When Emory returned to the command center on Temia, Athos, Bramimond, Innes, and Nephenee were chatting and obviously waiting for her to return. Everyone turned with mixed looks at her as she popped into the room. Innes and Nephenee were concerned; after all, Emory was just a young adult while Shepherd was the Supreme Commander. On the other hand, Athos and Bramimond smiled widely as they knew the problem would be resolved one way or another. It didn't help the situation that Emory had a mischievous grin on her face when she appeared. For a few moments, they all looked at each other in silence.
Nephenee finally burst out, "How did it go? Are you in trouble? Why do you have that look on your face?"
"It went fine," Emory giggled, "Lloyd will be back with an attitude adjustment soon. In a month, the Collective army will be here ready to fight."
"That's wonderful news. Of course, for awhile, they will be strictly defensive and tactical reinforcements. I would imagine this Supreme Commander is scrambling to wrap his mind around the true size of the Apleem, so this will help them in the meantime. Are you finally ready to meet the rest of the Five, Emory?" Athos smiled.
"I think everything is settled here for now," Emory approved, "Let's meet some more leaders. Maybe these will be more amenable than the last two I dealt with."
"Don't worry about the rest of the Five. They will sense your power and be a little nervous; you are an Ancient after all," Bramimond chuckled as he rose to his feet.
Emory grinned, "Time to move then. Innes and Nephenee, call with those rocks if you need help." Athos stood up as well, and the trio held hands in a small circle. With a flash of light, they were gone again.
The first thing Emory noticed when they arrived, even before she opened her eyes, was how easy it was to breathe in this new place. It was as if every breath restored a sliver of stamina. When she did open her eyes, the sight she saw wasn't at all what she was expecting. A foyer of what must have been a massive mansion extended away from them at least a hundred feet in every direction. Pearl walls and marble tiles reflected light in every direction, making the room appear even larger. Scattered throughout the room were comfy-looking leather chairs and couches though the leather was a light aquamarine color. In fact, all the seating and tables were the same blue-green color. Alongside the two opposite walls on her left and right were fireplaces made from a mixture of what looked like jade and sapphires. Light coming from them sparkled in the room, creating rainbows that radiated across the side of the walls. An ebony metal and marble spiral staircase was tucked away in the corner and seemed to be the only exit in or out of the room.
"Where are we?" Emory gasped as she stared, "This place looks like a palace."
"This is my favorite room in our Grand Hall. Four times a year, the Five and the Legion meet for a week to discuss various problems throughout the empire. Welcome to the Immortal City of Arcadia," Athos bowed as he made a grand gesture with his arms.
"For now, you can refer to your position among the horde as Athos' honored guest," Bramimond explained, "Once the Five have verified your identity as an Ancient, you can say that. In Elandrian culture, your position is either based on your relationship with another figure or your rank among the hierarchy."
Athos outstretched his hand and put it over Emory's, "I'll leave you with my mark. With it, no one should object to any requests you have."
"Why are you telling me all this as if you're going to let me wander?" Emory scrunched up her face, "Aren't I just going wherever one of you two go?"
"Unfortunately, the official Conclave doesn't start until tomorrow. And while I would love to show you the city, I just have too much to prepare before tomorrow," Bramimond replied hesitantly.
"I also have much to prepare for the coming meeting," Athos admitted, "Besides, you don't want two old codgers leading a fine young lady like yourself around town, do you? Then it's settled." Without another word, the pair of old men whisked Emory away from the sitting room and down the spiral stairs to the actual foyer. It was decorated similarly to the sitting room but had two major differences. Hanging from the ceiling was a cylindrical chandelier fifteen feet long with a diameter of eight feet made of crystals and metal disks. The most important feature was the enormous cherrywood doors on each of the four walls. As they walked towards the far wall, Emory couldn't help noticing every houseworker bowed to the three of them; although Athos and Bramimond had said they were top members in Elandrian society, Once they reached the door on the opposite side of the room, Bramimond scurried around and opened it. Athos lightly placed his hand on Emory's shoulder and positioned her just outside the threshold, "Go out and enjoy the city. If you want to buy anything, have the vendors put it on my account. Come back here at dusk."
As soon as he finished talking, he disappeared from view just as the door slammed shut. Though she found their behavior odd, Emory decided to let it go and turned to a magical city laid out before her. The architecture was sharp, sleek, and modern with clean lines and reflective surfaces. Like a human metropolis, there were a plethora of buildings that reached the lower clouds but much more spread out instead of bunched together. Most of the buildings were made from the same white stone she had seen in the mansion, from shimmering silver metal, or some combination of the two. The mansion she exited from seemed to be towards the center of town as it stretched for miles in any direction she looked. So, she formed her angelic wings of Arcane magik and flew up high to get a better view.
From up high, Emory immediately noticed the biggest difference between Arcadia and a human megacity: a complete absence of cars, trucks, or other modes of transportation. Elandrian were either teleporting or walking, with some using magik to modify their speed. The lack of vehicles made the city sound different, as the gentle roar of footsteps and chatter echoed throughout the stone walls; there was a certain level of comfort in it. As she watched over for the next fifteen minutes, several people flew around the area, yet these people propelled themselves like rockets unlike Emory who floated gracefully. Finally, she zeroed in on the market area of town and serenely flew over. Whispers began growing as she slowly lowered herself onto the street from several hundred feet in the air. A moment of silence persisted as she transformed the wings into a cloak to cover herself.
A child ran up to Emory, "Are you an angel, Miss? Is that why you came from the sky?"
"No, I'm sorry. I'm just a person," Emory smiled gently as she got on eye level with the child, "Can you help me find a store? I'm not from here."
"Of course, pretty lady. What kind of store are you looking for?" the little one asked.
"I'm looking for a store that sells weapons and armor," Emory grinned, "Like swords and shields. Do you know a place like that?"
The little girl put her finger on her chin, "I think there's a store like that just around the corner. Go to the end of this block and then turn right. It's a few stores down."
"Thank you, little miss," Emory said as she turned around while the crowd parted away from her. She strode down the white cement sidewalk, and as soon as people noticed her, they moved out of the way. Physically, there was only one major difference between the Elandrian and Emory: their long, pointed ears. Of course, compared to regular humans, they were slimmer and towards the taller end of the spectrum, but Emory wasn't an average human, really not human at all. She thought her ears were the determining factor for their behavior, but she was wrong. In truth, even most Elandrian didn't have a mana pool big enough to cloak themselves in magik just to walk around and shop because even though she didn't notice, the amount of magik she was cloaked in would drain an average Elandrian in minutes. This was an expression of magik on par with their elites like Athos or Bramimond, yet no one recognized this young red-haired beauty.
After walking for five minutes, she found a large shop with an open front and armament displayed on stands. The ceiling was lower than normal which added to the clustered feeling that overtook the store. Inside, a boy no older than seven or eight sat at the counter attentively.
"Welcome to Malcom's Mystical Menagerie. My name is Markus; can I help you find something today?" the boy trilled as Emory looked over one of the stands.
"Hello, I'm looking to get some boots," Emory replied, "Are these pieces all enchanted?"
Markus answered, "It's an assorted lot; you'll have to check. We have some lovely pairs in wyvern scale or adamantine over here. Are you looking for a particular skill?"
"What are my options?" Emory smiled, "I'm not from around here."
"Well, most of our boots just have speed and protection skills, but I could probably find a few offensive ones if I dug through them," Markus shrugged. Emory looked over the myriads of colored boots and picked three to review closer. With a wave of her hand over each one, glowing words began to appear floating above them.
"Level three protection enchantment: Arcane. Active Skill: None. Passive Skill: Infinite."
"Level three protection enchantment: Luck. Active Skill: Surefooted. Passive Skill: None."
"Level three enhancement enchantment: Succession. Active Skill: Continual motion. Passive Skill: None."
Emory cocked her head slightly as she read the words, "Do you know what these skills do? I like the design of these three the best."
"Infinite is a pretty common skill on Arcane enchantments; it means that the boots can repair themselves as long as at least a scrap remains. Surefooted means you can't be knocked off your feet," Markus explained, "And continual motion will speed you up over time, to a point, as long as you keep moving. If you stop, you have to start over, though there is a three second delay in between stopping and losing the bonus."
"Hmm. I think I'll take the boots with surefooted. I have an account that you can charge for them," Emory decided as she extended her hand from under her robe, revealing a four-leaf clover glowing on the back.
"Wow, you must be special to have a mark from the Five," Markus whistled as he boxed up the blue leather and metal boots, "Yeah, I can charge them. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Emory nodded shyly, "Two things actually. First, do you do debossing here? I'd like to get a design put on these new boots. Second, I have some general questions about things around here. As I said, I'm not from here."
"We do debossing here; what would you like done?" Markus snickered as he pulled the boots back out, "You do know I'm just a kid, right? I don't know how much I can tell you."
"This design here. What can you tell me about the Five?" Emory pushed a drawing of her family crest etched into a scrap of paper with her magik. Markus waved her over as he took the boots to a little station and sat on the raised chair beside it.