With his stomach full, Cain decides to visit the closest of the ruins marked on the map. If they all have barriers around them, he should be able to explore in peace, and maybe he can even find something to help him with the twins that Misha has coming.
Once he is back outside, Cain decides that a smaller flying species is the way to go, so he transforms into Vala's new Mythical body shape and begins flying near the road. Most travelers don't give him a second glance, seeing that he isn't aggressive, but the Demonic merchants all wave as he flies by overhead.
He considers that it might be because Vala looks vaguely like a Progenitor with leathery wings but then recalls that Aggramor said the Blood Dancers weren't killed off until the great war, so they should still be alive and holding a high position in Demon society.
There is nobody near the ruins other than the few travelers in the distance on the road, so Cain flies low between the trees and passes through the barrier, almost running straight into a building on the other side. The distortion from looking through the wall must have messed with his depth perception.
That wasn't the impregnable player of the barrier though, there is a bright purple arcane shield over the city's central core, and Cain can see movement inside.
Intrigued, Cain flies over the outer residents, stopping at a couple of windows to ensure they have been picked clean, as expected.
The movement in the inner city is a Puppet. It looks pretty ragged after all these years, and the broom it is using to clean the streets is almost entirely worn away, probably the latest of a great many like it.
Cain walks up the barrier and places his hand on it, causing a doorbell like a chime to ring and the nearby Puppet to come rushing over.
"Greetings, Ancient; how might we help you today?" The Puppet asks.
"I need to recover an item that was forgotten inside. May I enter?" Cain asks politely, and the Puppet pauses a moment as if considering the request.
"My instructions are to ask what item you need to prevent impostors."
"I am hoping to find a Mythic item that will help with learning new skills. Or a book on child care." Cain informs the Puppet.
"Very well, both items are on the approved lending list at the library. Please follow me."
As soon as the words are said, Cain's hand quickly passes through the barrier and he steps behind the Puppet.
"Your broom is very worn. Is there not a replacement?" Cain asks as they walk.
"The replacement domestic tools Puppet has gone offline. We will be passing by it soon." The cleaner informs him.
That gives Cain a reason to look more closely at the buildings they pass, noticing that they are all pristine and fully equipped. But somewhere visible in most of them, an inactive Puppet can be found.
"Were you made autonomous?" Cain asks, wondering why this one still functions.
"Unlike the others, I was placed in a Puppet body as a punishment. Though my Creator is deceased, her orders still stand, and the embedded soul keeps this body functioning." The Puppet informs him.
"That's a bit extreme. I'll bet the punishment for whatever they did was not intended to last for multiple millennia." Cain mutters, but the Puppet hears him anyhow.
"My sentence ends once I have earned forgiveness for getting sweat in my mistress' tea." The Puppet informs him.
Cain isn't sure what to say to that, so they walk in silence until they reach the Library, where an Elven Puppet with a small stack of cleaning supplies rests.
They have been deteriorated by time, not protected by whatever spell holds the Ancient Cities in stasis, but the Puppet looks salvageable.
[Modify], which Cain uses both to reshape others and to create Puppet bodies, doesn't require any mana to use unless he wants to add a skill, so he places a hand on the Puppet, fixing the degradation of time.
[Reactivate Puppet under your control?] The system asks.
[Puppet Active]
"Oh, dear me, what a blunder. My apologies, Ancient Cain; I will get the cleaning supplies restocked immediately." The Puppet announces, and the other one sighs, seeing the amount of work it is capable of doing increase.
"I will activate a few more for you before I go so that you can maintain the city with assistance." Cain smiles, and the Puppet nods.
"This way, Ancient. Mythical books suitable for childhood and learning new skills are on the ground floor at the back."
Cain activates two librarians he passes by and another cleaning Puppet. They get to work immediately, tending to the thin layer of dust that has accumulated despite the barrier.
His guide stops and gestures to a shelf. "These are all Mythic Quality books, suitable for teaching skills."
Cain searches the shelf until a book catches his eye. [Essentials of Spellcrafting] looks like precisely the sort of thing he needs to know.
"You have performed admirably. Your debt is more than repaid and forgiven." Cain tells the Puppet with a smile, and she bows.
"Thank you, Lord Cain. Your mercy will not be forgotten."
Cain is about to reach for the shelf again to see precisely what [Design Fundamentals For Superior Beings] is all about when a notification fills his vision.
[Quest Complete: Calculating Reward.]
The quest can wait, Cain decides, but before he can move, he is forcefully pulled backward out of the ruins through a portal, landing on his lawn in Long Fang Valley.
He is home, but who are these people in black and white? Did he not end up at the correct time?
The answer becomes apparent when Misha and Cyrene come running out to meet him, crying happy tears to have him back.
"You won't believe everything that happened here while you were gone. Where do I even start? The bears say you sent them a vision that told them to come here and help us. And then there are the uniforms, and the new dungeons, and the Mining Pit, and that is Brazz, our newest Helper." Cyrene exclaims, wrapping around both Misha and Cain as they embrace.
"Just don't let the Lamia teach you about personal space; she doesn't understand the concept." Cain informs the Gnome, who smirks and then hides her face behind her hand.
"The pleasure is all mine. Everything we do, we do to benefit the people."
