“Welcome to the Ilstin border, how can I help you?”

  On the way to Rendlar, Null and Snow were relaxing in their Carriage. This time they not only brought their own Transportation but also real Horses. At first Snow wanted to bring Oros again, but hearing how people would be scared of him they bought some in Malek before entering Illstin. Not only was Snow sad, Oros hung both of his heads down and got back to guard duty under the Jail.

  Seeing those two being that sad, Null made a promise to bring both of them to play later, but right now they had to wait. Thinking about how to make it reasonable to take Oros out, Null was traveling into the direction of Mammon. The destination was not Mammon directly right now but a Satellite City near it, which Rendlar had told Null about. Not only is Rendlar living there for the time, it also has Warehouses to lend and sell for redistribution.

  The Humor of Rendlar being delegated into a City being mainly used as Storage Facility for random goods was not lost on him, but he took it with stride, as his Money still flowed and with Null’s transaction will be even higher in a few weeks. Different contracts were already made and Orion Pharmaceuticals have the biggest share.

  “We are in close proximity to Cargos. They seem to name their cities rather bluntly, Lord Null.”

  The Coachman, an overweight elderly man who was Doppel in disguise, told through the small window to the people inside.

  “Get the documents ready, we are only here shortly, before going back. Doppel, I have a long term Mission for you and all the Grey working hard in training.”

  “Yes, Father- I mean Lord Null.”

  To hear an old gruff looking man call Null father was a rather strange dissonance, but could hold the strange feeling down until it was gone again.

  After the City entrance Doppel called over an urchin to bring them to Rendlar’s House. This Orphan was rather well behaved and obviously not a Gang Member, but still Null and Snow were ready to make some people vanish, if they had thoughts about their transport.

  Without a hitch, which was somewhat stranger than if there were an ambush, Null arrived at Rendlar unobstructed.

  “Welcome Lord Null. It seems you have brought something?”

  “Well yes, but no. This is more the method of transport than something to sell. Where is the Warehouse?”

  “While I wanted to lease a Storage further away, suddenly the Storage one street down was being vacated and now I have this for us to use.”

  “Seems like Ilstin is rather welcoming?”

  “As long as there is a profit to be made, they would bring out their most accommodating demeanour. We are talking about not only Vegetables, we are talking about the possibility to increase the powers of all the Mage- I mean Mentalists in this Country.”

  “Still not back from Telk, I see?”

  “I somewhat miss my old position, I could see some strange Items and even hilariously bad imitations. You never knew what you got in front of you the next Minute, but here… I am just stationed without a reason, because someone at the Peddler King wanted to take over the Market with you. How Ironic you being here and making a new Contract with me.”

  “True, but like I said, I trust you more than the others, because you are honest to a fault.”

  “Many Merchants do not understand how Honesty is more valuable than their silly saying of it being a tool. If you invest in trust and never take it out you can live on the interest lavishly. Why not let all honest people smile?”

  “That is so you, Rendlar. Maybe that is the reason I like you so much. An honest Merchant is not only rare but refreshing. Now let us go to the Storage.”

  —

  “And what in the Abyss is this contraption you built here?”

  Rendlar was surprised by the strange apparatus Null and companions put together. It looked like a strange metallic Gazebo with two rings. The inner Ring seems to be able to move around the platform with some kind of mechanism but what it does he could not even start to understand.

  “To explain it is a transfer hub. It might not explain much, so let me show you what it can do after a few adjustments.”

  Looking at the bolts and how everything is at the right place, Null injected Mana and special Miasma into the small Chamber below the Platform. With a hum the black slate in front of the stairs up to the platform started to glow slightly.

  “Finished! Now let me explain. This transfer hub is one of two, which connects to another place. If you put your Hand on this plate the Machine starts up and…!”

  Putting his hand on the glowing black slate the Machine started to move. A black film emanates from the inner ring while slowly turning. The black film stuck on space like ink on paper and engulfed the whole platform in a sphere of darkness before suddenly popping with a flash of light. Inside of the Platform were now multiple tons of Products, which Rendlar already knew. Rice, Radishes, Meat, Eggs and Barrels of Water were there where nothing was before.

  “How did you…”

  “Teleportation, or rather a similar kind of displacement. I can send you Items without trouble with that. You can just put the Money inside and start the Machine up and send it to me. Include a List of things you need and the Workers will put them on. I trust you will not shortchange me, right?”

  “This is incredible! You could transport not only Products but People-”

  “Let me disappoint you, this thing can not send consciousness beings. If something with a kind of sense is inside that thing the Bubble just pops and nothing happens. Items on the other hand have no problems, don’t ask me the reason, it seems to have something to do with the Soul.”

  Null did not explain to him that the possibility of transport is given, if the being with consciousness was at least once in the active position of the Transfer hub. Without any other kind of working version no one would even find out about that.

  “But could you not try to-”

  “We are talking about Teleportation through a Machine. Teleportation Magic has limits and those Mentalists always say how dangerous forced Teleportation is, right?”

  “Um, there are tellings, are those true?”

  “Mages vanishing forever? Mentalists getting catatonic on the other side? People forgetting their internal organs on the other side? Yeah, those actions make Space bending magic one of the most complicated Schools, just because there are so many precautions put into them to not forget needed body parts or coming back with an intact mind.”

  “So no human transport possibility. I understand. But there will be people looking into this Artifact, are you sure you want it to stay here?”

  “They will not understand it at all.”

  Null remembered the Robot he disassembled. The Copy protection on the Magical Runesource was breaking his Mind, but at least he got the knack of making it impossible for others to read his own runes now. The Copy protection on this Transporter was so complicated not because of necessity but out of spite, as Null wants others to suffer as much as him when he had to decipher the Robot he gave every time he worked on more colourful names which might make even Devils blush.

  “Right now I can bring out ten tons every two weeks, without prob-”

  “Ten Tons?!”

  “Yes, this is the Limit. Nothing can be done as I do not have enough Workers otherwise.”

  “No, nonono! That is more than enough! How are your Fields holding such strain?”

  “The Mana had increased, but do not tell anyone. I had lied to most of the World. I have told them I sealed away some evil, which held the Mana back, if they know it really originates from my Land they will try again to invade and it is a bit too annoying to bury all their corpses.”

  Rendlar remembered the Willard Incident and took a second to get over the shock.

  “Lord Null, you have somewhat changed.”

  “You can call me just Null. We have been friends for a rather long time. I will be gone in 10 to 20 years, as my goals are finished. Until then you should try to make a name of yourself to live an easy life.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “...far away. Very far away, where no one can go except me.”

  “And the Crater? What happens to them?”

  “I will see it guarded, but the Produce will stop afterwards.”

  “I see. If it is already set in stone I will keep the Information secret. Better not to make people think it will be easy to invade that place, as you seem to like it as it is.”

  “Thank you Rendlar, that is why I can be at ease with you, you are so honest. By the way, do you want to come with me?”

  “Me? I am sorry, no. If you go so far away I would rather stay and make an impact here where I matter more.”

  “Pity, I would love to have a Negotiator like you on my side when I create a new Kingdom.”

  “Oh, you will find good people wherever you go, just look into their Hearts like you did with me and you will find at least one honest Merchant in a hundred.”

  “Rather a thousand if not more. Okay Rendlar, I am nearly finished here. There is only one extra Contract I want to do with you.”

  “What is it this time?”

  “A transportation Contract. From here you need to bring Products to Magus. I have no Faith in Bickle for this.”

  “Figures, but the Border will be hard to cross.”

  “Oh I am working on an exemption for Taxes as some of the Products go into the Pantries of some high Magi. You just have to prepare the transport and find a party to guard it. One request I want you to make in secret with the Guards.”

  “Possible if the Taxes really are exempt, I need Documents for it before I can send someone North. And what is the request?”

  “You see, there is a Mercenary right now traveling through Ilstin named Christine, Nickname Silent Chris…”

  —

  “Back home and I still have so much to do.”

  “Really Null? I feel it is boring to just sit around. Why do we not play some in the Chaotic Staircase?”

  “...You know what? I am in. I need to relax while preparing for Ulk. The Lamp must be specified for those guys. Better make an arch around the Center of the Woods, I do not want them to be near the Queen of the Root. By the way, I need to ask how she is, I had any messages for a long time.”

  While Null was half contemplating everything and nothing, he played with Snow in the Chaotic Stairway. After half an hour another person came to play also. Null was at first curious, but found out Spot was also a challenge to capture if she got serious.

  Meanwhile Hoof and his retinue got back to their Clan. The worry of being chewed out by his wife was half true, but not that severe. His new look made her frown as she had worried so much and this was the result. Explaining the process to the others some thought of also converting into the new kind of being, but are still a bit restrained.

  Hoof did not encourage it and also did not discourage them. His words were ‘You have to make the decision yourself as it is your Life. Be prepared for the change if you do, be assured no one will judge you or think you are scared if you don’t.’

  Another Change was with the Children in the Castle. They were now put into the Orphanage in the Lost Village, while there are only a few who are still in the Castle. Twenty seven Children still did not emigrate to the Lost Village and are theoretically still protected under the Orphanage, but some just did not want to go.

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  “We are the Cooks of the Castle! Do not think you can just throw us out!”

  Hearing those words made Null realize some of the Children had fully connected with this place and he had no choice but to let them stay. Snow was even helping them to stay as she was the one who protested the most for the children to be put into the Lost Village. Most Children were muscular and athletic as she played with them often in her Playroom and got a heavy workout.

  Now Snow can only play with the Maid troupe, which had fully ejected the Rat part of their bodies, but were definitely not human. Their Skin got extremely white and they had extremely high strength and stamina. While beautiful, their flawless look made them trigger the uncanny valley response in many people who first see them.

  Perfect Maids with perfect skin and even perfect demeanor. They became what Katie preached and while she was at first frightened by how the Rat girls transformed under her tutelage, she asked Null for a favor. Now Katie is the Head Maid with the same perfect look while Maiden is the Second in command.

  In the Western Wing filled with Machinery a single Human works hard to rework his robots with a different kind of runic matrix. The Information about what Null wanted to do brought out a new urgency. A piece of cloth was being used for his now more often occurring coughs and some red was also being seen seeping into it.

  The Arena on the other hand got quiet. Deep inside were many races working hard on finding their ways. While it was most apparent in the Arena, many places had these deep insight places where creatures small and huge were seeking new ways for strength making the Miasma churn in incredible ways.

  Even the Five reinforced Miasmic conversion Circles were having an easier time as the filtered Miasma got siphoned into different parts of the Castle to help the growth of some deeply horrifying beings, unbeknownst to Null, as he was busy with other tasks.

  He Did not even ask why the Fishmen wanted a gigantic piece of Obsidian for their lair and why Dagon suddenly went very very quiet.

  —

  “So this is Beastguard? A rather strange City.”

  “Yes, it looks more like a wall.”

  As Null and Snow came out of the Forest the first thing they saw was a gigantic wall made with a large field in front of it. Not only was this field rocky, it had not much vegetation at all. The Reasoning was easy to see, Ulk made it infertile to make Beasts unable to hide their approach. At the same time the Root had no way to sneak into their lands.

  Beastguard was indeed a rather strange city if someone would look at it from the sky. It was built in the form of a bow. The thick arch was the large wall towards the Woods, while a small wall was directed to Ulk’s deeper lands, which made the City hard to invade from the North but horribly indefensive from the south. Hard to capture from the Forest, easy to recapture for Ulk.

  Inside these Walls were the true City of Beastguard. Which was built in a way where Stability was seen first, Functionality second, comfort last and Aesthetic never. Exception was the obvious Mansion farthest away from the Wall where the Nobility was residing, always having an easy way out if a Monster Wave would threaten a breach.

  “Halt! Who are you and where is your Insignia?”

  “My Name is Null and this is Snow. I was invited by Baron Felderick.”

  “Likely Story. We will send someone to ascertain if there was an Invite. You can tie your Ferral to the Pole there, while you can wait inside the Room there for later Interrogation if the Notice does not exist.”

  Null got offended by what was said. The Pole he waved to was a large piece of Wood with many rusty Chains on it. The floor was brown and it was definitely not only Mud there as where can people go if chained there and in need of relief.

  “I will gladly wait in the Room, but she will go with me. Either that or we wait here.”

  “I said you should put that thing on the Pole and wait in the Room! There is no way I let a Ferral use human accommodations, do pigs need chairs and forks too? Now do as I say before-”

  “Before what? I warn you I am here on a political invite. If you want to create an incident with an invited guest by a Baron, be my guest, but I do not think you will be the one who gets out on top.”

  “...Tch! Take your Ferral and go in! Better make sure she does not shit somewhere or you will be cleaning it up!”

  “Thank you, now you better get the Notice fast. I was not invited because of a small matter.”

  Entering the Room it was rather poorly decorated. The heavy door was a sign it was more of a cell than a visitation Room. Ulk had never seen Diplomacy as the first Option and it showed in their horrible accommodation.

  Outside the Room the Guard goes to a Messenger: “Go and ask for some Invite of someone called Null. If the Invite is not urgent, accidentally lose it and blame old Morrison. I would love to see how that Ferrallover weeps if I strip off his disgusting playtoy before beheading it while interrogating his lies about an invite.”

  “Sure thing Boss. I better hurry so you can have your fun.”

  As he wanted to start running an extremely cold shudder fell over the Guard and the Messenger. It was only for an instant, but they were sure they felt it. Looking around and seeing nothing they both tried to look as if they had not felt anything accidentally gaslighting each other in thinking they were the only one feeling it and believing it an imagination.

  Time was slowly ticking away. The Mansion of the Feudal Lord was rather far from the Wall which made it incredibly hard to bring Information back in a fast manner. While in the Cell Null and Snow ate Cookies they brought themselves and drank a bit of fruit water from their water pouch. What they got from the Guards was only water and nothing to eat. The Water itself was not even truly clean and maybe intentionally being dirtied. They let the crusted jug stay where it was and ignored the looks of the Guards through the Windows.

  An hour later the Messenger came back with a Letter.

  “I said to accidentally lose it!”

  “No can do boss, I want to live. This is not only from the Baron but has a royal Order on it.”

  “A what?!”

  Looking at the Letter the Royal stamp was on it. The stamp was genuine and made the Guard go white from fright. Reading the Information he understood he could not do anything and might die if he were not careful. The Information said not much but told the person who might come to be an important Guest, which either meant he is an important Ally or someone who could bring the Country extreme wealth. Whatever the reason, he could not do anything for his Family would not survive, if any break of contact with this person was blamed on him.

  Taking a few deep breaths he got himself back into what he thought was a professional stern face. Moving to the Room he held the Letter visible to be seen, especially the royal seal to warn his Companions of what they are dealing with. Noticing and quickly changing their demeanor showed they understood the perilous state they were in right now. All of them got straight and put on a poker face while cold sweat was being shed by at least half of the Guards.

  Entering the Room the Guard spoke to Null and Snow: “We have got the Notice, but no one thought of notifying us of your Visit beforehand. I apologize for the Misunderstanding, but the Safety of our City is our utmost priority. A Messenger will Guide you to the Regent of the City.”

  Nodding Null stood up with Snow seconding his motion. Going out the Guard brought them to the large Doors entering the City. With a courteous gesture he waved them in, while a Messenger was waiting at the end of the long tunnel through the thick wall.

  While entering, Null casually said to Snow: “See? We could get in easily with your clothes on your body and head attached. Better see if the welcome gets better now, let’s go.”

  Hearing those words the Guard froze in the Position he was in. Slightly bowing and waving the right hand to the left. While he was sweating hard other guards were worried about him, as he did not move a muscle for Minutes before he fell to his knees, his metal shin guards making an extremely loud sound scaring the other nearby guards.

  —

  The Mansion on the end of the Street was jarringly pompous. While the City was made out of what can be described as grey cubes imitating houses, this colorful place was looking like a male Peacock between a committee of Vultures. Showing off with no reason and extremely out of place.

  Seeing the Honor Guard on the large Iron gate which can be seen as an Artpiece by a Blacksmith, the Messenger brought the Letter to him. In his way too decorated Armor the Honor Guard looked at the Letter and gave the Signal for the Gate to be opened, which was done by the Serfs behind the gate while he stood still in his place the whole time.

  The Messenger excused himself as his work was done and vanished faster than when he got here. A Serf was standing behind the Gate ready to lead them to the Mansion itself.

  While Entering the Guard twitched and seemed to want to block the way out of habit when he glanced at Snow, but was able to stop himself before he did so. His Halberd just shook a bit before standing back at attention.

  The Serf was courteous, except for the strange looks at Snow, but to be honest he was the most open person to date who saw her and did not say a thing or make a grimace. He did his job perfectly by bringing them through the front gardens to the Mansions main door while explaining.

  “Our Master is Lucas Everwood. Count Everwoods Son who took over the guard post of the Forest as his forefathers did. He made a heroic decision to seal the Gates earlier than planned as he noticed the increase in Monsters and helped with it to defend the City from being overrun by the sudden early Monster Flood from the Forest. With his insight the losses were reduced to only a few dozen. Furthermore…”

  Hearing the words Null could identify how those things did not say anything. Closing the Gates earlier because of the increase of Monsters was a normal move or might even be seen as him being scared of the sudden increase and making the decision out of panic. Under the few Dozen might be herb gatherers and Mercenaries which could not enter again, after the Gates were sealed. While the possibilities of what the Words really meant were playing in his mind, all three were already on the front door.

  After a Knock a Butler opened the Door and took the Letter. After a quick glance over it he looked at Null and frowned at Snow.

  “Our Master had readied the waiting lounge, please rest there until he is ready to meet you. Would you like a hot tea or rather cold fruit water while you are waiting?”

  Walking through the Hall the Floor was shining Marble and many things were inundated with Gold, which made the whole place look like a Palace instead of a home.

  “Tea would be good. We take two cups and maybe some biscuits if possible?”

  “Two? …I understand, I will bring Tea and… two cups. Please be careful with the Chairs, they are hard to clean.”

  While the talk was courteous it was definitely targeted against Snow, as she was seen as a beastman. Snow had thought of making her look more human, but Null was against it, as he loved to scratch behind her round ears on the head. Also he was not compromising with a Kingdom, which discriminates against people he cares for. If they had a problem, they would either shut up or lose limbs.

  Entering the Lobby the Maid took a small start seeing Null and Snow sitting on the same table. She was already briefed of a beast Person being in the Lobby, but she thought it would sit on the floor or at least stand behind the owner. Seeing her sitting on the chair and talking to the slightly handsome man made her unwell, but could get back to her professional demeanor right away. Seeing a human and a Ferral laugh together was never seen by her and putting the Cup of tea in front of Snow was met with reluctance of her consciousness.

  ‘Well, we need a new Tea set afterwards. If it came out someone could drink tea from the same cup a Ferral drank from would tarnish our House. Better ask the Head Butler for immediate replacement.’

  —

  “You must be Sir Null. I heard from you and you are as… eccentric as I have heard. Please sit down and let us talk about your trip. Was it a smooth trip or did you have some problems on the way to our meeting?”

  “Yes, I am Null. You must be the Son of Count Everwood? If I remember correctly Lucas Everwood who had enough insight to close the Gates noticing the too early Monster Waves?”

  “So you heard of me? I am honored! Yes, my Name is Lucas Everwood. You can call me Lucas if we are alone. If I am correct, you are the one who sells the mystical Ingredients to Telk everyone is talking about. Have you thought of changing to our Country as sole Distributor? We would give you great benefits and also open trade over the Sea for you! Everyone would win out of this transaction. Your Name will be known in the whole World and not only in this broken Continent.”

  “That sounds extremely inviting, but my goal right now is expanding and not relocating. You might not know, but I have binding Contracts with Telk and a good Friend in Ilstin who I cannot just burn. Trust and Integrity are one of the rarest commodities and if I just change to Ulk as sole distributor you would also be mistrusting in my promises as you might think I could break our Contracts as easily as I broke those, right?”

  “...There is the light of truth in your words. If you just let your Friends fall like that, who would trust you ever again? I see, nothing I can do against that. Would you be able to bring samples next time for me to inspect? You seem to have nothing with you sadly, but I can understand it is the first time meeting.”

  “Oh no, we have everything with us. If you want to inspect the quality we can immediately show our products. Snow, would you please give me a radish?”

  “Sure!”

  A black mist engulfed her delicate hand and after it was gone a white radish was held on the green part like she just plucked it from the ground.

  Seeing this Lucas was shocked and viewed for the first time the Beast person who came with Null.

  “Thank you, Snow. Here is an example of our Products. We have a large quantity with us and would love to exchange for Coin and different wares.”

  Taking the Radish from Snow, Null gave it directly to Lucas. Examining the Radish Lucas immediately felt the Mana inside. It was so strong, the skin touching the Vegetable seems to vibrate by being so near to an opposing source of Mana.

  “Magnificent! The rumors are not only true, we seem to have only got the dregs before this. And can you produce this kind of Vegetable regularly? What about Seasons?”

  “The Crater where I live is heavily sealed by some massive Miasmic field. While it is dangerous to be near it, it also holds back all kinds of things. Summer is like spring and Winter like a second Autumn. The growth does not hamper as long as the phenomenon is not destroyed.”

  “I see! This would be great. How much can you produce in a Month?”

  “For Ulk? I can try my best to bring up to a ton of Produce to be ready each Month. You should understand I am limited in Space and workers, so more is stretching it.”

  “I see. A Ton is already a great thing. Do you have a List for things you need in exchange?”

  “Here are the things I need.”

  Taking the Scroll Lucas was energetically reading it. The more Products he can use in exchange for coins, the better it would be for his coffers. Seeing the List he began to ponder.

  “Fabric is easy, Tools too. Huh… Spindles are a bit tricky but possible. Livestock we can negotiate… See Null, I do not see any Slaves on this List. We have a great variety of hard working ones and even specialized people who can make them work more energetically. While I suggest Humans we also have Fer… Beast people who can work menial jobs.”

  “Ah, no. I do not want Slaves, as it is always a hassle with them. They die, no one puts them away properly and the Mana brings them back as Undead, corrupting the Fields. This would reduce the Yield instead of increasing it.”

  “Oh! I forgot the Soil itself must be high in Mana, I see. So that is the reason for the unorthodox use of Freemen I have heard of.”

  Null thought of this excuse for a long time before settling on this one. It was better to just give them some stupid reason as to be pestered with their extreme slavetrade. Ulk is the highest Slave using Kingdom out of the three Kingdoms on the Eastern side of the Continent. While Beastmen also use slaves, they see them as people and treat them more like forced Servants with rights instead of cheap Labor. There is a saying in the other Kingdoms ‘If a Village suddenly vanished, UIk just needed more Slaves’.

  The meaning was clear. While many Bandits can raid a Village, if the People are gone too, it might have been Ulk Slavers. While the truth could rarely be identified, everyone was aware many of these accusations might actually be true, but no one would openly say it.

  Lucas then asked further:“So how much did you bring for this occasion? Did you only bring this piece as an example, or did you have more surprises for us?”

  “We have brought with us Vegetables, Mana Water, Monster Meat, some Monster Eggs, Magical Feathers and other Body parts for refinement, herbs and magical spices, all in all about one ton of Produce.”

  “...excuse me, what?”