Pandora Unchained - B1C11: Difference in Realms

Hey Everyone,

Now that we've reached 10+ chapters, I'm going to start splitting things up into Tiers. Discord Tiers will come when I make the official announcement for Pandora Unchained. I expect to start officially posting on RoyalRoad sometime this week - it depends on when my cover illustration is completed.

I've attached a PDF on the first 10 chapters. I hope you are all enjoying the read, and look forward to sharing the rest of the story with you.

RedMirage
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The Adventurers Guild was quiet when Sorin arrived shortly after dinner time. The day was over, and most of the adventurers had either gone home or retired to an inn or pub.

“Over here!” Lawrence called out as Sorin walked in. The young man was holding up a pint of beer from the Adventurer’s Pub, which opened up after dinnertime.

“Should you really be drinking given how deeply alcoholism runs in your family?” asked Sorin, taking a seat. “And don’t know you the Adventurer’s Pub charges double for beer compared to the other taverns?”

“You don’t come here because it’s cheap, you come here for the atmosphere!” said Lawrence, taking a deep drink despite Sorin’s advice. “Ah! The others are here too.” He waved at the two new arrivals: Gareth, the archer from their assessment, and an oblivious-looking Daphne, also from their assessment, who’d just been distracted by the custom lighting the Adventurers Guild used when their pub opened.

Gareth pulled Daphne over and had her take a seat. “Just the four of us then?” said Gareth to Lawrence. “Sorin,” he said with a nod. “It’s been a while.”

Lawrence took another swig of his mug before answering. “Another!” he called out. A waitress in full adventurer’s garb came over with a foamy mug.

“How about you three?” asked the waitress. “Surely you won’t let your friend drink alone?”

“I’ll take a whisky,” said Gareth.

“I’ll take hot water with ginger and honey,” said Sorin, too broke to order alcohol. In fact, he hadn’t even gotten dinner and wouldn’t be eating until he returned to the Kepler Clan after their meeting.

“And you?” the waitress asked Daphne.

“I… um… I’ll have whatever,” said Daphne, her eyes glazing over in their usual fashion. “Fire,” she muttered. “Yes, maybe if I add some conflagration runes I could…” The rest was lost to them as her words devolved into incomprehensible mumbling.

“Sure,” said the waitress, giving her a strange look. “I’ll be right back with a whisky, a hot water with ginger and honey, and a… whatever.”

“Is that actually a drink?” Sorin asked Lawrence when she left.

“I think Daphne’s in for a big surprise,” said Lawrence. “Should we warn her?”

“No,” said Gareth. “It’ll teach her to pay more attention to her surroundings.”

The waitress came by a few minutes later with their drinks. Gareth waited until they’d each had a sip before continuing. “So. Lawrence. You said there was a bit of special work coming up that you wanted to collaborate on.”

“That’s right,” said Lawrence. “It’s my dad that landed this gig for us. He’s an old buddy of the guild master and has a lot of pull with the mission desk.”

“What kind of mission are we talking?” asked Sorin. He had his own preference for missions, as gathering poisons out in the wilderness was much more effective than trying to save up money to buy them himself. That being said, he’d also settle for lucrative ones. Risk was not an issue.

“I honestly have no idea,” said Lawrence. “I was just told to come wait here around this time.”

Gareth raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying you invited us for a mission, and you don’t even know what it is?”

“It’s not a mission, per se, but an opportunity,” corrected Lawrence. “An opportunity for many missions.” He cut off as a sudden crash hushed all conversation in the Adventurer’s Pub. Three seconds of silence passed, then another crash sounded, this one much closer.

“That sounds a lot like fighting,” said Gareth. His hand wandered over to his bow, which he’d placed just by his seat.”

“Seems like my old man wasn’t mistaken,” chuckled Lawrence. “Looks like we’re in for a good show.” A third crash resounded in the room, this time accompanied by the breaking of a wall. A man in half-plate tumbled into the guild lobby but instantly picked himself up.

“You’re being unreasonable, sister!” shouted the man. His hair was mixed black and blond hair, and completely covered in wood chips. A large dent could be seen on his chest armor. Surprisingly, he wore no weapons; yet Sorin could feel a strange yet powerful aura oozing out from him.

“You’re the one who’s being unreasonable, Stephan,” came a familiar voice. Haley stepped out of the hole in the wall, rubbing her fist. “The clan told you that I would be managing your training, and you accepted. Whatever I say goes, and if you disagree, I’ll just beat you more. Understood?”

“I refuse to be bullied like this,” said Stephan. “Eat a Lunisolar Paw!!” Mana poured into the man’s right hand, and to Sorin’s surprise, fur and claws grew out of it.”

“A beastshift warrior,” muttered Gareth. “Rare in these parts. Rare overall. But can he really fight a two-star adventurer?”

“We’ll see soon enough,” said Sorin. “Daphne? Daphne, do you even have any idea what’s going on?” The mage was currently muttering to herself, and a matrix of magical runes had appeared before her. Sorin shook his head and continued watching the show.

The man called Stephan accumulated power for three full seconds before stepping forward. The ground creaked under his weight, and mana crackled around him as his movements accelerated. “Lunisolar Paw!” the man shouted as he slammed his paw down towards Haley.

“Childish,” said Haley, stepping towards him. She didn’t even pull a weapon, and instead caught the pawn with her bare hand. The collision caused a current of air and mana to sweep through the room, knocking a few mugs off a waiter’s tray – though he immediately used his immense speed to catch them before a single drop was spilled. “You’re just a blood condensation cultivator, Stephan. You might be more talented than me, but an entire realm separates us. I don’t even specialize in brute force, but I can still overpower you.”

“Tch.” The man called Stephan turned around and walked away. To others, he seemed fine, but Sorin’s keen eyes could see that the hand he’d used to strike her was trembling. “Fine. The strong get to set the rules, so I’ll listen. I’ll take a team out for a few exercises and show you I’m a big boy.”

“Excellent,” said Haley. “They’ve been waiting for you at that table over there. Enjoy.” She walked back through the hole in the wall, then used strings of mana to pull a large chunk of wall back into place.

Having been berated and scolded in public, the pride Stephan had shown earlier had been significantly worn away. He was therefore much humbler when he approached their table. “Stephan York,” he said, introducing himself. “It seems we’re going to be companions in the future, if you’ll have me.”

“What did I tell you guys?” said Lawrence. “An opportunity! Stephan is a genius from the York family, and he’s been sent out to this outpost for some training.”

“A genius is stretching it a bit,” said Stephan. “I can’t even compare to the true geniuses from other families. Just think of me as a fairly strong one-star adventurer.”

“I’m not against it,” said Gareth, draining his whisky. “A bear-type beastshift warrior perfectly makes up for our lack of tank and power. We might not have a healer, but beastshift warriors regenerate quickly. And with Sorin on our team, and a few potions, we should be able to get by.”

“No healer?” said Stephan, pulling up a chair between Gareth and Daphne. “Is there a shortage here or something? No matter. It’s doable with the right team. Oh, thank you!” he accepted a cup that Daphne pushed over with a finger. “I’m afraid I’m at a disadvantage. You know my name and my class, and I know nothing about you all.”

“I’m Lawrence,” said Lawrence. “A rogue. Scouting an assassination specialty.”

“Gareth,” said Gareth, raising his hand for another whisky. “Archer. No specialization. As for the lady who’s not paying attention to our conversation, she’s Daphne. I think she specializes in fire? Anyway, she’s strong for a mage. Just needs a little guidance, that’s all.”

“I’m Sorin,” greeted Sorin. “Poison user. I’m also somewhat skilled at emergency medical care, though I lack the mana to play the role of a life mage.”

“Interesting,” said Stephan. “Well, I look forward to working with you all then. We can set off in the morning once we’re all rested.”

“Sounds good,” said Lawrence, raising his mug. “And since we’ve decided, I think this calls for a toast. To a wonderful working relationship and lots of fun and adventures together.”

“To fun and adventures!” shouted Stephan, pouring his mug back. Sorin and the others exchanged a strange look, but repeated the toast and took a drink from their own cups. Surprisingly, Daphne took something out of her robes: a piece of toast. She took a bite from it before placing it back.

“Whoa!” said Stephan, putting down his mug. “That… what was that?” His face began to turn red-hot, and smoke began pouring out of his mouth. “H-Hot! Water!” A waitress appeared beside him and handed him a pail of water, which he dunked his head into and began drinking like a madman.

“Let that be a warning to you all,” said the waitress to them. “’Whatever is not a drink. Leave it up to me to pour a drink for you, and I’ll give you a nice surprise. By the way, that drink will be three gold pieces.” To their surprise, a delicate hand shot up towards the waitress and presented exactly three gold coins. The hand was Daphne. “Looks like someone knew what she was doing,” said the waitress, accepting the payment with a chuckle.

Stephan finally pulled his face out of the bucket. There were blisters on his lips, but nothing lethal to a cultivator. “I see how it’s going to be. Very well. If it’s war you want, it’s war you’ll have.”

Lawrence burst out laughing. “You’ve gotta have fun while you can, don’t you think? It’s all blood and gore out there, so might as well let loose while we’re still in town.”

“Indeed,” said Stephan, calling the same waitress over. “Do you know how to mix a gold shliter around here?”

“A gold shliter?” said the waitress with a raised eyebrow. “You sure?”

“For that man over there,” he said, pointing to Lawrence.

“Alright,” said the waitress, a smile tugging at her lips. “One gold shilter coming up.”

The drink was surpassingly tame despite the price, and completely defused the situation. They continued for a few more rounds till it was time to call it quits. It was only when they were settling the tab that Lawrence ran out of the bathroom looking extremely peeved.

“How was it?” asked Stephan with a grin. “It’s not as nice on the way out as it is on the way in, is it?”

“You know this means war,” Lawrence said to Stephan.

“I never back away from a challenge,” replied Stephan. “I might come from big city, but that just means I know all sorts of big city tricks.”

“We should set a start time,” Gareth cut in. “Before we forget. How does an hour after dawn sound? Here at the guild, same table?”

“It’ll probably just be an extermination mission,” said Stephan. “So let’s just meet at the outpost gate instead to save time. Haley will pick whatever mission she thinks we can handle. You should all be familiar with her temperament by now. She’s insane, but she won’t make us do anything impossible.”

Speak for yourself, thought Sorin. His arms still itched where the flesh melting spider’s fangs had bitten him. Then again, it had technically been doable, hadn’t it?