AbyssalRoadTrip
patreon
Abyssal Road Trip - 542 - Playing pretend
🕑 Added 2025-08-14 14:39:30 +0000 UTCAmdirlain's PoV - Swiftrunner spaceship
When she'd remained silent on how she'd caused the scarf to vanish without Mana traces, Pel’nark had excused himself and headed back to his duties. Their path curved around to the nightside of the planet and shot towards the moon. The ship's constant acceleration brought it into contact with the moon's port authority within two hours. Though the vessel decelerated at the three-quarter point, the interior of the ship maintained a constant Qil Tris level gravity towards the decking.
The primary city dome topped a deep shaft that led down to the mines; the smallest accommodations were those closest to the surface. Off to one side, they'd located the spaceport in a crater, which was laid out in the same circular pattern as the facility on Qil Tris. The titanium alloy of the structure was bright in the sunlight. An underground tunnel connected it to the city, and the outer ring featured dock clamps suitable for larger ore transports from the outer system.
Once the ship descended into the allocated berth, a force barrier closed over it, and a ceiling panel slid into place beneath the barrier; only when it locked into place did the bay fill with air. Once they came to a stationary position, a coiled tube extended to hook to the exterior connections around the airlock. The ground crew came out into the bay and washed instruments over the vessel to check for flaws in the hull's outer surface and energy leaks.
They believe in layered redundancy.
Pel’nark met her at the airlock. "Ensign Felis is available to guide you, unless you've made other arrangements. The city can get confusing for those who've not visited before."
"That's fine with me. I'm not sure of my departure date as yet, but I'd like to loop through both the colony planets."
"At this time of year, the most efficient route would mean heading further out to Qil Nostra first, and then heading sunward to slingshot to Qil Musa."
"I'll leave their order up to you, Captain."
"Are you going to be returning to Swiftrunner each night, or staying in the city?"
"Do we have to go through the same security check here?" Amdirlain replied.
"No Pride has a territory close by, so there aren't the same concerns," Pel’nark reassured. "You can also get issued berth passes on the way out, and return through a dedicated entry."
"Then I'll just return to the ship each day." Amdirlain waited until Felis joined them before she stepped into the airlock.
As they reached the port's outer ring, thousands of workers in sweaty gear with drooping tails trudged along the pathways from the mining vessels. They joined the same routes for the exit as the brightly clad tourists and neatly attired business folk coming in from Qil Tris. While the port shared similar facilities as the planet-side port, beyond the exits, tourist signs mingled with those for casinos and budget hotels that offered spacesuit refurbishment services. The hues of the cheerfully coloured signs were colour-shifted for Catfolk eyesight, but amid their eye-catching glare, a massive banner proclaimed the location of the lunar arena.
Modern industry needs mammoth quantities of material. I can feel that the Endurance levels of the workers are so far beyond what people on Earth would possess. How hard do they push themselves to appear this run-down on return to port? How much do they get paid for this to be worthwhile?
"We could take a shuttle to the city, but the tube line gets you into the city centre rather than having to work your way down through the life shafts," Felis offered.
Amdirlain shook her head and motioned towards the line of people ahead of them. "I want to experience tube transport."
Past the last shops trying to tempt workers and tourists to part with credit, multiple ramps at the exit led to the port's station, the bright lights reflecting off fatigue-worn eyes. Amdirlain brushed the highest-level miner's mind and found him exhaustingly tallying up the market value of the ore they'd hauled in, and figuring the credit gained from his profit share. His routine seemed a regular post-run ritual, ticking off living expenses for the quarter and progress in saving for apartments on Qil Tris that he planned to buy for his pride. While others were going through the same mental ritual, she confirmed that all the crews had the same profit share arrangements.
Okay, they haven't been driven to this by corporate greed. They work themselves to the bone and then come back to port. Though I wonder how much of those profits the casinos here suck out of them.
The clean tiles on the platform were a mix of blue and white, with a wide strip of textured yellow ones before the barriers blocking the tube line. The trains raced along at supersonic speeds in a vacuum. When they came to a complete stop, their doorways extended airlocks through the barrier on one side to allow passengers to get off. Only after the cabins were clear did they enable passengers to board from the other side. As they observed, trains whisked full loads of passengers away every few minutes, and in half an hour, Amdirlain was on her way towards the city with Felis seated alongside her. The only sensation of movement was a slight initial pressure, but it smoothly evened off; in a minute, they were already braking to come in at the station deep beneath the city's dome. The array of stations connected to various tunnels around the city's centre allowed for a smooth exit. Aware of the fragile bodies around her, Amdirlain moved carefully, taking in every note of pressure as her shoulders jostled with the crowd.
They eventually reached a mezzanine balcony that allowed them to look across the levels of the city’s central shaft. School-aged kids moved among shop attendants and office workers, all chatting idly to those they knew as if they weren't kilometres below ground. Their expressive ear and tail twitches were easy for her to read after six years on Qil Tris, even after so long away. She stepped closer to the edge, tracking a group with her eyes, and felt the air currents criss-crossing the central shaft. The jets pushed up at an angle from the balcony to provide resistance in case the gravity control failed. As it was in full gravity, they presented an unusual warning to grab people’s attention to the railing’s proximity.
It's like an air curtain for flies, but this one stops someone from flying out into the shaft.
"Tourists aside, the crowd seems like a typical morning gathering in downtown Osaphis. Though this central shaft is nothing like what we have at home."
In more ways than one.
Felis's ears flicked in acknowledgement. "Local time has it a bit earlier in the day, so you'd be able to go on a morning crater tour today if you wanted."
"I'll book a tour for tomorrow. I want to do something with less rushing around today. How about we check if there are any low-gravity sporting events on?"
"The local rules for the low or zero-grav scrimmage are very different, so some people find them confusing," Felis cautioned.
"I'm sure I can adjust. I'm mostly just wanting to enjoy the atmosphere and see what sort of maneuvers they can pull off in person rather than over the receiver. Care to watch a match with me?"
His tail swished happily, and Felis headed straight for an information terminal set in a wall like an ATM might have been; a few quick taps on the display were all it took. "There is a scrimmage match that starts at lunchtime between two of the premier teams. There are second squad teams in the lineup ahead of them, which means we won't see the main event until mid-afternoon."
"That's okay. Can you book the sports tickets through that?"
He set up the transaction, and Amdirlain sent a press of Mana into the terminal. This time, she avoided overpaying. With a confirmation chime, it tied the ticket to her and Felis' identity chits.
Did I cause them to accept a big brother state, or did they associate them with chits to prevent ticket scalping?
"Let's wander over to whatever tour office you'd recommend. We have plenty of time, so I'm not rushed into a tour choice," Amdirlain said, feeling her ears and tail twitch with her bubbling eagerness.
I never made it to Europe for a tour, and now I'm playing tourist on a moon in another realm. I've seen and done so much that this should be nothing, yet it's not. What makes it so special? Being able to see normally again, or the curse's removal? I'd prefer it if Sarah could come along so we could sightsee together, but I'm sure they'd notice bookings from someone who hadn't arrived through official channels.
Their route took them through busy tunnels, and Amdirlain stepped carefully to avoid bumping or jostling anyone. A mix of shops catering to office workers, along with a blend of the unusual, lined their path. Stores selling arcane grimoires and alchemical materials stood beside eateries or shops with the latest spacesuits on display. With the latter, many of the basic spacesuits contained a bare minimum of magi-tech, and the fancy ones had enchantments to supplement the functions. Some accessories blended arcane with mundane, such as air bottles with enchantments that could refill them, inexpensive reaction pistols that shot gusts of compressed air, or emergency units that provided a one-shot teleport.
Felis halted before a glass display window where receivers cycled through scenic pictures. Along with surface tours, options ran a gauntlet of tastes: from an industrial theme showing the working of the local metal refineries, stargazing at various observatories, as well as food and the local music scene.
Why is it different seeing things in person when my resonance provides far more details? Is it the emotional impact because it's closer to how I would have seen things as Julia? Yet I'm not her, nor am I Tulne; I'm just using her name as an alias. Why does it feel so weird when people address me using it?
Personal dissatisfaction niggled at the back of Amdirlain's mind, but the cause wasn't coming forth. Rather than stress about it, she slipped inside the shop to be greeted with a bright hello. The green-furred male Catfolk behind the counter wore clean business attire, a pressed shirt and trousers, and offered a closed-mouth smile. Yet its genuineness reached his eyes and perked up his scent and ears. Other staff tended calls inside the rectangular shop, its walls lined with posters of various sites on the moon and outer planets. A group at the back were poring over images of locations that the Enyalië had created on the two transformed worlds. A chart hovering near them showed available travel times and departure locations.
"What can I help you with today?"
"I'd like an itinerary for a few days of assorted tours starting tomorrow."
"We can arrange that. Is there anything in particular you want to see?"
“I'm trying to see things outside my normal range. How about the highest-rated tours on the moon?” Amdirlain proposed.
“You don’t want interplanetary bookings?”
“No, just the local tours. Avoid crushing them together. I’ve got no departure time booked, so I’d rather have a relaxed experience on the moon leg. I can always stay another day if it's something you’d recommend.”
He brought up a short list of questions on a second display to show Amdirlain. "Then why don't we go through the best tours and pick out whatever most appeals? Have you been to the moon before?"
Amdirlain's ears twitched rapidly, and she sat across from him and started filling it out using Tulne's answers.
He was as efficient as he was enthusiastic about his greeting. After reviewing a few proposals with her, he had booked three days of tours to cover lots of ground while still leaving time free to explore.
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
Their walking tour and an early lunch at a casual eatery let Amdirlain settle into her seat before the start of the first scrimmage match. She had just gotten comfortable in her seat between the two halfway nets when, at the edge of her senses, a large being emerged from a wormhole. Though outside the heliosphere, the Eldritch distortion that crawled across exposed and mauled flesh drew her notice.
A wounded Star Dragon. Is an Aspect playing around, having them head in this direction?
Pain soared in the Dragon’s theme as they spent a chunk of their failing strength to create another wormhole with the exit point deep within the solar system. Its momentum carried it into the wormhole that placed it above the system's largest gas giant, skimming the atmosphere. With their body failing from the injuries they'd suffered, the titanic Dragon inhaled, consuming mega litres of compressed gases.
I can heal them from here, but I might need to deal with any remaining Eldritch. Well, so much for a vacation.
"Tulne. I'm going to have to disappear from here. Do you want to switch out with me, or should I just let them know there is an emergency and I have to go?"
"Go to a fresher and give me a beacon. I'm assuming you'll have no issues helping me slip past the city's spatial barriers?"
"None."
Amdirlain made her excuses and headed up the aisle to the connecting corridor, scanning through the site as she did to find an optimal location. As she slipped behind the pillar at the exit and broke all lines of sight with the crowd, she blocked the wards in her target and teleported. The atmosphere in the empty changing room she arrived in carried a hint of antiseptic and the local version of bleach.
With no alarms triggered, a short song reached out to Tulne in the trial. When she stepped between the planes, Tulne was wearing scarred wyvern hide leathers; their enchantments carried layered protections.
"So much for your vacation."
"I was thinking the same thing," Amdirlain laughed.
"What's the emergency?"
"Eldritch and a wounded combatant."
Tulne flinched. "Mor'lmes told me about the mental changes and body stealing that went on."
Amdirlain created a fresh set of clothing that matched what she was currently wearing and handed over the tickets. "Your guide is Ensign Felis, and the Captain's name is Pel’nark. I've not spoken to the other crew beyond exchanging hellos at the auxiliary stations."
"What about your tour, Amdirlain?"
"It already showed me something that I needed to learn, so I appreciate you letting me walk for a time in your shoes."
"Oh?" Tulne's perked up.
"I'll never be who I was, Tulne. A few hours walking among people and being hyper-aware of their delicacy drove that through to me. Having someone call me by your name and not just an alias made clear how much I was playing pretend with this trip. I need to focus on who I am for a while."
And that is part of refining my nature, discovering the truth about who this new me will become.
"Isn't it good to set aside the weight of expectations?"
Amdirlain leant forward and carefully hugged Tulne. "Indeed it is, Arch-Magi."
Tulne laughed. "That's all thanks to you, Goddess Amdirlain. I'd be dead without your help."
"That's Primordial Amdirlain, thank you very much." Amdirlain sniffed and tilted her nose in the air.
Tulne let out a bright laugh, and Amdirlain provided a mental burst of the tour Felis had provided and transferred the tickets onto Tulne's chit. Her teleport placed her near the gas giant, well ahead of the Dragon's path. There, Amdirlain reverted to her True Form as she looked over the injuries they had suffered. Its undamaged scales shone like twinkling stars, but blackened patches of pure night showed where Eldritch attacks had sundered scales and severed a wing. The creeping corruption was eating its way further in, slowly killing the Dragon; despite being thousands of kilometres long, their bulk only brought them time and gave the corruption more fuel.
"I can help you if you’ll allow me." Amdirlain projected, sharing an image of her relative location to the Dragon.
They swung their head up, their surviving eye scanning the sky ahead of their course instead of the clouds they'd been inhaling, and found Amdirlain in her Elven form.
"How can you help?"
♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫
Klipyl's PoV - Qil Tris.
The group beyond the summoning circle all wore full-length grey Wizard robes and gawked at Klipyl's arrival. The glowing blades that were part of her True Form circled her elven form, phasing through the ribbons that stretched from her back. Their illumination highlighted the cherry blooms of her kimono, while the translucent ribbons intensified the blades' glow and helped to brighten the cavernous chamber. Engraved into the floor were Artificer runes filled with alchemical silver, rather than the religious sigils she'd seen in previous summons Kadaklan had allowed her to handle. She could see other circles about the place with various celestial and far deadlier outer-planar creatures sitting in them.
"What sort of trouble have you kittens gotten into?"
A white-furred male, his fur rippling with his seething contempt, stepped to the circle's outer edge. "You will answer our questions, or you'll never be free of that circle."
My first summoner made the same threat, but he was cautious, not contemptuous. Mr Angry Kitten has fuzzy fur.
Klipyl couldn't help it; the giggles got loose all on their own.
Do I let them know they screwed the pooch right away?
With the floor beneath her clean of runes, her fingers tapped against the pendant at her throat; its presence tilted the decision towards some teasing first.
Klipyl swooned dramatically, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead. "Oh noes, whatever shall I do?!"
Her crystal bow appeared in her other hand, bringing a sneer to the Catfolk's lips, his gaze burning with intolerant fanaticism. "Your attacks can't get through this circle."
A faint sunbeam turned into a stationary laser beam between the bowstring and the grip, as Klipyl drew. "This only hurts those with evil in their hearts. Are you confident in your heart? Because I see a lot of really ugly hatred in your eyes."
She let a warning shot shatter against the inside of the barrier.
The leader sneered mockingly, and she held still, letting their insults pour forth for a few minutes, then she had another energy arrow drawn before they could blink.
With the activation of the pendant, the circle shattered.
As mithril sprayed into the air, the foul thoughts and the greed that darkened most of them twisted fearfully in their minds, drawing a sympathetic look from Klipyl. Her hope that she could merely tease and scold them vanished.
Most of them are pale imitations of demons. This wouldn't affect them if they were just concerned about their cities.
The brilliance of a dozen midday suns filled the chamber with a warm light; of those gathered, two felt only a gentle energy wash across them while the others died instantly, the slaying effect painlessly stopping the mortals' hearts and minds. The constraining circles stopped the energy from touching the captives. She lowered her bow and waited. As the two survivors turned to flee, Klipyl's ribbons seized them by their wrists and torsos to hoist them off the ground. More ribbons brushed the displaced souls of the dead and sent them safely to the Astral Plane.
Klipyl's bow vanished. "Now we'll see these beings home, and then we'll talk."
The younger of the two, a grey and black tabby, drew a panicked breath and screamed. "You killed them all."
"You object to the faithful, yet you're still alive. While your motives for being involved focus on what you believe is the welfare of others, I heard their minds when I shattered the circle. They hated the faithful because they continually blocked their control and Amdirlain cost them money, not because they believed them a danger to anyone but their profits." As Klipyl spoke, spells shattered most of the circles around the rooms. Each being released nodded or waved to her before they vanished home. With the safer entities gone, she banished the confined demons and devils without breaking their circles.
"Prove it." Snapped the older of the two Catfolk, a calico.
"Consider that you're alive and free to go, though you were nearly at the centre of the blast," Klipyl said and set them both down. "I just wanted to say my piece first. My husband let me answer this call at my request; never try to call one of his servants again. Those whom you successfully summoned are independent entities from the outer planes. If your group had summoned the servants of other gods, you would have drawn the attention of more deities to this world. While you're free to do that if it's your intention, it's something you should approach with open eyes and not by accident."
Klipyl's Planar Shift took her home, and she appeared behind Kadaklan, who was carefully watering some shade-loving orchids. The flowers and plants engraved in the warm wood of the room's screens usually lifted her mood. Today her ribbons drooped slightly before they vanished, and she wrapped her arms around Kadaklan's stomach from behind, her fingers playing with the ties of his orange and yellow robes.
"There was so much hate twisting them."
"Fear and hate have pushed many people from their paths." Kadaklan turned in her embrace and wrapped his arms around her. "May their souls find a better path in their next life."
"A beautiful life filled with wonder, that lets them find joy with others," Klipyl said softly.
Her sad hope softened his gaze. "Those who receive such lives rarely appreciate them as they should."
Klipyl kissed his nose. "Spoken from experience."
"I was a spoiled young master in only one lifetime."
"Would you spoil me?" Klipyl whispered, her voice thickened and strained.
"How about some cuddles to ease your unhappiness?"
Her sad smile was answer enough, and Kadaklan swept Klipyl from her feet and proceeded to princess carry her to their room; her head resting on his shoulder the whole way. She shared telepathically what she’d seen in the chamber.
Once he’d laid her out on the bed, he kissed her forehead and held her close. "They sought the ugliness rather than the beauty that would have spared their lives. A prolonged fight might have broken some demonic containment circles and let them loose to cause havoc."
“I know the logic, but it still hurts.”
Kadaklan stopped speaking and stroked her hair.
Comments
James Skinner
Poor Kli.
Plateworm
Tftc
