Alaric did not respond to Volt.
It was not because he was afraid but because Volt was a noble and more importantly a member of the aristocracy.
In simpler terms they were the people who ran this Valthorak kingdom.
A businessman like Alaric even as one of the top businessmen did not stand an inch of a chance against a noble like Volt in terms of political leverage.
"As you command my Lord" Alaric replied with a small short bow.
Volt smiled. It was not a happy smile. He walked around Alaric in a circle like a classic policeman investigating a criminal.
"I like the way you changed your tone when that Vanevold left with the crown."
Alaric did not respond. His jaw clenched tightly.
Volt continued "Mr. Xyle if my informants are not wrong then you are in the top ten richest people in the western sector."
Alaric unironically raised his chin slightly. "They are definitely doing their jobs perfectly."
Volt paused for a moment and continued "So you admit it. Anyways why are you not wearing a 'Zemek' which is kind of surprising?"
A Zemek is an item essentially a bracelet. Very few people are allowed to wear one mainly the fifty richest people in the western sector.
But only few people wear it because it is so expensive that for the price of a Zemek you can buy a six room house.
Volt stopped for a moment and eyed Alaric. "Tell me how much tax you pay."
That is a good question. He is smart. If I lie here and he checks the report then I am doomed. If I tell the truth then I am also doomed but not completely Alaric thought to himself.
Alaric gulped and opened his mouth to speak. "In Credits or..."
Volt waved his hands. "One by one in each coin."
Alaric started "Uh 7320 in copper pounds 5002 in silver coins 2509 no 2508 in one silver circle gold coins and uh 863 in double silver circle gold coins. In Credits it is around roughly 16000 Credits."
This time Volt looked surprised.
He was definitely not expecting this much. "You earn more than some nobles" he mumbled under his breath softly.
Alaric stayed silent. He did not care about Volt's internal monologue.
Volt continued "That is enough for an introduction. It is time to begin the real conversation."
Was all that just an introduction! Alaric's jaw clenched in anger.
Volt looked around the luxurious house. He marched towards a sofa and sat down there his face towards Alaric.
Alaric did not move. He stood right where he was without any significant motion.
Volt began "Tell me what happened at the Cathedral of the Goddess of Nature."
Alaric opened his mouth to answer "When I went there everything was normal. After I prayed to the Goddess and took a seat in the cathedral a figure whom I do not know..."
"Started to transform into something terrible" Volt finished for him with a hint of sadness as if he were expecting something better.
Alaric frowned but did not say anything in response.
Volt continued "Let me ask you something else."
Alaric tilted his hand slightly.
"How long has it been since you started suffering from 'Nightmares'?"
Alaric finally exhaled a long shaky breath that rattled in his chest. He did not look at Volt. Instead he fixed his gaze on a small insignificant scratch on the mahogany coffee table between them.
He did not speak immediately. Instead he slowly lowered his chin the defiant angle he held moments ago dissolving into a rigid defensive posture.
His hands previously clasped loosely behind his back now gripped one another so tightly that his knuckles turned a ghostly white.
He knows but how? This does not make any sense. Only I Tylor and Kale know about it. But how? Tylor cannot tell Volt about it. I did not tell him. Then Kale? But they only met once for a few minutes Alaric thought to himself.
"Why do you not speak?" It was Volt who asked observing Alaric with a small subtle smile.
"I guess you are not comfortable here. Let us go to a proper place for this question" Volt continued.
Volt stood up and walked towards the exit door which was also the entry door. Volt glanced at Alaric and spoke softly "Follow me."
Alaric glared at him and followed silently.
In front of Alaric's house was a wagon and beside the wagon a teal coloured car. Volt scoffed at the wagon and stopped beside the car.
Alaric's eyes widened looking at the magnificent beautiful car but he controlled his emotions and walked towards the wagon.
Volt whistled at him and motioned his hands to get in the car. Volt opened the door of the car with a tap and sat in the driver seat.
From the interior the car was even more beautiful and magnificent.
The cabin was an opulent fusion of arcane engineering and raw luxury. Unlike the stiff wooden benches of Alaric's wagon the seats were upholstered in deep charcoal leather supple enough to contour to his body yet firm with the scent of expensive oils and new parchment.
The dashboard was not made of wood but a single seamless piece of polished obsidian glass. It did not house gears or levers. Instead faint phosphorescent runes glowed beneath the surface in a soft rhythmic amber.
The wheel was wrapped in perforated leather centered with a silver crest of the aristocracy.
There was no keyhole. Instead a small indentation for a signet ring pulsed with a low magical hum.
There were no lanterns here. Thin strips of luminescent crystal were embedded into the door panels casting a cool clinical light that made the tension between the two men feel even sharper.
Beneath Alaric's boots the floor was covered in a carpet of dense midnight blue wool so thick it swallowed the sound of his nervous foot tapping.
Volt rested his hands on the wheel the amber glow of the dashboard reflecting in his predatory eyes.
He did not look at the road. He looked at the rearview mirror watching Alaric's reaction.
"Comfortable Mr. Xyle?" Volt asked his voice smooth as the engine began to purr.
A sound more like a distant thunderstorm than a mechanical motor. "Most people find the silence of these cars unnerving. It leaves too much room for one's own thoughts especially for people of the western and eastern sectors who have only seen a car from a distance."
The engine did not roar. It hummed a low melodic vibration that felt less like machinery and more like a predator purring in the dark.
As the car pulled away from Alaric's estate the transition between worlds began.
Alaric watched through the reinforced glass which seemed to sharpen the colours of the outside world.
This was his domain the Western Sector.
High end mahogany wagons pulled by groomed horses vied for space on the cobblestone.
Fellow businessmen in tailored coats hurried into building like structures their eyes fixed on ledgers.
Some children with brown or black clothes with small holes and some major holes.
Child slaves selling raw dusty breads which no one was buying. Somewhere others were selling Blue Coals or more accurately fake Blue Coals.
Alaric felt a pang of cold reality. He was a titan here but inside this car he was just a passenger in a noble's shadow.
It only took one hour in the night sky to reach the edge of the eastern sector.
As the car crossed the threshold into the Eastern Sector the atmosphere shifted instantly.
The amber glow of the dashboard cast long clinical shadows over Alaric's face as the scenery decayed.
The sturdy stone of the West gave way to sagging timber and poor houses huddled together like shivering animals.
It was peak December. The breath of the pedestrians came out in thick white plumes but their shirts were threadbare riddled with holes that let the biting wind kiss their skin.
No wagons here.
Only rusted bicycles squeaked through the slush and people walked with heads bowed against the frost.
"Look at them Alaric" Volt said after a long time his eyes still fixed on the rearview mirror tracking Alaric's every flinch. "They live in a world of physical cold. But your cold... your cold comes from the inside does it not? From the dreams."
The car glided past a group of laborers huddled around a trash fire.
To them this teal vehicle was a ghost a shimmering omen of a world they would never touch.
Inside the thick midnight blue carpet swallowed the sound of Alaric's heart hammering against his ribs.
"The nightmares" Alaric finally whispered his voice cracking the silence. "How do you know? Is this why you are taking me to the Southern Sector?"
"I never said I am taking you to the Southern Sector. People like you do not belong there."
He tapped a rune on the obsidian dashboard and the interior lights dimmed to a deep haunting violet.
"I am taking you to a place where everything will go smoothly just like this ride only if you tell the truth. But if not the only thing you will cry for will be Paradise" Volt replied. "And based on your tax returns Mr. Xyle you are a very wealthy man. Let us see if you are just as rich in secrets."
The car accelerated the scenery blurring into a streak of grey and misery as they headed toward a place that did not belong to any sector.