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Chapter 50: Nowhere to be Found.
🕑 Added 2024-07-15 13:13:24 +0000 UTCChapter 50: Nowhere to be Found.
“So, you see, I had no choice! I went through tons of different futures! Tons of them! And he always got away with it! Unless I killed him. In which case, his father always hunted down the girls anyway! Seriously, I don’t know how much money and influence that (Gnome)hole has but its literally too much to handle. I had to do something. I couldn’t just let the girls rot in there and freeing them would’ve put targets on all their backs! They would’ve died if I let them out without taking more precautions. So, mind-controlling Mason and his mouth-breathing goons doesn’t make me a bad person. It doesn’t.”
Charlie turned around. Staring me dead in the eyes without changing his expression.
“Sully. Listen to me. I. Do. Not. Care. At all. No one here gives a flying (Gnome). Not a single one.”
“How could you not care!? I’m literally confessing my deepest darkest secret! I… for (Gnome)s sake man! I enslaved someone!”
Charlie turned to Prudence and Monique.
“Well? Does anyone here care?”
“No.” Monique answered nonchalantly.
“I’m only sad that I wasn’t with you.” Prudence stated with resigned boredom. “Sounds like a fun time. All I was asked to do was rescue people from gator-infested waters. They weren’t even monster gators. I think I was in Ryan’s world for the first one. The others were, strange, but mostly normal.”
“How could you say that?”
Prudence turned around as well.
“Sully. You read my diary, right? Before you brought it to life I mean. Do I sound like the kind of girl who feels sorry for kidnappers and (Gnome)ists?”
That was a fair point.
“But due process…”
“The only due process that guy would have faced if I’d caught him was the due process of digested meat going down my stomach. Even that would have been a better fate that scum like him deserved.”
“Agreed.” Monique added. “Listen, Sully. I’ve seen what lack of oversight does to some people. I have seen degenerates going to town the first chance they get. Even with the literal end of the entire (Gnome)ing world happening right outside the windows. Now, I was pretty opposed to the death penalty as a principle before everything went to (Gnome). Too many innocent people that were exonerated later for my taste. But now? (Gnome). I’m with Prudence. I would’ve burned that whole place to the ground and (Gnome)sed on the ashes for good measure.”
“Also, I would point out another fact you’ve conveniently ignored.” Charlie piled on. “We’re all killers here. I wanted to keep my hands clean in the vision you saw. Not anymore. I’m telling you, right now. With Saturn as my witness. Mr. Whitmer is going to die. I am going to kill him. Slowly. If anyone in his company is dumb enough to try and save him, they’ll be dying too. I am way, way beyond the point of caring at this point.”
I babbled incoherently for a few seconds. Unable to come up with a counterargument.
Prudence broke the silence by placing her arm around me and drawing me close.
“Look. I get it. I’m a Telepath now too. It does bother me a little. But you know what would bother me more?”
Of course I knew. I could read her mind.
“That’s right. Corruption. We’re just the people who got a rare Type. That’s all we’ve done. This Mason is like the people who covered for Kyle back home. Scum. Every one. Those people chose to do what they did. They used their wealth and their positions to (Gnome) over whomever they damn well pleased and (Gnome) anyone who disagreed. They don’t care about you or me or anyone else for that matter. Those people wouldn’t (Gnome) on you if you were on fire. I guarantee it. (Gnome)! I don’t even have to do that much! You. Have. Seen. It. You know its true. Stop making excuses and own up to it. You should be proud. I know I’d be.”
My fists clenched.
It was far more complicated than that, but they couldn’t read my mind because of [Suppression]. They didn’t know. They hadn’t connected the dots. Doris… Doris had supposedly died to a monster. Only, Mason had been the only person with her that night. He’d been the only witness. What we cremated was a pile of meat that he said was Doris.
‘But it could just as easily have been a pile of bacon strips for I knew.’
My hands were white. Stiff from barely supressed rage.
Mason had deserved what I’d done to him. And more. Him dismantling his own father’s conspiracy with the new powers he got from [Insight] was as close to justice as I was going to get. Especially since his own mind would remain intact through all of it.
The corrupt people in power would no doubt label him a villain and a terrorist and send heroes to hunt him down. Though they wouldn’t be able to.
Mason, his cronies and his victims had all been the equivalent of B-Rankers by the time I left. The girls would not be easily silenced, while the henchmen would be a force to be reckoned with in those numbers. The only one who might have a chance of taking them all head on was Thunder Fist and even he would need backup and a full military platoon with artillery support in order to get them all in one fell swoop.
Even then, assembling such a taskforce would take time. Dozens of the conspirators would have been silenced by then. I’d seen as much.
Yet I felt guilty about my part. Knowing that I’d set killers loose on other killers.
It wasn’t logical, nor practical to feel this way. But I couldn’t help myself.
I sighed deeply. Releasing a torrent of pent-up stress.
“Its not just that either. Its Anezka and Randall.”
Charlie stiffened for a fraction of a moment, but continued on his way a second later as if nothing had happened. His mind had blacked out too. Not releasing any thoughts or emotions.
‘Poor guy. He must be terrified at the prospect of meeting them, given what I shared with him.’
Monique had a similar reaction. As did Boris, Dusty and Slab from their forward positions.
“What about them?” Prudence asked.
“I… don’t know where they are.” I admitted.
“I know Anezka should’ve been near the Warehouse by now because her and Sarcophagus Solomon met around this time. She seduced him by being the only nice and accepting person he’d met. Using a combination of [Enhanced Concentration], [Enhanced Processing] and [Psionic Resistance] to keep her true nature hidden.”
“She managed to combine an ability?” Kaito asked, his eyes bulging with surprise.
“That’s wild.” Prudence agreed. “I haven’t been able to do anything like that yet. And I’ve been trying damn hard too. She must be crazy strong.”
“Not at all.” I assure them. “She was just very good at making her build. All three of those were passives, so she didn’t need to spend her resources to keep her guard up. She would also use boosts like [Sudden Concentration] whenever the other me was peeking. Right now, she should be around level 22 or so. With Enhancer as her only Type.”
“That’s pathetic.” Olga commented. “Me, PR and Kai were all higher levelled than that when the gnomes took us. And I had two Types to boot. I don’t see how you could be this worried.”
“I’m worried because her robots are going to be way beyond what I can handle when they inevitably arrive. She’ll take out a loan expecting to capture Telepaths and get a whole army of self-replicating nanomachines.”
“Why Telepaths in particular?”
“Her home world’s governor will pay out the wazoo for Telepaths. So will any other planetary governor from her dimension for that matter. They have machines, the kind that the other me was trapped in, that can give you shocks of unimaginable pain or pleasure at the press of a button. They reduce their victims to organs floating in jelly and force them to see the future and to transmit those visions to recording machines. They can pretty much see most events before they happen via these contraptions.”
Olga whistled.
“I’m guessing they’re not big on human rights over there?”
“They are, but they only see the rich as human.”
“Same story every time.” Charlie sighed. “It amazes me how much our stories rhyme when you make them into poems.”
“Not mine.” Olga protested. “Nothing like this would ever happen in my world. You’ll see. I’ll show you all of it when we go.”
Olga pressed her assets against Charlie. It didn’t do much, other than annoy him further.
She was thinking of him as her prince. He was thinking, ruder things about her.
“Right. So, we need to find her and kill her and you don’t know where she is. Got it. We’ll be on the lookout.” Prudence said. Nonchalantly talking about murder as if she were discussing the weather.
“Nobody is killing anyone.” I interjected. “I’ll share my memories and make her see that we’re all people. That we’re all on the same side. It worked for you.”
“All right. You can see the future. Will it work on her?”
“I…ugh. I can’t tell because I can’t see her. Which is weird because I’ve been seeing her since I first got [Precognition]. She was one of the main things Sarcophagus Solomon warned me about. [Insight] is a combination ability. One that is way stronger than [Precognition] ever was, but I can’t seem to sense her or Randall at all. Its as if something massively powerful was blocking my future-sight. Or if they were dead.”
“They might be.” Prudence offered. “You did change the future by recruiting all of us into the Warehouse and keeping us in one place. Maybe she was in danger and someone would have saved her in the original timeline. Maybe you would’ve saved her in the original timeline. Maybe she croaked because no one was there to keep a monster off of her or something.”
“Its possible.” I conceded. “But I feel like I would have seen it coming. She’s… I don’t know how to describe it. She’s important to my fate. Someone I had to face.”
Charlie, Monique, Boris, Dusty and Slab went quiet. At least, their minds did. Their bodies showed no further indication that they were worried at the news.
For her part, Prudence snorted.
“You don’t actually believe in fate, do you?”
“You wouldn’t be laughing so hard if you put points into [Precognition].”
I assured her.
“It makes you see things in a different way. See the whole world in a different way. It tears you up inside and forces you to hallucinate and to feel those hallucinations all over your flesh and your bones. You feel all the pain. You feel all the desperation. You know that it has to mean something and that it is coming.”
“But its not coming anymore?”
I deflated.
“I… That’s the problem. I don’t know. It doesn’t look like it. All I see when I use [Insight] these days is either the thing in the mansion that Sarcophagus Solomon put in there or the latest Excursion spot.”
Prudence chuckled.
“That doesn’t sound so bad. I still think you should accept the thing into you. We know what all the Telepath abilities do now. Either thanks to you, or other people who tried out the few ones you don’t have yet. But there’s still a lot of talk as to what Shifter abilities are the best.”
Boris snorted.
“There isn’t a lot of talk. There’s a lot of noise. I keep telling everyone that generalizing is the way to go. All of them are useful to some degree. You’re missing out by trying to maximize levels in specific abilities. Only stupid kids do that.”
Prudence blushed. Then she sneered.
“That’s some pretty big talk for a skeletal bean-sprout. Talking as if you know better than me.”
“Oh?” Borislav stopped and looked back at her.
“Do you think you could take me on as you are now?”
Prudence grew fangs and growled.
I used [Insight] to see what they were working with.
Name:
Borislav Sokolov
Psy:
460/550
Type:
Shifter Level 46 / Enhancer Level 44
Shifter Abilities:
[Claws] 3 / [Regeneration] 5 / [Predator’s Instincts] 3 / [Regenerate Other] 5 / [Fur] 3 / [Muscular System] 3 / [Skeletal System] 3 / [Grow] 3 / [Jaws] 1 / [Lymphatic System] 3 / [Eyes] 1 / [Night Vision] 1 / [Thermal Vision] 1 / [Infrared Vision] 1 / [Ears] 1 / [Echolocation] 3 / [Low-Frequency Hearing] 1 / [High Frequency Hearing] 1 / [Heat Tolerance] 1 / [Nose] 1 / [Olfactory Navigation] 1 / [Olfactory Threat Detection] 1 / [Olfactory Poison Detection] 1/ [Tracking Instincts] 1 / [Adrenaline] 3 / [Venom Glands] 1 / [Poison Glands] 1 / [Cardiovascular System] 3 / [Digestive System] 3 / [Respiratory System] 1 / [Incorporate Mineral] 3 / [Incorporate Liquid] 1 / [Proprioception] 1 / [Pheromone Trail] 1 / [Pheromone Diversion] 1 / [Pheromone Attraction] 1 / [Nervous System] 1 / [Endocrine System] 1 / [Excretory System] 1 / [Reproductive System] 1 / [Mitosis] 3 / [Acclimation] 2 / [Organ Independence] 1 / [Cold Tolerance] 1 / [Electricity Tolerance] 1 / [Pressurization Tolerance] 1 / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] 1 / [Radiation Tolerance] 1 / [Shrink] 1 / [Stretch] 1 / [Harden] 2 / [Soften] 1 / [Metamorphosis] 1 / [Photosynthesis] 1 / [Camouflage] 1 / [Vocalization] 1 / [Mimicry] 1 / [Pincers] 2 / [Proboscis] 1 / [Phagocytosis] 1 / [Incorporate Gas] 1 / [Produce Adhesive] 1 / [Produce Acid] 1 / [Produce Pyro-Chemical] 1 / [Produce Cryo-Chemical] 1 / [Produce Electro-Chemical] 1 / [Pheromone Hierarchy] 1 / [Hijack] 1 / [Infection] 1 / [Scales] 1 / [Chitin] 1 / [Feathers] 1 / [Spines] 1 / [Blades] 1 / [Bark] 1 / [Leaves] 1 / [Spores] 1
Enhancer Abilities:
[Enhanced Strength] 3 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 2 / [Enhanced Constitution] 2 / [Enhanced Stamina] 2 / [Enhanced Agility] 2 / [Enhanced Toughness] 3 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 2 / [Enhanced Recovery] 2 / [Enhanced Vision] 2 / [Enhanced Hearing] 2 / [Enhanced Digestion] 2 / [Enhanced Circulation] 2 / [Heat Resistance] 3 / [Cold Resistance] 1 / [Slashing Resistance] 1 / [Piercing Resistance] 1 / [Blunt Resistance] 1 / [Sudden Strength] 1 / [Sudden Dexterity] 1 / [Sudden Agility] 1 / [Sudden Toughness] 1 / [Electric Resistance] 1 / [Neurotoxin Resistance] 1 / [Cytotoxin Resistance] 1 / [Enterotoxin Resistance] 1 / [Hemotoxin Resistance] 1 / [Viral Resistance] 1 / [Sleep Resistance] 1 / [Psychoactive Resistance] 1 / [Paralysis Resistance] 1 / [Parasitic Resistance] 1 / [Psionic Resistance] 1 / [Pressure Resistance] 1 / [Vacuum Resistance] 1 / [Radiation Resistance] 1 / [Gravity Resistance] 1 / [Friction Resistance] 1 / [Sudden Constitution] 1 / [Sudden Recovery] 1 / [Enhance Object] 1 / [Enhance Projectile] 1 / [Overcharge Self] 1 / [Overcharge Object] 1 / [Heavy Blow] 1 / [Heavy Shield] 1 / [Heavy Shot] 1 / [Berserk] 1 / [Enhanced Memory] 1 / [Enhanced Learning] 2 / [Enhanced Processing] 1 / [Enhanced Balance] 1 / [Enhanced Training] 2 / [Enhanced Concentration] 1 / [Sudden Flexibility] 1 / [Sudden Reflexes] 1 / [Sudden Concentration] 1
Ability Points:
0
Name:
Prudence Kettler
Psy:
343/395
Type:
Shifter Level 33 / Telepath Level 26
Shifter Abilities:
[Claws] 3 / [Regeneration] 5 / [Predator’s Instincts] 3 / [Regenerate Other] 1 / [Mitosis] 5 / [Scales] 5 / [Grow] 5 / [Harden] 5 / [Adrenaline] 3 / [Muscular System] 5 / [Venom Glands] 1 / [Poison Glands] 5 / [Acclimation] 5 / [Incorporate Mineral] 5 /
Telepath Abilities:
[Message] 1 / [Sense Thoughts] 3 / [Mental Bolt] 1 / [Hide] 2 / [Faint Presence] 1 / [Mental Map] 1 / [Fever] 1 / [Drunkenness] 1 / [Fear] 1 / [Electronic Interface] 1 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Block Mental Detection] 1 / [Interrupt] 1 / [Static Illusion] 1
Ability Points:
0
The former had the upper hand on levels, fighting experience and total Psy. The latter had fewer abilities, but they were much higher levelled.
It was, an interesting argument.
Personally, I’d put my money on Borislav, but only because his Types complemented each other more than those Prudence possessed. Enhancer abilities were scary enough as they were. Put them on a Shifter, and they turned a nigh-immortal killing machine into a nigh-immortal killing machine that could flick trains around like they were cardboard boxes.
Boris might not be at that level yet, but I had a feeling that he was still more than enough to tear Prudence fifteen new (Gnome)holes before she could blink. It might have been different is she had, say, [Precognition] or [Premonition] or more levels in [Fear], [Fever] or [Hide]. Those would ruin anybody’s day faster than they could blink. Especially if she could also afford to tank a few hits.
“Enough.” Slab interjected. “I sense the thing’s thoughts now. We’re close.”
“Yes, we are!” I said excitedly. Rubbing my hands together as if I were a villain that John Gardens was about to face.
“This vengeance has been a long time coming.” I continued. Further playing into the stereotype. Normally, a good person like me would have been above such petty gloating.
Not this time.
The bastard would pay for what he did to me. I wanted to be there. To watch the light fading from his eyes.
We hiked up a steep hill. Monique reversing gravity whenever we grew close to dangerous terrain.
Our feet kept climbing and climbing. Even going up a vertical shaft at two different points.
Then we reached him. The fox-penguin bastard.
Artic Mind-Raider.
A Mutated Artic Deceiver. Level 110
This creature has access to Enhancer, Shifter, Projector and Telepath abilities.
This creature’s highest-level ability is [Dreamscape II] 8.
This creature’s death will grant 200, 000 Store Tokens.
He. It. Has pale red fur with blue streaks running down the length of its body. It also has two overlapping mouths, like a moray eel. Those mouths are inside ebony penguin-like beaks and remain open as we approach.
I went ahead. Knowing it wouldn’t be getting free of [Domination] anytime soon. That’s when I called on my hums… and kicked it in one of its big bulging eyes.
My foot sank into the weak spot. Crushing the squishy organ with casual ease.
Its mind screeched with a delicious cocktail of agony and humiliation. Its body didn’t so much as twitch.
“Not so tough now are you!? (Gnome)ing piece of dog(Gnome)! Come on! Nothing to say!? Nothing to think after all you put me through you (Gnome)ing (Gnome)hole!”
“Man, you really don’t like that thing.” Kaito observed.
“That’s right! Do you have any idea how many nightmares this thing gave me? How many sleepless nights? Come on guys! Get your kicks in!”
Slab and Dusty looked at each other. They shrugged and ran forward to start kicking.
Charlie, Monique and Borislav joined them soon thereafter, with the others following suit.
Unfortunately, I failed to account for one little detail when planning for my revenge. My hums could make a normal human’s kicks feel like those of a stallion. Meanwhile, those with Enhancer and Shifter as a Type could already kick with the strength of several elephants.
Also, my hums worked in percentages and stacked with Enhancer and Shifter abilities.
Meaning that, what might be a measly 10 to 15% boost in physical prowess for me would be closer to a 70 or 90% boost for Slab and Dusty.
Calculated after their passives.
My eyes went to her for a brief moment.
Name:
Dusty McMullan
Psy:
1863/1900
Type:
Enhancer II Level 82
Abilities:
[Physical Perseverance III] 15 / [Resist Physical Damage III] 12 / [Flowing Might II] 10 / [Flowing Grace II] 10 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 4 / [Enhanced Concentration] 3 / [Enhanced Recovery] 2 / [Enhanced Agility] 2 / [Enhanced Vision] 2 / [Heat Resistance] 4 / [Enhance Object] 2 / [Electric Resistance] 2 / [Neurotoxin Resistance] 2 / [Enhanced Flexibility] 2 / [Enhanced Hearing] 2 / [Enhanced Smelling] 2 / [Enhanced Balance] 2 / [Enhanced Training] 4 / [Sudden Constitution] 2 / [Sudden Agility] 2 / [Sudden Toughness] 2 / [Enhanced Respiration] 2 / [Enhanced Digestion] 4 / [Enhanced Circulation] 3
Ability Points:
2
[Physical Perseverance III]
Standard Combination of [Enhanced Constitution] / [Enhanced Toughness] / [Enhanced Stamina].
Significantly increases the amount of force necessary to harm the User’s cells in proportion to current ability level.
Significantly increases the amount of force necessary to harm the User’s skin and bones in proportion to current ability level.
Significantly increases the amount of energy (ATP) stored in the User’s cells in proportion to current ability level.
These effects stack with each other and increase by an additional 300% every 5 ability levels.
These effects cannot be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Resist Physical Damage III]
Standard Combination of [Slashing Resistance] / [Piercing Resistance] / [Blunt Resistance].
Significantly increases the User’s capacity to resist physical damage in proportion to current ability level.
This effect increases by an additional 500% every 5 ability levels.
These effects cannot be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Flowing Might II]
Standard Combination of [Enhanced Strength] / [Sudden Strength].
Increases the User’s strength in proportion to current ability level.
These effects stack with others and increase by an additional 150% every 5 ability levels.
These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Flowing Grace II]
Standard Combination of [Enhanced Dexterity] / [Sudden Dexterity].
Increases the User’s dexterity in proportion to current ability level.
These effects stack with others and increase by an additional 150% every 5 ability levels.
These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
….
Yeah.
The thing’s entire body was soon smashed into paste. Robbing me of much of my satisfaction.
New level though, so I couldn’t complain much.
Hidden Objective Completed:
Wandering Boss Artic Mind-Raider has been slain.
All Students in Tutorial Instance gain 5000 Store Tokens.
All Students involved in slaying the Artic Mind-Reader split a reward of 200 000 store tokens based on contributions.
The three highest contributors gain a choice between 1 Inferior Symbiote or 1 Equipment Upgrade Token.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Attack] 3 has grown to [Hum of Attack] 4
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Striding] 3 has grown to [Hum of Striding] 4
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Defence] 3 has grown to [Hum of Defence] 4
Ability Evolving: [Mark Target] 1 has grown to [Mark Target] 2
Name:
Solomon Carter
Psy:
138, 232 / 139, 995
Type:
Telepath III Level 131
Abilities:
[Solomon’s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon’s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon’s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon’s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 5 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Team Spirit] 1 / [Team Resilience] 1 / [Team Momentum] 1 / [Team Doctrine] 1 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 4 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 2 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 4 / [Hum of Striding] 4 / [Hum of Defence] 4 / [Hum of Harmony] 2 / [Hum of Discord] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 2 / [Hum of Mist] 1 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 2 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Stable Reality] 1 / [Unstable Reality] 7 / [Manifest Intruder] 7 / [Seal Intruder] 5 / [Banish Intruder] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Heart Attack] 2 / [Drown] 2 / [Indigestion] 2 / [Psionic Hex] 1 / [Psionic Curse] 1 / [Blind] 1 / [Deafen] 1 / [Anosmia] 1
Ability Points:
1
“What do we do with the tokens?” Charlie asked. “We all have Symbiotes and Sully upgraded all of them already. Mine isn’t eating the token.”
“Leave them for Jacob.” Monique replied. Sighing with disinterest. “He hasn’t been having much luck with the new materials. One of these could help.”
“I thought he was gaining levels left and right?” Dusty inquired.
“He has.” Slab confirmed. “Yet it seems the process of naturally upgrading weapons and armor requires skill and familiarity on top of specific abilities. It might be a while.”
I winced. Empathizing with his position. Technically, his abilities were far more suited to crafting than mine, since he could work from scratch to make excellent bases from which to work on later. In reality, though, the sheer difference in ability levels meant that the bone clubs I’d brought to life could and often did shatter his best creations.
I sincerely hoped that wouldn’t be enough to discourage him, since I was looking forward to his successes.
I shook my head to dispel the negative ruminations. Focusing on my own advancement.
I went over to my board to spend the extra point, only to curse.
“What’s wrong?” Prudence asked.
“I’m all out of options. I already bought them all, meaning I need at least two points to do anything. I’m stuck.”
She gave me a flat look. Then rolled her eyes.
“I guess this is what they mean by rich-people problems. Oh, the humanity. The level 100 superman can’t progress right now.”
“131.” I corrected.
That flat look managed to become even flatter.
“Sorry.”
“No need to be sorry man.” Kaito butt in. “The better you do, the better our chances are. Randall’s probably still out there and I’d rather not become barbecue. In fact, I may have come up with a way we could train those buffs up.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
An impish smile blossomed on his face.
