Monday, May 5th, 2069

“Your honor, I can assure you that Brodie Flacarrada has not run away,” Shami Stovall assured Judge Dench. The Judge didn’t bother looking at Mrs. Stovall and regarded Mr. Varnish with a level stare that clearly asked him what his opinion was. Shami would have thought this was bad news, even if it was just a few days ago.

Surely, before Saturday, Mr. Varnish would have asked for the maximum sentencing for a failure to appear. Even the fact that he hesitated was surprising. Still, what his next move would be would likely depend on the Larvae Guild.

“Brodie Flaccarada has failed to appear, for the second time. I’m sure Mrs. Stovall has another excuse prepared, but haven’t we heard enough, your honor?”

“I’m going to agree with Mr. Varnish, Mrs. Stovall. Brodie Flacarada will pay the court a fine of—“

“If I may your honor?” Mr. Varnish interjected, surprising Judge Dench who was clearly about to begin fining Brodie for each day he missed. Mrs. Stovall raised an eyebrow in surprise at his interjection, which overwhelmed her capacity to keep a straight face. These things always started with fines and then escalated.

Then again, Mr. Varnish had never pushed for jail time…

“You may, Mr. Varnish, but in the future, make your suggestion during the time you have to speak, not by interrupting me.”

“Yes, Judge Dench. Your honor, I was simply going to suggest that instead of fines, arrest warrants or jail time—like usual, we court order Brodie to undergo an Awakening Assessment.”

“That is highly irregular, your honor,” Mrs. Stovall stated.

“I agree, Mr. Varnish. To go against his Hunter Rights before they’re removed upon criminal arrest would need a more significant reason than failing to appear.”

“For the second time, your honor?” Mr. Varnish suggested.

“Even for the second time,” Judge Dench stated flatly.

“Last time he missed multiple days, your honor,” Mr. Varnish reminded the Judge.

“He was trapped in a Portal!” Mrs. Stovall reminded Mr. Varnish.

“And this time, Mrs. Stovall?” Mr. Varnish asked sweetly.

Shami wanted to sigh but managed to hold it back by adjusting her jacket. Instead of responding to Mr. Varnish she looked to the Judge sitting behind her desk. She looked anything but imposing, in her over-large chair, but the furniture itself, on the other hand—was the exact opposite.

Shami could picture it in the offices of a Prime Minister or President—maybe even the British Royal Family. The leather was a deep brown with hints of red that perfectly complimented it. It was simultaneously ostentatious and imposing. All of it was. The desk was dark amber and polished to a near mirror shine. Shami knew it was all from Portals—and could almost feel an aura coming off of it. She shook herself. Ever since Brodie allowed her to use the Altar, she’d been having these moments. She hadn’t yet used her new Skill, nor gotten an explanation of what exactly it did. Gary had claimed the man from Larvae had called it Chains of Truth, but that was all she knew.

Judge Dench blinked at her, reminding Shami that it had been a moment since Mr. Varnish asked his question. She gave a polite cough and answered, “I have eyewitnesses from the Lynx Guild who were present when Mr. Flacarada vanished. The leader of the team he was with was his escort as he moved between locations inside the Portal.”

“What will this witness say?” Judge Dench asked, leaning forward slightly.

“That Brodie Flacarada fell into a hole that opened up beneath him on the ground and he vanished along with said hole in the blink of an eye. She will also testify to the Lynx Guild delving deeply into the caverns, forests and valleys in search of Brodie, but finding nothing…”

“Your honor, may I?” Mr. Varnish asked politely, which set Shami’s hair on her neck to attempt to stand on end. She scratched at it even as Judge Dench nodded. “This witness will also testify to Mr. Flacarada undergoing another Awakening, just before disappearing. There is no proof that this hole that appeared and whisked him away, wasn’t his new Skill activating.”

“Why would he activate his new Skill and get left behind in a Portal, your honor,” Mrs. Stovall asked.

“Why else, your honor?” Mr. Varnish said, his voice derisive. “Brodie Flacarada is running from the outcome of this trial.”

“He’s a child who lives at home with his mother and father, your honor. We established early on that he wasn’t a flight risk!” Shami countered.

“Since the incident on April first, Mrs. Stovall, how many re-Awakenings have occurred with Brodie that you know of?” Judge Dench asked, looking through some of her notes in a red-scaled leather folder.

With a sigh, Shami answered, “At least three.”

“When I made that initial ruling, I believed I was dealing with a uni-Skilled F-ranked Mana Pool Hunter,” Judge Dench said with a nod of confirmation to Shami’s answer. “I see where Mr. Varnish is taking us, but do not agree with his conclusion. Still, I believe Brodie would rather have a forced Assessment of his new rank and his Skills than end up in jail for failure to appear, if only because they will Assess his rank and Skills anyway. Is that your intention, Mr. Varnish?”

Mrs. Stovall eyed the man. If this was his only intention, she’d eat her business jacket.

Sure enough, he gave a self-deprecating smile and answered, “That was my train of thought, yes. I’d never dream of illegally violating a person's Rights, I was merely following events to their logical conclusion and attempting a peace-offering toward a more equitable end. I’ll admit that I’d also be interested in commuting any jail sentence to community service under the Larvae Guild as well—if you’re looking for full-disclosure on my part.”

Shami wanted to growl, but her hands were rather tied. Sure, she could fight for the length of time until Mr. Varnish’s suggestion would be imposed. But in the end, community service in place of a jail sentence for Failure to Appear was an outcome she’d normally have to fight for. Mr. Varnish was giving her that olive branch, along with removing fines, fees, and possible arrest warrants from the table. She had to accept it, but that didn’t mean she had to eat the whole pie.

“Placing an individual under Guild Arrest, under a Guild that blames him for the death of a member, would be near criminal your honor. May I speak candidly?” Shami countered and then asked.

Judge Dench nodded, and Shami continued, “We are all of us in this room aware of the outcome of the vast majority of Guild Arrests, and as such we can assume that putting Brodie under the control of a Guild that is not his fan, is elevating those already abundant risks. With that in mind I would like to accept Varnish’s terms in parcels. Four months of failure to appear seems like a good timeline to re-assess, your honor. Don’t you think?” Mrs. Stovall suggested.

Mr. Varnish’s jaw clenched and Shami smiled. “Certainly not, your honor. How long would a normal Failure to Appear take to move to arrest warrants and jail time?”

Shami knew that answer too. For a first-time offense, it would be a few weeks up to a month before the fines escalated. Judge Dench looked through her notes before responding.

“I think we can all agree, Mr. Varnish, that Brodie Flacarada doesn’t appear to be a criminal mastermind?”

Mr. Varnish’s jaw clenched further. “Yes, your honor,” he answered around those clenched teeth.

“I’m willing to offer Mrs. Stovall sixty days to find her client and make him appear before this court before re-assessing and ruling entirely in favor of your suggestions. Is this an acceptable compromise for both parties?”

Shami clenched her jaw tight but nodded, even as she turned to Mr. Varnish, watching him closely.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“With that length of time, we would have to restart all proceedings at the time Brodie reappears, your honor,” Mr. Varnish countered.

“I cannot hold the Jury in seclusion any longer than a week, Mr. Varnish, and I’m unwilling to sentence Mr. Flacarada to jail time for Failure to Appear in five days.”

Mr. Varnish eventually nodded very reluctantly

Judge Dench soon dismissed Shami and Varnish. Shami gave the man a look as soon as the door closed behind them. He got the message and they moved to one of the small side offices in the Court House. As soon as Varnish turned around and Shami had closed the door, she exclaimed, “What the hell? The Larvae Guild purchased P-cubed for Brodie–as payment for the information, but failed to check for non-compete clauses?!”

“I can assure you Mrs. Stovall that we are looking into that problem heavily. So far we’ve uncovered that the non-competes that the Specialists signed for P-cubed, have a rather nefarious loophole in the contract. P-cubed is synonymous with Jagger Vance, in the original Corporation Documents. Thus, he was able to take his new Specialists with him.”

“That can’t be legal,” Mrs. Stovall stated.

“That has yet to be determined–” Mr. Varnish began but was cut off.

“--and there’s nothing your backers can do about that?” Mrs. Stovall stated angrily, recalling the threats from Aurome when she’d mentioned Paradox.

“Mrs. Stovall, I can assure you that Jagger in time will be in a world of problems. However, Larvae must operate within the confines of the Law.”

“Sure they do…” Shami muttered, thinking of the gloves and other oddities in the case against Brodie.

Mr. Varnish narrowed his eyes and then shook his head sadly. “Mrs. Stovall, rest assured that Larvae will make good on its promises. However, in no way does that promise impact the criminal case Brodie Flacarada is undergoing. Do you understand?”

Shami nodded, and collapsed into one of the chairs. “You do realize that Brodie isn’t running from this case, right?”

“I’m aware, Mrs. Stovall. I’m also aware of how odd my request in the Judge's office was. If the Larvae Guild truly wished to punish Mr. Flacarada, then jail time would surely be the obvious choice, wouldn’t it?”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Shami asked, even as her neck jerked up in interest.

Mr. Varnish shrugged. “I’ve received no further instructions since before the beginning of the Trial, Shami. So, no–I’m as lost as you.”

***

“We have to head to the Portal, Mr. Flacarada,” Dave encouraged. “The last thing Brodie would want is for Abyss to fail as a company because he’s missing.”

“That’s my son you're talking about!” Mr. Flacarrada answered hotly.

“Exactly, and what do you think your son would want?” Dave asked, looking at the others in the small kitchen. Mrs. Flacarrada was glaring at him, but both Willa and Jarred were nodding in agreement. Geneva and Kristen had cameras out, which did make him slightly uncomfortable—but they couldn’t take another day off. Not if they wanted to earn future contracts with the top Guilds of Windsor.

“You expect my husband and I to work, while our son is missing?” Mrs. Flacarrada asked, her eyes drilling holes into Dave’s back.

“Whatever happened to Brodie, I think we can all agree—it wasn’t normal.” He looked around until he got nods of confirmation from everyone. “To me, it smacks of either System huskery, or something to do with a certain, Demonic gargoyle… Husk knows that thing disappears whenever it feels like it. Either way, I don’t think it's helpful to act like Brodie’s never coming back. So, shouldn’t we all act like he is, and in that case… wouldn’t we all want him to come back to a thriving company and not one that fell apart as soon as he was gone?

Dave sighed and looked to the others in the room for support. No one met his eyes, or even coughed. He gave a polite throat-clearing and said, “Clara, Gary—Brodie isn’t in that Portal—that we can say for certain, right?”

They both blinked at him—seeming to be asking how he arrived at that conclusion. Clicking his tongue he answered the unspoken question. “If he was simply lost in the Portal, he would have popped out when it was closed, which was last night. Lynx defeated the Boss, and closed it—we also,” Dave hurried to continue as Gary and Clara both began to look worried. “—can assume he is alive—“

“Why is that?” Mr. Flacarrada asked, his voice pleading with Dave for a good solid reason.

“Well, this is just an assumption, but all of the gear, Bags of Holdings, Mana Batteries and even that is still here,” Dave answered—pointing at a small red Crystal that had appeared where Brodie had fallen through the floor. The light inside the Crystal pulsed, reminding him of a heartbeat.

“You know what that is?” Clara asked, also hopeful.

Dave shook his head, and bluntly answered, “No idea, but I assume it’s got some sort of link to Brodie, don’t you all?”

Finally, Willa spoke up. “It did show up on the spot that he vanished—“

“—and only people close to Brodie could even see it!” Jarred added.

“That doesn’t mean—“ Gary began.

“You can either look at the negative side or the positive,” Dave interjected. “No one else could even see this thing except us and Mrs. Stovall—we checked. So, either we get back to work and trust in Brodie, or we fold right now, but I know which one is going to upset Brodie more when he returns.”

“Returns from where?!” Mrs. Flacarrada shouted.

It was Dave’s turn to avoid eye contact. That was the part he hadn’t worked out yet. He doubted he would ever work it out—not until Brodie returned and told them where the hole in the floor took him.

Clara, seeing his reaction, sighed. “I’m sorry, Dave. I know you’re only trying to help.” She looked at the others in the room. “You’re all just trying to help, and I think you’re right—but I also don’t think you can understand what we’re going through right now.”

Willa moved to give Clara a hug, but no one else moved. With a polite cough Jarred said, “You’re right, Clara. We can only imagine what this must feel like—but just because you two aren’t working today—doesn’t mean that Abyss can’t.”

“What do you mean?” Gary asked.

“We have contracts, and they invented leaves of absences for a reason. Let the kid take charge,” Gary suggested, gesturing at Dave, who blinked. He couldn’t be impl—

“Yeah, put Dave in charge of the crew—I’ll get my husband to take some vacation and work on hiring. Jarred, can your wife take any time off from her job yet?”

“Maybe a few days,” Jarred answered.

“That should be enough,” Willa responded. “Let us handle the logistics and crews this week, Clara,” Willa continued, hugging the woman tightly. “We’ll try to give you as much time as you need.”

Clara began to sob, which prompted Gary to stand and move in to hug her. Willa disentangled herself after a moment, and they all stood around awkwardly for just a moment. Then Gary nodded—giving his approval, and they all sighed, except for Dave.

He couldn’t take charge of the crews. He didn’t know the first thing about how to organize them. A hand clapped him on the shoulder, and he turned to find Jarred looking him in the eye.

“Come on kid, we’ll help you get it set up this morning. You’ll have a handle on it in no time!” Jarred said, his tone fatherly and proud.

***

Evelyn Treesong looked down at her unanswered text messages and then scanned to her computer screen one more time. It was certainly a handy device, and one of the few she might have taken back with her to Canopy, her original world—or what the Demon’s who had led them astray had called Sective Agora.

Evelyn was unsure if her multiple missed appointments and unanswered texts were a sign of a lazy-minded young man with more important things on his mind—or if it was a sign of something more. He certainly had possessed the right aura to her senses when she’d first seen him. Still, was it worth contacting her people over?

It was quite the pain to send messages back to the Hive on Canopy. Pricey too. There was also no guarantee her messenger would make it—and even less that the messengers would return to Earth. A good example was that she’d sent thirty-two messages, each with redundancies to Canopy—but only received three responses.

Those responses were cryptic at best, and completely senseless at worst. Was she truly supposed to find a savior? Or were her people asking her to send them more trained Humans to act as saviors to the Hive? Or was she meant to be the savior and start a refuge here on Gaia?

She’d prepared for each possibility and had created a Guild called Canopy in an out of a way city. It was a place that was barely thought about in the minds of the general populace. Unless, of course, they lived nearby or had family living in the town called Windsor.

The Guild was somewhat well-situated with a few large towns nearby and even had one of those abhorrent Fields right next door. If her people arrived en-masse, she was prepared for any reaction from these Humans.

Still, for her people to come here, to a planet that had only just begun its journey of Ascension would be hasty. Humanity didn’t even understand the way the System was working yet. As far as she knew, and her people did have spies in many countries around the world—Humans hadn’t fully realized how to even acquire new Skills.

Not that she or her people knew the method yet, but they did know the System. There was always a way, and if she wasn’t mistaken—this particular test was somehow highly personalized. Unlike her planet, and Crendalar, which had used Card-Shards that needed to be collected, formed and traded—this planet seemed to have Monster, Portal and Elemental Cores as a central aspect to System function. What they were intended by the System to be used for, however, Evelyn had no idea. Still, the Humans were certainly creative in finding their own—highly inefficient uses for them, she supposed.

Her inherent Elven magic had yet to find how the Cores could be combined but she was somewhat positive that they could be. She’d actually sent a rather large number of the Cores back to Canopy and the Hive, hoping that the World Singers, Enchanters or Crafters could discover the method.

Those were things that had been sent along with each of the thirty-two messengers. However, despite the return of three of them—they couldn’t recall handing the Cores to the Hive, or if the Hive had a message regarding them.

Needless to say, something Draconic was going on.