M.D.Syl
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Chapter 55 colorless
🕑 Added 2023-02-18 16:11:07 +0000 UTCChapter 55 The council of masks II.
Swim against the current!
Hardship can only bring you growth!
If you aren’t a fish who swim against the current,
Then you become a floating branch, Helpless in a big world.
Tonisha, the Lady of Ventures.
The hag - with her bull mask on - makes her way to the bull platform. Her walking staff knocks on the wooden floor with each step she takes. She ignores Unicorn's provocation like the obese woman isn't even there. “Kikiki… I have it on good authority that dragon won’t be here tonight. We may begin.”
“Finally!” Shark lets out a relieved sigh.
Unicorn reluctantly makes her way to her platform, the guards following closely behind her.
“Will you let that snaking pigeon in already?” Shark shouts at the guards near the doorway.
“It’s a dove.” Eagle corrects him.
“Pigeon, dove, what’s the difference?” Shark moves his hand dismissingly.
“It stands for Lokamesh’ dove, he who makes peace between the gods. Just like how your mask stands for Mayan’s ever hungry shark. A fitting match if you ask me.”
“Nobody gives a venomous shit about the gods, Eagle.” Unicorn shouts from her platform.
“I do,” Peacock says in his tenor. “I’m a very religious man, very very religious.”
Scorpion puffs out a small cloud of smoke. “Booorrrring! Can we get this over with already?”
“Kikiki… patience is a virtue to both the strong and the weak, child.” The hag cackles behind her bull mask.
Scorpion blows smoke in the hag's direction.
The doors open, and a mask-less old man in white robes enters the large round hall. His white long beard reaches his belt, and he wears a large white cap that doesn’t cover all of his short white hair. There are silver doves embedded in his ceremonious white robes.
He walks slowly to a small stand in the middle of the room, he moves his eyes across the various masks, observing us all. I resist the urge to prod him with my crown-knot pool. As tempting as it is, I now know that this prodding attracts the attention of experienced mages.
“We may begin!” The white bearded man says in a hoarse old voice. “Axero’s income this month is…”
What follows is a list of numbers. Tax income, estimated population, estimated children, estimated slaves, estimated merchants’ comings and goings. Lists upon lists of numbers.
The numbers open my eyes wide. This place makes me feel like Nurio was nothing but a little farm to manage.
Scorpion yawns loudly. Shark has his mask half lifted and his head buried in a slave girl’s chest. Unicorn is eyeing shark with fury, holding the hand of one of her guards. The rest seem to be paying attention, but it’s hard to tell with the masks on.
“Thank you dove, you may give us all a list yes? We shall lower the tax on all trading goods to 2%.” The hag says behind her bull mask.
“Are you out of your snaking mind?” Shark protests angrily, forgetting about the pair of jugs near his face.
The old man in the white robes stops reading his numbers. He gives stacks of papers to the guards who pass between the platforms, putting the papers on our desks.
The bearded old man knocks a gavel on his stand. “The motion to lower the tax to 2% has been suggested. Council members may vote, all in favor, raise a limb!”
The hag lifts her hand. I lift it right after. I can’t help but snicker when I see scorpion raising a long alabaster leg up high. She looks at me, and even with a mask I can somehow tell when she winks.
Peacock sighs, shakes his head, and raises his hand after Scorpion.
Then Snake raises a trembling hand. “Lower taxes are good right?”
“You have a minute to reconsider your stance.” Dove says and shift the sand clock on his stand.
Right before the time runs out, Owl raises a hand in a red sleeve.
The gavel knocks on the stand. “The motion has been passed. Taxes on trading goods has been lowered to 2%.” The man in the white robes calls out in his hoarse old voice.
Shark gets up from his seat and knocks two plump fists on his table. “You’re all out of your snaking mind! We had 25% taxes on trade! 25%!!! We’re almost at spring! Merchants will buy more! Even with 25% I say! Do you have any snaking idea how much we had with the…”
“Shut your wet jar or I’ll shut it for you,” Scorpion says and crosses her legs on her desk, ignoring her papers. She inhales more from her pipe with her head leaned back.
Shark waves his beefy fist at her “You’re a snaking prostitute! What does lower tax on trade have to do with you?!”
Eagle clears her throat. “Merchants spending less money on goods, will spend more money in the temples of the lover. I thought you knew better than that Shark.”
“And on their mercenary guards,” Owl comments stiffly.
“Snakes!!!” Shark shouts. He sits back on his blue couch, picks a chicken leg, and bites furiously into it.
“I suggest a new law!” Unicorn calls out. “Cheating husbands will be executed by decapitation!” She raises her hand looking at Shark.
“Kikikikiki… I support the motion, but I will not vote for it.” The hag cackles behind her bull mask. “It is impossible to enforce, yes?”
No one else raises their hand, and the old man in the white robe ignores it for some reason. “Any other changes to the taxes?” He asks.
“Ah yeessss.” The hag says behind her bull mask. “I propose a new tax law. A slave tax. Every slave owner will pay five gold coins each month for every slave owned.”
Shark jumps to his feet, leaning forward on his desk. “Oi! Do you have a bone to pick with me old crone?!”
“Merely business kikikiki…” The hag lifts a hand.
How is it beneficial for her? She owns too many slaves… not like she lacks the money though… even I could easily afford ten slaves with this tax if I really wanted to… I do need to save my gems though… never know when I’ll need them… they might be my way home... and I can always pull some extra mana out of them and sell them as diamonds… Not that I need it that much with this new necklace…
Dove knocks his gavel, raising his hoarse voice. “A new tax law has been suggested! All in favor, raise a limb.”
Scorpion raises an agile leg and holds it above her head, repeating her joke. I raise my hand. Tiger lifts his scaled hand. Snake lifts a shaking hand.
“I’m sorry Scorpion, I can’t vote for this.” Peacock apologizes.
She breathes out a large cloud of thin smoke in his direction. “Then don’t.”
“You have a minute to reconsider your stance,” Dove says and shifts the sand clock on the stand.
Unicorn raises her hand with a chuckle.
“Snakes! You own slaves too, you oversized whale!” Shark shouts at her.
“Yes! And I’ll pay the tax for them with your money!” Unicorn replies with glee.
Shark hits his desk with his plump fists, breaking plates and scattering food on the ground in front of his platform. The guards below rush to clean the floor.
This continues throughout the next two hours. The hag, and sometimes scorpion suggests a law that is usually beneficial for the masses. Shark goes angry, and the council somehow outvotes his agenda. Scorpion, Snake, and I always vote with the hag. Tiger and Owl side with us more often than not. Peacock vote with Scorpion, but sometimes refuses to do so with an apology. Eagle doesn’t support or vote for anything. And Unicorn sometime takes a vote just to spite her husband.
The city of Axero is being introduced to a series of small reforms that won’t make a big difference in the grand scale of things, but might help the everyday life of some people.
That makes me smile behind my mask, and Shark’s continual outbursts only widen my smile. It’s clear that the hag had bought more than one person here, I can’t be the only one. Scorpion and Snake are surely in her pocket somehow, and possibly Tiger and Owl too. The way these two joined a vote and tipped it at the last minute makes it very suspicious.
The only question is: why would the hag care for such reforms? How does she benefit from all of this? She has nothing to gain…
Nothing that I see… who knows what her assets are? Also… lower taxes mean more money for people… meaning more can afford her glitter… and if people can’t pay for glitter she has no income and is forced to kill or enslave them…
Why do I feel there’s more to it than that?
The gavel knocks on the stand. “5779th Mayan session is now complete. The keepers have an hour to exit the tree unharmed. May the light of Noxi illuminate your path. May the flow of Tiyadi’s river wash your feet. May Koshavi’s gale blow at your back. And may Rakisha’s eyeless gaze watch over you.” The man in the white ceremonious robes declares as he leaves the hall.
Time to leave! And survive…
I jump from my seat, put my coat on, and bolt toward the exit before anyone else could react. I wish I had a spell that let me run faster… I pass by the guards and head outside to the wide dark streets.
And I’m greeted by a row of men holding crossbows. They all fire. “Myrsha samir!!!” <gravity protects!!!> I shout in panic. The red bubble shimmers around me, and the bolts slow down in their path toward my body. “Felul!” <wind!> I exhale and use the breeze to direct the tips of the slowed bolts away from me.
The men all kneel and reload, while another row behind them aim with crossbows ready.
I change direction and run behind a large building near the gigantic tree. A hooded figure jumps toward me from one of the nearby windows. “Revisor ak!” <light strong!> even with my eyes shut tight, I can see the flash of light I caused. I hear curses, both from behind me and in front of me.
Snake those gems the hag promised! I need to survive! I put my hand on the hooded figure in front of me. “Myrsha ritsa!” <gravity repulse!> the torso I touch explodes in a hail of gore, and the rest of the dark figure collapses with a wet noise and screams of pain.
I keep running through the alleyways. I was so naïve! I thought if I’d leave early no one will have the time to prepare! They only had to prepare before the meeting! I’m such an idiot!
Stop! Self-blaming and reproach later! Focus on survival! But how?! These streets are covered with mercenaries and guards! I can’t hide this mask! I should hide in one of the buildings…
No… they probably have that covered as well… I stop, panting and looking around. I look up at the rooftop and notice a shadowy figure looking at me from above, he doesn’t even bother to hide his presence. Great… I’m being followed… think! Think! Think!
The tree! I form the mana patterns and make the right gestures, taking out enough roses from my belt. “Myrsha, nia tsaf lah! Lu myrsha ni kull lah! Nia wuan nalahi myrsha!”
<Gravity, I command you! Do not pull me onto you! I am free from your reign!>
Purple smoke comes out of my belt, and a violet speck of bright light circles me. My body loses all sense of weight. I kick the ground as hard as I can and float upward toward the distant branches of the gigantic Emrisor tree above my head.
“Felul…” <wind> I murmur and exhale the moment I pass the rooftops of the tall buildings around the tree. An upward wind ruffles my hair and coat as it carries me in its breeze, up toward the branches above.
I notice arrows flying in my general direction. But the wind, darkness, distance, and the speed of my movement make me a difficult target. If not for the light my elemental creates, they wouldn't be able to target me at all.
I keep gaining altitude, and the wind becomes unstable. It’s no longer only my wind magic, the natural wind here is rather annoying, it keeps veering me off my course. I have to fight it with my own wind magic, but I find myself drifting and drifting as my mana keeps being drained into my spells. Yet, now I’m so high no one can reach me, not even with arrows.
The wind carries me near one of the branches. I push an amplifying pattern through the ‘Breeze’ cantrip and push myself toward the branch with the remnant of my air mana. I hold onto the branch and cancel the ‘weightless body’ spell.
My weight returns and I hang above the endless darkness dotted with torchlight below, holding on to the edge of the thickest branch I’ve ever seen. “Myrsha kalfit” <gravity lightweight> reducing my weight I manage to climb on the giant branch and sit on it with a sigh, panting. I’m safe… for now… what was the hag thinking sending me in there like that?!
“Pfffft… why won’t you give me that mask of yours sista?”
I turn my head sharply. Behind me above the wide Emrisor branch; Scorpion sits leg over leg on a floating flat rock.
*~*~*
Power level: 3rd stage apprentice.
Mana pools status:
Crown-knot: Affinity 10: formed: 1 gem replenished per five minutes.
Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 66
Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5: formed: 6 gems. Conversion ratio: 6:1
Air: Affinity 4: formed: 18 gems
Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems
Light: Affinity 3: formed: 14 gems
Water: Affinity 6: formed: 27 gems
Earth: Affinity 1: formed: 4 gems
Wood: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems
Gravity: Affinity 9: formed: 40/41 gems
Cantrip known:
Air: Shavi’s Breeze, Shavi’s Sword. Shavi’s Hair Dryer, Aria’s Enhanced Hearing.
Fire: Nuriss’ Flame. Effrat’s Firefly, Effrat’s Fire Breath. Sorladika's Lesser Heating.
Light: Noxi’s Light, Lako’s Blinding Light.
Water: Water Evocation, Water to Ice, Ice to Water, Water to Vapor, Vapor to Water, Mayan’s Icy Spike, Ayla’s Water Jet.
Earth:
Wood:
Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s lesser shield. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Imari’s Jump. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light Body. Alino’s Heavy Body.
Spells known:
Gravity: Alino’s weightless bodyb.
Focus capability: 10 patterns
Social status: Inara, Daughter of Mysteries. Apprentice to the Maven of Mysteries.
Wealth: 900 gems. 1952 golden peas, 14 silver scales, 20 copper bits.
Items:
Magical necklace. Contain a 100 gems of general mana, can be drained like a mana pool. It’ll recharge by itself at the rate of five gems an hour.
1 simple healing potions.
1 potion of lightning body.
1 potion of mana, medium grade.
An enchanted belt with eight pouches, the enchantment keep the pouches’ content fresh.
Fresh rose petals, 5g
Companions:
Languages:
Toml’a <People’s tongue> Fluent
Sinteo <Speech> 9/10
Myrsha <Gravity> 5/10
Felul <Wind> 1/10
Injuries and scars: Back, lightning scar.
Comments
Alpenmann
Thanks for the chapter.
