Why are you special?

We don't just teleport in. We could, I have plenty of description, and I think the only one of us that doesn't have some way to teleport is the two mindless Adamantine Golems. My siblings Air, Water, Earth, and Nature have told me plenty about how bad things are, and I've caught plenty of glimpses because anywhere people live, there are babies, but I wanted to see it with my own eyes, and it's good for everyone else to know too.

We start seeing obvious effects while we're still a good fifty miles out. The trees are stunted, the birch bark is a dark gray rather than white, and we're not hearing many birds. The skies are gray, but don't smell of rain (yes, rain has a smell, and I never did get rid of Scent: It's useful, as annoying as it can be), but instead they smell of sulfur.

David pipes up, currently in human form, "Is that brimstone I smell?" Apparently you don't need scent to notice, though. And yes, brimstone is an old word for sulfur.

Wanda takes a whiff, "Someone's burning a lot of coal, yes."

We all look quite the sight; I can create crafting materials from nothing, can craft any magic item, and can copy myself for the actual work… so I loaded us all up with the best magic items I can find or design that don't duplicate effects we're getting from spells… including magic tattoos, effectively doubling up most of our item slots. So we each have a belt, robe, vest, boots, goggles, gloves, hats, headbands, necklaces, capes, rings, and armbands. Underneath those, we're tattooed up with magic under everything but the goggles and headbands. Putting on the tattoos was fun… especially the chest and belt ones. Wanda's wonderful bosoms were a joy to work with (I suckled on her for a while), and I developed a taste for male members from that diabolic contract's effect. David was certainly appreciative of how I milked him for the touch to transfer the tattoos there.

I mean, I added magic to make most of the actual items invisible (we still look like we're wearing normal clothing), most of my personal magical items are actually worn by my shadow (the Shadow Stash talent, taken twice, from Spheres of Power allows that and lets them still function normally… so I'm wearing mundane clothing to match the magical gear on my shadow), and the tattoos continue to work fine when under a layer of base paint makeup matching our skin, so we look perfectly normal to most people… but I see through it just fine. So for me… heavily tattooed folks all bundled up.

We're also of course visibly armed; I have the two Adamantine Golems under a Reduce Person effect (made to affect constructs via Attuned Mysticism) to bring them down to just ten feet tall, and dressed up in illusion to look like they're armored guards under a permanent Enlarge Person spell. Their spiked chains and identical appearance lets folks know that they're lockdown builds.  It's a common tactic: One or two really big guys who trip any enemies approaching so they can't get to the casters and archers, and the casters and archers then do the work of keeping the attackers down. So we look like a normal (if slightly large at six members) adventuring party… or perhaps a few nobles with an escort. Mind you: None of us are soft targets like that tactic would suggest… but when people see what they expect, they seldom take a closer look - which is the real point.

And of course, we ARE a properly registered adventuring party, even if our names are faked. The initiation was handled at a different location - can't have it be too easy for folks to find me, not that I think anyone is hunting me anymore. Still… I would like a little separation. And the initiation… is apparently guildmaster specific. I just had to identify a few dozen spells that were in place and in effect… and Greater Arcane Sight made that trivial.

Things get progressively worse as we approach. At about forty miles out, there aren't any trees anymore, just stunted grass and bushes. At thirty miles out, it's just bare ground as far as the eye can see.  At twenty miles out, the ground is gouged out; deep holes are carved everywhere that there's not a slag pile of foul-smelling burned rock. I wonder how these people grow enough food to survive? At ten miles out, we're assaulted by a thin fog that causes some irritation in our eyes.

When we finally reach the city itself, the city wall isn't normal. Most places use stone. Here? It looks like they riveted steel plates to a backing of some kind, and made them taller… oh, hey, arrow slits starting about fifteen feet up, and continuing to the top where they have crenellation. They seem to be prepared for war… as far as fortifications go, this place is extra hardy… and it's just the outer wall of the city. Makes me wonder what the keep is like.

The gate is a mostly standard killbox: Twin portcullis separated by a small hallway, with holes in the ceiling and a room above it. The big difference from most is that this place, too, seems plated in steel. We show our guild badges at the door, and we're waved on through… although the adamantine golems need to duck a bit.

Arrow slits actually do serve a purpose in a land of magic: Most magic spells require something called Line of Effect: For every five foot square that the spell passes through, there needs to be at least one square foot of opening… which doesn't need to be in square form, or even contiguous: One hole of a square foot will do fine… but so will 144 openings at one square inch each. An arrow slit, three inches wide and three feet tall, is only one hundred eight square inches - most spells don't get through, but a defender behind the arrow slit can fire arrows out of it quite easily while still being hard to hit with enemy arrows.  There are some spells that will bypass that - most notably, the Fireball spell sends a bead, and there’s a clause about getting it through a small opening with an attack roll, so it can get through an arrow slit well enough to roast those behind it... but nobody's going to be casting Dominate Person or Suggestion on your archers to make them turn on each other.

Not that I'm planning to take this place down with a siege and an army, mind. If I want to take it down with violence, I'll just be a wrecking ball to take down the place… or have Oscar pick up the Destruction sphere with Disintegrate and Calamity, and use the combination to turn the entire city to dust with a few dozen castings. Nah. Much more efficient to deal with the people that run the place. And I'll sleep better at night if I don't kick off the extinction of an entire city.

Not that I sleep.

Inside the city itself, it's the normal hustle and bustle. Everything is drab… but that seems to be from a thin coat of ash more than anything else. Folks are selling goods from the backs of carts: I see knitting needles, crocheting hooks, doorknobs, daggers, brooms, spoons, knives, bowls, plates, cloth, clothing…

It isn't until Wanda speaks up that I realize what's conspicuously missing: "Ah, I was hoping for some fresh fruit…."

Nobody's selling food stocks. No fish, no wheat, no rice, no apples, no smoked pork… there’s obviously people, and nobody seems to be starving, so there’s clearly food to be had. But there’s no ingredients being sold in the market? Nor fresh baked goods, for that matter… so where's the food?

Considering, I respond to Wanda, "Perhaps we'll find something in a tavern… let’s locate one, okay?"

Wanda wonders, "Think they want milk? I have plenty…."

And they'll be happy to drink straight from the tap.  Well, you're already carrying, and immune to disease, so… "I expect there will be plenty of people perfectly willing to help drain your tanks. But please get a private room first this time; we have the money, and the guard isn't always so understanding of your very giving nature."

Wanda pouts, "Hey they were just thirsty too! We got it all sorted out after they had their fill, and each gave me a salty snack as an apology for trying to rough me up."

Trying being the operative word, "They asked me very politely to replace the equipment they damaged trying to get you to obey local law. The money for three spears, five swords,and a ballista wasn't too bad, but it's a bad idea to make a habit of such things. So make sure you're feeding people in a private room, all right?"

Wanda rolls her eyes, "Fine, fine."

It doesn't take us long to find an inn. It's not that we need a room for the night - Mage's Magnificent Mansion is just a thought away - it's that I want to find out how this city is functioning, and that means seeing things and chatting with people. We look around, and settle on entering 'The Loose Lady' for the night.