We had to take another detour to find a more appropriate place to climb to the top of the waterfall. Once there, we saw the bluff in the distance. Although, at this distance, it was probably more like a massive cliff.
“Those pictures are not to scale at all.” Lionel grumbled.
“Yeah.” I said and we continued on after hooking the carts back up to the horse people. We made it to the spot two hours later and thankfully, there was actually a nice slope that took us up to the top of the 'bluff'.
“Oh, wow.” Nat said as she looked out over it at a scene that looked like it was from a painting. “Is that the capital city?”
“What?” Lionel looked as well and he let out a curse that most men wouldn't say in front of a woman. “We could have just used the map and gone right to the capital instead of traipsing around the countryside like bumpkins!”
Angel shook her head. “Did we really just waste all this time?”
“No.” I said. “Check your Map.”
“I did!” Lionel said. “The capital is right... wait a second.”
“We're a long ways from the capital.” I said. “Almost on the other side of the country, in fact.”
“But...” Nat looked at the map and then looked back at the city. “How would a city appear here?”“Let's look at the pictures again.” I said and she created them for us. “I can't see anything after the bluff picture in the background.”
“There wasn't anything. You saw that I copied everything exactly.” Nat said and I nodded.
“Which means that city was not there when whoever it was made those drawings.” Angel volunteered.
“Who would build a city out in the middle of nowhere?” Lionel asked.
“Well, since we have literally nowhere else to go right now, why don't we find out?” I asked.
“I can go no farther.” The blacksmith bear said and pointed down the slope. “The bear lands end there.”
“Of course it would.” I said with a chuckle. “I'm going to miss having someone so versatile in our little group.”
“Hey!” The other three heroes said and the bear laughed.
“You would have made a good bear.” The blacksmith bear said and held a hand out.
I took it and shook it. “It was nice meeting you.”
The bear looked at our clasped hands and then at me. “I was reaching for the severed head.”
“Oh!” I said with a laugh and untied the head from the cart and held it out to him.
The bear slipped it over his neck and dropped to all fours. “Safe travels, godlings.”
“You, too.” I said and the bear turned away and started walking. I had a neat thought that should appease the female bear that I had run out on and spoke loudly. “Hey! Tell your mother that she left a permanent mark on my heart and it won't ever fade or heal!”
The bear let out a rumbling laugh. “She will like that a lot, Day Man. Maybe even enough to not kill me for helping you to escape.”
“I hope so!” I said and waved to him. He took off running and was soon out of sight.
“That was nice of you.” Nat said.
“I just want to make sure she doesn't try coming after us to mark me physically... since I would probably heal it before she was satisfied.”
“Oh... yeah, okay. That would be bad.” Nat said.
“Unbelievably so.” I said waved at the city. “Let's go see if anyone's at home.”
The others agreed and we climbed back into the carts and rode down the slope towards the city in the distance. It took another few hours to traverse the distance, because even though there was a city, there didn't seem to be any roads going towards it. That was surprising, since there had to be some way for people to get to it to build it in the first place.
There were no trails, paths, or roads, faded or otherwise. It was definitely weird. It was almost like the city had just appeared or grown out of the ground one day, with no evidence of how it was built.
“This is so weird.” Angel said as we entered the outskirts of the city. The pavement started right at the edge of the city and the beast people stared at it. George and Sugarlick clomped their hooves on it and let out happy neighs. They hadn't felt anything so nice on their hooves before.
“What is that writing?” My Favorite asked and pointed at a nearby building.
“It says 'Coffee Shop'.” I said and the beast people jerked a little. “Oh, damn.”
“It not a beast city at all.” Nat whispered. “It's one from our world.”
“How?” Lionel asked and ran over to the coffee shop and checked the door. “It's locked.”
“Are you a magician or what?” Angel asked with an apologetic smile.
Lionel opened his mouth to respond, shook his head, and cast a spell on the door. The door clicked and swung open.
____
You have gained the spell Unlock. It will open most locked things, magical or otherwise. It works on everything from chains to chests to actual doors.
____
“It's completely empty.” Lionel said when he looked inside. “There are no tables, chairs, a counter, or anything.”
“It's a facade.” I said and the beast people jerked again. “Sorry. I mean it's a false front. It looks like what it is and there's nothing behind it.” I pointed to a nearby multi-storey building. “Give that a try.”
Lionel went over and unlocked it, then peered inside. “You're right. There's no floors, either.”
“Who would go to this much trouble?” Nat asked, genuinely curious.
“I'd say someone that really misses being home.” I said and then I did my best to not react as the coffee shop changed and grew a bit taller. It became a nice family restaurant and a parking lot grew beside it.
“Damon, I just realized that this is a modern city.” Nat whispered to me and took my hand. “Not from ten years ago, or fifty, or even a hundred. It's from today. Right now.”
“...and it's updating.” I said and nodded at the pavement as it grew out another hundred feet and several more buildings sprouted up out of the ground. “It's a little odd that it's just the city center, though.”
“I was just thinking that.” Nat said. “What do we do?”
“We go to the middle building, of course.” I said and nodded forward. “If my guess is right, it's going to be a completed building and won't be empty like the others.”
“Whoever is doing this would be familiar with the contents.” Angel said and I nodded.
“I'm thinking that if they don't have the specific knowledge, they can't recreate it by making it up.” I looked at everyone. “Do we walk or take the carts?”
“Carts.” Nearly everyone said, especially the two horse people.
“This must be rode upon.” George said. “The smooth ride alone demands this.”
Sugarlick let out a happy neigh.
“That's good enough for me.” I said and we all loaded up into the carts.
Both George and Sugarlick kept neighing happily as they easily pulled us through the streets to get to the center. Not a blemish, pothole, bump, crack, or anything else was in the pavement, which only lent to the fact that it was someone's perception that created it. The ride was extremely smooth and we reached the center of the large city.
“Is that... a courthouse?” Angel asked, unsure.
“Or something similar.” I said as we all climbed out of the carts and I stored them. “I really hope the person inside is not who I think it's going to be.”
“Who do you think it's going to be?” Nat asked as she came over to me and took my hand.
“Someone very bad, considering what we're going through right now.” I said and waved at the beast people. “The worst kind of person we would ever want to meet on another world.”
“Who?” Angel asked.
“A judge.” I said and the three heroes stared at me. “They are the most opinionated, self-righteous, and usually the most morally upstanding people you can meet.” I said and they nodded. “In a place like this? They would go crazy from just the different social structures alone.”
“I am not crazy.” A man's voice said as he stepped out of the large double doors. “I am The Law.”
The man looked like he had just stepped out of a painting from the 1900s. He wore a suit appropriate for the times, with a frilly undershirt that had frills at the wrist and the neck. He wore an ornate robe covered in gold brocade, as were his shoes. He also wore a long white curled wig that went down to his mid-chest.
At least, I assumed it was a wig. It could have been his hair for all I knew, since he had definitely been here for a long time, if his clothes and things were any indication. I wasn't really worried about him until my auto-identifier showed me who he was and I whispered a curse.
____
Name: The Law
Race: Human (Enhanced)
Class: Lawbringer (Level 99)
Job: Judgment
Status:
<colgroup> <col width="37*" /> <col width="37*" /> <col width="37*" /> <col width="37*" /> <col width="37*" /> <col width="37*" /> <col width="37*" /> </colgroup>| Body: | Strength | 999 | Reflexes | 207 | ||
| Recovery | (+) 999 | Agility | (+) 15 | |||
| Resilience | (+) 999 | Dexterity | (+) 20 | |||
| Mind: | Intelligence | 892 | Charisma | 483 | ||
| Alertness | (+) 399 | Intuition | (+) 225 | |||
| Wisdom | (+) 659 | Willpower | (+) 999 | |||
| Magic: | Mana | 999 | ||||
| Offensive | (+) 1109 | |||||
| Defensive | (+) 198 |
____
“Oh, shit.” I whispered.
“What is it?” Nat asked.
“If I'm not wrong, I think we just found the source of everything that's wrong with this world.” I said.
“I am everything that is righteous in this world.” The Law said as he raised a hand and pointed at us. “I therefore judge you interlopers and trespassers on my domain. Begone from my sight, beasts of the earth.”
I pulled Nat behind me and felt a massive wave of mana slam into me. Nat, Angel, and Lionel let out screams as they were assaulted by it. Angel and Lionel rolled around on the ground in severe pain and Nat dropped to her knees. She would have been on the ground if she hadn't still been holding my hand.
“D-D-Damon... what... why am I...” Nat said between whimpers of pain.
I glanced down at her and saw her facial features bubbling and morphing, as if trying to change into something else. Fur popped out and was absorbed again. Her nose extended into a muzzle and then retreated.
“Hurts... so much!” Nat exclaimed.
I touched her and used my Legendary skill Enchanted Sleep. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she fell unconscious. I touched Angel and then Lionel, and both fell sleep as their bodies kept being changed and changed back by whatever The Law has cast on them. I turned to look at the beast people with us and they were gone. I checked my Map and they were fleeing the city as fast as they could.
“I haven't had anyone resist my magic skill before.” The Law said. “How have you done it?”
“I'm just full of surprises.” I said. I didn't want to admit that my Resilience and Recovery were maxed and that was probably what stopped me from writhing in pain as whatever his skill was tried to make me into whatever internal beast I was supposed to be.
“So, you are not a plebeian like the others.” The Law said and walked towards me. “I believe that a more direct attack is warranted.”
“You don't have to attack.” I said and raised my hands, as if in surrender.
“Oh? Are you a weak-willed pacifist?” The Law asked, derision in his voice. “Then I will judge you as harshly as you deserve.”
“You don't have to judge me at all.” I said and he stopped ten feet away.
“It is my job.” The Law said, a smile on his face.
“Who gave you that job?” I asked.
“I did.” A very familiar voice said and I looked back up to the courthouse and there stood the god that had summoned me the first time.
“Well, fuck.” I said and he laughed.
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