132 Infiltration (1/2)
The carriage came upon Chevrette's home without an issue. The driver tipped his hat with a deep bow, and Meld smiled.
”Thank you for your service, good driver. Go home knowing that you have furthered justice today.” Meld hopped down from the cart. She landed on a smoothly paved stone path was so immaculately clean it shone white like a diamond under the sun.
Li and Triple Threat also got down, with Azhar coming last as he ushered the beastwomen forwards. They, huddled under their cloaks, were evidently wary, but by now, had become somewhat used to the whole situation, carrying themselves with more confidence.
”Your steps are very light,” said Sylvie as she came up to Meld. Side by side, Li noted the two women were similar in height, being quite short and similar in build with a sleek slenderness that spoke of agility. ”Lighter than even mine, and I am an Assassin by trade.”
”In a way, I too could be called an Assassin,” said Meld. ”But unfortunately, my kind do not mesh well with magic. A shame, really, as I have always wondered what it was like to be a normal human, though I cannot say he would agree.”
Meld pointed forwards, towards Chevrette's estate. The estate oozed with gaudy wealth. Gold plated roof tiles, marble inlaid with golden patterns, golden statues of lions, gold everywhere. The garden and lawn circling the property even had a golden theme, with rows of golden flowers swaying in the wind, flashing like little twinkles of sunlight.
In front of the mansion door, however, was Thunderstrike, his arms crossed and a stern expression wreathed on his scarred face. The knights of Lys, recognizable by their dove banners, crowded around him.
”You're late,” barked out Thunderstrike. ”I have been waiting here for twenty minutes when I could have shifted the entire lot of you with these knights.”
Meld shrugged as she came forwards. Li followed, nodding back to Triple Threat to get them to follow his lead.
”Shifting?” inquired Li.
”Thunderstrike not only holds the might of thunder within his hands, but he can also move like it. If he wishes so, he may even take others with him in a flash of light. Quite a marvelous power,” said Meld.
Li narrowed his eyes. Thunderstrike could teleport as well and take others with him. Though, judging by how shaky the knights of Lys were, it appeared that it did not bode well for the health of normal people.
”I trust that you haven't wasted the time?” said Li. He stepped up to Thunderstrike, and the man looked at him with a neutral expression. ”Have you arrested Chevrette? Circled the house? Gone through inside for evidence?”
”I do not have the authority to impose arrests, so I have been waiting for Meld,” said Thunderstrike.
”Thunderstrike is, how shall I put it, more of a frontlines person?” explained Meld. ”His work is done outside the boundaries of the duchy, against foreign enemies. Whereas I am the only one among the Rays that specializes in civil cases.”
Sylvie perked her head up, her curious eyes analyzing Thunderstrike, surely taking note of the fact that the man, built like a flying brick, probably did suit the battlefield far more than sneaking around a city.
”Curious why he is here then,” said Sylvie. ”The enemies of the duchy are many such that it is strange to have a powerful hero such as him for a case about Riviera of all places.”
”The slave trade is a serious matter deserving of our attention,” said Meld. ”Particularly when there is forbidden magic behind it. Heresy must be purged with as much force as possible.”
”Then let's get on with this,” said Li. ”Chevrette might have escaped already with how much time sparky over here has wasted.”
Thunderstrike scoffed. ”Knights circle every inch of this perimeter, and my honed senses and lightning speed would never allow a mere man to escape me.”
”The knights you got sick with your fancy teleportation?” Li motioned to the shaky knights. It was like they were seasick, some of them clutching at their stomachs, ready to vomit. ”And you never thought about underground escapeways? Magical teleportation, too?”
”Preposterous,” said Thunderstrike. ”There exists no magic that can allow for such a feat.”
”You're awfully confident about that,” said Li as he realized that the people of this world were not familiar with any teleportation spell because even the weakest one was of a rank too high for them to see.
Meld raised her hands up to diffuse the tension. ”We are on a case, Thunderstrike, and the easterner is a valuable ally.”
Thunderstrike stepped aside, leaving the path to the gold patterned door clear. ”So be it then. Initiate the arrest.”
Meld knocked the door loudly, a surprising amount of strength locked away in her tiny body as her closed fist left dents in the solid wood. She used her free hand to reach into her cloak and withdrew a golden, triangular piece of metal inscribed with an intricate pattern of a sun – the duchess's seal.
A few seconds later, the door opened inwards, revealing something Li had never seen before.
Li could tell it was a robot, but it was nothing that had ever been in Elden World. It was not a golem that belonged in the pages of high fantasy, but instead a contraption that would have fit in with a steampunk setting.
The robot was about as tall as a man and built like a crude human. Its spindly limbs were made of bronze and copper, and as they moved to keep the door in place, they creaked with the groan of metal. Its torso was a rotating sphere of metal. Pipes ran from it, attaching at various points of its body and venting steam.
It had a dozen arms, and all of them, segmented like that of a spider's, was busy with some task, some holding papers, others holding cups, clothes, and other miscellaneous household items.
”Bring me your master, golem,” said Meld.
The robot's head, a round ball of bronze attached to a neck of pipes and wires, nodded. Its face consisted of a screen that flashed with a pixelated emoticon of a smiling face.
”An Elvish golem,” remarked Sylvie as she saw the robot turn and withdraw into the house, perfectly balancing the many items it held on its arms. ”I have seen their sturdier mining kinds in Montagne, but still, it is a marvel to see another.”
”I wonder what magic they use, or whether they call upon some foreign god,” said Jeanne.
”Whatever it is, it ain't sittin' well with us,” said Azhar as he let the beastwomen stand behind him, cowed by the contraption.
”Whatever it is, it is foul and unnatural,” said Thunderstrike with disdain.
The irony that a hero whose powers did not belong on this world was calling the robot unnatural was not lost on Li, but he did not comment on it. Instead, perhaps because it was the first time he truly saw one of these Elven machines instead of just hearing about them, he began to understand that the world was much bigger than he had conceptualized, focused on the farm as he had been.
It did not take a minute before Chevrette came to the door, assisted by what appeared to be his daughter.
Li was a little taken aback. Dressed as he was in fine white suit, his wealth did not conceal his frailty. A man nearing sixty with a slightly hunched back and countless wrinkles on his face. An eyepatch covered one of his eyes but did not fully conceal scarring from burning that poked out through the fabric. Despite that, his smile was unharmed, being bright, wide and confident, belying his age.
”By the Light!” said Chevrette. His voice had a youthful timbre to it that made it obvious he was used to public speaking and shouting. ”Members of the Ascendant Order at my doorstep? And Riviera's finest adventurers, too? The great knights of Lys, also? What is it? Another demon invasion?”
Chevrette straightened his posture and held out a golden cane. He supported his weight on his daughter's arms.
”It's been a while, but I've still fight left in me. The dark beasts can taste my cane. Perhaps I'll get some revenge for my eye, heh.”