Chapter 17: Chapter 11: The Canopy District
Two days had passed since I manifested my relics power and barely defeated Rider through luck. It was obvious she let me win. I know for a fact she could of blown a hole straight through both my and Ota's stomach.
Our bout was only a test, one we passed with flying colours.
During our fight however, we destroyed quite a bit of equipment with a few pieces beyond repair. And so for the following days while we recovered, our hands became filled with work.
"Arrrgh, now ah' really need a new forge"
"Could you even call what you had before a forge?"
"Guess not, more of a heatin' pit"
"I would of thought you would have a blast furnace here too, you always wanted one before"
"Yerp', tha' was on the list. In the end, had ta' chose"
"Between what? That coal pit or a furnace?"
"Nah'. Tween' a heatin' stone and one"
"Heating stone?"
"Come er' I'll show ya"
I couldn't understand why Ota acts like this, first she'll come at someone with blinding hatred and rage, then the next day she'll work it out. I didn't tell her it was a test, nor warn her of Riders unbelievable strength or mastered monk techniques.
Over at the workshop Rider was lifting up a stone slab underneath a monster hide rug, exactly underneath the spot she typically sits and works from.
"Hrmm, looks like I might need a new one... Ey! Enda! Take a look at this"
As Ota knelt down to examine the pulsating circular monster stone, Eyebore, who was working on her prosthetic design nearby, got up to take a look. It was a bit hard to tell, but it looked like she'd been working out.
Enda's body was permanently the same, she could not grow or fade over time. For her copies however, it is a very different story. Sharing senses and memories like a hivemind directly at will with Enda, everything else is separate.
Regeneration, mana, combat capability and eventually over time, personality, are all separate and grow over time. The only trait I can tell is shared outside of that hivemind is simply not growing old.
It must not be tied to her phoenix blood, because even a phoenix will grow old and die before it rises again.
"Who did you get this from?"
"Uh, I paid the Merchants Bazaar council head guy, and they got it from the Merchants guild?"
"You sound unsure"
"Hehe, yer', mah' memories not great with the small stuff you know?"
"Then I'll look into it. After the blizzard expect a deliveries from Nala. Also, make space for a blast furnace"
"Huh? You gonna pay for it?"
"Yes. It's my fault you've been scammed, I'll take responsibility for that. And if I'm honest, we've been putting off some plans until recently"
"Why the sudden change Eyebore? What happened?"
"Someone essential died recently. Without them... *sigh* We can't be everywhere at once, as strange as it sounds, even we need help from others to act as a poxy and deterrent"
"We aren't as invincible as we like Enda. Please don't blame er"
We? Rider? What is she on about. Wait, Merrah was spreading ashes a few days ago, are they talking about that?
"She's young, she ain't as experienced as us ok? I know you blame er..."
"Enda... blames her. She won't why with any of us, however her emotions still leak through"
"It must be a bad reason then"
"No, just a selfish one"
"..."
I felt a hint of sadness behind both Rider and Eyebore.
It was awkward.
"Ota, Touji, both of you go head to her place and get Sinclair's report, I need some time to organise building plans with Vickie. While you are there I'll get you to deliver some letters to any store you see. Oh and use this money and by something from each place ok?. Do whatever you want with what you get, just don't forget those letters and pay with both Marks and Cryic in equal amount. Cryic is... well"
Eyebore handed me two coin pouches and a stack of letters, basic instructions on the new currency soon to be rolled out across the city and how to transition.
"Can't Ari just do it?"
"She hasn't come back yet, I suspect she's busy"
"Why not go see her?"
"Uhhh, I wouldn't do that raht' now. If she's at Merrah's... best leave em' be"
I guess Arisu is cheering her up, but I have a few questions.
Before I could even ask anything, Eyebore grabed my hand and poked it with a needle.
"Ow! What was that for?"
Bloody needle in hand, she brought out a vial and placed it within.
"If I say anything, a certain kitsune would get upset with me"
"Ok... Well, at least tell me how to get to Ota's place?"
"I'll take you"
...
Shortly after changing out of our training cloths and into cold weather wear, Ota and I followed a path leading out of the tower from the main building. The blizzard was still freezing up the city yet it had weakened a fair amount as well.
By the looks of things it could clear up tomorrow.
The side path Ota brough me along was treacherous due to the snow storm as it was built into the side of the dragons massive skull, leading underneath the balcony Merrah spread ashes at and into an eye socket.
"Is that..."
Underneath the platform I we happened to be walking on was an iced over waterfall leaking directly out of the dragons eye. The top layer of water was frozen but underneath it I could still see running water with the socket itself big enough to fit fully grown gigantic monsters itself.
The platform stuck to the right side of the socket and into the Canopy district.
An entire area attached underneath the top of the skulls mouth big enough to call a city on its own. While outside might be a complete storm of snow and ice, we are headed into a place sheltered by the elements at play.
On our left and built above that frozen waterfall is an exceptional large landing area for various tamed flying monsters and animals like Pegasi and... non-colossal dragons or drakes. Drakes of course being dragons with only two legs and a stubbier body.
"How the hell did high-drakes come into existence?"
I couldn't help but think that out loud as we passed through a small door attached to an even bigger gate, keeping as much cold out as possible by closing it behind us.
"Ota and uh... have I seen your face before?"
"Hey Hutches, this is the guy I lost my duel to"
"Oh! Has he grown?... Man, must of had strong parents"
Two guards had been stationed at the small door, wearing long grew and blue coats adorned with the Nala alliance symbol. The had been heating themselves up by a small glowing red metal bin. The man who stood up to greet us, Hutches, had been working on his polearm before we arrived, a standard halberd with a blue ribbon at the tip of its shaft.
They both wore a winter variant guards standard armour, extra padding and knitting with fluffy cuffs and collar. The short metal breastplate was now equipped underneath their coat as opposed to the variant I saw at Broken Blade Fort that had it above the coat and with attached shoulder pads.
Hutches wore a deep blue beanie and sported a black beard, his hardy face and gentle smile gave off an impression of a kind and seasoned warrior.
"Uh, did you see the duel?"
"Ha! Of course! I would of sucked not seeing that play out. You know even since that duel all the guardsmen stationed here have been learning how to pull of that move? You'd be surprised how easy it'd be to detain someone like that"
"Normally they'd just hit someone until they stop moving"
"Yeah, you know, the 'Ota strat'?"
"Who called it that? I'll beat their ass!"
"Ota! *sigh*"
Great, I had to hold her back again by the arms as she tried to bite Hutches head off.
"Calm down Ota, it was just a joke"
"Oh... Hey Brita, didn't see you there, how's Bron?"
Ota immediately calmed down at the female guardsmen's sight, maybe she wasn't really angry? I'm not going to take the chance but her expression made it come off like a bit of banter between friends.
"If you're headed home you might see him, if you do-"
"Got it, I'll handle him"
"Thanks, I got to look after my little brother you know? Keep him on the straight and narrow"
"Yeah yeah, easier to say that while getting someone else to do it"
It was surprising to see Ota so talkative for once. Often she'd hardly speak unless it was only us and Arisu present, any time someone else was near she would be very hesitant to open up.
We waved and headed down a narrow side tunnel, out of the corner of my eye I saw that Brita also had an identical blue ribbon in her blonde hair tied into a bun.
As we exited the small tunnel I felt a wave of warmth hit me. Sounds and smells of different shops and a crowd of people all making their way to various places while sheltered from the cold.
"I've never seen so many people move around at once..."
"You get used to the 'hustle and bustle'"
Yeah that one came from Arisu no doubt.
Unquestionably, I could see more that the entire population of Tyrants Rest on the streets in a single direction, it seemed like everyone went here during winter for entertainment and food.
And oh boy what entertainment there was.
"Come, I'll take you to my home"
It was at that exact moment I remembered something she once said to me and got very worried.
Didn't she live in a brothel?
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Aardartem
Aardartem Prologue rewrite nearly completely done with all three parts. Each part has a short extra bits attached some may find quite interesting to check out once published. All 3 will go live at the same time and the original prologue will be removed. I did not change what happens generally so it's a completely optional read, don't feel the pressure to check them out when they get published with or before chapter 12 if you don't want to. Anyway thanks for reading, next chapter will explore this district in far more detail. Oh, almost forgot. The reason why these chapters don't go up at set times is that I finish writing and publish them in the same day after proofreading and spell checking. I do both myself so sometimes mistakes get through but it's all a learning experience and I think I'm getting better at it?
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