by R J Triveri
As he walked inside, the smell of the place hit him full force. Sulfur, fire, gunpowder, iron, and polish all rushed to greet him as a single entity. It was so overwhelmingly overpowered that he had to mentally force himself not to gag on the heavy air.
A laugh echoed as he almost fell to his knees from the heavy scent. A gruff, but feminine laugh that echoed across the gun-laden walls. “Welcome, Newbie!”
Again with the newbie thing? As the voice echoed down, he looked up to match sights with its owner. “I’m looking for Paul Skrzypak and Astor Cullden. Do you know where I could find them?”
Her tone flattened as he heard the familiar sounds of a cocking gun. “What business do you have with them?”
“I’ve got their delivery from the bulletin board. They should know that I’m coming.” Athos looked up and sighed. “This is really irritating, could you come down here so we can talk?”
“Can’t do that, love. Could be a trap.”
His face shifted from annoyance to pure disbelief. “Do I look like someone that would do that?”
“How do I know what you look like? I can barely see you from up here.”
Logic seemed in short supply in places like this. Was she paranoid for a reason or just messing with him? Frankly, Athos could care much, much less. “Then just come down. I’m a rank one alchemist, so what could I possibly do to you?”
The sound of something heavy being set down comforted him little, “You have a good point. Give me a moment, darling.” The sounds of footsteps followed a door slamming, more steps, then the creaks of the seemingly unused door opening as a woman stepped down onto his floor. “A forest child no less, I’m sorry. We don’t usually get your types over here.”
Maybe that trait was more of a blessing than he thought. “What type do you get?”
“Hunters mostly, looking to sell off their drops, refine their weapons, target practice. Though sometimes, we get a thieving few that just couldn’t cut it any other way from time to time, which is why I usually do my business from the crow’s nest up top there.” Despite her tone, the fact she still had a pair of pistols at her hips, and ammo hanging from her belt, she didn’t seem so bad. She wasn’t that bad to look at either, but she was a little shorter than he expected. Bushy black hair complimented her caramel skin tone in a way he really could appreciate. She was quite beautiful. “Name’s Lass, Rank 10 Weaponeer.”
“Athos Aramis, Rank One Alchemist.”
“I wouldn’t go around advertising that if I were you,” she said as simply as if she were repeating her name again. “People don’t always trust your type.”
“So I keep hearing.”
The sarcasm in his voice seemed to be lost on her. “So, you’re looking for Paul and Astor, right?”
He nodded repeating what he had said just moments ago. “I have some materials they ordered from the board.”
“What? Really? You weren’t joking about that?” Her surprise seemed genuine which, to Athos, did not bode well.
“No… how else would I know how to find them?”
She shrugged. “They aren’t the most celebrated people on Incipere, but you raise a good point. If you were looking to cause trouble, I doubt you’d be a Child of the Forest.”
“So, can I see them?”
Lass shrugged again. “I don’t see why not. They should know you’re coming. Head downstairs to the shooting range. Just don’t knock first.”
Don’t knock? “Why?”
“Because they’ll shoot.”
“Oh.”
Lass pointed to the door she came through. “Just down there.”
“And don’t knock.”
“Right, love, or those pointy little ears of yours might be rounded against your will.”
Careful to heed her advice, Athos nodded to her as he made his way to the stairs and down. As far down as Lass had been above him, he reached a door he pushed it open to reveal a scene he wasn’t really expecting. All around him, the walls and ceiling reflected the outside world. The sky was as clear as it had been when he outside and the wind felt just as real. The unearthly howl that erupted from above him felt much less real and more like a nightmare.
“Pull!”
A shot rang out as the creature descended upon him. Dark in flesh, eyes like a cat’s, and with more tentacles than a squid, the creature fell like a rock and cried out.
“That makes ten, Paul,” a feminine voice called out from further into the room.
“Two more than your lazy ass,” the other replied. The second voice seemed more masculine and approaching quickly as the sky squid, as Athos quickly named it, cried out again. From his spot in the door, Athos couldn’t see over the rise in the underground hill to see the approaching man. Dressed in a bowler hat, button up white shirt, and with a six-shooter at his side, Paul was an imposing figure to be sure.
Upon seeing Athos, Paul pulled out his revolver and pointed it ahead. “And who do we have here?” As the gunner took another step forward, Athos heard a ping in his ear. “Ah, you must be the delivery boy.”
Athos nodded. “I saw your request.”
“So, you brought me my mint?” The alchemist nodded again. “Alright, let’s have it.”
With a few flicks of his fingers, Paul brought up a yellow window.
Complete your delivery?
Yes - No
Clicking on the first option, Athos’s inventory window appeared along with Paul’s. The mint leaves icon grew tenfold with a small number ten in the corner. The icon then grew legs, traveled across the window to Paul’s and jumped into an empty slot. Athos couldn’t help but hold back a laugh at how absurd it looked. Paul just watched as a worn looking pistol ringed with a silver metal with brushed brass detail moved from his inventory into Athos’s followed by a crystal looking icon with the number 200 after it.
“Not sure what use one of your kind has with a pistol, but I’m glad you took the job. Never took a gatherer class, figured hunting would be all I had to do to survive here. Damn stupid that I can’t pick my own mint and spices.”
Ah, game logic. Athos thought to himself as he looked at the icon and a rather nice increase to his byte count. “I’m glad to help. I have a delivery for Astor, too, if you could tell her that I’m here.”
The creature squealed again as it started to rise from its place on the ground. Paul unholstered his weapon and fired a moment later. Athos watched as the sky squid shimmered for a moment then exploded into the same crystals he had been given and a few orbs he hadn’t seen before.
“Astor, delivery!” Paul yelled from the hilltop into the dale.
But the yelling wasn’t needed as a ping rang into Athos’s ears. As if that were the signal, a woman’s head began to rise into view from below. Like Paul, Astor wore an almost identical wardrobe to her counterpart, but with a top hat banded in silver instead of a bowler and a pair of goggle-like glasses like something out of one of the steam-punk movies Athos was so fond of. “Figured as much when an Airsack was giving you so much trouble.”
“Hey, they can be vicious!”
“Only if you let them hug your face,” her gaze turned to Athos and she smiled. “Well, don’t see your kind too much all the way out here. Ya got guts, delivery boy. Got a name to go with ‘em?”
“Athos,” and he still had no idea why he had guts.
The window appeared before Astor and Athos, and the process began again. “A Child of the Forest with the name of a swordsmen. Kind of funny.”
“Not really when you’ve heard it every day you’ve been here,” he sighed pressing the accept button and watching the few nightshade berries he had dance themselves away.
“Shoulda changed it then, Athos,” came the response as 450 of the small, circular crystals moved from her inventory to his. “But really, you are a dear for bringing this for us. Do you know how hard it is to get good plants this far out without an auction house or herbalist?”
His wallet was starting to get the idea as it rung up a
rather nice gain. “Not really, just came here after getting dropped in Tenebrae and wandering for two days.”
She shrugged and knelt down to collect the orbs and crystals that had erupted from the dead sky squid, or Airsack, “Sorry to hear that, but it builds character. Quite literally.”
“Sure,” though he didn’t have much to show for it right now.
“Anyways, you better get going. We’re about to start another round, and Atoms aren’t for low ranks like you.” Her back turned as she began walking away and a rather large rifle appeared in her hands, “Say your goodbyes, Paul.”
He nodded, “She’s serious. You better get moving.”
Athos nodded. With his prizes now safely in his inventory, he turned on his feet and left for the next waypoint. Checking his stores, he only had about thirty mint left. He might have to go back to the forest to get more at this rate. He shrugged as he closed the door to the shooting range behind him. If mint was this popular, he could get established much sooner than he thought.
***
As the door closed, the pair prepped themselves for the next round’s challenge, and the field modified itself quickly in tone with the training program’s difficulty increase.
“So, how much longer do we have to wait for your new business partner?” Aster asked as she turned to Paul. A second later, she holstered her pistol with flash and materialized a much larger hand cannon made from a polished blue steel.
“Oh, I imagine she’ll be here soon enough,” Paul promised as he did the same. A pair of cannons replacing his, both of them shimmering in the now lower light with the power of an etched enchantment. “Just be glad we got that stupid mint. It’s going to make this so much easier.”
The Atoms spawned in all of their pink, shimmering glory before the world flickered. A moment later, the five orbs of light were frozen in place. Then with a shimmer of instability running through their code, they shattered into the countless pixels that made up their form. Surprise painted Asters face while the ping of a new message grabbed Paul’s attention. Slowly, his determined face broke into a smile.
“So much for another round, Aster. She’s coming.”
Favors and Rewards
Two down, two to go, Athos thought to himself as the door of the Powder Keg closed behind him. His wallet was already growing, his confidence was rising, and his hopes of having a place to stay were far from diminished at this point. If he couldn’t cut it as an alchemist, at least he knew he could be a halfway decent delivery boy. Then again, that is how he made his money during the long summers at home.
To his surprise, a pang of sadness welled up inside him at the off thought. His head shook as he rattled the memory away and looked at the waypoints on his map. Looked like Aver Median was the next closest. With only a few mint left to his name, Athos hoped that his brewing skills didn’t need it.
Without the fatigue he normally felt from exercise, Athos was really starting to enjoy walking. No fatigue, no pain, and no worry about becoming out of breath triggered something in him as he took a deep, virtual breath. His muscles tensed, and his feet began to pound the pavers in a way that he only wished he could back in high school. The wind rushed by as he moved down streets and walks towards his next location, but as quickly as he started, he slowed his run to a steadier trot then to a typical walk again. With his increased movement, he noticed the numbers appear again and his status tick down a percent. Athos made a mental note that running did take its toll, but smiled as he continued.
Another few steps down the way landed him in front of a small shop. It wasn’t much different than the houses around it, but the sign made it stand out enough to be different. By standing out, what Athos really meant that it was nailed into the overhang with more nails than necessary and was slightly lopsided causing the main portion of it to hang at an even more noticeable angle. In scribble that looked as much like crayons as Athos had ever seen were the words Sunflower Bakery.
He shrugged to himself as the door opened and a seemingly young woman looked at him. Her appearance couldn’t have been older than ten with dirty blond hair, green eyes, and a classic looking set of baker’s attire complete with the white, puffy hat.
Checking his map again, Athos confirmed that the waypoint for his target was indeed right in front of him. “Aver Median?”
It was more of a question than a statement, but she answered it all the same. “Would anyone else be waiting for you to open their door?” Did everyone act like this? Didn’t anyone just say hello when someone came almost knocking at their door? The look on his face must have told her everything he was thinking. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just not used to people questioning who’s right in front of them.”
“And I’m not used to getting sass from a ten-year-old,” slipped from him in response.
Her eyebrow cocked so much Athos thought that it might pop off her forehead. “Newbie?”
Athos sighed. What was he missing this time? “How does everyone instantly know?”
Her voice seemed to garner a bit of sympathy from the sass. “Getting this a lot today, Hun?”
Another sigh as his hand rubbed his forehead. There was something calming about it despite the lack of pain. “More than you know.”
“Well if you’re new, you should remember the avatar creation area. Right?” He nodded as her hands moved to open the trade window. “You can change anything about yourself. My husband and I decided to grow old together again, and here we are.”
The screen lit up again as Athos confirmed the delivery and soon watched a small amount of funds pass through into his inventory. His attention caught by the bytes. “Huh. That’s weird…”
In a single moment, all the goodwill he earned seemed to vanish as sympathy was replaced by dripping scorn. “Excuse me?”
Oblivious to her change, the alchemist shook his head as the trade screen closed. “Sorry, I’m just a little surprised at that is all.”
Her small face contorted in an anger that Athos didn’t quite understand as she carefully selected her words. “Well, I hope this doesn’t…” a slamming door punctuated the sentence well as he fell back from the impact and onto the hard pavers that made up the road. Numbers flashed again in the corner of his vision:
Damage received: 80% integrity Remaining
“Son of a bitch!” his hand rubbed against his nose. It should have been broken, but thankfully, Incipere didn’t have that particular feature. It still hurt like hell.
A depressed sigh caught itself on his lips as he pulled himself up. Less than half of what the other had given him for over twice the product. Guess there was no real going rate for deliveries. Yet another note he had to make before he did another stupid thing. His map blipped with a final delivery though, so with what he could muster, Athos rose to his feet and began walking back towards the marketplace with a new thought to process.
Never judge a book by its cover.
First, it was a pair of deer that had freaking knives coming out of their skulls. Now, he had a door slammed in his face after insulting an old… young woman. If he was going to survive other people, nature, and the world in general, it was the first thing he should take to heart. Everything in this world was data. Everything was real no matter what had or hadn’t been possible on Earth.
As if everything up to this point hadn’t taught him that yet…
A familiar bing in his ear worked him from his mindless path-finding as he came face to face with…
“Walter?”
Sure enough, a familiar bearded face turned to face him from inside of his stand. Filled with mechanical pieces and materials, the man seemed to fill the stall to bursting just like his grin. That smile nearly exploded out of the concentrated frown as he set his eyes on Athos. “Athos! What bring you around again?”
His ears binged again as he checked the map on a smaller scale. “A delivery apparently.”
“Delivery?” from the confusion in Walter’s voice, Athos had his doubts abo
ut this pinging that was now driving him mad. To his surprise though, a trade window opened in front of him for confirmation. “I didn’t order anything.”
A familiar voice piped up from behind the large man, deeper within the stall. “That’s for me, Dad.”
Walter turned to the obscured voice, and it struck home for Athos. Walter’s last name was Queen. Sally Queen must have been his daughter! “What did you need that you couldn’t buy on the market?”
“Iron pyrite,” she said simply as Athos confirmed the trade on his end and the items began to shift. “We need more solar cells for the workshop, and we can’t afford the going rate right now with Mom expecting.”
Walters hand went to his chin and stroked that long, bushy beard of his. He seemed lost in thought for the first time since Athos had met the man. “What did you give him for his work?”
Offense swelled in her voice as her hands went to her hips. “Dad!”
“I don’t want you shorting him for his work,” Walter seemed like a different man than the last time he and his daughter had a talk.
She huffed showing him her screen as her irritation grew. “A requisition for work and a few bytes.”
He looked to Athos as he clicked his inventory for the ticket looking item and brought it into his hand. “Huh, what can I requisition?”
She shrugged. “I’m a rank seven mechanist. I think we can figure something out.”
He shrugged putting the ticket back. “So you make things?”
“Make and repair,” she corrected motioning to the wagon and the stand that Walter and she were in. “I built everything here.”
“That’s pretty impressive, Sally.” A huge wagon for transport, a two-room stall for business, and all the complex looking tools and parts… impressive really wasn’t the word Athos should have been using.
She smiled all the same, nodding as she seemed to unwind a bit. “Anyway if you need something, you can use that requisition, and I’ll make it for you free of cost. Repairs, modifications, I can do pretty much anything that someone of your rank could use. It doesn’t cover materials though, so don’t expect it to stay free if you can’t get the supplies.”
