Delvers LLC: Welcome to Ludus

by Blaise Corvin

  Jason made some more notes and said, "Okay, I have one more question. Why is there no metal or technology anywhere?"

  "Electricity is death because of the Dolosbots. Dolos has robots that go around sniffing for electric machines. They destroy it and kill anyone nearby. Nobody chances it. Using electricity is against Dolos' rules."

  Henry was shocked. Rules against technology?

  Jason looked floored too and stammered, "What are these rules?"

  George grimaced and replied, "It's simple. The only three rules are no electric power, no phase crystal power, and no tree power. Basically, nobody can use the technology from their home planets. The Dolosbots enforce it. If you break the rules..." George drew a thumb across his neck.

  "But why? That's crazy." Henry shook his head.

  "Best I can tell, it's to force people to go into dungeons. The only technology we can have uses magic stones for power, and all magic stones come from dungeons."

  Jason rubbed his temples. He said, "I don't think I'm ready to hear any more about dungeons right now. My parchment and my brain are full already. What about the other part of my question? Why don't we see much metal around?"

  George shrugged and replied, "That's simple, china. Iron and anything with iron in it rots crazy fast. The only metals anyone can use are bronze and stuff. Shit's expensive."

  Henry was confused. He'd looked in the duffle earlier in the day and hadn't see anything out of the ordinary. He quickly got up and bought it over before rooting around inside it. Everyone else in the room watched him.

  He sighed, "Yeah, I didn't notice it before, but he's sure right about this." He brought out the rifle, which was literally falling apart in his hands. Then he withdrew the cheap, steel machete that still looked whole. He asked, "What about this, though?"

  George and Mareen looked shocked, even more so than when they'd heard Henry and Jason met Dolos. George was quiet for a long time and finally whispered, "Eish! That machete's steel has gotta be blessed. That thing is worth a fokking fortune."

  Using the Orbs

  The next morning, Jason knew they had to make a decision about the orbs. The little village was packing up that day and leaving the next. He knew that even a chance the orbs could really give them fluency in the local language made using them worth a try.

  The night before, George had gone on to explain a little bit more about the races on Ludus. Apparently, humans from Earth were shortest lived race on the planet other than perhaps some of the monsters. Jason also learned that while monsters such as the goblins wandered around, monsters in general were most highly concentrated in and around dungeons. What was more, dungeons always had treasure, usually in the form of magic power stones, amazing equipment, sometimes even things like Dolos orbs. Adventurers raided dungeons for treasure in order to make a living.

  Technology on Ludus required magic stones for power. Without adventurers, people's lives would have been even harder. Adventurers supplied the rest of civilization with power. The concept seemed a little strange to Jason.

  Jason felt the spark of a long-term plan forming in his mind, but he put it off to think about later. The priority this day was deciding on a school of magic, thinking about it all day and right before bed, and hopefully waking up a mage. He felt a little ridiculous thinking about it.

  When Jason was out of bed and awake, he noticed that Henry was already gone. He rolled his eyes. His friend seemed to have a never-ending supply of energy. After Jason left the cabin, he found Henry sitting outside, uncharacteristically still and looking off at the mountains in the distance.

  Henry was wearing the same rough extra clothing, courtesy of George, that Jason was while their HEMA armor was cleaned and dried. However, Henry didn't look ridiculous like Jason did. Jason thought he probably looked like he was wearing children's clothes. Then again, Jason was felt awkward wearing anything.

  He walked up to Henry and asked, "Hey, where's everyone else?"

  Henry grunted. "They're getting all the animals ready to move or something. I get the feeling this move has been a long time coming so lots of people were already ready to go."

  Jason nodded and thought his friend was probably right. He opened his mouth to speak, but Henry beat him to the punch. "I know what you came to talk about. We need to use the orbs, and I've been giving it some thought. I know you think we should choose one of the rare schools, and you can do what you want, but I am not going to."

  Jason just listened and waited. He knew that he probably wouldn't be able to change Henry's mind, but his friend usually didn't make stupid decisions. Jason knew he was better at overall strategy and seeing a big picture, and he was aware Henry knew this too. However, he respected Henry's insights at times. It was kind of impressive how sometimes Henry could plan several years in advance for specific outcomes in his own life or so accurately estimate random things.

  It honestly didn't make a lot of sense. Henry couldn't get anywhere on time to save his life and was terrible with money, but he could build someone a garage within a few dollars of budget and a few hours of estimated build time.

  Henry continued, "I don't think you'll be too mad, because I'm still going to choose one of the less common or at least less popular schools. See, I've been thinking about the dungeons in this world. Realistically, we don't have many ways to make any money, do we?"

  Jason shook his head.

  "I didn't think so. Neither of us are the thieving types either. I'm figuring you'll suggest we use the dungeons to make money and get equipment because otherwise we won't have a hope in hell of surviving, much less conquering anything."

  Jason nodded. Henry had seen right through him and already figured out what his future plan would be.

  "I thought so. That's why I am going to choose Earth or Metal for my school. If we'll be in caves or underground, it makes sense to choose the school for that element. Plus, before everything in my life went to hell, I was studying to be a geologist, remember? I have a feeling that the more we know about a school of magic, the better off we'll be. Otherwise, people who can do magic naturally on this world wouldn't have affinities in the first place."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, George said people are usually elemental mages and they tend to be Wind or Water schools. I'm guessing it's because of what people are used to, what they know. I want to choose a magic school I can master, not just one that is different."

  Jason could find no fault in Henry's logic. "Okay, well, you're going to do what you want anyway. Just so you know, I'm planning to take the Consciousness school."

  "I would say that sounds dumb, but I have a feeling you thought of something everyone else missed." Henry frowned.

  "Yup. The sub school of Consciousness is Time. There aren't many Consciousness mages on Ludus, right? That means information is probably scarce. And what is the opposite of time or closely linked to it thematically?"

  Henry's eyes widened and he answered, "Space, right?"

  "Exactly. I'm banking on the fact that 'consciousness' is only part of the school's influence, that it actually is space or at least includes it."

  "That's smart. Okay, it sounds like we both know what we're doing, so let's do it."

  Jason was holding the box with the orbs inside. He opened it up, carefully took one out, and handed the box to Henry. Then he shut his eyes and swallowed the orb. He kept his eyes closed, his body tense, fearing the worst... nothing happened.

  He opened his eyes and saw Henry staring back at him. "Sometimes you can be such a dramatic pussy, Jason."

  Jason frowned, and he crossed his arms. "Fuck you, man. I'll tell you what, when we get back, find some other random person to go fighting monsters and ingesting weird pills with. See how well they handle it."

  Henry rolled his eyes. "And yet here you are, still being dramatic."

  Jason was getting pissed. He hated when Henry needled him like this because the insufferable dick was usually right too. He had met a few of Henry's army buddies in t
he past and they were all like this; they were all assholes, their rough edges almost refined into an art.

  "Whatever," he grunted. We walked away, quickly finding a stick and a shady piece of land. Then he practiced sword swings while he thought, Consciousness/Space magic, over and over again in his head. He didn't know if it was really necessary, but he was not taking any chances. He was going to follow Dolos' instructions to the letter.

  After exercising, Jason ate a late breakfast of bread and water he found on the table in George's cabin. Then he went to help some of the villagers pack. The whole village was moving all their possessions onto the three available wagons. Almost all of the villagers were polite and smiled despite the fact none of them could communicate with him.

  While working, Jason found out that only one other person in the entire village understood any English other than George and Mareen. She was an older woman named Medina, and Jason discovered she was originally from Mexico before being transported to Ludus at seventeen years old. She'd picked up some English from dealing with American tourists in her old life, and practiced Earth languages on Ludus when she had the time.

  He was impressed and sad at the same time. Ludus sucked.

  Jason met up with Henry again for supper since people on Ludus usually ate two meals a day, not three. Henry had been helping the villagers corral the few animals and salvage whatever crops they could. He could tell Henry was constantly repeating "Earth" in his head the same way Jason was mentally chanting "Consciousness and Space".

  They split up without talking much and didn't meet up again until the end of the day. Jason, Henry, George, and Mareen all took a seat in George's cabin as the sun was setting. They had barely gotten the village ready to move out the next morning right before darkness fell. As Jason watched the three other people in the cabin nibble on some hard bread over a candle flame, he wondered if he looked as exhausted as everyone else did.

  George sighed, "Ag, man, this is a long day. Thank you for helping out, chinas. You already saved our lives and pitched in when you didn't have to."

  Jason tiredly waved his hand. By this point he knew "china" had nothing to do with the country and was part of George's half-remembered South African slang. As far as he was concerned, George had helped them so much in understanding the world and giving them a place to stay that he didn't owe them anything. They were even at the very least. "Seriously, there's no need to mention it."

  "You swallow the orbs?"

  Jason and Henry looked at each other before Jason replied, "Yes, we have."

  George sighed and said, "I told you that I was one of dem who had one when I came to Ludus. Mine got stolen. I'm kind of jealous that tomorrow you'll be Bonded. It was probably smart to use your orbs now instead of tryin' to sell 'em. People on this planet will kill for Dolos orbs."

  Henry said, "That's what we thought too. I just wish we'd had more time to think about deciding--"

  Jason quickly interrupted, "Yeah, now we won't have to worry about anyone stealing them." That was close. They had already discussed earlier to let George and everyone else know as little as possible about their situation until they were sure what the orbs had actually done. Jason knew Henry was tired and grouchy, but he could have punched his friend in frustration. Shut the hell up, Henry!

  George could probably tell something had happened, but he looked confused and shrugged. "See ya, ja? Early morning." Then he retired to his room. Mareen had already gone to bed.

  Jason thought sleep sounded like a good idea. The remaining candle on the table in the cabin's main room was about to go out, and he didn't want to use up any more of George's resources. He and Henry both fell into their simple beds in the guest room, and before Jason fell asleep, one last time he thought, Consciousness, Space, as hard as he could.

  * * *

  Jason wasn't sure when he realized that he was dreaming, but when he did, he was in a burger restaurant he used to frequent during his college years. Sitting at the booth with him was a cartoon cat.

  "Uh," he said, "this is different."

  The cartoon cat nodded slightly, its grave bearing completely at odds with its goofy appearance. "Yes, this is probably the first time you've had perfect consciousness while sleeping. I briefly considered appearing to you as Dolos since his image is recent and distinct, but after I realized you considered him an enemy, I decided against it. The current image you see is a beloved character from your childhood. I considered it a safe choice."

  "Well, this is definitely surreal and creepy, but yeah, I'd rather not see Dolos again." Jason grimaced and thought out loud, "I guess I probably should hear you out. In fact, I doubt I have much of a choice, do I?"

  "Unfortunately, no, but you initiated my presence. You chose to swallow the orb."

  "Wait... you're the orb?"

  "In a manner of speaking, I am. I am the interface built into the orb you swallowed. My function is to provide you information, guidance, and let you choose your own development. I was activated when you swallowed the orb and chose your school of magic to specialize in."

  "Well, orb or not, I'm going to call you Eek. Also, this all sounds awfully elaborate. I thought other people that used orbs on this planet got random effects?"

  "In the past they did. However, Dolos has started a new phase of his experiment. Several dozen orbs of my generation with functionality similar to my own were distributed to small number of the newest colonists to Ludus. The orbs used by you and your friend Henry are the last two orbs of this type that Dolos will send for some time."

  "Okay... why change things now?"

  "I can't answer for certain, but I believe Dolos has decided the planet's political and social climates are stagnant. As for what he is trying to accomplish or what his actual experiments are, I can only speculate. The only thing that's certain is he is intending to create change."

  "Okay, so more or less, you don't know any more than me right now. So moving to a different topic, I already chose my magic school, so what did you mean by choices?"

  "My function has been expanded from standard orbs. Ludus is the homeworld of a type of being called the Dhu. Wild Dhu generally correspond to one of the schools or sub schools of magic you are aware of. Dolos utilizes Dhu that have not taken on any specific attributes yet to power the changes initiated by orbs such as myself."

  Jason thought he might understand. "So what you're saying is that in the past, orbs had a preset way to instruct these Dhu to affect the human host. You, on the other hand, have a bit more control over how these creatures do whatever they do. Also, I am officially creeped out that you are putting parasites in me."

  "The Dhu will attach to your soul and provide you with power in exchange for the ability to feed off your emotions and life energy. It's a symbiotic relationship. Also, the Dhu cannot be forced to do anything. They are merely given a more attractive option than returning to the wild."

  "Okay, that aside, how do my choices and advancement work?"

  "It is quite simple. In a moment, I will show you all the options you have to choose to use the power of the Dhu. In the future, you can gain more power and advance further by finding what mortals on Ludus call 'spirit stones'. These are actually containers where Dolos has imprisoned sterile, neutral Dhu."

  "Do I have to swallow these too?"

  "If you wish to advance further in power, yes."

  "Is there anything else you should tell me before I start choosing powers?"

  "Just three things: first, you will find that you are a much more powerful mage than most others on Ludus. Orb-granted magic is usually stronger than what natural mages can produce. Second, you will have much stronger ability than normal with your magic's paired school. Last, when you choose abilities to use your accumulated Dhu, each ability costs different amounts of energy, designated in points. You may save any unused energy for your next advancements."

  "So... this is like a role playing game, an RPG then? I'm levelling up?"

  For the first time, the
cartoon cat looked uncomfortable. "Dolos apparently visited a civilization eons ago that played games similar to those your generation plays on Terra. They left a deep impression on him. It is fair to say that he has gifted you with more sophisticated orbs like me because your generation has the background to understand what is expected of you."

  "Great, just great. Okay, Eek, let's see what powers I can buy with my experience points." Jason could have been imagining things, but it looked like the cartoon cat was embarrassed.

  Cut and Dust

  When Jason woke up, he felt different. He wasn't a morning person, and it usually took him a while to wake up. However, the first day he woke up as a mage, he was instantly alert. His body felt like it was coursing with energy, like he'd just drunk ten energy drinks. He wasn't jittery or impatient, though. He just felt like he could jump up and run a marathon without being tired. It was weird, but it also felt good.

  He glanced over at the guest bed that Henry had used for the last few days and wasn't surprised to see his friend was already gone. It seemed that new abilities or not, Henry would always be more of an early riser than he was.

  He walked outside and found Henry sitting down and staring at a small stone knife. He didn't look up at Jason when he said, "Come back and talk to me after you piss. We need to have a chat before George comes back for the last few things in the house and we head out with the villagers."

  "Okay," Jason answered and started moving away.

  "While you're going, think about how the conversation we just had wasn't in English," Henry called after him.

  Jason missed a step but kept walking. Holy shit, he's right! Dolos wasn't lying! Jason did his business, making sure to wash his hands with the crude hand soap and a bucket of water with a spout, and used a splash of moonshine as disinfectant. Despite the fact he hadn't seen much technology on Ludus so far, people still obviously knew about bacteria and sanitation.

  When he got back, Henry was still staring at the little stone knife. "Watch this," he said. The he cut himself on the arm.