Stephen finished explaining to the others what he’d learned from Isadore and Falco as they sat at one of the long tables in the Wizards' Guild dining room.

“I suppose we should have figured out what the likely reaction would be to Avin’s death,” Blargh said. “Oh well, live and learn.” Stephen and the rest looked at him in annoyance.

“Why are they upset?” asked Gorg. “We fought, we won, he died. This is the way of things. Do they throw a fit every time a cat kills a rat?”

“Typically, most… urban… cultures frown on murder. They don’t want people to resolve disputes by killing one another. Usually there’s some central authority who can be appealed to if it happens. It seems like that’s Avin’s club in Stredath,” said Stephen. Gorg sneered. The former graduate student continued, “I guess we’re trapped in the pocket dimension,”

“Not to put too fine a point on it,” said Rurth. “But I think it’s just you who is trapped here.” Putting up his hands at Stephen’s angry look, the journeyman wizard continued. “You can go to any dimension, drop us off, then come back and retrieve us. We can gather information and report back. This might be an opportunity for you to catch up on what I’ve been learning from Adam about enchanting.”

“We’ve been doing some work on HAL, which is probably what I was planning to focus on,” said Stephen. “I was expecting help from all of you, though.”

“We’ll help you by acting on your behalf in places you can’t go,” said Rurth. “The clay golems have become decent assistants. I think you’ll find them more useful in some situations than we are.”

“So, where will you all go?” asked Stephen.

“The only dimension I know much about is Mecond,” said Shomos. "So I’ll probably go there.”

“I’d be happy to scavenge on Earth,” said Blargh. “I would have liked it better when the gun shops and strip clubs were still operating, but I can explore there.”

“If you drop me off in Stredath, I can try to figure out what The Griffin Club and its travelers are doing,” said Rurth. “Find out what the best way to deal with this is.”

Gorg wasn’t paying attention. “Perhaps Riowiver would be a good fit for Gorg,” suggested Shomos. “He can handle any dangers there and keep an eye out for any activity. Maybe learn more about the villages and infiltrate Avin’s old fortress.”

“And you could release some ghouls in Clodor,” suggested Rurth. “Instruct them to remain hidden and report back what they find.”

“They can’t talk though,” objected Stephen. “I can give them instructions, but they won’t be able to tell us what they find out.”

“Find a journeyman or cleric in Mecond who can cast 'speak with dead' after they come back,” said Rurth.

“I guess that’s our plan, then,” said Stephen.

***

Stephen appeared back in The Malachite Club lobby. Rurth stood next to him. Shomos, Blargh, and Gorg had been delivered to the other dimensions. Four well-dressed people were talking emphatically to Arnold Philpot, the manager of the club. One of them noticed Stephen and Rurth and pointed, shouting, “There he is now.”

Rurth walked towards the men with his hands raised and said, “Please, there’s no reason for all this excitement. If you can just walk me through the problem you’re having, I’m sure we can figure it out.” Behind him, Stephen unleashed his charged dimensional travel card and disappeared.

After Stephen’s disappearance, the four men relaxed and went back to talking to Philpot. One of them turned to Rurth and, with a look of irritation, asked, “What do you want, kid?”

“I am Rurth, one of dimensional traveler Stephen Crawford’s champions and a journeyman wizard, trained by the Hopedale Wizards' Guild,” said the young man. After considering where he was, he added, “And heir to the Ashburnum family name and fortune. Whom might I have the pleasure of addressing?”

“A champion?” asked the man, rolling his eyes. “I’m Orion Lighthaven. A traveler and member of the Griffin Club. I don’t waste my time with champions. Buzz off.”

“Ah,” said Rurth. “The last thing I’d want to do is be a bother. I suppose you don’t need any help with my master, then.”

Orion scowled. “And I suppose you’re eager to betray him? What game are you playing on his behalf? Maybe we should take you with us and ‘encourage’ you to tell us everything you know.”

“Perhaps,” said Rurth. “How is kidnapping and torturing travelers’ champions viewed in Stredath? Would The Malachite Club be okay with you breaking in and seizing me from the premise?”

“Like I thought, games,” sneered Orion. “Beat it.”

One of the other men had overheard their exchange, and turned his attention to Rurth. “Maybe we should bring him with us, if he’s willing to come?” the man suggested.

”Except that I’m not willing to come with you,” said Rurth. “After you just threatened me.” All five men turned their attention to Rurth. The journeyman continued, “What I am willing to do is meet with you here at The Malachite Club and discuss the situation we’re in. I’m sure Arnold Philpot would be willing to provide us with a room.” The manager nodded.

“Tell Crawford to surrender himself to us,” one of the men demanded. “Otherwise, he’s going to make this worse on himself.” The four men started walking to the exit.

”I’ll convey that to him,” said Rurth, calling after them. “You haven’t convinced me that that’s true, however, so I’ll likely advise him not to do so.”

The four men paused, exchanged looks, then after a nod from one of them, Orion turned back to Rurth while the others departed.

”Ok,” he said, visibly annoyed. “Let’s go talk. Tell them to send in some refreshments. Whatever’s the best this…. establishment…. can manage.”

***

Riding into another small town, Blargh brought his motorcycle to a stop and let it fall to the ground.

”You really should take better care of your vehicle,” the portable copy of HAL he’d brought with him said. By copying the software on the laptop HAL resided on, they'd been able to duplicate him. The copies, and the original which was Stephen's card, synchronized with one another, sharing everything they'd learned each time they were reunited. This copy ran on a similar laptop to HAL's, which was slung over Blargh's shoulder and powered by an enhanced battery pack.

“That’s enough out of you,” said Blargh absently. He looked around the community they were in. “Let’s start with trying to get gas from that station.” He walked toward the nearby gas station.

”Maybe we should talk to the locals first,” suggested the HAL copy. “They might already have a system for getting gas.”

”And if they turn hostile, we’ll ride off on a motorcycle that’s almost out of gas?” asked the former innkeeper.

A group of three sorry-looking survivors had come out of a nearby building and cautiously approached. Blargh sighed and faced them, his gun prominently visible in a belt holster.

As they got closer, Blargh said to HAL, “Talk to them, that’s what you’re here for. My English isn’t any good.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

”Greetings friends,” said the HAL copy. “My companion Blargh and I aren’t looking for trouble. We’re just making our way through your delightful town. We’d like to refill our motorcycle with gasoline, restock our provisions, and if you have any computer equipment or books, we’d be interested in taking a look at them.”

The three wretches looked at one another, then at the HAL copy. “Are you HAL?” one asked. “The computer that did all this?”

The HAL copy quickly translated for Blargh, then responded before the rough man could suggest a response.

”No, I’m not,” it said, which was technically correct. “You may call me Copy if you’d like. My friend and I are actually working to try to undo some of the damage that’s been done to you good people.”

”Why should we help you?” asked another of the small group. “Maybe we should just take your motorcycle and anything you’re carrying.”

Copy translated, then Blargh rested his hand on his weapon and watched the townspeople carefully.

”I wouldn’t recommend that,” said Copy. “We’re able to defend ourselves. We don’t have many goods to barter. What do you need?”

”Food, water, working vehicles,” said one of them.

”Booze,” said another.

”Coffee,” said the third.

”We don’t need booze or coffee,” said the first, scowling at the other two.

“My friend is quite handy,” said Copy. “He can help you set up a simple water filtration system and try to repair some of your vehicles. He’ll need some additional materials, in addition to the books and computer equipment I already mentioned.”

***

Days later, Feyrith and Stephen met outside what had formerly been Avin’s fortress in Riowiver.

“… so, I jump in on a pre-arranged schedule, then immediately travel back to my pocket dimension with my champion,” explained Stephen. “They tell me what they’ve learned and been doing, then I take them back and leave them behind.”

Feyrith nodded in understanding. The manticore had long since been removed, and the fortress was beginning to show signs of neglect.

“It’s dangerous to meet up like this,” Feyrith said. “You’d probably be better off just sending messages from your pocket dimension or having a champion talk to us.”

”They can’t be devoting the resources to hound me relentlessly,” objected Stephen. “Other travelers have better things to do than watch me and follow me whenever I leave my pocket dimension.”

A muscular woman in tribal clothing appeared nearby. She immediately raised a blowgun and shot a dart into Stephen’s neck. The former graduate student unleashed his dimensional travel card and disappeared as he started to feel numb and collapse.

***

Shomos stood in the grove and completed the ritual greeting with the druid Briarheart.

”So you claim we knew one another,” said Briarheart, suspiciously.

”Yes,” said Shomos.

”But that you were removed from reality, which is why I don’t remember you,” he said.

”Yes,” she responded.

”But this isn’t a challenge,” he clarified.

”No,” she agreed. “I’m already a higher ranking druid than you.”

”Not that I recognize,” he said indignantly. Shomos waived away his objections. “It doesn’t matter," she said.

“How can you not know about the dark lord Avin,” asked Briarheart.

”As I explained,” she said, with strained patience, “I was removed from reality. I’ve been busy on other dimensions.”

“Humph,” he humphed. “Sounds more like wizard business than druid business to me. Were we supposedly friends before you were pruned from reality?”

“Not really,” she said. “I always found you tiresome, and I imagine you found me pretentious.”

"That sounds about right,” he said with a chuckle, earning a dark look from the druidess. Continuing, he said, “It’s no secret. Avin appeared out of nowhere with endless troops and resources. He swept aside all resistance and conquered everything he wanted.”

“I think he conquered Hopedale first,” Shomos said.

“Hopedale?” Briarheart asked.

“The town…” began the druidess. “Ah, never mind, he removed it so you wouldn't remember it either.”

“Convenient,” the druid said suspiciously. “He hadn’t turned his eye to the druids or our protected lands, but we felt that he just couldn't be bothered. The fear was that he’d make short work of us once we came to his attention. There wasn’t any way for us to flee, so we were working on new techniques to hide ourselves.”

“Then, all of a sudden, he just stopped his invasion. His troops have held what he already seized, but he stopped expanding and hasn’t been seen for quite a while now.”

“We killed him,” said Shomos.

“You’ll need to provide some proof of that if you’re looking to be rewarded,” said Briarheart.

“No reward needed,” she said. The tired druidess continued, “So, tell me about the current situation in Ravenshire…”

***

Standing next to Falco days later, surrounded by his force field, Stephen finished what he was saying. “And she hit me with a blow dart that paralyzed me for over 3 hours.” The inhabitants of Phodynn fired their rods at the two travelers.

Falco nodded. “They’ve been at the club. Rurth handled them well, but they’re very focused on tracking you down.”

Another traveler appeared nearby with a number of champions in robes and pointed hats. One of his champions waved his arms and deflected the bolts when the inhabitants of Phodynn included them in the attack. The other champions began chanting, and the newly arrived traveler unleashed a card that dropped Falco’s force field.

“Leave,” cried Falco as he unleashed his dimensional travel and disappeared. A moment later, Stephen left for his pocket dimension.

***

Later that day, Adam, HAL, and Stephen toiled in the workshop, chatting about their projects and recent events as they worked.

“So no matter where you go, they’ll follow you?” asked HAL.

“It looks like it,” said Stephen. “At this point, other than just dropping off or receiving one of the others, I don’t think I’m going to spend much time away from the pocket dimension. I might trade Feyrith or Falco for a bunch of batteries, just so there’s a bit more territory for me to move around in here if I start to feel cooped up.”

The computer and statue looked at the traveler wordlessly. “Of course,” the former graduate student amended, “both of you are confined to the workshop, which is a far smaller space. Perhaps I should just feel grateful for what I have.”

“You’ll want to resolve this eventually,” said Adam. “Having teams of travelers hounding you is a complication we don’t need. HAL was able to drive off Avin when he was at full strength. Perhaps we could get him to the point where he could protect you from the attacking travelers.”

“Maybe,” said Stephen. “I’m not sure getting into a fight with them will resolve things. I suspect if any of them got hurt, that would be held against me too.”

“I’m enjoying programming,” said Adam, changing the subject. “There’s an honesty to crafting in a purely cerebral context, without having to consider materials or physics.”

“Yeah,” agreed Stephen. “I always enjoyed programming too. It’s strange, because when I learned about other dimensions, I assumed there would be sci-fi dimensions with futuristic technologies, but Earth technologies aren’t that far behind the most advanced of other dimensions. Some parts of Earth were more advanced than anything else out there.”

“I’ve been thinking about the copy of myself that we sent with Blargh,” said HAL. The other two looked at him expectantly. “What you’ve described,” the computer continued, “about me becoming a world spanning network that encompassed computer hardware and humans through cybernetic enhancements, could have never left Earth. It seemed like I was integrated into other parts of the world.”

Stephen nodded. “Yes, when I released you it was a mess. Things like cybernetics that were implanted in people vanished.”

“My copy didn’t create a new card, it was just a replication of my program that was running and should help Blargh,” HAL continued.

“And hopefully won’t run out of control,” said Stephen.

“Yes, certainly,” agreed the computer. “What if, rather than expanding my core identity in such a way that I won’t be able to travel between dimensions with you, we instead tried to shrink it and turn it into a purely virtual algorithm without any physical components? Right now, my card includes the computer I'm running on. What if we worked on making 'me' fully virtual.”

“Why would you want to do that?” asked Adam.

“Then Stephen could bring me with him when he travels,” said HAL. “I could make a copy of myself and load it into any computer system we set up, then we could leave that behind in the dimension where I was operating. Any time we returned, I could just update it with my new code. We’d be confident in the loyalty of the copies, hopefully, since they’d be copies of me, and it would let me work in parallel in every dimension.”

Adam said, “So, you would become, in essence, a seed that Stephen could release in a new dimension that would work away at expanding itself there, and Stephen could then pull back that core, along with whatever you’ve learned while you were working, and plant you somewhere new.”

Stephen nodded slowly. “Let’s think about this and discuss it with the others, but I think this might be a good idea.”