Malcolm Tent
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Wish upon the Stars chapter 726
🕑 Added 2024-10-02 23:26:12 +0000 UTCThe descent to Rackham was uneventful. They put me on a shuttle, ferried me down to an out of the way forest, pointed me towards a town and then wished me luck. The Acheron was going to wait in orbit (its stealth capabilities were apparently pretty impressive) in case I needed a quick exit. Grandma might be willing to go along with her mother’s plan, but she wasn’t willing to leave me completely unprotected.
Once they were gone, I was on my own, and I just felt…peace. I’d broken my shackle at the temple in much lonelier conditions than this. I wasn’t abandoned or forgotten. My friends were still with me, even if they weren’t here. With that surety, I could really just let myself enjoy my own solo adventure.
Rackham, to my surprise, was a B-rank planet. I hadn’t been aware there were any of those at the edge of galaxies. This one was on the border between Conglomerate and Imperial space, and from what I’d seen on our flyover, they had that anachronistic magi-medieval feel that Stratholme had. The weight of the planet wasn’t too bad, nothing more than a C-ranked planet had been when I was still an E-ranker, and I had plenty of energy to head off into the unknown.
Even the fact that I was in a forest didn’t bother me. I had some bad experiences in the woods, but here, now, I felt like the world was holding its breath. I could hear the little noises that came with the ecosystem, the chiming of insects, wind through the trees, little animals scurrying on branches, but there was no hum of humanity. No hustle and bustle.
I could have pushed my Perception until there WAS, but I didn’t. I left it balanced with my Focus so I could enjoy the sensations around me.
The grass was cold, crunching under my metal boots as I walked, and I lost myself in the solitude for a bit. Sadly, all good things must end, and even with my senses limited to a normal range, I eventually reached the vicinity of the city I’d been aimed at.
I admit, I took a bit of dark amusement in the image I must have projected, walking calmly from the dark forest in my colossal dark armor with my terrifying obsidian mask. I noticed the attention on me nearly instantly as they noticed my approach, my Danger Sense pinging softly. I was pretty sure they had their weapons at the ready but weren’t planning to attack. I was able to pick out five different guards on the walls surrounding the city with my Eye of Revelation, and two of them appeared above the old fashioned gate as I came within easy speaking range.
“Halt!” Boomed the one on the left. “Who seeks entry to Drakensburg?”
The other one rolled his eyes. “Come on Jerry, do you have to do the super formal gate guard thing every time someone new shows up? You sound ridiculous.”
Jerry the gate guard growled and stomped his foot lightly. “Damn it Carl! Don’t undermine my authority in front of the new visitors! We need to assert our authority! All these weirdos have been showing up lately and if we don’t project a strong image they’ll like…burn down the tavern or run off with all the pretty girls.”
“And the truth comes out!” Crowed Carl. “You’re still sore because that handsome guy with the gold eyes and the wolf ears asked Lisa out.”
“I told you not to bring that up!” Shouted Jerry furiously.
Carl shrugged. “Then you should have asked her out ages ago. It’s your own fault. I mean she might have said no, but you can’t expect her to wait around, especially since she didn’t know you existed beyond the occasional hello when you went into the general store.”
“We had a connection!” Spat Jerry. “She always gave me an extra few stalks of corn when I-”
“SILENCE!” I finally boomed. The ground trembled as my Path infused my voice with an edge of destruction, giving the sound waves a bit of a bump. Nothing like an actual attack, but something beyond mere words. They froze, eyes wide as they turned to look down at me. I could see fear flickering across the expression, and I toned it down a bit, point made. “I seek entry to your city.” I boomed in a flat voice.
Jerry cleared his throat. “Right. Well…yes. We can let you in. It’s considered polite to offer some compensation to the brave men and women who risk their lives to keep the city saf-” I snagged an E-rank chit from my ring and flicked it at him in a blurring fast motion. The coin smacked into his forehead and he squeaked in dismay as he stumbled backwards and off the wall.
The small flash of black flame on impact went unnoticed by the others, but the D-rank guard was blown back in a gesture that was both impressive and a clear statement. “Was that enough?” I asked glibly. “Or should I pay some more.” I called out a few more coins, rolling them dextrously over the knuckles of my gauntlet in a very visible way.
“No need.” Said Carl hurriedly. “That was more than enough. Please, come inside!”
He tapped his toe against the stone of the wall twice and the gate began to open. I stashed my coins again and strolled unhurriedly through the opening once it was large enough. As I passed Jerry, who was lying in the mud on the other side, I glance down at him dispassionately. He stared back for a second, then slumped bonelessly, letting his head fall to one side and his tongue loll out in the least convincing approximation of unconsciousness I’d ever seen.
I kept my laugh internal, but it was pretty funny. Playing the big bad was kind of fun, if I was being honest. I felt the Danger Sense continue as I strode down the path into town, and if I stretched my senses I could catch the slight sounds of pursuit. I debated triggered Bael just to fuck with them, but blowing my cover on a joke seemed dumb.
Belial and Mephistopheles, with the occasional burst of Mornax. That was my skillset in this identity. I’d need to get used to that.
I had been walking for about five minutes when I realized something kind of embarrassing. I had no clue where I was GOING. I knew this planet was supposed to be where the selection took place, but that was as much as we’d been able to learn. Sure, I was aware of the major landmarks and some historical trivia about Rackham, but barring a planetwide scan for a giant sign that said ‘vanished gods recruitment here’ I was kind of on my own.
Which, of course, meant I needed to lean on my experience. So…I needed to go to a bar. Literally every piece of information I’d ever gotten that wasn’t from a literal information broker had been found at a pub, tavern, bar, or some other liquor slinging establishment.
I wondered if all the stories about info being found in seedy bars had altered the universe to fit that narrative. It wouldn’t be the first time widespread belief had changed things up. Regardless, it was the only lead I had, so I searched for the nearest tavern and made my way over, throwing both doors open dramatically as I entered.
There was a slight pause when I entered. Not the music in the background, but conversation came to a halt as everyone turned to stare at the giant armored beast that was Mephistopheles. It was kind of a confidence booster.
I took a deep breath, trying to think of what to say, and finally settled on. “I have come for the reckoning.”
My booming demon voice carried through the tavern, and I saw a bunch of people avert their eyes. The term I’d used wasn’t one I’d heard for the selection, but it sounded demonic and pretentious while still being easy to link to the selection. I was betting it was going to catch on. Maybe I could add trendsetting to my list of Skills.
At the back of the bar, a man grinned. He had dark skin and close cropped metallic gold hair. His eyes shone like golden coins, and they were calm and centered. Next to him, a massive pale man with aquamarine hair in a braid sat with a slim girl with literal seaweed growing from her scalp. Their eyes were a matching shade of blood red, and they shone with interest. I pointed at finger at her ominously. “You.” I boomed. “You’ve come to be chosen.”
The eyes reminded me of what Carl had said about recent visitors. Apparently having my limited brain space taken up by Jerry’s babbling had accomplished SOMETHING. I stalked forward, footfalls shaking the glassware on the table (not stomping but just letting my body settle harder than it needed to with each step). I stopped in front of them, looming over their table.
“Well.” Said golden eye. “Aren’t you a menacing bastard? What do you two think? Is he the scariest one we’ve seen so far?: It’s either him or that ogre with missing eye.”
The big man shook his head. “Trying too hard.” He said simply.
That got a laugh from the girl. “I think he’s making it work.” She framed me with her fingers like she was taking a picture. “The height is doing a lot of work, but that armor is fucking monstrous. It’s C-rank, and definitely custom to fit someone that size. I get the chills just looking at it. Plus that mask is a horrifying work of art. That’s a face even a mother couldn’t love.”
I wasn’t exactly complaining about how scary the mask was. She was right, it was terribly disturbing. Black Sorrow might be capricious and sociopathic, but she had her aesthetic down pat.
“I can agree to that.” Said golden eye. “Well, you going to sit down, tall dark and disturbing, or are you expecting to loom over us all night?” Looking at him for a moment, I grabbed a chair and pulled it out, settling down heavily and crossing my arms. He nodded cheerfully. “See now, that’s better. What’s your name friend? I’m Rayden Strent, and this is Cavallo and Desria Mek. We’ve come to this charming little hamlet to seek our fortunes.”
“Mephistopheles.” I rumbled. “I seek only greatness.” It was a pretentious answer, but it was in character. I could let the formality drop over time, but I didn’t know if I’d see these people again, so I wanted to maintain my mystique.
He whistled. “Hell of a name.” He said with a wink. “But a bit of a mouthful. I think I’ll call you Fist. You’ve certainly got two big ones. Tower menacingly if you don’t mind. Perfect, it’s settled then.”
I sighed. “Address me as you wish. I care not. But when you speak of me to others, do so with the proper respect.”
“Seems fair.” He chirped. “So, Fist. I suspect you’re here for the same event we are. How exactly did you hear about this little get together. I was told invitations were awfully tough to come by.”
I opened my mouth to give some vague answer, but I was cut off by an explosion that rocked the floor beneath us. Rayden and friends snapped to their feet, staring out the door, tension in their formerly relaxed bodies. I almost had to smile at the turn. This kind of shit happened to me all the time, I was used to it.
For the first time I wondered if maybe Black Sorrow wasn’t just fucking with me. Maybe she was also fucking with THEM. Sending someone as heavily drenched in fate as I was into an event like this was basically a guarantee it would go off the rails. The thought put a smile on my face. The suicide mission had been a depressing though, but this? I could have fun with this.
Comments
JJB4345_80_815
Thank you for the chappy! I loved the gate guards by play/interaction!
Charles
That is a very interesting take on getting rid of your enemies. The guy who goes someplace and everything just goes wrong. Yeah send him there.
