Morthisal awoke feeling groggy, still in his clothes. His mouth felt like he'd fallen asleep with a wool blanket shoved to the back of his throat. He was in Vince's bed, so that was good. He moved again and saw stars, so he closed his eyes and pretended it didn't sound like half a dozen Hellsmiths clanging a bell next to him.

"Why did I think that was a good idea?"

On Mythralon, Morthisal would have summoned Churl and had her mix a concoction of restoration. Here, he had no such thing and had to settle for a large glass of water and some mild painkillers.

After another half an hour, Morthisal hauled himself out of bed, went to the kitchen, and considered what to eat. The amount of food in the apartment was rapidly dwindling. The refrigerator shelves were barren, and the state of the freezer wasn't much better. It had been loaded with containers of food prepared by Vince's hands, but Morthisal had eaten most of those. He had to admit he was really going to miss Vince’s cooking. A partial bag of frozen chicken wings sat in the back of the freezer, covered in a layer of tiny ice crystals. Morthisal hauled it out and threw a half dozen in the air fryer.

He was truly down to the dregs. Who in the world ate chicken wings? Surely, this was peasant food.

"I must do some shopping," he muttered, then went to sit down and check his bank balance. He stared at the lowly number for a few minutes. He needed to make more money.

Travious did not have to work today. Morthisal pulled his phone off the charger and messaged Travious to come at once.

I'm busy catching up on some sleep.

The quicker you come to my apartment, the faster you can go back to sleep.

What do you want? I can help over text.

I need to make some money fast. Assist me.

You can do gig work, which is a good way to earn money. I heard you can make bank by picking up food from restaurants in Seattle and delivering it a few blocks away. You get tips, too, bruh. Check it.

A moment later, a link to a food delivery app appeared in his messenger window. Food delivery?

Morthisal reached for a thread of power to remind Travious of his station and failed. He tried again and was shocked to find he was completely drained.

"What in the worlds?" he wondered out loud.

Morthisal's eyes drifted to the power outlet, and his body shuddered involuntarily.

Penny.

A memory returned to him from the night before.

He'd been at Penny's Mystic Wonders shop and… what? What had he done there? Perhaps he would stop in and ask her what had occurred. But first, he had to familiarize himself with food delivery apps. It was undoubtedly below his station, but what in this backward world was not?

Morthisal sat down and waited for his chicken wings to finish cooking in the air fryer and for the pain meds to kick in. While he waited, he went through the food delivery app's entire user agreement. The people of this world could accomplish so much more if they didn't have to spend all their time reading rules.

Morthisal scrolled through the app on his phone, tapping the screen to complete his registration. The process was straightforward and soon he was approved as a delivery agent. The tasks available appeared to be insignificant. There were not many jobs around him. The work was in downtown Seattle, and that would be his next destination.

Morthisal grimaced as he looked at the power outlet across the room. The thought of another jolt tightened his jaw, but he knew he had to do it.

"Time to get juiced up," he muttered.

The shock slammed into him and sent a sharp pain raging through his body. For some reason, a fleeting image of Thalindra flashed through his mind, then was gone.

He collapsed onto the floor, muscles twitching. After a moment, he pushed himself up and limped to the breaker box. Flipping the switch restored power to the apartment.

Why had he thought of the dark sorceress whom he had left back on Mythralon? The woman had had her uses, to be sure, but she would have no place here. It was bad enough that he had to acquire a fraction of his previous powers through an excruciating process; imagine if he also had to keep an eye on Thalindra and make sure she didn't stab him to death.

Still shaking, Morthisal pulled out his phone and called Travious.

Travious answer on the third ring. "Man, come on. It's playoffs today."

"I know not what that means. What I know is that I need you to drive me," Morthisal said.

"Now? It's my day off."

"I require your assistance immediately."

Travious sighed.

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"Shall I apply a different kind of incentive?"

Travious blew out a heavier sigh. "No. Alright. Where to?"

"Meet me in half an hour."

"Fine. I'll be there."

In the kitchen, the air fryer beeped. He pulled out the chicken wings and dropped onto the couch. As he ate, he watched "Love is Blind" on Netflix, fingers tearing at the insubstantial food as he stared at the screen. He groaned, gnawing at the scant meat because these pathetic wings were hardly worth the effort. He had sprinkled seasoning on as best he could, but the little bit of meat hardly seemed worth the effort. He wondered how Vince would have made them more palatable. "Oh, Jessica. Surely you can do better than that," he told the television screen.

Travious messaged him moments later that he was outside. Morthisal texted him back to wait because he wanted to finish this episode.

Travious was surly all the way to their destination. He hemmed and hawed and played his music too loud, so Morthisal turned off the stereo and told Travious he would like the company of the other man's voice and asked how work was going.

"Man, I don't want to talk about my job. Buncha people come in cut up and bleeding. I barely get a minute to myself. I need a new job."

"Your new job is coming, my friend. You are my first lieutenant. Your rewards will be substantial."

"Yeah? From all the money you're gonna make delivering food? No offense, bruh, but I make three times that amount at my day job. I don't need to be out here hauling your ass around."

"Hauling my ass around should be your job title," Morthisal said.

Travious laughed and said, "You're not wrong."

Morthisal watched the city skyline as Travious drove. The huge buildings reminded him of the spires of his dark fortress back in Mythralon, though these were made of glass and steel rather than stone and iron. Soon. Morthisal grinned to himself. Soon, all of this will be mine.

"There," Morthisal said moments later, pointing at his phone screen. "I have acquired my first task as a food courier."

Travious glanced over and shook his head. "Man, that's a shit job. I only mentioned it as an option. But whatever, you do you."

They pulled up to a fast-food restaurant with bright signs and garish colors. Travious parked the car in front of the McDonald's. Morthisal turned to Travious expectantly.

"Go in and retrieve the food," he commanded.

"Are you serious right now?" Travious grumbled.

"Why, yes, I am," Morthisal said, touching the thread that bound Travious to him. The other man shuddered but begrudgingly got out of the car and went inside. A few minutes later, he returned with a greasy paper bag and tossed it onto Morthisal's lap. He carefully placed the drink in the drink holder between the seats. Morthisal showed Travious the location they needed to make for.

Travious gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. "You've got to be kidding me. I'm not your damn servant!"

Morthisal fixed him with an icy stare. "Are you not?"

Travious grumbled non stop as he drove to the delivery location, took the food, and got out of the car. He made for the address, head swiveling around as he read the numbers before heading into a building.

Morthisal checked his food delivery app and found another job nearby. He kept his finger hovered over the 'accept job' button. As soon as Travious was back in the car, he would pick it up.

This was going much faster than expected.

Travious rushed out of the building, made for the car with his phone in hand, and waved his phone excitedly. He opened the door, slid back inside, and slammed the door.

"Dude. Got some bad news. I just got called into the hospital for a mass casualty event. Yeah, it’s a real blood bath. Um. I guess it was, um… a ship wrecked down at the port. Yeah. Ran right into a pier. So, they said all hands on deck. Don't bother to check the news later. It's one of those top secret government ships. They aren't allowed to talk about it…" Travious trailed off.

"Oh, dear. Will you have time to do another food delivery job and take me back to my apartment before you leave?"

"Sorry yer, er dark lordness, or whatever. I must get to the hospital now. I don't have a choice."

"You cannot simply strand me here. We must finish more jobs."

Morthisal reached for a thread but then hesitated. Travious needed to keep up his air of normalcy by maintaining his employment. What good would a minion without a regular job be to him? They would surely be caught if they had to turn to a life of crime, as he had learned from watching the many television play-acting dramas.

"Tell you what. I'm gonna hook you up, but we gotta be fast," Travious said.

"The plan had better involve returning me to my apartment."

"It's better than that. Hang on." Travious pulled out of the parking lot and steered the car through a few busy streets, weaving between lanes. He tapped his phone several times, probably consulting one of the marvelous mapping apps. After a few minutes, they pulled up in front of a store labeled Army Navy Surplus.

Travious pulled a wallet out of his jacket's inner pocket. He flipped it open and handed Morthisal a pair of twenty-dollar bills. "This is what you're gonna do. This place has cool stuff for cheap. Go inside and find yourself a backpack that will fit a few meals. Shouldn't be hard to locate. Ask someone if you need help."

Morthisal studied the crumpled bills. "A backpack?"

"Yeah, you'll need it."

Morthisal nodded. "I see. Go on."

"After that," Travious continued, "find one of those bike rental places on the street. Use your phone to download the app, and you can rent bikes by the hour."

"Bikes," Morthisal repeated. "I am familiar with them but have never used one."

"They're easy. Or better yet. Grab a scooter. They're even easier. They have these little motors that keep you from falling over. It's like magic. You'll love it. Then, all you have to do is get back on the food delivery app, and locate a place with many nearby deliveries. Don't take jobs that are too far apart. Grab them fast."

Morthisal considered this. "Will it suffice for my needs?"

"You'll be able to move quickly once you have a pair of wheels, and you'll be rolling in money before you know it." Travious glanced at his watch and tapped the screen. "I really have to run. If I don't keep my cover in place, your entire plan for domination might fail. Oh, and don't message me for the rest of the day. I can't be distracted while doing this top secret work at the hospital."

Morthisal frowned. "Very well. But I'll have to read another tedious agreement to install an app."

Travious shook his head. "C'mon, man. No one reads those things. Just hit 'agree' and install." With that, Travious reached across the car and opened the door on Morthisal's side.

"Until later," Morthisal said as he stepped out.

"Right, but not until tomorrow at the earliest. Good luck," Travious said.

The car backed up and zipped away, leaving Morthisal stranded on the street.