9. Quest Quest

“If you know our power, then you have to know that we can help as well as harm.” I gave him a piercing look. “I am a healer. If I fix your leg, then a wrong will have been made right. In exchange, you will agree that we are not the kind of people that would harm a child, and you will let your son be our guide.”

Annabeth was humming again, and her pink magic settled all over him. He glared at me, but I confidently returned his gaze.

He glanced at Annabeth who beamed back. Then he resumed glaring at me, holding tight to his son the whole time.

“Can you really heal Papa?” the boy asked.

“I think I can,” I nodded. “I’ve healed several centaur llamas, and I’ve already worked with one apparition. I’m sure he wasn’t at your level, but the idea should be the same.”

“Papa, you have to let them try!” the boy pleaded. The man shuffled his feet instead of giving a hard ‘no’ and I knew I had him. Annabeth picked up where I’d left off, and between her and the boy, they wore his papa down.

I was already using my magic sight to explore his leg and see what type of damage I was dealing with. It was easy enough to find the problem. His overalls looked good cosmetically, but at the detail level, it was all off. Someone had put a patch, about six inches wide, around his whole leg, and I guess it had healed from there. It was like putting duct tape over a hole in a wall, though, as it did not actually fix the problem.

I walked over and sat down in front of him as he grudgingly, but hopefully, agreed to our terms. I closed my eyes and touched his leg, but I still couldn’t see inside him. He didn’t exactly have an aura, but his magic was still holding my sight at bay.

I realized he was going to have to swear to me, so I took a brief moment to put the words together in my head.

“Do you swear to open yourself to being healed? Will you allow me to see, touch, and modify your leg to make it whole again? Do you fully accept my gifts and my magic, so long as they do you no harm?”

He thought over what I’d said. Then he nodded.

“I agree,” he said gravely.

As soon as he said that, his whole body opened to me, and I was shocked at what I saw.

He had a skeleton core! Like an actual magical skeleton. I’d just figured he was hollow like one of my creations, or had a central core like Tock.

Once I’d processed his skeleton, I saw he had a lot more going on than that. He had two other systems—one that looked like it was made up of tubes and another that seemed to be made up of wires. In addition, the blank space in him was filled up with some sort of foam.

I felt for his link to his home base like Tock, but he didn’t have one. Instead, the power from his skeleton fed into a small gem at the center of his pelvis.

‘Magic? Stone?’ My Mark of the Deep Earth was interested, although it didn’t seem as excited as when it had met Tock. Its awareness flowed into the father, while I got down to business.

I had no idea how it all worked, and I didn’t need to. I could see the problem right away. Someone had cut his leg to the bone, and when it had healed, none of the tubes or wires matched up any more.

‘Tea, are you seeing this?’ I asked.

‘Oh yes!’ he replied. ‘This is fascinating. Just fascinating. It’s almost like a real body.’

‘Do you think you can help him?’ That was the big question. If I had to do this manually, it was going to take a lot of time. And time wasn’t something we had a lot of.

We’d already spent several minutes singing and haggling. It would all be worth it if we could take the shorter path over the mountain, but if not, we were falling farther and farther behind.

‘This is a simple system compared to the human body,’ Tea replied. ‘The only problem is I don’t know if my healing spores will work. They’re designed to function on actual cells that can repair and grow. I don’t think his body is like that.’

‘It’s worth a shot,’ I said. ”We”re in a hurry, so send over six of your best Ents to map out the damage and see what they can do.’

Tea agreed, and soon six Ents flowed out of my hands and into the injured leg. They got into formation—two at the top, two in the middle of the damage, and two below. Then they started growing out their roots. This was usually the most important part and always seemed to take the longest. After all, the Grove needed to know exactly what to repair before going to work.

It only took a few seconds for the Ents to figure out the father’s system, and then they sprang into action again. This time they sailed through his leg, laying down healing spores and working their magic.

Except nothing happened.

Well, something was happening, as the leg was starting to shake and the man was moaning like he was having an orgasm. I zoomed out and quickly realized all the reaction was coming from his gem core. The Mark of the Deep Earth had polished it up, and now it was shining like a small star.

That was lovely, but I wasn’t here to get his rocks off.

Pun intended.

I was here to fix his damn leg, and nothing was happening.

I zoomed in again, tighter than before, and soon I saw what the problem was. The apparition’s magic belonged to him, and I didn’t have any control over it. I could see what I needed to, per his swear, and it was friendly to my magic. But that wasn’t the same as what I’d done with Annabeth.

When I’d made her matrix, she’d sworn that I could use her power like my own. That had given me the control I’d needed. With Tock, he’d totally been in awe of the Deep Earth, and he’d basically given up all control at that point.

With this guy, it was different. This magic was still his, and I couldn’t touch it.

Damn.

‘Try flooding the area with your magic,’ my Analytical Side suggested. ‘Your healing spores are your magic, so maybe they need something to work with. You really just need to move his magic around. You don’t need to actually take it over. If your magic wrapped his magic, then the spores would have something to hang on to, and it might be able to shift his body around.’

‘That is some excellent thinking,’ I said as my Analytical Side nodded smugly. He loved being smart. Now it was time to see if he was right.

I pushed magic out of my hands into the leg. I’d done this thousands of times before with my creations, so I had a good idea of how much magic it took to fill up two inches of space. This guy”s leg was much bigger than that, so I didn’t hold back.

His whole leg filled up in an instant, and my magic then raced through the rest of his body. I was so shocked I almost forgot to turn off the power.

‘I think your creations are a lot denser than this guy,’ my Analytical Side noted, ‘so he’s filling up quite a bit faster. I must admit, even I didn’t see that coming.’

My error was compounded when my magic hit the healing spores. They started growing and growing and growing. It was like one of those kid toys where they put a little dinosaur in a bowl of water and it suddenly grows into a two-foot-tall tyrannosaurus rex. Then, true to their name, the spores started healing.

If the guy had been having an orgasm before, he was having a whole damn orgy now. My magic and spores shot through his system and healed everything.

Like, everything!

His skin was clear. His skeleton was polished. His wiring was renewed and laid in nice rows. Best of all, his pipes were cleaned.

Thank goodness I’d had six Ents in him, as they’d exploded into action—mapping out his system and sending the healing where it needed to be.

I was afraid this guy was going to blow up or he’d bulge out in giant tumors with all that growth, so I started sucking up all my magic as fast as possible. I got all my magic back, returned the six Ents, and told the Mark of the Deep Earth it was time to go.

‘Wow. That was close,’ my Analytical Side sounded relieved. ‘It’s a good thing you can suck as well as you can blow.’

‘Hardy har har,’ I replied sarcastically. But I was relieved too. The boy’s papa was healed, and he hadn’t blown up. That counted as a win in my book.

I opened my eyes and got to my feet.

Everyone was staring at me, even Annabeth.

“How does your leg feel now?” I asked as nonchalantly as I could.

I tried to look like all this was normal. All my patients spaz out and have a religious experience while being healed. It’s no big deal.

The boy’s papa stopped shaking, took several deep breaths, and gathered himself. Then he took a step, and his face bloomed into the biggest smile I’d seen in a long time.

“It’s good,” he said in wonder. Then he took another step. Then another.

Suddenly, he was running around the staging area whooping with joy. He even jumped a few times just for the heck of it.

He skidded to a stop by his son. They hugged each other, and the happiness was palpable.

Then he saw us smiling, and he tried to put his game face back on again.

“It’s good,” he repeated, shaking his leg thoughtfully like he was trying to find something wrong with it.

“Aww, hell,” he gave up trying to be cool and just beamed at us. “It’s really good. Thank you.”

I think he’d have said more, but we were still adventurers after all.

“My name is Jason,” I said, “and this is Annabeth.”

My magic had been all up inside him. It only seemed right to introduce ourselves.

“My name is Ank, and this is my son Ank.” They were both named the same? That wasn’t confusing at all. Regardless, we shook hands, and then Annabeth got us back on track.

“Ank, I’d love to stay and hear more of your story, but we need to make up as much time as possible. I know we may not look like much, but our freedom depends on us doing well in this tournament. I promise you that we will take good care of your son, and he will come home without a scratch on him. So, with your permission, we need to get going.”

“You have done everything you promised to do,” Papa-Ank said. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good before. You’ve gone above and beyond what was asked, and it’s only right I balance the scales.”

He turned to his son.

“Take them on the second path to the mountain gate. Either Illit or Ellit will be on duty. Tell them that I said to let these two through with no toll and no hassle. Once inside, show them the Adventurers’ Hall first, as they will certainly need to know where it is.”

He paused to give us a knowing look. Had he just given us some sort of clue? I started to ask, but he shook his head quickly and kept going.

“From there, take them to Otugh’s warehouse. Let him know I sent them and he should give them his special rate. If they finish up quick enough, then take them to Indifies’. She has one of the best quests in the city, although you wouldn’t think it to look at her.”

His son nodded and seemed to know what his dad was talking about. Annabeth poked me with her elbow and gave me a gleeful grin. It sounded like we’d just gotten hooked up!

“I thank you for your kindness, and I pay my debts,” Papa-Ank continued. “I’m not one to want nothing outstanding. This will get you into the city much faster and cheaper than the rest of them wastrels, and my son will make sure you don’t waste no time once you’re inside.”

He paused, as if there was more to say, but wasn’t sure how to say it. That gave me a moment to process his double negative way of speaking. The boy was speaking the same way, and it was driving me nuts. They weren’t saying what they thought they were.

Uggh. I wasn’t sure if it bugged Annabeth as much as it did me, but I had to breathe and let it go.

When Papa-Ank spoke again, he seemed to be choosing his words very carefully.

“There will be much to see and do in the city, and it’s easy to get caught up in nothing important. Be quick, but thorough, and remember that time is not on your side.”

He gave us that look again, like he’d just given us a clue. I didn’t understand what he was trying to convey right now, but I’d remember it. Maybe it would make sense later.

In a sense, these guys were actors in our play. They couldn’t very well just give away the whole plot, and I was sure they would get in trouble if they broke the rules. They could hint, though, and that’s what Papa-Ank was doing.

Ank-Junior was practically dancing in excitement, he was so ready to go. As soon as his papa stepped back, indicating he was done, the boy grabbed our hands and took off.

He pulled us to the back side of the staging area, which led farther up the mountain.

“Nobody never thinks to look up over here!” he laughed. He released our hands and bounded on ahead.

“Follow me!” he yelled gleefully, and that is exactly what we did. The boy must have been part goat, as he skipped over the rocks with ease. It took Annabeth and me a few minutes to find our inner Pan, but once we did we picked up the pace and the journey became a lot of fun.

The mountain wasn’t anywhere near the size you’d find in an Ansel Adams picture, but the view was still beautiful. The part we were on was a mix of rocks, tough brush, and scrub grass. This was untamed country, and I quickly realized that if we’d tried to forge our own path, it would have slowed us down tremendously. We were farther up than the teams that had tried to do it on their own. Even with all their power, they seemed like they were hardly moving.

I was so glad the boy was here, as the path wasn’t anything I could have followed on my own. I’m used to city life, where a path is a clearly marked strip of concrete with lighting and the occasional bench. This was nothing like that. Instead, it felt like Ank-Junior was leading us from one break in the scrub to another, and somehow we were avoiding the ravines, giant boulders, and thorny thickets. In his own way, our little mountain boy was working magic.

The terrain went up and down a lot, so initially, I was afraid I’d be out of shape and slow us down. Annabeth trained constantly at our beach gym, so I figured she would be fine. Sure enough, she not only kept pace with Ank-Junior, she also kept up a conversation with him the whole time. She even sang another song for him.

I’d just recovered from some horrible injuries and had only recently started training in our arena again. I hadn’t pushed myself yet, so I wasn’t sure what I could do. Tea had said I’d be stronger and faster, but there was a big difference between hearing it and actually experiencing it.

Once I got the hang of our nature hike, I started pushing myself a bit, and I was amazed at how well I responded. My legs were strong, and I easily hopped from rock to rock. We had a few places we needed to climb, and I scampered up the rock face like I was a squirrel climbing a tree. My breathing felt easy, and I had energy to burn.

The only thing that let me down were my shoes. They were basic tennis shoes, and they weren’t made for hiking in this terrain. We were about halfway there when a rock rolled under me and I almost went down. My foot snapped to the side and my ankle twisted, but I caught myself in time. We stopped and Annabeth looked very concerned, but I shook it out, and a few steps later, I was back to speed-hiking like nothing had happened.

I sent a quick thank you to my Marks. The work they were doing on my bones and ligaments had really paid off.

Thinking about my Marks made me think about all the stone around me, and when I opened myself up to the mountain, my journey took on a whole new level. I could see the colors of the minerals all around me and hear their songs. It wasn’t as intense as when Sandy and John had moved us through the rock to get out of the cave in Louisville, but it was still a delightful experience.

The mountain changed from being an obstacle to being an ally. Now I knew exactly which rocks would roll, and the stone lit up a path for me, showing the best spots to place my feet.

The mountain was very friendly, and its melody gave me strength and encouragement. Finally, I couldn’t help it—I burst into song.

“The hills are alive, with the sound of music!”

I felt like Julie Andrews until Annabeth joined in. Then she clearly became Julie Andrews, and I took on the role of backup singer. I didn’t mind. Annabeth was just awesome like that.

We sang, ran, jumped, and hiked, and before we knew it, we had arrived at the city. I looked down at the road from the valley, and there were still a lot of teams making their way up the side of the mountain. Once they reached the main gate, there seemed to be another delay, as I could see teams waiting their turn to get inside.

We didn’t have to deal with any of that. Instead, we arrived at the city from the side, and Ank-Junior took us to a much smaller entrance. It wasn’t even a real gate—it was more like a door that was big enough for one mounted person or a small cart.

There was a guard at the gate, although he seemed more interested in staying in the shade and leaning against the wall than in monitoring who was going in and out. He still perked up when we arrived and demanded we pay his toll or go around to the front.

Ank was having none of it. He told Ellit that Papa had said we were to get in with no hassles. If he had a problem with that, then take it up with Papa. Ellit blustered and tried to stare the kid down, but Ank took our hands and pulled us into the city behind him. Ank might be young and small, but he was a determined kid. Ellit didn’t stand a chance.

As soon as we were inside the city, I felt like I could relax a bit. It was now official—we weren’t in last place anymore.

The city itself was clean, beautiful, and full of character. This had to be an actual city, not just a set piece for the tournament, as there was so much daily life going on all around us. There were shops selling hats, shoes, clothes, candy, medicines, tools, and so much more. Street vendors, with their booths parked in the middle of the road, were selling tasty treats and specialty items.

I felt like I was in one of those Italian cities with winding cobblestone streets, cheerful people, and a sense of adventure and history everywhere I looked. If we hadn’t been on a mission, I would have loved to have slowed down, done some shopping, and sampled the local cuisine. It sure smelled delicious, and I was always hungry.

It didn’t seem like any sort of animal transportation was allowed in the city, which is probably why it was so clean. Instead, people walked or ran everywhere they needed to go, so we fit right in.

It would have been easy to get separated, so we ended up with Ank in the lead, Annabeth holding his hand, and then me holding her other hand. It was a bit awkward, but better than getting split up. As we got farther away from the side gate, the area became more residential, and the number of people on the streets with us diminished. As we got closer to the center of the city, it became more urban again, and we started seeing more shops and more traffic. It was hard to gauge exactly where we were, as the streets curved and the boy kept leading us down different routes. Sometimes, we took a street on the right, and sometimes the left.

I was so lost, as these streets were nothing like the wonderful grid layout I was used to. The only things that gave me some sense of location were the wizard towers. They were tall enough to be seen from just about anywhere, and we seemed to be headed towards a particularly tall one that looked like it should be in the center of the city.

Finally, we came to a large open plaza that was filled with adventurers scurrying around. They were shouting at the top of their lungs to be heard, and the din was intense. At the far end of the plaza was the base of the tall wizard’s tower. I thought the base would be as beautiful as the top, but it seemed very much like a fortress. It also seemed like it had seen its fair share of action, as its stone was scorched and there were divots in the otherwise smooth surface.

I saw why a moment later, as two teams near us started fighting. Their fight escalated quickly, and soon the other nearby teams were either joining in or running for cover. We ran, of course, as there was no need to get involved in that mess. Once we were a few blocks away, Ank pulled us to the side of the street and stopped.

“That was the Adventurers’ Hall,” he announced breathlessly. “Us normal folk never go near it, as someone is always having a row and busting things up. You need to know where it is, though, so you can do your thing.”

“What exactly do we need it for?” Annabeth asked. “What is this thing we’re supposed to be doing?”

“Officially, it’s got the message boards where the quests are posted.” Ank was still full of energy, as only the young are, and he danced from one foot to the other as we were talking. “Other than that, I know nothing. But you can always find your way here by heading towards the tower.” He pointed up at the top where the lights danced around.

“Got it?”

We barely had time to nod before he grabbed Annabeth’s hand and was off again. I kept an eye on the Adventurers’ Hall, and it seemed like we were using smaller streets to circle around the plaza. Then we turned down a much wider street with a lot of people, and for the first time I saw large carts in use. They were stacked high with goods, and I guess the ban on horses was still in effect for this area, as they were being pulled by sturdy-looking people.

Ank led us down the street and across to the opposite side before leading us through a large stone arch. Once inside, we found ourselves in a large courtyard that contained two large carts filled with goods as well as an empty one. A team of three women were unloading one of the carts and carrying the burlap bags through the open doors of what seemed to be a small warehouse.

Ank didn’t stop. He just waved to the women and pulled us inside. Once there, I was amazed at how big it was. Not that the actual floor space was huge, but rather that it had layers going both higher and lower than ground level. In the center of the room was a large open lift used to move products between the floors.

“Otugh!” Ank yelled as loud as he could. “Otugh!”

“I’m here. I’m here,” a man grumbled as he stepped out of a door I hadn’t noticed yet. He was muscular and stout, and looked like he could easily unload a cart on his own if he needed to. He also had a bit of a belly and a slight flush to his cheeks that said he was also happy sharing a laugh over a pint or two. Or three.

“Ahh. Hello, lad. It’s almost good to see you.” He chuckled like it was an old joke that still had some humor left in it.

“Otugh! These are the best adventurers! They healed Papa, and he said you are supposed to give them your quest and the special rate!” Ank was still practically shouting in excitement, and the words tumbled out so fast I could barely understand him.

Otugh made a shushing motion with his hands and took a moment to look us over.

“I can see they’re adventurers,” he said, “although they seem to be missing a few people. Now what’s this about your Papa?”

Ank told the story about Annabeth singing, and me healing his papa’s leg, and us hiking over the mountain, and the fight at the Adventurers’ Hall, and now we were here. He barely stopped to breathe, he was talking so fast, and the whole story seemed like one run-on sentence. He performed our journey as he chattered, including shaking like his Papa and moaning all crazy-like. He made it look more like I’d turned his papa into a zombie rather than healed him.

I guess Otugh was used to the boy, as he nodded and seemed to keep up with the story.

“I finally got some adventurers to help me, and I’m supposed to give them the special rate?” he asked Ank when he’d finished.

“Yep!” Ank replied cheerfully. “Papa said.”

Otugh sighed like Papa-Ank was personally reaching into his pocket and taking his money. But he still nodded and pulled a lantern off the wall.

“I guess there’s no help for it,” he grumbled. “Follow me, and I’ll show you your quest.”

He turned and led us toward a set of stairs on the side leading down.

“Wait!” Ank suddenly called. “We need to square up. You owe me three pearls!”

Annabeth looked at him in surprise, and I guess he realized that he’d sounded rather demanding and hurried to explain.

“It’s just that quests are hard and adventurers die all the time,” he said quickly. “Not that I think you’re going to die. Or I hope you don’t die. I don’t want you to die. You’re too nice.”

He trailed off and squirmed in embarrassment as only young people can. He looked cute as a button, though, and Annabeth just laughed and gave him a big grandma hug.

“I don’t want us to die either,” she said as she tousled his hair. “We agreed to three pearls for your service in leading us to the city, and you’ve done that. It’s only right that you’re paid for the wonderful job you did for us. It has truly been a pleasure spending time with you.”

She beamed at him as he suddenly blushed over the extra praise.

Annabeth had regular money, but no pearls, so I stepped forward to do the actual transaction.

“I assume you can transfer funds through the Bank?” I said, holding out my wrist.

“Oh.” His little face fell. “Is that all you have? You don’t have regular pearls?”

“I think Bank pearls count as regular pearls?” I replied, feeling confused.

“They are,” he said. “It’s just that if you pay me through the Bank, then everyone is going to know what I got, and they will get their cut first. If you pay me with physical pearls, then I get to keep them.”

He paused thoughtfully.

“Well, I’ll probably give one to Papa, but I’ll get to keep two.”

‘That sounds a lot like tipping waiters back in the regular world,’ my Analytical Side said thoughtfully. ‘If they get cash, they get to keep the entire amount. If not, it gets taxed and split with the bar staff and the food runners. Sometimes the management keeps part of it too.’

“That makes sense,” I replied, “and I’d certainly give you actual pearls if I could. Right now, though, I don’t have any on me, and I don’t have any way to make them myself.”

Ank looked downright dejected. Just how much were taxes around here, anyway?

“If you complete my quest, I’ll pay you in physical pearls,” Otugh spoke up. “That’s the only way we’re allowed to reward quests anyway.”

That seemed curious. Why would we only get physical money?

‘Probably because you gotta keep it just as much as you need to earn it,’ my Analytical Side chimed in again. ‘This way, if you fight another team and beat them, you get to keep their pearls as a reward.’

‘That sounds right,’ I replied. ‘That means we don’t really lock in our gains until the main quest is over.’

‘Another thing to consider, too, is that a team might find it much easier to not do any smaller quests at all.’ My Analytical Side was speaking in his best British voice. He loved going all Sherlock Holmes and figuring things out. ‘Instead, they’ll just beat up weaker teams and take their money. You definitely need to be careful when you leave here, as you might be targeted.’

‘You are so smart,’ I said and tossed him a Hershey’s kiss. He looked so happy I tossed him another one. Even imaginary kisses taste good.

I quickly filled Annabeth in on what I was thinking, and Otugh nodded in agreement.

“That is very true. My job is just to reward the adventurers, but I’ve seen them get mugged as soon as they leave here. It certainly pays to be careful.”

“I know we’re talking about this a bit early, as we haven’t even done the quest yet, but is there a back way out of here?” Annabeth asked.

“I think we can work something out,” Otugh replied. Then he turned to Ank.

“Now, young man, you have a choice to make. Do you believe in these adventurers you brought me, or no?”

He leaned down and peered at the boy intently, like he was testing him and he’d better not fail.

“If not, then be wise and take your pearls now, any way you can get them. If you believe in them, however, then be patient. If they are as good as you say, then you will have your physical pearls soon enough.”

Ank didn’t even hesitate.

“I believe in my girl!” he said grandly, patting Annabeth’s arm like he was patting the hindquarters of a horse. “She’s an adventurer, but she’s got what it takes.”

I barely held back a snicker, and Otugh had to cough to hide his smile. Annabeth just took it all in stride and gave him another grandma hug. She had grandchildren, so I guess she was used to kids saying sweet things in odd ways.

“Good,” Otugh continued. “Now let us be on our way. We don’t have all day, and there are other matters I need to see to.”

He set a brisk pace down the stairs, and we were right behind him. The first underground level was dark, although there was some light filtering in from the stairs and the lift in the floor above. I thought Otugh would turn on the lantern, but instead, he tapped a button on the wall and the place lit up with a soft glow.

“This warehouse has been in my family for generations,” he explained, “and each generation tries to enhance or add to it somehow. My grandfather added another floor to the top, and my great-great-grandfather added all the enchantments to the walls to regulate moisture. Water, fire, heat, and pests—those are the bane of any storage facility.

“We’ve been successful because we know our niche market and we don’t try to compete with the big boys at the gate. They are near the main entrance, so they have access to all the goods that enter the city. We let them handle the fruits, wools, grain, and bulk items. I’ve got some of that too, as we supply the restaurants in our immediate area, but that just brings in enough money to pay the taxes.”

We passed the second underground floor and started descending to the third. How deep was this place?

“Our specialty is providing a place that is both cool and dry, as well as blocking any exposure to direct sunlight. You’d be surprised just how many goods need such an environment.

“For example, we store the famous Angolia Wool for the weavers’ guild. It’s taken from the undercoat of the Angolia sheep, and it remains soft and pliable as long as it isn’t exposed to heat or moisture. They weave it into fancy clothing, and then soak it in a special solution which makes it impervious to piercing or cutting weapons. The rich people love it, as it looks good, wears well, and helps protect them.

“We store most of the reagents for the apothecary”s guild as well as a huge selection of mushrooms that are used by the finest restaurants in town. As you can see, we also have a floor dedicated to special wines and spirits.”

We were now on the fifth floor down, and it was filled with racks and racks of these pod things. I was used to bourbon aging in barrels, so I guessed this was a similar process. The sixth floor was filled with burlap bags that smelled fruity, and this was where we stopped.

“This brings me to why you are here. My contribution to the warehouse for my generation was to open up another level. I drew up the plans, hired the labor, and dug the floor. The stonemasons set the walls, and I was all ready to get them enchanted, when I ran into a major problem.”

He scowled at us.

“Rats. A whole nest of them. They dug through the floor, came up the stairs, and started eating my goods.”

He shook with fury at the memory.

“We’ve never had rats before, and you won’t believe what that did to my reputation. I had to pay for the damaged goods, and now my clients are starting to pull their business. If I don’t fix this, I’m going to be ruined.”

“Wait,” I said, “you want us to fight rats?”

“I don’t want you to fight them,” he growled. “I want you to exterminate them.”

I turned to Annabeth in wonder.

“We’re fighting rats!”

I was so excited. The others looked at me like I was crazy.

“These aren’t little rats like you’re probably thinking.” Otugh looked at me suspiciously. “These are monsters. As big as a dog. They’re fast too, with red demon eyes and sharp claws. So don’t be thinking this is easy.”

“Oh, I’m sure they will be tough,” I replied happily. “But still, we’re fighting rats!”

“Is he okay?” Otugh asked Annabeth. “I’m starting to think he ain”t got no sense.”

“I’m fine,” I said quickly, trying to calm down. “It’s just that in role-playing games, the character almost always starts out fighting rats. It’s a long-standing tradition. And now my first quest is to fight some rats. How awesome is that!?”

I sighed happily.

“My life is now complete.”

They still looked at me like I was crazy, but I didn’t care. I was checking one off the bucket list. Admittedly, it was a weird and unusual opportunity, but that was okay. Today couldn’t get any better.

“They sound more like moles,” Annabeth said thoughtfully. “I don’t think rats would go this far underground.”

“They are rats,” I said firmly. “And we are here to slay! Now, how do we begin?”

Otugh continued to evaluate my mental health for a moment, but then he shrugged and kept going. I guess he figured crazy adventurers can kill rats too.

“I’ve boarded up the stairs so you can’t get down that way,” Otugh said. “You’ll need to drop down through the opening in the floor where the lift would normally be. I’ve attached a rope to the wall that you can drop through the hole and use it to get in and out. I also brought a lantern that you can use for light.”

“I don’t think I’ll need the lantern,” I said. “Let me light this place up, and we’ll see what we’re working with.”

The floors were about ten feet tall and larger than two tennis courts. One Flasher would generate enough light to see by, but then we’d have lots of harsh shadows. I was sure the rats would have no problems fighting in shadows, and I could see in the dark so it wouldn’t bother me, but I needed to create the best situation for Annabeth.

I decided to go with four Flashers total, one in each corner of the room. I called up my faithful Flasher from yesterday, duplicated him three times, and filled the new Flashers with magic. It only took a few seconds, which made me feel confident and happy. I’d come a long way from my first fight as a supernatural.

The lift was about ten feet square, and the opening in the floor was the same size, so there was plenty of room for us to look down and check out the unfinished floor. The Flashers flew through the opening and toward their respective corners. They lit up with a glow that was bright, but not intense, and for the first time, we could really see what we were working with.

For some reason, I’d been expecting a dirt floor, and there was some dirt down there, but it was mostly stone. I started to appreciate just what we were going to be facing when I spotted the holes. There were two in the floor and one in the wall, and they were big enough for a rottweiler to walk through.

What the hell? How big were these things?

Also, just how powerful were they to be able to tunnel through rocks like that? I knew rats could dig through dirt and roots, but this was on a whole other level.

Annabeth was right. Maybe they were some sort of rat moles. Demon rat moles if what Otugh said was right.

“Before we begin, we need to know exactly what our quest is,” Annabeth said. “Also, what is the normal rate, and what is the special rate we’re getting?”

“Your quest, should you choose to accept it, is to kill ten rats for me,” Otugh replied. He sounded nervous, like he was afraid that now we’d seen the holes, we might back out.

“Is that all?” Annabeth said, surprised. “Will that take care of your rat problem?”

“It won’t take care of the entire nest,” Otugh replied, “but killing ten rats is going to be a big job. Much bigger than you seem to think. The last time our city was a quest hub, I sent several teams down there, and all of them lost at least one member. Two teams lost everyone.

“As for your rate, I’m allowed to offer up to two pearls per rat. The normal rate is just one pearl, but since Ank vouched for you and there are only two people on your team, I’m giving you the best rate I can.”

“That should give us plenty of pearls to pay you,” I said to the boy. “But I have a question, Otugh. What if we killed more than ten?”

“I used to ask for twenty, but ten is enough, and with only two team members, I really should only be asking for five. In the unlikely event that you manage to face more than ten rats and survive, I’ll keep paying you a two pearl bounty on every rat you take care of.”

“Would we get some sort of bonus if we kill all of them?” I asked. I’d been ready to just jump through the hole earlier and get started, but Annabeth was right. We needed to know all the parameters before we got started. Maybe fighting rats would be impossible for us. Or maybe we’d figure out a way to kill them easily. Regardless, it was good to know what the stakes were.

Otugh looked at me like I was bat-shit crazy, but he answered anyway.

“If you can kill them all, then I’ll pay you a two hundred pearl bonus. You’ll know you’ve gotten them all if you fight the big one. He seems to be the king of the nest.

“Now, I’ve spent enough time here, and I need to go. I’ll be back later to check on you and see if you’re still alive. If you get finished early, just bring me their tails to tally your kills. I’ll pay according to how many you collect.”

He paused and looked at us expectantly. We looked back at him, then we looked at each other, then we shrugged and looked back at him again. Otugh sighed.

“You are new adventurers, so I’ll tell you this once.” He paused again to make sure he had our full attention.

“Always seal the deal,” he intoned seriously. “Always—always—always seal the deal.”

He looked at us like he’d just revealed a heavily-guarded secret.

“Regardless of what you heard, or thought you heard, nothing is locked in for sure unless you seal the deal. Without that, nobody on no quests ain’t required to stick to what they said. Most will, of course, as we’re tied to a business or location and don’t want no troubles. But you should always get in the habit of sealing the deal, and then reviewing the deal before you walk away.

“Ank, here, requested the special rate for you, and I told you I’d honor it. But I’d be perfectly within my rights as a citizen and Questgiver to only give you one pearl per tail once you’d completed your task. I like to keep things simple, so I wouldn’t do that to you. But some characters you meet wouldn’t think twice about tweaking the details to suit themselves. You’ll end up doing more work for less money, unless you seal your deals.

“Got it?”

That was excellent advice and we both nodded seriously.

“I thank you for schooling us like you have,” Annabeth told him. “You don’t have to help us at all, and yet you are. It is much appreciated.”

She bowed, and I bowed with her. Otugh seemed like a good fellow, and he’d probably just saved us a lot of heartache down the road.

Annabeth gave me a questioning look, and I nodded that she should continue to take the lead.

“Ten rat tails complete the quest,” she stated in review. “The bounty is two pearls per tail. Should we clear out all the rats, including the rat king, we get a two hundred pearl bonus. Are these our terms?”

She spat on her hand and held it out.

“I see you’ve already hung around Ank too long,” Otugh laughed. “While that is one way to seal the deal, the best way is to just tap stamps.”

He held out his wrist, and Annabeth quickly wiped her hand on her pants and then tapped stamps.

“The advantage to doing it this way is the Bank is now a witness to the deal. You can review what was agreed upon at any time, and should there be anything that ain’t clear, the Bank can step in and settle the matter.”

That sounded like a much better way of doing things than hand spitting.

“Do I need to tap Stamps as well?” I asked. I didn’t want to find out later that only the rats Annabeth killed got the special rate.

“Nope,” Otugh shook his head. “You don’t need to do no tapping. You’re a team, so every member of the team is also bound by the agreement.”

‘Did you get that?’ I sent a quick thought to my Bank Crystal.

‘The deal has been received,’ the Bank Crystal stated. ‘However, I would like to point out that Otugh threw in an extra clause just to see if you were paying attention.’

‘Oh? What does it say?’ I asked.

‘The rate for the first ten rats is the same as noted.’ The Bank Crystal flashed the agreement up on a scroll in front of me. ‘However, if you ask for it, any rat after that point will pay a bounty of three pearls. To get this special rate, you must repeat the following phrase…’

I mentally chuckled when I read it, then I returned to real life and addressed Otugh.

“Otugh is wise. Otugh is kind. Otugh is also exceptionally good looking and generous beyond his means. We gladly accept the special, special rate.”

Annabeth looked at me in surprise, but Otugh burst out laughing.

“Well, that was certainly quick. I didn’t expect you to notice that until after you were done. Since I am wise, kind, and oh-so-good-looking, I will now give you the special-special rate. A little flattery, no matter how prompted, never hurt nobody.”

He continued to chuckle at his own jest as he put his arm around the boy and started leading him away.

“Ank, you can come with me and help upstairs. Adventuring is dirty business, and it’s not something you should see. You can come back later.”

Ank protested, but Otugh was firm and kept moving him along. Once they left up the stairs, I relaxed a bit. I had no idea what we were really getting into, and if we failed badly, I didn’t want an audience watching us.

Annabeth also looked like she’d relaxed a little as she turned to me.

“Okay, team leader. How do you want to play this?”

“I”m the team leader now?” I asked playfully.

“Of course!” She played right back. “I’m just the muscle in this outfit.”

She flexed like Arnold and then struck a kung-fu pose. That cut the anticipation a bit, and we both laughed.

We quickly settled down, though, and I started thinking it through.

“I have the better shield,” I said, “so I think I should go first. If I get completely overwhelmed, you can always jump down and come to my rescue. If it’s more than I can handle, but I’m still able to run around, throw down the rope and haul me up. I’m sure the rats can’t climb up the walls and across the ceiling, or jump this high. If they could, Otugh would have already boarded up this opening.”

“So I’ll be your knight in shining armor?” Annabeth quipped.

“You know it!” I smiled. “I’m always glad you’re here and have my back.”

Annabeth was keeping it light, which I appreciated. Now that the others were gone and it was actually time to fight, I was starting to feel a bit nervous.

Nervous was good, though. Nervousness was just another form of excitement. I could use that.

I jumped up and down for a moment to get my muscles warmed up, and then did a couple of quick stretches. If I cramped up or pulled a muscle while I was down there, it might get me killed.

“Ready?” Annabeth asked.

“Ready!” I replied and jumped through the hole. I caught myself on the edge with my fingers to slow the fall, and then gracefully dropped the rest of the way.

I hadn’t done anything yet, but my entrance felt good. I felt light, strong, and powerful. Dropping ten feet was nothing.

Annabeth’s anxious face peered into the hole as I looked around. I was on a big, empty floor. There were no rats for me to fight.

I stomped the ground and clapped my hands lightly. Then I waited.

Nothing.

I took a moment to consider my creations, but I wasn’t sure what I was facing yet, and none of them seemed helpful. Belchers made a lot of noise, but I hoped to only fight one rat at a time. If I made a ton of noise, I might get swarmed by all of them.

Bashers were great for locking mages inside their own shield charms, but these rats weren’t going to have shields.

My Surfer Dudes were my protection from distance attacks, but I doubted the rats were going to throw anything at me. They might be useful in other ways, though, so I turned all ten of my Surfers loose in the space and told them to only attack if they saw a way to help.

Still no rats.

“Here, ratty rats,” I called softly. “Come to daddy.”

“Really?” Annabeth laughed above me. “You’re a rat daddy now?”

“I’m used to calling cats,” I retorted, just as a pair of beady red eyes appeared at the farthest hole in the ground. Well, that was better than calling a cat. They usually ignored me.

I settled into my pigeon-stance as we took a moment to stare at each other. Otugh was right. It looked like a demon, as its red eyes literally glowed in the dark. Damn.

Then it walked into the light. Double damn.

It looked fugly—and mean as sin.

It was covered in hair, but not the kind that feels like fur. This seemed more wiry, like a steel brush. It had two large teeth in front that looked tough enough to punch through armor or crack my bones. Its feet were wide, with strong, sharp claws for tunneling through rocks—or shredding my guts.

What made it extra scary was it looked like it weighed as much as I did. It was wide and solid, like a demon rat torpedo.

‘Whatever you do, don’t fall on the ground,’ my Analytical Side said anxiously. ‘If it can get on top of you and use its claws, you’re toast.’

‘Agreed,’ I nodded.

‘And while you’re at it, don’t let it bite you either,’ he continued.

‘That sounds easy,’ I replied sarcastically. ‘Anything else?’

He didn’t get to reply, as the demon rat sniffed the air, then charged. I was shocked at just how fast it was. It didn’t have long legs like a dog, but it could move!

If I hadn’t been used to the arena on the beach, I’d have been doomed. I’d have frozen, the rat would have hit me full on, knocking me to the ground, and that would have been it.

I had trained on the beach, though, and I was used to heavy enemies appearing out of the sand and charging at me. My battle energy was always with me now, so it was easy to project it in full force. My lower half was water, providing my base and flowing away from danger. My upper half was smoke, light and fast. I pigeon-stepped out of the way and summoned the lightning.

Lightning Punch.

Lightning Punch.

I connected, and I was so glad I did. The rat”s center of gravity was low and he had four legs, so he wasn’t thrown by my pigeon-step. Instead, he pivoted and came at me like I hadn’t dodged at all. My punches stopped him, though, and I didn’t hesitate to follow up.

I managed to knock him back, but then he rallied and came at me again.

He tried to bite my hands. When that didn’t work, he tried to claw me. After that, he tried to use his mass and lower center of gravity to charge me again and knock me over.

The fight was fast and furious, and if I had slipped up even once, he would’ve had me. I didn’t mess up, though, as I redirected his charges and held off his claws.

If I’d been a regular mage, I’d probably have gotten winded and started to slow down. Tea and his Grove had transformed me, though, and as we fought, I warmed up and got even faster.

I was hoping the demon rat would slow down first, but he didn’t. Instead, he redoubled his fury and came at me even harder.

As the fight dragged on, it seemed like we were evenly matched. My punches stopped him, but weren’t enough to really hurt him. On the other hand, he couldn’t get around my offense to attack me.

I was in greater danger, though. If he figured out a way to bite me or claw me, then I was going to find out real quick just how good Red and the Hex Network were.

‘Increase your punching power,’ my Analytical Side demanded urgently.

‘I’m giving her all she’s got, captain,’ I retorted sarcastically. I wanted to say more, but the fight was taking up all my attention.

‘Your force runes! They aren’t at full power,’ he said, ignoring my sarcasm. ‘Your bones couldn’t handle the vibrations before, so you stopped at thirty percent. Both of your Marks have been working on your skeletal system, so you should be able to handle more now.’

‘You’re right!’ I sent him a quick rush of gratitude.

‘Red, increase my offensive force runes to thirty-five percent,’ I commanded.

I didn’t want to make a huge change in the middle of a fight. My punches were my best defense. I couldn’t afford to have them get out of control.

‘Of course!’ Red replied. ‘It’s cranked up!’

I could feel the difference right away. The flow of the fight didn’t change, but it suddenly became a lot easier to hold the rat back.

I fought for about twenty seconds at the new level, and I felt good. That may not sound like a lot of time, but in the middle of a fight, it”s an eternity.

My bones felt solid—they seemed to be handling the new stress just fine. My muscles felt powerful too, and my timing was still on point.

My timing was everything. Tyler had shown me the technique of relax-and-tense-on-contact, and that was what allowed little skinny me to block and hit like the big boys.

Relaxing and moving with pure intention allowed me to move at speeds that seemed impossible. Explosive power applied at the moment of contact allowed me to hit with a force much greater than my frame would suggest. Adding all that to the power of a perfectly-tuned force rune had allowed me to go toe to toe with mages many times my senior and take them down.

However, this damned rat was turning out to be tougher than a centaur llama. One problem was that it had such a hard head. My punches weren’t knocking it out. Another problem was that the rat was too fast and I couldn’t attack it from the side. If I could have hit it in the ribs or pummeled its soft organs, this fight would already be over.

‘Red, bring my attack runes up to forty percent,’ I commanded.

‘You got it, boss!’ he called back. ‘Thump that rat bastard!’

I was now hitting thirty-three percent harder than before, and I still felt good. I was feeling great until I saw a new set of beady eyes peering out of the hole. I couldn’t wait any more. I needed to finish this rat off now before its companion joined in the fight.

‘Red, forty-five percent!’

I didn’t wait for his reply because, for the first time, I took the fight to my opponent. I was hitting fifty percent harder than before, and the rat couldn’t hold out anymore. Its head bounced with my blows, and I finally got a bit of an angle. Its head snapped to the side.

It wasn’t out of the fight, but it was dazed, which allowed me to finally pigeon-step at an angle and attack its vulnerable side. Meanwhile, the beady eyes from the hole resolved into another rat. It sniffed the air.

Damn, I only had a few seconds before I’d be fighting two of them.

Annabeth dropped to the floor, and the second rat charged. This was not how this was supposed to go. I’d hoped to finish off my rat, and then have a nice discussion about tactics before Annabeth went into battle. I could only hope she’d seen enough to hold her own.

The best thing I could do would be to finish off my rat as soon as possible, so I laid into the side of it like I was Rocky in the meat house. My fists danced up and down its ribs, and for the first time, I felt things break.

I thought it might try to run away, but it didn’t. Instead, it twisted to face me, fixed hateful eyes on me, and tried to jump. I think it was just trying to claw me any way it could, but that was a mistake. Once the rat was in the air, it had no mobility. I pigeon-stepped to the other side and knocked it into the wall. Then I pounded the monster into the ground until it stopped moving. The whole time it hissed at me like a snake and tried to claw me until its last breath.

I got up feeling sick. I hated killing anything—even a red-eyed demon rat that wanted to rip out my guts and gnaw on my bones.

In computer games, I pressed a few buttons, the rats went splat, and I gained a bit of experience towards the next level. It was all easy, clean, and imaginary.

This felt real.

This whole world felt real.

For all I knew, it was real.

I tried to shake it off. Annabeth needed me. I was her backup, just like she’d been mine.

I was about to turn around, when the rat gave a pop and vanished—leaving only its tail behind.

I stared in amazement.

The rat was gone. Like really gone.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I felt something inside me relax.

No matter what it felt like, the rat hadn’t been alive.

I hadn’t killed anything.

I’d defeated a monster and gained a quest piece. That was it.

Thank goodness.

Feeling a whole lot better, I turned around to go help Annabeth with her battle.

“I got this,” she yelled when she saw me advancing, so I stepped back and let her do her thing.

In some ways, she was doing better than I had. She’d summoned two weapons, a shillelagh and a dagger, and she was putting both of them to good use. She was using the shillelagh to hold off the rat by jamming it in its mouth. Then, when there was an opening, she stabbed it with her dagger.

The rat weighed more than she did, so it was pushing her around. She countered that by using a “pow” to power her attack through the shillelagh. That snapped the rat”s head back, and that’s when she stabbed it with the dagger.

Several times the rat got in some hits, but her shield charm absorbed them, and she used a “zoom” to get out of range and reset before it could reach her again. My battle had pretty much taken place in one small area, but Annabeth used the whole floor to her advantage.

Annabeth’s sonic magic gave her a lot of flexibility, and most people would have thought that was what made her powerful. Watching her fight, though, I was keenly aware of just how well she used that flexibility.

She thought on her feet. She used the space to her advantage. She knew when to attack hard and when to fade away. That’s where her power was.

The demon rat had none of her finesse. It just attacked and attacked and attacked. It didn’t seem to care about any defense. It just wanted to sink its teeth into her in the worst kind of way.

Around and around the floor they danced. Several times it looked like the rat was going to get her, and I was ready to step in. But each time Annabeth escaped, regrouped, and fought some more.

She never did hit anything vital, but all that stabbing caused the rat to lose blood, and eventually, it bled out. It got slower and slower, and finally collapsed on the ground.

“Do you need help?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if she’d feel bad about killing it.

“I got this,” she replied matter of factly and gave it the killing blow.

Damn. Annabeth was tougher than I was.

Her kill looked a lot worse than mine had, as there was blood everywhere. There was blood on the floor, on the walls, on her weapons, and all over her.

She looked a bit like Carrie on prom night, and that was not a good look. My face must have shown just how grossed out I was as Annabeth walked towards me, laughing.

“It’s not real, silly,” she said and flicked a bit of blood my way. I screamed like I was a vampire and she’d just thrown holy water. I didn’t want that shit on me, so I got the hell out of the way.

She got a wicked grin on her face as she licked a bit of the blood on her hands. She smacked her lips dramatically, like she was a chef tasting a new ingredient.

“Tastes like cherries,” she said brightly. I made retching noises and threatened to throw up on her.

“I told you, it’s not real,” she laughed as she danced back out of range. Then her rat went “pop” and vanished, leaving its tail behind.

“See?” she said brightly.

I just shuddered. Annabeth was always so cheerful. Who knew she had a dark side?

I think she would have teased me some more, but as the team leader, I needed to keep us on track.

“Neither one of us had an easy time with our rat,” I said. “Let’s regroup out of danger and see what we can do better.” I pointed to the sixth floor above us.

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Annabeth agreed.

I looked around for the rope, but I didn’t see anything. Surely, Annabeth had thrown it through the hole before she’d jumped down to help me?

My magic sight told me the answer, but I had to look anyway. No, Annabeth had not lowered the rope. Well damn. I guess we were stuck until my Surfer Dudes could toss the rope down to us.

Annabeth didn’t seem concerned, and instead, walked over to the opening for the lift.

“See you up top,” she said brightly and jumped. My mouth fell open in shock as she sailed through the air and caught the lip of the hole with her fingers. A wiggle and a swing later, and she was sitting on the sixth floor looking at me.

“Are you coming up?” she asked innocently.

Holy cow! She’d made that look easy. These floors were about ten feet tall, not including the thick wooden beams that held everything stable. That was a long way up.

Could I do that?

I wasn’t sure. I’d never tried.

I needed to get moving, though, before I spent too much time thinking how impossible it was. Before I lost my nerve, I crouched slightly and launched myself into the air.

To my utter surprise, I almost made it.

Wow!

I had that kind of power now?

Annabeth’s eyes twinkled as she called out encouragement. I focused a bit more, gave it a little more oomph, and this time I clasped the edge of the floor.

I hung there for a moment, feeling how easy it was. Then I pulled myself up, swung my leg over the side, and rolled onto the sixth floor. Easy peasy.

Soon we were both sitting on the edge, feet dangling into the floor below.