"Xaviel, I know you're secret," Hoff said.
(What? My secret? Does he know?) Thought Xaviel.
.
.
.
"You have a Forte."
"What on earth?" Xaviel eye's widened.
(What did he just say? Forte?)Thought Xaviel.
"Forte. An ability possessed by the people of this continent. An ability that was bestowed upon ancestors to ancestors. By every father to their child," Hoff explained.
"The power to make things intangible. That's your Forte, right?"
(To make things intangible? Does he mean Phantom Armament?) Thought Xaviel.
"I don't know what you mean. But, if you mean the thing I did yesterday when we fought. Then you're right."
"How shocking! To think other people besides my son and me possess a Forte." Hoff said.
"Listen to me, Xaviel. In this part of the province. People with our powers aren't allowed to roam free. We pose an imminent threat to the Mylen family just by existing."
"Why is-"
"Shh" Hoff put his hands on Xaviel's mouth.
Hoff nudged to Xaviel and whispered, "We must not continue here. Follow me as quietly as you can".
Hoff then moved slowly to a bookshelf. His hand browsed the bookshelf and stopped at a green-colored book.
CLICK
Hoff pulled to book, which turned out to be a lever. It had opened the lower part of the shelf, revealing a trapdoor. He looks around and signals Xaviel to follow him. Then they both entered the trapdoor. As the trapdoor was closed, the lower part of the shelf returned back to its initial state.
***
Inside the trapdoor was a ladder leading to a cellar 20ft below the shack. The cellar was a simple room with 2 doors on the north and south sides. The furniture inside the basement was a table and chair, accompanied by a weapon rack and armor stand. The lighting was dimly lit because the room uses an oil lamp.
Xaviel and Hoff are now seated on the chair, facing each other between the table. "To answer your question of why Mylen family is after us is directly aligned with the very origin of our power,"
"As what I've explained, Forte was an ancestral power. But it only ever started to appear when Kyma Ryzes first inflicted a devastating blow to the battlefield. King Kyma had the ability to bend the will of sea, wind, fire, and the earth itself," Hoff explained.
"Bend the will? What does that mean?"
"I mean, using them as his own weapons against anyone that dares to oppose him. When fighting the country nearest to the sea, he created a massive tsunami to destroy the army. When fighting a country nearest to mountains, he produced hail that attacked indiscriminately. When fighting those closest to the volcanos, he forced the mountains to erupt, desolating most of the population. And made it so the former land couldn't grow anything,"
"That's terrifying," Xaviel said.
"It is only after that dark age did many other aristocrat families rose to power as a Lady or Lord. Every single one of those Lord/Lady possesses powers just as terrifying as the King himself. How their predecessor gained those abilities are currently unknown. Still, it is suspected to have something to do with the King. That's why some Lord/Lady will create bounties to catch anyone that possesses that kind of power. Either to make them a slave, bodyguard, or worse."
"Mylen family was one of them. That's why I need you to slip in and find out what or where is she stashing all the Forteans in this province. Are they safe? Can we rescue them?" Hoff continued.
"Why can't you do this by yourselves?" Xaviel asked.
"Maru and Me were forced to swear our allegiance to Victoria Mylen, the current Lady of Mylenia. Maru served Victoria as her chief guard while I became her Economic Advisor. My father, the previous leader of the Crestia household, made a pact with the Mylen family. It is directly in line with the scandal of human exploitation that I told you before."
"The part where other aristocrats forced Mylenia's leader to give their worker's rights?"
"Yes. If I were to get caught, my family would not only be cast out but potentially killed. I can't let Quilla and Mika suffer because of me,"
"But, what would happen if they caught me?"
"Of course, Mylen would keep an eye on us. If the condition was as is,"
"What do you mean? As is?"
Hoff searched his pocket and took out a card. He wiped it and put it on the table between himself and Xaviel. "This is an Identification Card. It shows our status, occupation, and where the card is issued," Hoff said.
The identification card reads,
++
Name: Hoff Praya Crestia
Noble
Occupation: Court Economic Advisor
Issued: Mylenia
++
"I assume you would want me to make one of these identification card for myself,"
"Yes, you're right," Hoff replied.
"But how would I do that?"
"In the old days, you could make Id Cards here on Mylenia province. However, that was way back before the aristocracy of this province became corrupt. No one can make Id card anymore. Thus residents of Kirzig Village can't leave to other provinces because they don't have Id Card,"
"Luckily for you, at the time of my visit to Heliconia. I managed to find someone in their province that can create Id Cards,"
"You mean legally? Or do you mean fake Id Cards?"
"Legally issued Id Cards,"
"Hmm, how come Heliconia issued Id Cards while Mylenia doesn't?"
"Heliconia is a semi-tropical province. Many traders from across the continent would buy their wares. Because of this condition, their court decided to create special Id Cards for outsiders,"
"So it must mean that the Id Card is specifically intended for traders?"
"Correct. And with that Id Card, you can re-enter Mylenia as a visiting merchant,"
"I see. From there, what should I do?"
"From there, we should gather information more about the plot behind the Mylen family. But to do that, I need time to further plan so that the family don't suspect a thing,"
"Sounds good to me. So my current task is to create a new Id card and to re-enter Kirzig Village as a traveling merchant?"
"Yes. Take this too,"
Hoff handed Xaviel a satchel.
Xaviel opened it to find a coin purse, 2 corked flasks filled with green substance, and an envelope.
"The coin purse should be enough for you to purchase Id card, Visa, and wares that you intend to re-sell. Just remember not to spend on sketchy or contraband items that might get you in trouble,"
"Alright,"
"Oh, and one more thing," Hoff handed a piece of paper to Xaviel. "To your front is a door leading to the Underground tunnel. If you follow the path, you'll eventually reach Heliconia. But if you follow the path to your back," Hoff turns backward as Xaviel does the same.
"This tunnel would lead you to the Mylen Manor Forest. But in this tunnel," Hoff went silent and opened the tunnel door. "I had already made room for you. To sleep and store your items,"
The room wasn't the best-looking kind. However, it's decent enough to be livable. It has another oil lamp, carpet, and a not-so-great conditioned sleeping rug supported with hay. Apart from the general looks of the room, something catches Xaviel's eyes. Inside the room, there was another door beside the sleeping rug.
"What is that room for?"
"Ah, that room. Umm, how to explain, have you seen the Nexus tree before?"
"Nexus Tree?"
"It's a huge tree. By huge, I mean Crazy HUGE! Inside the Mylen Forest,"
Xaviel's head suddenly recalls back to the first time he woke up in this world.
"Yeah.. I've seen it before. It was the tree that pierced the clouds, was it?"
"Well, if you wanna be technical about it, yes. It 'pierced' the clouds," Hoff replied. "Inside this door," Hoff opened the door beside the sleeping rug to reveal another room that was filled with boxes of uncorked flasks and a giant tree root. "This is the room what I call a harvesting area," Hoff continued.
"The Nexus tree is a mysterious species. Even my father didn't know its origin nor how it grew to be so big. Then not long ago, I found an old manuscript. It records the uses of the tree sap for all-purpose medicine. However, most of the manuscript is in an ancient language which I do not fully understand. So up until now, I've been collecting tree sap from its root by cutting the phloem system. Then experimented on the sap to create medicines. I only managed to brew a 'mend potion' by combining the tree sap with blue herbs I bought at the market."
As Hoff explained the story about the nexus tree, Xaviel nudged closer and closer to the root. Xaviel was mesmerized by the tree's figure. Familiar feelings course through his body as a tingling sensation begins to occur. The tingle was caused by a sudden amusement and excitement that he felt. Somehow cajoling him to come closer and closer until finally. His hand touched the tree's root.
Jolts of sparking energy formed around his hand, making the room much brighter than before, gaining Hoff's attention.
"Xaviel?" Hoff said in confusion as he looked over to the tree's root.
"Mr. Hoff, what is ?"
The room suddenly flashed, making Hoff flinch and fall to the ground. His eyes were hazy from the flash. After a while, he looks around the room to find that Xaviel is lying down on the floor.
"Gosh, what happened," Hoff said as he approached Xaviel. He shook Xaviel's body frantically. However, there's no response from him. He remains lying on the floor, somewhat lifeless. "Hey Xaviel? Do you hear me? Xaviel!!".