Trace looked at the map in front of him. It was drawn on a big board which stood at a corner of the street. Names of surrounding streets, famous shops and landmarks was marked on the map. Most importantly, it clearly depicted the alleyways that entangled around the region.
After taking a deep look and scribbling in a small notebook, Trace vanished into the alleys of Casairl. Most of the buildings here were 2-3 story tall living quarters with a few shops here and there.
The destination - Reverend Master Mister Overlord Kaiser, 99 Casairl, Koyoko.
Sun hung towards the west casting Trace's shadow towards his back. Soon his shadow was covered by the building The joint buildings in front of him had the numbers 96, 97, 98, …. 100! In confusion, Trace went around the establishment again.
It was combination of four buildings but wasn't is supposed to be of five? Trace stood behind the second building, in a narrow alley and looked above. Sliding ladder was hanging far beyond his reach. A canvas could be seen on the top making it seem like some sort of place to live in.
Could this be the residence of the fake ring maker? Trace knocked on the door of building 98. And soon he got an answer, the 99 was indeed the place above that ladder. But no one knew how to get there.
Even after looking around for a while, Trace did not find any means to bring the ladder down. Pondering, he took out two boxes from his clothes. A black box with blue swirling patterns and a white box with red patterns.
Two type-Zeus talisman were used the night Trace went to save him master. Whereas, one type-Zenna talisman was used for searching the needle Khufu had supposedly dropped. Now he was left with a 8 cards in the black box and 4 in the white.
Trace took out a marble colored card from the black box. It was a type-Zade talisman meaning something made to help Sorcerers in day to day life but could be used notoriously. Whereas type-Zenna were rated cordial, complete opposite to the adverse type-Zeus talismans.
With a clicking sound the card was broken into two. Holding two pieces in one hand each, Trace stuck them on the wall. He channeled mana and the talisman refused to budge from the wall.
Trace tested the talisman applying varying force but as long as he kept channeling mana, the pieces were stuck on the wall like an unmovable objects. He cutoff mana transfer from one talisman and put it up higher.
Then with a light jump, he stuck the second talisman piece on the wall. His feet were above the ground now. With great effort he pushed his left hand upwards after cutting off mana supply.
Clang, the talisman was stuck higher. Again, this time with the right hand. Trace took one more step upwards. But his arms were slowly getting heated and shoulders experienced a light pain.
Without making another move upwards, he cut the mana transfer completely and landed on the ground with the talisman. Trace looked at the spot he reached a moment ago and then at the sliding ladder above.
If I had something to support my legs, I could probably make it or if I could bring down the ladder. Trace pondered before taking out another card. Channeling mana inside, a thin string came out of the card.
Examining it closely, about five inches of the string's end was made up of a different material than the rest. Trace wrapped the string around his hand and swung it. With increasing mana more and more string came out of the card.
Trace stopped and concentrated on his mana. According to the instructions, the string can be extended and retracted with mana flow. But no matter how much he tried, the string only lengthened.
Quite a bit of time was spent on trying to figure how the talisman worked but it did work as expected. Giving up, Trace tried to swing the string with the card at the top towards the sliding ladder.
Sometimes the card would hit the ladder but most of time it did not. Trace failed again and again to make the card wrap around the ladder's rung. Dejected he tired to wrap the string around the talisman to pack it.
But a sudden idea occurred to him. Instead of wrapping the string around its original talisman, Trace took out the marble colored card from before. Uncertainty was visible in his eyes but he still gave it a try.
Trace tested the new setup, he channeled the mana into the string and tried to force it through the marble colored talisman. He was not sure if it would work but still held the piece towards the wall.
It worked! The two talisman were connected through Trace's mana. And the marble colored talisman stuck on the wall. Finally, after a few tried, the talisman stuck to the ladder and Trace pulled with all his might. The string, despite being extremely thin did not break because of the constant mana flow.
The ladder slid down with a rasping sound. Trace wrapped up his items and took a step to climb the ladder. A cold feeling entered his hands but steadily he climbed to the top where sun endowed its warmth.
…
The layout on the roof had a small wooden pavilion in between, surrounded by densely packed tents. All of it was fit between three walls of the surrounding building. A one big mansion made of canvas with only the raised wooden roof at its center.
Trace turned backwards to check the mechanism of the sliding ladder. It was fairy easy to pull the ladder back. A rope with hook at its tip was sitting on a pulley.
The hook got easily attached to a rung and was pulled by Trace. With a screech following by clang clang the ladder shrunk and the hook was removed.
Trace exhaled a deep breath and looked towards the west. The sun dyed the roof of the buildings in a bright light. Most of the buildings had slanting roofs but different establishments big and small, extended far into the distance with no end in sight.
How should I approach this, Trace questioned in his mind. He could not knock on a canvas and no door bells were in sight. The most conspicuous was a blue zipper gate that matched its surroundings.
Trace opened the zip and crouched inside the tent. Light from outside lit up the inside outshining the dim lamps. It seemed like a mini pathway before a turn.
The first tent Trace passed through did not have anything except two strip lamps on either sides. These lamps were decorated with complex frames but the light tube inside was only the size of an adult's hand.
After looking both ways, Trace decided to take a right turn. He pushed open the curtain hanging and entered the next tent. This one only hand a small table alongside a small bed. But the next one was filled with seemingly large pillows and quilts.
It wasn't long before Trace made it to the middle. Just as Trace expected it was a wooden pavilion. Piles of books were raised around it like walls and in between was a grand mattress. At the side of the mattress was a table lamp.
This space was lit up in a blue hue and was big enough for Trace to stand. Another curtain was hanging one end and a ladder beside it.
"Is anyone here?
"Reverend Master Mister Overlord Kaiser," Trace called out.
A loud harrumph resounded through the entire pavilion. Chills went down Trace's spine as he looked around. The sound seemingly came from all the direction at once.
"Even the unrivaled Eternal Emperor has to ask for permission before entering my adobe," the same voice sounded again.
"And you junior dare!" a hint of anger could be traced on the voice.
"This daddy never forgets and never forgives!"
The contempt in the voice was clear as a jade. The accusation made were on point and the words felt like the only truth left in this world. Trace was scared out of his wits when he saw a man slowly climb down the ladder.
The man had a clean face and long white hair flowing down his head. His eyes were sharp and eyebrows even sharper. The curves and highlights on his face were striking under the blue hue.
Trace immediately apologized and put forward the map. The signature and a note from the person who supposedly lived here were on it.
The man rubbed his hand on his cheeks before giving the map a deep look. After a while a reminiscing look appeared on his face as he looked in the distance. No one knew what he was thinking, only light nods could be seen.
"I hope fortune teller of the Coiling Cradle is in great health. Boy, who are you to him?" the man asked.
"I..He is my master and I am his apprentice, Trace," Trace blurted out.
Trace relieved a nod of approval and slowly calmed down. He tried to see the number of rings on the man's hands but was unable. Since the man was standing with hands behind the back.
"What made you seek for this humble one's presence," the man said.
"I want fake rings," Trace said excitedly.
"Presumptuous!"
Suddenly the atmosphere changed, the man gave off an enraged aura. He moved towards the stairs as if he was about to leave but turned back at Trace again.
"Speak carefully little boy, last time someone crossed the line in my presence and the rest is history dyed in red," the man spoke again.
"I am in the wrong, Reverend Master Mister Overlord Kaiser. My master said that gentlemen only made fair trades. Is there anything I can trade you for in exchange for the fake rings," Trace said.
"Indeed, gentlemen like myself do not take advantage of the weak. But remember boy, you can only call me Exalted Reverend Master Mister Overlord Kaiser," the man said in a satisfactory tone before leaving the room.
Trace nervously looked at the direction the man went. For a moment he felt like seeing an illusion just as the man entered the tent. A light headache dawned in his head.
After a while the man returned holding a porcelain box with one hand. The box was as if it was the only object that ought to be the center of attention. It was decorated with gold at the bottom and was embedded with diamonds.
"Unfortunately, this current state does not let me use the full extent of my power. If not, I could open this without blinking an eyelid. This is an otherworldly puzzle box. If you have the ability to open it, I will bestow the formula of making fake rings upon you."