by Skyler Grant
Maria stared at me with such intensity that I wondered if she had lost the ability to blink.
"And after you knew?"
I left the warehouse and moved onto the next structure. This one looked like a barracks. It was empty, which made sense. Everyone was probably waiting ahead to ambush us. There was only one building left.
"I don't know what you want to hear from me, Maria," I said with a sigh. I didn't have anything to give but the truth. "Once I knew, then it was obvious that continuing with things would hurt you and confuse the whole situation. I hoped that maybe you might understand once you got a chance to meet her. Your mother isn't an ordinary woman."
Maria processed that as we moved towards the last building. "Neither am I."
Before I could give her any sort of response nets flew in our direction and crossbow bolts began to fly. The engineers had set up a number of turrets at the end of the walkway and we'd walked into their range.
I attempted to guard Maria with my shield. It worked for the bolts, but did nothing with the netting and it fell around us, slowing our movement.
"You would try to trap me in a web?" Maria said, as her eyes glinted dangerously. The spiders swarmed off her and towards the turrets. Delicate clockwork ground to a halt and the relentless fire ceased.
I cut us free with Intemperance—a flaming sword did have its uses.
Backstab
I saw the prompt, but not Ashley. She must be nearby though, judging from the scream I heard after the prompt of her ability appeared. I rushed forward.
Explosive Mines
The ground exploded and I was flung forward to collapse into a heap on the dirt. That hurt. That really hurt. Worse still, I couldn’t get to my feet anymore and both my shield and Intemperance had gone flying.
Cross Fire
Turrets on either end of the building opened up and my body was flung first one way and then another as crossbow bolts pierced through my armor and buried themselves in my side.
I started downing heal potions.
The Spider Who Ate Time
Maria moved so quickly she was hardly more than a flicker as she made her way to my side, grabbing me and with incredible strength dragging me away from the turret fire and inside the last building.
An engineer rushed Maria with a sword and she pivoted to deliver a fearsome kick to the jaw. The soldier fell unconscious.
Ashley rushed forward to finish him and I held up a hand. "Stop. We could use intelligence. Besides, you'll want someone to torture later."
It wasn't really the thought one wanted to have about their friends, but it was true. Ashley considered that and settled for driving her dagger into the belly of another soldier rushing her instead.
Wide Angle Fire
Another soldier appeared, this one with several heavy tanks on his back with flames billowing out. He sprayed the area with a thick burning liquid.
I pulled Maria down, covering her and the spiders with my body. I could take the flame better than anyone. Maria was nothing but bare flesh and subjects she'd rather not lose.
It was agony. Assuming us dead the engineer turned his back on us to fire a stream at Ashley, who dove behind a desk.
Smite
I blasted a shot at his back and was rewarded as the tanks exploded sending engineer chunks throughout the room.
That was the last of them. The one Maria had knocked out was a little charbroiled, but still alive.
Now that I got a look around the building it was clear we were in the offices for this Elvish unit. I hadn't seen a commander, but it might have been the first person Ashley killed.
"Search the bodies," I said. Ashley was already on it, of course.
I healed quick, although I'd be in pain for a good while yet. And I could walk again, or at least shuffle about in a daze. I went to the desks to go through the paperwork.
Most of it I just wound up bagging. I didn't read Elvish and it made no sense to me. There were several maps that seemed like they might be of use though. One depicted what I recognized as Genea with several markers to indicate Leosi's forces. From what I recalled they were worryingly accurate. There was also one of the Elvish lands that I knew Cobalt could find useful.
I waited while the others looted, then threw the captive over my shoulder. We needed to head back to the Vainglory. With that flare overhead, time was critical. I hoped that Riggs would be able to get the ship airborne again before reinforcements arrived.
CHAPTER SIX
We returned back through the buildings. The warehouse was completely cleaned out. I didn't even think there was room on the Vainglory for all those supplies, but perhaps Cobalt had some kind of ship inventory she could store them in.
Back on board, Cobalt was on deck keeping a watchful eye on the sky. Unnecessary probably, as Lea was nearby and scrying, and far better at it.
"We almost ready to go?" I asked.
"Brought one with you?" Cobalt asked.
"Thought we might need a source of intelligence. Plus, if Ashley needs to start stabbing someone..."
"You'd rather it not be us. Smart." Cobalt motioned for me to follow. "We don't have much of a brig, but we can make do."
Cobalt led the way below decks. There was the sound of hammering and cursing coming from the engine room. The hole in hull was patched again, far better than the last efforts. If it wasn't for a bit of discoloration, I wouldn't be able to tell the new work at all.
The cell turned out to be little more than a closet. A cramped and tiny place that wouldn't be comfortable in the least. I figured it wasn't a problem, our guest wouldn't survive too long.
Once I had the prisoner locked away we stopped by to check the progress with the engine. It wasn't going well. The assembly of pipes was completely disassembled and laying across the deck.
"I thought you were going to fix things, not take it all apart," I said.
"Sometimes to fix things you have to tear everything down first," Walt said, absently. "With the damage we had we weren't going to do anything but patch it up anyways. Now we can do a lot better."
"Riggs, what the hell," Cobalt said, as she ran her eyes over the mess.
"The lad may be a wee bit crazy, but he isn't wrong," Riggs said. "We could have kept going after what we'd taken, but we wouldn't be flying like we should. Give us a bit and we can."
"Make it fast," Cobalt said, as she spun and moved towards the door.
"Think we have enough time before reinforcements arrive?" I asked her.
"With an airship hunting for us? No." Cobalt stormed towards deck. "We're going to have to get clever."
"Define clever," I said.
"Murderous. Do you still have that magic carpet of yours?"
"Lea does, I think."
"Get it. That airship shows up here, we're going to make our way up to it and kill every single elf on board," Cobalt said. Given how she seemed to relish those words I guess she still hadn't forgiven them for what they'd done to her ship.
"You know you shouldn't be going into a fight," I said. "We agreed you wouldn't."
Cobalt took a deep breath, her body rigid. "We did. Do you have a better idea, because if we put you and all your friends up there together, you aren't going to be enough to take her down."
Did I have a better idea? No. I was wracking my brain trying to think of one though. I didn't want her putting herself and our child in any danger unless she had to.
"Maria," I said. She was coming towards us.
"She isn't the fighter I am," Cobalt said.
"Then we don't fight them. We go up there and have Maria demand their surrender," I said. "That could work, right? Wouldn't that invoke her Right to Rule?"
Cobalt looked between me and Maria. "Perhaps. But if her ability was universal, you'd be doing anything you could to hand your own throne over."
"Why aren't I?" It was something I'd been wondering about. I'd seen how fast the dwarves at Copperhelm handed control over to her.
"Idiot," Maria
said. "You were my allies before you were a king and took the throne with my blessing."
"Then why is Leosi trying to hand it back to her?" I asked.
"Because my ex is an ass," Cobalt said, and Maria glared at her.
Cobalt returned that look for a moment and sighed. "Fine. My ex is a loyal and devoted father who inherited the throne from his family and feels it should belong to his daughter. The Gift does not need to come into play at all for that."
It was good to get that clarification. Of course, it didn't make this situation any more logical.
"So she doesn't want her Gift to work on me. But if she wants it to work on the elves, won't it?" I said.
"Think of it as being the number one on a dice," Cobalt said. "It doesn't happen very often, and it's really dramatic when it does. Maria is going to wind up with massive holdings eventually and her subjects will be very loyal."
Maria stared impassively as she was talked about. Through the lovers bond I felt a sense of disapproval.
"Surely that's because she is a good ruler, not through any sort of mind-control due to the ability," I said.
Cobalt gave me a look of exasperation. "Do you think I win fights because my enemies drop their sword? Of course she is a good Queen. Just ask the spiders."
I stared at the spiders swarming over Maria. Their movement seemed faintly approving. I was going mad. The day was driving me mad.
"So, we'll try it," I said.
"I'm coming along," Cobalt said. Maria joined me now in giving disapproving looks.
"I'll let you try to work things out, but if it goes wrong you two are not fighting your way out of there alone. With me you can," Cobalt said.
"Mother, do not be as foolish as you are ill-tempered and disreputable," Maria said. "They were prepared for you on the last encounter and they will be so prepared this time."
She meant the sleeping spell. It was a good strategy for dealing with a vastly superior foe.
"Can one of your subjects help?" I said, turning to Maria. "Ride along with her. I know they're great alchemists, surely they could do something to wake her up, if needed."
"Eww," Cobalt said. "No."
"My subjects are not disgusting," Maria said in her usual deadpan.
"Really kind of are," Cobalt said.
"They make great healing potions and might be able to help here," I said.
Both of them glared at me. They wanted to have it out. Yeah, we were well suited for diplomacy.
I went to find Lea. She still had the carpet and was happy to hand it over and join me as I came back to the others.
"Can you open up a way to talk to the airship?" I asked.
"You want to let them know we're coming?" Cobalt asked.
"Well, I'm not going to try ambush diplomacy." Of course, that's pretty much exactly what wound up happening last time. No surprise, Ashley wasn't invited on this trip.
Lea etched several symbols in the air and a portal appeared revealing the stern features of an elf.
Lea said, "I'm opening communications on behalf of those you are approaching. My boss would like to have a chat with yours.".
"One moment," said the elf and made a gesture of his own. The view shifted to an older-looking elf.
"This is King Liam Ottani. I wish to come aboard with a few of my companions to see if we can't come up with a peaceful resolution and avoid any conflict," I said, throwing all my charm into it.
"The last time your Majesty came onto an Elvish vessel to propose a peaceful solution, he wound up murdering and violating the corpse of the Ambassador tasked to meet with him. We are not inclined to repeat the mistake," the elf said, not bothering to hide his hostility.
"Eww," Cobalt said. Her standards were all over the place at the moment. "Really?"
"I should not be surprised," Maria said with a sniff.
I said, "I didn't take advantage of the Elvish ambassador! I didn't even kill and strip her, that was all Ashley."
The elf shook his head slowly, "I've been told you were the only one at that meeting. Her serving maid well saw what had been done. I am told she is still inconsolable."
"It really isn't what you think," I said, forcing my smile to its breaking point. "We can discuss what really occurred among other matters when we meet."
"We'll be happy to discuss diplomatic solutions with your successor. We'll be exterminating you shortly. Good day."
The portal flared and vanished.
We just got hung up on. Fantastic.
"You thought it wise to attempt diplomacy after murdering their ambassador?" Maria asked. "Idiot."
I really did regret what had happened before. I didn't want this war. I wanted to be fighting the ship from our world that had crashed. The situation kept spiraling out of control. However, if I was going to have to fight, I was going to win.
"We go with epic violence then. We'll take the carpet and raise hell."
"Afraid not," Lea said. She had continued to move her fingers, working scry portals. "They learned from your tricks last time. They've charged the air around their ship. If anything magical gets close it's going to get one massive shock."
"And the carpet is magic."
Lea nodded.
"We don't have anyone that can do shielding magic on that scale to protect us," Cobalt said, starting to pace.
"Griffons?" I asked. "They might be magical beasts, but would they trigger the field?"
"Probably not," Lea said after a pause. "But we've killed them all, unless you found an aviary while you were wandering around their base."
I hadn't, of course.
"Could we make our own balloon?" Cobalt asked. "I cleared out that warehouse. We have the supplies."
"Maybe if we had time," Lea said. "But they are minutes out. Not hours. We don't."
Minutes until they arrived and hours until the engines would be operational again. We were helpless.
Cobalt scowled. "I hate long range. I'm the deadliest thing on two legs and it doesn't count for anything, if I can't get close."
"Once they get in range Walt could do a group teleport," I said. "He's done things like that before."
"They're prepared and expecting a fight. They'll probably have teleport wards up," Lea said with a shake of her head. "Even if they don’t, the charge might electrify everyone the moment they appeared."
"So, what can we do," I said.
"We can mount a defense," Lea said. "Get the cannons up on deck and point them skyward."
"With us immobile they have all the advantages," Cobalt said. "Get Riggs up here."
Lea ran off and returned with the dwarf.
"Lass. I need to get that engine back together," Riggs said.
"We don't have time," Cobalt said. "Conventional engines are out. How is the planar drive?"
Lea winced.
"It's got a few chunks blown out of it," Riggs said. "Selector is down, but I can shift us. Things that bad?"
"They're that bad. Do it," Cobalt said.
Riggs ran off below decks.
Over the horizon, a balloon was coming into view. They wasted no time. Magically enhanced bolts began to rain down. They didn't have our range, not quite yet, but massive chunks were blown out of the field nearby and the ship shook violently.
"So, what is happening?" I asked.
"You wanted to know about this ship moving between worlds. You're about to see it first hand," Lea said.
The air around us began to ripple in a range of rainbow colors. I could taste the color blue strongly and smelled the strains of a rock opera.
The airship finally got within range for its guns and the ship began to explode around us even as reality folded in upon itself and twisted.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The Vainglory remained the Vainglory—the ship didn't change. The same couldn't be said of the rest of us. We all stared at each other.
I'd traded in my heavy armor for a tee-shirt and jeans, and Riggs was dressed much the time. Maria was dressed all in black a
nd looking decidedly goth with a spider pendant around her neck. Walt looked as nerdy as Ashley did rich.
More surprising than our clothing was who else was present. Yvera was there looking fashionable as hell without her usual fiery aura. Atlantia had on shorts and looked casual, while Mela was in coveralls.
We seemed to be in some sort of massive garage. The Vainglory barely fit beneath the roof. Benches were filled with unfamiliar tools and equipment.
"Well, this is different," I said. It was a stupid thing to say, but nothing else came to me at the moment.
"We jumped blind," Cobalt said. "Lea, where are we?"
Lea glanced down at her skin. She had a few totally badass tattoos and judging from her skimpy attire she liked showing them off. None were runes.
"We've got sheets," Riggs said.
That was an idea. I checked mine.
Name: Liam Ottani
Role: Charmer and Baseball Player
Level: Freshman at Vilus University
Goals: Dating, winning the big game in one week
"I'm the hottest and most popular girl in the school," Yvera said, sounding amused. "I want to ace my classes and date a star athlete."
"Baseball player who wants to date around and win the big game," I said.
"Upperclassman out to have fun and not flunk out of school," Lea said. "I can do that."
"I think everyone is stupid and not worth paying attention to," Maria deadpanned. Eyes turned towards her. "That is what it says."
"Star of the swim team and looking to kiss a girl," Atlantia said unhappily.
"Engineering instructor out to see the class project finished and perfected in one week," Mela said.
"Rich bitch," Ashley said, beaming a smile. "Looking to make life miserable for others."
"I play baseball too," Riggs said. "Here to win the big game and make sure the engineering project gets done."
Yvera moved forward as if to kiss me, pausing at the last moment and frowning. I raised a brow at her.
