Shifting Planes- The Complete Box Set

by Jeff Sabean

  “I am not sure I trust you, lady, but you are welcome if you are able to look out for yourself,” Shenroc replied, eyeing her warily.

  The flame in her hand grew to the size of a basketball, the heat from it forcing the group to take a few steps further back from the strange young woman, although she did not seem to notice the heat at all. As the blaze turned white hot, she maintained eye contact with Aki, then winked as she tossed the ball of flame over her shoulder, where it landed on the manhole cover down to the sewer, melting it to slag immediately.

  “I will attempt to keep up, Master Orc,” Ja’ade stated gravely, then grinned again as she turned her back and walked toward the melted entrance to the lower sewers.

  ◆◆◆

  As the group descended into the depths of the sewers, Abugraic resumed his position at the front of the group, leading them deeper under the city. The lower they traveled, the more the smell intensified.

  “How could anyone choose THIS as a place to hide?” Hankish muttered to himself, all humor having left his cherubic face the moment they climbed down the shaft to the sewer.

  “Well, would YOU want to come down here to find someone?” Aki asked, successfully keeping the smile from his face but unable to keep the twinkle from his eye.

  “I know where you sleep, human,” Hankish grumbled, then pulled his lute from his back and began to softly strum a tune. The notes washed over the group, lifting their spirits and making the stench more bearable.

  “How do you do that?” Aki asked, watching the halfling’s nimble fingers pluck out a tune effortlessly.

  “Practice, lots and lots of practice. It is not the only instrument I play, but it is my favorite,” Hankish replied, dodging the question with ease.

  “No, how do you inspire strength, speed, and now you are even making the stench in this place bearable, all through the notes you strum on your instrument. Is the lute magical?” Aki wondered, watching his fingers on the strings.

  “There is no such thing as magic, human,” Hankish replied to his surprise. “It is simply practice. I have learned songs that affect those around me in different ways, and I use them to do so. That is all there is to it, no magic words, no incantations, no gods giving my songs power. Just simply reactions to noises in the air, that is all.”

  “No magic? Then how do you explain a young woman creating a flame, turning it into a raging inferno in her hand, and then tossing it like a ball?” Aki inquired, a smug expression on his face.

  “Like the little one said,” Ja’ade interjected from behind, “it is not magic. Magic implies learning a spell, or an incantation, or whatever you want to call it. Yes, Master Aki, we have these types of stories in our world as well, and we also know what is real and what is not. To the best of my knowledge, there are no gods manipulating what we do, although there are some beings with godlike power. There are no spells, but some of us have learned to sense the air currents, or the flammable elements in the air, and manipulate these elements to our advantage.

  “It is my understanding one of your companions can now see in absolute darkness with greater ability than any here. How? He is from your world, so he has never learned ‘magic,’ yet he adapted to this world. How? I do not know. But it is no incantation, he simply learned to feel the darkness and use it to his advantage. I very much would like to discuss this with him when I meet him.”

  “When you meet him?” Aki asked suspiciously.

  “Yes, when I meet him. You do not think our meeting was a coincidence, do you? I positioned myself to assist Shenroc in this quest of his to rid the city of the vestiges of Jim’s criminal empire in the hopes that he would direct me to the other-worlders. I believe they will play a great part in the events unfolding across Kartos and would very much like to meet them. Now that I have met you, I am certain you will be convinced of my usefulness and allow me to travel with you to reunite with your lost companions.”

  Her tone of voice left no room for discussion in the matter, so Aki offered none, opting to continue deeper into the sewer in silence.

  ◆◆◆

  Knowing that the bartender had recently come from Thujau, Abugraic had abandoned the “turn right rule” of navigating the sewers, instead opting to follow the tracks made in the muck by the odd little man. At each turn, he continued to mark the corners with nearly invisible marks in order to easier find their way back to the exit, and the group was able to navigate the twists and turns of sewage rather quickly and effectively.

  It did not take long for signs of larger feet to become apparent in the sewage, and for it to become obvious that Thujau was not alone. The companions slowed their pace, and Hankish ceased his song, much to the chagrin of the group. Shortly, deep voices could be heard echoing from a chamber at the end of the hallway they were following, and as they crept closer a pale red light spilled through the opening.

  “How many are there, Mialin?” Ja’ade whispered, surprising the group around her.

  “There is at least a score,” a voice came from the darkness, “maybe more.”

  Instantly a blade was at Ja’ade’s throat, Abugraic having put her between himself and the voice from the darkness.

  “Now would be the time for you to be finishing explaining about how you are not down here by yourself, I would think,” Aki said, sliding his pistol from its thigh holster. He knew he needed to conserve ammunition but having an unknown assailant in the dark made him just paranoid enough to use a few preciously irreplaceable bullets to ensure he left this sewer alive.

  “That would be my sister, Mialin,” Ja’ade answered quietly, “and I would appreciate it if you removed your blade from my throat before I become upset.”

  “You did not mention a sister,” Shenroc interjected, attempting to diffuse the situation.

  “What part of ‘who said I am alone’ was difficult to understand, Master Shenroc? Is it my fault you never followed that line of questions to its conclusion? Mialin was scouting ahead while I waited for your group to catch up to me, and now we have found her again,” Ja’ade stated matter-of-factly.

  “Please ask her to step this direction where we can be properly introduced,” whispered Aki as he placed his hand on Abugraic’s arm, guiding the blade away from her throat.

  On cue, another young lady silently walked into the midst of the group, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. She was the same height as Ja’ade with the same physical build and similarly dressed, although her hair was blonde almost to the point of being white, her eyes were a lovely golden color, and she wore a pale-yellow travelling cloak. Similarly, she carried a short staff with a yellow crystal affixed to the top, which also was not glowing.

  “I do apologize, however we thought it would be funny to see your expressions when your esteemed dwarf thief was surprised by a woman twice in less than an hour,” Ja’ade explained with a grin. “May I introduce my sister, Mialin, who was kind enough to scout this area for us, all alone in these scary tunnels.”

  A small giggle escaped the newcomer’s lips before she stifled the laugh, and she quickly mock-curtsied to the group to cover her slip.

  “Is it safe to assume that you, also, can take care of yourself?” Shenroc asked, already knowing the answer before he asked the question.

  “You can be sure of it, Master Orc. You will not be saving me on this day: not from the likes of this ilk at any rate,” Mialin answered, her melodic voice drifting across the ears of all present although she did not raise her voice at all.

  “What strategy would you suggest against a score or more of hungry Chondri?” asked Aki, bringing the focus back to their current situation.

  “There is only one entrance to the room they are in. It appears to be a cave with no exit, as if the city designers simply stopped building and decided to let the sewage drain into the ‘pool’ at the far end. Where it goes from there, I would not venture a guess, but I would not suggest getting very close to the far end of the cave, as I will not be jumping in there to save anyone,” M
ialin answered with an exaggerated shudder at the end to accentuate her point.

  “One entrance will make it difficult for all of us to enter quickly in this muck,” Aki began, wondering how he could effectively clear the room with an untrained team.

  “I have an idea that should work and will most definitely prove to be a lot of fun,” Hankish offered, a playful smile on his face.

  “What do you have in mind?” Aki inquired; his curiosity piqued.

  “Would you say the sewage in the room is producing a fair amount of, ahh, ‘natural gas’?” the little halfling asked with a wink.

  ◆◆◆

  As the group crept to the entrance to the cavern at the end of the hall, Aki was still shaking his head and trying to decide if this plan was genius or suicide. “I guess there’s only one way to find out, and it should definitely be a lot of fun either way,” he thought to himself.

  At the doorway, Yutri boosted Aki up to pack explosive charges around the stone doorway as the rest of the group watched impatiently. When he was convinced the doorway would crumble without much external destruction, the group slid to the side along the wall, out of the blast area.

  Ja’ade stepped to the center of the doorway, a small flame flickering in the palm of her hand. When she was in place, the flame grew to the size of a baseball, the intensity of the blaze growing along with the size of the ball.

  “Hey, you’s idiots! No fires in here! Boss says the whole place will explode!” a shout came from inside the room.

  “That’s the point,” Ja’ade called back with a laugh as she tossed the flame toward the back of the room, igniting the natural gasses emanating from the sewage collected there into a raging inferno.

  On cue, she stepped back as Aki detonated his charges, causing the doorway to close itself under piles of rock and sealing inside the burning room the whole group of Chondri.

  “Was Thujau in the room as well?” Shenroc asked, looking at Mialin.

  “Yes, Master Shenroc, he was there. It would appear the Chondri of Terminus are now without a leader, and I assume the rest will attempt to disguise themselves as legitimate citizens,” the lady replied.

  “Well, that sure beats fighting those monsters,” Hankish laughed, as he began playing a lively tune on his lute, once again making the sewage smell more bearable as they returned to the upper tunnels.

  Chapter 5 – Old Friends, New Answers

  It took several more hours to clear the upper tunnels, Abugraic trapping each manhole cover with a fire crystal. Ja’ade and Mialin walked in the back of the group, whispering and giggling with each other as if they were taking a stroll through the park, while the rest maintained security and watched for any attacks. Eventually, they were confident they had covered every tunnel with no more instances with the Chondri, so they returned to the beginning of the maze under the central keep of the city. The weary group pulled themselves from the tunnels, content with the day’s work, but still no closer to finding the loot.

  “If anyone needs me, I will be taking a hot bath to remove the smell of that place,” Aki stated, slowly wandering toward the room Shenroc had given him to use.

  “As shall we all,” Shenroc began, then paused to glance at the Xyrstiina sisters. “Do the two of you require accommodations?” he asked, a skeptical look on his face.

  “Good orc, we would love a room, a hot bath, and a meal. It is the least you can do considering how we destroyed your enemies for you without a fight,” Mialin stated, an impish grin on her face.

  “This is true, my brother,” laughed Yutri, a glint in his eye. “Besides, what would people say of us if we turned two beautiful ladies such as these loose on the burning streets?”

  “I am sure my sister has already informed you but let me agree with her: you have absolutely no chance, Master Dwarf. Not now, not ever,” Mialin grinned as the over-sized Dwarf began to blush. “That being said, thank you for being chivalrous, even if it was self-serving.”

  The four were still sniping at each other as Aki disappeared around the corner, exhaustion from the last few days finally catching up with him. He made his way up the stairs to the room he had been assigned, ready to clean himself and fall into a deep sleep, but as he reached his door, he realized it was partially open.

  Not having the energy for a prolonged battle, he pulled his pistol from its holster on his thigh and burst through the door, clearing the corners first, with his aim stopping on a figure sitting in the sole chair in the room. As he maintained his sight picture on his target, it spoke:

  “Hello there,” CW3 Adam Zatus deadpanned, staring down the barrel of his friend’s pistol.

  Aki lowered his pistol, staring into the face of his missing friend.

  “How? Where? What? Uhh, how did you get here and find me?” Aki finally managed to ask.

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Doc,” Zatus stated, standing up and rushing across the room to give his friend a hug. “I’d appreciate it if you put the piece away and didn’t turn me into one, though!”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah,” Aki stuttered, sliding his pistol back into its holster as Zatus released him from a bear hug. “But seriously, Chief, how did you get here?”

  “It was the oldest survival trick in the book,” Zatus explained with a mischievous grin, tossing a deck of playing cards to his friend. “I started playing Solitaire, and sure enough, someone popped up behind me to tell me what card to play next, and I followed him to town.”

  “I can’t tell if you’re serious or not, Chief. Seriously, how did you get here?” Aki said, getting more flustered the longer it took for Zatus to answer him.

  “You’ll want to sit down for this one, Doc,” Zatus began, nodding toward the chair. “It might not be the craziest thing you have heard since you arrived here, but it might be close.”

  Aki took the chair, then nodded to his friend to continue.

  “Now, keep the pistol in its holster, Doc,” Zatus began, as the outline of his body began to wiggle like a broken TV screen, then fade away. After a moment, where CW3 Adam Zatus had been standing was a much smaller version of Aki’s friend. He stood just under three feet tall, with short cropped dark hair, a thin goatee, and his eyes were glowing silver like they had been during the jump. He was no longer wearing tactical gear: it was replaced with a bright blue robe with a silver rope tied around his waist as a belt. When the transformation was complete, he reached over next to the chair and picked up a small staff, with a blue crystal at the end that was pulsing with an inner light.

  Aki sat staring, his mouth hanging open a bit, as he tried to wrap his head around what he had just witnessed. His mouth moved a few times, but no words came out.

  “As much as I am enjoying the fact that you are speechless for the first time since I met you,” Zatus laughed, “I feel I should give an explanation.”

  “Yeah, that would be nice,” Aki choked out in between failed attempts to speak.

  “To answer the obvious question, no, I am not originally from your plane of existence,” Zatus began. “My name IS Zatus, but that is my first name, not my last. I adopted it as my last name upon arriving in your plane when I realized it would not be a common first name.”

  “When you arrived on my plane?” Aki finally was able to ask. “How long have you lived on Earth?”

  “Please, Doc, hold questions until the end of the briefing if possible. But since you asked, I will drop another bomb on you: I AM from Earth, and you are STILL on Earth.”

  He paused, waiting for that information to sink in. Aki’s eyes widened as what he was just told dawned on him.

  “No, no, no, I was told this place is called ‘Kartos,’ not Earth,” Aki replied, shaking his head but never breaking eye contact with the little man who stood where his friend had been.

  “Kartos. Thanks, I had not yet learned what the people of this plane call the world,” Zatus began again, but Aki interrupted once more.

  “Are you not from here either? You look like a gnome I met at
dinner yesterday,” Aki interjected, looking more and more confused. Each answer caused more questions to sprout in his mind.

  “I asked you to hold questions to the end, Sergeant,” Zatus said with a chuckle. “But yes, I am a gnome, but not from this plane. My plane of existence is more technologically advanced than your own, which clearly is more advanced than this one. No, Doc, don’t look at me like that: how do you think I made you those tonfa you love so much that emit shadows and have blades and spikes that pop in and out of them with nothing more than a thought from you? Did you think I designed those with technology from 21st Century Earth?”

  He paused a moment, allowing the information to sink in, then continued.

  “Everything you think you know about what is real and what is not is probably wrong. Have you heard of the multiverse theory before you came here? That there are many different universes, or alternate universes, and we only live in one of them? Well, it is true, although the common term is planes of existence among those who understand the theory is, in fact, true.

  “Some of the stories you might have heard are true, and some are not. For example, as far as I can tell, there are not different versions of myself living in each of these alternate planes of reality. However, there seems to be balance, because in my research I have discovered that every time a being is shifted to a different plane of existence, a being from that plane takes your place in...”

  “Are you saying that an orc could have taken my place in my ‘plane of existence’ when I shifted here?” Aki interrupted, getting agitated.

  “Please, try to hold questions Doc. But yes, some being from this plane of existence was transported to yours when you shifted here. It could have been an orc, or a goblin, or one of those nasty beasts in the woods. Have you ever wondered how archaeologists find only ONE skeleton of a species that should have had hundreds or thousands in a fossil layer? Or where superhero stories come from? Or monsters?”