Chaptter 121: Fire Sale I (early early chapter)
🕑 Added 2024-11-05 22:49:46 +0000 UTCAuthors note: Since I've been sick for a few days, I spent some of my time recovering by writing this. Enjoy!
The moment the view faded in, Walker knew he wasn’t anywhere near Sonata anymore.
First, because the air tasted different. There was some kind of cleaning agent applied recently, and you could smell it everywhere. Second, because there was something standing in front of him that he’d never seen before. It was made entirely of bark, with a large bushel making up the top of her head in a strange configuration of loops and swirls. While he watched, the two assistants on both sides of him still translocating in, they seemed to quiver.
The moment Virgil and Rimi came to, Rimi looked around, “Fascinating.”
“Indeed.”
Walker shrugged, “It’s alright.”
They were standing on an extended podium, lifted high overhead of a massive city below them. It took him more than a few minutes to figure out that they were on a floating ship, twin sails sailing out to each side. In golden brocade, written on the extended fins, was only one word: V.I.P.
“Oh, my, gosh!” The plant person said in a decidedly feminine voice, “Are you Dante? I heard there was a few VIP cards handed out with the fourth rendition, but you must be Dante, right? I mean,” She pointed at the two massive squirrels on both sides of him, “He’s the only one I’ve heard of that has his own Supreme Assistant, and you have two!”
Walker sighed and was about to answer when Virgil spoke up instead. “I believe part of the VIP treatment is the fact that no questions will be asked of us during our travels. Has the Auction house of Strandbor changed so much that the assistant database needs to be updated?”
She stood straight up, “No, Supreme. Please forgive my excitement. My name is Belladonna, and I will be your guide during your time on Strandbor.”
“We will not need a guide,” Virgil replied calmly, but with an undertone of exasperation, “I will manage in your place, thank you.”
“But-”
Rimi took two large steps forward, “Please step aside, citizen.”
“Yes r-right, of course.”
As they began to walk, leaving what looked like a heartbroken plantwoman behind, Walker looked at Virgil, “Why are you guys acting this way? She seemed nice.”
“Walker, you are still very sheltered considering the Multiverse. You have been surrounded for the past year by those who view you in a very specific and special way. Out here, that is not how it works. You need to know two things before we enter the grand auction.”
“Like where the bathroom is?” Walker asked as they walked through several grand rooms, Virgil two steps in front and Rimi two steps behind.
“Very funny. No, you need to remember that one; you no longer have a Protocol shield. You lost that the moment you began to experiment with strands. That is dangerous, as quite a few things here can hurt you. And two, nobody here is your friend. The only reason they have a job here is because they work directly for a lord or faction. Nobody is what they seem, and they all want something from you. The smartest thing you can do, is change your name in the system, and work through myself and Rimi exclusively.”
“Is that why you didn’t want me to bring Athena?”
“That is one among many reasons. Here we are.” He said, as they exited the long hallway and arrived at a portal the size of a small building, “Once we enter, we will be sent to the middle of the Grand Auction, and the trials ahead of us. Keep in mind, what you saw on the surface is only one small section of the total auction. It makes up the entirety of the planet, with the core holding the greatest auctions and sales available.”
“Then what was the point of activating the VIP card if we’re just going to leave this whole thing behind?”
“We did that because it kept us away from the public portals and because the portal we are about to enter takes us directly to the central sales floor, saving us a large amount of time and questions. Besides,” He said, as they stopped near the staging platform, “The services these people offer are not something a gentler soul like your own would enjoy.”
“A gentler soul?” Walker asked, but he held back any questions as both Virgil and Rimi began to shrink before his eyes. In only a few moments, both assistants had shrunk to their Advanced forms, Virgil back in his brown coloring, and Rimi his blue.
“Just assume you would not enjoy it.”
They waited a moment as Walker went into his overlay and changed his identity. His was a little more thorough than a normal persons might be, having the ability to change not only his name, but his species and faction as well. A perk to being the Multiverse’s System Administrator.
Once they were all set, they stepped onto the platform, the machine automatically pulling them toward the gargantuan portal.
“Why is it so big?”
“Because across the Multiverse, there are giants, duh,” Rimi replied in a chipper voice.
“Correct,” Virgil chimed in, looking fearlessly ahead. “For the purpose of our travels, I will go by Sophie, a large enough misdirection from my moniker within the Assistant Database.” He looked over at Rimi.
“Hrmm—” he said, thinking hard about it, “I’ll go by Peanut. It feels right.”
Walker nodded, “And I’m Marcus. Alright, here we go.” He invited them both into an exclusive chatroom, locking all others from accessing it as the platform continued forward.
As they grew closer, details on the other side came into view, and the amount of people walking around brought his old social anxiety to the fore. On Earth, most people walked a specific direction without realizing it. He’d learned long ago it had to do with what side of the road you drive on. In America, as they drive on the right side, most people walk to the right of everyone. If you ever saw someone walking on the left, you’d know something was wrong but you wouldn’t be able to pinpoint what it was. He assumed in places like England, where they drove on the left, it was a similar situation. But that wasn’t the case here.
Everyone’s movement was omnidirectional. Left, right, criss-cross and catty-corner. As the portal spit them out, in a relative safezone due to the nature of their departure, the noise and movement overrode his senses. Two steps forward and already he’d been jostled twice, his enthusiasm for exploration quickly draining.
They had to pause as a large palanquin drawn by two ten-foot tall creatures bipedally walking on two meaty arms bypassed them, a silver insignia written onto the side.
Sophie: Do not stare, do not even look around, both of you. Rimi, I know you are as in the dark as Walker is, which means you need to show an elevated sense of self-control.
Peanut: I’ll be fine. I was just curious about what evolutions those creatures held.
Walker looked over at Virgil as he unerringly led them to a set of alleyways, moving around the crowd with unceasing ease. His eyes never strayed, but the text chat continued onward.
They passed a sign, Walker’s translator doing the heavy lifting for him.
Innovation district: Magical Apparatuses
Independent Factions allowed
Marcus: What does that mean? Independent Factions allowed?
Sophie: Most greater trade and sales occur across the Multiverse behind closed doors. The Grand Auction, which is the name of the planet we currently stand on, is different. Factions make sales with other factions, and Nobles trade and sell with one another wherein their rank and the rank of their lineage help them decide on what prices can be expected. To better explain, look at the machine on the right.
As they were moving, Walker’s eyes caught on to a metal sphere, one long, sharp spike sticking out of it. He focused on the small sign sitting just below it.
Forcible Attunement Sphere: 10 Temporal Resources
It’ll give you the juice you need!
Marcus: What the fuck is that?
Sophie: I believe it is a rather ingenious method of self-empowerment. From what I can recall, you place a magically attuned item within the sphere, and as you pierce your body with the spike, it injects said magic into your blood, giving you a greater than-not opportunity to gain the attunement in question. That is, if you survive the process.
Peanut: Why is it talking about juice?
Sophie: I cannot sigh out loud, so I find I must write it…sigh. It is a currently trending word in the Multiverse. These affectations come and go. Trust me, this is better than what was used a hundred years ago. Glurp Glurp.
Walker didn’t know what to make of that, so they continued onward. Passing a series of stalls selling gimmicks promising to make illusions seem real, Virgil sent another message.
Sophie: The location I am taking us to is rather peculiar. The owner focuses specifically on magical innovation and is one of the leaders in system-connected magitech. If he has what I think he has, it should be a grand boon to our progress in the Alpha Protocol.
Excited for what they might find, and the cost associated with it, Walker checked his resources again. If the attunement sphere had only cost ten temporal resources and, according to Virgil, was some kind of powerful item, then how much currency did he currently hold? Millions compared to back on Earth? Billions?
Was he the richest guy here?
They rounded a corner, with Virgil leading them toward a nondescript tent he would’ve passed by if he didn’t know any better. Inside, a dozen or so different Sapients meandered, looking at different items placed on shelves around the area. Walker took his time like everyone else, trying not to appear as if he didn’t know why he was there. A few items did look interesting, particularly one that seemed to create a magical zone tied directly to whatever element was placed within. But that was until he saw what was behind a corded metal rope, multiple buyers gazing at it.
Magic Chamber: 100 Temporal Resources
A world of magic available to you.
Walker never thought he’d see one again. And for so cheap! Because of his deal with the Council, 100 resources was nothing to him. Virgil glanced at Walker’s face and immediately sent a message.
Sophie: Walker, calm down. There is an art to this. If you get too excited and give away how many resources we have, it will make things much harder on us going forward. Please trust me on this and allow me to manage the transaction.
Marcus: Do you think they have two!
Peanut: Or 5!
Sophie: I will ask. Rimi, please stay with Walker and keep him safe.
Walker and Rimi looked through the shelves, both keeping a not-so subtle eye on Virgil as he pulled the salesman aside. The man looked more like a scientist than a merchant. He could almost pass for human, if you discounted the oddities of his muscles. He had very thing hands and fingers, with extremely over-defined forearms. Both of his shoulders sat higher than his head, creating an illusion that he was constantly hunching them up as he spoke with the brown squirrel.
What Walker found the most fascinating was the object sitting on his head. A large piece of metal sat on the back of it, consistently shifting different lenses in front of his eyes as Virgil spoke with him. A moment later, Virgil waved him and Rimi over, a curtain opening in the back.
As they passed through, Walker spotted several magic chambers sitting as they waited to be sold. Just beyond them stood a different machine. Unlike the Magic Chambers, which were tall, thin polls with a bunch of pipes sticking out of the bottom, this one was thick, with a long tube wrapping around it multiple times.
Marcus: What’s that?
Sophie: Wait and see, Walker.
“As I understand it,” The scientist-merchant said with an accent that almost sounded like he was from Kentucky, “You’re interested in buying five Magic Chambers. I can give you a slight discount for bulk purchases, or you can apply that discount to my newest creation.” Slapping the thick metal poll, he said, “This baby is a Concept Chamber, one of the first of its kind. Now, it can only do the most basic concepts right now, especially as concepts are such a new idea across the ‘verse, but with a little time and some updates, I believe we can get it to a place where even advanced concepts are containable for future sales. Of course,” He said, leaning in conspiratorially with Walker, “The sale of this little beaut is just between us. As the Lamda Council hasn’t yet defined concepts to the general public, we can’t allow them to learn about this potential transaction or I may lose my license.”
Sophie: His name is Hiram. Do not identify him.
“I see, Hiram.” Walker replied, doing his best to seem disaffected by the potential danger of purchasing an unregulated machine, “And what would be the cost with the applied discount?”
“Why don’t you offer first, friend. Then, we’ll see what we see.” Hiram replied with a gleam in his eye.
Sophie: Trade here is not like it is on Earth. Do not low-ball him. My suggestion would be ten-times the cost of a Magic Chamber.
Peanut: Make him throw in a few of the smaller goods too. Ones that aren’t publicly available. That way you’re both at danger if the Lamda Council gets wind. It should make him trust you more.
Shocked at Rimi’s quick and sneaky thinking, Walker went along with his idea, “Well, Hiram, seeing as we’re trying to keep things under the Lamda radar, I believe there’s a price involved for both of us. How about a thousand Temporal resources, but, you have to throw in a few smaller items that aren’t available to the general public. That way, we offset the discount from five Magic Chambers.”
Hiram sucked his teeth, the lenses on his headset rotating a few times as he stared at Walker. After a moment, he smiled, “You’ve got yourself a deal. I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
“Marcus,” Walker replied, holding his hand out. Hiram looked at it for a moment before reaching out. The ultra-soft skin felt odd to him. “Marcus Grove.”
“Alright, Marcus.” A trade window appeared in Walker's vision for five hundred Temporal resources. On the other side was a promissory note guaranteed by the Epsilon Council that a fair trade was made. Immediately after, another trade window appeared for one thousand resources, with nothing on the other side. Virgil assured him over chat that the item would be delivered or that they could prosecute him under the laws of the Grand Auction, though doing so could come with a slap on the wrist by fines. Walker took the gamble.
Once it was done, Hiram gave him a big smile. “Where am I sending these beauts?”
Virgil stepped forward, “You can send them to the unfactioned warehouse district; we will have a storage unit set up there soon.”
“Outstanding. When I send over the Magic Chambers, I’ll make sure this baby and a few of my special trinkets accompany them. Pleasure doing business with you.”
“And with you, Hiram,” Walker replied as Virgil led the way out.
As they left, Walker sent over a quick chat message.
Marcus: Why didn’t you want me to identify him?
Sophie: Because they have a machine that lets them know when abilities are being used in their proximity. It could be be identify or it could be something more dangerous. Either way, he would not work with us if you are using abilities within his proximity.
Peanut: I thought the Evolvers were all about abilities?
Sophie: Not everyone considers themselves an Evolver, Rimi. There are far more factionless and independent groups across the Multiverse than you would think. Most want nothing to do with them.
With that thought in Walker’s head, they traversed out of the Innovation District and into the Unfaction Storage District nearby. The cost to setup a unit for twenty hours was a tenth of a resource, Walker happily paying it while trying to seem as if it was costly. He was not a great actor, judging by the odd expression on the attendant’s face.
In the rush to get the storage unit set up, Walker had been ignoring a blinking notification in his overlay. One that had appeared the moment he’d left Hiram’s shop. As they sat down at what amounted to a cafe in the area, he finally had a chance to click on it.
Auction System VIP Update!
Congratulations Marcus!
Due to your sizeable purchase at “Hiram’s Magical Emporium”, you’ve gained one star on your VIP card.
Achieve five total stars within the next six hours to unlock access to the monthly Central Auction!
Virgil could naturally see all of Walker’s updates, so he knew what Walker was thinking. Sitting across the booth from him, he leaned forward, “How many things do you want to buy right now?”
Walker gave him a big grin, “Everything.”
Comments
Joshua David Mullenary
You were up extra late, or maybe it's up extra early...
Jeremy Young
TFTC
