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by R J Triveri

  “Sally,” Torrent’s voice shattered the silence and had all able eyes on him as the cart began its slow descent towards its final destination.

  “What?” It wasn’t as harsh as it was direct, but all the same, he seemed slightly taken aback.

  “You know, you’re still welcomed to come visit. You’ve got friends here.”

  She turned to look at him and smiled just a bit better than before his words before her gaze went to Trina as the woman spoke. “You’re always welcomed, guildmate or not.” She smiled a bit and offered the other her hand. “We have to look out for each other. No matter where we are.”

  The mirrored sheen of the metal on her shoulders glimmered like her eyes as she mumbled a thank you under her breath.

  A few moments of silence passed before Walter drove the cart into the heart of what used to be the market district. In the darkness, little could be seen. There were no more guards, no watch, no people, and no hope of a good night’s rest before starting back for the farm. For the other two, it was looking a little grimmer. It wasn’t hard to notice that the bridge was raised.

  “Why don’t you two come back with us?” Walter offered, but Torrent only shook his head and kept his place by Trina.

  “Thanks, but no, somethings not right here.”

  “Where are the Guardians?” Trina asked looking around as some rubble shifted nearby.

  “Probably following the Suits,” Torrent shrugged. “If I were them, I would have cleared out too when my branch’s leader went full-on Wild.”

  “Makes about as much sense as everything else,” Trina said with a sigh before turning back to Walter. “Thank you for everything.”

  He grinned a sad, silly grin and nodded. “Anything you and your friend there need, just ask. I owe you a debt for keeping my daughter safe.”

  Because he couldn’t repay the person he owed, Sally thought to herself watching her new friends dismount from the cart and start their walk towards the raised bridge. “For what it’s worth, I kept them safe too.”

  Turning quickly as if remembering something important, Trina opened her trade window for Sally. “And it’s worth at least this,” she said putting the victory statue in it and confirming the trade. “To remember us by.”

  She nodded, accepted, and thanked the woman for the gift. “I’ll see you guys soon.”

  “Are you two sure I can’t convince you to come stay with us tonight?” Walter added as they started to turn away.

  Trina shook her head. “I have some hunting to do. I have to follow the Guardians and find someone. If I wait too long, I’ll lose their trail.”

  Sally wanted to ask more, but the anger and sadness in her friend’s eyes told her otherwise. “I understand.”

  “She won’t be alone,” Torrent said with a smile. “After what we’ve been through, how could I leave her to fend for herself?” He turned his attention to his leader again. “Besides, Allen and Ran will join us this time. They can’t say no to going after Diz.”

  “Speaking of… I wonder what they’ve been up to?” Her words lingered like an afterthought for a moment before she turned her attention back to Sally. “Will you be okay?”

  “I’ve survived worse,” She said from the back of the cart. “Just keep in touch, okay?”

  “Sure thing.”

  How was Torrent always able to make someone smile? Sally wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t argue that it was making her feel a bit better. “Will you be back for the festival?”

  The two looked at each other unsure of an answer before Trina spoke. “We’ll try.”

  “Yeah, if we can, Sally, we will. If anything, we’ll at least start a chat.”

  It was all she could really ask for from them, so she was content with the result. They did have their own lives to lead. “Just watch out for each other.”

  “We will,” Trina said sternly as torrent turned to walk away. “You two, too.”

  “Thanks again for looking out for her. If you’re by the ranch out west of here, stop in and they’ll always be a place for you in the barn.”

  Whether or not he was serious, they would never know as the Moon’s Aura and the cart parted ways leaving the other to their own devices: one to guard their homestead, the other to return to it.

  The Starlight Festival

  Two weeks had passed since the last time Sally had seen the two on that dark night. No word came, no message was sent, and there was no contact with anyone other than her father and her mother. At least, no one else until her sister was born. A few days after Sally had gotten home, her sister was brought into the world. Bright purple hair with eyes to match, Emily wasn’t one to be trifled with when she wanted something. Though she would have a long way to go until she reached her first life milestone to become a toddler, Sally saw a lot of potential in the girl. It didn’t hurt that while Sally was with her she forgot so much of the outside world.

  Not that there wasn’t work to be done, but without her talents as a mechanist, a lot fell back on her father and the work he could hire. Even that, she owed to Athos. The crops he had helped her father plant had ripened and were selling at a premium. Even without his additional perks, they were able to keep the plants growing and happy in the greenhouses. Sitting in her room, staring at the victory statue they had earned, she couldn’t help but think about anything she could have done differently.

  “Sally?” The voice was soft as Sandra opened the door a bit. Her eyes scanned the room to find her daughter sitting in her chair by the window with her work desk to her back.

  She cocked her head back to look at her mother. “Yeah, Mom?”

  The lantern kit still sat on her desk unopened. “If you want to go to the festival tonight, you’re going to need to get a move on.”

  “I know.”

  On her desk sat the traditional items for the Starlight Festival: A pen, a sealed, star-bordered envelope, a lantern set, and a simple inkwell full of star-light ink. She had long since finished her letter but couldn’t bring herself to finish putting the set together. Despite the fact it had no skill level set on its construction, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. To her, it was still a sore spot. Not to mention the thought of what would happen to that letter. Unum worked in mysterious ways though.

  “Do you need help?”

  She shook her head. “No, just dragging my feet.”

  Taking that as an invitation, Sandra pushed the door completely open. Wearing her armor for the first time in months, her mother was an imposing figure. From head to hilt, she was dressed in armor that Torrent would have killed for. In the back of her mind, Sally always wondered about what her mother did to earn that kind of armor. She never talked much about what it took to be a gladiator. With her own class clothing packed away, all she had was her cotton shirt and jeans. Good, comfortable, easy to move in, it was perfect for someone just starting out as an adventurer. “You know this is the only chance you only get the chance to talk to Unum.”

  She sighed slumping back in her chair in a show of defiance. “It’s not Unum reads them all.”

  “The Unum started the festival, Sally. Why wouldn’t he read them all?”

  She sighed. “Because bad things still happen and giving someone a weapon with unlimited integrity and a fire enchantment is a stupid idea.”

  Sandra chuckled at that and made her armor clink softly with the movements of her torso. “Remember how Tim lit himself on fire thinking that he knew how to use it?”

  The young factotum smiled a bit as the air from the opened window brushed her hair to the side. “At least he couldn’t fight you that night.”

  Her mother smiled all the same and patted the sword sheathed at her side. “It would have been an easy win anyways, love.”

  She nodded, sat back up, turned back to her desk, and brought the box closer towards her. “When do you leave?”

  “Right after sundown,” Sandra answered with a bit of disappointment. “Apparently they can’t bring in the numbers like th
ey used to without me. Sandra the Scarlet Blade is making her return tonight for the Starlight Invitational, and they’ve already sold out.”

  “So, Dad won’t be coming either.”

  Sandra shrugged as she sat on Sally’s bed, enjoying the breeze of the open window. “Emily is too young to go out without a steady stream of supplies. Would you really trust your dad to remember to take enough food and diapers for the entire night? Amazing as he is, he would forget his source code if it wasn’t constantly part of him.” Sally snickered a bit at that as her mother tapped the side pouch of her armor. “Besides, my new contract includes travel keys. I’ll be back as soon as the fight is over for the night.” She opened her inventory and handed one of the keys to her daughter. “Two-way trips are better than one, just put it in the door, say where you want to go…”

  “I know, Mom,” Sally interrupted taking the key, then instantly regretting her own tone. “Sorry.”

  “You know you aren’t too old for me to bend you over my knee,” her mother warned before getting up with a smile still on her face. “Use some of those bytes you’ve been earning with your father too. Play some games, meet some people, visit that guild your father won’t stop sending supplies to when he thinks I’m not watching the inbox. Stop sticking around here all cooped up on the farm.”

  “Mom…”

  “They’ll be fine without a factotum around,” Sandra assured. “Maybe you’ll win that firework plan you’ve been wanting this year, and even if you don’t, the scribes should be littering the city by now. Find a few skill books so you can get back to what you do best, Sally. Live a little.”

  As her mother got up to leave, Sally thought of what she said and almost meekly added, “I’ll need some more bytes if I’m going to get enough skill books to make up for not having dual class.”

  Her mother’s smile turned a little more vulpine as she looked her daughter over before opening her trade window. “Keep that up and the vendors won’t let you play this year, again.”

  With more bytes to her name than ever before, Sally grinned an ominous grin. “I was a mechanist then. They shouldn’t have given me the plans to build the machines.”

  “They won’t make that mistake again,” her mother assured as she approached the door. Her armor clicked with each step as she turned into the hall. “Just have fun, Sally.”

  “I’ll try.”

  With that, her mother was gone. She got up, closed the door, and opened the screen to her lantern building project. Assembling it piece by piece on the screen, she was careful to make each angle perfect and each balloon stitch perfect. With her mind so engrossed, it wouldn’t be long before it was finished.

  ****

  “You are ready,” a beaming voice said as the skies opened above and below them.

  “Are you sure, Unum?” The stars lit themselves brighter with each of her words as night fell across the frontier lands and crept across the plains and mountains towards the larger settlements and cities.

  “Do not doubt yourself. This is the night the world meets you.”

  She was nervous. Her hands shook, her body felt like it contained less data and more nervous fire than ever before. “As you wish, Unum.”

  “Then prepare to greet your people, Auxi.”

  With his words passing by, Ferris began to sing the stars to a brilliant life. The festival, her festival, had begun.

  ****

  Sound assaulted Sally’s ears as soon as the door to Oenus opened. The night was already darkening and the stars were brilliant as they always were. The people and city were more alive than ever in the newly expanded, newly repaired city that surrounded them. Carts of books, scrolls, and foods all around tried to catch her attention as she walked, and to her biggest surprise, at least two hundred dryads from the forest were keeping guard around the city. The factotum made a mental note to check any leads on it later as she closed the door and put the key back in her inventory.

  Which reminded her… another swipe of her fingers and she was looking at the floating lamp she had assembled. The little toy made her feel more like herself than anything else in the past two weeks. Working with her hands just reminded her of the good times. A moment later, the inventory window closed. She didn’t want to become too attached to it. It’d be Unum’s soon.

  It always amazed her how so many merchants could afford proxy shops in so many places as she walked between one stall and another. Being over a hundred places at once boggled her mind. Sometimes, she had a hard enough time paying attention to just two people around her, but as long as the proxies kept the stock up, no one would complain a few void faces and uncooperative negotiations.

  Sally moved from one stall to another checking for the best deals until she found herself with three new skill books from local guild vendors. The culinary book wasn’t too rare and only had cost her two hundred bytes. The other two only made her grin despite her nearly zero balance. A tinker’s and herbalist’s guide bound in soft red leather had cost her almost the entire three thousand that she had left. Even if they couldn’t compare to a real mechanic or apothecary’s abilities, it would be enough to let her help around the house again. Given enough time and luck, she could even learn to refine the Nightblooms into all sorts of things.

  Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even notice when an older woman yelled at her from the stalls. “Sally, dear! Come back for another go?”

  She turned her head and groaned. The only game she couldn’t beat last year… “You know it, Sara!”

  Magic Monkeys would pay for humiliating her last year!

  ****

  Ferris had always loved this festival. All around her, a sphere of screens showed her every city in vivid detail. The vendors were selling their unique wares, games were being played, and people were happy! Well, most people, she soon noted. As the clock neared midnight, the lanterns were getting ready for launch. More and more were gathering at every town center across Incipere. Suddenly, Ferris realized there was one thing she didn’t know.

  “Unum, how do you know who deserves it?”

  The disembodied voice was simply in its answer. “Random number generation.”

  “You’re joking.”

  “I don’t joke, Auxi. It’s the only fair way.”

  Really? The thought jumped inside of her skull as she seemed almost disgusted. She wouldn’t do that. She was Ferris Auxi, System Administrator, and she would be everything that she knew the people hoped for. With only five chances to prove herself tonight, she had to make them count.

  ****

  “Couldn’t find a good illusionist this year, Sara?

  Magic Monkeys had nothing to stop the factotum from crushing them into dust this year. The tweaks were predictable, the camouflaging skill was sub-par, and they were just too slow. Whoever had done Sara’s work this year, she overpaid in Sally’s mind.

  “Fine, take your prize,” the woman said handing her one of the event grab bags. “but ten’s the limit. Get going.”

  Sally simply grinned and added it to the pile in her inventory. “But I’m not done yet.”

  “You’re done. Get!” Sara said making a sweeping motion with her hands. “I’ve got more customers tonight than just you, and tell your parents hello for me. I’ll be by tomorrow to see the little one.”

  “Not until after lunch. She’s a siren until then,” her rival warned as she parted ways and opened her windows to check the time. With midnight fast on the approach, she picked up her feet and moved from the market district into the island-like area of center Oenus.

  “Bye!”

  Sally only took a moment to return a wave before high tailing it to where she needed to go.

  By Lantern's Light

  Time was ticking away slowly as Sally began to carefully wade through the crowds of adults and children as they set up their floating lanterns. The center of the road was out of the question, the sides were packed with spectators, and things were looking out of sorts as she searched fo
r a place to launch from. Every second brought more people materializing their lanterns back to life to crowd the streets. There had to be a place she could go. The city center was out, guild road was crowded beyond that, windows were open everywhere, and it was looking as though she’d have to wait till the first wave had passed.

  “Sally!” The voice wasn’t familiar and drew her attention. “Sally Queen, right?”

  “And who are you?” The face wasn’t one she readily recognized either, but the uniqueness brought her attention to the person’s identity. Carmel wasn’t a common skin tone in Oenus, “You’re the innkeeper at The Sunset’s Rest, right?”

  She nodded, “Sammi Lase.” Lase… the name lingered on Sally’s mind for a moment as she tried to make the connection. “Torrent’s my brother...”

  Torrent’s sister? Well, that wasn’t quite what she had expected from the look of her. Then again, how could she have known after meeting the kid maybe twice in her life and her brother once? “He never mentioned a sister.”

  “He also said you could be a bit of an ass,” Sammi pointed out with a rather smug grin, “so let’s both prove him wrong.” Her face bloomed into a wide smile as she continued to play off Sally’s surprise. “You look a little lost.”

  The factotum had more questions than she cared to admit but shook them free before she had a chance to be offensive to the girl. “I’m in a bit busy.”

  She nodded pointing down the street. “Come on, I’ve got the best spot in Oenus.”

  “I can…”

  “Do you want to get your lantern off or not. Because if you don’t, keep wandering around, Sally.”

  She was stunned. “How did you even find me.”

  “I make it my business to keep an eye on things,” she said simply. “It didn’t hurt that Sara told me you were running this way either.”