“You really think I wouldn’t have done that?” Zelph chuckled. “A copy of my AI is on the ship as we speak.”
“Good,” Q turned to Ruby. “I need you to head back to Drakon, to the Palace of Darkness.”
“WHAT?” Ruby asked.
Zelph, get me directions back to our ship, Q thought.
The AI obliged and an orange arrow appeared in Q’s vision, pointing right out the cave entrance. He aligned his hand in the same direction. “That’s the way back to the ship,” he told Ruby. “Once you get in Zelph will take you back to Drakon.”
Ruby hesitated for a moment. “I really don’t get why you’re doing this,” she said.
“I need you to be my backup,” Q said. “If I don’t contact the Dark Knights in the next twenty four hours then I need you to get a Dark Knight squad and come in after me.”
Ruby looked at him as though he were crazy, but she could see the point he was trying to make. This was the safer and smarter option.
She sighed. “Fine. You owe me one,” she said, and extended out her wings. “The ship better be where you said it is, Zelph,” she said and shot forward at blazing speed.
Q turned back to the purple vortex. He felt strange looking at it. It called out to him, as though it had wanted him to find it.
“Ruby is on the ship,” Zelph said a few seconds later.
That was super-fast, Q smiled.
“Ship has launched,” he reported.
“Good,” Q mumbled.
The tiniest of rumbles came from the vortex, the wind around it slowly picking up its pace.
Q realized why he felt like the purple swirl was calling out to him. It was because he wanted it to. He wanted to head into it. Carlos hadn’t told him anything specific, but Q could tell that this was indeed an inter-dimensional portal. The moment he entered the vortex, he was going to end up in some new world completely different from his own, a world where he was no one, a world where he had nothing.
But that’s exactly what enthralled him.
“Have you analyzed it?” Q asked.
“Yes,” Zelph said. “You were right. The vortex is extremely unstable and will collapse on itself as soon as we go through it. It seems to have been created for a one time use only.”
Q looked into the deep purple in front of him, at the swirling light that glowed brighter with every second. A smile of sorrow shone on his face. I’m sorry I lied to you, Ruby, he thought. But I don’t plan on coming back.
***
3-1
A rainbow of light shone brightly as Q shot through the portal. He watched as the colors around him merged together, the blue shifting to purple, the red shifting to orange. A flash of white shone as he neared the end of the tunnel.
The other world, Q thought. He didn’t know what that place was like, he didn’t know who he would meet, he didn’t know what he would find. But it didn’t matter. Because whatever he did find, he didn’t plan on going back to his world.
It sounded harsh, it sounded obscene, it sounded cowardly. But he didn’t care. He had made his decision when he recalled the Masked Magician's story.
The Magician had been a part of a species on a planet called Valkyrie. Valkyrie though had been completely destroyed by another warmongering race, and his entire species had been annihilated.
The Masked Magician coped with this loss by investing himself in revenge. But with time, hate and rage will change a man, and that is exactly what happened to the Masked Magician.
Q didn’t want to become like that man.
He bit his lip, cursing himself for feeling all this even after he tried to wipe his mind into a clean slate. He didn't even consider the option of going back, to be honest. He just couldn’t see himself do it.
This is for the best, he assured himself. No one will get hurt.
He surged into the white-shaded portal at the end of the tunnel. A jolt ran through his body as he shot into the other world. He thumped onto something that felt like the ground. His vision blurred for a second, and when it became clear again, he didn’t know whether to panic or to scream.
He was right inside the mouth of a glowing hot volcano. He inched backwards on the thin ledge he was on, trying to stick himself to the wall. The rocky platform trembled as he moved, showing that it wasn’t really made for holding his weight.
He stopped still in his tracks, not wanting to crack his only standing ground. He peered over the edge, taking a look at the chaos below him.
Blue-hot lava spewed at the bottom of the volcano. Q could feel its heat sear through his skin, even though he was wearing his energy suit. He searched his mind for his power, and realized that he had a full reserve of his life energy left.
He infused the power into his energy suit and shot into the air, flying out of the volcano. He soared high up and looked around him, immediately stunned by what he saw. Volcanoes usually formed in oceans or in mountain ranges. This volcano, though, was in the middle of a desert. Q flew down and gently touched down on the arid sand. He looked up at the sky, which was dark and silent. Not a single star shone through, letting it remain a barren black.
“Well, that’s just weird,” Zelph said.
Q was taken aback. “Why are you here?!”
“Why? Did you think I wouldn’t come along?”
“I was sure the inter-dimensional travel would cut you off or destroy my eye lens.”
“Well, aren’t you charming?” Zelph chuckled. “So anyway, what’s this about not going back?”
Q remained silent, ignoring Zelph. He shifted his gaze to the sands surrounding him. The night colored the sands dark-grey, which for some reason seemed like a good color for a desert landscape. He looked around but could find nothing but the desert and the volcano.
I guess I have to search much harder, he sighed. He wondered if he was actually okay with staying in such a world for the rest of his life. Was he making a mistake?
“All I can see are deserts,” Zelph complained. “What kind of third rated world is this?”
Ugh, why did he have to come along? Q sighed. He really wanted to be alone right now. The decision he made wasn’t something people could understand, however hard they tried. And at the moment, he was with someone who could read his mind whenever he wanted. That was the worst situation possible.
“If you hate me that much, all you need to do is throw the lenses out,” Zelph said, straight and curt.
Q kept silent and trod across the desert sands. The wind was still and silent, and the air around him was nothing but cold. He felt unfamiliar with everything around him, and yet it all appealed to him.
He felt like he could start anew here, wipe out the previous part of his life, and start over again. The thought seemed wrong and he knew that very well, but he had no other choice. He did not want to become another Masked Magician. And he knew that a few more days spent on Drakon and that’s exactly what he’d have become.
Maybe Carlos knew I needed something like this, Q thought, Maybe that’s why he sent me here.
Sure, it was easy to think that, but believing it was a lot harder. His brother was the kind of person who believed in talking about things. Running away from problems was the last thing he would do.
Q felt his feet lower into the ground, and in a second his entire body sank into the sand. His head remained above the desert land, gasping for breath. A crowd of voices came from all around, and large figures in hoods surged to him. They dropped their cloth bags to the ground and reached into their sleeves, pulling out sharp daggers.
Desert bandits, Q thought. He tried to move his hands but they were stuck in place. The sand was too heavy for him to physically push through.
“My, my,” Zelph said. “You seem to be in a tough spot.”
“Shut up,” Q muttered. The cloaked figures came closer to him, their voices speaking a mysterious language to each other.
Q sighed. I really didn’t wanna do this, he thought.
He concentrated his energy into his
palms, and shot it downward. He exploded out of the sand, shooting into the air like a missile. He looked at the bandits before him, most of them trembling in panic. He shot down to the ground, landing hard and throwing a wave of sand around just to give them a scare.
The bandits ran from the site, grabbing their bags as they headed into the desert’s depths.
Q smiled. “That went better than I-” he stopped short, noticing a fallen bandit in front of him.
“He seems to have fainted from fear,” Zelph said.
“Well, I guess I can see that happening,” he chuckled.
“Might I suggest you wear his attire?” he said. “We don’t know what else lays in front of us. These clothes may protect you more than you think.”
“Fine,” Q said. He pulled the hood off the bandit.
His stomach clenched immediately. The man in front of him was horribly disfigured. The skin on his face looked cracked and broken, like parched land on a hot summer day. His pupils were dark black, the color of the void itself. The man’s rock-textured skin scratched Q as he tried to remove the cloak from his body.
That was worse than I imagined, Q sighed as he put the cloak over himself and moved around a bit. It fit him perfectly, which was weird since the bandit seemed much larger than him.
Maybe the cloak is elastic, he thought. He looked at the desert before him. “So where do we go now?” he mumbled.
“Well, all the bandits ran off in the same direction,” Zelph said. “That seems like a good first step.”
Q agreed and set off, the darkness of the night sky enveloping him, the parched desert air numbing him, the warm desert sand feeding him heat. He smiled to himself.
Now this was an adventure.
***
Q stared at the massive white wall in front of him.
I can’t tell if that’s good or bad, he thought.
“Well, only one way to find out,” Zelph chuckled.
It had taken Q nearly half a day of walking around to actually come across any trace of civilization. And luckily for him, he’d been able to find a massive enclosure standing there, right in the middle of the desert.
The enclosure’s walls were about a hundred yards high, which was huge, and were about ten times as long. Whatever was inside this place had to be massive, and all that did was get Q more excited about everything.
He walked around the wall until he came to a large door, the entrance. He knocked on it twice, the wooden knock ringing in his ears. A muffled voice came from the other side, and the door slowly slid open. Another hooded figure walked out and looked at Q. Q held his breath as the being walked around him, never trying to look under his hood.
It tapped his shoulder lightly and led him into the enclosure. Q pulled his hood over a little more, trying to make sure no one could peek at his face. He looked up for a moment, and a silent gasp left his lips.
A massive city of stone lay in front of him. It was a beautiful sight, and left him breathless. The most stunning thing was that the city didn’t seem to have been built out of stone, it seemed to have been carved out of it.
Q wondered if this was actually some sort of small mountain that had been chiseled down into the city. He looked around trying to get a feel for what this place was.
Q walked into the first turning he found from the entrance and saw a small sort of bazaar. Hooded figures sat on the sides of the wide street, and spread their goods in front of them on a cloth sheet. Each stall had a small lamp that lit their wares, the only source of light in this prolonged night.
Many natives walked along the street, some completely ignoring the bazaar and others eagerly buying everything they could lay their eyes on. Q noticed the bazaar sellers themselves buying things from each other. That’s when he realized something odd.
These people didn’t use any sort of currency. If anyone wanted anything, they had to exchange for it. This civilization was still using the barter system.
He walked to one of the stalls, and saw that a vendor was selling some sort of fruit. It looked exactly like oranges, the only difference being that it was purple instead of orange. A fruity scent wafted through the air as Q neared the stall. He leaned in to take a closer look at the fruit.
He felt a nudge on his legs as a man rushed through the crowd. Q lost his balance and fell right into the pile of fruits in front of him. Even though nothing had happened to the fruits, the vendor threw Q to the side. He picked up a few of his fruits and stared right at Q, yelling something in a language he couldn’t understand.
People began to crowd around them, drawn there by the noise the vendor was making.
Ugh, this isn’t good, he thought, pulling his hood down tight. Zelph can you analyze what he’s saying?
“I already tried,” he said. “This language is not even similar to anything on my database.”
Must not have been registered, he cursed.
A few of the hooded figures surrounded him in a tight circle. Q began to summon his powers, building them up for safety. If he had to fight his way out of this, then that was exactly what he was going to do.
Suddenly a hooded man broke from the crowd and stood between Q and the vendor. The man bowed to everyone and said something in their language, almost as though he were apologizing. He went over the vendor and handed him a glowing, green jewel. The vendor dropped all his remaining fruit and grabbed the jewel, jumping around in excitement.
The man put his arm around Q’s shoulder and pushed him forward. Q immediately became suspicious and pushed back, resisting his pull.
“God damn it boy!” he heard an annoyed whisper come from the man. “You can either come with me, or let these people maul you!”
Q kept silent, stunned by the fact that this man spoke his language.
Zelph, did you translate his speech for me? he asked.
“Nope,” the AI said. “He seems to know our language. And quite well, I should add.”
The man led Q deeper into the city, the buildings becoming more tightly packed than anything Q had ever seen. The man finally stopped in front of a moderately large house and opened the door.
“Wait here,” he said and walked inside. He lit a lamp, producing a yellow, glowing flame that filled the room with light.
“Welcome to my humble abode,” the man chuckled, his voice deep and rough.
Q hesitated for a moment. “Thank you,” he said, quieter than he had intended. He took a good look around, and saw that the entire house was just one room. A small staircase was carved into the corner of the room, leading up to the upper floor. All sorts of objects lay cluttered around the place, cloth, papers, broken sticks, and small shreds of metal.
“Sorry. It’s a little messy,” the man said. “It’s been a long time since I actually had any company.”
“Thank you, for your help,” Q said.
“Do not worry about it. These people would have murdered you if they found out you’re not one of their kind.”
Q’s hand touched his hood, suspicion rising in his mind once again. “Are you the same as them?”
“I’m the same species, yes,” he said. “But I don’t have any intention of murdering you.”
“Can you tell me where exactly I am?”
“Well, we call this city Araneer, which means city of wellbeing in our language.”
“Umm...I was actually asking about the planet I’m on?”
The man laughed, “Planet? These people are too primitive to understand such concepts.”
Q was taken aback for a second, but then he realized that was to be expected. People who still used the barter system couldn’t possibly be advanced enough to know of other planets.
Just where did that portal send me? He wondered.
“Here, take a seat,” the man said, pointing to two chairs that had been carved out of the wall. The man put a hard cushion on each chair and sat down on his. Q took his seat as well.
The man picked up a purple fruit from the table next to him, a fruit that Q
recognized as the one the vendor was selling. He swiftly peeled off the skin revealing that it was really in fact, a purple orange. He silently gave the peeled fruit to Q and smiled.
Q took a small piece and put it into his mouth. The flavor had a strong sweetness, with a slight bitter aftertaste. But he loved it. An involuntary smile shone onto his face.
The man laughed. “Looks like you like it.”
“It tastes really good,” he ate a few more pieces.
“It’s the only proper fruit we harvest here,” he said. “Well, it’s the only proper fruit that we can harvest.”
For a moment, Q had almost forgotten he was in the middle of a desert. “How do you get the water for these fruits?” he asked.
“What’s water?” the man asked.
Q’s eyes widened.
“I was just joking,” the man laughed. “Our crops actually grow without us needing to water them. They grow roots that go miles deep, which is how far we have to go down to actually get water. But we do have a few deep wells around here to help us get water for ourselves.”
The man handed Q a small pitcher. Q saw the crystal clear water stand still inside the earthen jug. He took a few rationed sips and handed it back to the man.
“So, what exactly are you?” the man asked.
“Human.”
The man seemed quite surprised at that. He chuckled. “It’s been a very long time since I heard that word.”
What is he talking about? Q thought.
“I have no idea,” Zelph said. “He seems quite nice though.”
I don’t think we should trust him just yet, he thought. This is another world isn’t it? If he knows the word human then there’s something really fishy about all of this.
“Anyway,” the man leaned forward. “You probably have many questions you want to ask me.”
“Well, to be fair, I’ve asked you quite a few already.”
The man laughed, “That’s fine, young man,” he said. “But before you ask me anything, I must ask you, where did you get that cloak from?”
Q told him how he managed to get one from a bandit who tried to attack him but fell unconscious instead.
The Quest Saga Collection: Books 1 - 5 Page 88
