Work Text:
.
.
It starts with a postage stamp.
Shinri is adapting to Elysium well, in his humble opinion. There are differences from Xenokuni that make him homesick. The price of postage makes him sigh but it’s nothing compared to what packages will weigh in his wallet. Tempus is an adventuring guild which makes it another in the spider web of guilds out there. A lot of the semantics are handled by Altare. That doesn’t mean Shinri isn’t keen to learn as much as he can.
So, postage.
“What, do you need a package delivered?” Flayon is looking at him through ruby-tinted goggles. He’s wielding a wrench in one hand and a blow torch in the other. Soot is dusted up the side of his face and makes his hair stick up oddly.
Shrini smiles in amusement, “What were you even doing just now?”
“R-TRUS repairs,” Flayon says. “But that’s not important, tell me what’s up, c’mon, tell me!”
“I’m just sending in the guild post,” Sinri explains. He has the box under his arm. It’s a requirement of adventuring guilds to send copies of completed quests to the adventuring league. He doubts anything comes about it other than cataloging and rankings. Some guilds pay close attention to how well others are doing and get a competitive spirit. Regardless, it’s one of the many requirements to keep the guild recognized as an official guild.
It’s a blessing that postage is free. It’s only unfortunate that it’s free for official guild business only.
Flayon’s interest pivots and dives, his smile falling flat, “Oh, uh, have fun with that, Shinri.”
“Not interested?” Shinri prods teasingly, “Don’t wanna walk with me all the way to the post office and-”
“Nah, it’s cool, have fun Shinri!”
The guild office is a bit of a cluttered mess. It’s a cluttered organized mess, according to Altare. The only other guildmate who was allowed in here was Vesper.
Stamps, he thinks, need stamps.
Altare keeps them on the top shelf in a tiny frame cup. Shinri finds them there, the Tempus insignia pasted onto every little square. Shinri grabs one. It’s only as he’s pressing it to the side of the box that he pauses.
That’s not the guild insignia.
Shinri frowns at the purple stamp in his hand. He double-checks that he got it from the right cup- yes, it’s filled with guild stamps. He riffles through it, half expecting a bunch of other purple stamps to be accidentally mixed inside. No. It’s just the one he used.
“That’s unlucky.” He says. He looks at the stamp on the box. It’s not just a flat purple square. Each corner has three white lines sprouting from them, like rays of sunlight. The center has a very thin black cross, only thick enough in the middle to even be noticeable.
Now, how did you get lost here?
The package could wait. A fascinating mystery had just presented itself to him.
.
.
Of course, objective one is to ask his guildmates. There’s a resounding no from everyone he asks. He’s half expecting the purple crew to say something about it or at the very least, claim it, but no one looks remotely interested in a little stamp. That’s fair, he reasons.
Next was to look up what the symbol means.
Vesper sits next to him, a book open in his lap. Despite the mystery, it’s good to gather on the deck of the guild hall and enjoy a pleasant breeze. Warm tea and coffee, an end table with crackers and sausage, and an assortment of the legislature, nobility, and company books. Shinri has one on lumber companies in his hand. He was only supposed to be searching for notable symbols, but the intrigue of learning more about Elysium was distracting him.
“So, what’s it?” Vesper asks, a teacup balanced in one hand and a book in the other. “I could tell you which tech company it isn’t. ”
“That’s still helpful.” Shinri chuckles. “Crosses off that avenue.”
“Do you think there’s some crazy mystery at the end of that?” Vesper muses. “You might just find a company that went bankrupt. Actually, have you looked at our records? We purchase a lot of materials from different corners around here. Dez really likes buying from indies and start-ups.”
That doesn’t cross out big-name companies, but it does give Shinri an idea of where he should be focusing his attention. He hums.
Vesper continues after a sip of tea, “I know I have to go through official channels to buy magical wares.”
“Hm.” Shinri closes the lumber book. “Where would we have those records?”
“Leaders office.”
Later on, he decides to have a look. All their affiliates are organized by date. Shinri muses this over. Before he really begins his search, he seeks out Altare.
“Do you recognize this stamp?” Shinri holds up the box.
Altare blinks at him. He’s halfway through a sandwich. He’s dramatically paused his foot mid-step. From around a mouthful of ham and cheese, Altare says, “Whut?” He blinks and adds, “Isn’t that our monthly post?”
“Yeah, it is. I found a little intruder in your stamp cup.” Shinri shows it off.
Altare squints at it. Something passes over his face as he says, “Oh.”
“Oh?” Shinri echoes.
“Sorry, I don’t recognize it.” Altare takes another bite of the sandwich. He’s grinning up at Shinri, “Did you accidentally put it on the box?”
“Mayhaps I did. When was the last time you refilled the cup?”
“Oh jeez.” Altare scratches the back of his head. “Maybe… two months ago? I have to get it refilled every six months, it doesn’t go empty that often.”
“I see,” Shinri says. “Did you happen to notice our little purple infiltrator?”
“No.” Altare smirks. “You look like you’re on the hunt, Shinri.”
“What can I say? It’s fascinating.”
“Well, good luck. Tell me what you think of it.” Altare says. “Ya know, when you figure it out.”
Two months ago. It makes it simple to go through the records when he has a time frame in mind. What he finds only makes him frown. For that month, there wasn’t anything purchased from the guild. The headquarters squad had been out on a quest and the vanguard had virtually been given that time to acquaint themselves with the guild hall. The only purchases went through furniture and moving companies. He gives them a courtesy look anyway- it’d be pretty funny if this was just a furniture stamp- but they both turn out to be dead ends.
Shinri pauses.
If headquarters had been out on a quest, he thinks, then how did Altare purchase stamps? There wasn’t any record of the Tempus stamps during that month, he realizes. He flips through it again to double-check.
Maybe Altare just got the month wrong. He checks the month before. It takes him an hour to comb through the medical companies, magical items, alchemist herbs, and lots and lots of things. He checks the month after and it’s virtually the same. No purple identifiable symbol.
No stamp purchase either.
He mentioned every six months.
“Oh, we are going to be here for a while.” He says.
He grabs the first file and gets to work.
.
.
He finds the last stamp purchase was eight months ago.
This aligns with Altare’s statement, at least. Two months ago would have been the ideal purchase for stamps. The absence of any record of it makes Shinri frown. He spends his whole day looking through every file, but nothing appears.
On a positive note, he’s very familiar with nearly every company in Elysium now.
Maybe I’m looking at the wrong side of things, Shinri rubs his jaw thoughtfully, Altare never said he purchased the stamps. He only said he refilled it.
Shinri moves his attention to quest history. He knows the month he needs to focus on now. It’s easy enough to find the quest headquarters squad was on. It was a doozy of a mission, but it paid extremely well. It settled all the finances of vanguards move and restocked the guild up to its prime. It was a dangerous one. There’s a medical note attached to the quest. Axel had gotten hurt.
He finds the gladiator outside. When Axel isn’t dueling or duking it out in the arena, he’s sprawling by the fountains. Axolotls swim merrily beside koi in this place. A tree has sunk its roots in the pondside, orange leaves shadowing this peaceful place.
Axel raises his head from where he’s lying down, “Oh hey, come join the party.”
“Quite the party,” Shinri says.
“Yeah man, we were just chatting, ya know,” Axel says. “You know how it is.”
Shinri says, “Yup, I do know how it is.” He gets comfortable by the tree. A koi breaches the water by his foot. Axel is playing with a leaf between his fingers. Shinri asks, “Hey, got some time?”
“Uh, sure. Yeah, I ain’t doin’ nothin’. Did you wanna go on a quest?”
“No, but I wanted to ask you about something related to that. Do you remember that quest you and the boys took two months ago?”
“Oh yeah.” Axel groans. “That fuckin’ mountain one, wasn’t it? We got attacked by demons. It was crazy. They seemed real touchy with Altare though, you woulda’ thought the guy pissed in their cereal.”
“They were targetting him?”
“Not anythin’ new. He’s the leader of guild Tempus, ya know, who knows who wants him dead? Like, there was this cabbage trader Magni razzed on once and-”
“Okay.” Shinri laughs. “I saw you got injured though.”
“Oh. That.” Axel huffs. “Man, why ya’ gotta ask about that? Ask about something else. It was cold up there.”
“I’m just curious.”
“Well, one of them got me good, right in the abs. I don’t have impenetrable monsters as you do. I got skewered like teriyaki.”
“Ouch.”
“You’re tellin’ me,” Axel complains. “Magni had healing potions though, so I was all good afterward. Altare finished them off.”
Shinri hums, mulling that information over. It definitely explained the pay they received. Being injured while on the job tends to upgrade the rank of the quest and bring home much more in rewards.
“Did you guys make any purchases while you were up in there in the mountains?”
“What’d we buy?” Axel parrots. “We bought extra jackets. Magni bought potion stuff up there. I don’t think Vesper bought anything.” Axel goes oh and tacks on, “They gave us gifts before we left though.”
“What kind of gifts?”
“Well, flowers, some gems. I wasn’t really interested in it, I’ll be honest. The boys could have it I just wanted to go home and get off the freakin’ mountain.”
Shinri chuckles, “Understandable. Did you notice Altare get anything?”
“Yeah, they gave him a little box,” Axel says. “Now that you mention it though, I never did find out what was inside it.”
Interesting, Shinri thinks, very interesting.
.
.
Obviously, confronting Altare is his best bet, but that seemed just a bit boring to the mystery at hand. Sure, he could certainly ask but he had so many more questions. What did the village give Altare?
He throws on a coat and sets off to ask them himself.
Axel was right about the temperature. Shinri’s breath mists and hisses at his cheeks. It’s the kind of biting cold that makes moving around painful. The village is blanketed in frost. Despite this, it’s a bustling town full of warm faces and friendly voices. When he asks about guild Tempus, he’s met with overwhelming support.
“They’ve always been so helpful!” One villager says. “We always hope they visit.”
“We try and send all the quests we can their way.”
Shinri books a night in the hotel there. He spends the next day making conversation with the staff of the hotel. They’re happy to talk to him once he shows his Tempus insignia. Almost too happy.
“Are others with you?” One asks. “We love it when Altare comes around!”
“Altare?” Shinri echoes, “Is he your favorite?”
The staff hides smiles and giggles. If Shinri was just a traveler, he’d think they were shy. He’s looking for it and he sees it. There’s something knowing in their eyes. An inside joke he isn’t aware of.
“Are demons a common problem here?” He asks.
“Oh yes, it is.” The staff says, but they aren’t solemn in the slightest. They look practically delighted at the mention of their demon threat. “Are you here to help?”
“If it’s a problem, I don’t mind offering a hand.” It’s not uncommon for demon requests to reappear in front of the guild. Demons don’t ever die, after all, they only get sent back to hell where they can just step right back out to the mortal plane if they so wished. It was a never-ending problem, but at least a manageable one.
The demons he ends up finding aren’t the most powerful. They’re not vengeful demons, he finds. Even as he lets fly an arrow and knocks one down, they seem almost happy. They attack enthusiastically. They aren’t pulling their punches despite this. He defeats the half dozen he finds. A demon’s body will disappear on death. Whatever they’d acquired in the mortal world would not.
Axes, Shinri finds on inspection, some cloth, a few satchels, money-
A handkerchief.
Shinri inspects in, utterly mystified. The purple color of it has him perking up. He’s wary of that realization. This wasn’t silky or fancy by any means. It was a scratchy linen cloth. The purple square and small thin cross were woven onto it.
What does it mean?
.
.
He spends time in the village researching the demons native to those mountains. They’re weak, gargoyle-looking things that often attack travelers instead of the settlements themselves. The townsfolk have built murals around the demons. There’s one huge one draped in the town hall, a lumbering goliath of a demon. Its horns are curled around a red fire. It looks more like a dragon, its tail wrapped around the mountain and setting it ablaze.
“Is that demon significant?” He asks.
The mayor looks at him. When he smiles, Shinri could almost swear he saw fangs, “Yes, he is. We do hope to see him one day. It’s truly a sight to behold.”
“You really like demons, huh.” Shinri muses. “Is this bigger demon-”
“The demon lord.”
“- is he still around?”
“Yes.” The mayor looks at the mural fondly. “Sometimes, our paths take us far from where we ever thought we’d be. We remind him, but he does not wish to return. It’s a shame, but we accept that.”
“If you have such a personal relationship with these demons,” Shinro says slowly, “why not negotiate peace with them?”
The mayor looks at him with amusement, “Yes, of course.”
“Is there a reason the demon lord is gone?” Shinri asks, “Like, is he just chillin’ down in hell right now?”
He gets a laugh for that. The mayor pats Shinri on the arm, “He has his reasons! Sometimes, birds want to take a break from their cage, even if it’s for a little bit.” He looks mischievous as he adds, “Demons like adventures too, ya know?”
And Shinri knows.
.
.
When he sits down with Altare again, it’s a week later. The dining hall of the guild is smelling clean after the whole guild had to get around to tackling the dust and grime. Monthly cleaning was a chore coupled with various complaints, but afterward, the feeling was very rewarding.
Food had been set up during the whole ordeal. While most of the platters had been gnawed onto their bones, a few remained. A fruit platter was his focus and it’s what kept Altare at the table as well. The others had been pulled away to their rooms, either for exhausted naps or to finally go about their day in peace.
“So,” Shinri says nonchalantly, “How’s your vacation been?”
“Vacation?” Alatre echoes. He’s spearing a strawberry with a toothpick and popping it into his mouth, “Can’t a man take a break from cleaning in peace?”
Shinri smiles. He places a purple cloth on the table. Altare looks at it. He blinks. When he looks back up at Shinri, there’s a mask of mock seriousness on his face.
“You know I have to kill you now.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
Altare cracks a wide smile, “I’m kidding. You really went all the way out there, huh?”
“What can I say?” Satisfied, Shinri grabs a toothpick to get his own victory of fruit. “I’m a lore fanatic.”
“Oh no, he found my lore.”
“I found your fans actually.” Shinri teases, “Demon lord.”
“Shh.” Altare crosses his arms into an X, but he’s trying not to laugh, “Alright, you got me. They try to slip me gifts and stuff. It’s a huge hassle to try and hide them or get rid of them before anyone notices.”
“The stamp?”
“I let them pay for our stamps once and this happens.”
Shinri laughs, “Well, case closed. Our guild is actually a cult.”
“Hey, c’mon,” Altare complains. “Next time just ask me, Shinri.”
“Where’s the fun in that? Do you know they have a whole mural dedicated to-”
“Yes, yes, they also have a shrine in a closet in the hotel. Dez found it and I had to lie to his face, Shinri, I had to convince him it was some kinda vacuum.”
“Oh, my god.” Shinri laughs. “How’d you get away with that?”
Altare shakes his head, “Axel got hurt. That was more than enough of a distraction. I think Dez got a grey hair from that whole ordeal.”
“And you got our stamps and our little infiltrator.” Shinri exhales, happy to have solved the case. He says, “I feel a bit bad for going behind your back. If you want, I can help you hide these little offerings, if I ever see them.”
Altare practically beams at him, “Aw, you’d do that? That’s sweet, dude. I’d really appreciate it.”
Shinri thinks of the tapestry at the town hall, of demonic flames and horns. He stares at Altare who is fumbling with a toothpick and accidentally dropping a chunk of pineapple in his lap. The demon lord says, “Aw crap, my pineapple.”
“Honestly? I don’t even think you need to hide all that stuff.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Because if you would have told me you’re a demon lord at any point before I saw that big red flag of a village,” Shinri grins, “I would have called you a lunatic.”
Altare laughs, “Well that’s reassuring. Thanks, Shinri.”
“It was my pleasure.”
.
.