Book 3, Chapter 7 - Noble Madam (1/2)

Autumn Draper left, as calm as though she was leaving the local farmer’s market.

She was a young girl of seventeen. By the looks of her, Autumn had yet to even begin really experiencing life. But what normal person would walk around with a bundle of eboncrys to go shopping? That would be conspicuous in Skycloud city, to say nothing of the lawless and unstable borderlands.

There were only two sorts of people who were so brazen. The first had something cracked in their brain, and those folks deserved whatever came to them. The second were strong enough to fear nothing, like prowling lions who did not fear the prey.

Was Autumn the latter? No!

From the moment she walked in to the instant she left, Cloudhawk hadn’t sensed the vibration of relics around her. A demonhunter without relics was like a tiger without claws, and was more likely to hurt themselves than anyone else. It was hard to say whether she was a demonhunter or not, but if she was a demonhunter without relics she wasn’t a threat.

What if her innate capabilities lay in her physical strength? She could be like Instructor Cutter from Hell’s Valley, relying on pure force and physical ability. That didn’t seem likely, either. On the one hand, she was too young to have any credible training. On the other, skills like that were honed only from living in extreme harsh conditions.

Based on her posture, rate of breathing, and attitude, she was maybe only slightly more capable than an average citizen. Definitely nothing special. He didn’t sense any danger from her or any threatening aura. Based on what he saw, Autumn was as deadly as a cage-raised canary. An over-inflated porcelain doll.

But that just made him even more suspicious. She had no coin, but the parcel of stones she readily showed them was staggeringly valuable. Where did she get it? It seemed Autumn Draper was a name he would have to study.

Between the wastelands and the Skycloud domain, names were markedly different.

Most wastelanders didn’t have a family name. Hell, many didn’t have families. They got by with nicknames or designations. Common names were things like Boulder, Grit, or Cloud. Or animal names like Lupus, Tigra or Leopard. Things you saw often in the wastes. Cloudhawk, Mantis, and Wolfblade were textbook examples. Next down the list were ancient names picked out of antiquity, like Roste. Pathfinders spent their days combing through old ruins and excavating the past, so they picked names that brought them closer to that long-dead culture.

Now the elysians, they were a people divided into families and clans. Whether from noble stock or common lineage, everyone had a family history. Given names were chosen by how flowery and dignified they sounded; Selene and Arcturus Cloude, Frost de Winter, Raithe Umbra, Claudia Lunae and so forth.

Autumn Draper was definitely not a wastelander name, but it didn’t seem very elysian either. Wandering around with the equivalent of ten thousand gold coins in a little sack… back in Skycloud, you would have to have come from a family everyone knew. Before coming back to the borderlands, Cloudhawk had gathered as much intelligence as he could about who the big players were. There was definitely no family that would fit the way Autumn was acting.

But the most confusing thing of all? What did she need with five hundred sets of weapons and armor? Was she actually looking to outfit a small army?

A few of the patrons had watched the whole exchange, and the look in their eyes were less than wholesome. While she and the others were distracted, they slipped out and followed her. Gabriel noticed this. “It seems your girl has garnered some attention. Do you want to do something about it?”

But Cloudhawk shook his head. “It’s fine.”

He was always a curious sort, so it was uncharacteristic for Cloudhawk not to be interested in the result. Since his boss seemed uninterested, Gabriel made no further motions to get involved.

***

The Sandbar was head and shoulders above the condition of most other wasteland outposts. However, it was still a rough and foul place for someone like Autumn, who was used to living in the lap of luxury. After wandering for some time she chanced upon a hotel that seemed passable. It happened to be the nicest lodgings in the Sandbar, run by a middle-aged man of some affluence. He was known for his friendliness and hospitality.

“Hello miss, are you looking for a place to stay? We offer three packages. The cheapest is fifty copper a night, then eighty, and finally two silver. Which would you like?”

Autumn plucked the smallest cube of eboncrys from its sack and placed it on the counter between them. It was worth ten gold, easy. “Is this sufficient?”

“This… this is eboncrys?” The friendly smile he wore like a mask froze and he snatched it up. He fumbled with a pair of dirty glasses and slipped them on so he could take a closer look. In truth, he’d never seen this treasure, but he knew of it. Elysian coin and other trade goods often passed through the borderlands. “Very pure,” he said excitedly. “Such high purity.”

Autumn pressed him. “I’d like a room, please.”

“Yes, yes. Of course!” The hotel owner clutched tight to the tiny cube, worth enough to rent out half his establishment. His customary smile returned wider than ever, eyes bright. “Stay as long as you’d like!”

He brought her to the innermost room on the third floor. It was forty or fifty square meters in size and had its own showers. It was the best of the lot, and clean at least. Autumn looked over the lodgings with a nod of satisfaction, then closed and locked the door. Once alone, she removed her veil and revealed a beautiful face.

If there was one word to describe her, it was ‘ethereal.’

She was flawless. There wasn’t a single blemish on her. Autumn allowed her hair to tumble free down her shoulders, which revealed a pair of pale white ears that were unique from others. They were longer, perhaps some sort of mutation, but they did not detract in the least from her enchanting looks. If anything, the peculiarity made her even more attractive.

Water spat from the shower head, and she washed off the dust that had accumulated from the last few trying days.

Moments after putting her clothes back on, a knock came from the door. The voice of the hotel owner called to her. “Noble madam, I’ve taken the liberty of preparing our finest supper for you.”

Autumn pulled the door open without a second thought. On the other side was the owner, standing behind a simple serving trolley. She offered a gentle thanks and pulled the cart inside. Mutant animal meat, primarily. This wasn’t her home town, so she couldn’t have expected much in the way of wild fruits or vegetables.