บท 4: The Mirror

D'Gedda followed the three gray robed men out of the dormitory, through streets, and within a few minutes found himself in a courtyard. Perhaps, on second thought, it was an orchard. Incredibly tall, thin trees of a type D'Gedda didn't recognize spotted the area in uniform rows; stone pathways stretched between them, like the one D'Gedda was currently on. Some of the trees weren't even as thick as one of his fingers and the trunks were a translucent, earthy brown. Glancing skyward, D'Gedda saw that the tree trunks went right up into a layer of fluffy, dark, storm clouds that coated the sky throughout his vision. Looking closer at the base of the trees, D'Gedda saw several youths meditating with one or both hands pressed against the trunks gently.

[By focusing intensely on a single subject you have unlocked Appraisal!]

[Appraisal can be used for two purposes. It can record one's observations and also reveal new information on an unfamiliar subject. Only limited information can be gained using Appraisal's second feature however.]

D'Gedda nearly tripped over his own feet so great was his shock. At the same time, although he didn't see it himself, being too absorbed by the floating text in his vision, the three men leading the way all noticed D'Gedda's sudden reaction and took note.

While the three pondered what had happened, D'Gedda began experimenting with Appraisal. He started by glancing at one of the strange trees.

[Senpapa Tree]

Next, D'Gedda cast his attention to the youth on his right and the three men directly ahead. The youth's name showed up first.

[Novice Falcoun Remen]

After his name, the gray robed men followed starting with the two who hadn't spoken.

[Thunder Hall Enforcer Bej'Id Nafa]

[Thunder Hall Enforcer Slahm Quatoo]

[Thunder Hall Inquisitor Gauljian Yitur, Thunder Heart]

Looking at the names allowed D'Gedda to deepen his understanding of Appraisal. First, it would display one's status or position. After that there'd be one's actual name and finally it'd display a title. Based off of how only Gauljian had a title D'Gedda suspected only those with enough fame or infamy would actually have a title show up.

As D'Gedda continued walking he saw more dormitories, kitchens, and other buildings. He used Appraisal as much as possible on his surroundings but there was far too much to take in and he couldn't just stop moving. D'Gedda was forced to prioritize examining what he found most intriguing, while promising himself he'd investigate things more later if the chance presented itself.

The more he walked the more D'Gedda realized this place was at least the size of a small city, although exactly how large the city was, if it indeed was one, he had no idea. The buildings became larger and the roads grew wider the farther D'Gedda's group traveled. The traffic on the streets grew increasingly substantial too. He saw white robed disciples like himself with sashes about their waists, merchants, servants, and plenty of seemingly normal citizens.

The sights only reinforced how different the times were from what D'Gedda remembered. For one thing, there were so many people! Although he'd spent much of his past life as a fugitive and rebel, D'Gedda had still visited some of the greatest cities of his era, few of which were larger than this one. More importantly, this place didn't just have larger numbers of people; it had large numbers of prosperous people!

D'Gedda had yet to spot a single beggar and, while some of the people he saw were clearly less wealthy than others based off of their clothes, no one seemed hungry or even particularly sullen. D'Gedda found himself increasingly certain that he'd reincarnated into a land of plenty. Still, that didn't mean everything was what it seemed. He forced himself to keep an open mind; it wouldn't do to be overly optimistic.

Eventually D'Gedda's group stopped in front of a square, unadorned structure of stone with a single set of doors. The doors were rather large, more than three times the height of the largest of the three Thunder Hall men and were built from what D'Gedda suspected was savage wood. Considering savage wood was native to the Heaven of Chaos, he couldn't help but feel somewhat apprehensive. Above the doors hung a gray banner with a symbol of several circles, each within another. To his right the tall youth gulped and whispered "They actually brought us to the Thunder Hall! We're really in it this time Kosh."

Of course even without Falcoun's statement D'Gedda knew where he was, courtesy of Appraisal. Still, it was nice to confirm the information Appraisal offered was accurate.

The double doors opened automatically, with a silent, haunting motion, as if they were the gates of a Hell. Although he might have appeared outwardly frightened, D'Gedda was actually fairly calm.

The reason he'd been able to focus on testing out Appraisal during the journey here was because he'd already thought through the current situation. While he was truly missing a great deal of information, D'Gedda had already come to the conclusion that things wouldn't go that badly for him. For one thing, he couldn't detect any killing intent from any of the three Thunder Hall men. There was also the comment Gauljian had made earlier to consider. If his current body had a reputation as a prankster then whatever punishment he might face would likely not be too severe. Thus, it was with a calm interior that D'Gedda stepped through the double doors.

Past the doorway lay a long hallway guarded by two Thunder Hall Enforcers, each of which saluted by clasping their right fists on their chests upon seeing Gauljian. He responded by nodding and led the group into the hallway. The two Thunder Hall Enforcers that had been moving with the group repositioned themselves behind the two youths, briefly exchanging pleasantries with the guards.

Not much later D'Gedda and Falcoun were separated; D'Gedda was moved into what he presumed to be an interrogation room. It was rather plain, with just a table and a few chairs. One of the Thunder Hall Enforcers, Slahm, took up a position just outside the door before closing it wordlessly.

D'Gedda silently used the free time to put Appraisal to use but there just wasn't much to look at. That was when he reflected on exactly what Appraisal's two uses were. So far he'd been using it to gain new information but the text he'd seen before had mentioned he could also record things he already knew about an object. Just how did that actually work? D'Gedda started experimenting, fully absorbed in what he was doing.

Meanwhile, Gauljian found himself having a strange conversation with a clerk from the Treasure Repository. "What do you mean we have no records of this mirror" he asked, brows furrowed? "Are you telling me it was just some kind of error?"

Gauljian and the clerk, a short, portly man with a hook of a nose and black hair, were currently standing in one of the observation rooms. It was drab but well-equipped with several scrying talismans, divination scrolls, archives full of information on members of the Seven Powers Sect, and several experts on standby. Having an item stolen from the Treasure Repository was a fairly big deal after all, even if it was as a prank.

The clerk, Haultheck, shook his head and explained "That's not possible. We triple check both the records and items weekly even if none of the treasures in the repository have been used. Ever since that whore son Draeg stole the Scepter of Unending Ice we've been very careful. If the mirror was actually one of the repository's treasures we'd know."

"Then what's actually going on here? Unless we call my and Bej'Id's testimony into question we know the mirror was taken from the Treasure Repository."

"I'm not denying that's the case sir" Haultheck replied "I lack the authority but might I suggest that we have the Hidden Repository's inventory checked? Perhaps this treasure was recently stored in the wrong location? It's the only thing I can imagine happened. I know I certainly didn't make any clerical errors after all."

Gauljian frowned and said "It couldn't hurt." He then turned and ordered someone to go check on that. Then he turned back to the mystery at hand and began thinking out loud "Let's try to picture some of the worst case scenarios. The one that comes to mind for me is that someone broke into the Treasure Repository aside from Falcoun, was startled by his appearance, and fled, leaving the mirror behind. If that were the case the mirror would most likely be a treasure a thief might employ. Jijlaw, would you examine the mirror please? Take precautions too, use a consumable appraisal talisman. I've seen too many die from investigating booby trapped treasures."

Jijlaw, one of the resident experts in the room moved to obey. He was a middle-aged man who was already going bald and due to an old injury had a limping gait. While he went to work the clerk spoke up again "If I may, sir, it is highly unlikely a thief appeared in the repository! Our security is—"

"Not exceptional. If I wanted to get in the Treasure Repository unnoticed I could and there're others who could do it with far less effort than it would take me. What's confusing isn't someone appearing in the repository, it's why. For someone capable of getting in, the level of effort shouldn't be worth the risk/reward ratio. People like me, cultivators at the Expert level, don't desire the treasures stored there due to their lacking value. For people below the Expert level, even if they desired the treasures there it'd be too risky. Yes, if we work with the theory a thief was involved in the mirror's appearance the situation doesn't make too much sense does it? What about the people who were sent to question recent visitors of the repository, do we have any news from them?"

A communications specialist in the gray robes of the Thunder Hall reported "None of the people recorded having visited the repository in the past two weeks appear to have any knowledge of the mirror or how it appeared sir."

One of the people who had remained quiet up to this point, Etha, a recent addition to the Thunder Hall, asked "What if no one brought the mirror into the repository recently or at all? Could it be something that was actually there a long time undetected or even an intelligent artifact?"

"It's unlikely but possible" Gauljian stated. "We can get a better idea of what happened once Jijlaw is done. For now we might as well focus on interrogating these two hooligans, on the off chance they actually know something useful."

Gauljian moved to step out of the room. Then a scream of terror rang out.