Lord of Mysteries: Cuttlefish Connoisseurs

Tuesday, 1st of November 1352, 3 pm Backlund time. In the mysterious gathering place.

The greyish white fog surrounding and permeating the large, round ancient table, churned as nineteen slightly illusory figures took shape, all seated on their respective chairs. Unlike the last time they were abruptly pulled over, these meta "transmigrators" all adopted a calm demeanour, while examining each other in silence.

Until…

"Yahoo! Everyone! How has it been!?" The tanned skinned and flamboyantly dressed Wassim—Charles bellowed at the head of the table, causing most to snap out of their thoughts.

Naturally, he's still here. Most of the "transmigrators" offered faint nods of acknowledgement to the excited Wassim, while God Almighty Logi let out a soft laugh and turned to him. "Excellent. Every party needs someone like you if they wish to remain animated."

Also… While he smiled radiantly, Logi concluded his brief psychoanalysis. The crew is a lot more composed than last week, which is understandable… Some of them briefly gave a few others a faint look of acknowledgement and familiarity… Already acquainted? I'm very interested in their experiences. 

As he reached this thought, Chaotic—Jacques lightly tapped the round table, drawing the group's attention. After glancing at each one of them, he uttered in a bright tone. "Well, I'm quite glad to see you all still in one piece."

A few chuckled at his remark, and he soon added. "Then, let's begin with the second meeting of the…"

"Cuttlefish Connoisseurs," Lab member 004, aka Rosetta, enthusiastically added, while arranging her elegant raven dark updo. Jacques nodded at the Witch and then continued. "Since we obviously can't remain here indefinitely, I'd like to propose an efficient structure for each gathering."

Observing their compliance, he frowned for a moment and suddenly, the greyish white fog moved and congealed above the round table, forming sentences arranged in a neat manner. The sentences were all written in English, allowing all the participants to comprehend them.

"Woahhhh!" Wassim gasped in astonishment as the Enigma, Azriel, nodded at the sight, and then muttered. "Just like the Grey Fog, huh?"

Jacques nodded and explained. "This was one of the tests we moderators confirmed not long ago. Essentially, with the moderator's permission, any of you can conjure your thoughts like so." He pointed at the floating text while adding. "A moderator can do so whenever."

More moderator perks. Lucent, Tobi inwardly noted, but didn't voice his thoughts, as he sneakily glanced at another moderator, Mist—Laverna, and another participant, Mad Wizard—Adyn, both seated not too far from him. These three, who were acquainted for a week now, naturally couldn't resist exchanging a few glances and restrained smiles.

"Naturally, this conjuration has limits, including the size of what is conjured, and its complexity." Jacques finished describing as he returned his gaze to the text he had formed.

"As you can all see, the first proposed section of every gathering is basically our own random thoughts and questions. This acts as a buffer or an appetiser of sorts, before delving into more 'crucial' matters. Plus, there are still many things that need to be sorted out."

One of the moderators, Mr. E—John Wickham, nodded while interjecting, "For example, what should we name this place? We can't keep calling it the mysterious gathering spot, or the Cuttlefish hotspot, right?"

His statement prompted a wave of nods of agreement, with another moderator, Rah—Tyr, casting a stern gaze at Wassim, who was just about to speak out his mind. The latter, noticing the glare, made a gesture by placing a finger on his lips, miming a "zipping" motion.

"That's an example," Jacques mentioned and continued onto the next proposal. "Next comes a transaction period. It should come to no one's surprise that we're a diverse set of beyonders, and thus this would be inevitable, even for those who aren't interested in promotion."

Is there really such a person? Inabakumori—Isdole, who had recently advanced to a sequence 6 Soul Assurer, let her thoughts drift with her question. 

"The last proposed part of the gathering will be the information exchange section. Here, anyone can share interesting details they have noted. Of course, there's also another important matter I want all of us to discuss following this, but we'll get there."

Jacques then observed the group, with some soon realising he was seeking their opinions on the presented proposals. 

"I've no objections." One participant took the lead, promoting the rest to voice their compliance with the proposed arrangement. Of course, such a diverse group couldn't be completely united…

"What about the section where we all talk about where we're from?" God Almighty Logi, the hidden moderator, couldn't help but wonder out loud, causing quite a few to click their tongues in annoyance.

Not this asinine proposal again… Another fellow moderator, Yellow—Lenor let out a sigh while rolling his red eyes. He could notice from the corner of his eyes that even the eccentric Wassim shook his head in disagreement.

However, this wasn't Logi's actual goal. His real goal was actually hidden behind the proposal itself.

Three groups, in particular, reacted accordingly. Being an ever so observant man with seven children, Logi instantly noticed a few of his fellow "transmigrators" reacting awkwardly to his question while secretly glancing at each other.

Mist, Lucent, and Mad Wizard are one, the second group being Tempest, Rah, and Ashveil. The last ones are the Enigma and Snake. Logi gave a glance at the tall and robust man codenamed Snake seated beside Lab member 004. In the last gathering, he had a considerably leaner physique, and was much shorter.

Warrior potion? I did estimate he was likely an ordinary human last week, given lab rat's casual instigation could easily get to him.

He decided to put a pause on his analysis, as Jacques turned to Mr. E, John Wickham, who took the floor. "Like I said before, giving a name to this place is important. So, I'll give my own opinion. How about the Esoteric Manor?"

Noblesse—Zayas's green eyes flickered as he said, "I can see the logic behind Esoteric, but how can you be sure this place is a manor?"

His words caused the group to instinctively turn their heads to peer at the high windows on the tall walls of the hall. Greyish white fog still permeated beyond them, concealing the outside and preventing the identification of anything beyond the windows. 

John shrugged at his fellow moderator while replying, "It's simply a proposal. We're a democracy, aren't we? Let the people decide."

A few of the people in question nodded, hearing this, displaying their support. Having already spoken, Zayas brought out his own proposal. "Hmm… What about the Idiotic Headquarter?"

"Are these idiots here with us!?" Mist—Laverna, another moderator, mocked the proposal out loud, causing many to burst out in laughter. As she composed herself, she turned to Zayas, while placing a hand on her chest and offering a charming smile. "I actually like your idea. It rhymes with the Connoisseurs thing, showing we aren't that serious."

"We?" Rosetta interjected while playfully eyeing Mist, who raised a brow in response.

Oh yeah, fellow G.I.R.L. You've been quite active whenever you talk to me… The two women maintained a silent exchange through their eyes. Soon another member spoke out. "Idiotic is nice, but I feel like the name should match our current environment."

Sashimi—James Watson, yet another moderator said with a bright expression, "Hall should be used. In this case, I say we name it Poséidon Hall."

"Maybe, Hall of Feasts?" Another moderator, Yellow said, causing James to nod at a fellow like-minded thinker. Logi, seeing the moderators bicker, took some mental notes. While the rest of the crew remain somewhat distant to each other, the seven moderators are quite different… It seems their discussion prior to the gathering helped bridge the gap between them.

He was still in an internal struggle over whether he should reveal that he was also a moderator. However, he quickly recalled the conclusions he had made prior. 

The one who threw us all in this mess is likely the original owner of the Grey Fog. And then, I suddenly have "Him" telling me to head to Trier, and I'm secretly a moderator as well… He didn't let his thoughts linger as he joined in on the discussions with his own suggestion.

"Since we're on the food theme, what about the Dining Hall?"

"Are we going to eat you?" Mad Provoker—Nathael dressed in his sailor attire, featuring a reddish brown beard and similarly coloured messy short hair, spoke as he raised a brow at God Almighty while wearing a taunting smirk.

However, his attempt at provocation didn't work on the Psychiatrist, Logi, as the latter subtly frowned instead. "God Almighty, eaten in a dining hall, huh?"

At once, the entire hall grew silent as all members frowned hearing Logi's mutterings. Clearly, his words brought back waves of familiar memories, prompting some to have shivers traveling down their spine.

The end of the Ancient Sun God. Jacques tried not to dwell on the topic as he turned to Tempest on the other end of the table and asked. "You voiced the Connaisseurs' proposal last time. Any thoughts on the name of this place?"

The mature Tempest—Erza, paused in thought before saying, "Senatus." Already expecting questioning and confused gazes to be sent her way, Erza elaborated. "It means Senate or Council of Elders in Latin."

"You're the only elder in our group though," Wassim casually said, his words causing the entire hall to freeze in shock. Ashveil—Marcelle and Rah—Tyr had their mouths agape as they subtly observed Tempest, whose face had darkened.

Seemingly unbothered by this, Wassim laid out his idea. "Since we're already in the Latin theme, I feel like Curia Hall is better. Curia means court of Justice by the way, so, essentially, the Hall of Justice."

Since when can you talk so reasonably!? The thought crossed the minds of many. Having already made some contacts with Audrey Hall, Logi gestured a thumbs up in approval. "Justice indeed. I fully support this option."

Following these propositions, the group went into a series of votes to elect the final name for the mysterious hall. Eventually, the final round involved the Curia Hall and the Idiotic Headquarter, with the former winning by a short margin.

"Justice Hall, heh, what are we? Ms. Audrey's little sisters?" The words muttered by a member sent a wave of revulsion, a jab straight to the core. Marcelle's lip twitched before adding, "We should talk about more pressing matters."

The group's compliance caused Marcelle to look up at the still conjured text outlining the gathering's structure. "So, the next one is the transaction phase, and I just happen to know a guy."

I too Know Someone, Logi inwardly commented as he asked with a cheerful smile, "Does that person happen to have a robust physique, brown skin, green eyes and thick beard?" 

Having his appearance described, Ashveil's composure didn't falter as he maintained a faint smirk, choosing not to comment. 

Feeling intrigued, Zayas, by his side, questioned. "Any ideas on the Scribe's potion formula?"

"I am interested too," Tobi, seizing an opportunity, chimed in and eyed Zayas. While the former was a Magician just on the cusp of advancing to Faceless, he didn't mind adding more materials rich spirituality to his arsenal.

The Conspirer, Marcelle, didn't mind as he had expected this outcome. Therefore, he replied. "I have the potion formula and the corresponding ingredients. We can settle it through basic monetary trade, or simply trade by batter."

"That is favours, or the exchange of equal goods for those who didn't catch." The last line was quite provocative, making some twitch their lips, but none took the bait.

Tobi and Zayas maintained eye contact for a while, as if in a silent argument about who deserved this transaction. However, only the highest bidder had this privilege, and thus, Zayas turned to Marcelle and casually questioned. "You're from the Red Priest path, right?"

This was a wild guess, which he had made given the numerous effective jabs Ashveil—Marcelle had made in both gatherings now.

The West Balam native did not comment on the matter, prompting Zayas to switch topics while resting his arms on the round table. "How about this? I have a Reaper artefact which, while extremely useful, I can part ways with. You just need to owe me a number of favours on top of the Scribe potion formula and ingredients."

This was a very reasonable price, one which made the Mad Provoker, Nathael, recline in his chair. He, too, was a Conspirer. But he had decided to simply observe the gathering due to long having felt the deep gazes laid on him by a few participants. 

Ashveil nodded and elaborated. "I actually also have the supplementary ingredients for Traveler, as well as the potion formula. If I add this, I'll owe you one negotiable favour. That is, if you're interested, of course."

His bag is that deep!? Many of the gathering members openly or subtly scrutinised Ashveil following his last statement. It had to be noted that a single main ingredient for a sequence 6 potion was about 1500-2000 Loenese pounds. In essence, a staggering amount of money, most people in this world would never accumulate in an entire life span.

"I don't need the formula, so three negotiable favours instead of one and we have a deal." Seeing Marcelle's nod of agreement, Zayas smiled while turning to Tobi, whom didn't show any further interest. "Well, shall I now reveal how we'll go about these kinds of transactions from now on?" Having said that, Zayas observed his fellow moderators and nodded at them, before refocusing on the rest of the group.

"As we announced last week, we moderators did some tests involving this mysterious space… The Curia Hall, I guess, an hour before this gathering."

"One of which is this," He pointed at the still floating text Chaotic had made. "And another being…" His voice trailed off, as he presented a mischievous smile at the Warrior, Snake—Xavier who sat next to the beautiful Rosetta, occasionally sneaking a peak at her voluptuous figure. The Witch responded to these glances with a playful wink and soft giggles.

Zayas let the heptagram surface on his palm as the fog around the two stirred, immediately covering the flirtatious duo. "Private conversation, so these horny birds can freely go at it."

A wave of laughter erupted from the group, as Zayas made the grey fog retreat, revealing the bewildered duo. They soon grasped what this moderator had done and uttered about them, causing Snake—Xavier to look down in embarrassment.

After the group settled, Zayas continued. "The third fact we discovered is a way to facilitate the transactions we'll be making, Grey Fog style."

The members instantly nodded in understanding. One of the Tarot Club's advantages was the facilitation of transactions, connection and communication between people of diverse settings. Since their gathering didn't automatically translate everything spoken, the group had unanimously decided to speak in a tongue which they were all familiar with—English.

Trying to fix his image a bit, the muscular Snake looked at Zayas and mentioned. "Mr. Fool had his honorific name, which pointed at his connection to the grey fog. Do we have something like this too?"

"As a matter of fact," Jacques said, as he erased his conjured floating text stating the gathering's outline. The text was swiftly replaced by another, also written in English.

"The Hall that Exists within a sealed World; 

Fragments of an Unseen Past; 

Wanderers from Ancient Times; 

Open the gates to the Mysterious Hall!"

"We moderators have already made the three-line Honorific name for convenience's sake," Jacques said, bringing back the group's attention. "We can just change the mysterious hall written here to Curia Hall."

"Oww… And here I was getting excited about sharing my ideas for a cool honorific name…" Wassim said dejectedly as he withdrew the mysterious symbols in his eyes, which he had been using to decrypt the honorific names' deeper meaning.

However, a fellow Cryptologist, Mist—Laverna kept her eyes on the Honorific name, while elaborating, "The first line should be obvious given how we can't go beyond or even analyse the outside of this hall. Almost like it is in a sealed state."

The group nodded at the logic as one member pointed out, "And I'm guessing the 'Fragment of an Unseen past' refers to how we're technically from another world all together?"

"Indeed." Laverna nodded while proceeding onto the final line, "Wanderers from ancient times, due to the nature of 'transmigration' in this world. While we could've arrived here in a completely different manner all together, I firmly believe it's no coincidence we 'woke up' right after Mr. Fool went into slumber."

Once more, the group nodded at her logical analysis, but a few clearly wanted to make their own suggestions on what the final honorific name should be. Not wanting the gathering to spiral into an endless rabbit hole of arguments, Rah—Tyr, another moderator, took over. "In essence, the parties involved in a specific deal would all chant this honorific name in a mystical tongue, drawing the attention of all the moderators."

He presented the pentagram on his palm to the group and then said with a sigh, "Unfortunately, none of us are outside, so I can't give a visual demonstration. Plus, I don't wish for disorder in the gathering by testing it right now."

His imposing tone caused most who still had some issues to nod in understanding. 

Following this, he added. "The chants will draw our attention, and then we can pull whatever 'offerings' the two parties provide, bringing them into this hall. So long as it's nothing larger than the chair we're currently seated on, for example, the offering would be pulled into the hall."

"From there, the exchange can proceed."

Tyr then adopted a more serious demeanor as he said in a deep tone, "Naturally, there's no 'supreme' being to overlook these transactions. So it's up to you guys to decide if it's worth the risk."

"To add to that," Sashimi—James Watson, another moderator, continued after Tyr with a vibrant expression. "The moderators are obviously a diverse set of people. And for this, if even one of us tries to swindle the transaction, it'll automatically fail."

So all seven need to agree to it before the "gates" to the Curia Hall are open. The Enigma, Azriel deduced, maintaining a neutral expression. It's indeed not very safe; what if all moderators agree to swindle one major transaction? It's only through them that we can appear here and discuss, so they've absolute power over every transaction made here as the middlemen…

Sure, the members who have been swindled might try to report this incident. But that's a big "IF"... What happens if the moderators exclude these "snitches" from the next gathering? They clearly seem to be able to pull us up here with our permission. So, who's to say they can't deny entry to one or multiple of us?

As a Detective, Azriel was increasingly intrigued about the limits the moderators currently had. Though, as if sensing or more like having anticipated this very concern, Jacques grabbed the Connoisseur's attention with a soft cough.

He then materialised a golden sheet of paper featuring symbols of the bright, blazing sun. The symbols drew out an empty zone at its centre, emitting an illusory warm, and stable feeling.

"For the curious, this is a Notary certificate. Not the real thing, of course; it's outside here," Jacques said while examining the few who wore a curious expression. "At the end of each gathering, all those who had a transaction will stay behind, while I act as the middleman using an actual certificate, which I will bring into the hall."

"Does that solve most of your issues?" 

The group, including the Enigma, nodded in a relaxed manner, satisfied. 

This caused a smile to bloom on Jacques's pretty face, but inside, a whirlwind of thoughts took form. Did I also mention that this place has purification effects like the Grey Fog, including on the binding contract placed on one's soul body by the Certificate?

While the moderators hadn't tested this fact, most of them were sure of it, after Sashimi commented, feeling relieved from most of his mental issues, whenever he entered the mysterious space. Jacques had then described his possession of a Notary certificate, and the fact that all the previous contracts imposed on his soul body by it, were annulled the first time he entered the Curia Hall.

Due to this, Jacques had orchestrated a bribe none of the ordinary members could reject. This bribe would make use of the false security which would arise the moment he assured them he could use a Notary certificate to officiate all transactions. He estimated that, if he succeeded, given that most of the members were clearly at a decent Beyonder level, he'll digest a certain part of his potion through this.

Naturally, the other moderators only agreed to this play only if he didn't plan on swindling any transaction. 

To make a bribe, the other parties would not reject. That's an interesting acting principle. As a senior lawyer, and one working in the Underground of a colonial state, Jacques was able to completely conceal his thoughts and emotional fluctuations. Eventually, Zayas turned to Marcelle, who locked eyes with him.

"Then it's settled," Marcelle said, causing the moderator to nod. The former then smirked while examining the participants. "Well, I may be able to help you more."