Otherlife Nightmares: The Selfless Hero Trilogy (6 page)

“It’s not really something to worry over. To be fair, you could have just as easily killed everyone on accident. I’m still surprised you were able to get in.”

The third and fourth plate also received
Constitution
bindings. Once all four quarters were in the base, he cocked his head to the side.
Arcane Smithing
let him sharpen a blade, what about welding?

“Srit, I’m going to do something dumb. Might line up with
Arcane Smithing
. Maybe. Possibly?”

Activating yet not releasing
Fire,
he targeted the grooves between the plates and focused on heating the channels through
Arcane Smithing
.

I see. It will connect without my assistance. The path was created previously.

Quirking a brow, he felt a grin spread across his face. Srit just presented more info than he’d ever hoped to have. It meant Srit could truly see the code as it came, where it was going, and what databases it touched.

With a light chime, the plates sealed into place and became solid. Four dark gray plates rested in the base.

“Fantastic. Alright, Srit. Next question?” Runner said. He picked up the two border accents and set them down in their would-be positions. They were simple metal bars with a size no wider than a pinkie finger. Silver in color and beveled, they were meant to run between the plates and around the edge of the shield entirely.

You ejected one of your crew.

Runner froze, his fingers resting on a border accent. He surreptitiously checked his surroundings to confirm he was still alone. Forcing himself into action, he bound the two border pieces with
Challenge
and
Interrupt
.

“That I did,” he said, his voice tight.

Why?

“He would have killed Hanners.”

With a flash of
Fire,
he bound the borders into the shield, then flipped it over, picked up the remaining parts, and dumped them into the hollow of the shield.

Hannah cannot die. She is an NPC. She would be deleted. Your statement is false.

“Rather than answer that, I’m going to ask you a question. Do you want to be deleted, Srit?” Setting the forearm rest and hand grip into place, he bound it with
Stamina,
then
Arcane Smith
welded it to the shield.

That is not part of my programming. My host handled all questions of morality and sentience.

“Oh? I would ask you this then—who is your host now? As far as I’m aware, you have no host. Do you want to be deleted? Until you can answer that, I cannot answer your own question.”

Picking up the strap, he swiftly ran it through the forearm rest and tightened it. Throwing a quick binding of
Constitution
into it, he sealed it into place with the
Agility
epoxy and finished the shield.

The low gong sounded once more in his head.

I will attempt to meet your requirements.

Nodding his head, Runner inspected his work.

Item:

Effects-

Stoneskin:
Armor increased by 15

Functions-

Challenge:
Every opponent in range will be forced to attack the caster

Interrupt:
Interrupt an opponent’s spell casting

Cooldown:
30 seconds

Attributes-

Constitution
: 33

Agility
: 3

Drained from the conversation with Srit and the abrupt reminder of Ted, he really didn’t want to talk to anyone further. While he could admit to himself he’d take Ted’s life again, it didn’t assuage the guilt for doing it.

“That’s it for now, Srit. I’m afraid I’m a bit drained. Going to take a nap.”

Getting up, he collected the shield and staff. With a negligent flip of his fingers, he moved them into his inventory. Entering the bedroom, he aimed for the bed.

Hannah and Nadine were still in the gigantic wardrobe, sorting through a truly massive amount of clothes.

“Taking a short nap. Wake me when it’s over. I like red and black for colors if they’re available. Nadine, if you get a chance to make deals, do it,” he said to them.

And with that, Runner collapsed into the bed and immediately fell asleep.

4:47pm Sovereign Earth time

11/06/43

Runner, Hannah, and Nadine stood close together in a waiting room. They’d been shepherded there nearly twenty minutes ago. The room was much in the same fashion as the rest and empty besides them. A large door stood opposite the smaller one they’d entered from, and they could hear the clamor of voices from the other side.

It would seem the king wanted them to appear in a certain fashion, at the time of his choosing. Runner would tolerate it as long as it went along with his plans for them. Social functions weren’t his thing.

“Stop fucking with it already,” Hannah grumped at him.

Frowning, he pulled at the collar of the black coat he wore. Hannah and Nadine had done as he asked—they found him black and red alright, though it was a bit flashier than he’d expected. Or wanted.

Glancing over to the mirror beside the large door, he gave himself a once-over to make sure he hadn’t actually mussed himself.

His black hair was pulled straight back and his face was devoid of facial hair. Leaning in closer to the mirror, he adjusted the red vest to sit correctly over his shoulders. A white shirt sat underneath the vest, which happened to be the problem.

“I never liked my dress uniform and I care for this even less,” Runner said, pulling at the shirt again.

“Stop it. You’ll m-m-mess it up. Hold still,” said Nadine, lightly slapping his hands away from the rumpled collar. Her hands came up and deftly began to straighten everything out to its proper state.

Self-consciously, he smiled at the merchant queen. He wasn’t even sure how he’d managed to mess up his clothes. It might be worth asking Srit about it. Maybe, even now, the server was still undergoing changes.

“Thanks, Rabbit.”

Glaring at him from under blonde eyebrows, she didn’t respond. Instead she patted the vest collar down smooth and stepped back from him.

The door near the back of the room popped open and in stepped a castle servant.

“Excuse me, sir, shortly you will be announced and the doors will open. Please step in, acknowledge the king, and then enjoy the reception as you will.”

Much like last time, the man gave them no chance or time to ask questions and stepped back out of the room.

“Assholes, the whole fucking lot of them. I’m not some trained poodle to do as instructed.”

“But you’d look so good with little ringlets,” Runner said with a snicker. Gesturing to the mirror, he continued. “Right then. Give yourself a last look. Sounds like we’re the main event.”

Hannah had dressed herself similarly to Runner, forgoing a dress for a red vest, white undershirt, and dark slacks. He wasn’t sure if it was the game designers’ intent or not, but the same clothes looked very different on Hannah than they did on him.

Nadine was dressed in a more traditional fashion. A lightweight, cropped red jacket covered her shoulders and neckline. Beneath that, she wore a black dress that came down to her ankles.

“Fucking die so I can be rid of you. Preferably in a way that I can laugh at,” Hannah said.

“But you’d miss me and the adventure. Since when have you ever had so much fun before?”

Nadine laughed at that and shook her head, her blonde hair unmoving. She had fixed it in an up-do fashion above her head.

“Children, be good. We’re about to be an-n-n-nounced.”

Smirking, Runner did as he was told and clasped his hands behind his back at rest. The clamor of voices died out, to be replaced by the deep voice of a herald.

“His Majesty presents Runner Norwood, the individual who rescued his dear niece.”

“Bullshit, not his niece at all.”

“Shut it. Royalty consider themselves related to other royalty.”

“What kind of stupid shit is that?”

The doors in front of them swung open, revealing the large reception hall inside.

Every head in the room turned, staring at him, weighing him. Judging him.

Plastering his best officer’s smile on his face, Runner stepped into the room. Struggling with the pressure of the attention, he found his mind wandering a bit. He did his best to use his high-level charm and persuade on everyone around him.

Reaching a suitable distance inside, he promptly turned towards the king and bowed at the waist. After pausing for several seconds, he stood back up, making sure to keep his eyes on the king until he visually dismissed him.

He was dressed resplendently but had belted a sword at his hip. In the whole of the room, he was the only person armed other than the guards.

Memories of similar power plays amongst the commissioned officers rattled around in the back of his head. He wondered if the ship the officers had ridden made it planet side or if they had suffered sabotage, same as his ship.

Not like it matters. Even if they made it, they’re long dead.

Finally, the king nodded his head to Runner. Runner respectfully nodded his head in thanks, turned, and immediately dove into the largest crowd he could find. Nadine and Hannah would be fine on their own.

Walking through the crowd as conversations returned, Runner concealed himself in the mob for the better part of a minute before exiting from the other side.

There were no decorations, nothing to signify anything out of the ordinary, and the band that played in the background looked as if they’d done this gig a million times.

Belatedly he realized he still had the music on mute and turned it back on. Truly a strange thing to watch a band play like a group of mimes.

Every bit of it had the feel of the uncanny valley. A reception that was supposed to be lively, yet came across as cold, almost alien. People were supposed to be celebrating the return of a princess, but they cared about little except conversing about the cost of produce.

A room full of Sunless nobles as far as the eye could see, saying nothing, doing nothing, and not a damn thing to do.

Runner swiftly made his way to a wall, stood next to a Man-at-arms, and sighed deeply. Turning his head, he addressed the man, hoping against hope that he’d been programmed with more than a rudimentary guard’s AI.

“Pardon, how long do these typically last? I’ve an appointment with a pillow I don’t want to miss. I mean, this little soiree will get me to the point of sleeping, but need that pillow.”

“Enjoy the festivities, sir.”

“Right. Welcome to Shade’s Rest.” Sighing again, Runner shook his head. “How about a different question then. Just for funsies. Can you remember the last time you took a good dump in a turd tomb, Sergeant? How about the last time you even noticed a poop prison? Better yet, the last time you dreamed?”

Runner paused in his questioning as a young woman rapidly approached him. She was an extraordinarily attractive woman whose long legs carried her swiftly along. She had the kind of beauty that could only be formed from an artist’s deepest fantasies. Never could such a creature exist in the real world. Where Thana had an elegant beauty, this woman could only be described as unreal.

She shared nearly all of Thana’s traits: brown eyes, black hair, hourglass figure, yet clearly you couldn’t compare the two.

The young woman had a cruel tilt to her mouth and an aura that Runner could only call greasy. Smiling as charmingly as he could, he dipped his head to her as she stepped up to him.

“Master Runner, I’m pleased to meet you. My name is Mara, Mara Moris,” she said, extending her hand to him.

Taking it in his own, he glanced at the nameplate above her head to confirm her name. It read simply as Princess Mara.

He bowed over her hand, then stood up once more.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Princess?”

A predatory smile flashed across her face, her sharp teeth spreading out between her lips. He felt himself cringe inside at the look, and he didn’t believe for a minute this would end up being a pleasant exchange.

“I have a need for a man such as yourself. I’d be most appreciative if you could trouble yourself to meet me in the garden tonight.”

A Quest has been generated

“The King is Dead, Long Live the Queen I”

Experience Reward: 25% of current level

Reputation: -10

Fame: 250

Title: Kingmaker

Money: 50 Platinum