Mad Hatter's Guide to Clearing The Game
Chapter 245: Ch243. Questions in the morning

Chapter 245: Ch243. Questions in the morning

Miles and Sarissa woke up to the Amber sunlight filtering through the window.

It had not been two days since they had reached Vel’serath, but even when they had passed through the gate of glass and salt, they had had no real chance to observe the sky that covered that world so... Alien.

But now that they had a roof over their heads, and the security of being able to make a living from the hunts that would appear, even though everything there was still very new and inexplicable - even more so in a world that had not yet been transformed by the system - they finally had a chance to see the sky, and The Sun that illuminated that new and strange world.

Only what divided the days from the nights in Tir’serene was not a Sun. Or, if it were, it should probably be hidden behind that layer of... Heaven.

After all, there was’t a huge luminous sphere bathing Tir’serene in light and heat. What divided the days and nights there, was the sky itself, with a thick layer of clouds that seemed to illuminate and warm the planet.

"Wow..." Miles yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he approached the window, with Dee trotting behind him. "As if rituals involving memories, and missions engraved on pieces of stone, metal, and bone, weren’t enough..."

"At least the place is beautiful." Sarissa nudged Miles’ shoulder. "But we already noticed that in the forest of Thalan’dor, didn’t we?"

"Yeah..." Miles scoffed. ’Come on, let’s see what’s for breakfast.’

***

Surprisingly, breakfast consisted of dishes far less unexpected than Miles had imagined.

Except for the fact that each dish, despite being quite familiar, still carried traces that screamed ’New World’ in Miles’ face.

Boiled eggs with slightly bluish whites and yolks so vividly red that they almost seemed to be made of pure blood, were it not for the very intense and familiar smell of eggs that reached Miles and Sarissa’s nostrils.

Thick slices of bread covered with nuts and chestnuts that Miles couldn’t recognize, red, orange, and even green cheeses with yellowish spots—Miles made a point of staying away from these, simply because they looked spoiled, even though they weren’t—glistening jams, thick steaks from what appeared to be the animal they had hunted shortly after landing in Thalan’dor, and a few other dishes that looked delicious but were completely unrecognizable.

"What the fuck are you looking at, greenie? A burly hunter with a black, unkempt beard, small dark eyes like a predator’s, and an unfriendly face grunted behind Miles. ’Hurry up and help yourself before I make you my breakfast.’

Miles and Sarissa exchanged glances, looked at Dee, then back at the Hunter, and nodded in unison toward the little Drake.

Without warning, Dee took a few steps toward the ruffian, raised one of his hind legs, and before anyone in the Lodge could do anything, he launched a steaming, wet jet at the burly Hunter’s boot.

The ruffian looked down, his eyes wide toward the Drake, and for a few moments, his lips just moved up and down, not knowing what to say.

After managing to snap out of his confused stupor, however, the huge Hunter glared at Miles with a menacing glint in his eye and whispered, raising his fist.

"I’m going to kill you, greenie..."

But before he could do anything, the entire dining hall erupted with laughter directed at the veteran Hunter.

"Oh, look, Dess just became the property of the rookies’ Drake!" said an elegant, handsome, slender Hunter with light brown eyes and well-combed sandy hair, shaking his head.

"Well, well, look who’s already making friends..." Jorrin’s voice echoed from the back of the common hall as he walked toward Miles and Sarissa.

His steps were as silent as the atmosphere in the hall had become, which made Miles wonder just how far Jorrin’s hunting and stealth skills really went.

Dee looked at the veteran Hunter and took a few steps toward Miles, trying to hide his relatively large frame behind the boy’s legs.

"Easy, Dee." Miles stroked the drake’s snout. "Good morning, Jorrin. Work?"

"Not so early, greenie." Jorrin grinned, showing all his teeth. "Just grabbing a bite. However... it’s possible we might have something for you two later. Stay put."

And without another word, Jorrin turned to the massive table where the other Hunters were helping themselves and began filling a wooden bowl.

Miles had almost forgotten about the burly Hunter who had threatened him moments earlier—until the man broke the silence, his voice low and frustrated.

"Don’t think that just because you’re buddy-buddy with Jorrin, you’re off the hook, kid..." He then turned and stomped toward the exit of the common hall.

"Well... I guess we really are making friends," Sarissa said mockingly. "So? Are we eating or not?"

***

After a hearty meal—during which Miles noticed that he and Sarissa weren’t the only ones in Vel’Serath, or at least in the Lodge, with small familiars—they decided to return to their room and talk things over.

"First of all, now that it finally feels like we have some time to talk about everything that’s been left unsaid..." Sarissa sat on the bed, while Miles settled onto the rug in front of the fireplace, with Dee hopping into his lap and asking for attention. "What’s actually happened so far?"

"What do you mean?" Miles tilted his head, confused.

"Dee?" Dee chirped, as if echoing Miles’ confusion.

"Miles..." Sarissa laced her fingers under her chin. "Before we ended up here, I was in Wonderland, fighting a creature that gives me a headache just trying to describe it. You were with... with Mara, in the Professor’s tower. Then that god appeared, I came back, and we got thrown through the Professor’s rift, ending up here in Tir’Serene."

After a pause, Sarissa added.

"We need to figure out what this place has to do with the System, even if it hasn’t arrived here yet—and what the conduit from Mara’s vision really is. Otherwise, there’s no point in us being here, and..."

"We’re not going to let her death be in vain." Miles cut in, his voice lower than usual and slightly sharp. "You said the System hasn’t reached this place yet, and that might be true, but..."

He reached inward, not into his inventory or anything else, but into his Story, even though he didn’t know the name of this particular Story he was looking into, and after a few seconds of what looked like intense concentration, there was a small swirl of blood-red sparks around his hand, and when the sparks vanished, he lifted what had materialized in his grip for Sarissa to see.

A finely crafted pistol, made of what looked like silver—or some other silver-colored, brilliantly shining metal—covered in glyphs from the barrel to the grip, fit so perfectly in his hand it seemed as if it had been made solely and specifically for Miles.

Sarissa’s jaw dropped, and she couldn’t utter a single word until Miles broke the silence.

"I think that whatever it is that causes the System to arrive..." He spun the pistol on one finger, his heart pounding faster, thrilled by the sense of familiarity. "It’s happening."