Nothing happened. The enemy's army had been encamped outside for a week now, but there had no fights, not even small skirmishes. While this would be considered a good thing, and it certainly was, the city had been stuck in a depressed state, devoid of energy and happiness.

To make matters worse, Yuri had still not returned. While Ryder tried not to let it worry him, she could be considered his first friend in this place, and he didn’t want her to get hurt. Even Lisa seemed to be getting worried, though she would not discuss it openly.

A good thing to come from the siege of the city was the increase in intensity of weapon training. The instructor seemed more incensed than ever to have them learn the sword correctly. Sadly, it meant that he often returned to the inn in quite a bit of pain.

Not today though, surprisingly, the instructor had given them the rest of the day off. While he would not give anyone details as to why, Ryder had a view guesses. Someone capable of teaching the sword would be a valuable commodity in times of war.

Ryder stood in front of a large stone building. It was by far one of the oldest looking buildings he had seen so far. He was not there to admire the masonry though, he had come because the building before him was a book shop, and apparently, they carried quite the selection.

Unlike the other store’s he had visited in this part of the city, the door of the shop squealed as though it had never once been oiled.

‘Ding’

The building had to have at least three floors, and judging by the appearance of the first floor, the place had more books than could even fit in his ring. Ryder took in the view, enjoying that pleasant scent unique to books that tend to permeate in library’s and the like.

“Hello, their sir, my name is Abram, looking for something specific in this old place?”

The voice came from the front counter of the store, where an old man lounged in a comfortable looking chair, a large book in his hands. Large glasses sat daringly at the edge of his equally large nose, allowing him to look up without using the glasses.

The old man couldn’t have been more than five feet tall, and definitely looked the part of a very old man. The top of his head had not a trace of hair on it, yet the man had beard long enough to compensate for the lost hair. He studied Ryder with a practiced ease that could only come from having been in business for a long time.

“Just browsing, hoping to find something interesting. Anything to help distract from the melancholy the city is in, it’s downright depressive out there.”

The old man nodded, seemingly pondering his words. The book in his hands snapped shut, and the man stood, setting the now closed book on the counter next to him.

“I take it you haven’t been involved in many wars then, mister?”

“Oh, Ryder, pleasure to meet you.”

“Ryder, a good name. As I was saying, you must not have been involved with many wars or sieges. In my time running this store here, I have seen the city sieged more than thirty times. I’ve personally witnessed the ownership of this city change hands more than a dozen times. I’ve grown weary of the noble’s antics, honestly.”

“That’s not an opinion that most would give freely to someone they just met, have you no fear of the nobles? I’ve heard that their wrath is not to be underestimated.”

A hearty chuckle sounded from the old man as he moved through the store, grabbing books off shelves, piles, and stacks.

“I have no fear of the foolish nobles. They have failed to get rid of me far too many times. I find that accent of yours interesting though, where are you from?”

Abram stopped grabbing books from the shelves just long enough to deposit the books on the counter, before he continued searching. Ryder took a glance at some of the titles, a few catching his eye.

“Accent? I have one? That’s news. I suppose whatever is making me understand them and able to speak to them is not perfect…”

“Oh, you wouldn’t know of it, my homeland is quite far away.”

Abram paused in his pursuit of books. Scoffing at him.

“There is no country on the main land that I haven’t been too, yet I can’t tell where that accents from.”

“Damn it, I just had to run into someone well versed in language. Still, I might be able to trick him…”

“I am not from the mainland, but a small island.”

Abram nodded as if he wasn’t surprised.

“Let me get a map, I’m rather interested in your homeland now. It must have an interesting culture considering how isolated it must be from the rest of us.”

It didn’t take Abram long to find a map, and he unrolled it on top of the books he had brought over.

It was… Beautiful.

The hand drawn map in front could have been called a work of art. Every mountain, river, and city on the continent immaculately marked and drawn.

Even the Pandel void was clearly marked, so it didn’t take long for Ryder to find out where he was. The city of the edge, as it was called by the locals, was located in the Brirus Principality. Of the three countries the Pandel void runs through, he had entered the country known for its petty squabbles between its ruling class. The only reason the country hadn’t been invaded was the sizeable army each noble had, deterring hopeful conquerors. While the armies are much smaller than their neighbors, if the nobles came together and formed a single army, they’d have twice the manpower of any country nearby.

Abram brought him out of his admiring of the map.

“So, which of these islands are you from? I apologize for hounding you, but I’m a fervent cartographer, and it is quite rare to meet anyone from more than a country away.”

Ryder played it off, picking out a sizeable island, one that appeared to be nearly the size of Florida, yet had no markings. Hopefully, there would be no one living there, and he could get out of this intact.

“See this island here?” Ryder pointed to his chosen sacrifice, “That’s where I’m from, it is quite difficult to get here from there, but I enjoy traveling.”

“Somewhat plausible reason for being in this country, check.”

“Ah, I see. That’s does seem like it would be tough to get to. I appreciate you telling me this, there are some that do not wish their origins to be so freely spread. What do you call the island? Before this, I don’t think the mainland had settled on a name for the island.”

“Great, now I’m naming landmasses. What’s a good island name… Ah, I got it!”

“We call it Ériu, though the reason we call it has been lost to time…”

Abram marked the map with its name, using a skilled hand to print the name onto the somewhat small island. Compared to the mainland, it was quite small. Though, with the four large continents shown on the map, it was hard to compare.

“Done, thank you for that. Now, you’re here for books! I have pulled a few from the shelves I thought that you may like, take a look. Oh, let me get this map out of your way first…”

Abram rolled the map up, before depositing among several of the piles of books nearby. Ryder didn’t stop him, somewhat interested in the books.

“Hmm, let’s see. Habits of Ragin, Arcane and its practice, the social structures of countries.”

There were quite a few books on the table, but he didn’t want to spend too much all at once, and he would have plenty of time to get more books. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere anytime soon. Still, he wondered what a Ragin was.

“Abram, what’s a Ragin, and why would people care about their habits? Also, I’m interested in these two, Arcane and its practice, and the social structures of Countries.”

Abram chuckled at the question, seemingly unsurprised at his question.

“Not surprised you haven’t heard of them, as there incredibly rare, yet also very dangerous. Easily some of the largest creatures inhabiting the land, they stand taller than this building once grown, with teeth nearly as long as you are tall! That’s all in the book though, so I won’t spoil it.”

“As tall as this fucking building! That makes the thing that almost ate me in the void look like a chew toy!”

“Alright, those three then,”

Ryder said with a chuckle. He certainly hoped he never met one, but they sounded like interesting creatures. Just how they could hold themselves up with what must be an extremely heavy body, he did not know. Though he suspected the arcane to be involved.

Abram nodded, separating the three from the rest, before wrapping them in cloth to prevent damages.

“That cloth looks quite expensive, probably rivaling the clothes I’m wearing…”

“Three books, all first editions, with beautiful artwork done to the covers. Let’s see, that’ll be 267 Septum’s.”

The old man gave him a salesmen’s smile.

“Holy crap! No wonder there’s no one in here buying books.”

“I do not have that many Septum’s on me, could you perhaps break a Royal Septum?”

Ryder wasted no time making one appear in the hand behind his back, showing it to Abram so as to keep him from suspecting him of lying.

“I’m really interested in knowing how you got your hands on a royal Septum, but I suppose I’ve asked enough questions of you today. Of course, one moment.”

The old man waved his hand, a heavy bag slumped onto the counter.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone with a ring like mine! Maybe there not as rare as I first thought?”

Ryder did not ask, already wary of the old man. Those with intelligence were much more dangerous than those without, and the man had plenty. He flicked the coin to him, but realized he would have to either carry the bag out to the street, or show off his own ring.

Abram caught the coin easily, and it disappeared into his ring.

“Have a good day Abram,”

Ryder decided to risk someone seeing his ring. Without much fanfare, the bag of coins and the books he had just bought disappeared with but a touch.

He quickly exited the building, not letting the old man study him a second longer. The door shut behind, and he took in the noon air. The sun quickly burning off the morning dew, raising the humidity, and yet not cooling the air a bit. It would be a warm day.

He would not have the opportunity to enjoy his thoughts though, because no sooner had he stepped out into the street, then a very well dressed man stood before him, bowing slightly. Considering this was the rich area of the city, and thus there were a lot less people traversing the street, he had to have been waiting for Ryder to finish in the shop.

“Uh, this can’t be good…”

“Good day Mr. Cail’te. My lord Ruska Ocher Paki, the lord of our beautiful city here, would like to extend an invitation to you to join him at his home for tea and a chat…”

Ryder studied the man who seemed to be well practiced at this sort of invitation. Ryder had a feeling it was one he wasn’t supposed to refuse. Yet, that never stopped him before.

“Well, I appreciate the invitation, but I unfortunately have business, perhaps another time then.”

“I assure you that this invitation is much more important than any matters you may have had today sir.”

Two men, wearing full plate, approached from the sides. One had a menacing looking mace, and the other a short sword.

“I had a feeling that this would happen. Better not stir the hornets’ nest too much. Can always escape later”

Ryder nodded at the man, trying to play it off as being fearful.

“I just remembered, I have a free afternoon, please, lead the way.”

The man was not a bit surprised, and turned on his heel, leading him farther into the rich district than he had ever gone. The two-henchman waited for him to follow, eyes never leaving him.

“This definitely can’t be good.”

He followed him to wherever the home of the lord was, but he was already forming a plan. Starting with choosing a weapon from the ring he would be somewhat familiar with, just in case he needed one in a hurry.

Each of the swords looked quite beautiful, with intricate artwork he had never seen before. The problem was, they were also very noticeable. If he brought any of these swords out, he had a feeling he would be fighting with people over keeping possession of it. An odd problem to have.

He finally decided on a blade not too long before they stopped before a mansion. Though, mansion certainly didn’t do it justice. Considering it made of stone, and looked much more similar to a castle, complete with its set of walls, and even an iron gatehouse for a front door.

“Welcome to my lord’s mansion. I have been instructed to bring you to the garden, where our lord is waiting.”

The man didn’t seem to expect a response, which was getting on Ryders nerves. Nobody enjoyed being treated like they weren’t worth their time.

The gatehouse opened without much fanfare, revealing a drastically different scene then what Ryder expected. Inside of the strong walls was by far the most beautiful garden he had seen. As the arrogant man led him inside, he admired the wealth of the mansion.

Ryder was someone that could be called a man of nature. He had spent a lot of his life in forests, surrounded by plants. He understood the difficulty of cultivating so many plants, and so many rare looking ones at that. While he wasn’t too sure of the cost of gardening on a scale of this proportion, he knew it wasn’t cheap.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get to admire more of the estate, as he was quickly led to a garden area, sporting what looked to be a gazebo. In it, an elegantly dressed man was masterfully working a brush, seemingly intent on capturing the essence of his estate. Ryder assumed this man to be lord of the city, Ruska Ocher Paki.

He wouldn’t have to guess, as once they got within twenty feet the man leading bowed deeply and announced in a loud, measure voice,

“My lord, I have brought Sir Ryder here as ordered.”

Ryder glared at the back of his head.

“That’s kinda sugar coating it their buddy. I would have had to fight off these two goons behind me if I didn’t accept!”

“Thank you, Oswald, you may go. Take your underlings with you, I wish to speak with this man in privacy.”

Oswald nodded, and quickly withdrew from the area.

“Not afraid to be left alone with me, which means he either doesn’t know I’m strong, or believes he is safe here. If it’s the latter, there must be bodyguards hidden around the area. I doubt they are to the level of that Oswald goons, too.”

“Welcome to my humble home, Ryder. I have notable things about you, though I suppose you are a bit surprised by this invitation. Truthfully, I wanted to wait, to see how you progressed at the white stripes academy, but the army outside the cities gates does not allow me to be wasteful with my time.”

Surprise surfaced on Ryder’s, pondering his words.

“you’re not saying that the army currently surrounding the city is here for me?”

Lord Ruska gave him an approving nod.

“Quick on the uptake, admirable. Yes, they are in fact here for you and only you. Apparently, I’m not the only one that admires your talent. That shouldn’t be a surprise though, it’s not like duel-path Arcanists are a common occurrence here. In fact, you are the only one I’ve ever heard of, that makes you incredibly valuable.”

“Shit, shit, shit! An army showed up because it got out that I’m duel path? If I didn’t open my big mouth…”

Lord Ruska gestured towards the table and chairs Ryder had missed when he first arrived. They both sat, and like a ghost a woman appeared, carrying what looked like some kind of tea in an unblemished glass pitcher, along with two cups.

“If that is true, you must be quite angry that I’ve brought such bad fortune upon your city.”

Ryder wanted to play it safe. This man hadn’t come off like most of the nobles he had met so far, not exactly restoring his faith in the power structure of this country, but certainly influencing it.

“I suppose I should be, but I’m rather interested in you. I’ve had my people look you up, and they’ve found little. You rolled into the city in strange, ragged clothes, yet had the money to buy quite a bit. Not the least of which you bought today, at old man Abrams shop. Those books were quite expensive, and not something on a penniless drifter.

Furthermore, I have not been able to find out anything else about you. You just suddenly enrolled in white stripes academy after having already unlocked your arcane center, and from what I hear having quite a bit of arcane flowing in you. I’m not sure if that’s just because your naturally gifted with it, or because of your duel path status.

“I suppose that I should be surprised at the power someone like him holds in this city… Still, what a stalker…”

“you seem to have done your homework about me, so I suppose I should ask. What is it that you want with me?”

Ryder kept his tone respectful. So far, the conversation hadn’t deviated too much from what expected, and he felt he might just be able to talk his way out of this one.

“I want you to leave my city.”

Ryders eyes widened at that one. He certainly didn’t expect that.

“Yes, I want you to leave. While I’m fascinated with your abilities, and quite frankly want to rope you into my house, I have no delusions of being able to hold onto you. In fact, I somewhat pity you, because you will certainly be chased to the borders of the principality, and likely further, once your ability gets out.

I do not want to lose my city, she isn’t pretty but I want to give a power base to my children, should they ever come about.”

“Well than, I can certainly leave, that’s not too much of a problem I suppose.”

Lord Ruska gave a chuckle.

“You forgot about the army outside. As they came here for you, they will certainly chase you. I very much plan to inform them once you leave as well.”

“Well I somewhat expected that, but still, dick.”

“I don’t suppose I could talk you into delaying that announcement?”

Lord Ruska gave a firm shake of the head.

“Were both aware that the fact I haven’t had you drawn up in chase and sent out is already being quite lenient, considering how much danger you have brought to my city. I want you gone before the next morning. Good luck escaping.”

Obviously done with the conversation, Lord Ruska waved his hand, and the ever-arrogant Oswald appeared to lead him outside.

“Well that fucking ruins all my plans.”

The sun was already on its way down, and he wouldn’t have long before darkness set in. He didn’t have a lot of time.