granted, she did somewhat bring it on herself, but the guy didn’t need to be so rude about it.”

Tara sighed, “It is the prerogative of the guard to deny entrance to any non-citizens they deem worthy of such, but they should allow an accompanied Outlaw admittance under the escort of a citizen- or adventurer. I endeavor to encourage them to be polite, yet it is not their responsibility nor mine to do so.”

Edwin had been marginally hoping the avior might have gotten a talking-to from Tara, and was correspondingly disappointed to find out they wouldn’t... but that was a minor matter, “Well… yeah. I came back because I want to get stuff like flour or oil. Also a new shirt, because…” he glanced down. Cloak or not, it wasn’t hard to tell he didn’t have a shirt on, “My old one didn’t survive the panther attack I mentioned. Plus,” he patted his backpack on the floor next to his chair, “I have a bunch of talsanenris berries that I was interested in selling. My home is a great climate for them, and I have literally thousands of them.”

“Talsanenris berries?”

“Don’t you know them?” Edwin asked, mildly confused, “They’re super useful.”

He flipped open his backpack and withdrew a handful of the white berries, “I’ve used them in healing potions, they’re a great energy booster, and they seem like they could make supernaturally good fertilizer if processed and used properly.”

Tara assessed his handful, “Ah, yes. I think I’ve seen these before. Common in higher-quality rations. You have thousands, you said?” Edwin nodded, “Good. I think we can come to some sort of arrangement, then. Once we’re done here, I will introduce you to Fanir. He’s the Goldclaw- ah, treasurer? Treasurer. He’ll be able to connect you to our cooks and medics, who might know more how to deal with your berries and their value. In the meantime...” Tara stretched out a hand and grabbed the air, pinching it between her fingers. A moment later, a shimmering silver shirt wove itself into being, and she tossed it to Edwin.

He caught it and assessed the garment. It didn’t light up to his mana sense, not that he anticipated that it would. Surprisingly, Identify worked on it.

Armor conjured by a skill of some sort, can be used for magical wall formation too

“This was made by that Skill you use for your armor?”

“Indeed.” Tara frowned, “How could you tell?”

“My Almanac skill- the Status evolution- lets me leave notes on Skills. It recognizes this as the same as your armor.”

“Curious. Regardless, it should last until nightfall at minimum. Was there anything else you require my assistance with?”

“Well, I suppose I do have a few questions about what this ‘Ally’ thing entails….”