At the border of Ilstin a slightly grumpy Man with a Rat girl as companion was waiting for the line to enter the Country. Finally at the guards Null was already cranky and less talkative than normal.
“Null and Snow. While Sightseeing is the one we want to do, there might be business, but I doubt that.”
“Mister Null, I suggest a Business Visa then. Not only would this make buying large quantities possible, it can be used in purchasing rare Materials as also in registering for auctions, which are not open for Tourists. Four Silver per Person and per week. For a permanent Business License you always can ask the Trading headquarters and add your Firm with representatives to make it more convenient.”
Throwing two Gold on the Table Null just said: “Two weeks for both of us, keep the rest.”
Noticing the rather annoyed demeanour of Null, the Guardsman kept his professionalism and started the process of the Documents. Scanning the Name and faces over the barred people List brought back nothing, but after the routine check over notable individuals a severe Warning was pulsing over the runic checking system.
[Lord Null of the Crater in Starfall Mountain. Extremely dangerous; needed to be handled with caution. Mercantile Priority - high. Note: Immediate call to Headquarters if seen; even without Visa treatment as honoured guest.]
[Snow, inhabitant of the Crater in Starfall Mountain. Extremely Dangerous; needed to be handled with caution. Mercantile Priority - Extreme. Note: Immediate Call to Headquarters if seen; even without Visa treatment as honoured guest; Space ability user, able to keep tons of Materials inside magical Pocket - Search is futile.]
Seeing the Notations made the Guard sweat. The first thing he did was order Tea, while switching with a Diplomat. Noticing how the Guard changed to a well dressed older Lady, Null was at first wondering what was going on, but after Tea, a plate of cookies and the explanation of trading Visas being not only being taken seriously but having in Ilstin a higher state, he just accepted it.
Professionality meant to know subtleties which can be read in addendums of the main alert. The notions of Snow loving sweet things were noted while under Null was the notation of his subjects being seen as close as Family. With a plate of cookies the Lady already made not only the atmosphere more pleasant but could work freely with ease.
“Mister Null, I have some Information about a Rendlar in my Documents. He would like to see you in Mammon.”
Null was curious about this Information: “Oh? That is great, I wanted to find him, but how does the Border know about this?”
“We have a special messaging system for National Security, Mister Null. Notorious Bandits and valuable People are written in our Messaging System to make our Republic more Secure.”
“I am no Bandit.”
“Good joke, Mister Null is obviously a valuable Person with his beautiful attendant Madam Snow.”
Snow could only smile while eating the cookie she had in her hand. Seeing how Snow radiated with warmth, Null could not resist and pat her head while talking to the Diplomat.
“So, you know where I come from and what I am selling?”
“I know you are from the Crater in the Starfall Mountain, but of what you are buying or selling, I have no access. If we put those things in the Runic Scribe too, it would be too much to handle, as we are already having issues with it close to being overfilled.”
Nodding, Null was thinking of how Rendlar has been. It was quite a while when he last saw him.
“So, can we enter?”
“Of course! The visa is extended to a Month out of courtesy from us. Please visit our Auctions and great Cities. Do you want a carriage directly to Mammon?”
“This would be… rather convenient. I thank you for the hospitality.”
“No problem. A fast Carriage with Windhorses is a Gold coin per day and from here it would be two days. We will make arrangements for the Carriage waiting for you after the Fort in the City of Meldek.”
“I appreciate it.”
After getting the Documents stamped and officialized Null and Snow made their trip to the City. Directly after they left a message was sent with a fast horse to not only Meldek but also Mammon.
[Null of Starfall Crater is visiting. He did not use the Teleportation, but came official through the border. While he goes by our Rules and shows courtesy, his demeanour and body Language show heavy agitation and instability in his emotions. If as dangerous as described, extreme caution is needed. Friendship with Rendlar is highly plausible.]
—
The windhorses move with elegance and speed over the paved road. Shock absorbers hold the Carriage from being too shaken while inside Null sat in his seat, having Snow’s head on his lap napping.
It is already the second day and in a while they should be able to see Mammon. For the Driver this transport is a gold mine, as not only do those tourists want a direct drive to Mammon, but had no luggage, which meant he could fill the compartments with all the Letters and packages that would fit with those. Two Gold for the trip, 27 Letter getting 5 copper each, 4 packages of 2 Silver worth of transport and an urgent transport of pelts for a Merchant paid as a Gold coin made the Coachman grin. With this Money he had made his weekly Income in two days.
Getting close to Mammon the Carriage started to slow down. Too fast approach might alert the Guards, so even Wind horse Carriages had to go into a steady trod.
Seeing the documents of Snow and Null the Guards first wanted to check the Luggage pro forma, but saw the postal seal on the trunk, which made them wonder why Merchant Visitors do not have even small luggage for example Materials. After reading the Documents Both were welcomed right away while some cold sweat was seen on their brows.
“Those Guards were somewhat strange Null.”
“They must have overlooked the hidden codes in our Documents.”
“Hidden codes?”
“After seeing how we were cared for at the border, I bet Ilstin knows where we are from and maybe some of our capabilities.”
“They didn’t before?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean we exited last time with a rift from Bapho right outside the City.”
“Ah! Yeah, forgot about that, I was a bit in a hurry and did not care about anything else.”
“That is what makes you likable, Null. Most of the time you are random, but when something serious is going on you are there immediately.”
“Um, thanks?”
Patting Snow’s head they are moving through the city while shadow Guards are following them, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Taking a few shortcuts Null and Snow are quickly in front of their Former Hotel.
“Better keep what worked fine. You want a Bath Snow?”
“Their Bath is rather small, but I would love to!”
“Don’t splash too much like last time. You nearly flooded the Corridor.”
“Did not!”
—
“Hello Rendlar, you seem fine. Sorry for me being gone so fast last time, I had something urgent to do.”
“Oh Lord Null, you do not have to apologize for anything. The one who should apologize is me, for making you wait so long.”
“Come on, you were in a meeting with one of the larger Merchant firms. Let’s just say we accidentally missed us, out of our own schedules and keep it at that. What I want to ask is what is with you and the Peddler King?”
“...While I am right now still working for them I am delegated to be the connection between Peddler King and Orion Firm. To be true with you, I was asked to come here to tell them about the Crater and their inhabitants. Do not worry, I did not say anything crucial, just the basic Information about the Village, Fields, Castle and about you and Lady Snow. I am sorry to say I have told them about Lady Snow’s ability to transport large quantities with Magic. It is a good thing I haven’t much Information about anything else.”
“Your Honesty makes you the most trusted Merchant in my eyes. Albeit you are now here, I would love to ask you if you want to do further business with me.”
“As said, I am now stationed here and can not go back on a whim. Someone else will be the dedicated Merchant from the Peddler King. Do not worry, I made sure Claire would be gone too.”
“From what I heard from Bickle, she is having a hard time.”
“Bickle? Well he is ambitious and works hard. Not that trustworthy, but keeps his promises at least.”
“Good to know, now back to the topic, I would send you Produce and you would make the connections in Ilstin.”
“As I said, I am stuck in Mammon for now.”
“Not a problem, I would just add a transport fee and do the transport to you myself.”
“Well, it would be possible for me to have a side business, if you bring me the Produce. How much do you want to sell and what is your price?”
The talk about pricing and volume took its time. As the stars started to shine the talk was finally over. Exiting Rendlars residence Null was having a neutral face while Snow stretched herself after being bored half to death.
“Ah Mister Null! I see you have found Rendlar. Maybe you are remembering me I am Mario from-”
“Not interested.”
“...I see, maybe we can talk again. Come visit Orion Wholesale if you need something.”
“I will talk through Rendlar with the Firm. Thank you for your help Mario.”
Walking away Mario was a bit disappointed, but tried his best to not let it show on his face.
Null and Snow on the other hand were walking to their Hotel and after entering the Room Snow could not hold her curiosity anymore.
“Null, you are a bit grumpy, are you not?”
“You noticed? I do not why, but I feel… wrong.”
“The happenings in the Steppe?”
“No, it is somewhat hard to describe, something makes me… itchy. Like I do something I would rather not do, but force myself doing without knowing what it is.”
“Huh, sounds like you are doing something wrong?”
“Yeah, but I can not put my finger on what it is, that makes me so.”
“Then look at things you are doing and what you do not like to do?”
“If it were so easy… Wait, you are right! I just look at everything I do from now on and what makes me peel my skin in frustration might be the thing I need to stop.”
“Glad I could help!”
—
The next Morning on the market Null and Snow were walking around. The Merchant Documents made some Shops for them available, they could not visit before.
“This is the finest Adamantite in the World! The Purity is close to perfect and can be seen in the luster of the ingot.”
“Huh. It has a nice luster, but the purity is not that high.”
As Null thought about it Snow took the small sample ingot to herself and started gnawing on it.
“I would say 90% purity? No, it is a bit higher, but not that much. Someone put a bit of gold in it to make it shinier.”
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“Th… that is a rather blatant trick! This Adamantium is-”
“Is made to look good, but does not have the highest purity. It is a showpiece, is it not?”
“...You are adept in metallurgy, Mister. I do not know how a beast Person might understand Metals by just gnawing it, but it is true. Many do not look through the Samples. Here is the true piece.”
A less lustrous piece was put in front of them. This piece, while dimmer, seems to have a stronger resonance with Magic.
“Yes, this is more pure. And you say this is really the most pure Adamantite around?”
“To be fair it is the best raw Adamantite, but not the purest. Old dwarven scrap has more, but is extremely rare.”
“Huh? Why is that? Do dwarfs not forge anymore?”
“You must jest. Dwarfs are no longer on this continent. After the Fungal growth they just left. Dwarves do not align with other people, they have a rather strange demeanour.”
“Oh.”
Null finally realized he had never seen a real dwarf since he was here. While he thought they just work somewhere they are just not on this Continent.
“The highest purity is nineteen of twenty parts.”
‘95%... Is rather high, but the other 5% are no special flux but impurities they can not extract.’
“And Dwarven Scrap can not be bought?”
“Mostly at auctions, but it vanishes fast if it shows up.”
“Null, this one does not taste really good. Where this might be found there must be a lead vein or something…”
“Miss, you should not put everything in your mouth… wait, are those teeth marks on the ingot?! How in the Abyss- Adamantite is the strongest and most durable magic Metal there is!”
“The lead is weakening it way too much. Bleh!”
“Um, Snow let it be. We buy the two deformed samples as an apology. How much would that be?”
“Huh? Oh, Fifteen Mithril. The pure is Seven Mithril, while the gold infused is a special refined one costing eight. Wait, that is not the problem! How can someone-”
“Does not matter. Here are fifteen Mithril. We see ourselves out.”
While Null and Snow were leaving the Shop, the Merchant had still not understood what just happened. He clearly saw teeth marks on something that should not be able to be deformed by something unenchanted and at temperatures where the metal would be glowing bright enough to hurt the eyes.
Outside Null was curious.
“Snow?”
“Um, yes?”
“Are you regularly gnawing on Adamantite?”
“...tehe?”
“Come on, tell me.”
“Yes, I had a hard time shortening my teeth with standard rock. Gnawing on something, it often breaks before my teeth have been scraped down so I searched for an alternative. First the Oricalcum was working but later I had to go to Adamantite.”
“I am not angry or mad, I just wanted to ask.”
“Whew! I thought I was in trouble!”
“So, what about gnawing on Adamantite?”
“I took a small ingot from Simov, after he finished refining it. It was not that tasty, as it had a similar purity to the gold one, but at least there was no Lead in it. Bleh!”
“So you can taste different kinds of Metal?”
“Only the yucky tasting ones. Lead is one of the most vile!”
“I see, Later I would like to make some observations. Hope you would be okay with it?”
“Um… be gentle?”
“I do not know what in your little head is going on, but I want to see your teeth you silly rat!”
—
At the Hotel Null was interested in Snow’s teeth, which can apparently even dent Adamantite. Looking at them they were not really yellow but more dark golden. A small sheen was also seen.
“Were your Teeth always like this?”
“hok auaech.”
“...Sorry, you can close your mouth for now.”
“Not always. At first they were normal, but grew fast like normal teeth do.”
‘I forgot, rat's Teeth grow indefinitely…’
“And now?”
“Now? Um… they grow only to a specific length and stop. Sometimes I have to resharpen them with the ingot I sto… borrowed, but otherwise they stay that way. Strange but convenient, I have to not chew on rocks so much anymore.”
“And what about your other heads?”
“Huh! I never thought about that. Wait a second.”
With this question Snow unbuttoned her shirt and made the collar fall over her shoulders. With an adorable look of exertion a second head popped out of the right shoulder and settled with the other one in the middle after an instance.
“Ahh.”
Looking into the second head’s mouth Null saw also shining reinforced teeth.
“Seems like all your heads have strong teeth. The dark golden Sheen looks like Adamantite. ‘Mountain Copper’ has settled in your Teeth and reinforced them to an impossible degree. You never stop to surprise me.”
“Aum. But you were not even shocked when I had a second head at the Battle! So unfair, I thought my Surprise would be more shocking to you.”
“While it was shocking, the reason why you evolved into this form surprised me even more.”
The time Null and Snow were finished with the battle and were visiting the ancient Bunker to seal their enemies forever inside Null asked Snow about her multiple head situation. The Answer was what was expected of Snow. Her thoughts were, she was a bit dim in specific things and needed to think things through more. To become more Mature and be more thoughtful she… thought more heads would help with thinking.
To be honest the multiple heads helpt her in multitasking, but she still was the silly rat Null knew. While she was not getting Mature faster with multiple heads Null had found a benefit of her having more than one head.
Taking his hands, Null patted both her heads separately while both heads smiled in delight.
“Nothing to do here for now. I thought Illstin might want to greet us or something else, but nothing had happened. Except for the hidden Guards of course.”
“Better to go to bed now.”
“No Foodrun?”
“I had to buy two ingots, our Money got a bit reduced. 1500 Platinum is not cheap. Well to see the quality difference between them and us was rather enlightening. If we had more Metals we could sell them too, but the little we get is negligible.”
“Aww… Fine, but at least breakfast?”
“...sure, that will be possible.”
“Yay!”
—
[Null of Starfall Mountain is leaving. Rendlar has a new contract with Null for ten Years. Mana infused Vegetables and Meat will be brought in. Orion Trading has made a prime offer for a share. Benefits for Market and increase in Mentalists abilities highly possible. Request further priority of friendly trade with Starfall Mountain and non aggression. Starfall exotics are no longer monopolized by offbranch Merchant Peddler King.]
On the way back with a Carriage Null is twitching inside, while Snow is eating something called melted sweet crystals, which definitely resembles caramel.
“Null, everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just feel… Huh, maybe that is the problem?”
“What is it?”
“I think I have found the thing that annoys me without end.”
“Isn’t that good? What is it?”
“A minute, I need to verify it first.”
‘Maiden, go to my Study and bring the scroll in the Second drawer on the left into my Realm.’
‘As you wish.’
In the Carriage, Null communicated with Maiden via Soulbound to find the crux of his problems. Entering the Study the scroll was easily found by Maiden and brought deep into the Castle. Since the Runic Circles work most of the conversion, Null’s Portal did not need to be somewhere convenient. The Transformation of some of the more violent Miasma would be still done in Null’s Realm but the now extra hardened Runes had the ability to only fizzle out once or twice a Month. Still not perfect, but they held long enough to do other things than perpetual repairs.
Dr. Simov had created ‘Rune Carvers’ which looked more like metallic crabs, than service robots, which not only could redraw the failed Runes but look over them to prevent such short circuits for even longer uptime. Sadly they could not innovate on their own and had to be reprogrammed if the circles were corrected into a new prototype configuration.
One large claw-like appendage to shield the Crab from too much Miasmic radiation and one small spike to reform what had been deformed in the runic circles.
‘Lord Null, the Scroll is here. What shall I do with it?’
Noticing Maiden replying to him, Null’s mentality came into the second Castle inside his Realm. In ‘Hells Invitation Room’ which was the equivalent of the Foyer in the other Castle except red instead of white, grotesque statues and the ever present smell of Metal stood Maiden with the Scroll in hand.
‘This might be it. The problem I have is not physical, but by doing something I normally do not do.’
Unfurling the Scroll in the air Null saw the written text. It was his to do list, where he worked on what to do next.
Listed was the travel they were on right now.
[Visit Glowing Ladle in Magus to explain the shortage of the Produce.]
Seeing the List and how he followed it made the itching Null felt even worse. Flooding the surrounding of the Scroll with Fire based Miasma made the Scroll instantly burst into fire.
The feeling of suffocation and even the itchiness started to wane, although there still was some of it.
‘Thank you Maiden, please get rid of the ash. Sorry for the mess.’
‘Of course Lord. It is my job, so no apologies are needed. Do you need something else?’
Bowing in the general direction where she felt the presence of Null, Null himself thought for a short time.
‘Right now, nothing comes to mind. I will tell you, if I have something else for you to do.’
‘Acknowledged.’
Back in the Carriage Null in his body sighed in relief.
“Found something?” Snow asked worriedly.
“Yup, it was the List. I can not bear to do things in a static form. If I do, I feel bound.”
“You can not do lists? Why?”
“Apparently it messes with my kind of being, that I am?”
“Sounds made up.”
“Whatever it is, it makes me itchy. Working on some kind of structured sequence of events makes me vomit. While we are at it- Coach! We wish to stop here!”
After a short while the Carriage started to stop. Bewildered, the Coachman let the two out, thinking they wanted to go to the bushes or maybe just frollic a bit in the grass before going further. The Coachman had seen many things, even some high standing juveniles stopping because the Carriage ‘swung too much’ while they were ‘busy’ and went behind a large tree to relieve their desires.
“We are fine here. The rest we go on foot, otherwise we get rusty moving on our own.”
“If you say so Mister. The rest of the coins you paid in advance are-”
“Do not care about that. Take it as an apology for making you do only half the travel.”
“Thank you Mister! If you need a ride again, please visit me at the Stables, I will be happy to drive you again!”
Nodding Null and Snow went to walk a bit, seeing the Carriage turn back to the next Village to let the Horses eat and rest.
“Snow, come here into my arms.”
“Hup!”
Jumping in Nulls Arms the space behind Null ripped open by something wrong. Tendrils made out of black shadows embraced both of them and dragged them into the spacial hole before it closed behind them.
The next thing was Snow and Null falling out of the Portal deep in the Castle.
“Huh? I thought you would call Bapho. Now you can do that too?”
“This Body is… Special. You see I made it with the thought of ‘why do I not fuse the powers of all of my Family in one Body’ and created Overlord. He can not do everything and is inferior in all aspects, but he was my try on the whole being connected thing.”
“So you are all of us?”
“Not really, Overlord is a bit of a failure. Jack of all trades, Master of none kind of thing. Teleporting is only possible to my Portal. I can glide in shadows but not fully become shadow itself and luckily I do not hear the plants talk incessantly.”
“Oh. So will you change again in the future?”
“Not quite. While a Failure his original tricks are rather nice. Also a large arsenal of Cantrips are really nice to use.”
“How about improving Overlord?”
“Right now this body is at its limits. More and it would burst like the other failures. A miracle for him to have fused correctly like this, better not tempt luck.”
Nodding Snow and Null went to the front of the Castle.
“And now?”
“Now? Huh, I think I need to do something random. Need to wash off that itch I still feel somehow.”
—
Rendlar was again summoned to Orion Trading, where a high Merchant from Ilstin was sitting in.
“And this was the infamous Null? He looked not quite dangerous.”
The high Merchant said in a bored tone. Reading the Surveillance reports he could understand why this individuum was so sought after. Someone who owns extreme high yield in Mana Vegetables and Monster Meat makes a good partner. Also the subordinates he knows about were frightening and also highly skilled.
The Ratgirl can transport tons of Items like a living magic pouch without a way to see what she had hidden or even force it out. Friends in the dark woods- No they were newly classified as Misty Forest, which had a high chance to be also the doing of those people. Then there was a true Witch at his site. Witches never lived together and kept their coven small to at most three. A Witch working with non Witches like that is more than irregular, especially for her to be living on this broken Continent.
Then there was the tension with Telk. Not only was there a kind of Animosity, they attacked one of the Cities, which strangely had been hushed away by the Magi around there.
“While he is not dangerous if you are friendly to him, he can be dangerous. Fragmental information shows him to have fought Elite Kights, Magi and a Magus. Not just any Mage but a Magus of the Willard Family.”
“The missing William Willard, right?”
“Yes, but he is suspected dead. Why would he not go back to his Family, even after something like that? His Father has some connections, even if their Family is declining fast.”
“Arcana might know more, but we have no Spies in their Main City. Okay, we have a small Kingdom in the Mountains with enough strength to eliminate an elite incursion. What benefits will he bring?”
The Merchant of Orion Tradings spoke up right at this moment: “The Monopoly of the Peddler King would be broken on steady influx of high Mana Produce. The fresh ones have enough Mana to inflict Mana burn fast. The Mana Water has increased its Mana concentration even more as I have heard. The best thing is, he wants to bring it into a Storage by himself for a rather low transportation price for the high risk there would be. I estimate an increase of the National budget of 5% only by him alone!”
“...Now I start to understand. This could be a great increase in Money Flow, while Orion would get a higher Seat in politics. Oh and Rendlar, you might be one of the highest solo Merchants. Better not make too many Enemies, this could be deadly.”
“I am honest and trustworthy. Also I have no reason to make legislation requests.”
“...What I meant is you should make Allies before you have true Enemies!”
“Ah! I understand and will try my best to find good people.”
“...You are a bit too honest to be a true merchant, Rendlar.”
“Heard that way too often.”
