Log 3:
Date: July 5th, 2190 I.C.
Time: 20:26
Location: Brew It Rai Cafe/Rai Family Residence
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"Welcome home!"
Sheila and Darren Rai hollered back to me in kind after I loudly announced my presence.
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These two lovely folks before me were my parents and Brew It Rai Cafe owners. They were a sound couple, if I do say so myself, who have been married for nearly three decades. About five years ago, when we moved to Imperium City from the border town of Eloimale, with nothing but our belongings and money they had saved up from their younger days, my parents purchased this cottage here in Souk Agora and built their cafe from the ground up.
They had no business for a couple of years, but over time, they became the hottest cafe in South Souk Agora, selling out of nearly every pastry within a day. They expanded their cafe into East Souk Agora just last year, which was doing splendidly.
They were a business-savvy couple, my parents, which my brother inherited, allowing him to climb up to become the Leading Merchant of the FESC. Unfortunately, I was never as talented as my brother or parents, so I decided to pursue a different path in life. Guess one could say I'm the oddball of the family. Nevertheless, my parents didn't hate me for that and cherished me like they would my brother.
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"Busy as always?" I laugh as the customer from before, a lady around my mother's age, brushes past me to access the door.
"You betcha'!" My father, Darren Rai, replies loud and clear, placing a stack of plastic trays right next to the sink in the back of the cafe. "Our sales went up seven Silvers compared to yesterday!"
I grin, my father's contagious happiness transferring to me.
"That's great!"
"Get a load of this," My mother, Sheila Rai, adds, "We've perfected the Jackmansi Danish and Confiture! I think they're going to knock Souk Agora off its feet! We saved one for you."
*A/N: Confiture = Jam/Jelly
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Jackmansi was a marble-sized fruit produced in my hometown of Eloimale. It had the appearance of citrus with its green rind, but its seeded golden flesh was extremely sweet. It was hard to obtain here in Imperium City due to strict import regulations, but recently, the farmers in the Outerskirts managed to obtain some seeds and cultivate them locally. Not many people knew about this fruit, and my parents wanted to showcase its various applications before others could jump on it.
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"Really? I would love to have some after supper. Oh, and Mom-"
She tilted her head slightly to the right in response to my call.
"Yes?"
"Do you mind making another batch of Rosenberg Blend? Martha's been going nuts for it."
Mom lets out a hearty laugh. She knew full well that my boss was a major coffee addict.
"Of course. I'll have it ready before you head off to work tomorrow."
"Great! Thanks a bunch-"
Ding.
Ding.
The wind chimes on the cafe door ring, interrupting my conversation. But before I can turn around, I feel a slight poke on my shoulder, startling me from behind. My body jolts to the left of the reception counter Mom was standing behind. A mischievous grin forms on her face.
"Boo!"
"Augh!"
I shriek, taking a glance behind me.
A guy approximately 71 inches tall loomed over my petite figure, no taller than 65 inches. His crisp strawberry blonde hair seemed to defy gravity without using Ether, speckled with brown streaks. His green eyes, the same color as a Jackmansi, gave off a refreshing aura to it. Dressed in a beige, green, black cut-and-sew collared shirt with a white tee underneath and blue ripped jeans, this guy was just as suave as a model from a magazine. To top it all off, a navy blue backpack was slung across his left shoulder with a cinnamon coffee cake keychain dangling from one of its zippers.
"Yo~" the guy playfully winked at me. I think I could see cartoon stars coming from it.
I stomped on his spotless white sneakers in retaliation for what he did to me. A screech escaped his punchable face as he tried wiping my boot stain off his shoe.
"Goodness gracious! You scared the living daylights out of me, Trevor!"
"Sorry, Arian!" He apologized, massaging his sore foot. "Also, you didn't have to crush my foot."
"You deserved it for surprising me like that."
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Trevor had been a regular at our store ever since day one. It's actually an interesting story about how he stumbled across it. I was cleaning one of the windows just a few minutes before opening when I suddenly came across Mr. Strawberry sitting on the uneven cobblestone road burring his head in his knees.
Unsure of what to do, I called my parents to assess the situation in which they brought Trevor into the store. Since it was raining that day, he was drenched in water, and to comfort the crying guy my parents gave him a slice of cinnamon coffee cake while I made him a cinnamon latte topped with lots of whipped cream. No one asked him any questions as he sat at the table sobbing while eating his coffee cake and sipping his latte. Since then, he comes to this cafe daily and orders those same two things. We even reserved a slice of coffee cake for him in the back.
Until now, I still don't know what exactly happened that day to make him cry a river, but it seems to be a sensitive topic as he always dodges the question whenever I ask.
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"Oh, welcome back, Trev!" Dad greeted him casually before fist-bumping Trevor.
"Got any of that coffee cake left for me, Mr. Rai?"
"You know we always do!" Dad affirmed, pulling out a plate with a nice slice thick of cinnamon swirl coffee cake on it, the buttery cinnamon butter and browned sugar crumble on it scatting all over the plate. "Arian, make Young Lad Trevor that Cinnamon Latte."
I saluted.
"Decaf and lots of whip!"
"It's as simple as that." Trevor grinned, folding his arms together. "Five Coppers, right?"
Mom gave him a thumbs up.
"You got it."
With the tap of his Glancable against the scanner, five Coppers had been paid to Brew It Rai Cafe while I was busy quickly brewing the latte. The fragrant scent of ground coffee beans and cinnamon wafted through the cafe.
I pull out a blue ceramic mug, the same color as Trevor's backpack, and pour the piping hot cinnamon latte into the cup before dolloping a fat scoop of whipped cream and cinnamon dust on top and placing the ceramic mug on a matching navy saucer.
I bring the latte over the Trevor, who had pulled out his Tabloid adjacent to his fluffy coffee cake, skimming the latest news Oriar has to offer. The article appeared to be about the Third Prince of Imperium City, Alistar Lorain, but other than that, I couldn't see the rest of the title.
He quickly shuts off his Tabloid before I can take another look, the green Ether stone embedded in its body going dark.
"How's work today at the Guild?" He asks kindly as I place his latte on the wooden table.
"Same as always. Well, that's what I want to say before that Blank guy goes ahead and ruins it with a bloody mound of goblin heads."
Trevor snickers, picking up his latte from the dish.
"It sounds like he's intentionally torturing you."
"That's what it feels like. The worst part is I'm left to clean the mess. Anyhow, how's your gig going?"
"Swell," Trevor replies, taking a large bite from his crumbling coffee cake.
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Trevor was a Topographer.
He takes records of Oriar's Terrain and compares them with the habitats of monsters recorded by Monstologists, individuals who observe Monsters, and Adventurers. From there, he generates reports which provide infrastructure developers with information regarding what areas might be useable with the least amount of monster interference. It wasn't a common occupation but necessary when planning to construct towns, cities, and other facilities in uninhabited territories.
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Trevor averted his eyes from me for a second, almost hesitant to tell me something.
"Hey, Arian. I won't be coming to the cafe for some time. I just recently got this assignment from work, and they told me if I completed it, well, I'd get a promotion."
His initial statement disappointed me, but since it was for work, it made sense. We were still young and in a critical period of our lives where building our careers was a priority.
"Really?" I said in a shocked voice. "Spill the beans! This is an opportunity!"
"You know there's a mine that just got authorized to be built in the Lengeheim Duchy."
I nodded.
"I heard about it. I didn't think they would start immediately."
"The soon, the better." Trevor calmly spoke. "Well, I was called in to help scout the topography of the area just to verify if it's safe. It's risky as it's unknown territory, but I need to help with monitoring for the next couple of months."
Considering much of Lengeheim Duchy was unexplored, this job was definitely out of Trevor's comfort zone. He might not make it back in one piece, worst-case scenario.
"High risk, high return-" I muttered to myself. "What security measures are in place?"
Trevor bites off the top of his whipped cream mound, thinking carefully about what he will say.
"The FESC has brought along 5-Star Adventurers and higher for this job. The Lengeheim Duchy is also providing some of their own troops from their Elite Reserves to come along. Unless a Demon Lord spawns in the middle of the mountain range, everything should be smooth sailing. Considering I'm also getting personal bodyguards, I think I'll be okay."
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The chances of a Demon Lord appearing was very low, about one in a million. Statistics calculated from Dungeon Reports provided by Investigators have proven this theory. The only way a Demon Lord can come into existence today is through an anomaly such as secret rituals or complicated Sigil alterations on a Dungeon's structure which could take up to years to complete. In essence, it's highly unlikely such a thing would occur. The last time a Demon Lord was recorded in Imperium City history was over a century ago.
However, just because there isn't a Demon Lord doesn't mean that high-ranking monsters don't exist outside of Dungeons. Unlike Demon Lords, Monsters are very common and roam free throughout Oriar beyond Dungeons, where they can be found. Thousands of monsters have been discovered to this date, yet many we still haven't encountered or fully understood. Nevertheless, most of these monsters are dangerous and, if left alone, could destroy civilization. Hence Adventurers are sent out to eliminate any monsters that could threaten humanity which is about ninety percent of them.
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"Are you able to defend yourself? Safety comes first."
Beyond being friendly, Trevor has never really disclosed anything about himself. The only things I know about him are that he's my age but a month older, works as a Topographer, likes cinnamon, and moved to Imperium City around the same time I did. Most of the time, we just talk about work, news, and stuff relating to Sigils.
Trevor takes another bite of his coffee cake.
"Yeah, I was trained in Offensive Arcmagia back in school, so I think I'll be okay."
"You a Caster?"
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Casters, also known as Magicians, were considered the highest level of Sigil users. While everyone can use them, Casters know how to manipulate elementary and highly specialized Sigils that are not generally accessible to the public. Their main weapons of choice were a Staff or a Wand.
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"Sort of, but I don't specialize in it. I'm just an Analyst. I only know enough for self-defense. I had to learn in school because it was a requirement for me to graduate."
"Can you wield any weapons?"
Trevor sighs in defeat.
"A dagger, and that's about the extent of it. I'm pathetic when it comes to close combat."
"That's a fat lie. You and I both know that."
Earlier, when Trevor walked into the cafe, his footsteps were completely silent. That wasn't something that could be achieved with just Squire-level training.
"It's true, though." Trevor shrugged, taking a nice big swig of his latte.
"Whatever you say, 'I'm just a Topographer.' Well, not that I care what you are. All that matters is coming home intact."
He smiled, almost as if telling me everything would be okay.
"I will, and you'll see me back here soon. I hope to bear good news."
I laugh.
"You better! I wish you safe travels! Enjoy your coffee cake!"
"Haha," Trevor snickers, combing through his strawberry blond hair. "I'll savor every last bite of it~!"