B2 Chapter 19: Making Things Right (Patreon)

If I felt like a bit of a third wheel after reuniting with Hugo and Elise, then that was doubly so when I met Hemi.

He must have been told earlier that I was here because he wasn’t surprised to see me. He did, however, sweep me up into a big hug. That was nice. No, the part that made me feel left out was afterwards. Elise ordered everyone to move out, and I followed along behind as Hugo and Hemi spoke, using inside jokes and referencing events that had happened to the pair of them.

“Once we set sail, I hope we don’t run into any of those Grubblespines again,” moaned Hugo.

Hemi laughed. “Yeah, it’ll be just like last time with you covered in soot!”

Once there was a lull in the conversation, I tried to jump in and contribute something. “You know I flew a spaceship not so long ago.” They both stopped and looked at me. “It wasn’t a huge one, but I still got to fly it around an alien planet.”

“Cool,” said Hemi before turning back to Hugo to laugh about something else.

I decided to stop talking before I made things more awkward. I moved to the front alongside Elise, who was now openly carrying a wand in her hand.

“How likely are we to be attacked?” I asked her casually.

Her tense posture suggested it was almost a certainty, but I wanted to hear it directly.

“It’s probable,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Everyone is after the map. If they get wind of this, it could get bad. That’s why I’ve kept our group small.”

The group consisted of me, Hugo, Hemi, herself and then two of her sailors who were staggered some distance behind us to act as lookouts.

It was an odd group to be sure. Hemi and Hugo were gabbing away without a care in the world. Elise looked like she wanted to murder someone while the two sailors were trying and failing to conceal their fear.

“So where are we going? You mentioned a neutral location,” I said.

Elise nodded. “The seller will meet us at the Star hotel, in the banquet hall.”

I threw her a questioning look.

“Right, I forgot that you just got here,” she said. “It’s a luxury hotel that tries to bait tower climbers into staying there. Of course, there’s no safe zones in town, so those that stay there end up making themselves a target.”

“That doesn’t sound very neutral,” I pointed out.

“I think the System anticipated most climber’s hesitancy, which is why there are also regular residents staying there.”

“Wait, are you saying that the System took some people, gave them a bunch of money, and told them to play the role of a wealthy person?”

She sighed. “Pretty much. It furthers the divide between residents and climbers. Everyone knows that the golden door quest can grant climber status. So some residents are on our side doing whatever they can to help, like Rob and Bob behind us.” She indicated back at the two sailors who worked for her. “Others think that the System will protect them if they do nothing but follow their roles.”

I snorted. “They can’t be serious. The tower collapse is in what? Forty-nine weeks?”

“Forty-eight weeks and four days,” she corrected me. “But that danger doesn’t feel very imminent to most people. It sounds far away. It’s only when you look at how little progress we’ve made on the floors and how the difficulty curve increases that somebody sees how bad it is. In other words, this whole tower challenge is rigged.”

I shook my head. “When I spoke to the Officiator on a payphone, he said that the System is always fair. That there is always a way.”

Elise’s fist tightened on her wand. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

We kept walking in until we reached an intersection and Elise moved into party chat to be more covert.

[Elise Evans: Okay, we’re almost there. Now we don’t know what the seller looks like, so once inside we’ll have to wait until he makes his approach. Hugo and I are the faces of the company, so it's most likely going to be one of us. For the rest of you, take a more distant position and look out for the competition.]

The others nodded, but I didn’t like it. There were too many things that could go wrong with this.

[Lucas Hudson: How do we know this isn’t a trap? That we can trust the seller at all?]

Elise sighed.

[Elise Evans: Because he gave us a piece of the map to verify it. This entire floor was uncharted territory when we arrived. Slowly, through exploration, we’ve been building our own maps, but they’re woefully incomplete. The seller gave us a piece of an area no one has been to with highly detailed information. He knows more about this floor than anyone. Now enough questions. Just let Hugo and I handle this.]

Okay, now that one did sting a little.

I’ve been absent long enough that they’ve gotten used to a new way of doing things. A way that doesn’t involve me. Not to mention the fact that now I was the lowest leveled tower climber in the group.

Elise sees me like a burden, I realized. She only invited me along for Hugo’s benefit. It sucks, but it’s a start. I refuse to be some anchor, weighing everybody else down. I’ll find a way to prove my worth to the group again.

Hemi and Elise went first. Her wand was back in her inventory, and the pair chatted like a friendly couple as they crossed the street and went into the hotel. Hugo sat on the shoulder of a pirate spirit summon he called Neeson while we waited. After a few minutes, it was our turn, while the non-climbers Rob and Bob were left behind as lookouts. They would warn us in party chat if they saw anyone suspicious enter the hotel.

“What should we talk about?” I asked Hugo as we crossed the street. The crow didn’t respond, so I kept going. “You could tell me more about your pirate adventures? Or explain what we’re paying for this map?”

“He didn’t name a price,” Hugo grumbled.

“Well that’s not suspicious at all.”

“And I’m still mad at you!” he suddenly shouted, a little louder than he’d intended. A few bystanders looked in our direction, so Hugo lowered his voice. “You don’t get to just show up acting like it's no big deal when we all thought you were dead.”

“But what about the bounty?” I asked, surprised at his sudden anger. “What about all that talk of holding out hope?”

“It was true. But it was a small hope. Now you come back here acting all nonchalant! You should be chalant! You should be chalanting all over the place.”

He was right. I had been a little too casual with our first meeting. The whole thing with him capturing me had thrown me off balance, and when that happens, I tended to get either angrier or more stoic.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I guess I saw things differently from my side, knowing that you guys were alive in here somewhere. In some ways, it was easier for me knowing that.”

Hugo flew to my shoulder and leaned against my neck. I gently ran my hand down his feathers in a calming motion as he spread his wings out to hug me.

“How about we stick together from now on?” I suggested.

“Sounds good,” Hugo replied.

We went inside the hotel. It was a grand space with black-and-white marble floors and swaying chandeliers. The staff flitted around, quiet and efficient in their dark suits. It would have looked somewhat modern if not for every light source being candle based.

Hemi and Elise were standing near a door complaining to a large man in a staff uniform that wouldn’t let them pass.

“Finally,” said Elise, looking relieved. “The whole party is here. You can let us inside now,” she told the man.

The man merely nodded and opened the door before walking away.

“What was that about?” I asked.

“He wouldn’t let us in without our entire group present. Your name was on his list too, Lucas.”

“Great. Also not suspicious at all,” I said cheerily.

We stepped into the large banquet hall. There were at least a hundred people already there eating, drinking, and chatting at various tables. The chandeliers here were even more ostentatious, with large crystals that swayed gently.

There was also a stage with a podium and a microphone that gave me flashbacks to Tanis. Is the System really going to do the same thing as before?

But no, instead of a System announcement, a man in a silver suit with short red hair stepped onto the stage and grabbed the microphone. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining me. If you’d like to all find some seats, the bidding for the golden door map will then begin.”

Hemi looked around in alarm while Elise grimaced. She then leaned close and under her breath said, “Marauders center left, Golden Serpent corner right.” Hemi nodded and his book appeared in hands in case there was trouble.

This wasn’t an exchange. It was an auction in an enclosed space with all of their enemies.

Meanwhile, I was too busy staring at the man in the silver suit. Where do I recognize him from?