The next thing Ronin saw was a pop up asking him how he wanted to proceed with the timeline in his world. He read down the list quickly, trying to decide the best way to get the credits he needed, without letting the whole place get away from him.
“What are you doing?” He heard Leo ask, in his too calm voice. Followed by an “easy now girl. There’s no need for that.” Worried that either Owl five or Elyria was about to get in trouble with the older man, Ronin hurriedly spun the counter up so that the next day would be a month in his pocket world and slapped accept.
“What the hell?” He asked with shock as his credit pool plummeted far further than the thousand credits it should have cost. Franticly opening the screen back up he gaped in shock.
“Alex, son please call this goblin off me before I’m forced to hurt her. We need to go.” Ronin Ignored the voice as he looked with horror at what he’d done. In his haste, he hadn’t added a month to his pocket worlds time dilation… he’d added a year. He tried to come up with some way to undue his mistake, but his interface winked out before he could, and he looked up to see a “locked” message. Leo had somehow disconnected him from his screens.
“What did you do?” He snapped, anger starting to bubble up in his chest. Before he could act in any fashion, he felt a restraining hand on his arm. Looking over he saw Elyria holding onto him and shaking her head.
“Bad idea, white flame.” She whispered, facing Ronin but looking at Leo. “Just let it go, whatever it is. We’re pushing our luck right now. Call Five off, and let’s just do whatever he needs from us.”
Ronin wanted to argue, as he wondered just how many days had flown by in his realm during this short exchange. Wondered if his people were even now engaging the undercity’s forces. After taking a deep breath, he nodded and stepped back. She was right. He owed Leo a debt, or at least the older man believed he did, and if he wanted to get out of it the best thing he could do was just help him out with whatever it was he needed.
“Very well.” He said at last, “Brie please put that down and leave him alone.” He said with some surprise when he looked towards the door to find Owl five holding a fork to Leo Dawson’s neck. He was standing still, almost indifferent to the situation, but Ronin could see how close to action the man was. For the first time, he really got a glimpse of why he scared Elyria so much.
It was in the way he stood, still and almost calm, yet coiled so tightly that with the lightest of provocations he might spring into action. Owl five was no slouch, he knew all too well how deadly she was, but her lethality came from bullets and blades in the dark. Not from close in your face savagery. If it came to blows, he knew who would win the current standoff.
For the longest moment, he didn’t think she was going to listen. Then, all at once, the tension went out of them, and they took a step apart. Feeling relieved, Ronin took in the people in his room for the first time. Leo looked the same as always; a sharply dressed and fit man in his forties wearing a grey suit with a black tie. When he took Elyria and brie in though, he got another shock.
“What are you two wearing?” He asked in confusion. The pair of them were dressed just like he was, blue jeans and a white tee shirt. Just like his, the shirts were snug, pressed tight to their bodies. However, they had assets that were barely concealed by the thin fabric. Thanks to his upbringing, the sight of women’s bodies normally didn’t bother him, but he felt a stirring somewhere inside himself at the sight of these two women in particular. For a long moment he just stared at them, until they, confused, looked down on themselves and noticed what he had been staring at.
“What?” Elyria shrieked, turning away from him, but not before he felt a stinging slap on his face. Owl five was slower to understand the problem, but she too turned a darker shade of green and turned away from him.
“Oh wow,” Leo said with a chuckle. “What is this, middle school?” Ronin didn’t get the reference at first, but then the strange memories he got while on the ship explained the context to him and he grinned, realizing how silly they were acting. “Here,” Leo threw the girls each a jean jacket, he’d pulled out of nowhere. “Put these on if it bothers you that much. We have an appointment with a tailor to get you all properly outfitted… if we can ever get there.” He said, anger starting to creep into his abnormally calm tone.
“Right,” Ronin said looking at Leo. “Sorry, let’s go.” Elyria and Brie had hurriedly thrown on the jean jackets and were nodding their readiness as well. It was a surreal sight for Ronin, as he moved past them towards the door. He’d never seen Brie out of her armor, not once. She looked smaller than he expected. As for Elyria, apart from the first day they’d met, she was always dressed in silks, and her engraved silver armor. He almost couldn’t reconcile the haughty elf in her normal finery with this blue jean clad slender woman.
“Pick up your tongue and put your eyes back in white flame, or I swear…” Elyria said, trailing off into ominous silence as Ronin passed her.
“Hey sorry, you both just look so different to…” Ronin trailed off as he walked out of his hotel room for the first time. “Wow.” He breathed, unable to hold in his awe at the magnificent sight that met his gaze.
They were in a futuristic hive city. Organic towers of crystallin vegetation soared high into the sky, interspersed with human buildings that had a distinct sci-fi twist. Flying cars flitted between the buildings that rose into the clouds where he could just make out what looked like a floating castle far overhead. He flexed his eyes to zoom in for a better view, but it didn’t work. Confused, he gave himself a once over.
He looked as fit as ever, his body thick with cybernetically enhanced muscles and bones. Flexing his knees, he jumped straight up. In his pocket world, a standing jump like this should have seen him clearing the ground by a good five feet, but he didn’t get more than a foot off the ground.
“What’s going on,” he said out loud to no one in particular.
“Noticed already huh?” Leo asked from where he was still holding the door for the girls. “The public areas restrict enhancements beyond the bounds of what the human body is capable of. So, that fancy cyborg body you crafted for yourself isn’t good for anything out here.” He finished with a smirk.
“But…Why?” Ronin asked, feeling unbalanced and weak without the mechanical strength he’d gotten so used to over the last few months.
“Why?” Leo repeated with a frown. “Because some people have given themselves much more power in their personal realms than you chose to take. The destruction someone in a building sized mech could cause in this city doesn’t bear thinking about. Besides, getting into this ship isn’t easy. No one wants to risk their immortality on some random noob having a bad day when they’re out for a walk… now hurry up. We’re late.”
“Right, sorry.” Ronin said stepping aside to let the girls out, before part of Leo’s explanation clicked in his distracted mind. “What do you mean, risk their immortality? I thought crystallization was forever…” he trailed off, thinking of how hard he’d fought to avoid death in his own pocket world. He wondered about that as Leo let out a real laugh for the first time. It came out more a bitter sounding bark, but Ronin could feel it was genuine.
“How did you survive four months alone in your realm with that attitude boy?” He asked with incredulity evident in his tone. “Crystallization converts us from flesh and blood into the crystalline matrix of the ship… we’re like data stored in a computer from pre fall earth.”
“That’s right,” Ronin said with a confused frown. “We’re data saved into the ship’s matrix. Doesn’t that mean we’re immortal?” Even as he asked the question, he felt his heart sinking with dread for some reason he couldn’t put his finger on.
“No boy.” Leo said, motioning them towards a taxi that had flown in from the sky to land right in front of his door. He didn’t say another word until they were all seated in the insanely large cab. It was more like stepping into a small sitting room, complete with chairs and a coffee table with a steaming carafe setting between four cups. Ronin looked around in awe. The room was well furnished with plush chairs made of beautifully engraved hardwood. Portraits of fantasy landscapes covered each wall, and the floor was covered in a carpet so thick he found himself sinking as he stepped inside.
“Get us all a glass would you girl?” Leo said casually to Brie, who glared daggers at the man but complied when Ronin gave her a nod. He didn’t want Leo getting distracted before he finished his explanation.
“So?” He prodded gently once everyone had a cup of surprisingly good coffee and seated themselves around the sitting room. “How is it not immortality?” He caught Elyria’s eye and shook his head. The elf was clearly on the verge of some kind of meltdown, he just hoped she could hold it in for a little longer.
“Oh right,” Leo said having set his cup down after the first sip, to conjure his wine glass from thin air. “The system was designed to grant the beetles immortality. They would crystallize before the ship left and they could spend whole epochs in safety. Even when reaching their intended target planet, if their newly formed crystallin bodies died, they could simply reload the latest backup of themselves into a new one from ships stores. They could even produce offspring… unfortunately, we aren’t beetles boy. We’re humans, and our physiology isn’t wholly compatible with the ship’s systems. We can be saved into the system, we can get new crystallin bodies, we can even live for as long as our vessels intact… but we can’t have kids and we can’t survive death. Our human minds just won’t accept that coming back is possible. Some people theorize it’s the human soul refusing to allow us to skirt our fated end. Dying in here erases your file completely. No save points, no do overs.” He punctuated his explanation with a long sip of red wine before he leaned back into the comfortable looking chair.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Ok, I’ve had enough.” Elyria said, jumping to her feet and glaring at the two men. “What the hell are you talking about? This is crazy, it’s impossible. When our ship dropped from hyperspace close to that little planet, we assumed it was just a fault with the engines since we couldn’t leave. Then we figured there was some gravity anomaly or something because of the other ships stuck in orbit… but this? You’re telling me… what? That entire world is just some code in some giant crystal computer? That I’m…” Ronin waited as she trailed off at the look of sympathetic pity on his face. Leo on the other hand only shrugged and nodded.
“Pretty much.” He said with another sip, “I paid extra for a time dilated cab. It’s a five-minute flight to the tailor, but I gave us an extra hour so we could talk. So, get it out of your system girl.” He looked completely at his ease, but Ronin noticed how he had coiled up again. He was like a taught string, ready to fly into action with the slightest provocation. Elyria noticed it too, because instead of attacking the man, something Ronin was almost certain she’d do after his casual disregard, settled back into her seat.
“What do you think about this nonsense?” She asked, turning to Brie who had picked up a stir spoon at some point and was looking at Leo warily. “It can’t be real; we’ve just entered some kind of advanced virtual reality or something right? Maybe locked in those pods you Owl members use?” When she was addressed by the elf, Brie didn’t move more than a tiny shrug, attention still focused on the older man across from her lord.
“I’ve always known,” she said simply. “Our lord created the owl team to accompany him into his newly created world. Knowing my background was created for me, or that I didn’t exist more than 4 months ago doesn’t make me any less real, or my duty any less clear.” Her statement silenced the whole room. Even Leo Dawson tipped his head to the half goblin, impressed by her dedication.”
Ronin was also silenced. The news that making it into the ship didn’t make him immortal had floored him. Sure, he’d done his best not to die in his pocket world. Somewhere in the back of his mind though, he always thought even if he died it wouldn’t be the end. That he’d wake up back in his hotel room, maybe short a few credits but alive and well. It was what had given him the strength to throw himself into battles over and over again in place of his people, because he could come back when they couldn’t… or at least he’d thought so.
When Brie confessed to already knowing everything, his world was rocked again. He’d never brought it up with them before, but he’d assumed that the owl team had just been given false memories or something. Not that they knew all about the real world, or why they were created.
“Unbelievable.” The elf said, sitting back down. She suddenly looked much more like a lost teenaged girl than the bad ass elven warrior Ronin knew her to be. “So, my history… My husband… you, created it all?” She asked, looking at Ronin, rage hardening her eyes into sapphire chips of ice.
“No.” Surprisingly the word didn’t come from Ronin, but from Leo. “We have very little control over the worlds we create. Apart from those special few made during world creation, like the goblin here.” He said motioning to Brie, “everything else is just a framework of concepts we want implemented. The ship’s computer takes it from there. The boy had no say over who or what was created in his world apart from this ‘owl team’ and perhaps a few geographical changes. Unless he wanted to blow through credits like they were water, anyway...” He said, trailing off with a small glare for Ronin.
Before Ronin could ask why he was sticking up for him, or Elyria could lash out again the man spoke up, answering the question himself.
“Look, I understand how overwhelming this can be. I’ve dealt with this before. In fact, the two ladies I’ll be bringing to the party were born in my own personal realm. If you would like to talk with them about their experience, I know they will be accommodating… just don’t take it out on Alex, ok?” He said with as close to a sympathetic smile as Ronin had ever seen from the man. “We are heading into enemy territory. I wouldn’t have bothered with someone so green to the ship if I’d had any choice. I planned to put my son into a time dilated world and leave him there for as long as it took, for him to grow up enough to be of assistance in this competition… but… due to circumstances outside my control, which wasn’t an option.” The glare he sent Ronin’s way that time was anything but small.
To Ronin’s surprise, Elyria didn’t lash out again. Instead, she stood up and made several laps around the small room before sitting back down.
“Alright,” she said looking at Leo. “We aren’t done with this conversation, White flame,” she added with a glare of her own Ronin’s way. “But I can set it aside until the task has been completed… so, tell me, what are we getting ourselves into?” A real smile blossomed on Leo’s face at those words, and he chuckled into his wine glass before speaking.
“I was worried when they changed the rules,” he said turning his attention to Ronin. “But now, I think we might actually stand a chance.”
* * *
“Why did we have to come to a tailor for this anyway?” Ronin asked Leo, once he’d been fitted with a suit that matched his “dad’s.” “You materialized the jackets you gave the girls at my hotel, why not just do the same with the suits?” He continued, looking into the mirror at the well-fitted suit he now wore. He’d hated the white flame pattern Owl two had fabricated for him, but now. He had to admit, it looked fantastic.
“Because boy.” Leo said with a sigh. Ronin could tell the constant questioning was taking a toll on the man’s, controlled calm, but he couldn’t contain himself. “You can materialize anything you can envision and have the credits to produce. Talented as I am, I’m no tailor. I could put a suit on you, sure. But it wouldn’t fit nearly so well or have the exact color vest to match your personal realm colors, or a tie that fits with your complexion or the tint of your eyes or whatever tailors use to determine what makes a good suit. Remember this son, when you want a professional level job… go to a professional.” Ronin could only nod, the words made sense, even if he couldn’t prove it one way or the other.
“And these?” He asked, raising the silver goat headed mask, complete with swept back horns over his face. Where it stuck securely in place, without any straps or latches.
“Everyone who is anyone is invited to the masquerade itself. That doesn’t mean everyone is invited to participate in the competition… not the real competition anyway.” He said, taking a deep pull from his wine glass. “We’ll go, we’ll mingle, and when the time is right someone will collect those of us who need to be collected and take us somewhere else… just… try not to embarrass me boy and keep your girls in check. They’re supposed to be your escorts, not fanatical bodyguards or realm natives who seem to hate you as much as they… just keep them in check, ok?” He said, clearly stopping himself from saying something else.
“You don’t have to worry about this White flame hating native,” Elyria said stepping out of the fitting room. “I already told you; I’ll keep myself in check until I can have the Lordling alone for a while.” Ronin didn’t know if he would have commented on that statement or not, because the sight of Elyria stole the words from his mouth.
She was dressed in smoky grey silks that, though translucent and form fitting, still concealed her torso completely. The fabric was patterned in dark flames, that slowly lightened as they licked up her body to a grey so light it was nearly white on her shoulders. Her silver hair had been done up into elaborate braids, silver chains with small sapphires studded throughout. A pair of engraved chopsticks crossed in the back of her head, also in silver. As were the earrings that dangled small blue stones from her pointed ears. Black high heels with silver buckles adorned her feet and a nearly transparent black scarf rounded off the outfit. It was draped over her shoulders and speckled with silver pins that glistened like stars when she moved.
“How do I look?” She asked, bringing a silver mask shaped like a glaring sparrow, into place over her pink tinged face.
“Um… Wow, you look…” Ronin said, momentarily lost for words, as he stared at the elven woman.
“Put your eyes back in, White flame.” She said, a snap to her voice that reminded Ronin this woman wasn’t really on his side. “I’m not one of your bugbear wives, or one of the goblin groupies you have hanging over your every word.”
“You clean up well,” Leo said. Having apparently decided to come to Ronin’s aid once again. “It looks like you were born to live this kind of life.” He finished with a nod and a tip of his glass.
“Until a few months ago, I thought I was.” She muttered, so quietly the men were able to pretend they hadn’t heard her. “Come on now Five,” she said turning back toward the dressing rooms. “Let’s see what they came up with for you.” Brie didn’t come out right away, but with a little more coaxing she finally made her appearance.
“Well,” Leo said with a chuckle. “It’s not exactly what I was expecting, but it fits I suppose. It will just appear like you brought one escort and a servant with you. Might be for the best, with her size and build, she will be easily overlooked.” Ronin had to agree with the older man’s estimation. Still, he couldn’t help being disappointed.
Brie was dressed in a solid black pants suit, with a grey turtleneck on that reached her ears and a pair of matching gloves that disappeared into her sleeves. The black dress shoes were also long enough to be covered by her pantlegs. The only accessory she wore was a long thin silver chain, looped around her neck at least three times, which ended in a diamond shaped pendant. Nothing of her skin could be seen apart from her face, and that was quickly covered when she put on her mask. A featureless, smooth piece with two narrow eye slits. It was painted with the white flame colors and had an attached vail, also in black, that covered her crimson hair.
“You look great, Brie.” Ronin said with a smile, “But why aren’t you wearing a dress?” He couldn’t help but add the question, even as he said it though, he knew it had hurt the girl’s feelings. A certainty that was instantly confirmed by her next words.
“Please, my lord.” She said in a clipped tone he hadn’t heard, or missed, since they’d been at the bugbear’s honeycomb city. “I am on duty, so refer to me by my code name.” Ronin deflated inside a little at her words, thankful that his own face was covered to hide his pain. Leo’s face was still exposed though, and the pity in his eyes was evident enough for both of them.
“Very well, Owl five.” He said with a nod after a moment where he gathered himself, no longer as excited as he had been a moment before. “Are you confident you can perform your duties adequately dressed as you are?” He asked, wondering what she would say.
“The only weapon I could get access to was this small chain flail,” she said fingering the silver chain around her neck. “The material is sturdy and the diamond sharp, it will serve as a garrote should the situation warrant as well. Still, I recommend caution. My body isn’t as strong as in your pocket world.” She said matter-of-factly.
“Well damn,” Leo said with another chuckle. “She’s got spunk if nothing else. You could have done a lot worse than her boy; I’ll tell you that. Just make sure she doesn’t kill anyone important, ok?” He added, putting his own golden lion headed mask into place.