“Blast the blinding sun!” Aaron cursed as he blindly searched the pockets of his trenchcoat. They had exited the dark warehouse and were greeted with the bright midday sun hanging for all to see in the clear blue sky. “It’s like feldspar is being shoved into the eyes!”
Jackie glanced down from her perch atop Tommy’s back. “Sure, the sun’s bright, but it’s not that bad.”
“Says the elf whose ancestors came from the woods.” Aaron found his shaded spectacles and quickly used them to protect his eyes from the searing sunlight.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Aaron grumbled something incoherent as he rubbed the pain from his eyes. He put the spectacles back in place and pressed forward down the block. “It’s just a thing, not good or bad. Forget about it.”
The city street was busy with cars driving back and forth, people bustling about, the sounds and smells of a city full of life. Sure, it was a life of chaos living in the city. Still, there was something special and understood by the inhabitants of the city, like the chaos was an accepted part of life, and that acceptance made it manageable somehow.
“You know, my mother really took pride in our ancestral heritage.” Jackie leaned towards Aaron’s side as she spoke. Swift walked on the other side of Tommy.
“Did she now?” The dwarf asked with disinterest.
Swift spoke with his hands while keeping pace with Tommy and Aaron.
“Oh, yeah,” Jackie responded to Swift. “My mom would celebrate all the old holidays and the new ones, too. Her love of our ancestry is why she gave me my name.”
“Jackie is an ancestral name?” Aaron asked doubtfully.
“Jackie is just my nickname. My actual name is Jacquelina of the Maple Grove.”
“Your last name is Maplegrove?”
“No. My last name is Smith.”
Aaron missed a step, stumbling slightly as he struggled to process this new information regarding Jacquelina of the Maple Grove Smith. He opened his mouth to ensure he heard Jackie’s whole name correctly, but the street elf was focused on answering a question Swift had asked. Aaron closed his mouth and decided to leave this one alone. Typical for an elf to come up with some strange name and call it exotic.
“Hey buddy,” Tommy looked at Aaron. “You got any monies?”
“Nope.”
Tommy sighed. “That’s going to make it tough to get a phone.”
Aaron grunted an acknowledgment. “What do you need a phone for anyway?”
“I need to call the boss. He said he wanted the gnome back by yesterday, but that’s not exactly a feasible timeframe to work with, you know?”
The dwarf frowned. “Why did you take on this job, Tommy?”
They walked in silence for a moment before Tommy answered. “The boss asked for me personally, Aaron. When the boss sends for you, you don’t say no. So, when the boss asked me to find this gnome, I didn’t say no.”
“But…?”
The large elf sighed. “Something is up, my dwarf. I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s something else at play.”
“Yeah, your boss doesn’t usually send you out on gofer quests like this, right?”
“That’s part of it, but there’s something more. I feel like I’m being set up to fail as if they never expected me to come back with the gnome.”
“They? There’s more than your boss to worry about?”
“No, I take that back. There’s just one, and that one is not the boss. I am actually worried about the boss because that troll is always around him.”
Swift clapped for attention, then made several hand and arm movements.
“Yeah, that’s right, Swift,” Jackie chimed in. “You guys can’t be talking like we’re not here. I mean, we are literally right here. What’s with all this deep talk and a troll?”
Aaron and Tommy walked in silence down the sidewalk. Occasionally, someone would glance at Jackie riding on Tommy’s back, but no one seemed particularly interested beyond a glance. The dwarf thought it was odd that Swift didn’t get more looks since the orc was still only wearing a leather loin cloth. He made a mental note to ask if Swift was allowed to wear more clothes or if wearing a loincloth was some tribal thing.
“Swift, you remember the A1 safe house, right?” Tommy asked, still looking forward.
“How could I forget that shit storm?” Jackie interpreted for Swift. She then commented, “Well, I don’t know about this A1 safe house.”
“Just hang tight, Jackie. I’ll fill you in.” Tommy said. “Swift, you remember those guys talking about a troll named Yolo?”
“He says yes,” Jackie responded. “Maybe.”
Tommy sighed. “Yolo is a troll, a really bad troll. Violent, bloodthirsty, and always looking for an angle to exploit. The boss sent me on this mission, but I think it was actually Yolo who convinced the boss to send me.”
“Why would Yolo want you to find this gnome?” Jackie asked.
“I don’t think Yolo wants me to find the gnome. I think Yolo wants me to fail. Right now, he and I are the left and right hands of the boss—we’re equal. I think he’s hoping that I fail, don’t find the gnome, which will give him a chance to be over me.”
“Not cool.”
“No, it’s worse than that. I’ve had a hunch that Yolo is eyeing the boss. I don’t think he’s that dumb to try and take down the boss, but with me out of the way… that troll will be one step closer.”
Swift signed out a question, and Jackie spoke, “So, you want to call your boss and make sure he’s still alive?"
Tommy chuckled, “No, I’m sure the boss is still alive. I just need to know what sort of deadline I am working with. The boss’ daughter’s quinceanera is a week away. So I hope that means I’ve got more than one sundown to find his gnome.”
“You said you need monies to buy a burner phone?” Jackie asked for Swift.
“Yeah. Not sure what I’m going to do about that right now.”
Swift rummaged through his shoulder bag and, with a bit of flair, procured a shiny credit card in his fingers. The orc smiled and held it up high for Tommy to see.
The large elf was baffled as he carefully held the card, “When did you get this?”
Jackie interpreted Swift’s response, “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to. Just take the gift.”
“Fair enough,” Tommy smiled. “Thank you.”
“That’s how you say ‘you’re welcome,’ see?” Jackie responded.
Tommy watched Swift move his hands and arms, then tried to mimic the motions. Jackie laughed as she watched the orc and elf repeatedly say “you’re welcome” to each other in sign language.
“Here’s the bodega, everyone,” Aaron said as he stopped by the steps leading up to the little corner shop. All manner of advertisements were plastered on the store windows, many promoting different smokes and liquors. The dwarf licked his lips absentmindedly as he stared at the variety of choices haphazardly strewn about the windows.
“Hey, buddy,” Tommy placed a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “How are you holding up?”
Grumbling, the dwarf shook Tommy’s hand off his shoulder. “What was it the orc said? –Don’t ask questions I don’t want to answer.”
The large elf chuckled as he carefully squatted down, allowing Jackie to easily step down from his back. “I know we made a deal this morning, and I know it’s got to be tough right now—”
"Just shut up and get your blasted burner.” Aaron flipped open his Hacklett and furiously began tapping keys and conducting queries, narrowing his focus to the screen on his arm.
Tommy took a step toward the bodega entrance, then hesitated. “I… I just want to say thanks, Aaron. I know you’re doing your best. I’m glad you’re still with me.”
Aaron flippantly waved away Tommy and continued typing and scrolling through the information on his Hacklet.
“Come on, Jackie,” Tommy said with his signature smile. “Let’s get you something to eat.”
After hearing the two elves enter the store, the dwarf released a long, tense breath. If Tommy wasn’t here, Aaron would already be blanketed in the blissful numbness of liquor, enjoying his life and living in the release granted from whatever drug he could find. He worked better with a touch of inebriation anyway. Why would Tommy not want Aaron to be working at his best? Sitting here, with only a window separating him from bliss, was ridiculous. No dwarf would take this disrespectful treatment, and neither would Aaron, except… That feeling was back, the one from the warehouse where it felt like they were being watched.
The dwarf carefully looked over his Hacklet screen, looking for signs of someone following them or anything out of place from the usual hustle and bustle of the city street. He slowly panned his vision to the side and was about to activate his Investigation skill—
“Oh, fukalite!” Aaron jumped as he saw Swift standing next to him, staring intently at the side of his head.
Swift cocked his head to the side, silently asking a question, then pointed to Aaron’s Hacklet.
“For the love of…” Aaron pulled up the typing app on his Hacklet and extended his arm to Swift. “You can’t do that stuff, Swift. Don’t just stand there silently, staring at the back of someone’s head.”
Swift typed, What is fuck a lite?
“It’s a silicon-based mineral found in the far eastern lands. Don’t worry about it.”
So it is real?
“Of course, it’s real. Why would you think it isn’t?”
Because it’s called fuck a lite.
Aaron grinned, “Yeah, well, I’m probably pronouncing it wrong. They say things differently out there.”
I never heard of fuck a lite.
“Yeah, well, I’ve never seen anyone enjoy running around in a leather diaper. So, we’ve both encountered something new today.”
Swift recoiled like he had been slapped on his hands. He turned away from Aaron’s Hacklet and moved to sit on a nearby bench.
“Coprolite,” The orc’s reaction caused Aaron to feel that slapping sting, too. “Hey, Swift—hold on. I just think it’s odd you’ve been running around in a loincloth. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Aaron sat beside Swift and extended his arm for the orc to type. Swift looked at the Hacklet, then to the dwarf, then back to the Hacklet and typed, Go find a rock that is called fuck you dwarf ite.
Aaron laughed. “You are great, Swift. And you are right, I need to discover a rock so I can call it just that, fukyu’dwarfite. Now, would you please help me understand why you have been running around the city with half your hindquarters on display to the world?”
Muscles flexed with tension as the orc fidgeted on the bench. He looked to the Hacklet, looked away, then slowly looked back again. Swift pushed the Hacklet, shaking his head to emphasize his refusal to continue this line of conversation.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Why are you all worked up about this? It’s just—”
“Hi, Swift!” Jackie called out from the bodega’s entrance. “I got you something to eat, too!”
Tommy and Jackie stepped down from the entrance and approached the dwarf and orc on the bench. Jackie struggled slightly to carry her treats in each mitted hand, but her face showed stubborn determination that would refuse any help. Tommy waved to Swift with the burner phone in hand, “Thanks, orc.”
Jackie skipped and sat happily between Swift and Aaron on the bench. She shoved one of her treats into Swift’s hands. “It’s an Icey Pop! These are so good on days like today. I got you one with the Blue Arcane flavor!”
“Blue Arcane!” Aaron blurted with unabashed annoyance. “Arcane energies are not blue. Who comes up with this crap?”
“Ooh!” Jackie responded playfully. “Look at the unmagical dwarf who knows everything about being magical.”
Aaron grumbled angrily while deliberately turning his back to Jackie and Swift. Tommy was standing in front of him now with a bottle of clear liquid. “Here,” Tommy said. “Drink this.”
“That better not be what I think it is.” Aaron did not reach for the bottle.
“Just drink it, you stubborn dwarf.” Tommy pushed the bottle into Aaron’s hand.
Aaron opened the bottle and took a swig as Tommy dialed a number on the phone. The dwarf gagged and choked as he ripped the bottle away from his lips. “Water! Agh! You know how much I hate water!”
On the phone, someone picked up the line but did not speak. Tommy spoke without waiting for the person on the other end, “Hey, this is Tommy. I need to speak with the boss.”
Heavy breathing could be heard on the line, then a muffled crack, followed by the crunching of someone eating. Aaron leaned in to better hear the other side of Tommy’s conversation. The crunching and heavy breathing continued a moment longer, but before Tommy could say something, a deep, dark voice responded, “No.”
A shadow fell over Tommy’s face as his eyes narrowed. “Yolo. Get the boss.”
“You should have stayed in jail, Tommy.” The troll’s voice dripped of a dark essence that crept through the phone’s receiver and oozed into Aaron’s ear. The dwarf reflexively cleared his ear out as he continued to listen. “You would have been safer in there than on the streets, elf.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Yolo.”
“Thanks to you, I will have the gnome.” Another muffled crack, followed by thick crunching. “Goodbye, Tommy. Your time is finished.”
“Where’s the boss, Yolo? What the—” The line hung up, and Tommy stopped talking.
Aaron finished Tommy’s question, “What the fuck?”
“Yeah…” Tommy was dazed as if trying to come out of a trance. Lucidity slowly came back to his eyes as he focused on Aaron. “This is bad.”
“What’s going on you two?” Jackie called over from her bench.
“He said he will have the gnome, right?” Tommy asked. “Which means he doesn’t have the gnome now, right?”
“Right,” Asnwered Aaron. “Does that mean we were followed?”
“I don’t know,” Tommy looked at the phone. “But I know we need to get that gnome right now!”
“What the hell, you two!” Jackie hollered as she started to approach Aaron and Tommy. “You can’t keep leaving us out of these important conversations.”
“Not now, Jackie.” Aaron did not bother to look at her. He focused on finding the gnome’s information on his Hacklet. “The gnome is in the building over there. There’s a bunch of small apartments on the upper floors. His is two-twelve.”
“Hey!” Jackie thumped the back of Aaron’s shoulder. “Don’t be so rude.”
“Jackie,” Tommy spoke gravely. “I need you to stay here with Swift. Aaron and I are getting the gnome and coming right back.”
“Wait, we’re not doing this together?” Jackie asked.
“I don’t want you getting hurt unnecessarily.”
“Why would I get hurt? What’s going on?”
“I’ve got the layout,” Aaron said, closing his Hacklet. “I’m going in.”
“Just trust me, Jackie,” Tommy held up his hand, prompting her to stop advancing. “We’ll be right back. Just be ready to go.”
Jackie pouted and threw her Icey Pop stick to the ground. Swift stood by her side and awkwardly put his arm around her shoulders. His lips were tinged with blue as he took the last bite of his pop and nodded for Tommy to go.
The large elf quickly jogged across the street, catching up to Aaron, who was carefully assessing the building.
Aaron – Investigation skill 10 vs. Normal DT – SUCCESS
“Hold on,” Aaron said, raising an open-palmed hand. The dwarf quickly scanned the front of the building and different features along the sidewalk. “Someone beat us here…”
“Should I go around back?” Tommy asked as he looked over the brick building.
“No, not yet…” Aaron quickly assembled the different clues that were highlighted by his Investigation skill. The pieces did not fit correctly. The clues should have shown how and when someone entered the building. However, it looked more like someone came here, disappeared at one point, then reappeared in front of the door. Not able to find any other clue, the dwarf looked back across the street where Swift and Jackie patiently waited. The dwarf looked hard at Jackie as he considered how someone could disappear and reappear; his eyes grew wide as he spoke the realization that came to mind. “It’s a portal mage.”
“What?” Tommy asked.
“It’s a portal mage!” Aaron spun around to face Tommy. “That’s who’s been following us, a portal mage.”
“But, how? There’s no way another portal mage could have tracked us from the chase to here.”
“I don’t know how, but the clues fit. There’s a portal mage up there with the gnome.”
“You sure they’re still up there?”
“Yeah,” Aaron turned to examine different clues on the ground more closely. “This mage isn’t as good as Jackie. See, look here. They tried to throw off their tracks by doing small jumps. It looks like they have a tough time with bigger ones.”
Aaron – Investigation skill 8 vs. Normal DT – SUCCESS
“What are you looking for now?” Tommy asked, watching Aaron move like a bipedal bloodhound.
“You know what mages do when they aren’t good enough to do hard magic?” Aaron was moving faster, rapidly putting the clues together, tracing them back to the thing he was searching for.
“Uh, not sure what you’re getting at, buddy.”
“Ha!” Aaron quickly snatched up a long, thin metal rod. “Mages, when they want to do magic above their skills, they get some magical tool to help boost their abilities. Well, this here is a magical tool.”
“It looks like an aluminum dowel you can get at the local hardware store.”
“It probably is, but it’s been imbued with some magical amplification quality.” Aaron looked at the dowel from different angles, trying to discern the item’s qualities. “Regardless, our little infiltrator will need this before they can get back to wherever they are going.”
“You think this is a little guy?”
“Well,” Aaron glanced up at Tommy. “They are definitely smaller than you.”
Tommy smiled and turned back to the building. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Well,” Aaron mused as he stroked his scraggly beard. “They are going to get into the gnome’s apartment, get the gnome, and then try to make their big jump. That’s when they’ll realize this thing is missing. So, they’ll freak out and tear apart the apartment, looking for the dowel before finally deciding to drag the gnome out here. Once out here, that’s when we will inevitably—”
A half-elf suddenly burst through the front of the building, towing a combative gnome in a white tank top and blue gym shorts. He frantically looked left and right, struggling to keep the gnome in his grasp.
“Over here!” Aaron smiled, waving the aluminum dowel.
The half-elf looked in Aaron’s direction and froze. His eyes widened, and his body tensed; Aaron noticed this wasn’t a response to surprise. The half-elf was reacting in fear.
Tommy took a step forward. “Cortez?”
“This ain’t got nothin’ to do with you, Tommy!” Cortez hollered as he gathered up the kicking gnome.
“Help!” The gnome yelled, reaching out to Tommy and Aaron. “Help! He’s going to kill me!”
“Shut up!” Cortez punched the gnome. “Just shut up. I already told you I’m not going to kill you. These guys are the ones here to kill you.”
The gnome paused in Cortez’s arms as he looked over Tommy and Aaron, then returned to worming out his escape.
“You know this guy, Tommy?” Aaron asked.
“Yeah,” Tommy replied, keeping his eyes on Cortez. “You know him, too, buddy. You met him briefly at the safe house.”
“Wait,” Aaron searched his memories about the safe house and recalled a half-elf that had shown up just before the cops busted in the doors. That half-elf had a phone and had used the phone to signal the cops. The dwarf turned to Cortez, “You’re working for the cops?”
“That’s right, dwarf!” Cortez continued to struggle with the dwarf. “I’m a CI. That means I’m just like a cop. You can’t touch a cop, so you can’t touch me!”
“That’s pigshit,” Tommy said, stepping closer to Cortez. “And you know it.”
Cortez stumbled as his mind raced. “Yeah, well, I’m here on Yolo’s orders. You know you don’t mess with Yolo, Tommy.”
“Come on, Cortez. Give me the gnome.”
“The gnome has a name!” Said the gnome as he tried to kick Cortez between the legs.
“Stop it, gnome!” Cortez punched the gnome again. “I’m trying to protect you.”
“Cortez,” Tommy was almost within arm’s length of the half-elf. “Hand over the gnome. I’ll keep you safe from Yolo.”
The half-elf’s face twisted and shriveled as he looked about to cry. “You don’t understand, Tommy. I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?”
“You don’t know Yolo, Tommy. Look!” Cortez held up his free hand, which was missing two fingers. “You see that? There should be five fingers, not three. Yolo ate those two fingers. Bit them right off when I didn’t do what he said!”
Tommy hesitated and glanced at Cortez’s other hand. Fingers were missing on that hand, too.
“Do you know what Yolo will do to me if I don’t bring back this gnome?” Cortez’s voice was becoming shrill as his eyes darted for an escape from an unseen threat.
“Let me help you, Cortez.”
“No,” A tear fell from Cortez’s eye. “I can’t let him down.”
Cortez moved his free hand and started to open a portal. Tommy lunged for the half-elf but was a moment too late. The half-elf and gnome fell through the portal and landed on their sides on the concrete next to Aaron.
“My arm!” The gnome hollered in pain as he squirmed on the sidewalk. “You broke my arm!”
“You’ll be alright,” Cortez said as he stood unsteadily. “We’ve got a healer that will fix you up.”
Aaron (No skill) vs. Castor Cortez – 4 vs. 3 Aaron succeeds.
The aluminum dowel cracked hard against the side of Cortez’s face, sending the half-elf back into the concrete. Aaron chuckled as he twirled the dowel in his hand. “Castor, really? You’re a mage, and your name is Castor?”
“Yeah,” Castor Cortez, the half-elf confidential informant gangster, spit blood with his response. “And you are dead, dwarf.”
Aaron (Dodge) vs. Castor Cortez – 6 vs. 6 No failure.
Aaron suddenly found himself falling through the sidewalk and into the clear blue sky. As he fell, the dwarf reached out and grasped Cortez’s wrist. Cortez fell, face into the concrete, and was dragged into the portal with the falling dwarf. In desperation, Cortez grabbed the closest thing within his reach—the gnome’s broken arm. The gnome cried out in renewed pain as he grabbed his own arm and slid toward the portal with the falling dwarf and half-elf. Aaron cried out for help as he continued to fall through the sky to the ground far below.
His falling suddenly stopped. Aaron looked up to see Tommy hanging halfway through the portal, holding tightly to the gnome’s ankles. Even though Aaron couldn’t hear Tommy above the screams of the gnome, the island elf’s face said it all, “I got you, buddy.”
Tommy tried to hoist everyone through the portal, but the gnome kicked and convulsed in agony, causing Tommy to nearly lose his grip.
The bloody-faced Cortez looked down at Aaron with acidic hatred. The half-elf contorted his body and began kicking at the dwarf, trying to force Aaron to fall.
Aaron swung the metal dowel at the kicking Cortez and successfully struck a blow, but that blow nearly caused Cortez to lose his grip on the gnome. Aaron quickly looked to the ground and found the other half of their group. “Jackie!”
Jackie and Swift looked up in surprise at the chain of people hanging from a portal in the sky.
Cortez kicked a glancing blow at the back of Aaron’s head. Aaron called out, “A little help, Jackie. Please?”
“Stop kicking!” Tommy yelled at the gnome, who was still hollering in agony.
Jackie rushed into position and began swirling her arms and hands. Aaron could hear her screams of pain and agony as she tore open a portal near the bodega and another just below Aaron.
Seeing the portal below, Aaron looked up and yelled to Tommy. “Let go!”
Tommy paused in his struggle with the gnome and looked down at Aaron.
“Let go, now!” Aaron yelled again.
Tommy was reluctant but did as requested and released the screaming gnome.
Aaron went back to falling, but this portal he fell through was perpendicular to the ground, allowing him to roll away instead of crashing into concrete. Cortez and the gnome also fell through the portal in a tumbled mass before Jackie let her portal close.
Swift rushed forward and caught Jackie as she collapsed in pain and exhaustion. The bright white bandages that covered her hands like mittens had become dim, frayed, and deformed.
The dwarf quickly recovered and rushed to Jackie’s side. He could feel the red clouds swirling, the waves crashing—Aaron couldn’t let this happen again. “I’m sorry, Jackie. I’m sorry; I didn’t know you would get hurt.”
“Give me the rod.” Cortez’s voice hissed of venom and hate.
A raging defiance burned in Aaron’s eyes as the dwarf stood and turned to face Cortez. He planted his feet firmly, placing himself between Cortez and his group. Behind him, Aaron could hear Tommy calling out, rushing to his side. With one hand outstretched, holding the metal dowel tightly in his grasp, Aaron slid his other hand into his trenchcoat pocket and grasped his grandfather’s revolver. He responded to Cortez with a voice of rock and stone, “No.”
They stood, unmoving, staring each other down. Cortez raised his arms in a swirling motion. Aaron raised his hand cannon and fired.
It all happened too fast to move, but Aaron saw it happen before the blink of his eyes. As the system messages scrolled across his vision, he saw Cortez’s portal open; simultaneously, the connecting portal opened alongside the first. The bullet traveled from the revolver’s barrel, through the first portal, and out the second portal. It raced past Aaron and struck the target standing beside him.
Aaron (Crackshot) vs. Castor Cortez – 8 vs. 8 No failure.
Aaron (Crackshot) vs. Tommy Fisher – 8 vs. 4 Aaron succeeds.
Tommy coughed beside Aaron. The dwarf turned in wide-eyed horror as he looked at his giant of a friend, Tommy, the island elf, fall to one knee while holding a bleeding bullet hole in his chest. Tommy smiled at Aaron and coughed again through struggling breaths. “That was quite a shot, buddy.”
“No.” Aaron was back on the island. He grabbed Tommy before the large elf could fall to the ground. The red mages’ storm encircled the dwarf in a swirling rage of despair. “No!”
Tommy continued to smile in Aaron’s arms even through the blood, coughing, and raspy breaths.
“That bullet was meant for you.”
Aaron turned to see Cortez, blood dripping from his mouth and severely abrased face, metal dowel in one hand and unconscious gnome in the other. In his despair, the dwarf hadn’t realized that he had dropped everything. The raging storm inside burst forth, and Aaron screamed out his rage as he leaped for his revolver.
Aaron (Crackshot) vs. Castor Cortez – 3 vs. 7 Aaron fails.
With the aid of the magical rod, Cortez fell into a wide-open portal, taking the gnome with him. The portal closed, and the bullet sailed down the street, glancing off a wall and down an alley.
Aaron screamed to the skies. Though they were clear and blue outside, Aaron only saw the red storms of the island where he abandoned Molly. Waves crashed, sandy winds whipped across his skin, thunder, lightning, despair, rage.