Amelia had always wondered what it would be like to travel at hyperspeed, or lightspeed, or -- you know -- any speed where the stars zipped past you in that weird way the popular vids and holos showed. When she was younger she wondered why they weren’t all pressed into the backs of their seats, or more likely(her grim and macabre mind had supplied), puddles of matter pressed against groaning steel as matter moved faster than it was intended. A quick search of the ethernet had let Amelia in on a few startling facts.
The first is the craft would likely come apart under the pressures of traveling at the speed of light. The second, small objects would become deadly obstacles. The third, traveling that fast would bombard you with so much radiation you’d be melting into a puddle of goo that had nothing to do with the fast and furious glamorous facade space travel effect most science operas took for granted. Science, younger Amelia had concluded with sadness, sucked.
Anyway.
After Amelia had cast Aura with, muh mind, as she was taking to describing it, a lot of things happened at once. Amelia was a calm and collected individual who, as everyone knew, reacted absolutely worthlessly when a bunch of unexpected things happened. She had stood there dumbly as intruders had appeared from a golden rip in the center of the arena. Had managed to drop her mouth open into an ‘O’ shape as they crashed through the the window in the VIP box. Sort of raised her arms in horror slightly after the glass had already peppered her in a completely ineffectual manner. Then been placed under the arm of a particularly large specimen of… she did not know what. He looked like a human except his face was wider, smoother, and flatter. He also had no hair, so Amelia was trying very hard to think of an appropriate moniker for him as he leapt out of the box. As she was falling she had a pretty good view of up. Keristrazly came flying backward out of the booth and then crashed into the stands. She hoped he was alright… In fact, everyone in the box seemed to be fighting. At least, she reflected, none of them were taken like her?
The drop from the VIP box to the arena floor had given her a sense of weightlessness and Amelia was glad that this was the game. In the real world, being grabbed by a hairless ape looking fellow(nailed it -- she thought) and then being taken off the side of a building would have resulted in a very quiet moment of peeing herself. As it was, she made due by shrieking all the way to the ground. When she hit the ground she continued to shriek as the scenery began to blur as the apish looking oaf moved toward the portal. She had managed one quick look and matched gazes with Aidan when she was through.
“Put me down!” It wasn’t the most intelligent thing Amelia had ever said but it was all she could manage in between screams.
“Quiet or I’ll put the Youchre on you…” the man growled. There was an accent to his words, like he was almost British. The words were a little too formal. Even Brits, with their large vocabularies and… sexy vocal inflections, didn’t take that much care when enunciating.
Euchre? Isn’t that a card game? No, it must be something else.
Once they were through the portal Amelia felt heavy. Very heavy. The world was suddenly pressing down on her and it was enough to make her grunt in a rather unsophisticated way even if she wasn’t the one supporting her weight. A look around revealed a sneering and sniveling little man that was watching the portal from this side. He was going to say something, judging from his expression it was going to be some cliche villain line, but he stopped at the glower provided by the large ape of a buffoon that was carrying her like a rolled up newspaper.
“Ahem,” Amelia cleared her throat with some difficulty as her thoughts raced.
This was a new planet. The trees resembled redwood with green and brown heavily riveted bark. These trees were somehow wider around than what she thought a redwood would be. Not only that, but when she looked up and she realized she couldn’t even crane her neck enough to see where the tops of the trees were spread out. It… it had to be that she was just being held in an awkward position. It couldn’t be that each one of these freaking trees was the size of Yggdrasil or some other huge freaking size could it? They were bunched together tight enough that they would have all had have been growing at the same time so they didn’t kill each other through light hoarding.
Maybe the trees don’t need light?
That was an interesting thought. Amelia belatedly realized she should really be recording this. MKC Online would murder her if she continued to just be carried around like this without streaming. The red dot in the corner of her vision flashed on before disappearing.
“This world is…”
“You were warned.” Her carrier reached into his pocket and pulled something out and put it in front of her face.
Never one to be overtly terrified by anything, Amelia leaned in closer to the palm and looked at the little golden ball that he held out. Was… was that a ball gag? He didn’t really expect her to put that thing in her mouth right? It didn’t have straps or anything. Was she just going to put that golden golfball into her mouth just because he said so? Amelia’s face went cold as she looked up at him. What would Aidan say? Something devastating. Raven would make a sexy joke but that wasn’t appropriate for this time, or any other time.
“You can’t be seriou--.” Amelia was abruptly silent. Her mouth worked but nothing came out. The small golden ball in his palm hummed once, opening slightly at the metal with a mechanical hiss. It hummed again and then closed. Several lights blipped red on the sides of it.
Amelia blinked rapidly and tried to speak a few times. Nothing came out. A second later she was trying her channels. Party, Clan, and every other channel she was currently plugged into yielded no results. She probably should have tried to call for help sooner but, in her defense, things had been happening pretty fast.
Okay, so the little golden ball steals voices. Congratulations my dude, you have officially been designated Ursula.
She scowled at him to show her disapproval. She tried her Clan chat again and paid attention to the notification this time.
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Please stand by - Your Channels have been muted for the duration of… loading. (3:12 remaining).
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Dot dot dot loading? That wasn’t an ominous system message or anything. Three minutes and twelve seconds without communication wasn’t too terrible… either…
Despite her misgivings Amelia decided to wait. She couldn’t exactly rely upon her cunning, raw firepower, or numerous advantages right this second anyway.
And so, back her thoughts on hyperspace.
Amelia had assumed that this would be the world in which her quest would take place. With the big trees and the heavy gravity and the birds that chattered like monkeys…
Amelia was wrong. Ursula took her and then once again did his trick where he accelerated faster than she could comfortably stomach and then, after perhaps a few kilometers and a minute later, rushed through another golden portal.
This one did not dump them out into a world. Instead, they appeared to be traveling through space. Outer-space to be exact. A thin blue membrane that sort of showed off a kind of tunnel was stretched out on either side of them. Protecting them? A result of the speed of their transfer? Amelia had so many questions but she couldn’t speak.
The lights blurred around her. Amelia expected she would get motion sick but it seemed the system was… taking care of her? Her stomach was warm and the smell of cinnamon was strong. All that happened was Amelia got to watch the universe zip by at speed.
It was… beautiful.
↞↞↞↞↞↞
The next part wasn’t beautiful. The portal they stepped through was actually located above the ground. Amelia was spared the indignity of making a screaming entrance because Ursula still hadn’t given her voice back.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t even really mentioned how she would be able to even get it back. If there was someone named Eric down there he would just have to pucker up, Amelia didn’t have the patience for a lengthy back and forth before she got her voicebox back.
Mental note to stop streaming while I kiss this Prince…
The landing was jarring. The nice smell of cinnamon and the warm cozy feeling vanished. The first world had seemed like an outdoor paradise. This world seemed like the top layer of a nightmare realm.
Ursula walked across the metal grates. The metal grates went on as far as the eye could see. Peering down, Amelia was surprised to see eyes looking back at her from below. A chill went down her spine as she slowly came to terms with this world. Red sky, dark clouds, ominous black looking sun. Cages as far as the eye could see. Cages that all seemed crammed with people. Not just people. Or maybe it would be better to say that the cages contained a wide diverse population? Wolf people, insect people, gaseous people, water type people, small animals with keen eyes, large creatures that seemed cramped within… The cages seemed to all be ten by ten in dimension from the outside but Amelia had looked into several cages from the top as they traveled and had to admit that some of the cages seemed bigger on the inside, by like, a lot. A dragon had been snoozing near one of the cages, black plumes of smoke curling out of his nostrils with every large breath.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
The way they were oriented was also jarring. The man was walking on top of the cages but the creatures and people contained within the cages seemed to be resting as if gravity was on the side of the cages. As if they were looking out and Amelia was the one walking akimbo to the way gravity intended.
[Log Out].
Amelia decided to try to log out while Ursula carried her to wherever they were going.
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Attention! You are currently in a moving scene and may miss vital information from the Starter Quest - The Research Facility
Do you want to log out? [Y/N]
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No, I guess I can wait… hey… my channels?
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Attention! You are currently involved in the beginning of the Starter Quest - The Research Facility
Do you want to activate Clan and Party Channels? [Y/N]
WARNING! Activating Clan and Party Channels will mean forfeiture of Starter Quest - The Research Facility
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Uhhh, what was the point of the message that I had to wait like four minutes if you were just going to fail me for using them?
Amelia frowned and closed her eyes in thought. She couldn’t get any information from Aspiria like this could she? They couldn’t contact her and she couldn’t reach out to them. It hadn’t been that long so they probably weren’t that worried. Worst case scenario she would just have to get through whatever introduction quest this was and then activate her channels.
Or could she? A small doubt began to nag at her mind as the situation suddenly seemed more sinister than it had a moment before. She couldn’t log out because the system had warned her she might miss vital information? Amelia kept an eye peeled but so far had no way of knowing what she was supposed to be watching for that was ‘vital’. The cages went on endlessly in every direction. Amelia wasn’t even sure how Ursula was navigating. Everything looked the same and she couldn’t make out any sign markers or painted arrows or anything like that. Even Ursula himself barely looked around. He moved with purpose in a direction that Amelia might have thought was east if they were back on earth or Aspiria.
What would happen if she waited until the intro was done and the system found another convenient excuse for suggesting that she shouldn’t use her channels? What the crap was going on here?
Am I … being trapped here?
Paranoia started to gnaw at her. She chewed her lip as she considered. No, she wasn’t stuck or anything. She could log out. Worst case scenario she could create enough of a stink and probably get Ursula to ice her. He hadn’t seemed like the most stable of fellows after a--
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Attention! Detecting Elevated Distress Levels!
You Are Safe!
Would you like to Forfeit the Starter Quest - The Research Facility? [Y/N]
Yes - You will be transported to the nearest Cathedral to your previous location
*The Transient quest ‘save the empress’ will be canceled.
*The Non-Transient quest ‘all in time’ will start.
No - Continue with quest. You may forfeit at any time after this prompt by clearly saying “I surrender myself to the Quest Race.”
*Transient quest continued despite current faction complications
*Non-Transient quest ‘all in time’ remains ‘testing begins’.
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Amelia’s blood went cold. There were a number of things about this notification that were starting to damage her calm. The first was that the system had acknowledged her distress and given her an out. Almost immediately. She hadn’t searched for the help button or tried to bring up any sort of support. She didn’t like to think of herself as a petty person, but she and the system had a long and hateful history with each other. From the time when it had forced her to take a quest in the tower of Sleipnir or take disastrous and class and character crippling penalties, to the time it had unilaterally decided that she was empress. This new lovely and concerned for her mental health system seemed completely out of character.
The other things that were now concerning her, in order, were the implications that there was some sort of quest to save her? That was… heartening she supposed? A little insulting maybe, but considering she was being carried like a bag of potatoes with a stolen voice on a slave world, maybe she’d just take the hand in this case. But if she canceled that quest, a non-transient quest would be activated? So, what, Residents would get a quest? She frowned again as she searched her gut for the right feeling there. It seemed… pretty threatening!
Good job, system, I get it now. You’re actually subtly threatening me! How could I have ever doubted your character.
The fact that her choice to continue on the quest was given an extra option for her to forfeit if she got a wittle scared was turning her frown into a scowl. Even the phrase itself seemed condescending. Amelia didn’t even know what the Quest Race was, let alone what it meant to say you were surrendering to them.
Fine. So I’m here for now. Kbyte, I know it’s a little narcissistic to think you’re doing this to me specifically but… you had better not be doing this to me specifically.
Just when she was resolving herself to start sending some strongly worded letters toward Centra Holdings and what she thought of their cute and charismatic flashing black and white screen smart butt…
Ursula dropped her into a hole that she hadn’t been paying attention to. She opened her mouth to scream but, of course, nothing came out. As she dropped through the entryway to the cage she immediately started falling directly to the right as if she were being suddenly yanked by an invisible string. She struck the wall and then… stuck there.
The floor, this is the floor, not the wall.
The door slammed shut behind her, not above her. It was all very confusing to be honest.
She looked through the steel grate opening to the improbable image of Ursula standing on top of it. It was like looking at someone standing on a window you were looking out of, just… gravity things.
“Goodbye Ursula?” Amelia muttered. She brightened immediately. “I’ll remember this!” She shook her fist at him, and then lowered it when his eyes narrowed.
I need to spend less time around Aidan.
She checked her channels and found that she could activate them if she didn’t mind…
Yes, yes, don’t screw things up by talking to anyone.
“They don’t like that.” A voice behind her whispered quietly.
Amelia spun around and surveyed the room. It was kind of nice actually. The walls and floors were white carpet, which was, admittedly, a little weird. Even the walls were carpeted? What time period was this modeled after? She turned toward the bed where the voice had originated and a small green head popped out of several layers of downy woolen comforters.
“They don’t like it when you talk to them. We think it is because they are here against their will as well,” it said.
“Hi, I’m Amelia.” She bowed slightly and moved forward. The green head shrank into the covers slightly but ducked a nod at her. The compound eyes of the creature focused on Amelia silently, apparently taking in the new occupant of the room. “I’ve been on a lot of new worlds so I have questions when it comes to first contact.”
“We are listening?” The green creature sounded intrigued at this
“Why can you speak my language?” Amelia liked to start with this one.
“We are projecting our intent and reading yours.”
“Can you read my mind?” Amelia asked.
“Could you tell if I said no?” The green creature countered.
“Well said. I’m going to pretend the answer is no for obvious reasons. You’ve been warned that I’m remembering very unfortunate childhood memories.” Amelia smiled.
“We are… formally warned,” the creature muttered. “We are Quark.”
“Cool. We in this sense is all of you?”
“Yes, Amelia.”
“Question two, what do you eat? We’re not going to have a situation where you eat me, are we? In all fairness I’m not going to eat you.”
“A wise line of inquiry,” Quark admitted. The surprise in its voice, or at least the projection of its thoughts, evident. “We are fed from a dispenser that will appear on the wall as hunger increases. We have no desire to try and eat you, as it is often prudent not to eat strange things.”
Hah!
“Where are we?” Amelia was still a little tickled at being called a strange thing.
“We are on a Quester World. A Research Facility of some kind. You may leave when you wish…” Quark’s voice trailed off.
“Why are you still here if you can leave?” Amelia tilted her head.
“We are… concerned.” Quark hesitated. It seemed to be thinking of explaining but shook its head.
“Do you have contact with others?” Amelia asked.
“We come into contact with others when the cages rotate. It is an infrequent thing but not a rare occurrence,” Quark confirmed. “Also, sometimes during the Questing.”
“Questing?” She would have to learn the lingo, and fast.
“Yes, Amelia. We suggest you look to the back of the room. Our color is violet. We suspect yours will be a different color. When the door changes to that color you will walk through it, or you will ask to leave.” Quark sounded grave even as Amelia noticed the thin lines that denoted an opening. It was more of a panel that would move… somehow… than a door. There was no mechanism on this side that she could see.
“Mmm…” Amelia pointed to herself and cast, “[Aura].”
Quark made no surprised expression when she watched the creature.
Guess spells are allowed but don’t work?
“Is there a way to break out? Do you know any spells or abilities that would let you get out of this cage?” Amelia asked them.
“You may leave whenever you wish, there is no real way out... To answer your real and unasked question, everyone, we included, have all agreed that there is no way to get through the bars with our magic or abilities. Some races acquired also have devices that… are supposed to do things that they cannot do to the space we find ourself in.”
No poking around unattended then, got it.
“Why are you still here?” Amelia asked again, tilting her head. There seemed to be a grudging and underlying unwillingness in the alien’s voice.
“We are from a race of beings that are connected to many worlds. Hundreds? We have never heard of the Quester race,” Quark began softly. “We do know that those who ask to leave are removed. Thus, we begin to think to ourselves, if these creatures and beings are allowed to leave, why is Quester Race unknown to us? Why does no race report this superior Quester Race that appears and takes?”
Amelia frowned. That… was a good question. Her frown deepened as Quark continued.
“...to answer your question, we are afraid to leave.” Quark admitted.