I was greeted by a ray of sunshine that peered through my window, disrupting my slumber. I turned in my bed afflicted by a soreness not unlike that of muscle fatigue. It was a clear symptom of mana exhaustion. The adrenaline of the previous night at the auction house must have masked my condition, but now it was unmistakable. 'True silence' was still a 4th grade spell and its prolonged usage with my small mana pool was bound to induce fatigue.
The conditions of mana fatigue were almost identical to that of muscle fatigue except they afflicted the mana channels and core in one's body rather than their muscles. Spell casting while in a state of fatigue put a great strain on the caster's body inducing pain. And just like muscle fatigue, if a mage pushed their core too far, it would break. A shattered mana core would almost certainly lead to the death of any living being. For this reason, mages did not take mana fatigue lightly.
I was used to bottoming out my mana pool in order to increase its size, but this time it felt like I had gone too far. Had I not restricted myself to tier 1 healing spells the night before, I probably would have died. The aches were strong enough that I was pretty sure any casting would be potentially fatal. It meant that I would have to at least go the day without magic, my greatest tool. It was going to be much more difficult to escape the city without the help of magic.
Rapforth was a trading city open to peoples of all ethnicities, but it essentially functioned as a border town because of it. It was a sprawling city often inhabited by foreigners, so the empire strictly regulated the gates that led out of the city. Foreigners were only tolerated in the empire's borders as merchants, diplomats, and slaves. The only path to citizenship was by becoming a soldier in the army or via annexation and subsequent integration. Without papers, one couldn't simply waltz into the countryside of the Rapforth domain. And without magic to bypass the walls, I had a decision to make.
1. I could scale the walls. This was essentially impossible since the stone was smooth and without tools or a rope, it would be a wasted effort. Even if I could make it to the top, I would then have to deal with the town guards stationed at the top who would have no shortage of time to see me coming.
2. I could try digging under the walls, but it would take too long without magic, and be almost impossible to do so unnoticed.
3. Identity theft. The simplest option was to simply steal or forge some papers in order to exit through the front gate. It was promisingly easy, but once the papers were discovered to be stolen, I could have my face on every billboard in town.
4. I could attempt the assassination inside the city limits. This was definitely the worst option and a last resort. Not only was the place crawling with guards, but without magic I would only have the element of surprise on my side. Even if I succeeded in killing the target, escaping alive would be a pipe dream, and hiding the body even more so.
It was a classic pick your poison conundrum. Every option sucked, but to not choose any meant certain death. After some consideration, I opted to go with plan 3. While identity theft would certainly attract unwanted attention, it was doubtful that any wanted posters spawned from eye-witness accounts would be any more useful than as free toilet paper. The only remaining question was where to get them. I pondered the question for a minute, but there was one option that shined above the rest. There was no better victim than a drunk one. Drunks tend to fight a lot, and tend to forget even more. I would surely be able to find some papers by loitering outside a bar. There was only one problem, The day had just begun and the streets would only be riddled with last night's leftovers.
I threw on my gear as fast as I could and darted down the stairs. I had paid upfront, so I had no need to check myself out. I needed to make it to the pub district as soon as I could. The longer I waited, the less drunks would be asleep in the alleys.
When I arrived, things were better than I could have hoped for. Rapforth was a bustling town and being a trade hub, it had no shortage of poor souls who made bad bets and went looking to drink their sorrows away. The problem was that it was difficult to distinguish between a foreign merchant and an imperial one. I donned my hood and perused the narrow passageways behind bars and other unscrupulous establishments. Careful not to trip on the numerous sleeping bodies strewn across the cobblestone, I searched for a promising prospect.
After some time, I stumbled upon an anomaly. A man dressed in an attire befitting of a peasant. In contrast to the more formal attire donned by the merchants surrounding him, His bland tunic stood out. Before making my move, I checked my surroundings to ensure I wouldn't be seen. When I was sure the coast was clear, I crouched down to rummage through the man's pockets. He tossed and turned, mumbling to himself in his sleep. The first one was empty, but in his second pocket I found a crumpled up piece of paper.
There was no other reason why a commoner would carry paper, it was doubtful that he could read, but I needed to confirm it was an ID anyway. I searched for a more secluded alley with less eyes before uncrumpling the paper. Sure enough it was the man's ID. The top of the paper was adorned with the man's name: 'Arnium'. It was unusual for a commoner to have a last name, so I paid its absence no mind.
According to the paper, Arnium was from the village of Temborn in the province of Rapforth. His occupation was listed as farmer and so his only business in the city would have been to sell his produce or buy seeds and fertilizer from the markets. From what I remembered of his appearance, he was a middle-aged man somewhere in his early 40s. His date of birth was listed as March 1st of the year 237 of the Imperial Casparian calendar. Assuming the information was accurate, the current year must be around 280 give or take a few years.
While I was relieved to discover that many of the texts I had read back at the Mist Academy's library were not out of date, there was still a problem. Only a blind man would think I looked 40 years old. I could try hiring a mercenary to play the part of my father, but strangers are unreliable and I had enough loose ends already. Apart from that, it was unlikely that any mercenary would risk making himself an enemy of the empire for what little money I had to offer. I saw only one other reasonable alternative. If I posed as the man's son running an errand for him, I just might be able to fool a gullible guard into granting me passage.
And so I headed to the center of town to grace the markets of Rapforth with my presence once more. I couldn't claim to be running an errand without having any goods to show for it. As I waltzed down the main street of Rapforth once again, I kept my eyes peeled for any good excuses. The winter months brought with them a certain selection of goods from which I had to choose. It was unlikely I would find fertilizer or seeds during December, so I had to opt for something else that would not draw suspicion around my alias.
After some searching, I happened upon a promising stand. It was a small table filled with an assortment of spices. From salt to cumin to spices I had never heard of, the selection left little to be desired. I waved down the owner to get his attention. "Excuse me sir, how much for a pound(~1/2kg) of salt?" I asked him. "5 silver per pound, no negotiation" He replied dismissively, and returned to shouting his sales pitches. He probably doubted that a kid like me actually had any money, but when I flashed the 5 silver coins, his mood brightened. "I'll take a pound then." I requested. "Of course, let me get you a bag , young man." He said with his disingenuous smile.
He proceeded to bag me a pound by eye, but I didn't really care if his measurement was accurate or not. Either way, the salt would serve its purpose and I was satisfied. With my decoy acquired. I made my way to the main gate of Rapforth. I had no reason to delay my departure and every reason to leave as soon as possible. It was only a matter of time until the real owner of my ID woke up and there was no telling when Amata would leave the city.
The main gate of Rapforth was a grand archway protected by a draw bridge that spanned a moat and led to the plains outside of the city. The walls stretched some 50ft(15.24m) tall and were at least 20ft(6m) in width. Patrols walked the top at regular intervals and a large line of carriages and people waited in queues to enter and leave the city. Each queue was staffed by a pair of guards, with several more on standby acting as security.
Before getting in line I re-positioned my spatix and its scabbard so that it was visibly strewn on top of my cloak. Civilians in the empire were tacitly allowed to carry weapons since travel in its borders could hardly be considered safe. There was an untold amount of beasts and bandits that roamed the countryside and so any traveler would be a fool to not arm themselves or acquire an escort. Despite this fact, concealed weaponry was still frowned upon and so revealing my sword served two purposes.
It would attract less attention when worn out in the open, and it would serve to divert attention away from the many knives which were still concealed under my cloak. With my appearance ready, I removed my hood and entered the line to exit the city. I drew many inquisitive looks from other travelers, but nobody lingered or asked any questions. It was uncommon for someone of my age to travel alone, but at the end of the day, it was hardly the strangest thing to see. I imagined a traveler's life was full of many dangers, and asking questions is usually the same thing as asking for trouble.
An hour must have passed before I reached the front of the line. Immediately the inspector made a suspicious face at me. "What are you doing here boy? This isn't a game. And what are you doing with that sword? Aren't you a little young for a legionnaire?" The inspector interrogated and mocked me. "My father sent me to grab some salt, my mother has fallen sick and he refuses to leave her side. Without salt, our rations won't last the winter." I pleaded to the inspector with my master's degree in bullshitting.
"You're traveling all by yourself?! God, parents these days are hopeless." He exclaimed and shook his head. "Alright, well do you have any papers?" The inspector continued. "Of course" I said as I handed him my crumpled ID. The man took it and unfolded the piece of paper. He pulled back and squinted in an effort to read the paper. "Let's see… Arnium born in 237… Do you expect me to believe you're 43?! Where did you get this, son?" The man's mood started to sour.
I raised my hands in a sign of submission. "It's my father's ID… we lost mine last summer… a-and our village hasn't been visited by the Census Bureau since." I stammered and pleaded once again. The Census Bureau was in charge of the Imperial census which was conducted annually during the summer. It allowed the senate and emperor to gather critical data about the demographics and population of the empire's many regions. The bureau's officials would travel to any location on a map in the empire and keep track of population and the like. Their officials were also empowered to reissue ID at their discretion, although it required some proof or a few sponsors to do so.
The inspector mulled over my supposed plight for a moment. Perhaps he had drawn a sound conclusion, but more likely he began to feel the discontent growing in the crowd behind me. Everyone had somewhere to be and impatience was rampant in the crowd. Whatever the case was, the man finally let me through after confirming with his partner that the ID was real. As I crossed the bridge, it felt as if I was being led into a trap; like I would be stopped at any moment, but nothing happened. Only when the gate had become a speck in the distance, did I allow myself to relax and fix my attire. I also threw the bag of salt in a nearby bush. It had served its purpose and was too heavy to take with me.
Once again, I couldn't believe I had been so lucky. The security was laxer than I had expected, but the same trick wouldn't work when I would have to return to the city. However, that was a problem for future me. Now, I had to get moving once again. I followed a set of road signs and my map toward Alurium, the hometown of Amata, until they led me to the entrance of a forest. A sign on the roadside marked the entrance to the forest. It read: "Fenick's Forest". After confirming its name with the one on my map. I donned my hood, and entered the forest. I had rolled a natural 20 on my luck, now it was time to prove my skill.