The rest of the ride passed in silence as both Marie and I were lost in our thoughts. I kept tabs on where we were headed as the Buick traveled south on the 405 Freeway. We exited on Beach Boulevard and headed back toward Huntington Beach. It made sense, Marie and her partner had found where I was staying quickly after I had returned from a summoning. If they hadn’t been close, I doubt they would have reached me so quickly.
We pulled into a small apartment complex a few blocks from the beach. The place was a bit older, but well-kept and not nearly as bad as some of the motels I’d been forced to stay at. Marie motioned for me to exit as the driver parked in one of the spaces marked for residents.
“I’m Julio, by the way, sorry, it didn’t seem like you were in the mood for chatting while we were driving,” the driver said, introducing himself. Julio was middle aged and a bit pudgy. Not exactly threatening, but with magic and whatnot, looks could be deceiving.
“Thanks Julio, I think it was a rough night for everyone,” I offered as I shook his hand.
“We can jump right in if you want, Rico, or you can get some sleep first, your call,” Marie said.
“Where will I stay?” I asked.
“Let me find out. We own this apartment building, I just need to figure out which room is open for you,” Marie replied fishing out her phone and calling someone. An older lady, maybe the one I had talked to on the phone, walked out and handed Marie a key and a small bag of toiletries that Marie handed over to me.
“Number 33. It should be on the second floor up there,” she pointed to the room. It faced the street and would give me a good view of whoever might be lurking nearby. It would also grant me a quick escape route if I needed it.
“Thanks, can we get together in the morning? I think I need a good night’s sleep and some time to process everything,”
“No problem, just come down to the apartment office when you’re up. There’ll be some breakfast there and we can get started on your debrief and what future plans we might need to make. You’ll also probably need to do some shopping since it isn’t safe to return to where you had been staying.
“Goodnight, we’ll talk in the morning,” I said, waving to the pair as I walked up the stairs to my new apartment. The place was small, but it was furnished with things about as nice as I had in my first apartment that I had been forced to abandon when the summonings began.
Despite how exhausted I felt, I had a hard time going to sleep. I watched TV for a while and kept walking through the apartment, afraid someone was about to come crashing through the front door or leap out from a closet. Eventually, sleep took me as I sat on a chair by the window. The sun coming through the window woke me up and I paid for sleeping on a chair all night with a sharp pain every time I turned my head to the right.
After a quick shower, I headed down to find the apartment manager’s office. There was a second apartment building behind the one I was in, and the office was there, in the bottom floor corner. It was just a converted apartment, and when I stepped inside, the place was bustling with activity.
Couches and several chairs were placed in the front room and people were chowing down on bacon and eggs. The whole apartment was filled with the divine smell of cooked bacon, and I found my mouth watering as I looked for Marie or someone who could tell me where I was supposed to go.
“Rico, over here,” Marie said, waiving me over toward the kitchen area where a buffet had been set out. Trays of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and hashbrowns were beckoning me.
“Is this the new guy? He doesn’t look like much,” A young man that looked like he should be in high school said.
“Leave him alone Elliot, Rico just got here,” Marie chided. The kid, Elliot, just shrugged and began filling his plate with eggs and bacon.
“This was unexpected,” I said pointing at the food.
“It’s Friday, we do breakfast every Friday as a group. Jeanette, who you probably talked to on the phone when you called us, used to own a bed and breakfast. She does an amazing job with the food. It’s best to get on her good side, if you do, you’ll be well fed,” Marie said with a grin.
“So, what happens now?” I asked.
“First, we eat, I’m sure you’re as hungry as I am. After that, we can head out and chat. I’d like to get a rundown on your experience as a summoned being and how your class operates,” Marie explained.
“That sounds good, especially the eating part,” I said, following Marie as she grabbed a plate and began filling it with breakfast.
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I’ve always been a fast eater, and it didn’t take me long to finish off my breakfast. I offered to help with dishes, which Jeanette declined, telling me I had more important things to do this morning. There was a vague warning that my dishwashing skills would be put to the test in the future. When we were both done eating, Marie led me outside to a bench placed in the shade of a tree next to the neatly trimmed lawn.
“How long have you been a summoned being?” Marie asked, starting out with the easy questions.
“I’ve kind of lost track of the time. It’s hard when you spend a lot of your time in other worlds but when I come back here, hardly any time has passed. If I had to guess, I’d say a couple of months,” I offered.
“Okay, that should put you around tier one now, maybe the early to middle ranks of that tier if you’re doing well,” Marie said.
“Exactly, I’m tier one, rank two right now. I’m a class called Foe Summoner. Now, I’ve answered a few of your questions, can you answer some for me?” I asked.
“Sure, if I know the answer, I’d be glad to share it with you,” Marie offered. A thousand things ran through my mind, and it was hard to decide on one.
“How many people here are summoned beings, and what tiers and ranks are they?” I asked. It might be helpful to know who I might be working with, or if things went sideways, who I might need to fight.
“Here at the apartment complex, there’s only four of us. There were five, but we lost Randy last night,” Marie said, pausing for a minute as she fought back emotion. “He was tier two, rank three. His class was called Elemental Shield Master and it blended strong defenses with elemental attacks. He died shielding our distraction team from the cultist’s summoned being,” Marie said.
“Who is the cultist’s summoned being, and how powerful is he?” I asked.
“His exact tier and rank are unknown, but we estimate that he’s at least tier three. He’s a class called Plague Warrior and likes to get up close into melee. His body releases toxins while he fights, weakening or killing his foes,” Marie said.
“Sounds nasty, not someone I want anywhere close to me. What about the other summoned beings here?” I asked.
“I’m a tier one, rank five Illusionist. It allows me to detect illusions, hidden items, and grants me the ability to track mana. I’m the one that helps to track down other summoned beings. As for the others here, the young man you met earlier, Elliot, he’s just tier zero, rank 6. He doesn’t have his class yet, but if pain in the butt is a class, I’m sure that’s what he’ll earn,” Marie said before pausing to take a breath.
“Jeanette is now the highest ranking summoned being here. She’s tier two, rank nine and has a support class called Homesteader. It’s been a great help, and if you could access the system here on Earth, you’d see that the breakfast she made probably bumped a random stat for you that will last for most of the day.”
“What else does a Homesteader do?” I asked, more than a bit curious about the strange sounding class.
“It bolsters the defenses of wherever she lives, in this case, an alarm will sound if anyone with hostile intent nears the property. She’s also the reason we can’t be tracked, even after being summoned. Her ability blocks all forms of scrying or mana detection for her guests. At higher tiers, she can turn a place like this into a mini fortress, but that’s in the future.
“For now, we’re happy to have her food buffs and other maintenance skills. Our last summoned being is a young man named Quinn. He’s a more traditional warrior type, called a Quest Knight. Quinn just got his class and is still tier one, rank zero. He’s got a lot to learn, so he’s probably in his room poring over our database,” Marie said.
“Can I access the database? I’d love to research things, there’s a guy in Somhagen that sells information, but if you’ve already collected it, it could save me a lot of coin,” I asked.
“Ah, yeah, I take it that you’ve met Lavelle. As for the database library, it’s all online, here, take this. It’s secure and if you’re physically on the property, it’ll allow you access to the library database that we're constantly building,” Marie said, handing me a new phone. I looked at it a bit skeptically.
“Don’t worry, it’s protected. Your location is masked, and you can’t be tracked by it from anyone outside our organization,” Marie tried to assure me.
“I’ve had a run in with some corporate goons from the Grimslade Group, and I suspect they have the tech or the connections in government to have my phones tracked,” I offered.
“We know of them, and there’s a mutual understanding that they stay out of our business, and we stay out of theirs. Now that you’re with us, they’ll call off their dogs. The only people who can track that phone is our group, and even then, we’d only use it to help find you if you’re in danger,” Marie said.
“The Grimslade people tried to kidnap me, and you’re on friendly terms with them?” I asked, a little worried that the organization I’d just joined may not be all sunshine and rainbows.
“Not friendly, just not hostile. We trade information on certain threats, like the cultists you ran into. In fact, I suspect they’re going to try to wipe them out in the not-too-distant future. There are more than a few groups like that cult running around, I’m afraid to say. I don’t like how Grimslade operates, but I also don’t feel the need to go to war with them over it. For now, we have an uneasy truce,” Marie explained.
“Got it, I understand that you can’t fight everyone,” I admitted.
“True, but there are lines we won’t cross. Holding people against their will is one of those. Look, I have a few things to handle this morning, so I’m afraid I have to cut this short and leave for a while. Take a look at the database while I’m gone, I suspect a lot of questions you might have will be answered there. While you’re perusing it, make sure to submit anything you might know that’s missing from our records. This is a work in progress and every bit of information we can find might help someone in the future,” Marie said.
“What about if I want to leave the apartment? I need to get clothes and some other things. All I have is what was on me when I was kidnapped,” I asked.
“Go see Jeanette when she’s done with breakfast. She’ll get you a car to use, and arrange for IDs, credit cards, cash, and whatever else you might need. Check the database, we support our people, but you’ll be expected to contribute a portion of what you earn when you can,” Marie said as she stood to leave.
“Can’t avoid tax, even as a summoned being,” I joked.
“True, though I think you’ll get far more out of Refuge than you put in,” Marie said as she walked away. I hoped she was right, but only time would tell.