Village of Hayyam, Temple of Prosperity
Krandermore, Survivor’s Refuge
4453.2.15 Interstellar
The pedestal was located on a rain-spattered balcony outside the room across from the meeting hall. It was four-sided and waist-high, made of a strange orange-red metal that Janus had never seen before. Each side was made of two rectangular panels covered in raised and sunk dots.
“It’s binary,” Ryler said, following Janus’s gaze. “These date back to a time when the Cult viewed machines in a more idealistic light.”
“It doesn’t anymore?” Janus asked.
Ryler placed the cube on top of the pedestal. “That faction fell from favor for reasons I hope you never discover.”
There was a building hum in the air, and then a clank, and suddenly, the pedestal shed all the moisture that clung to it. For just one moment, a hundred droplets just hung in the air, suspended as if by magic, and then they fell with a patter.
The air smelled like ozone.
“That’s it?” Janus asked.
A holographic projection appeared above the pedestal and the cube. It was a list of the twelve regional teams—eleven, now, because the decoys Koni had sent were out of the race, their points zeroed out. “I’m sorry, Koni. I—”
Koni hissed.
“What?” Janus said, looking back at the projection.
She wasn’t looking at the fallen Verazlan team.
She was looking at the top of the list.
Most of the teams had scores ranging between 6,000 and 10,000. Team Invarian was in first place. Not just in first place, they were close to 1,500 points ahead of the next nearest competitor, who happened to be Team Tlali-Acamatl, the compartmentalists.
“How is this possible?” Janus asked Ryler. “Did we get that far ahead?”
“We didn’t push hard enough for that,” Koni said. “No harder than my great uncle would, and my mistake delayed us.”
Both Janus and Koni looked at Ryler, who was staring at the projection with glowing blue eyes. “There has to be some kind of externality at play.”
“Looks like Nikandros threw you to the mud hawks, Abraxxis,” the local wayfinder said, walking up to join them.
“Do you know anything about this?” Ryler said angrily.
The local wayfinder tucked his hands into his sleeves and shook his head. “Believe it or not, Abraxxis, your champion is growing on me. I still don’t like you or your master, but I’d hate to see young Invarian here die before he sets things right with the village.”
“I haven’t committed to helping,” Janus said.
The wayfinder scoffed. “I think you would have anyway, but now? They’re all going to be after you. Your best chance is to double down on helping people and stick to hard, unexpected roads.”
Ryler blinked, and the blue glow faded from his eyes. He sighed and took the cube from the pedestal. “He’s probably right, Janus. Until we know what’s happening, I can only assume the other teams will come for us. They’ll hurry to catch us, and if they’ve passed us, they’ll turn around. Our best bet is to get the highest score possible, so high the other teams will have to focus on doing the same or risk losing even if we finish last.”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“We’ll see about that,” Janus said, his jaw set.
The local wayfinder smiled cheerfully. “Strength through struggle, Emissary!”
***
Janus was making the turn back toward the garage by the time Ryler and Koni caught up to him.
“Janus!” Ryler said. “Hold up!”
“What was that guy’s deal?” Janus said, rounding on Ryler, who almost ran into him.
“Who?”
“The wayfinder,” Janus said, waving at the spire they’d just left.
“He’s an egalitarian,” Ryler said. “Ignore him.”
Janus stared at Ryler and scratched at the stubble beneath the left side of his jaw. “What does his being an egalitarian have to do with anything?”
“Do we need to do this here?” Koni asked. “We need to get out of this village before the Pugarian team finds us.”
“I want to know,” Janus said flatly.
Ryler sighed and tucked the data cube under his right arm. “That was Wayfinder Ragheera, although technically, his faction doesn’t recognize the hierarchy of the Cult. He was hostile to you because you’re an emissary and an exemplar, and his people think everyone should be the same.”
“Then why did he change his mind?” Koni asked.
“Because Janus is Janus,” Ryler said to her, exasperated, then he looked back at his friend. “Look, don’t worry about him. He’s not going to interfere, one way or another. The egalitarians are crazy, but they’re sticklers for—”
The low buzz of the village was split by the shriek of a jet engine—or of a pissed-off flame dog.
“Fury,” Janus said, his eyes widening. He slammed his helmet onto his head and ran.
Janus sprinted back toward the garage, trusting Ryler and Koni to follow. Alarm bells started to ring—first one in the direction of the garage, then a series of bells around it. People ran past, some toward the sound, but most in the opposite direction. The street lights were dimmed because, while the twilight was constant, humans were diurnal, and it was notionally “night,” but the village skyline soon lit up with strange fire that burned in rainbow colors.
“Lira!” Janus yelled over the comm. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know!” Lira said. “Mick is out with Fury! Should I go after them?”
“Janus, this could be a trap,” Koni said, cutting into the conversation. “The Pugarians could be drawing us into an ambush.”
Janus hesitated, then told Lira, “Stay with the buggies! Make sure we’re ready to leave if we have to!” He came to a stop at the next intersection, not sure which way to go.
Another jet engine shriek sounded, this time from a section of prefabs further to the south, and Janus took the left of two roads toward where he guessed Fury was. “Mick?”
“Little busy, boss,” the Hunter said tightly. “Lost control of Fury, and she’s a mite ticked off.”
“We’re coming in from the north,” Janus said, seeing Mick’s position on his retinal display.
Purple and red fire lit up the perpetual twilight.
More locals ran past Janus, Ryler, and Koni, heading away from the angry little jungle dragon. More worryingly, Janus saw a few villagers with weapons trying to work up the courage to attack. He knew he would have to put Fury down if she harmed a human being, but he very much hoped he would be able to reach the specimen before that.
He’d gotten attached to the little critter, he realized. It would break his heart to see her harmed.
As Janus’s team and Mick’s signal converged, they both reached a plaza in front of a small temple, like a smaller version of the spire they’d met the village elder in. There were several villagers armed with spears and nets forming a crowd near the temple. Light flared, and they took a step back as Fury shrieked again.
Janus activated the external speakers on his helmet and yelled, “Get out of the way!” in a loud, mechanical voice.
The crowd flinched, parting in front of him.
Fury saw him.
She charged. The little flame dog came tearing toward him with her incandescent mouth half-open, fan-like gills extended like when she faced down the rock crab.
“Janus! Look out!” Koni yelled.
Janus barely had time to react. He reached for his chem pistol, but the little creature had already run through the gap in the crowd and pounced. She flew through the air, claws extended and mouth open.
She slammed into his chest, knocking him to the ground, and he thought he was dead until he realized she was nuzzling into him, trying to hide against his chest and whimpering.
“Fury?” Janus said, hugging her.
The little flame dog gave a half-hearted shriek of pain. Her eyes were dilated and full of mucus. Her heart was racing—he could see it pounding in her chest, her skin changing colors slightly with the erratic beat.
Mick skidded to a stop next to them, still holding the singed and broken leash. “Janus! I’m so sorry! She went nuts!”
“It’s not her fault,” Janus said, getting to his feet with Fury still cradled in his arms. “Keep those people away from her. We need to get her back to the garage.”