The world dissolved into another chaotic spin. The dizziness felt as if he’d been tossed into a giant tumbler and spun a hundred tis over, or perhaps he was standing still while the universe revolved around him. A cascade of bizarre, fleeting illusions washed over him before his feet finally found solid ground.
This was his fifth consecutive plunge into a new Mysterious Realm, and the vertigo was growing stronger with each transition. The good news, however, was that the air against his skin felt temperate—neither damp nor cold, neither hot nor excessively dry.
Aside from a peculiar scent tickling his nostrils, the temperature and humidity were practically flawless.
"Is that the sll of wax? Or am I mistaken?"
The elf, on the other hand, seed to handle the spatial shifts with ease. She helped Jenkins, still reeling from the dizzying transition, into a sitting position. Before he took in the dimly lit surroundings, he followed his usual routine: he checked his pocket. Just as he expected, his fingers closed around a new coin.
The new coin was the sa size as his Sin Coins. Given its connection to the "Real Illusion," it was a golden gem. The obverse bore the emblem of the Real Illusion, while the reverse depicted a dragon with its wings unfurled. If Jenkins wasn't mistaken, the distinct features of the creature marked it as the silver dragon, Anathasia.
"What is this?" Leoni Silf asked. "It’s beautiful."
Leoni Silf, too, could see it gleaming in the gloom.
"I don't know what it is either," Jenkins admitted, "but I have a feeling it's going to be useful."
He shook his head, feeling his equilibrium return. With a flick of his thumb, he tossed the coin into the air, caught it, and absorbed it into his spirit. Only then did he finally get to his feet to survey their surroundings.
They were unquestionably indoors, in a space that was both dry and warm. And Jenkins's nose hadn't deceived him; the sll of wax was accurate, for they were surrounded by countless life-sized wax figures.
The figures were perfectly proportioned, sculpted on a one-to-one scale with real people. The craftsmanship was so exquisite that each one looked like a living person frozen in ti. The realism was so uncanny it sent a shiver down their spines, making both Jenkins and the elf half-expect one of them to move at any second. For now, at least, that fear seed unfounded.
This had to be a wax museum. A closer look revealed small naplates at the base of each statue. But the plaques only bore nas written in the common script of the 18th Epoch, offering no further information about their identities. As such, Jenkins recognized none of them.
The museum seed vast; they couldn't see its boundaries in the oppressive darkness. The only source of light ca from the center of the room, where a large, square table stood. A candelabrum rested in the middle of it, holding three candles—two long, one short—that cast a ager glow upon their imdiate surroundings.
Besides the candelabrum, the table was cluttered with a miscellany of items. Jenkins could make out sheets of manuscript paper, letter paper, pencils of various kinds, a asuring tape, a small knife, and more.
Four more statues stood sentinel, one at each side of the table. Given their surroundings, one might assu they were also made of wax. But in the faint, flickering candlelight, three of them were unmistakably tal. The fourth was a bizarre hybrid, half wax and half tal. She was alive, and Jenkins knew without a doubt that this being had so inextricable link to the Difference Engine.
"Wait a minute... three statues at the table?"
He recalled the scene he had witnessed when he’d risked entering the first level of the black tal tower as it rose. The interior had been flooded with white light, with only three tal statues of monarchs standing around a table.
"Does this place... correspond to the Uncrowned King?"
The three tal statues before him now weren't King Salsi II, Queen Isabella, or Tackwen the Proud, but Jenkins still trusted his intuition. After all, when the first level of the tower had risen, this vast Mysterious Realm had likely not yet fully solidified. It was only natural that what he saw then would differ from its final form.
"Let's get a closer look," Jenkins said to his companion.
The elf gestured to return the sword she had carried out of the last Mysterious Realm. It was a Series B Extraordinary item, and though they didn't know its specific properties, special weapons were invariably powerful.
"You keep it for now," Jenkins told her.
The truth was, he simply didn't want to carry any more baggage.
Of the four statues at the table, the living one—the half-wax, half-tal hybrid—had the appearance of a robed priestess. The other three, all pure tal, consisted of one woman and two n. The woman was elderly, while the two n were middle-aged, verging on old. All three were dressed in lavish formal attire, the kind of finery that imdiately brought the high nobility to mind.
As Jenkins and Leoni Silf drew closer, the living statue sized them up before speaking:
"Two of you. I wasn't expecting that."
Her voice was a perfect match for her priestly appearance.
"Were you only expecting ?" Jenkins asked.
But she clearly had no interest in answering his questions.
"The rules are simple."
Her voice was cold as she pointed to the table. The various papers and tools scattered across its surface imdiately slid aside as if swept away by an unseen hand, clearing the center. Simultaneously, the candelabrum lifted into the air and hovered above the table, revealing an empty space in the middle.
"We will play a ga of cards. A single hand to decide the winner. If you win, I will permit you to leave."
"A card ga?" Jenkins asked. "Do we both have to play against you?"
Having had a similar experience in the fire-thed Mysterious Realm, Jenkins wasn't particularly surprised by the proposition.
"The two of you will share a single deck and decide together how to play your cards. The ga is called Kingdom Cards. These three statues represent three different kingdoms. First, you must choose which one you will represent."
"Can we learn the rules for this 'Kingdom Cards' ga first?"
"No. First, choose which kingdom you will represent."
"Very well," Jenkins conceded, pointing to the female statue on the living statue's left. "What does this one represent?"
"A kingdom in the center of the continent, the most populous of the three. It boasts a stable society, a prosperous economy, and rapid advancents in steam technology. However, its food production is low, making it heavily dependent on imports, and it is frequently struck by natural disasters."
"And this one?" he asked, indicating the male statue directly opposite the living one.
"A northern kingdom with the largest territory. It possesses a powerful military and abundant mineral resources, but suffers from a harsh environnt and a shortage of labor."
"And the last one?" he asked, gesturing to the statue on the living statue's right.
"A southern kingdom, blessed with the richest natural resources and a wealth of cultural and natural wonders. However, its governnt is politically unstable, and for historical reasons, its military is the weakest of the three."
The descriptions of the three kingdoms triggered a powerful sense of déjà vu, but on closer reflection, Jenkins realized there were many differences from the three actual kingdoms on the continent. Perhaps they were based on reality, but they were certainly not identical.
"Does choosing a different kingdom make a difference?" Jenkins pressed. "I'd still like to know how the ga is actually played."
But the statue was dead set on not answering his questions. Since the elf knew nothing of contemporary politics, the final decision fell to Jenkins. He chose the populous central kingdom ruled by a queen.
After all, it was the nation he was most familiar with.
Once his choice was made, the two unselected tal statues took two steps back, blending in with the other wax figures. At the sa ti, two chairs materialized at the table, opposite the living statue. As Jenkins and Leoni Silf took their seats, the tal statue of the queen stirred. It moved to stand behind Jenkins, even resting a tallic hand on the back of his chair.
"So, what exactly are the rules?"
From the corner of his eye, Jenkins watched the tal queen, but aside from an appreciation for its exquisite craftsmanship, he sensed nothing suspicious about it.
"The ga is played over a period of ten years," the living statue explained. "Each quarter, the kingdom will face a different event."
A stack of over a hundred black-backed cards appeared to the living statue's left.
"At the start of each quarter, I will randomly draw one black event card. You must then propose a response. It might be a simple food shortage, or it could be a full-blown cataclysm."
But no cards appeared in front of Jenkins and the elf.
"So, I just need to state our response?" Jenkins asked.
If that was the case, it would be perfect. This was what he excelled at.
"No. Your life experiences will be transford into policies. Your sense of right and wrong will determine the kingdom's survival. Your knowledge of history and civilization will beco your strength."
As she spoke, a stack of white cards materialized in front of both the seated Jenkins and Leoni Silf. The elf’s stack contained perhaps a hundred cards—a respectable number, considering that while she was a ranger from the Evergreen Forest, she hadn't exactly failed her cultural studies.
She then turned to look at the stack in front of Jenkins, and her mouth fell slightly agape. His deck looked even larger than the black deck of event cards.
"Is the nascent World Tree a politician or a historian in the material world?" she wondered aloud.
"My event cards may contain duplicates, as may your policy cards, but each card can be played only once. I will play a single event card each quarter, but you may use a combination of cards to respond."
Jenkins and the elf picked up their decks. The first card Jenkins saw was labeled MAINTAIN STABILITY. He blinked. The second card was the sa. It wasn't until the tenth card that he found sothing different: FOOD PRODUCTION INCREASE ACT. After that ca cards like PERSONAL MARTIAL PROWESS and COMPULSORY EDUCATION.
"These are all broad concepts, not specific policies or actions," he thought to himself.
Leaning over, he glanced at the elf's hand and saw her top two cards: PROMOTE FERTILITY ACT and BASIC MYSTICISM.
"Elves have fertility acts?" Jenkins whispered to Leoni Silf, showing her his own hand.
"During the decades I was in school, our birth rate was declining every year," Leoni explained. "Besides praying to our Lord for blessings, the royal family also enacted laws to encourage childbirth. I rember one of them... for every additional child born to a family, the reward was one hundred years of limited, free hunting rights."
Her words painted a picture quite different from the "mysterious and elegant" image elves had in the material world. For a mont, Jenkins could almost picture the warm, hearth-lit hos of the elves living deep within their forest.
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