Chapter 100: The Butler's Duty (Patreon)

Hey everyone,

Dropping 2 chapters today since they're both longer than usual. Also, now that we're in book 3, things are gonna shift a bit compared to book 2: more worldbuilding for a few chapters while the action settles down a little. I want you guys to actually get a feel for the world she's in now without just dumping info on you, so bear with me for a bit.

Hope you enjoy!

The boarding ramp was sealed shut, silencing the crowd. Inside, the cabin smelled of hot brass and machine oil. The floor trembled as the engines ignited, and steam lifted the ship off the ground.

Grabbing the handrail, the Operator looked out the viewport. The vastness of the plaza finally became clear. The gateway wasn’t merely a mountain entrance; it led to a massive dome. Behind the energy shield, she observed the sprawling forest of the Evolution Zone, enclosed like a giant terrarium. Below, the crowd gazed up at their ship.

On the other side of the cabin, Dan and Lessa pressed against the window. “I still can’t wrap my head around it,” Dan muttered over the roar of the engines. “We’re actually on another planet.”

Lessa nodded, tracing the dome’s curve. Cat ignored the zone, standing at the front window, captivated by the blue sky and the approaching city. Saren walked over. Inside the cabin, he looked exhausted.

“We can take you to your residence in the city,” Saren asked. “But I strongly advise against using it today. If you prefer, the Vanguard Foundation has secure apartments available. It will be dark soon." 

Since I don’t own property on this planet, that makes things easy.

"The safe house," the Operator said, sitting down in one of the leather seats. "We need a secure place to rest."

Saren nodded. "A wise choice. You earned your rest today, Operator."

The moment she sat, the adrenaline faded. A violent tremor shot through her right hand. Her muscles throbbed from the relentless toll of the mission and everything she had just barely survived. She quickly clenched her trembling hand into a tight fist to hide it.

She pulled her backpack onto her lap, feeling the faint heat of the chassis inside. Sorry, Napoleon. You’re missing the view. Stay hidden a little longer.

Okay, this is weird. It has the exact same bones as Earth’s Victorian era, but somebody clearly hired a better sanitation department. No open sewage, no coal dust, and, sadly, no dead horses rotting in a gutter for historical accuracy.

She kept her eyes glued to the glass, careful not to react. Since she couldn’t answer out loud with Saren standing right there, she let Tera keep talking.

Look at the lower streets. Those brick facades are pristine. If this place were actually running on standard steam combustion, you’d be choking on black smog by now. But the air is perfectly clean.

The Operator squinted. Below, long, segmented cars ran on elevated rails between the districts, trailing thin ribbons of pure white vapor.

Whatever is powering those transport lines is highly advanced, and it definitely isn’t coal.

Saren was in a suit; his detail was just walking armor… and that crowd at the plaza was too far back to be useful. I still have zero read on everyday civilian clothing. Have to wait until we hit the ground.

Taller buildings near the center rose in pale stone, completely wrapped in gleaming brass piping that climbed their sides. But the city wasn’t just built upward; it was violently split apart.

Well, they didn’t even bother hiding it. Building massive pillars to literally block the sun from the poor is certainly one way to assert dominance. Very subtle.

The layout was weaponized by class. Below, a claustrophobic grid of bare-brick streets was swallowed by endless, crushing shadow. Enormous stone support pillars pierced that gloom, holding up the pristine, floating spires of the nobility. They had literally elevated themselves into the sunlight, leaving everyone else to rot in the dark beneath them.

Heavy brass pipes extended throughout the architecture wherever she looked. However, steam alone was insufficient to power a heavily armored ship at such high speeds.

[Technological Sense Activated]

Everything turned gray. Glowing currents of energy lit up, tracing through the ship’s high-pressure pipes back to the engine core. Instead of a coal furnace, she detected a dense, concentrated energy signature.

Operator. The energy output is extremely dense and highly volatile.

A crystal? Whatever that thing was, it flash-boiled the water, turning it into pure pressure.

The ship slowed, air hissing through the release valves as it settled onto a wide stone landing pad atop the tower. The ramp dropped with a heavy metallic clunk. Cold wind rushed into the cabin, tugging at their clothes.

Catherine grabbed the Operator’s arm, fingers digging straight into muscle, completely rigid as she stepped onto the platform and looked past the low edge. Forty stories of sheer, open drop plunged into the shadows below.

"I can't do this," Cat whispered, teeth chattering. "Everything... my whole body is shaking."

"You were fine inside the ship," the Operator said.

"The ship has walls. Here, the whole damned floor feels like it's swaying."

An elderly man in a dark, tidy suit stood by the access door. His silver hair was well-groomed, and he looked to be around sixty-five. He stood without moving, hands folded behind his back.

“This is Elmuran,” Saren said. “He will oversee your stay and manage the residence. He will provide anything the Realbounds need to know about this world.”

Elmuran bowed his head, eyes fixed on the Operator. “It is an honor. My family has prepared for generations to serve a Traveler. To be honest, I thought I would die like my ancestors, waiting for a gate to open. You are the first.”

“So do any other Travelers who make it through receive the same treatment?” the Operator asked.

"That is correct," Elmuran said.

"So what did you do all those years while you waited for one to show up?"

“Most of us lived normal lives. Jobs, families. But we were always preparing for this day. For instance, I managed an estate for another prominent house. The moment the Evolution Zone opened, I tendered my resignation. They took it poorly, given decades of service, but this duty takes precedence over everything. That is how much this means to me.” He gestured toward the corridor ahead. “Now, if you will allow me, let me show you where you will be staying.”

“And if I had chosen to stay at my own place in the city instead, somewhere far less appealing than this?”

Except you don’t have anywhere to live in the city. Tera chuckled. Nice bluff, though.

Elmuran did not hesitate. "I would be right there at your door, serving you just the same."

He turned, leading them inside toward a hallway lined with dark wood and brass fixtures. At the end stood a pair of heavy iron gates: an elevator.

“Your residence is ten floors down,” Elmuran said, reaching for the call button. “We will take the elevator.”

Lessa stepped back into the wall, her shoulder hitting the wood paneling with a dull thud. Dan froze, his hand clenching the sword’s hilt at his hip, eyes locked on the iron gate. Cat wrapped both hands around the Operator's arm and didn't let go. The Operator’s palms were slick with cold sweat. What had happened in that other elevator was still too fresh in their minds.

"Which floor?" the Operator asked.

Elmuran paused, his hand hovering over the switch, taken aback by the sudden change in the room. “Floor thirty.”

“Take the elevator,” she said, nodding toward a heavy service door beside it. “We’ll take the stairs.”

Elmuran hesitated. "It's ten flights down. You don't need to tire yourselves out."

“We’ll take the stairs,” she repeated, leaving no room for argument.

Elmuran nodded. "Understood."

Saren tracked Dan, glanced at Lessa against the wall, then turned to the Operator. He wasn’t about to let them out of his sight. “I’ll take the stairs with you.”

They filed through the door, their boots loud on the concrete steps. After two floors down, Saren broke the silence.

“Can I ask why?” Saren said, keeping pace with the Operator. “Why avoid the elevator?”

The Operator ignored him, glancing over her shoulder at Lessa and Dan.

"If it were up to me," Lessa said from behind, "I wouldn't step into another elevator for the rest of my life."

“We need to get used to this place. This isn't the bioresearch facility. I guess that place messed us up more than I thought,” said the Operator.

“And that sound,” Cat said, the words coming out fast. “When it changes floors… it sounds exactly the same. Fuck that. I’m never getting in one of those again. Does it have to sound identical in every damn world?”

"CATHERINE," the Operator snapped. "What did I say about using that language?"

Right. Because you never use those words when things are trying to kill us.

A step behind them, Saren slowed, repeating the unfamiliar words. “Bioresearch facility?”

“We have a meeting with the Vanguard leadership and the other factions soon, right?” the Operator said, cutting him off. “I’ll answer your questions then. Right now, we just want to sleep.”

Saren held up a palm, slowing his descent. “My mistake. You’ve earned your privacy.”

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” the Operator said. “But is there any chance we could move into a house? After everything we’ve been through, we need ground under our feet and some breathing room. I get it if that’s off the table.”

“I’ll have Elmuran handle it,” Saren said. “You’ll have a new residence by tomorrow.”

"Thanks."

“It is an honor to serve Travelers,” he replied.

They moved quietly up the remaining dark stone stairs, their boots echoing on the polished surface until they reached the thirtieth floor. At the end of the silent hallway, Elmuran waited beside an open double door. They followed him inside, and warm air scented with lemon wax and cedar greeted them as they crossed the threshold. Their boots sank into thick rugs, muffling their footsteps. Dan stopped just past the entrance, staring into the room. Across the wide living room, brass chandeliers held glowing glass tubes that lit the dark wood walls and a large marble fireplace.

Lessa stopped beside him, her hand falling away from her scabbard as her eyes tracked up to the ceiling molding. “Is this a residence or an embassy?”

“A residence,” Elmuran said smoothly from the entry. “Though it is fitted for your rank.”

I might not want to move anymore.

Saren noticed her looking at the furniture and smiled. “Sleep on it. If you still want the house on the ground, tell Elmuran in the morning.” He pulled a pocket watch from his vest, checked the time, and turned toward the stairwell. “I have duties to attend to. If your group made it through the gate, others may not be far behind.”

"Thank you, Saren," Dan said.

"We appreciate the help," Lessa added.

Saren paused, his eyes resting on both of them. “The pleasure is entirely mine. Hearing you speak our language so naturally is fascinating. I look forward to hearing how that came to be.” He nodded briefly, then stepped back toward the elevator, letting the heavy door seal behind him.

Elmuran closed the inner latch with a quiet click, his hands dropping behind his back. “The residence has two floors. Seven bedrooms, four washrooms, and a fully stocked kitchen down that hall. I will show you to your quarters shortly. A cleaning crew arrives every morning, and I will prepare your meals myself. Do you need anything before I begin?”

"Clothes," the Operator said. "We're in rags."

“Of course,” Elmuran said. “Civilian clothing, formal suits, and heavy skirts aren’t suitable for your needs. We keep functional travel gear for moments like this. I’ll also find an appropriate wrap to hide the specimen you’re carrying. Walking around with a severed head in public isn’t proper, though I assume it’s essential for your work.”

The Operator slipped her brown leather pack off her shoulders and held it by the top loop.

“Would you like a replacement?” Elmuran asked, his gaze dropping to the worn leather.

She looked down at it. She had made the pack herself, stitching and reinforcing it piece by piece with Napoleon, back when she had no idea what she was doing. Through it all, it had never torn.

“No,” she said. “I don’t need a new pack. Leather oil, if you have it, and a set of brass buckles in different sizes. I’ll reinforce it myself.”

“Very good,” Elmuran said. “I will gather the clothes and supplies you requested. Please make yourselves comfortable.” He bowed slightly and walked down the back corridor toward the domestic quarters.

Now let’s see whether we have an audience.

"Stay here," she told the others. "Give me two minutes."

[Technological Sense Activated]

Her vision went flat gray. Thin lines of energy ran through the walls, powering the lamps and heaters, all standard wiring. Nothing hidden. No transmitters, no listening devices. She let the gray fade and headed back downstairs.

They genuinely just want to spoil us.

She descended the staircase. Dan had his head resting against the dark velvet cushion, eyes closed, his breathing finally slowing. Lessa had moved to the fireplace, rubbing warmth into her forearms, her gaze locked on the doorway where Elmuran had disappeared.

"Well," the Operator said, stepping onto the rug. "I feel like a princess. How are you holding up?"

“It doesn’t feel real,” Lessa said, looking at the fireplace. “I lived in a crappy little apartment in my world; it feels like a dream.”

“Too quiet,” Dan muttered from the chair, opening one eye. “After living in a janitor’s office and crawling through the air vents in that facility, this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

The Operator pulled open her pack. Napoleon scrambled out, his little legs clicking across the table’s dark wood before he stopped to look up at her.

“I’ll conduct a perimeter sweep, Operator.”

“Already handled,” she said, leaning down so he could scurry up her sleeve and settle on her collarbone. “If there were listening devices or cameras in the walls, I didn’t want them getting a good look at you.”

Across the room, Cat remained perfectly still. Her forehead pressed against the large glass window as she gazed through the mist down at the steep drop along the tower’s stone pillars, leading to the shadowy streets far below.

“So,” Cat murmured against the glass. “What do we do now?”

Dan straightened in his armchair as Lessa turned away from the fire, both of them waiting for what she’d say next. She reached into the side pocket of her backpack, her fingers brushing the smooth surface of the seed N’vaa had given her, and she rolled it slowly between her thumb and fingers.

"First, we figure out what this thing actually does. Then we find out what happened to the people still trapped in that bioresearch facility."