Delvers LLC: Welcome to Ludus

by Blaise Corvin

  Anyway, I am the Great God Dolos! I am great. And a god. It's in my title. You are probably looking around at each other in awe and wonder. Yes, I am talking to you in your minds. This sort of thing isn't difficult for me. Try to keep up.

  I am about to give an announcement. All mortals on Ludus should stop eating or humping or rolling around or running through fire or whatever it is they are doing. This message is important.

  From this moment forward, I am issuing a bounty on all Dolos orb-Bonded and Hero ring Mo'hali Heroes. That sounds kind of redundant, doesn't it? Hero ring Mo'hali Heroes. The Mo'hali really are stupid. I'm surprised they're able to dress themselves.

  There are too many orb-Bonded and Heroes on Ludus to list in this message. There is simply not enough time. Well, I also don't want to do it. However, I will have city centers or government buildings post lists of resident orb wielders in your country. This list will be delivered by Dolosbots and updated every month.

  Plus, using the same power that allows me to communicate with you now, if you see a Dolos orb-Bonded or Mo'hali Hero clearly, you will be notified and presented with a classification. This alert will manifest as a chime sound in your head, and written words flowing across your left eye. If you can't read or you don't have a left eye, well, too bad for you.

  Now for the fun part. For any Mo'hali Hero or Dolos orb wielder killed, the killer will be rewarded with a new Dolos orb or spirit stone! Winners don't get to choose which reward they get. Each reward will appear within a few minutes of each death.

  That's it. I will leave you to go back to your wretched little lives. Please try to live as long as possible to provide me with more research.

  When it was clear the message was over, Henry turned to look at Jason. "We knew that was coming, and I already know I can't stand that guy... yet here I am, hating him more."

  Jason said, "I'm kind of glad we're out in the middle of nowhere right now. What are the odds we will come across another orb-Bonded or someone targeting us out here?"

  Henry patted his leg. He had a feeling things were about to get more complicated. He glanced at Mareen, and she quickly looked away, pretending to stare at a random tree.

  A lot more complicated.

  Bandit Cages

  A week after the caravan skirmished with the demon wolves, Jason was free falling. He loved doing this, teleporting high into the sky to scout. The idea had occurred to him while he was drinking some mead around the fire a few days earlier. Everyone had been talking, and Henry was trying to explain Superman to Bezzi-ibbi and the girls. Jason was thinking about how Superman flew in the early movies and had a moment of inspiration. If he could teleport into the air, why not keep doing so and stay in the sky?

  When he'd first tried his idea, it was kind of nerve-racking. He would look at the place he wanted to teleport in the sky, transition there, fall for a bit while he scanned the ground, and then repeat the process.

  He loved the view when he was up in the air, and sometimes it felt like he was truly flying instead of just falling over and over again. Just as he could throw knives and teleport them, he learned how to alter his own vector when he teleported. It was an amazing sensation when he got it right. If he waited until he was falling fairly fast before teleporting himself forward and at a forty-five-degree angle upwards, he could travel long distances on his own inertia.

  Landing could be tricky, though. He basically had to teleport himself with a straight upward vector and wait until his motion came to a halt before teleporting himself back to the ground. The timing was important, and the first time he did it was pretty scary. It had been worth the risk, though.

  Scouting this way allowed him explore far ahead of the caravan and practice his magic at the same time. In fact, despite a plateau in progression he could feel looming, his magic had grown by leaps and bounds recently.

  Two-hundred-yard teleports were no longer even difficult for him, and his magic regenerated much faster too. He was able to scout more than five miles ahead of the caravan and back without a problem.

  He'd also discovered that if he gathered magic and stored it, he could release it all at once to teleport farther than he usually could. He was getting a lot stronger and couldn't wait to test a few new ideas. Future experiments like trying to take other people with him during a teleport were first on his to-do list.

  During his airborne recon missions, the solitude and freedom also helped him think. Henry and Mareen had been creeping him out lately. They were painfully awkward around each other. Jason assumed that Mareen knew that Henry finally knew she had feelings for him, but neither of them was willing to talk about it. Jason rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe his friends were acting so ridiculous. Henry had been married before, he obviously reciprocated Mareen's interest, and he was painfully single. Jason didn't understand what the problem was.

  Then again, he wasn't exactly an expert in love, so he shouldn't judge. His own sort of pre-pre-relationship seemed to be going well. Well, it had been until two days ago when Uluula had asked him how many wives he was willing to take.

  Jason shook his head ruefully. It was one thing to know intellectually that polygamy was the normal family structure on Ludus. It was another thing entirely when his almost-but-not-quite girlfriend--whom he'd seen naked but hadn't even kissed yet--started bringing up the possibility of him marrying her and other women in the future!

  Maybe Areva were crazy after all. Then again, he had to concede it probably wasn't just an Areva thing. When he'd asked Mareen about it, she'd looked at him like he was mentally deficient.

  In an incredulous tone, she'd said, "Jason, you're orb-Bonded. You're destined for great things. Any woman who is not a complete idiot would try to find you another wife or two as quickly as possible in order to help manage your estate and invest your resources. I'm a farm girl, and even I know this!

  "How do people on your planet handle more wealth? Isn't it easier when you have more family members, people you can trust to share the burden? Plus, Uluula is an Areva. Areva women are very pragmatic."

  Jason was experiencing some culture shock, especially after Uluula had made it very clear she was not willing to "manage a large household without any help." Their conversation hadn't exactly been a fight, but Uluula was currently giving him space so he could think about everything before they talked about it again. He was thankful that she was an older woman sometimes. She didn't leave him hanging without an explanation; she told him exactly what she was doing and why. He didn't have to wonder about her moods or thoughts like he had about girls he'd dated on Earth. Actually, maybe he should have tried dating an older woman on Earth.

  Uluula's mature handling of their differences didn't make him feel any better, though. The really weird thing was he'd always considered himself to be an open-minded person. In fact, he used to read books and comics with stories that featured polygamy, yet here he was in a situation facing the real possibility, and it kind of bothered him. The weirdest thing was that on Ludus--and apparently within the rest of the universe--whomever he married would choose any new wives for his household, not him! It was a lot to process, and he wasn't really comfortable with any of it.

  And what made it all worse, the real icing on his freak-out cake, was that when he'd talked to Henry about it, his straight-laced friend wasn't phased in the slightest.

  Henry had said, "So what? If everyone consents and everyone is happy, who cares? Also, why does it bother you that your wife or wives will pick a new wife if you get one? You can still say yes or no, right? Don't you think it actually makes sense? I mean, you're a guy. Your needs should be simple. It's the women who have to find someone they can get along with. You would want your family to be happy, right? Plus, they'd probably be smarter than you anyway."

  The fact that Henry seemed to be adapting to Ludus culture faster than Jason irked him a bit. He'd always prided himself on being mentally flexible. Meanwhile, Henry could be old-fashioned and obstinate to a fault. Just... how the heck had
their positions switched?

  Jason realized he was grumbling to himself and tried to stop. The air was too clear and the sensation of flying too fun to spend time beating himself up. Not only that, he was supposed to be doing a job. He began paying attention more closely again. It was a good thing he did because he soon spotted something that made his blood run cold. He turned around and headed back to the caravan as quickly as he could, arcing through the sky between teleports to conserve energy.

  * * *

  Jason arrived back at the little caravan and alerted the group about what he'd seen. The wagons were stopped, and the entire group was in a circle to discuss its next steps. Jason ruefully decided he needed to start thinking of everyone as a company, Delvers, LLC. He had a lot of things to get used to.

  Mareen strung her bow as she asked, "Okay, so we know there's a suspicious-looking group with a camp in the forest about four miles up the road, right? So what do we do now?" It was a good question.

  Henry chimed in, "Also, why do you think this group is the one we're looking for?"

  Jason kept checking his gear. He was randomly reminded of how he and Henry had first seen the goblins. "Well, the camp is in a depression that could only be easily seen from the air. They're obviously hiding. More importantly, there are people in cages, and I saw at least a couple bodies in what looked like a dumping area for trash."

  "Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Henry slowly scratched his goatee. "That does sound... not good. Okay, so how are we going to do this?"

  Uluula raised a hand. "Why don't we just continue with what we were already planning to do? We look like a caravan, and caravans have been disappearing. We can just keep heading up the road. The bait idea is probably still the simplest. Plus, I don't think any of us really have abilities well suited for stealth."

  It's true that stealth is a group weakness right now, Jason thought. Out loud he said, "Okay, what do you think, Henry?"

  Henry nodded and responded, "Yeah, let's stick with that, but since we may be moving into a fight, me and you should hide. Dolos said in his mental douchebag-gram that orb-Bonded can be identified if you see them clearly."

  "I don't get it. Why wouldn't they just jump out and try to surprise us?" Jason's mental image of the ambush was people in dark clothing and masks stepping out from behind trees.

  "If these are bandits, they've been operating around here for a while, and they haven't been caught yet. This means they're probably pretty well organized. If that's the case, they'll probably have scouts and some sort of fucking message relay system at least a mile or two out from their camp." Henry absently patted his leg. "Me and you should just lie in the bed of the wagon. That way, if they attack, they won't know we're there until it's too late. It will make it easier to fuck them up."

  Jason nodded slowly--that made sense. Knowing ahead of time that he could be in a fight for his life was kind of a strange feeling, though. "Well, what about everyone else? Why wouldn't they just immediately try to kill everyone else with the wagons while we're hiding?"

  Henry said, "Because women and children are always valuable to scum, Jason. Even if only for a few hours." Jason saw Keeja nod grimly and swallow.

  In a monotone, Keeja added, "Areva and Mo'hali don't usually rape, but Terrans, Fideli, and some demons seem to go out of their way for it. Some stupid monsters seem to enjoy it as well. Sometimes it doesn't even seem anatomically possible but--"

  "That's enough!" Jason cut her off. He turned to everyone else in the caravan--no, the company--and took a deep breath. He needed to get something off his chest. "None of you have to go through with this. I appreciate you coming out this far, but we have no idea what we're heading into. This could be suicide. If you want to turn back, this is the time to do it."

  Nobody said a word. Jason could hear the wind move through the trees and a bird cry in the distance. Every set of eyes staring back at him was steady and resolute, probably much more so than his own. Bezzi-ibbi looked excited and kept rubbing his metal arm, which Jason found mildly disturbing. "Okay, so be it."

  Everyone had a few more preparations to make before they began moving again. Deep down, Jason was proud of how focused and efficient their little company was already becoming. He hoped they all survived to improve even more in the future.

  * * *

  Jeth Fortright crept forward in what he thought was a stealthy manner. His rough woolen clothes itched, and he knew he smelled ripe. He had not bathed in... well, he couldn't remember. The last two or three weeks hadn't been very pleasant, but the last week in particular had been unbearable. He was starting to resent his father, Yelm, for dragging them into this mess.

  Sure, he was the one who'd first brought up the idea of leaving the sappy, Terran-loving farming villagers in the first place. But he had wanted to find a city, sell that slant-eyed bastard Henry's blessed steel machete and all the other shitty baubles they'd taken from the wagons, then live like kings. It was Yelm's idea to come out to the middle of nowhere to join up with his friend's bandit group. Jeth didn't even know how Yelm had been able to find the camp in the first place. What was more, they'd barely gotten anything for all the loot they gave Thod, the bandit leader. Thod had called it their "joining price" and said if they didn't like it, they could leave.

  Yelm had quietly accepted everything despite Jeth's protests. His father was making decisions on behalf of them both, and it was frustrating Jeth. He was a grown man. His father should have been asking for his input!

  Yelm believed that by staying with the bandits, they'd get rich and be protected. Thod was an orb-Bonded. If that bastard Henry and his tall, ugly, selfish friend Jason ever came looking for them, Thod and the rest of the bandits could make short work of them. Jeth had to admit there was some logic to that.

  As much as he hated Henry, he wasn't going to fight him when the dog had an orb. It wasn't fair. If they'd been just two men instead of Henry being a Terran, orb-Bonded freak, it would have never come to this. It was all Henry's fault. Well, Henry and Mareen.

  Jeth's nostrils flared while he thought about that little bitch Mareen. She was so stupid. Who cared if she was good at math or could remember things? She couldn't figure out that she belonged to him! He'd earned her. He'd watched over her, he was a nice guy, and he didn't care about any other girls but her! He was faithful to her! And still, she'd hung out with that awkward monster-fornicator Jason! It was Jason's fault more than anyone else's. Jeth hated Terrans--dirty, thieving Terrans.

  Jeth was from Ludus. His ancestors might have been Terran, but he knew he was no more Terran now than the demon wolves those two showboating assholes had killed. He was Ludan. He couldn't understand how any other self-respecting Ludan could fall for a Terran's acting and lies, but Mareen had turned into a little Terran follower. It just wasn't fair! He wanted to hurt Mareen--no, he needed to hurt her. He had to hurt her and make her see how wrong she was to not to love him.

  Jeth smiled, his eyes feverish. Well, maybe he'd get that chance. Thod's own rules for the camp would work in Jeth's favor this time! He chuckled darkly.

  The rules of the bandit camp were simple. Loot was split between every member of the group that earned it, and a portion went to Thod and his two captains. The bandits that captured slaves got to ride first if they chose, and then the whole camp got a turn. If a slave survived, they'd go in the cages to be sold or used later. It was difficult to sell slaves, so unless they were valuable, nobody really cared what happened to them.

  There weren't many female bandits--why would there be? Women ran the whole rotting world. They could just sit in their clean cities and take the pick of the richest and tamest men to marry. Smug, arrogant bitches the lot of them. Still, the handful of female bandits knew how things worked. Some of them participated in... sampling the captives. The others looked the other way.

  Since Jeth was new to the camp and young, he was lowest in the established hierarchy. Jeth hated being low ranking. Because of his junior standing, he was o
ne of the bandits that had to move dead bodies to the garbage dump. Bodies were heavy, and the dump stank. He was usually last to ravish new slaves too.

  When Jeth had first joined the bandits, he'd gotten the chance to lose his virginity after a caravan with females was taken. After waiting a long time, trying to ignore the screams, he went to take his turn in the "comfort tent." The woman waiting there for him was a stinking Mo'hali, already half dead. Her face was swollen and nose bloody from being hit. Her eyes were red and puffy, her feline ears cut with a knife from some other bandit's turn. She was naked, held down with heavy tin chains. "Help me," she whispered through her muzzle.

  In that moment, Jeth almost had mercy on her. He almost unhooked her chains from the ring in the floor, put her in a cage, and gave her some water. He was a nice guy, but he still hesitantly groped her and smacked her face a bit just for fun. She was just a Mo'hali, little better than an animal after all. If he was going to be such a kind person as to give her mercy, she had to pay for it somehow.

  But as he was about to unhook her from the floor, he saw the fear and loathing in her eyes. How dare this little bitch look down on him? He suddenly thought of Mareen.

  Mareen hadn't given him any mercy, oh no. Mareen and her smug words, telling him there were other men around for her to choose from. Telling him that he wasn't good enough! He snarled and started hurting the Mo'hali woman. In his mind, he saw Mareen, and he kept punishing the chained woman over and over again. He imagined the woman's screams were Mareen's.

  By the time he was done and pulled his trousers up, he realized the little tramp was dead. He'd choked her to death. Jeth curled his lip at the memory. Oh well, he hoped she enjoyed her easy life before she got what she had coming to her.