Delvers LLC: Welcome to Ludus

by Blaise Corvin

  She was cursing at him again. Henry didn't think her last point even made much sense. He felt his temper rising in response to Mareen's. "Look, I'm sorry I'm old and crusty, but that is the reality of the situation and--"

  "STOP!" hollered Jason. Henry was so surprised by his friend's tone that he shut his mouth with a click. Mareen's eyes were wide as dinner plates. Neither of them ever heard Jason yell like that before, at least not during a conversation. "You two are both complete idiots! I didn't want to get involved, but you're both my friends and I am putting my foot down right now."

  Jason struggled to sit up straighter in bed and cleared his throat before continuing. "Go on a walk today after sunset. Just do it. Talk. Don't make accusations. You are both torturing me with your emotional fumbling. This entire conversation is ridiculous, and it makes me want to kick both of you. Just talk to each other. Christ."

  Jason fell back against the headboard of his bed, exhausted.

  Henry caught Mareen's eye, and she gave a little nod. He nodded back. They'd talk later. That would be when he would make her understand why it couldn't work. Sure, she was brave and smart. She also had fantastic, perky tits, and the way her ass swayed while she walked was... He mentally shook his head. They'd talk later.

  There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence before Bezzi-ibbi hurried back into the room with Keeja and Uluula in tow. Uluula went straight for Jason and began fussing over him. Henry briefly wondered what it would be like if Mareen fussed over him that way, but he shook his head, clearing the image. He couldn't let her confession get to his head.

  No woman deserved tying her life to his while his head was not screwed on straight.

  Henry was about to lose his patience and break the strained silence when Kinwe-na-ibbi, Bezzi-ibbi's mouse-race rekke, walked into the room. He blinked. Now he had even more questions. Plus, the room was getting crowded, and he was starting to feel self-conscious that he was still lying in bed in his underwear. It felt like everyone was staring at him. On top of everything else, he had to pee.

  Henry focused on keeping his tone polite when he asked, "What the hell is going on?"

  Kinwe-na-ibbi glided forward, her black-and-green robes flowing around her. Once again, Henry was struck by the enormous magical energy he could sense from the small Mo'hali woman. She touched both shoulders, her arms crossed. Then she bowed and said, "Greetings. Henry-ibbi, Jason-ibbi, I am here as the official representative of the Jaguar Clan in this matter."

  "How did you get here? It's only been a day since we found the bandits and got our asses kicked, right?" Despite his best effort, Henry knew his tone was probably grumpy.

  Kinwe-na-ibbi didn't seem to mind. She nodded and gestured at Bezzi-ibbi. "The Hero alerted us to the situation. When you succeeded in your mission, each of you were immediately full-fledged members of the Clan. The Hero sent a magic messenger bird via Mareen letting us know that two highly ranked members of the Jaguar Clan required assistance."

  "Well, it's convenient how that worked out. I suppose I shouldn't complain." Henry didn't like politics in general, but when they worked in his favor, he'd take what he could get.

  Jason raised a hand and said, "I have some questions."

  "You may ask me whatever you wish, Jason-ibbi," the regal mouse woman responded.

  Jason rubbed his chin. "First... what is a magic messenger bird? I've heard that term come up several times since I came to this planet."

  Henry felt a familiar surge of irritation and said, "It sounds stupid. I'm surprised they don't call it some kind of demon."

  Kinwe-na-ibbi smiled slightly. "A magic messenger bird is actually a type of benevolent demon. They are small, fast, and intelligent enough to understand speech. Any mage has the ability to summon one and request a message be taken to a simple location. Before or after the message is delivered, the magic messenger bird is paid in gold, a cheap metal on Ludus.

  "Gold?" Henry cocked an eyebrow.

  Uluula answered, "They eat it. It's strange to witness."

  "What happens if one's not paid?"

  "If a magic messenger bird doesn't get paid, no magic messenger bird will ever respond to another call from the original summoning mage ever again."

  Henry snorted. He was tired of all the ridiculous names for everything on Ludus. "Okay, so how does a mage summon an MMB?"

  "An MMB?" Kinwe-na-ibbi frowned.

  Jason sighed. "We're Americans. We like acronyms. He is shortening 'magic messenger bird' into its first three letters."

  The Mo'hali woman's eyebrows rose. "Oh, that is much easier to say! I can show you how to summon a... MMB later. It's quite simple, really. The hardest part is explaining where you want them to go. They'll eventually get there, but they're faster if you give better directions."

  Jason nodded and glanced at Henry before asking what both of them really wanted to know. "Okay, how are we still alive?"

  Strangely, Kinwe-na-ibbi glanced at Bezzi-ibbi before answering. "Cub, are you sure you want me to tell them?" Bezzi-ibbi looked uncomfortable, but he nodded. His mother continued, "You were both knocked out by Thod-bandit. He was going to kill you when Bezzi-ibbi intervened and executed him."

  Henry shook his head. "Wait, what? How did Bezzi-ibbi do that? If he could help us fight, why did he wait until we were almost dead?"

  Kinwe-na-ibbi turned to Bezzi-ibbi again. The boy looked miserable. He was shuffling his feet and staring at the ground. "Almost you got killed," he growled. "Owe a debt. Tell story, near-momma."

  The mouse woman cleared her throat and said, "All Mo'hali Heroes have the ability to nullify the power of mages and Bonded. The stronger the Hero, the stronger the suppression and larger the area of influence they can generate. However, the more force a Hero's suppression carries, the longer it will affect an orb-Bonded or mage after they use it.

  "Most Mo'hali are naturally faster and stronger than other races. It's only through the power of orbs and magic stone technology that other races thrive. Heroes can remove that advantage.

  "Bezzi-ibbi feared you would dislike him if you knew how easily he could take away your power. Bonded and mages usually hate or fear Mo'hali Heroes for this reason. You're new to this world, but he was afraid he'd lose his brothers. Bezzi-ibbi hasn't had real friends before either. You are very dear to him.

  "Unfortunately, by waiting until you were almost killed, Bezzi-ibbi almost caused your deaths. When he exerted his power to kill Thod-bandit, you were nearby, so he also neutralized your healing abilities. You almost died. We had to bind your broken bones and mend your bodies as best we could so you could survive. We also had to do this so if you began healing again, your bones wouldn't mend crooked. If that happened, they'd need to be broken again."

  A number of things fell into place in Henry's mind. "So... what, Thod lost his super strength and collapsed under the weight of his armor?"

  Bezzi-ibbi briefly looked up. "Yes."

  "And you killed him?"

  The boy hesitated before replying, "Executed."

  "Okay. Well, I guess we'll have to talk about this later, Bezzi-ibbi." Henry smiled at the kid. "Brothers are honest with each other, after all." Bezzi-ibbi nodded.

  Jason jumped back into the conversation. "Now that we know why we're alive, what happened yesterday? How are you here, Kinwe-na-ibbi?"

  "Mareen-Ludan and Uluula-Areva can stop me if I get anything wrong." The Mo'hali leader settled into a chair. "As soon as your battle was over, Bezzi-ibbi found Mareen-Ludan. She was in bad shape physically, but her life was not in danger. She called a magic mes--an MMB, and Bezzi-ibbi sent a message to the Jaguar Clan.

  "The MMB reached us in about an hour. An hour after that, we rented and dispatched an airship with myself and a complement of Jaguar Clan warriors and staff. This was expensive to do.

  "We reached your location about two hours later. It took us approximately another hour to load your group and everything of value onto the airship. After that, we flew to the nearest settlemen
t of decent size. Now we are staying in the town of Rohs until you recover."

  Henry blinked and frowned. He asked, "If you guys could just put some soldiers on a vehicle and fly around fast enough to cover more than a week of travel in two hours, why did we come out here at all? All of us almost died! Well... except for Keeja." Henry was holding back his temper, but it was a near thing. He really hoped there was a good explanation.

  "This is a good question." Kinwe-na-ibbi briefly bowed her head. "When I said it was expensive to run an airship, I was understating the more complex reality. The city of Mirana has two such ships to rent, and the rental fee itself is not too expensive. However, the sheer number of magic stones an airship consumes for fuel is significant and must be supplied by the leaser.

  "We gained a significant amount of weapons, armor, and tradeable goods from the bandit camp. However, after subtracting the cost of the magic stones to fuel the airship and the payment we owe to Delvers, LLC, we are not netting much profit.

  "If we weren't merely traveling to one point and back again, it would be far, far too expensive to rent an airship. It would ruin the Clan. In fact, if not for the fact we had Clan members in known danger, we probably still would not have acted due to the financial risk."

  Jason scratched his chin and muttered, "Well, that's frustrating. It's nice to know that money makes this world go around too. Glad you got to make your profit."

  Uluula put a hand on Jason's shoulder and smiled. "Yes, but we are alive. Now you're full members of the Jaguar Clan, and you can also claim your treasure too."

  "What?" Henry's ears perked up at mention of treasure.

  Kinwe-na-ibbi bobbed her head. "Yes. As the Adventuring Company we hired for this mission, you have claim to the bandits' assets we seized. This is all in the contract you signed. As Clan members on top of that, you are entitled to whatever items you desire. Of course, you will obviously leave the majority to pay for the airship since you obviously hold the good of the Clan in your hearts." She gave them a pointed look.

  Henry could take a hint. "Of course we do. Now someone help me up. I want to see this treasure."

  Loot Room

  Jason didn't enjoy feeling so weak. He knew that he should have been counting his blessings, fortunate to be alive. Still, he still couldn't help grumbling to himself as Uluula helped him walk. The rational part of his mind was amazed how accustomed to good health he was after a short time on Ludus. With his regeneration and endurance abilities, he felt whole and healthy all the time.

  Until now.

  Oh, he'd been beaten up and tired before, but he usually bounced back right away. This was the first time he'd felt, well, normal again. He could feel himself rapidly improving, but the whole situation was humbling. Deep down, he could understand why orb-Bonded would fear or even hate Mo'hali Heroes. He could envision how this fear could extend to all Mo'hali people too, especially when he thought about the havoc a single Hero could cause a city... or affect the course of a war.

  Jason hadn't seen much of the new world yet, but if technology like airships existed, he was willing to bet vehicles of war did too. The idea that a single person could shut down this world's machinery for a significant amount of time just by being in proximity to it was crazy to think about.

  He glanced at Bezzi-ibbi out of the corner of his eye and saw the boy was keeping his head down. Jason still didn't know much about Bezzi-ibbi or Heroes or the Jaguar Clan or Mo'hali or Ludus in general. Bezzi-ibbi's behavior seemed weird to him, but he was starting to suspect that some people looked down on Mo'hali and feared Heroes.

  To Henry's credit, he just didn't seem to care. Jason could tell that his friend liked Bezzi-ibbi and saw him as a surrogate little brother. Henry had adapted to some of the stranger aspects of Ludus like a duck to water. Being unfazed after being adopted by a beast kid with a metal arm was a great example of his friend's personality.

  Jason had to give himself credit too. He was also surrounded by people who weren't even human and taking it pretty well too. He would just never be able to adapt to anything as quickly as Henry could. It was one of his friend's strengths that he most respected.

  The group left the building they were staying in, a large house the Jaguar Clan was renting. Jason thought Rohs was a fairly large town. Of course, he didn't have much perspective to base that on. So far on Ludus, he'd only seen Mareen's village, Mirana, and a small number of tiny villages on the trading road.

  On a map, he remembered that Rohs was one of the outlying towns from Port Solitude, the destination of the trade road they'd been following. He briefly wondered what had happened to the caravan wagon but then remembered how thrifty the Jaguar Clan leaders were. He would have bet money that some Clan members were heading back to Mirana with the wagons right now.

  The town was just starting to wake up. Tradeswomen were setting up shop for the day, and Jason could sense the hustle and bustle of a normal Rohs day beginning. Kinwe-na-ibbi lead them down several side streets, eventually ending up at a plain building that was entirely unremarkable save for the two Jaguar Clan guards stationed outside. Their bronze spearheads winked in the morning sun, and both guards saluted Kinwe-na-ibbi, left hand to shoulder, bowing.

  Kinwe-na-ibbi opened the door with a key and ushered everyone through the entrance. By this time, Jason was beginning to feel more like his normal self again but continued to lean against Uluula. He enjoyed the feeling, and if he was honest with himself, he enjoyed her obvious concern too.

  The group walked down the hallway, continuing to follow Kinwe-na-ibbi. Nobody spoke, but Keeja grinned as she brought up the rear. Jason wondered what was so damn funny. Maybe the fact that everyone had almost died fighting the bandits while she'd sat on her ass. He snorted and paid attention to his surroundings.

  The interior of the building was fairly standard for what Jason had seen on Ludus. Wood walls, random paintings, and crystals that emitted light functioning like lightbulbs. He knew that this type of interior lighting was a staple of towns and cities and was part of what local taxes paid to maintain. Everything was powered by magic stones, all of which were harvested by adventurers.

  The whole concept of an adventurer was still strange to Jason. When he thought of adventurers, he imagined people raiding dungeons for gear and glory. However, while adventurers on Ludus still fought monsters and raided dungeons, it seemed like most of the time, they were just after magic stones.

  If Jason had had to explain the difference to someone, he'd have said his idea of an adventurer was a deep-sea treasure hunter, whereas on Ludus, adventurers were more like fisherman. Some Ludus adventurers still went after big treasure, but doing so was very dangerous and most people didn't bother. Real treasure, like blessed steel weapons or Dolos orbs, usually only turned up in the more dangerous dungeons.

  And the best loot was dangerous to chase.

  Jason was hoping they'd get to see some cool gear soon. Kinwe-na-ibbi hadn't said anything about the building they were in, but it didn't take to a genius to figure out it was a semi-secret Jaguar Clan warehouse.

  They walked through the central hallway, and Kinwe-na-ibbi came to an abrupt stop in front of a chalk line drawn on the floor. She pulled a rope hanging from the ceiling, and Jason could hear a bell deeper in the building. He turned to Henry, and his friend nodded--he'd heard it too.

  Less than a minute later, an older jaguar Mo'hali man wearing spectacles bustled out of a door further down the hallway. He bowed to Kinwe-na-ibbi, left hand to shoulder, just as the guards had outside. They talked for a few seconds in the Mo'hali tongue before the man hurried off the way he'd come.

  Kinwe-na-ibbi turned around and said, "Nobody step across this line until you hear that bell ring." She pointed out a small bell that Jason hadn't noticed before. It was connected to a string that went up into the ceiling.

  A few moments later, the string moved, and the little bell tinkled. The group started forward again and found themselves at the end of the hall. Kinwe-na-ibbi pr
oduced another key that she used to unlock the sturdy, bronze-reinforced door. She said, "Everything in this room was taken from the bandit camp." Then she opened the door all the way, and the group entered. Jason got his first look at the Jaguar Clan's secure storeroom in the town of Rohs.

  Tables lined three sides of the room and were set up in orderly rows. The room itself was fairly large. Items hung on the walls, boxes sat on tables, and crates of goods the bandits had been going to sell rested under tables or in corners. However, what Jason found most interesting was that someone was living in the storeroom.

  In one corner sat a bed, dressers, a chair, and a large, decorated chest. Sitting in the chair was a young rabbit Mo'hali girl with a book in her lap. Her large ears made her subrace obvious. Some Mo'hali looked more bestial than others, but this girl appeared mostly human other than her fluffy white ears and red eyes. Her long dress hid her legs.

  Jason noticed the girl had a metal horn growing out of her forehead. Except for the golden color, it reminded him of Bezzi-ibbi's arm. He suddenly had a flash of insight and said out loud, "She's a Hero, isn't she?"

  As soon as the words left his mouth, he heard a chime and saw text scroll over his left eye.

  Jitta-ni-ibbi, Jaguar Clan

  Hero Ring, Energy Horn

  First Rank

  Kinwe-na-ibbi gracefully pivoted and unnecessarily replied, "Yes. You are only being admitted to this room because you are full Jaguar Clan and you are entitled to a share of the spoils from the bandit camp. You are responsible for your non-Clan companions. High Priestess Keeja can obviously do whatever she wants, but I am sure she already knew of our... arrangement."

  "Of course I did." Keeja grinned. "You're not the only Clan to use Heroes as security either."

  Kinwe-na-ibbi sniffed. "Of course not. It is necessary for all the most powerful trading Clans."