Chapter 4: Learning the basics
In the middle of a thick forest.
Arthur was walking alone on the road that led to an unknown destination. Why was he walking alone? Where was Amon? Well…
After the whole ordeal with him blowing up the cliff Amon suddenly proclaimed that he was a shy person and that he didn't want to be seen or heard by anyone. This confused Arthur because despite them knowing each other for only a couple of hours Amon to him seemed nothing but shy. He obviously questioned the fact but Amon only gave strange answers like:
"People don't really like me and I don't like them even more"
Or something like:
"Believe me that I am doing everyone a favour. I am actually saving lives"
What lives? From whom? From what? Arthur instantly asked him this but his answers only caused Arthur to just have more and more question marks in his head as he answered with something along the lines:
"Self control"
Or:
"Extending the lives of others for a while"
Arthur gave up after hearing this and finally asked what he meant by not being seen or heard by others. Amon's reaction to this question was even stranger as he did not say anything for a solid minute almost as if he himself was wondering what he meant by this. His final answer went something like this:
"I will… hide… nea- no! No! Inside… your shadow! Yes, I will hide inside your shadow and when I want to talk to you I will just whispe- no, no I will project my thoughts in your mind? All clear? Great! No more questions!"
And just like that Arthur was 'left alone' by Amon as he started to 'hide' in his 'shadow'.
Seriously, if Arthur didn't know any better he would think that he was just making things up as he went because he was seriously scared of something and wanted to conceal himself but still keep a tab on what he was up to while doing so.
Thank God he knew better. God?
Anyway, Arthur let his thoughts run wild as he travelled through the unknown world towards an equally unknown destination.
His solitude however did not last long as he noticed a carriage heading towards him. He braced himself with a multitude of scenarios rushing through his head. What if it stops? Will the people inside want to question him? Well… the reality was more simple as it just passed right next to him.
'Disappointed?'
A voice full of ridicule appeared inside of Arthur's head. Amon finally gave a sign of being alive after hours of silence.
"No"
He answered simply and started to digest his 'exciting' experience.
He knew what a carriage was and what he saw clearly fit the criteria of something that could be called as such but when it passed right by him, he could not help but notice the difference from his understanding to what he actually saw.
The carriage's design resembled that of a covered carriage from a victorian era and was entirely black with a difference that it was driven by no one nor did it even have a spot for where the driver could sit. However the most curious aspect of the entire carriage was not it itself but the creature that moved it forward.
Its body seemed to be made out of some sort of bronze metal and in shape resembled a horse, an animal Arhur seemed to know of from somewhere. The eyes of the creature had no pupils and resembled blue crystals. If not for the fact that it moved he might have thought that it was not even alive and instead was some sort of statue.
'Sigh… Your intuition is not wrong since it is not a alive'
Arthur's doubts were answered even though he didn't voice them out loud.
"You can hear my thoughts?"
When Arthur asked a loud scoff sounded inside his mind.
'Isn't it obvious? Since I can project my thoughts inside your mind wouldn't it be logical that I can also hear yours? For your knowledge one of my titles is that of a heart and mind demon'
Amon answered almost as if offended by the question.
"I see… Then do you know what that creature was?"
Arthur did not think much of this revelation and instead focused back to the weird animal he saw.
'Well… let's start off with the fact that this was no creature. I recall they call those things automatons, a kind of magical golem that has very limited intelligence and must be controlled by someone nearby in order to properly function'
Arthur seemed enlightened as he suddenly 'recalled' a lot of information about golems and other artificially made creatures. In his new found knowledge he did not find a term automaton but now he at least slightly understood how those things worked.
"It's not that there was no driver but that the driver was inside of the carriage. How marvellous!"
Arthur could not help but voice his amazement.
'It is really easy to impress you… I am afraid that when we reach the city you will suffer from a heart attack. Maybe I should explain some things to you in advance so you won't embarrass yourself…'
Amon paused after saying this and gathered his thoughts in order to properly explain things.
'First off we are currently on a rather large island called Veron located in the middle sea. It's a territory owned by the similarly named Verondian Republic and is the eight member state of the Iris Confederation. The currency used by the Republic and other members of the Confederation is called the iris vin or in short vin. The name stems from the white coloured metal vintren but that's not important I guess…'
He once again paused but quickly continued from where he left off.
'There are two types of the vin coin. First is a common vin and the other more valuable is called a noble vin. The conversion between the two equals to one hundred meaning that if you have one noble vin you can exchange it for one hundred common vin and vice versa. Do you understand?'
Arthur seemed to get sick from the sudden amount of information thrown at him but nodded nonetheless and continued his travel while Amon kept on explaining more and more things.