"It's a tie." The Captain remarked after inspection of the area, broken golems, and damaged armor of his men as well as holes in the brick laid pavement. After looking at Adilita's dress he sighed and pulled out a few gold coins while muttering an apology after handing them gently to her. "Follow me then and I will let my men clean up this mess." Adilita's dress was indeed sturdy, however it wasn't invulnerable to some of the elements that the guards used against her. Calico purred, literally at the moral victory while a furious male catfolk missed his chance to strangle her as his hands swiped. "What the hell Calico? Please explain what you just did. If you could have beaten them all by yourself then why didn't you do it earlier when I was fighting the girl?"
"The girl has a name " Adilita Kokoro responded back sarcastically after her emotions settled into a sort uneasy calm. Having spent a great deal of energy on just the fighting alone meant that her systems needed to reboot and scan for error. There was much information being downloaded from the battle's periphery visual array and it pummeled her inner holographic world with data. Adilita's first course was. to set her body into autonomous follow as she dealt with the information. It made her normally alert gaze glassy so that Calico's slit pupils caught on.
"Gypsy, do you think I did that because I could just ended the misunderstanding with a snap of my fingers? We attacked Adilita we would have lost her if the Captain hadn't interfered. By sheer luck brother did she choose to agree to go to help us with our problems. You stalled long enough for me to summon and I descovered something that I hadn't before." Calico's finger thoughtfully pressed against the corner of her lips as she followed the Captain through the streets of the city. Golems and demi-hu mans alike parted around them as they cleared through the stretch of oceanside business district. The wolf itself followed joyfully behind them which made a great wedge in the crowd however it was the Captain's and Cross' dignitary appearances that he had the greatest impact on making the citizens move. "What did you realize?" Cross asked with a smile as he gave his most classy ruff cowboy grin at the pair as his ears had picked up on the conversation. "I realized, gunslinger, that the patron of the city was watching over me and decided to lend a spell from the library during the fight. I wouldn't have ever been able to cast such magic without the complete formation. I hope you know what that means of course. That is when you borrow from Yeviathan City-" Calico narrated her point until the Captain's surprised gaze showed a brilliant spark of understanding that he finished the sentence for her in his own personal way. "-You pay it back two fold to the patron himself."
Adilita's attention went alert immediately since the conversation carried into pertinent information. "Carrow Cornrow knew all along?" Adilita asked.
"No." Calico answered however her eyes glistened a bright divine blue in a brief flash. Adilita choked on a string of bitter emotions popping on her internal database as she became furious. The android's timeframe to process the implications of what could be done about it and how much she already missed Misha's kindness compared to the present company. Calico of course appeared to have both told the truth and a lie together as Adilita's facial recognition and vital signs read the woman. After being betrayed once already, Adilita wasn't as naive to believe everything anymore since. Calico smiled and placed a comforting hand on Adilita's shoulder. "We're sorry but it's not like we have better options than to appeal to those who have the knowledge we wanted. You came here looking for someone yourself and right now it suits you as well."
"I didn't ask to be dragged into this." Adilita's pouted before looking over at Cross. "What I don't get is why you're here. You're not even a part of our problems and questions but you got involved anyways. I had just been awake a few days and you're here in Yeviathan when I last saw you in Mesta." Cross tipped his ten gallon hat up above his eyes and pulled out a wood carved drawing which made Adilita's eyes narrow on suspicion. "Why do you have my father's picture in your hands and how did you know that it's important to me?"
Gypsy and Calico high fived each other and traded coins from pockets to purse. Calico had an 'I told you so,' gloat in her eyes as she followed the highest quarters of the guard district. "We uhh. Saw it coming." Calico explained then paid Cross Saber the coins that had been exchanged. "As a mage, I had summoned Cross yesterday from the Adventurer's guild."
Adilita's furious face glistened red with rage. Her circuits boiled with shame as she realized how she'd unwittingly walked into a trap so shortly after coming into existence. Her own fingers spasmed back and forth as she realized how complicated things were in the land. She also realized that she wasn't really at fault for the situation either since the turn of events appeared to be heading towards her quest. "Do me a favor. Next time you 'see it coming,' close your eyes and walk away." Adilita glared at Cross only to get a good looking smile flashed right back. "Easy there Miss, it's just Friday. There's always a date with Destiny every Friday and you just happened to french kiss him today and invited him for dinner. Calico happened to get a big tip as a server during your date so everything worked out for the best." A few coins clonked in the palm of Cross' hands before one slipped into the pocket of the Captain. "I was just passing by because we weren't expecting you for a while. I don't know this Carrow Corrow fellow but it looks like he paid Destiny's dinner tab and set you right up so that you'd get the love proposal you're expecting." The Captain nodded and brought their attention to a long courthouse with a practice yard full of training men and folks from patrol returning to report their shift. "I wouldn't worry about it 01." The Captain responded as he led through the chambers of the building before arriving at an ornate door. The group entered and the holy wolf remained behind the door to guard from curious bypasses.
What appeared to be an office with a weapons mantle and an oceanside balcony full of colorful materials and paintings was the interior of the room. Adilita's surprise and interest got the better of her and she explored the room. Mesta was very different from here as it seemed that the open balcony was high above a cliff range overlooking a pier full of ships of mechanical design. "You like?" The Captain asked and pulled out a few sweets from a shelf box and placed it before his four guests. Calico giggles as she sees the decorative lettering of her sibling's store on the box. Gypsy still took a treat from the box of Gypsy's Candies and offered one to Adilita. They each posted in different positions as the Captain pulled out a report and a document. "Sign each of you as witnesses to this situation." The Captain ordered and surprisingly the twins and Cross signed. Adilita didn't really show any interest in signing until the captain brought out a document that was familiar from the library. "Coincidentally you have something you shouldn't." Adilita said and pointed to the first name on the list and the cause of being called zero one. She didn't need to sign the document because the original architect of the city was her sponsor. "It's only a copy of the royal lines of those who first signed the charter. We keep it as a reminder for the more powerful demi-beings to show who is in charge of keeping order. My grandmother was one of such persons who signed the original one with the architect and I am part of the city's infrastructure."
Adilita's interest rose at the thought of learning more about this strange city. "It's quite advanced civilization here. How is that possible?" Adilita asked since she'd actually thought to take information from a golem during her brief espionage. "There was a war once between the major city-states and the rulers that forced the Demi population to experience a massive loss of life. Dimni Ester happened to take advantage of the fresh bodies with his necromancer powers so we had our patron design something like you. Something that isn't actually alive but still functional but the twins seem to know more about automatons from their world."
Gypsy leaned off the wall and stood up. Adilita noticed that once again his weapons and clothes had changed. It wasn't the sword and buckle shield on his hands nor was it the dagger. Instead he had a device and a small contraption that moved nearby. It appeared to be a miniature person clothes in some fine coats and gear by itself. It bowed at Adilita and then the Captain."When we arrived in Anadoria , we met a librarian here in Yeviathan and traded as much information as we could to earn enough money to start up our magic sweets shop. My 'sister' and I come from parallel worlds but we're the exact same person. We share similarities and dissimilar identities of each other so we have different experiences with our world's magical technology. We shared everything and eventually caught the eyes of Carrow Corrow despite being summoned originally by the architect." Gypsy explained his story and role in this and it began to dawn on Adilita as to what he meant as she interacted with the miniature android-like automaton. She could see from the similarities between the creature in front of her and Yeviathan golems. "You'd have to be a thousand years old from my database if you knew the architect and are Generals for the black dragon." Adilita said as she pulled out the backlog of information and history that she'd torn out of the crystals the day she was born. Her consciousness was beginning to piece itself better now and bringing her awareness of the city and the twins importance in the construction. "The charter the Captain has is the second one and Citizen zero one rebuilt this city twice since then."
Gypsy whistled his impressed surprised and tugged a whisker. "I thought you were just another of his mindless drone experiments Adilita but it looks like you know what is going on. No wonder Carrow Corrow is eager to get his hands on your blueprints." Calico's fingers went to grip her staff tighter as she seemed uneasy about the piercing gaze on her from Adilita. The Captain's jaw dropped as he scrambled through his records and history books before opening the pages and finding out that he'd been toyed with the minute he'd arrived at the scene. The thick tome flew at Gypsy's head and conked him unconscious while Adilita, Calico, and Cross laughed at the response of a preposterous idea.
"You're immortal aren't you?" The Captain asked as he rubbed the bridge of his nose as his face showed in great detail the folly of having interrupted the trios squabble on this day. "Two of Black Dragon's generals are here in my office and one of them is taking a nap on the floor." He emphasized his point since he could only guesture at the automaton fanning Gypsy's multicolored hair. "It's taken at least two hundred years since the first golem mage appeared in the royal family and much earlier than that when the first historical golem was created after the city-state war."
Adilita watched as her data began to fill in the blanks but also stood beside Cross Saber in the room at this moment. They both expressed a realization at how tense the truth was to them. Yeviathan was a city of demi or demon population that immigrated under the protection of the charter contract. While it didn't actually mean much to the pair that the roots of the city was different from any city, it did however spelled trouble for Calico. The Captain asked, "How old are you two Generals?"
Calico gave a hiss, "Get back to doing your work. I don't need to tell you anything."
The Captain sneered and pulled out half of a sliced coin and placed it on the table. "It was a draw and the terms were to answer any questions. We can resume our little escapade anytime you like and since we're inside the courthouse, my superior officers are much much more capable of handling a pair of immortals and a rogue golem." The Captain tapped the coin on the table while Calico gripped the edge of her staff with white bare knuckles. Adilita's smile felt vindicated by this as she saw the priestess suffer as they'd made her feel earlier. It was in fact a surprise when Calico recomposed herself into someone of dignity and order of someone who had the power to impart great wisdom. "Articles of the Adventure state that members of the Adventurer's Guild are except from the interference of the city-state common law. Doing so will result in fines and a suspension of assistance from the guild for a period of no less than a month." Calicos voice carried back gently with legal history that nearly caused Adilita to imitate a false yawn. It was clear who was cat and who was mouse between the female catfolk and the Captain.
"Give me a reason not to risk that by arresting you or calling a demon hunter guildhouse to do it for me to go around your pesky article. I need to know why the architect' creation and two legendary generals were having a fancy picnic in public inside my city and why the entire history of my city is brought into question." The Captain pushed back with his words and took a bite of the candy himself. Obviously, he appeared not threatened by Calico at all but Cross chimed in. "Woah there, once you call a demon hunter here you're going to have to explain why the city got destroyed during the arrest. I know a fair lady who makes it her business taking down the large and in charge and it's not a pretty sight. You might want to rethink before calling in the best of the best for a pair of retired generals." Cross paused nervously before adding, "That if you are retired right?"
Calico nodded in agreement to the interceptor before taking the half coin out from the Captain's desk and using it as a projectile to wake Gypsy up. The automaton ducked below the coin and it's head knocked Gypsy's nose causing him to jump into a 45° angle and dismiss the contraption for another strange wardrobe transformation. "God's I hate that. Carrow Corrow visited my dream and said you should hurry up with the report and come see him tomorrow." Gypsy complained.
"We don't age Captain but we do due every once in a while. Your patron has made sure to reincarnate us quite a few times already whenever we get trapped between our world's and yours." The Captain groaned and scribbles a note as Calico explained the situation. 'Two insane immortals who die and come back to life attacked the first Citizen of Yeviathan city personal golem then attacked the guards who arrived there. Due to the backing of the city's patron dirty they cannot be apprehended. The fine is-" The numbers rolled across the paper into an astronomical cost to which Calico produced a gold bar weighing at least twenty pounds and placed it on the Captain's desk. Without skipping a beat the Captain pulled out a weight measure and groaned. "Get out. I'm getting too old for this magical shenanigans. Tell Carrow Corrow he needs to pay the Old Guard better to keep his secrets if he's prepared you for whatever the hell you're up to in my city."
The Captain signed the document and personally opened the door to get them out. The four were leaving but the Captain stopped Cross at the door and offered him wine as thanks for the Adventurer's Guild assistance. Adilita was still troubled by the picture her father in Cross' hands but it was already getting late. Calico, Gypsy, Adilita and the holy wolf walked towards an inn nearby to settle for the night. Although Adilita was an android, she knew her existence imitation was that of a pseudo-lifeform and preferably wanted to rest. The twins were happy dragging the girl which they appeared to treat as an adopted to their merry party. Calico footed the bill and then it was off for a night's rest. Clearly the twins could have ran straight to Carrow Corrow but they explained that it was necessary to improve on any contingencies for the sake of Adilita's survival since it wouldn't even be impossible for Carrow Corrow to want to dissemble Adilita del Kokoro. They advised and educated Adilita that night about the world she'd been born into. She learned the history that they knew, the continental struggles and structures were revealed as well as the major players which hastened Adilita's guess that her model name and number meant that she wasn't the first android to leave the facility if birth. There were pieces of history that should not have been known to her yet it seemed she'd been already aware of it as though the twins weren't her progenitors in creating her but rather her grandparents. They confirmed it that her memory might have been wiped out before by her father during some of Anadoria's finest days of old. It went on through the night as she learned survival skills of different social classes and modern periods. Mainly though about adventuring through the work so as not to be clueless in her questioning of her father. With the night closing, Adilita eventually powered down to restore her energy.
(Thank you for being patient. We will continue the story once again)