* * *

Ilyelanralo had the Saga envoy and his party ensconced as best he could in his waiting room, offering them refreshments and attempting his best to find out what they wanted. The proved rather recalcitrant beyond seeking the Eccentric. When the Eccentric did arrive, the envoy stepped forward with quite the humble disposition that had Ilyelanralo’s eyebrows leaping high on his forehead.

“Great Eccentric. We seek learn from you, if you are willing.”

The Eccentric babbled back at them in a strange rolling sing song voice that was obviously gibberish and the envoy seemed taken aback.

“Excuse me, Eccentric? I did not understand you.”

The reply was just as nonsensical as the first, and the Envoy seemed to grow frustrated, “You were more than capable of speaking before. We know this from Priest Kukurnal amongst many others. Why do you mock us now?”

The Eccentric’s smile seem to shift slightly but he still spoke in a way that seemed polite, if meaningless. The envoy did not seem to find it humorous, however, and stared at Joe with some anger.

“We would be more than willing to offer what you ask, if you seek it.”

The Eccentric nodded and replied again, but with a serious look.

The envoy took it as a sign of consideration and smiled, ingratiatingly, “If you would be will to…” the envoy then paused and glanced back at Ilyelanralo and around the room at the guards before snapping his gaze back to the Eccentric.

The Eccentric frowned, and replied back with a certain shortness, an upset in his long response before he finally simply turned to leave. Ilyelanralo quickly beckoned to the guard in front of Joe and the guard responded immediately, halting the Eccentric with a gesture before pointing him to return to his place and stand before the envoy.

The envoy grimaced to see the Eccentric’s actions, so turned his attentions to Ilyelanralo, “Remove yourself and all your men from the room. This matter is private.”

Ilyelanralo struggled to keep a pleasant look on his face as he considered his options. High up in the Saga priesthood at least… Ilyelanralo cursed his weak position but then waved at all the guards in the room as he quickly accepted the priest’s demand.

“Out. Everyone out. Give the Saga party privacy.”

Ilyelanralo stepped from the room and fidgeted outside, deeply curious but fearful to offend a temple.

* * *

As envoy for this delegation sent to speak with the Eccentric of Coushar, he found his position deteriorating in a way that was remarkably quick. The Eccentric proved incredibly recalcitrant, despite that Priest of Knowledge’s advice. The priest Kukurnal seemed quite wrong about the easy nature of the Eccentric. Maybe something a bit more firm… with the option of a benefit.

“My dear Eccentric. I do not wish to be crude, but you hardly find yourself in a good place. Please, help us and we might be able to offer help in turn.”

The Eccentric replied with a flat tone, a long meaningless eruption of sounds. The envoy struggled to control his anger, his teeth grinding against one another. Is he obtuse? Does he not know his position?

“You seem to think this some kind of joke! You are not in a position to bargain. Give us the secret to rapid power, and we will consider reciprocating in kind.”

The Eccentric growled out an angry reply and the envoy allowed his rage to color his face, his smirk fully forming.

“A simply command and you could not resist. Find good will where you can, foolish Eccentric.”

The angry reply quickly became a raging rejection, the Eccentric’s face shifting to one of mockery and the Envoy bit back an angry retort.

“You are a fool! We will buy you and you will do what we command.”

The man barked in laughter and shook his head before marching from the room and the Envoy stared in disbelieving shock as a slave marched away from him.

“Stop! Wait! You cannot leave. You must stay and…”

The man opened the door and marched from the room in a rage before being stopped by the slave master of this slave training grounds. The slave Eccentric marched back into the room with the slave master and sullenly stood to the side, waiting. The slave master came up to him.

“It seems there are difficulties. How may I be of service, one of Saga?”

The envoy settled, mollified by the slave master’s good behavior, but still miffed by the Eccentric, “Give us the Eccentric. We will pay as you will.”

“Ah. I am sorry, one of Saga. I cannot. This one is not for sale and it is not mine.”

The envoy stared at the slave master for a moment, eyes searching the slave master’s before nodding in acceptance, “If he were to be misplaced, then…”

The slave master immediately understood, grinning with some excitement at the soon wealth before grimacing, “My apologies, one of Saga. This one is not mine to … misplace. I would not be able to misplace him… appropriately.”

The Saga priest blinked then curled his lips in frustration, “Who would we need to contact?”

“The Patriarch of the Galgandar clan. A small clan in the ci…”

The envoy cut off the slave master with some frustration, snapping at him, “Yes. We know. Patriarch of the Galgandar and guardian of the city of Coushar.”

The slave master seemed surprised but nodded, “Yes, one of Saga.”

The envoy struggled to keep his face neutral but cursed himself for revealing the news to the slave master. He simply nodded and turned to leave, calling up of his delegation and waving them from the room.

“We will return soon. Have him prepared.”

“Ah… that may prove quite difficult.”

The envoy turned to look at the slave master with narrowed eyes, “Do not seek to gain from this, slave master.”

“No, truly not. But the Eccentric is stubborn and still has not broken.”

The envoy’s smile grew, “He does not need to be broken.”

“Yes, envoy of Saga,” the slave master bowed and did not rise again.

The envoy took his people and left.

The Eccentric did not leave quite as peacefully, shouting wildly in anger at all of them as he left. Ilyelanralo found himself conflicted. He found himself hoping that the envoy of Saga would take him off his hands, but then found his fist clenching at the idea that he’d have failed to break the man. His left eye began to twitch uncontrollably.

* * *

Some time later, maybe days, maybe weeks, Joe wasn’t certain, he found a young boy in his tent when he woke. The young boy had cuddled up against his body seeking warmth and when Joe found the kid there, he struggled to keep himself calm, already frustrated to be bothered by another. He stared at the sleeping kid for a time before rising and simply ignoring him but to drape the blanket across him.

He returned to his desk and his work, now closer than ever to completing the next pyramidal construct. He would have finished it yesterd… Yesterday? Was it yesterday? Bothered by the financial backers? Or was it… Joe dismissed his thoughts, unconcerned. Time doesn’t matter… just the finished product!

He looked at the kid then ignored him once again. Muster was called, Joe went, surprised to find a bunch of kids now standing in the mustering yard as well. There were about one for each slave, but Joe didn’t care to check or verify, only growing more impatient to return to his work. When muster ended, all others when to the mines and Joe ignored them, heading to his tent.

Soon, time began passing in a blur again, nothing really new occurring. The kid seemed to stick around, but usually was at the mines with the others throughout the day, until suddenly he wasn’t. Joe ignored it ‘cause the kid remained silent the entire time and he cared not because the kid did nothing to interrupt his efforts.

Soon, four more components gathered in his inventory next to the first and he could feel the end in sight. Just a bit more… soon…

* * *

The boy looked up at the man. The man was strange. He was very strange. He made strange figures and carved weird boxes. He also acted strange. But there was more; something the boy could not understand. The man smelled funny, if it was a smell. The boy still wasn’t certain it was a smell. Maybe it was something else? A feeling? Something strange, but it was only this man. But it didn’t matter. The man shared and was kind. The only thing the boy could not do was touch the toys or strange table. Even then, the man had not struck him. So he liked staying here.

The other kids had to go to the dungeons; all of them did. He had to, too, at first. But then the guards told him to stay in the tent with the strange man. They told him to walk with the strange man. But the man never walked. Sometimes he did. He would go to the forest and punch a tree. Then the tree would fall. Then he would bring back a piece of the tree. Sometimes, the strange man would search the ground for hours for something. Then he would bring it back. Sometimes the man would go to the resource dungeon and bring back some red or yellow rocks. Then he would put them in the fire.

They would glow in the fire for a little bit. Then the man would take them out. Then he would leave them on the desk. After awhile, they stopped glowing when they were on his desk. Then the man would do something with them. The man was strange. But the man was nice. He never hit him. He never took his food. He never took his blanket. He even gave him an extra blanket. The man was weird. But he liked the man.

* * *

Joe was working on his fifth piece, one of the trickier pieces requiring wiring and electronics. Not his forte in any sense of the word, but his blueprints were clear, just as his vision, and he knew exactly what he would get. Just follow the plans! The plans are clear!

Joe had all the components he needed, having already gathered them the last couple days. This morning’s muster was already done, and he hoped that he would be able to complete the fifth piece today. It was a small one and needed little, but the components for it were rather rare and he’d taken a bit of time to gather them. Now, if there were no other interruptions, he hoped he could complete it by this evening, although it would likely be quite late. Then I’ll be over half done! The grin that came to his face was one of relief and belief. I can do this… heh… I can do this. The hard parts already done!

His hand reached out and grabbed his next component and settled it into its place. This one proved a bit finicky and a few grunts and bitten off curses escaped his lips before he finally had it settled in place correctly. He kept his eyes on the piece, cautiously holding it place. Any little shift could undo much of his work and he kept his eye and one hand firmly on keeping the piece balanced. His other hand reached across to search for his next component and found nothing. He frowned. I created more than enough! There should be…

He brought his other hand back to steady the device before looking over and finding the desk empty. His frown turned to consternation and some anger before he suddenly saw the boy standing by his side, looking up at him. In one hand, he held a collection of rocks, but the other was held up to him holding a piece. His eyes glanced from the rocks to what the boy was holding up for him in his other hand and blinked. That’s a ro… the component! Anger swelled then hiccupped, swirling in confusion as he noticed the boy staring up at him with serious effort. He kept his eye on the boy and carefully held out his hand. The boy dropped the component in his hand and he nodded. The boy smiled softly up at him and Joe turned back to his device, fitting the component in cautiously.

When he needed the next, he simply held out his hand and felt another drop into his hand. When he pulled it up, he found it exactly what he needed. He turned to look at the boy and smiled before returning to his creation. The rest of the day passed even quicker as the boy proved rather ingenious, passing to him exactly what he needed or wanted every time.

There were a few times the kid failed, but Joe would simply put the wrong component down on the table and hold out his hand. Invariably, the second was always right and Joe found having a lab assistant rather pleasant, the boy’s silence and intelligence a great boon for his work.

That day, Joe finished rather quickly and was able to enjoy an early bedtime. Joe fell asleep with a small smile on his face.

* * *

The next day found Joe preparing for his next component, only four left to complete. This one also proved rather simple, and heading out into the various storage facilities or even visiting a store or two proved a boon, and Joe was able to gather much of what he needed. There would be few modifications needed to complete this component, but it still took some time. Joe wasn’t sure exactly how many days, it felt like a week, not much more. The boy once again proved a boon, finding the components he was looking for with ease and wisdom that belied his age. Towards the end, Joe was sharing his blueprints with the boy and pointing out what was needed, the boy responding with honest focus and intention. The two week process of gathering their parts, ordering, or scouring the shelves of storage or his workshop was cut to what felt like a week and Joe found his lab assistant to be a true benefit once again.

Time passed again and Joe wasn’t sure of how many days did pass. Still, his work proved engrossing and he punched through the plans rather quickly but it still took days. The days were punctuated with the morning muster but otherwise all bled into each other as Joe got closer and closer to completing the sixth piece. When the piece was done, he found a sort of peace that was unusual, reminding him of long ago. He slept well that night.

The next morning started as usual, with Joe rising early with the boy stirring but not rising until a good hour later. Joe got a lot of work done in that hour, but mostly spent it looking over his blue prints preparing for the seventh component. There wasn’t a lot of time till the mustering and he didn’t really want to have to interrupt his work. He went out with the boy before the mustering was even called, arriving just as it was called. He sighed, pushing off his impatience. Just wait… it’s worth it. The morning meetings are always annoying but it placates the boss. I won’t be bothered after.

The mustering yard filled, the slaves filling in their positions on the left side while all the children filled in a smaller yet identical version to the right. Soon, the yard was filled and the big boss came out to start the meeting. Finally. Let’s get this farce done. Things started well enough, then quickly went off the rail and Joe closed his eyes with frustration, struggling to withhold his annoyance. Another team building exercise? Seriously? Just… let us go to work! Some tools necessary for the team building exercise were passed around to every adult on the field while the kids to the right were all called to stand with and before one of the people surrounding Joe. As luck would have it, Joe found himself with his lab assistant standing directly in front of him. A soft murmur rose amongst the other slaves while a soft smile hit his face.

* * *

“Some of you still do not understand your place; your position. It is vital that you learn this, and so: children slaves, do not move. Adult slaves, obey this order: slice the throat of the child in front of you.”

Ilyelanralo smiled benevolently, awaiting for the inevitable results. Some still could not understand their positions as tools for their master. They were to be used, not to feel. The sooner they understood their position as tools, the quicker they could finally accept their purpose and new identity. He watched on and hid a grimace as this group proved more recalcitrant than any before, most still showing inappropriate and foolish concern for anything but the order of their master as tears welled with their eyes.

Every slave upon the field reached up with the dagger in their hands and slid it across the child in front of them. The child in front of them began balling and shaking wildly, struggling against the order that held them frozen and almost every man screamed in rage or moaned with horror as their arms rose without their consent and bled out the child in front of them.

Ilyelanralo kept his placid smile on his face and began walking up and down the field of men, “You must learn. You are a tool to do exactly as your master demands. You are to be exactly that and no more. Your thoughts, feelings, or concerns are impotent and even an impediment to your place as a tool. You cannot allow such things to having any bearing or affect upon you. You are to work at the behest and demand of your master.”

Ilyelanralo ended and turned back to find the field full of blood and corpses but for one. The Eccentric’s sacrifice was still alive, standing before and ready to be sacrificed, still frozen by the original command. Ilyelanralo’s grin grew feral as he walked forward and stared at the Eccentric.

“Many of you believe that the Eccentric has found some way to resist or defeat the training of the slave guild. I assure you, he has not. Maybe you see his sacrifice still alive and well before him and believe he has been able to defeat our command. No, he has not.

“He needs to learn his place. He needs to learn his impotence. And today, he shall. You see,” Ilyelanralo turned from staring at the Eccentric to looking at the others crowding the field, tears streaming down almost all their faces, “Hope long nurtured is the most brittle when it is broken, and today you will see a man broken. Be wise, and be certain that you will not become such as this one, for a broken man such as you will soon see will have nothing left of his mind. He will be shattered. Think long and carefully of this and wonder if you wish to be broken, or if you wish to have at least some semblance of yourself after this.”

Ilyelanralo turned his gaze back to the Eccentric and came upon him. As he came closer, Ilyelanralo got a closer look at his face and his certain smile faltered. The Eccentric was still resolute in his rage. Ilyelanralo stiffened his resolve. He will break today.

“The Eccentric believes he has somehow escaped. Eccentric slave collar, grasp the dagger.”

The Eccentric grasped the dagger with his hand, but didn’t seem to recognize what was happening yet as Ilyelanralo continued, “You also seem to believe that the Eccentric has proven extraordinarily resilient or brilliant in his efforts. I would beg to differ. He has proven his foolishness. Slave collar of Eccentric, raise the Eccentric’s dagger hand up and place the dagger at the throat of the sacrifice without causing harm to the sacrifice.”

The Eccentric’s hand rose and slid into position, the dagger came to rest against the sacrifice’s throat, pressed against it but not drawing even a single bead of blood. Ilyelanralo simply stared at the Eccentric, waiting. Just a moment. Yes… give him time. He will see. He will become aware of his arm, his han…. Ahhh, there it is! The Eccentric’s eyes glanced down as if he suddenly understood and recognized that his body had been working against his will. When he saw where his hand and the dagger was, shock flooded his face then rage, then impotent fury as the man tried to remove his hand from the dagger, or at least tried to move the dagger from the throat of the sacrifice.

“At last, he understands. And now, today, at last, you will all understand,” Ilyelanralo moved away from the Eccentric and began to walk up and down the row of all the slaves, “Slaves, attend me, eyes upon mine.”

All the slaves’ eyes and faces snapped to look up at him and he began this crucial lesson, “You cannot be free. You will never be free. You will always do exactly as you are told. You will always be exactly where your master desires. You will be simply an extension of their will. You may choose to keep your mind, or you may choose to shatter like glass under the impossibility of your freedom. Choose what you wish today, for today, you will see a man shatter. Slave collar of the Eccentric, slice the dagger across the throat of the sacrifice, slowly.”

When Ilyelanralo turned to look back at the Eccentric, he was not looking at his hand nor was he looking at the sacrifice as he slowly began to bleed out, struggling to remain standing as blood gushed down the throat and chest of the sacrifice until finally, what energy the sacrifice had left fled him and he collapsed to the floor. But the Eccentric did not watch the boy or his hand or the collapse of the sacrifice. The Eccentric stared at him with a burning rage so brilliant that for a moment, just a moment, Ilyelanralo felt a terrifying power and quailed in unqualified terror. It was only a moment, though, and he quickly returned his face to placid loving smile, certainty restored.

* * *

Joe raged with a fury that burned through him in a way that broke thought. He remembered. He remembered everything: the killing of the other slaves’ pets, then the killing of these children, even the beatings and wild pain he suffered for the past several weeks, and he raged! He knew he’d been panning something brilliant, building something that would make a vital difference, bring about a change that would enlighten the entire world, but rage overwhelmed any concern within his mind as he simply roared, incomprehensible sound carrying only raging emotion without words or meaning but carried only pain and rage.

He marched back to his tent with a thunderous march, hard, unwavering, yet unstoppable despite the relatively slow pace he set. He walked into his tent and looked at the ridiculous rickety table and poor stool in the corner of his tent then glanced at the pile of trash next to the tent flap full of sticks, stones, and odd strange things he’d collected over the past weeks. He knew they were precious, that they were important to completing some kind of task, but all he felt was rage. And deep within the rage, another rage responded.

Don’t let this stop you! They are out to get you! Ignore it!

He noticed nothing and felt nothing. Rage so great it covered everything and all he felt was its existence without end or boundary.

They’re just trying to stop you! Don’t let this vision die!

Joe’s rage railed, swelling outward and swamping the thought, and soon he was marching out of the tent and straight towards the dungeons. He chose the second, the resource dungeon meaningless and not useful to. He thundered down the stairs and into a room barely larger than a typical bedroom. The walls were made of stone and there was no other door but the one he entered. Lining the bottom of the walls were small rounded holes of varying heights no higher than his knees. Some of the smallest ones barely were taller and wider than his big toe.

Out from the walls came a swarm of what Joe might consider rats, small and large, and Joe vented his rage, marching around the room with great stomping strides as he crushed rat after rat beneath his shoes and care for nothing else. The smallest looked like mice, the larger a bit like rats, but once they got to the largest size about knee height, it became obvious they were not exactly rats, but Joe didn’t notice nor did he care!

The larger rats required hands on effort and Joe through himself into it with jubilee, smashing down upon backs with a foot while grasping heads in hands and wrenching hard around and up, leaving them behind to die of snapped necks. But even that was not visceral enough for his rage as he stormed the room and slaughtered all he could find. But nothing satisfied him. And soon his stamina began to flag, sweat flowing from his body as he grew hotter, steaming in the damp cool of the subterranean room. But he didn’t stop. He killed and killed and killed and killed. And in his mind, between his fingers and grasped within his claws was the grandfatherly face of a smiling Ilyelanralo.

When he finally dragged himself from the dungeon, he came out to see the slave master staring at him and he almost turned around to return to his rampage. He froze and stared at Ilyelanralo without moving, grinding his teeth, a feral smile started to form but he ground it down. The man was a rabid beast, nothing more, and he need to be put down. Nothing else mattered.

Joe turned away and marched to his room. It was time to sleep and then prepare for the morrow.

* * *

Ilyelanralo watched as the Eccentric exited the dungeon and cursed. He is not broken. Ilyelanralo grit his teeth in frustration and only allowed his bitter smile to rise after the Eccentric had fled to his tent. Why do you make me do this? Do you think I enjoy this so much? Accept your fate. Accept your position. Do not bring this woe upon yourself. You have no one to blame but yourself, fool! Stop resisting.

With a sigh, Ilyelanralo walked back to his villa and struggled to ignore the slight chill in the air. It was odd, there never was a chill in the air, but he wasn’t certain where else it could have come from.

* * *

Joe woke the next morning and suddenly had a struggle, a moment of double vision shuddering across his sight as two different environments warred for control over his sight. In one, a rickety table, stool, and a pile of detritus by the tent flap dominated a poor dirt floor room with a brazier in the middle of the room. In another, an intricate drafting table with plush office chair and rows of well stocked shelves graced a beautiful workshop. Joe blinked, struggled, and suddenly collapsed.

* * *

Joe woke again, moaning in pain. Am I sick… not good… not good to have a sick day. Gotta complete my vision… my prototy… wait… what? What proto…

No! You must complete your prototype. Do not the fools blind to progress act against you! They fear you and act only out of jealousy! Complete your project.

Joe groaned, a deep pain within his head welling up as he felt the mother of all migraines forming. What is goi…

* * *

Too much to do! Gotta… don’t slack… ignore the pain! I can do this… I need… Joe’s eyes opened blearily and searched his workshop from the small trundle bed he had in the corner. He wheezed, pain squeezing his skull in a vice and he dropped back down. Maybe… I need rest… can’t affor…

Don’t let incompetence cripple you! You cannot wait! They jealousy of your rivals will destroy your dream!

Ugh… Joe rolled over and looked around his workshop, finding all as it should, then frowned. Where’s my lab assistant? He should… Memories began to swell then were violently quelled for a moment before something shown through.

The fools are trying to cripple you! Firing your assistant and making you incapable of completing your genius!

Rage quickly swelled and the memory of having his assistant fired along with a half a dozen others due to ‘corporate cultural fit and downsizing’ roiled his emotions for a moment before he sighed and turned his anger to a more appropriate avenue. Morons… trying to undercut my genius… to cripple my work. Do they think such a thing would even stop me? Fools!

Joe moaned and stood. Only two more components. I need to make my sixth, then the final seventh on… ninth… Ninth? Nine? Nine… Nine? Seven. Nine? Seven… Nin… Seven left. Yes. Seven to complete my project. My sixth component is vital. I’ll need to scour the shops and possibly complete some of my own custom parts to… Joe blinked and he looked over at his shop inventory shelves and frowned. No… I have all I need! I need mor… have all of the components. Yeah… now I remember.

He quickly pulled what he needed from the shelves and brought the necessary components to his desk. While he had all the components, the time to completion was going to take a bit of time, and Joe would probably suffer with this migraine and slow him down slightly, but he should be done in months… weeks… weeks… a … a week… a week… less… a week. Done in a week, easily. Joe grinned and turned to his work.

* * *

Ilyelanralo grit his teeth in rage. The Eccentric had proven resilient and even ignored muster today. He stared out across the field and saw the bitter rage of many falsely ignited under the belief that the Eccentric had somehow proven him wrong. He schooled his face and offered his lesson for the day, but it fell upon deaf ears, and Ilyelanralo knew he had to do something about the Eccentric. The plan… is not enough… it must be accelerated for the others, but the Eccentric… this calls for an emergency action.

* * *

Joe fell asleep exhausted, excited to have returned to his work, jittery with manic energy. That said, his pain and exhaustion had slowed his work significantly, and he wasn’t even able to complete a meaningful measure of his sixth component. The rest was much needed and while he never even felt or noticed it, dead to the world as he was, his body desperately needed it and recuperated significantly. It didn’t last long.

Masked covered assailants obviously executing some form of corporate or national espionage assaulted him, waking him in the dead of night. He found himself woken with a hand pressed to his mouth and a bunch of people holding down his arms and legs. There was nothing he could do to fight as his arms and legs were held down with iron bands that essentially left him trapped. What followed was torture for almost the entire night until he fell asleep, exhausted.

* * *

Weeks now turned to months and Gwenvair had finally settled her people in some form of semi-permanent homes. They also had found a place for the dungeon that Joe had offered her and erected a wall and kill box for any dungeon breaks. Given the miniscule nature of the dungeon, Gwenvair feared little for it, but it was still wise to be prepared. Around the meadow, new roads had formed and small wooden shacks had formed rather quickly alongside the foundations of a more permanent and better constructed home. She’d also instituted a plane for growth, driving into the dungeon daily with the others and spending half a day developing her jobs with the others. Her diligence saw her pass through commoner jobs in an ever increasing flash, then on to metropolitan and citizen jobs before she crashed into the education jobs. And just as Joe had promised, her capability of growing her jobs exploded. So, she continued her growth, spending the morning with the other four then giving the afternoon to the rest of the community.

The rest of the afternoon was spent practicing and developing her reading and writing, and reveling in being able to understand her system. With the available skills and available jobs pages revealing almost everything she needed to know in developing herself, her skills, and future jobs, she could now understand how Joe found the effort trivial. She still struggled to understand the impact of learning, the math behind it all still blocked from her as a skill, but when she brought it up to a fellow clanner who had invested in the mathematician job, the woman grew both shocked and manically agitated in wonder at what Joe had uncovered. It was within just days that the woman returned with a detailed and awe inspiring plan, pointing out what she called ‘exponential’ growth, claiming that the speed of her growth would only grow faster and faster.

Gwenvair grew even more certain of Joe’s knowledge and plans, and implemented it amongst her people as well, sending in small teams to clear out the dungeon in pairs and triplets, driving them towards the education jobs via the commoner jobs. She’d needed to take a short tangent to unlock the partier job, something that still rather shocked her with the ease she’d been able to get it. Once she was able to put people in groups, she made sure noncombatants were paired with a combatant, driving the people straight through to the education jobs before shifting them to one combat job then pairing them up with noncombatants or shifting the previous combatants into the commoner jobs and driving them up towards the education line as quickly as possible as well.

During all this, the fleeing citizens of Coushar that had returned to Coushar to pack up came only about a week after, escorted by the four guards she’d left behind. The new members scattered across the meadow and formed began preparing their homes as well, although they set up a temporary structure in a day or two with the help of all the others their first. Things were going well. Things were going fast. And yet, despite the happiness and glee she felt through the bind towards Joe, she found herself deeply lonely and missing him.

* * *

In Coushar, the city roiled under a faux peace that barely covered the wild terror that swept the population. Rumors and gossip kept the city in turmoil and little could be done to calm the citizens. Having the Patriarch in a sickly sleep, even if he was a bad Patriarch, did little to calm the city or offer any kind of guidance. In fact, fear of upsetting the Patriarch when he awoke kept many of the key decision makers from acting, simply holding position until the Patriarch could arise to give guidance.

Things almost exploded beyond reason when the dungeons all disappeared, nothing remaining of them. The first to disappear was the intermediate, first growing unstable and then collapsing. People grew alarmed and spoke of a dungeon thief, but the intermediate dungeon was rarely visited and seen as a quite poor dungeon. The clanners, however, did not take such thievery lightly, and quickly sought out the thief. They found nothing and rumors grew even wilder, many wondering how an entire clan could find nothing of a single thief.

The second rumor came with the second dungeon being stolen: the clan dungeon. This was only wild speculation and rumor as no one outside the clan could see the clan dungeon, but the rumor only gained in strength when clan warriors soon came and began guarding both the advanced and beginner dungeons with diligent concern. Those with clanner friends of lesser repute quickly learned that the clan had fallen afoul a thief and lost their dungeon as well.

When the advanced dungeon disappeared, rumor and concern turned to panic, especially as the clan presence around the beginner dungeon exploded over night, but nothing could stop the thief and the beginner dungeon grew unstable the next day and then collapsed by that evening. Fear, rage, anger, and blame spread like wildfire through the city. And many dark ugly stirrings pointed their frustration directly at the Galgandar clan.

* * *

Ilyelanralo led the men into the Eccentric’s tent and initiated his action to bring the Eccentric to heel.

“Collar. Bind the Eccentric, no movement of any kind. Spread eagle. Left hand spread wide flat on the ground.”

The Eccentric’s body was bound, unable to move or act by the collar spirit. Once he was bound, Ilyelanralo turned to the other two men in the tent.

“Do it.”

The two men nodded then turned towards the Eccentric. The two then settled next to the still slumbering Eccentric and began.

“Left hand first. Do just one knuckle. I don’t want to waste time on rejuvenating the bastard.”

“Yes, master.”

The man with the highest digits in strength pulled out a dagger and placed it against the Eccentrics pinky, right at the last knuckle from the tip. A quick slice down had the tip sliced off and the Eccentric waking with a scream of pain. Ilyelanralo sighted.

“If you would have just listened, things such as this would not be happening, but you had to fight, did you not?”

As expected, the Eccentric had enough health to immediately return the finger to full health and Ilyelanralo nodded to the man with the dagger, “Again.”

Another slice, another fingertip, another yell, “This will continue until you’ve learned.”

Another slice, another fingertip, another scream, “And it will not stop.” Three finger tips, pretty impressive.

Another slice, another fingertip, another screech, “It will never stop.” Four!

Another slice, another fingertip, the scream now pretty much continuous, “Again.” Five... this is… astounding.

Another slice, another fingertip added to the pile with the growing scream, “Uh… yeah, another.”

Another slice, the small mountain of six fingertips became seven, and Ilyelanralo grew silent, no longer saying anything. The Eccentric’s fingertip immediately regrew and the screams finally quieted to silent pants of pain. Ilyelanralo shook himself when he realized the Eccentric was no longer in pain.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Ilyelanralo turned to the man and screeched out in anger, “Why did you stop? Did his health end? Go!”

The man quickly ducked his head, “Yes, master. Apologies.”

Another fingertip fell off, and soon the fingertips began being sliced off with rapid speed, almost like the man was chopping an instantly re-growing carrot, the fingertips and blood piling up to the side. Ilyelanralo and his two lackeys stared on with growing awe as fingertip after fingertip piled up at the end of the man’s hand. Ilyelanralo’s awe began to shift to some fear and his breathing grew a bit erratic.

“Do… change to a whole finger. The pinky finger.”

The daggerman looked up with some shock before fearfully nodding and repositioning his dagger. He centered himself before finally decisively slicing off the entire pinky finger. It joined the pile of pinky tips and immediately regrew. The Eccentrics shriek of pain remained the same, but Ilyelanralo and the other two gasped with some shock when the Eccentric proved to have enough health to regrow an entire finger without the aid of any regeneration mage.

“Again!” Ilyelanralo gasped with some shock. Twenty… twenty five? Around… pinky tips and a whole finger! What kind of monster is thi…

Ilyelanralo’s thoughts cut off with a gasp when another finger reformed immediately. Two?! The daggerman paused and looked up at Ilyelanralo and Ilyelanralo waved the man on.

“Did I say stop? Continue until his health is done.”

The man paused and Ilyelanralo narrowed his eyes in anger, “What? Do you wish to contest me? Do as you’re told.”

“Ah… yes, master.”

The daggerman immediately returned to his efforts and a third finger joined the other two and the twenty odd fingertips. However, the other man coughed, attempting to gain Ilyelanralo’s attention without being too offensive. Ilyelanralo was too awed to see a fourth finger immediately regrow to consider the possible insubordination and instead allowed the interruption.

“What, healer?”

“Ah, master, I am only capable of regenerating a fingertip. A finger will be… difficult.”

“You can spend the night… and the day after. We need to know his limits.”

A fifth finger joined the other four and the regeneration mage immediately accepted his position, “Of course, master. This one acquiesces.”

“Excellent. Now silence.”

The man bowed and turned back to look on, the screeches of the Eccentric long having woken the entire camp as a sixth, seventh, and eight finger joined without effort or limit. When the ninth finger finally proved the limit, Ilyelanralo finally realized that he’d been holding his breath with awe and no little amount of shock. The ninth finger joined the pile, and the tenth finger reformed till just past the knuckle closest to the hand, almost to the last knuckle on the finger. Ilyelanralo sighed in relief but quickly calmed himself and turned to the regeneration mage.

“See. Almost just the fingertip. I expect the Eccentric to be returned to full health tomorrow.”

“Yes, master,” replied the regeneration mage.

Ilyelanralo nodded, staring at the Eccentric for some time, then the other two. He found himself at a loss, uncertain how to respond, the shocking display having driven him mute.

Finally, he sought refuge in simplicity, saying, “You know how to continue,” before he left. Escape was his only option and Ilyelanralo fled back to his villa, thrilled, awed, and rather terrified by what he saw.

The men worked long into the night and with the Eccentric’s health exhausted, his screams lasted much longer and cried out in much greater pain.

* * *

Joe woke the next morning in a deep body throbbing pain. He couldn’t exactly remember what had happened with the spies last night, but he’d revealed nothing to them; he was certain of that. Need to finish it soon! No time… not if more are coming! More…

He rolled over and found the blood still splattering his clean workshop floor and stared at it with a grimace before finally rising. No time! No time… they will not interrupt my vision; destroy my genius; harm the revolution for the future of this world! I will complete this. I must!

Joe roused with a grown, his left pinky finger in throbbing pain, for some reason. I will get it done. I will! I will.

Yes. No one will stop you! Your vision will be complete.

No one will stop me.

No one can stop you!

Yes, no one can stop me.

Trust the vision.

Of course, the vision will be completed!

* * *

For Ilyelanralo, that first night revealed the measure of the man’s health, the next four or five weeks showed the measure of the man, and Ilyelanralo grew both more and more impressed and incredibly concerned. The Eccentric refused to be turned from his purpose. Each morning the Eccentric would rise, seemingly without affect from the previous night’s torture, then he threw himself into his collections of sticks and stones without fail. Ilyelanralo had even intruded upon the Eccentric to see what the man was concocting. He bent over a poorly constructed bench with sticks and stones and scraps of string from his clothing, tying strings to stone and stick. Ilyelanralo stared then left.

He couldn’t understand what the construction project the Eccentric was putting effort to meant or how it would be used to protect the Eccentric, if ever that. Like the man’s strange crinkling paper, no mana or Dao could be felt emanating from it. Still, if the loss of fingers over a week couldn’t drive the Eccentric to obedience, then maybe the project would.

* * *

The next day, Joe woke from pain and exhaustion to find his workshop destroyed and his shelves ransacked. Almost nothing was left, and Joe growled in rage.

Ignore it. Complete the vision. You need not fear the jealousy of rivals.

I won’t give up! The prototype… it’s almost finished.

Good. Finish the vision.

I will finish it. It will be done.

Joe roused himself and drove himself out into the shops and the streets, scouring shops for parts. Almost done… I can do it!

He wasted much of the day in retrieving his lost parts, electronics, and hardware. But dove into plugging in the circuitry, wiring, and electronics he needed. It was going well. Just… a little more.

* * *

Despite the destruction of the Eccentric’s strange furniture and the continued torture, the Eccentric continue undeterred. Ilyelanralo struggled to find a path forward and for a time, he continued on with removing ten or so fingers every night, then torturing and destroying whatever attempt the Eccentric was doing on his poor desk. But nothing proved useful

While Ilyelanralo struggled to discover some way to bring the Eccentric to heel, another group of priests arrived. Unlike the gaudy delegation of Saga priests traipsing around with wealth and status, these priests were militant and oddly various, full of priests from a variety of temples, gods and goddesses. Like the Saga delegation, however, they demanded the Eccentric’s presence. Unlike the Saga delegation, it was not a demand made in kindness or with respect. Ilyelanralo hid his grimace and bowed, accepting their thin request.

When the Eccentric was brought before this band of militant priests, forced there and bound in place in the middle of his waiting room by the power of the collar spirit, Ilyelanralo found himself privy to more of the Eccentric’s secrets and heresies. It amounted to nothing, however, as Ilyelanralo knew of no way to capitalize upon it. The priests made sure of that.

The Eccentric, now quite mad, stood before the militant delegation with defensive paranoia, shouting wildly in his barbaric and strange language. The priests did little to seek communication.

“What is your name?”

The Eccentric’s reply was an angry rebuttal of noise.

The priestess leading the questioning narrowed her eyes, “You do not reveal your name?”

The Eccentric growled something, not seeming very pleasant.

The priestess frowned, then looked towards Ilyelanralo, “Is he mad?”

“He is quite mad, but it seems that he has somehow lost the ability to speak or understand common.”

The priestess’s eyebrows flickered up and down for time in consternation before she turned to look back at the Eccentric. She stared for a time before waving another priest over.

“Come. The subject is incapable of intelligible conversation. Do what must be done.”

* * *

The captain of this squad of LEAP soldiers grimaced when she waved the dark priest over. Dealing with dark and black priests always turned her stomach but she’d long learned of the necessity to partner with darkness to accomplish the necessity of protecting and enacting justice.

“Do it, dark priest. Verify him.” Change the Eccentric’s job to Loki Faithful.

The captain did not include the last, not wishing to ever reveal the name of the corrupt god’s jobs not desiring for any to seek power through such cursed methods. The dark priest would also not reveal it, but he would reveal if it had been leveled. The dark priest slave bobbed his head but said nothing in reply, long learning to keep silent with her and he turned his gaze upon the Eccentric.

The dark priest quickly turned to face the captain, bowing his head, “It is done, captain. And it is more.”

The captain sighed, grimacing, “So young, and tempted so poorly. A heretic of Loki. There is no need for rehabilitation,” she said with sighing despair while looking around at the slave compound before turning to look at the slave master with no small amount of distaste.

“The slave’s master will see to that, correct?”

The slave master quickly bowed his head, shock obvious on his face, “Of course, priestess! I did not know. I would never join the hereti…”

“Enough, slave master. We know. We always know.”

The slave master immediately silenced themselves and stepped back with relief and some shivering fear. The priestess turned to look back at the Eccentric before shaking her head with despair.

“The consequences of such folly: punishment meted by the gods. Remove his job from him, black priest.”

The black priest shuffled forward rapidly, unwilling to resist the burn of his own slave collar and nodded. The black priest was silent in his work, much more talented. The Eccentric, however, was not silent with the work, a roar of pain that quickly climbed in pitch and turned into a screech of pain erupted from his throat before he collapsed to his knees in pain. The black priest turned to the priestess and bowed.

“It is done.”

The priestess was no fool, and leaned upon her truth telling as she verified.

“You have removed the job?”

“Yes, priestess.”

Her truth telling lay quiescent, ringing true and she nodded. She stared at the young man for a little longer, saddened to see one so young twisted so badly. She sighed and then grimaced. Youth wasted for dark power.

“Let’s leave.”

The priestess turned to leave and was stopped by her second in command, “Should we not seek deeper?”

“Can you understand him,” she replied with bitter anger.

Her second in command opened his mouth to reply then froze, slowly closing it, “No. But, then, at least a further test?”

“You think he completed the faithful job in less than a year? What do you see him as?”

The man closed his mouth and shook his head, “Apologies.”

She snorted and turned away, unwilling to waste the limited number of charges her dark and black priests had for their skills. She paused, considered it simply because there were likely no more opportunities to use her slave priests’ skill charges for that day, but then quickly dismissed her thoughts. Foolish! No one has completed a job in less than decades!

She led the rest out, not even sparing a glance for the kneeling Eccentric. Our time is wasted here. The fool has met the results of his rebellion against the gods. Nothing else need be done. The cities team with more. With righteous and certain purpose, she marched from the slave compound.

* * *

Joe found himself being called before his sponsor to meet even more possible investors of some kind, but truly was frustrated. The espionage and attempts by spies had increased, almost feeling like he was being attacked nightly. Still, he remained strong and resisted any attempt at digging information out of him or driving him to distraction. No one will stop me! No one!

The request to see his sponsor likely was in response exactly due to the overwhelming effort at corporate or national espionage, and he understood the need for increased security and the costs that came with it, but he wondered what use he would be in a discussion of security. He was the vision. He was the genius. He was the heart of the project. He had no desire despite his training to waste it upon developing better security protocols. That was the responsibility of his sponsor and the company, not his. Still, he forced himself to ignore the loss of time and distraction and attempt to focus on feeling gratitude towards his sponsor in at least putting effort towards increasing security for him.

When he arrived at the gala, it was a rather subdued affair, unlike the last investors to arrive, and he actually found some hope that something useful would be done. However, those invited turned out to not be investors, no, but some kind of outside auditing service and Joe grew grim. He looked around at that gala and… he blinked… He looked around at the stark security office, noticing the plain metal desk and the overplayed harsh lighting. Me!? They think I am the one to blame?! Joe struggled to calm his belligerence but could not hide his disdain.

The question was given with blunt and ruthless efficiency of a security auditor, “Ahem, ugh name?”

My name? Like they do not know it? Of course they know my name?!

“What is this? You definitely already know my name! This is ridiculous. The company fails to appropriately protect its assets and you blame me?! Why would you have… fine! Joe McConnell. Now, the interrogation should be done and we should be moving on to what actually matters!”

The second question came quickly on the first and while Joe growled bitterly, he also knew they asked on his name once again.

“I. Told. You. My. Name! You already know it. You have to know it. You asked for me to be here, so why would you need to know it!? Joe McConnell. Now are you going to focus on the freakin’ espionage that leaves my shop destroyed almost every morning, it feels like? Or the ones where they torture me?! Come on! Stop wasting time on this! I’m not your guy.”

The interrogator turned away from him and began speaking with his sponsor and Joe listened on with growing anger, vindicated but frustrated. Of course it’s not me! You already know that! This is so, so dumb! Why are we wasting time with…

A man with some kind of heart monitor, likely a rudimentary lie detector of some kind, came forward and began to prep him. The system was attached to Joe in a flash, almost faster than Joe could even recognize and he felt some amount of fear. Very good at what he does! He is…

Blue flashed before him but he swiped the distraction away, frustration quelling under a little fear. He had no reason to fear, as he’d done nothing wrong, but the situation was still alien and new, leaving outside his comfort zone.

The questions came hard and fast, but Joe didn’t even really notice many of them all seeming to pass in a flash until suddenly the man retreated and the interrogator called for a second. In that moment, clarity came to him, and Joe looked around with shock, horror coming over him and he froze.

The interrogation room vanished, and in its place, he found himself standing in a rather opulent room with the slave master and several of his guards. With the guards was a contingent of priests rather more militant than he was used to looking at. The priests all looked on, and his interrogator turned out to be a priest as well. She looked on with efficient and piercing eyes before turning to another priest and waved him forward.

Joe felt his breath rising and thought to move slightly but then controlled his fear when he found his body bound, unable to move. What’s going on? Where am I? I … Memories came back and the horror of them almost overwhelmed him. The pain of the torture was immediate and he ground his teeth in rage. The horror of the young boy killed by his own hand, uncontrolled and uncontrollable, swept through him with a rage. He found no self-recrimination in the act but to be enraged at what the man had made him do. But what truly twisted his mind down beyond dismay and deep into the depths of insane horror was the realization that he’d been bound within some kind of illusory world where he thought himself some kind of inventive genius. Despite intensely knowing the truth of it, the images of his creation in his memory: beautiful constructs of metal, plastic and well-designed electronics, he knew it all to be insanity and the memories of electronic components upon a bed of perfectly designed metal and plastic were replaced by bits of string tying sticks and pebbles together. Horror welled and he opened his inventory and stared at the top row, finding nothing more than twigs, rocks, and sticks poorly tied together into some insane caricature of what had been in his memories.

Even as he thought to remove a piece from his inventory, the horror growing and almost impossible to keep hidden on his face, the second priest came forward and reached for him before suddenly pain ripped through him. Joe roared and the pain didn’t stop, becoming worse and more as it ripped from his very being, deep within the core of who he was. Pain shredded his very soul, and though he’d become quite used to having his body tortured. All thought ended and he collapsed to his feet, remaining there in pain as he huffed.

He didn’t notice the priests leaving. Nor did he notice, but in the lulling pain of his own mind, when he was returned to his tent. He shivered there for a long time, pain unlike anything he’d ever felt quivered through him. And an itch that burned deep underneath all of who he was grew and became incessant to be itched. But a horror of several orders of greater magnitude rebelled so violently against that itch that Joe found himself fleeing from the itch in terror.

He didn’t know how long he lay there, staring at nothing until the overwhelming pain subsided enough that his conscious could return with some degree of awareness, but now he lay in terror of what he would find around him. He already knew. There was no workshop. There was no exquisite drafting table. There were no neatly lined storage shelves. And the itch grew, even as he fled before it with greater alacrity. And the horror grew, as he knew… he shied away from it and finally took a deep shuddering breath while closing his eyes. I’ll not deal with this unless I confront it!

He sat up then slowly opened his eyes. With his eyes open, despair set in and he began to grimace in horrified terror. What… is happening to me!? The itch swelled violently and Joe closed his eyes to deal with it, struggling against it for some time to quell it, but he knew it was only growing stronger. Tears traveled down his cheeks and he opened his inventory, pulling out the first ‘exquisite component’ he’d built. It was supposed to be some kind of incredibly advanced battery, capable of power storage beyond anything the Earth currently had. It was a badly whittled square wooden box stuff with twigs and pebbles tied together in a mockery of wiring. Joe fell back on to his bed and dropped his hand, the ‘battery’ falling to the ground and tumbling to the side.

Joe curled into a ball, pain swelling through him, and fear twisting through his guts. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t. His mind shuddered under the weight of what he’d become and barely withheld. It was not the insanity that had him broken, it was the sure knowledge of what that itch was. It grew. It swelled. And it overwhelmed every one of his efforts to quell it as it simply retreated and returned stronger than it had before. Do it! Do it! You know you want it! Do it! Change it! Accept it! You must do it! It will free you! Do it!

Joe stayed awake a long, long time that night, his mind locked into a never ending battle resisting the itch. Late in the night, he finally fell asleep, successful in conquering its desire. What felt like only a few moments later, he felt the desperate need for water and in the cloudiness of a midnight waking, his mind collapsed.

* * *

Ilyelanralo had watched as the priests did their work with the mad Eccentric. At first, it was curiosity over seeing his first true heretic and those who scoured them from Aelthron’s cradle. The priests were unlike anything he’d seen before. And a Loki heretic!? Truly? But he didn’t waste much of his time looking at the frustrating Eccentric until he heard the man scream in horrific pain. Then, his gaze snapped to look at the Eccentric in confusion and fascination. While the cause of his pain had fascinated Ilyelanralo for a time, his thoughts twigged to an oddity that he couldn’t understand. Something about the Eccentric was odd; different. And Ilyelanralo searched diligently over the Eccentric’s hands and feet, fearing the worst as he lay collapsed on the floor. It wasn’t until he’d returned his gaze to the Eccentric’s face that the realization struck. The Eccentric was no longer mad!

* * *

Joe woke the next morning and froze with some horror. His battery was strewn across the floor in pieces. Some still seemed perfectly fine, but he already identified two or three pieces that would need to be replaced or repaired. He growled with some anger and spent the day doing exactly that.

* * *

Ilyelanralo hadn’t bothered to send his men to torture Joe last night. The sudden realization that Joe was aware struck him powerfully, but he didn’t know what had caused it. The man’s insanity had been unassailable, but for some odd reason, something had pierced Joe’s mental defenses. And Ilyelanralo couldn’t figure it for the life of him. It must have been something the priests had done, but he was uncertain what had happened. Except when the black priest came. What did that black priest do?

Ilyelanralo found himself lost deeply in thought. As a slave master and leader with the slave guild, he was a well-respected member of the community. Seeking out a dark priest, let alone a black priest… Troubling… troubling. He wrestled with the thought for a time until he finally grit his teeth an dismissed the idea. For now. Let us exhaust all other possibilities, first.

* * *

Joe finished the battery with plenty of time to spare before the morning meeting. A part of him once again considered skipping it, but wisdom drove him to placate his sla… sponsor. Joe blinked in wonder and some confusion but then shook his head. He’ll be waiting at the morning meeting. It’s best just to stroke his ego!

Joe settled in around the desk for the morning meeting with the dozens of others and offered faux attention while his sponsor, the boss, railed the others for their incompetency or drove his agenda. When the meeting was finally over, Joe escaped as quickly as he could and returned to his workshop. He was almost ready for the sixth component. He could complete it rather quickly and all he needed to do was take today to do so.

* * *

The Saga delegation returned to Coushar and had been in the city almost a week now and yet they found themselves unable to meet with the Patriarch as the clanners claimed the man was indisposed due to illness. The delegates had been skeptical at first, but when they offered to pay for healing, it was revealed that there were few available healers for the condition the Patriarch was in. He needed a healing of a deeper and more mysterious kind, and few such healers existed. The Patriarch had been in a sickly sleep ever since the sacking of Coushar.

Immediately after learning of this, the delegation immediately sought out the best mental healers, but all known ones were booked for months or even longer. The Saga delegation were forced to wait, and they did not enjoy the delay at all.

* * *

Joe thoughts sped wildly but somehow remained intensely focused on the small component beneath his magnifying glass held in place with clips. It wasn’t the smallest he would ever make, that claim would belong to the seventh and last component, but it was quite tiny. Using tweezers, he picked up a small transistor and settled it place upon the circuit board, evaluating structure and placement before nodding and cleaning the area off with an alcohol swab before counting to verify evaporation then brought up solder and a soldering iron. He dribbled the solder on expertly before dropping the solder to grab the transistor with his tweezers once again. The iron remained on the solder to keep it melted until he had the transistor in place. He pulled the soldering iron back then sat back with a sigh of relief when the solder set enough to hold the transistor.

Done… just gotta wire it up... Joe pulled out a half a dozen wires and began soldering them on to their correct locations before wiring it all up into a single connector. He pawed through a small bin of random plastic connectors until he found one that matched what he needed and started attaching them to the connector before he stopped with a curse. He pulled out his first and third component he’d created, a battery and a motorized gyroscopic stabilizer, and compared the wiring before tossing the one he’d chosen back into the bin. Stupid! Oh well… glad I caught it now! Pulling out the two he actually needed, he wired them up then sat back to look at the piece through his magnifying class.

His grin was ecstatic as he sat back and stared at his work. Hard parts done! Ha! He then pulled out a plastic form from his 3D printer and began sanding it down. Couple screws… well… Joe glanced up and out the window, seeing that the sun was low in the sky. Got some time… let’s get the metal support structure done, too. I can get that done before I sleep!

Rejuvenated with his success, he quickly sanded the 3D printed parts and then pulled out a couple of screws that would fit to hold the plastic shields together, protecting the electronic guts deep inside. He didn’t screw them together, yet, as a few of the screws pulled double duty with the metal supports as well, but he got them set up and eyeballed the distances quickly, for now, on the screws that needed the metal supports.

He then set the two plastic covers and the eight or so screws upon his table, lined up with their respective holes on the plastic covers. He grinned and nodded before pulling out a couple metal rods, a two brackets. But as he lined up the metal rods and the two brackets, he realized that only one of the brackets would fit, but the other just didn’t have the correct hole placements, let alone even being long enough.

He sighed and pulled out a piece of sheet metal before dropping it on his laser cutter and measuring out a crude bracket that would work with a second rod bent into a ‘U’ shape. Opening up his 3D design program, he hammered out a simple piece and hit the print button, sending it to his laser cutter. With that done, he turned to the rods he had and cut them to size, grabbed another scrap piece and cut it to size as well before slapping it down on his metal bender before he had it flipped around in the ‘U’ he needed.

He then measured out the two rods and drilled holes into the rods at the appropriate locations and angles before he sat back and looked to the laser cutter. Five more minutes… then... He turned back to the plastic shell and screws before putting the rods in place and took a quick glance to make sure everything was lined up. The five minutes was more than enough to verify everything in a preliminary fashion before he turned back to the laser cutter and waited impatiently.

As soon as it was done, he grabbed it with excitement and put it in place. A few minutes of fiddling and laying it all out, and Joe was almost certain that all the pieces were correctly designed, although he still had to drill the holes for the ‘U’ piece. That could come later, however, after he’d constructed all the rest to make sure he cut at the right height.

Less than ten minutes later, the electrics and circuitry were housed in their plastic coverings, screwed together with the metal support rods, and almost complete. Sliding the laser cut bracket with the ‘U’ shaped rod through, he soon had the height he needed for the holes, drilled the holes, and replaced the bracket to complete the piece with a nut and bolt. He set it down on the table and sat back to stare at it with pride.

A yawn hit him like a train and he stretched where he sat before blinking blearily. OK. Definitely pushed it there! Need my sleep. He swiped up the sixth component into his inventory. One more. Only one more… Joe collapsed into bed and was asleep almost before he had the blanket over him.

* * *

Ilyelanralo returned to his initial plan. The illegal priests are too much… too dangerous… at least let me complete the prescribed plan, first. He sent the men again that night, although with slightly different orders. When they returned, he had them out digging a hole to bury what they’d been sent to retrieve.

* * *

Agents had somehow infiltrated the compound yet once again and it had taken everything in him to survive until security had arrived. When he’d finally slept, it was the sleep of the dead that wrapped him in overstuffed comforters and pillows and beat him into unconsciousness. When Joe did wake the next morning, he was still exhausted, but the thought that he would be finally on the last component invigorated him. Still, he remained there for a good chunk of time unquantifiable to Joe before he finally roused enough to begin the day.

He swung his legs out over the bed and stood, then collapsed to the floor in shock, incomprehension hitting him as he struggled to understand what had happened until he looked down. No legs. No legs? When did I … no legs? I was born without le… NO! No! I know I… How!? Where are my legs? What happene… the espionage agents last night tortur… Why would they do such a thing? That is incomprehensible… How is…

Deep within Joe’s mind, his psyche twisted with incomprehensible confusion desperate to understand how he’d lost his legs but was incapable of reconciling the inconsistencies. His eyes stared up, blind to all else while his mind struggled in wild racing thoughts.

* * *

Ilyelanralo grimaced with bitterness when the Eccentric refused to show for morning muster, but not wishing to interrupt the proceedings, he simply sent two of his men to the tent to drag the man out. What he didn’t expect was for the two men to return without the Eccentric, looking concerned. Ilyelanralo didn’t stop his morning speech, but ended it rather quickly, much to his displeasure, before stomping across the compound after the two men.

“What is happening?”

“I don’t know, master. He is unwell.”

“What does that mean?”

“He just lays there, doing nothing.”

Ilyelanralo frowned in confusion. Psychic break? Already? That is… Ilyelanralo’s thoughts cut off as they came to the tent and marched in. Inside, Joe lay on the dirt floor of his tent catatonic. For how long, he did not know, only that it had been for some time as the brazier was noticeably empty and the room was quite cool.

“Well, check him!”

The healer quickly leapt forward and stood over the Eccentric with his left hand out, palm pointed towards the man. The healer held his place for a time, staring thoughtfully and working his magic before turning back to look at Ilyelanralo.

“Master, his body is well.”

Ilyelanralo frowned, “His mind?”

“I… I do not know, master. It is not my job abil…”

Ilyelanralo cursed and turned away before turning back to look at the Eccentric, “Collar spirit, tidy him up and return him to his bed. Cover him with the blankets. Healer, make sur…” Ilyelanralo trailed off when he saw that the Eccentric remained on the ground, unmoving. Ilyelanralo felt a cold wash over him.

“Collar spirit, return him to his bed.”

Nothing happened.

“Collar spirit. Raise his hand.”

Nothing changed.

A bit of panic came to his voice as Ilyelanralo shakily commanded, “Collar spirit, have the Eccentric look at me.”

The Eccentric’s eyes remained fastened on the roof of the tent, unmoving. Ilyelanralo took a step back and stared with some growing sense of fear. He took another step back and then looked at the two slaves to the side. Hungry gazes warped their faces and Ilyelanralo took another quick step back, staring at all three with some fear. He breathed heavily and then escaped the tent, fleeing to his villa before giving one last command to the two men behind him.

“Tidy him up and return him to his bed, you two. Healer, return his legs. Then both of you watch him carefully!”

“Yes, master,” came the two men’s replies quickly enough, although this time, Ilyelanralo could have sworn he heard something deeper within their replies.

* * *

The healer that Ilyelanralo had tasked to stay behind and heal the Eccentric cursed under his breath almost the entire he spent repairing the Eccentrics legs to full health. It took a good week with the healer almost never leaving his side, spending almost all his mana upon his regeneration magic. A regen mage was often the least appreciated of the healers with the generic healer mage much more appreciated for the rapid healing the healer mage offered. But, when it came to recovering lost limbs, only a regen mage was viable. And for a slave master like master Ilyelanralo, a regen mage was a boon. That did not make the slave healer any happier as he worked for the better part of a week to return the Eccentric to complete health.

* * *

Deep in the night, night after night, shortly after the healer had left and Joe was left alone within his blankets staring into the tent roof with catatonic unseeing eyes, mana swelled and formed before sweeping down upon both legs where they were amputated. It did very little, but it swept forth again and again and again, the entire night long until the brilliant color of morning shown through and the ragged steps of the healer mage returned.

* * *

Every morning the slave healer returned, he was always surprised by how much he’d regenerated the Eccentric’s legs. The first morning after was a surprise, but again and again each day soon had him ecstatic with his increased capabilities.

* * *

Ilyelanralo grew ever more terrified as the week went on with day after day of the Eccentric missing from the mustering and the reports from the Healer of his slow return to health, but about a week later, the Eccentric returned to the mustering with a bored expression on his face. Ilyelanralo struggled to keep his own rage and relief in check, even as his eye twitched.

* * *

Joe woke the next day, rested and finally grateful for the compound security for actually doing his job. Seventh piece… last on… last one… las… Joe blinked a few times then shook his head. Second to last one. Almost done! Haha!

Joe worked long and hard to complete his seventh piece, working late into the evening, but was able to complete to his satisfaction, surprised to find most of the components already on his shelves. When did I go and get… the lab assistant must have! Yeah… of course. Excellent work… I should tell him, where is he anyw… Joe blinked and lost his train of thought and then suddenly yawned as exhaustion surged through him. I need sleep! Yes… good idea… sleep.

* * *

Ilyelanralo burned with impotent rage, unable to know what to do. His thoughts turned to a dark or black priest, but fear always had him back peddling until finally he doubled down, sending the men back the next day to amputate the Eccentric’s legs once more. He recovered immediately with them… if he goes sickly again, we can easily recover him… and… I must… he needs to… Fear swelled a bit as he considered failure. He swallowed and grit his teeth.

* * *

Joe woke and blinked in surprise, feeling a bit rested even after the surprise espionage action from last night. He’d woken in the middle of the night, as usual, to deal with the agents until security arrived, but he was frankly getting quite tired of it. This time, the agents had been driven off relatively quickly, but he’d been injured and the doctor had prescribed him bed rest. Joe, of course, had vehemently denied it and a quick email to the boss backed him up. The doctor had railed at Joe’s folly but he cared little for it and it was his choice. In the end, the doctor had demanded that Joe at least remain seated, and demanded Joe use a wheel chair. The argument lasted for so long that Joe finally acquiesced to the demand, and he turned to the side of his bed and sighed with frustration to see it there.

Going to be a tough day, isn’t it! He pushed his way from his bed and actually struggled to get himself situated into the wheel chair correctly. After a long struggle, he finally situated himself and draped a warm blanket over his legs, not wishing them to get cold. Despite the lost time getting into the wheel chair, he was soon at his desk and pouring over his notes for his eighth piece. After a few moments, he looked over at his stocked shelves and stared up at the upper shelves. That’s… going to suck… He looked down at his legs, resting in the wheel chair but currently paralyzed for his own benefit. He sighed and turned back to his work. Gotta do what I must! And at least for now, I can get my plan done.

Time, again, passed by so quickly Joe wasn’t even sure how much it was, but the sun rose fully and he was broken from his study of the blueprint for his final piece by the alarm for the morning meeting. Joe grimaced, almost considered skipping it, then rolled his eyes as he turned to his office door, rolling himself out the door. Boss isn’t going to like it if I push it… so…

* * *

Ilyelanralo grinned and hid a small sigh of relief when he saw the Eccentric crawling his way out of the tent. He was quite graceful, however, surprising able to swing himself out towards the mustering yard with ease. Despite the Eccentric’s stoic behavior, the wild glances and fearful looks of the others gave Ilyelanralo a deep sense of returned control. You will break. Ilyelanralo returned to his morning speech, slowly bending the will of these men into becoming proper tools.

* * *

Joe struggled to keep his eyes in place, not wanting to roll them too hard as his sponsor and boss pounded the table and complained about profits. Somehow, he sounded so like a typical faceless CEO of any corporation that it almost felt like a mad parody that he was watching, something he’d seen as a mockery from some kind of comedy sketch or some such. Still, Joe kept his place and remained cautious in how he portrayed himself. Don’t piss off the money! I need to get this done… I’m almost done! SO… so close!

The meeting ended and Joe immediately sped back to his tent. Last one! Almost done! Then… then we’ll see what they have to say! Joe grinned, a feral rather terrifying and insane grin, but he could not see it nor did he care. He was so close, and he would be done.

Firing up the electron microscope, this piece would be the heart, the core, the vital component that would drive everything else. I’ll need a lot more power, so… He fired up the flux capacitor and the warp coil. Time is also in flux… gonna need to set … His conscious struggled with his thoughts, his mind pulling back from the terms in confusion and rejecting them for a time before suddenly his eyes blanked and he shivered and turned back to his work. I can do this… I can… gotta get all my tools lined up, so…

Joe spent the majority of the day preparing the more esoteric materials he would need before getting most of it formed and prepared in their specific containers. He sat back and breathed a sigh of relief before shutting all the machinery down. Sweat poured down his body but then he shivered and grinned. Just a few off the shelf components now, and that… that should do it!

He whipped around and… he whipped his wheel chair around and scoured what shelves he could but found nothing. He grimaced and looked to the office door then his computer. Do I want to wait for shipping? Nah! With glee, he flung himself out of the room and raced out to the stores, checking the various shops until he found the pieces he needed and returned home with glee. It was late at night when he finished, but the last component was done! He giggled, then laughed uproariously before quickly pulling that last piece into his inventory… safe. He then looked at the seven pieces safely held in their individual compartments as he considered. He yawned and finally allowed reason to dictate his choice. Dumb to put them together now… I’m exhausted! Time for bed.

He shifted his wheel chair over to the trundle bed then mostly just fell from the wheel chair into his bed. He missed the bed and cursed himself, having to crawl quite a distance to his bed, but finally pulled himself in and fell asleep immediately.

* * *

The slave healer and the dagger-man arrived at the Eccentric’s tent late in the night once more. This time, their work was more delicate, not requiring the removal of an entire leg. Instead, they unwrapped the bandages and they slowly pared a thin slice off the end of each of the Eccentric’s legs. He woke screaming, pain punching the scream loud enough to wake the entire grounds. Very few people had slept well the last few weeks, but none could gainsay the slave master, so, Joe screamed long into the night, the slave dagger-man sliced thin peels of flesh from each of Joe’s leg stumps, and the healer immediately healed any blood vessels to keep Joe from anemia.

Joe did not sleep well that night, remaining awake long after they left while staring up at the tent, catatonic, while heal after heal spell formed and slapped against his leg stumps. When it finally stopped, Joe was finally allowed to sleep, falling into grateful slumber.

* * *

Ilyelanralo grinned when he saw the Eccentric arrive at the mustering yard with dark circles under his eyes. Finally. We shall see an end soon.

* * *

The next day found Joe waking barely in time for the morning meeting. His boss had grinned when he arrived, and Joe could only feel a sense of pride as well. Well… I did send that email. He knows the prototype should be finished today! With his certainty of completing the work today, Joe found the morning meeting relaxing and even reveled in it when the boss pointed out his excellent work and soon completion.

That didn’t stop Joe from racing back to his office and giddily rolling up to his desk. With overzealous zeal, he tossed everything on his desk off and then turned to open the safe with his components. It was with almost holy awe that he pulled out each piece and laid it on his desk. Each piece, surprisingly, fit together quickly and easily, and when the entire prototype was complete, Joe sat back with just a bit nonplussed. That easy? Seems… But! It’s done! Joe laughed uproariously and sat back to look at the hand held laser slash rail gun. Hand held, portable, good for thousands of shots. Joe smiled with pride as he stared at it. After a bit, Joe wasn’t able to contain himself and quickly grabbed it before wheeling out of the room and rushing towards the range. Let’s test! Let’s test! Joe wheeled down the hallways with barely contained glee before he came to the gun range and flipped on the battery. The whine of the coils warming sent a shiver down his spine and grew the gleeful smile on his face.

* * *

The whole camp stared in confusion to see the Eccentric out in the middle of the day. The Eccentric hadn’t been out in a long time in the middle of the day. The eccentric marched out with an odd contraption of wood, string and a few pebbles. It was an extremely strange object that the Eccentric placed against a shoulder then pointed out into the trees. He stared at the trees for a bit before pulling back and looking at the contraption with confusion and worry.

* * *

Joe pulled the trigger but nothing happened. He pulled back the sleek rail gun of black metal and accented plastic pieces and stared. He frowned then sighed. Load a round, you idiot! Joe bent down and trailed a hand across the ground before he lined up the shot again. He fired and the weapon and the whine of the coils died while the entire shaft vibrated, humming out. Then there was a massive crack and then another a small tree out in the forest shattered at the trunk before falling over. Joe grinned. Then he laughed.

* * *

The camp watched on as the Eccentric pulled back and stared at his odd wooden staff. He then reached down to the ground and picked up a small round pebble. He then pointed his staff into the trees again and this time, something magnificent happened. He flicked his fingers and the small pebble vanished from his hand with a loud sharp crack followed by a second cracking from in the forest as a small birch tree trunk cracked and then slowly tumbled to the side.

Everyone fell silent.

* * *

Time for a field test! Joe thought with a grin. He took his rail gun and headed out to test it against a live target. See how it does against a cow. He marched down to the basement and handed off the weapon to be tested.

He stood to the side with pride and stared on as the tests began and grew in numbers. They fired again and again, and it worked perfectly, and with impressive power. Joe’s smile only grew.

* * *

The Eccentric dragged himself across the field and towards the combat dungeon. He pulled the staff behind him gingerly, obviously concerned for its fragile nature. Ilyelanralo watched on before turning to look at the slave dagger-man then nodding after the Eccentric. The dagger-man nodded then followed after, stalking the Eccentric. The Eccentric disappeared into the combat dungeon and the dagger-man shortly after. Ilyelanralo wasn’t certain he liked the way things were going.

* * *

The dagger-man followed slowly after the dragging Eccentric until he scrambled down into the dungeon. It got a bit bumpy for the Eccentric for a bit until he made it to the bottom of the stairs as he tumbled down. But, when he arrived there, he pulled himself into the room and began pointing his odd weapon at the swarming rats before flicking pebble after pebble at the rats. While the Eccentric had pebbles, the pebbles rocketed through multiple rats and the Eccentric did well clearing the room. However, the Eccentric quickly ran out of rocks and soon the rats were swarming towards the Eccentric. The Eccentric suddenly froze, seeming to go catatonic as his glazed eyes stared at nothing. The dagger-man cursed and leapt forward, grabbing the Eccentric by the arm and pulled him roughly on to the stairs. The dagger-man fled up the stairs, yanking the Eccentric after him before slinging him out onto the grounds.

“To the dungeon! To the dungeon!” the dagger-man turned to face the dungeon entrance with tense shoulders and readied stance.

Guards pounded up, stampeding to the dagger-man’s side and all stood with some tension, staring down into the depths of the dungeon. Tension remained while the skittering of rats and the low growls and strange coughing barks echoed up the stairs, but nothing came up the stairs, all remaining below then calming. The dungeon quieted and returned to normal. The Eccentric did not.

One of the guards whipped around cursed, kicking out to hit the Eccentric in his ribs, “Fool! Do not enrage the dungeon!”

The Eccentric did not move at all, simply staring into the sky. Ilyelanralo arrived shortly after and stared down at the Eccentric before gesturing back to his tent.

“Return him to his tent.”

“Yes, master,” the guards answered.

Shortly after, the Eccentric was tossed into his tent, staring blindly up at the sky.

* * *

Ilyelanralo came into the Eccentric’s tent the next day and found the man still staring into the sky. And for the next several days, saw the same. By the second day, the slave healer was required to stay in the tent day and night, passing on healing to the Eccentric’s weakening body and offering what food and water the man would take. And Ilyelanralo’s panic grew silently behind a false façade of confidence.

* * *

Do you wish to finalize your prototype and complete your Physicist Engineer career?

Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes. Joe stared at the screen and pressed yes!

Joe spent all his time and effort pressing yes again and again and again.

* * *

Gunlan proved strong, and woke from his sickly sleep alone, rousing late in the afternoon. The servant in his room sat by his side but did not notice as Gunlan was so weak that he only roused then paused, staring at a message from the system. More requests from the fool Eccentric. No! The message disappeared then another replaced it. Gunlan grimaced. No! The message disappeared and reappeared. Gunlan grit his teeth. No! The message faded and was replaced immediately.

Gunlan growled, “No!”

The servant in the room looked over at Gunlan with confusion and then stood up with surprise, “Patriarch? Patriarch!”

Gunlan ignored the servant and stared at another system message request from the Eccentric, “No!”

The servant froze, taken aback and fell silent. Gunlan didn’t even notice and grew angry when another message popped up and he struggled to sit up.

“No! When I say no, I mean no, Eccentric.”

Another request, “No!”

And another, “NO!”

And another and another and another.

Gunlan grew angrier and angrier with each denial until he finally growled out in rage, “No forever. I’ll never agree to or accept any request from the Eccentric. I deny all of them forever!”

The messages froze. The first vanishing but then another appeared only to vanish in seconds. Soon, dozens and hundreds of messages appeared and vanished in seconds. Gunlan fell back with satisfaction into bed in exhaustion. Tired… so tired…

* * *

Do you wish to finalize your prototype and complete your Physicist Engineer career?

Joe blinked with surprise when he suddenly became aware and saw the message once again, but this time the accept button was greyed out, no longer an option. He grimaced, mentally pressing that button a few more times in frustration but finding nothing had happened. He pressed it another few times before accepting that he had not choice and chose cancel with grimace. The message flickered through strange morphing letters, flickering without purpose or meaning until it shifted a final time and then suddenly faded.

Do you wish to allow the 1|\|$@n1t`/ job to reach its completion in your death?

Joe froze when he saw that last message, terrified. Suddenly, clarity came to him and memories of the last few months washed over him and whatever certainty he had vanished in painful terror. Another message popped up, but Joe ignored it and curled into a ball, going fetal. Tears of horror flooded his cheeks.

System Administrative functions accessed.