He opened his eyes to find an odd pulsing light pouring in through the vents of his crate. While somewhat annoying, it allowed him to see. His whole body ached, and his neck was especially stiff from the experience of sleeping in a slouched sitting position. He inwardly cursed himself for not taking half a moment to lie down before drifting off to sleep.
Ziggy that was a jump I just felt, correct?
[Correct, Mr. Lather]
How long did I sleep?
[10 hours 25 minutes and 15 seconds]
Next time I think about sleeping like an idiot, can you wake me?
[Roger, Mr. Lather. I almost took the liberty to do so but was unsure of the proper protocol, so I refrained.]
Any idea where we are jumping to?
[Negative, current data insufficient. Bob has asked me to inform you that it could likely find out if you consent to it connecting to the ship’s internal veba.]
Bob, would that not alert the ship to our presence?
[It cannot believe you would ever think connecting to the ship might be a good idea. It would like you to better consider your requests before bringing them to it.]
Ziggy, is that what Bob really said or are you taking liberty with the translation?
[Mr. Lather, what Bob said was rather vulgar and inappropriate for polite conversation. The intent is all there though.]
[Bob would like to file a complaint against me for censoring his First Amendment right to properly tell you off.]
Noted Bob, but we’re not in the US nor 19 space so you don’t have a First Amendment right here. Also, Ziggy is not the government so it couldn’t infringe upon your constitutional rights either way.
Wait, do the elves have a constitution?
[No, they are a pure communistic form of government ruled by the Unesida Rada. They do technically have a citizen’s bill of rights.]
But Control Worms?
[Yes, that does seem to contradict any rights.]
[Bob would like to add that only the Getls have rights everyone else is a resource in that sham of a government, but that people are kept happy as they don’t know the truth and are distracted by their magical pleasures.]
Makes sense. Ole belly didn’t seem like a betterment of the whole type. What rhythmic beat I’m hearing?
[It is the ship’s heart. Bob would like me to add that we must be in the front cargo chamber, as only one heartbeat is audible to your human perception. The other cargo chambers run down each side of this model of transport. If we were in one of those, we’d hear the main heart as well as the aft heart.]
Wait this thing has more than one heart?
[Three to be precise, though the ship would die without the function of the main heart.]
This piqued his curiosity, and he let his curiosity win. He opened the lid to peer out and see his surroundings. While he knew there would be some form of light from the pulsing in his crate, he was surprised by how well he could see around the room. Though not as much as he was by the immense size of the chamber he was in. It had to be 500 or more meters in length and 100 or more in width.
He was distracted by the size of the room when he realized that not all the light was from his magical sight. The magical veins running through this room were now heavily pulsing with magenta-colored magic that he assumed was spatial magic transferring in preparation for another jump. More intriguingly they also gave off a physical glow with a yellowish as well.
Any idea why these magical veins are shedding actual light?
[Bob informs me they are likely in a large hurry as those veins only give off actual light when the amount of magic flowing through them exceeds their capacity and starts to burn the surrounding material. This only happens when Elven ships are in a hurry, normally only when they’re running from a threat.]
Any idea what that threat might be?
[Based on the number of jumps we have experienced it could be anything from dwarves to wild viruli]
What are wild viruli?
[Bob says they’re rare but reminds you that the elves have ruled this galaxy for many millennia and in that time occasionally viruli were left free to mutate as they wish. Wild viruli are rare and most aren’t dangerous. Like a Jaziridu it once heard of that projected random images that its mind made up instead of recorded ones. The missives stated there was a planet overrun with these Jaziridu and that it was a thing of heaven and nightmares to stay on it. Even more rarely there are reports of abandoned vivosipi……. ships, that bred and made wild hybrids. It is reported that eventually new species emerged from these breedings and they would claim areas of space as their territories. It is from these territories that members will occasionally migrate trying to claim territories of their own. Many of these new territories are where most interactions with wild vivosipi would occur. Elven ships are perceived as interlopers in their new domain. Either way, Bob requests you get out and look around so it might better help us figure a way out of this place.]
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Once out of his crate, he found he was in the middle of the room and about four stacks from the back wall. The crates had been stacked tight against the back wall and filled the room side to side, with what he was calling the front of the immense room being left empty. As he looked at the two hundred meters or so of crates in front of him, he dismissed any hope of finding a door close to his position, that he might escape through.
So, do I try to look through the crates or go try to find a door so I might journey around the ship?
[That would depend on what level of risk you’re willing to take Mr. Lather.]
Honestly not even sure what I would hope to accomplish if I did wander around the ship, except maybe getting caught faster. Also, Ziggy, that is what is called a rhetorical question.
[Noted.]
Not wanting to waste whatever time he had to explore, he connected to the crate in front of him and prompted it to open. It was packed half with brown food cubes and half with blue water cubes. Not knowing what lay ahead of him, he took 50 of each and stored them in a bag of holding. His inventory status showing the updated entries made him smile. He was in a real-life RPG completely with magical elves and inventory screens.
What’s next magical swords?
[Bob would like me to inform you that the sword you currently have is magical.]
Then why isn’t it glowing?
[Bob would like me to say, how magical do you expect a sword that is left in a crate to be? It’s likely just a standard issue elven sword. If so, it will repair itself, so don’t freak out if you see it light up green for a bit.]
He held up the sword to get a good look at it. It was about a meter long and its silvery steel blade curved in a way that reminded him of a leaf. Tasteful engravings of what looked like wisps of wind down adorned its length and the cross guard looked as if it was made of a tangle of roots, which the wood of the handle had grown from.
Step 1: Gain magical weapons and powers. Step 2:…………..
He was knocked out of his musing by the ship rocking violently to his right, throwing him out of his crate to the left. His sword flew from his hand spinning wildly in front of him. To his horror, he swore that as he slid the spinning sword started to veer in his direction. To his amazement the sword’s spinning quickly arrested, the hilt attaching itself harmlessly to his belt. Once his momentum was arrested, he found himself five crates from where he started. He wasted no time as he moved to get to his feet, concerned that more impacts were soon to follow. Though just as he regained his footing, he was again thrown off his feet by another impact this time sending him almost all the way to the left wall. As he gained his feet light from the veins on the wall intensified to a point where they were almost painful to behold. Then dimmed to almost non-existent as he felt the ship jump.
As the disorientation of the jump subsided, he leaped to his feet and started to run toward his crate. Desperate to get there before he was disoriented to the point he couldn’t find it.
I’m so glad the lid hasn’t closed yet. I’m not sure I could find it again if it did.
[Mr. Lather, would you like me to highlight your crate for you?]
Yes, please.
A green arrow appeared in his vision above his crate. He was halfway back when he saw the veins start to grow in intensity. As the light continued to intensify, he ran until he was only a few meters away and slid as if he were trying to steal home plate. Just as his foot was entering the opening of his crate, the ship listed heavily to his left. The impact sent him in the opposite direction this time, his foot catching in the opening causing him to tumble end over end as he was sent away from the safety of his crate.
[Syndesmotic sprain of the left ankle detected. To avoid further injury, please keep all weight off the impacted ankle until cleared by medical.]
With that, his left ankle lit up yellow on his damage display with the label “Syndesmotic sprain” floating nearby as Andrew bounced off a wall before coming to rest a few spins later.
He sat there trying to ignore the feeling of the world spinning and doing his best not to lose his lunch. Yet before he could gain his bearing the ship rocked yet again. This one did not cause him to move more than a few meters. The glow from the veins dimed to nothing and he noticed that the rhythmic beat he had largely been ignoring had also ceased. While he could perceive magical glows coming from various parts of the room, it wasn’t enough for him to know where he was in relation to his own crate, and after the last hit, he had little bearing on where he was. To his dismay when he reached out for the wall, he could not find it.
Ziggy, I don’t see my crate highlighted any longer, can you or Bob help me find my way back to my crate?
[Negative Mr. Lather, neither Bob nor I have sufficient data to help you in that task. If you can find a wall, we can likely orient ourselves properly.]
Is the ship dead? Do we need to worry about hull breaches?
[Yes, Mr. Lather by the lack of a heartbeat it appears that our ship had died. As we still have air and air pressure, I feel it is safe to assume our part of the ship has not been compromised. Additionally, in analyzing the sounds and direction of travel, I would imagine the ship was hit further aft of us. Likely shot in the hearts in an effort to disable our ship.]
Unsure of what to do he tried throwing a bolt of force to help him light his way. While it did glow a pale tan, that glow was not sufficient to light his way. He threw them one after another watching their trajectories, hoping one of them may hit his crate or the wall. The fear of never finding his wayward crate grew with every bolt he threw. After going in, what he was reasonably sure was a full circle he sat down unsure of what to do next.
Should I start walking in a direction to see if I can find a wall?
[Mr. Lather, I would not recommend that action at this time. Your ankle injury would make it difficult to walk in a single direction and the risk of further injury is too high.]
Instead, Andrew sat down and allowed his mana to recharge. After what must have been 30mins he heard the tell-tale hiss of a door, and the room lit up with what appeared to be handheld or head-mounted lights. Their light swayed back and forth in a pattern Andrew recognized as that of people scanning a room. While the light that reached him from below wasn’t much, it was enough for Ziggy to orientate to his new position. A green arrow appeared in his vision, pointing him to his crate.
Andrew wasted no time sprinting for his crate, thankful once more for the silence of his elven shoes. His ankle screamed in pain, yet he did his best to ignore it allowing his fear to drive him on. As he neared his crate, he desperately tried time and time again to connect to it to will it open. Unsure of the maximum distance of the spell. To his relief the purple line connected just in time to have the crate open just as he dove into it. Once in, he did his best to elevate his ankle and make as little noise as possible as the lid slowly closed.
Did they hear me? Are there elven pirates? Seems like that would be impossible with their level of control of their population.
[It is unlikely they heard you as your shoes effectively nullify your sound. Bob believes whoever came into the room to either be Wambi raiders or Dwarven pirates.]
What are Wambi raiders?
[They are the followers of Lyderis Omuwambi, the false Getl.]
How is he(?) a false Getl and why would they attack this ship?
[Bob says, it is unknown how, but he is the only elf not of the Unesida Rada to have ascended to the rank of Getleklic. As you might imagine the members of the Unesida Rada did not take kindly toward this and chased him and his followers from one side of Chennon to the other before the Wambi vanished. Now they appear like wraiths and attack transport ships at random. It is assumed they do so for supplies they can’t make themselves.]
Their conversation was interrupted as voices came from below.
“We’re going to be RICH!!!” exclaimed a man with an almost Scottish-sounding accent.