Adam looked at the outstretched hand of Caius for just a second before reaching out his own. He had been raised on the idea you could learn a lot about a man from their handshake - and Caius’s said that he could rip him limb from limb with his bare hands if he wanted.
It was a quick shake, and the man didn’t seem to mean to cause any discomfort, but his grip was like his hand was being clamped by iron vices. Adam refused to wince though, gripping the man’s hand firmly in response.
“Adam Rose,” he said. The tension dissipated a little between them. Though Adam doubted the man ever really felt any in the first place.
Caius was a good two inches taller than him with lean muscular arms. With the man so close, Adam could feel a palpable energy coming off him. Like he was in the presence of a person out of myth. For the first time in a long time, he was shocked to feel intimidated by another man.
Adam looked down where a small light pulsed from the last remnants of the jackal that weren’t sucked into the cannister at Caius’s belt. The light pulsed faster and faster until it was a steady iridescent shimmer being emitted from a small red crystal pyramid. Not as bright as the crystal he had seen on the ocean floor, but similar none the less. He stepped back, remembering the pain that had racked his body from his last experience.
Caius turned and looked down at the crystal. "That's not too bad. I wasn’t sure how long that would take in this region with the low Primordial Energy, but it wasn't much longer than others I've seen." He stepped forward and knelt, hand reaching for the crystal.
Adam sucked in a sharp breath. "Stop" He called. He didn't want Caius to experience the same pain he had if he could stop it. Not that he knew the man, but he had saved him and seemed normal enough, minus the medieval look and frightening strength. "I touched one of those and all the sudden I woke up here. Who knows where this one will send you."
Caius stopped and looked back at him - his brows knit together. "Skill Crystals? Are you crazy? I don't think there's a better feeling in the world. Besides, I'm not going to use it right now." He snatched up the crystal, inspecting it between two fingers.
"Arm skill. That's a lucky find this early." He looked back up at Adam and tucked the crystal into a pouch at his belt, tying a string off to keep it closed. “We need to get back to the others. We’re too exposed here and the Eldari will be back with others soon.” He turned to make for the opening of the large warehouse looking room.
He didn’t think there was a better feeling in the world? Did Adam find himself with some kind of masochist that thought excruciating burning pain was enjoyable? Regardless, he figured his best chance at survival was with Caius and whoever the others he was talking about were. Adam had trained extensively in the art of survival, but he had the feeling that training wouldn’t provide much benefit in this strange city if there were people like Caius walking around.
“The Eldari?” Adam asked.
Caius sighed and turned back toward Adam. “The Eldari are the humanoid beasts. The jackal and crocodile are both considered Eldari, even if they are different species. We can get into everything and answer the thousands of questions I’m sure you have later. For now, we really need to get going. With only one of my skill slots filled, I’m confident against one, but no more than that.” He looked down at Adam’s bare feet. “And I think I might have some extra shoes for you at our camp. You’ll just have to tough it out until then.” With that, he turned and made for the exit, not giving Adam the chance for any follow up questions.
Adam looked around the empty warehouse for a few seconds and then to Caius’s back as he walked at a brisk pace toward the exit. He shrugged to himself, not being one to get caught up in questions he wouldn’t find answers to now. Something drilled into him during basic training. He jogged after Caius, his ankle burning from the injuries earlier, coming to the man’s side quickly so he wouldn’t be left behind. It was nearly pitch black wherever he found himself, and it wouldn’t do to lose sight of him. As far as toughing it out went, that was right up his alley.
As they exited the empty building, Adam was more surprised to see a faint blue light glowing all along the stone around him. It provided enough light to see everything as clearly as if in the day, just with a neon hue. He looked closer at the lights, seeing small algae patches beneath.
“Bioluminescence. Amazing. I’ve never seen it on such a grand scale before. I have to… I have to get some samples.”
“Adam. Focus. It’s just the native algae. Whatever you want to test it can be done later.” Caius said, seeming almost amused by his reaction. He stared at Adam a second longer and shook his head slightly. “I have a feeling you and Finn are going to drive Ava crazy.”
“Yeah. Right.” He said hurriedly, eyes still fixed on the algae. Then it hit him just how absurd of an idea it was to want to collect samples right now. “Wait, who’s Finn and Ava?”
Caius ignored the question and broke out at a jog, hurrying through the city streets as if he had lived here his whole life. Adam followed and was thankful that Caius wasn’t going too fast, even though he was used to long runs, it wasn’t as fun barefoot.
Adam was still able to admire the city as they jogged. The narrow streets lined with stone buildings illuminated by the glowing algae. The buildings were all the same dark stone, barely warn by the passage of time or weather. The streets were an even cobblestone of dusty white stone.
There were frequent intersections of winding roads and bridges that spanned some of the taller buildings. The longer they ran, the streets grew wider. Buildings grew smaller and more spread out. He noticed sprawling fields not too far ahead, the edges barely illuminated from the glow of algae around. It was noticeably darker here than where they were when they started running, though Adam still had enough light to run comfortably without fear of tripping.
The oddest thing was the absence of sound. It was as if the stone absorbed all noise, leaving the only thing Adam could hear the footfalls of Caius and himself and the panting of his own breath. He had heard no other living creatures – humans, animals, or those Eldari creatures. Not even the chittering or buzz of insects coming from the fields.
Caius pulled to a walk as they neared what looked like a field of mutated corn. It was three times the size of the corn he was used to and a deep violet color. He looked back behind him toward where they had come from, brows rising in awe at the scene.
Before him sat a glowing stone city that he would have seen on an Epic Fantasy TV show. They had climbed in elevation slightly on the run, leaving them looking back down over a city that he couldn’t even see the end of in either direction. Tall stone spires the equivalent of modern day sky scrapers were placed in a circle around the inner most part of the city. Most breathtaking of all was the pyramid in the very center of the city. It towered over every structure around it, a sharp point reaching toward the dome like structure far above. It made the pyramids in Egypt look downright small compared to it.
Interestingly, none of the algae that seemed to cling to the rest of the buildings in the city could be found on the pyramid’s surface. At least not that Adam could see. Its surface was a polished white with gold accents every so often that ran in a band around it. The point on top was a mini golden pyramid itself that seemed to float above the larger pyramid beneath it. The entire thing emitted a faint glow, bathing its’ immediate surroundings in a warm white light.
“This is… amazing.” Adam said, struggling to find the right word for the scene before him. He had decided not to get caught up in the why of what was happening to him and to instead embrace it as much as possible. If it was a dream, he would wake up eventually. And if it wasn’t. Well, he would have to make the most of it anyways, so why bother with worrying over things he couldn’t control. His time in the Navy had taught him to take things as they came.
“It’s a grand gathering array.” Caius said, noticing what Adam was fixated on. “It helps draw in more Primordial Energy to this area than normally would be found here. I’m not sure how it appeared on a newly enriched world though.”
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“And more Primordial Energy is a good thing?”
Caius just shook his head, a bewildered smirk on his face. “We’re not far now. Like I said, you’ll have all the answers we can give you soon.” He turned to keep jogging, this time cutting straight through the strange fields.
Caius was true to his word as they only jogged through the fields for another fifteen minutes before coming to a small barn in a clearing surrounded by the tall violet corn stalks. The building was made of the same dark grey stone as all the other buildings Adam had seen and was similarly covered in blue algae. He was extremely thankful to see they were coming to a stop as his ankle throbbed from the run.
A striking girl with long blonde hair and sharp features came out of the building as they entered the clearing. She had fair skin, accentuated even more by the black leather armor she wore. On her arms were thin green tattoos that looked like the branches of trees and vines that wound around her arms and ended on her hands. Adam could just make out vines of green crawling up her neck and disappear behind her hair as well. Her eyes were a deep emerald with just a touch of brown.
“Who the hell is this?” The girl said, walking up to Caius. She looked over Adam, eyes studying him from head to toe. She lingered on his dirty bare feet and orange swim trunks, then studied his arms and the retinue of odd tattoos he had acquired over the years, making a disgusted face. “And where is Ellis? I didn’t agree to come here just to be stuck without our frontliner. Also why is this stranger half naked and shoeless? Are you some kind of vagrant?” She said, turning on Adam.
“This is Ava,” Caius whispered to Adam. “She’s our healer.”
“What do you mean our healer?” Ava said, walking straight up to Adam. Her head only came to his mid-chest, but she stared up at him, eyes burning and a scowl plastered on her face.
“Ava,” Caius said, his tone stern, but more in the overly familiar manner you would take with a close friend. “This is Adam Rose. It would appear something happened as the new world reached minimal threshold and Adam took the place of Ellis somehow. That’s why we haven’t been able to sense his tracking stone.”
“What do you mean something happened? We all walked through the same portal. Those portals were more expensive than anything any of us have seen and the chance of some random squire slipping through is quite literally zero. Even you prince.” Her pale face grew redder by the second.
Prince? Was Caius some sort of royalty where they came from? Why would he be in a place like this?
Caius shrugged in response.
“Five towns in our faction will be without Primordial Energy for at least a year and you’re saying that something must have just magically happened. That, other than me, we’re without the most important person for our survival.”
“Yup.” Caius wasn’t fazed by her tirade and just stared down at Ava. “It would appear so. Adam said he is from a place called, Earth. I think he’s from the new Kingdom.”
That seemed to catch Ava’s attention. She was still uncomfortably close to Adam who wasn’t sure what to do with himself, so he just stood there awkwardly.
“Umm, hi.” Adam said. “I’m a marine biologist. Well, trying to become one anyways. Do you have those where you come from?”
Ava’s face had turned a deep shade of red by now. She huffed and then turned back to Caius. “Did you do this somehow?” She said, jabbing a finger into Caius’s chest. “I know the tension between your families. His father’s been growing in popularity especially with the war ramping up again. There’s plenty of damage specialists but a good frontliner is hard to come by. His family’s protection skills are legendary, and the crown was feeling the pressure. Weren’t they? I know how much you hated Ellis.”
Caius let out a long sigh, turning back to Ava as if already exhausted by the conversation. “Ava, honestly, I couldn’t give two shits about the power plays between the Kings, but I wanted Ellis here as much as any of you, even if he is an insufferable ass. He’s the best there is hands down. But he’s not here and we’ll just have to make due with what we have.”
His tone was level and calm as he spoke, never condescending or commanding. That seemed to drive Ava even crazier. She threw her hands in the air and walked back toward the small barn, a stream of curses coming out of her mouth. “I mean do you even know how valuable his Indominable Guardian skill is?” She disappeared behind the barn leaving Caius and Adam alone again.
“So. I’m guessing she’s not too thrilled at the change of plans.” Adam said. He couldn’t blame her. He wasn’t particularly happy about it either.
Caius laughed in response, rubbing the back of his head. “She’ll come around. Ava’s always had a quick temper. It burns hot and fast and then she settles down, but she’s the best healer there is hands down. We’re lucky she agreed to hold off on filling her skill slots and advancing to Baron so that she could come on this trial.”
Adam had so many questions it was difficult not to just blurt them all out at the same time. “And this Ellis? He was some sort of Tank that was supposed to be here?” Adam didn’t know if that was the right word but it’s what he imagined Ava was talking about. He was starting to feel like he was trapped in a video game, which at one time would have been the most exciting thing he could think of.
Caius looked at him. “Tank?” He repeated the word. It sounded odd in his mouth as if he was pronouncing with a mouthful of water.
Adam realized that he had said it English, not the translated Latin he had been speaking in. Apparently, the translator didn’t work for everything…
“Oh sorry. I guess you don’t have the word for that in your language.” He struggled to find the words for a second. “Was he kind of like a defender? Someone that stands at the front and takes most of the damage?”
“Ahh yes.” Caius replied. “He was our frontliner, as we call them. It’s difficult to find a good one. Especially when working outside large scale battles and more fit for team-based environments. The skill sets and tactics are vastly different. It’s really more of a matter of finding the right combination of pre- Primordial Energy training and understanding and synergy with the direction you want to take your skill sets. Then you have the genetic component. The problem is that most high tiered families focused on damage or healing as they are the safer options, so their young grew into those fields of study. As with Ava and I. Ellis is one of the rare exceptions. His father is…” Caius looked over Adam realizing he was completely lost. “Sorry. The inheritance and creation of skill sets is something I am deeply passionate about. I forgot for a second that you had no idea what any of this was.”
Adam couldn’t help but smile back at Caius. He knew exactly what it was like to get caught speaking about something that the person on the other side of the conversation had absolutely no idea about. It broke some of the mysticism that had been built up around Caius in his brain and he began to see him as a real person for the first time.
“That’s all right. I genuinely look forward to learning all about it. If you’re willing to teach me that is.” And Adam meant it. This was a chance to learn about an entirely new world. How could he not be excited? “But I have to ask. Do you really feel comfortably bringing me into your team so quickly? I mean Ava’s not wrong to doubt my presence here.
Caius stared at him, his brows pushed together as if he was studying Adam.
“Don’t get me wrong.” He said quickly. “I’m thrilled to be here. I don’t think I’d survive without you, but I also know what it’s like when a new person is inserted in a team where mistakes lead to death.”
Caius must have seen the sincereness on his face as he clapped a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “I think we’re going to get along just fine. Besides, there’s absolutely no on in their right mind that meant to come to this trial that would dress like that.” He gestured to Adam’s orange swim trunks. “Alone. And so clearly in over your head. If you’re some sort of spy from another faction or Kingdom that engineered being captured by an Eldari banking on me saving you, then you’ve earned it.”
“Well, when you put it that way.” Adam said, rubbing the back of his head.
Caius let out a low chuckle. “Come on.” He gestured to the stone barn. “You need to meet the last member of the team.”
They walked through the door to find a fire burning in a dug-out pit in the center. Next to the fire sat what looked like an eighteen-year-old kid. He had unkempt, curly, dirty blonde hair pulled back behind his ears and large glasses. He fiddled with something in his lap that almost looked like a pouch containing an endless void, not looking up when Caius and Adam walked over. He wore ornately crafted gold rings that had different color gemstones set into them on each finger.
Caius and Adam watched the kid work for a minute before he looked up. “Ohh. Hey Caius. I guess Ellis didn’t make it then?”
“Nope.” Caius said. A soft smile split his lips. “But I did find Adam here. He was a little lost. I think he’s from the new Kingdom. Adam this is Finn, the other damage focused specialist on our team.”
Finn turned his attention to Adam. He had large green eyes that were even more amplified by his thick glasses. He looked Adam up and down, eyebrows raised. “The dimensional forces that must have diverged at the exact moment to create this phenomenon is unprecedented - but not out of the realm of possibility. Master Manning theorized a similar event was possible given the imbuement of Primordial Energy in a native before their planet could support the new requirements of their body.”
“Well, I’m glad somebody understands,” Adam said, the words slipping out. He had this awkward air about him but seemed genuinely kind at the same time. He reminded him a lot of his older brother. Well, before the incident. Still, he couldn’t hold back the smile at the similarities.
“I like him,” Finn said as if passing judgment after studying Adam for a few seconds. “Ellis was an insufferable ass. Besides, do you even know what a ridiculous opportunity it is to learn from a native?” Finn studied Adam in the same way Ava had, going over every detail of his body.
“Is it normal for your people to mark their skin with pictures of little devils showing their backside?” Finn asked, pointing at the tattoo on his shin of the devil creature that was in fact turned around and flashing its butt.
Caius smirked and Adam couldn’t help but laugh. He had gotten tattoos as a way to cope with everything he had done in the military. All he had witnessed. Even fighting the demons of his own mind. Most of the time he just told the tattoo artist to do something that would make other people feel uncomfortable and as a result had ended up with two full arm and leg sleeves. Finn had more of a scholarly interest it seemed though.
“No. This was just more of my thing.” He said, not bothering to explain his reasoning. “Also, why are you calling me a native? I don’t even know where here is.”
Finn shrugged. “I haven’t been everywhere in my home Kingdom, doesn’t mean I’m not a native to the planet.”
Adam had to concede the point. Finn and Caius’s perspective were on more of a cosmic scale where he had only just found out about intelligent life outside of the Earth.
“You almost done with the dimensional storage sacks?” Caius asked, looking down at the void in Finn’s lap.
Finn reached a hand in the odd pouch before him, arm disappearing up to his shoulder. It was perhaps the most bizarre thing Adam had seen since waking up in this strange city. Even with the talking humanoid creatures attacking him and meeting people from other worlds – or Kingdoms as they seemed to call them. There was something more disconcerting about an arm disappearing into something that shouldn’t fit anything larger than a water bottle.
Finn pulled out three other similar looking black pouches. He tossed one to Caius and one to Adam, a wide grin splitting his face as he did. “I have to say it was particularly tricky overriding the dimensional capacity fields without my father’s workshop, but these will hold up nicely for our purposes here. As long as we don’t try and store a full building in them or wildly chaotic dimensional forces, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
He stood and attached a belt to the original pouch and proceeded to wrap it around his waist. Adam was even more dumbfounded when he realized he was looking at a fanny pack. A fanny pack that doubled as a vault that could potentially store a mountain worth of material.
He clipped it in place, sticking his arm in up to his shoulder a few times and pulling it out like a kid playing with a new toy. The inside of the pouch felt like the inside of a fridge. Any part of his arm that entered began to tingle, as if it had fallen asleep. Despite the terror of the day, Adam had the distinct feeling that he was going to enjoy this. Either that or die trying.