Chapter 82: Call Me, Beep Me

We left the inn via the front door, which was a first for me; our caravan was parked in the empty space behind it, from which we disembarked and headed straight inside through the staff entrance. The main street was still busy despite it being late at night, a marked departure from Allensward and testament to the importance of abundant street lights. The majority wandering about were Civilians, dressed to impress on their night out, while a smattering of Soldiers and Guards were also present. The former patrolled the streets in small teams of two or three, while the latter manned fixed positions, only moving when relieved by the next man on shift, or to respond to a breach of public order (as one unlucky pickpocket found out).

[Pumpkin - Level 3 Cat

Placing a call, please wait calmly.]

I led the way in a random direction, because Harvey never mentioned where he was headed, so the best I could do was wander aimlessly past shops, bars and restaurants looking for signs of trouble, while trying to try and reach my Contacts in the process.

[Harvey Miller - Level 10 Thief of Souls

Placing a call please wait calmly.]

Unfortunately, the result was much the same as before, with the outbound call cutting off after a few seconds on hold, not even giving me any hints as to what was wrong.

“Are you able to reach anyone on your Contacts list?” I asked, hoping my new bodyguard might have better luck than I did.

“Let me check,” Kyle grunted, his eyes glazing over as he worked the System on his end, hands over his ears to block out the background noise. “Sam, are you there lad? Great! Wasn’t sure if I was hearing things just then. Why am I calling? Well, do you recall that time we dove down that abandoned mine shaft? You still owe my fifty gilt if I remember correctly… Alright, he hung up on me, but the call worked fine until then.”

“So it’s not a general block on communications,” I muttered, coming to a halt in front of what looked like a steakhouse, a faint metallic odor apparent even through a heavy mask of herbs and spices. The raucous clientele would be enough to drown out my own voice, assuming I managed to get through at all.

I’d already guessed that was the case, because there were enough people in The Dead Horse that someone else would have noticed such a thing, if it indeed covered the entire inn.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“In that case, either the block is on me, and I won’t be able to reach anybody, or it’s on the other end of the line.”

After a moment’s hesitation, I placed one final call to check exactly what was going on.

[Amelia Dawn - Level 30 Necromancer

Placing a call, please wait calmly.]

She was my first Contact, as a matter of fact, added shortly after waking up in this second life. More importantly, she was back in Allensward, far beyond the reach of anybody nearby, nor would they have reason to suspect we were in contact. If this call went through, then the communications jamming was on the other end of the line, and maybe Amelia could even help us out; she surely had a wealth of experience and tricks on her side, to make it to Level 30. On the other hand, if this call still failed, then that was conclusive evidence that I was the one being jammed, and we were all in big trouble.

[Connection established.]

Thankfully, after the longest few seconds of my life, the call made it through. I swiftly covered my own ears, mimicking Kyle from before to keep the din out.

“Will? You’ve made it to Heaven’s Reach already?”

Compared to our first meeting, the forced cheer was absent from Amelia’s voice, replaced by a low rasp that betrayed either profound fatigue or a long term relationship with tobacco. It seemed she was more comfortable showing her true self, now that I was no longer concussed on a hospital bed, or maybe because I was now a fellow member of the Dead Head, come to think of it.

“It is, do you have time for an emergency consultation?” I asked without further preamble. “Harvey’s well being might depend on it.”

“Symptoms?”

“He’s nowhere to be found, and all my attempts to call him are failing, the same goes for another companion we brought along. He only managed to pass along a written warning, before everything went quiet.”

“A warning?” Amelia sounded baffled. “What did he say?”

“Don’t trust your eyes.”

I didn’t hear from Amelia again for a long while, but the connection was still intact, as evidenced by the sounds of shuffling from over the line. I was tempted to clear my throat or do something just as obnoxious and attention-seeking, but managed to refrain until she spoke again.

“My Find Contact spell isn’t working on Harvey either, how troublesome. I’m limited in what I can do across such a vast distance, so that has to change. I need a conduit to tie me to Heaven’s Reach. Go kill a man and dedicate his soul to me, alright? I’ll pick things up from there.”

[Call ended.]

“Excuse me?” I blinked, but Amelia was already gone, so I had nothing to do except lower my hands in defeat.

“Did you get what you needed?” Kyle asked, leaning close to speak, now that he knew my call had concluded.

“Possibly?” I shrugged, unsure what to make of her slightly grisly request. “How well do you know the area?”

“I’ve lived in Heaven’s Reach all my life,” Kyle boasted, hand on heart. “There’s nowhere in this city I can’t find my way around.”

“Great. In that case, take us to the rough part of town, preferably a neighbourhood where a few people won’t be missed.”

It was a testament to Kyle’s experience that my request got nothing more than a raised eyebrow as he took over the course, setting off at a quick jog into the distance.