Realm Walker Omnibus

by Erik Weir

  Cassandra continued, “Night is an acolyte of Vala so we must do everything we can to help her. The remedy for her affliction is time consuming, but we need to gather the ingredients first before we administer the potions.”

  “What do we need to do to help her,” Dawn said, wet eyes on the trembling door.

  “I have some ingredients here but we need three more to complete the seven potions. Two of them can be found in the Eddor realm but the third and key ingredient is located in the Xull realm. Once we have everything, we will administer a potion a week for seven weeks. It will slowly quell her madness and either kill the shadow or drive it out. Either way, it will be dangerous. Shadows grow attached to their hosts and will do anything to stay with them, even kill them,” Cassandra said as she looked to Victor, Lily, and Dawn.

  “What are we looking for,” Victor asked.

  Cassandra eyed the three gathered, “The one’s we want in Eddor are relativity easy to acquire. I will need you and Lily to go to Xull and gather a moss that only grows in that realm.”

  The Keeper turned her attention to Dawn, “I believe since you were able to realm walk, you will go to Eddor and gather the other two ingredients.”

  Dawn nodded in agreement.

  “Isn’t Xull a technologically advanced realm? Anything we should be worried about before going in?”

  Lily touched his shoulder, “As long as we gather the moss and find a place to rest, it should be a quick journey. We simply have to avoid the sentries.”

  “Sentries,” Victor questioned with a raised eyebrow.

  “Gather your things. I don’t know how long before Night hurts herself beyond repair,” Cassandra said before reaching behind Victor and giving his ass a firm squeeze.

  Lily grabbed Victor by the shoulder and pulled him out with her. The Blade glanced to see Dawn speak in a hushed tone to Cassandra before turning and walking with the succubus out of the elf’s home.

  On the stone street, Lily let go of the Blade as she walked ahead. Victor followed, unsure if the succubus was mad at him or simply wishing to get going. Lily walked until she reached her home. Stepping in only for a moment, she grabbed two backpacks and closed the door behind her. Walking to Victor, she saw the concern in his eyes.

  “Is something bothering you,” the succubus asked simply.

  “I was just going to ask you the same thing,” Victor said with wry smile.

  The demoness walked up to the Blade and stood before him, her expression blank. “You’re concerned because of how I looked at you after seeing Dawn in your home.”

  Victor simply nodded.

  A mischievous smile spread across the lilac colored face. “Victor, it will never bother me when you sleep with others. We are followers of Vala. Love and lust are part of worship.”

  “It’s not that. I know how you feel about elves and…,” Victor was cut off.

  “Victor,” Lily’s expression softened, “I may have my own prejudices but it is something I’m working on. I have lived here on the mountain for a long time and now that the crusade has begun, I must put away such childish notions. They will only interfere with what needs to be done.”

  Lily reached up and touched Victor’s cheek, eyes narrowing. “But if our relationship is going to work…I come first.”

  A chill seeped into Victor’s spine as he silently nodded.

  The demoness gave him a quick pat on the cheek before turning and walking away. “Let’s get the moss.”

  The pair crossed the mountain side village before reaching the springs. Victor fixed his backpack to his back, as did Lily. The couple walked along the snaky stone path until they stood before the misty cave in the mountainside. Blade and Shield looked to one another before stepping together to the mouth of the misty cave. Victor readied himself as he held his breath. The Blade had been to Eddor, Tempest, and was pulled into Dark Spire. He wondered what it would be like in the Xull realm as tendrils of mist wrapped around the realm walker.

  Lily reached through the mists and took Victor’s hand. Connected, they walked through the dark fog until colored lights glowed before them. The lights grew brighter, red, blue, and yellow lights leading the way. Victor’s excitement grew as he walked on. The fog began to part and the sounds of dripping water floated onto alert ears. The mists melted away and Victor took in his surroundings.

  The Blade wasn’t sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t what he saw. Massive pillars stood in rows stretching on forever. Rectangular holes filled the area a hundred feet above him as glowing neon lights filled the crowded sky above. The Blade tried to understand what he was seeing as neon colored lights glowed along the pillars, giving the strange pillar-filled world a gloomy light. Beyond the long rectangular holes above were what seemed like buildings stretching up to the cloudy night sky.

  “Where are we exactly,” Victor said as he spun around, looking up.

  Lily looked to the Blade as he spun like a top, taking it all in. “We are in the Xull Realm. This is the sublevel that runs across most of the planet. I only know from what Cassandra has told me, but the society here reside in the buildings above the sublevel. Down here, animals and wildlife can move freely under the cities so they don’t interact with what happens above. It’s good we appeared down here. If we were on the first level or above, sentries would swarm us.”

  Victor moved to a pillar as neon lights glowed. “What happens if sentries swarmed us?”

  Lily moved to Victor’s side, eyes alert. “They would assume we needed to be re-linked to the network.”

  The Blade let his eyes drift from neon light to neon light before he stopped and smiled. At waist level, moss grew along the pillar in swirling patterns. Victor reached down and touched the moss, fingers gliding along the plant as it clung to the massive pillar.

  “Is this what we are looking for,” Victor called over to Lily.

  The succubus made her way over. Fingers touching the moss, she nodded. Pulling her hand back, she un-slung her backpack and rummaged through it. A moment later, she produced a vial and small knife. Victor watched as the demoness carefully scraped off patches of moss into the wide vial. When it was halfway full, Victor thought this little adventure was nearly done. They had to find a place to rest and a dream later, they would be back on Vala’s mountain.

  A whirl of machines and a bright light blasted the gloomy lit area. Victor turned toward the bright light, one hand shielding his eyes while his Elemental sword slipped from his wrist and into his right hand. An outline of a large vehicle pulled up, the floodlight aimed directly at the Blade and Shield. Lily placed the vial into her back pack before a voice filled the area, the sound of a metal door sliding open blending with the voice.

  “You are in a restricted area. Please board the craft and you will be returned safely to your homes,” the robotic voice said with a calm edge.

  Lily grabbed Victor’s arm as bodies poured out of the side of the vehicle. The Blade backed up to Lily’s touch, the light dimming. Victor raised his sword as armored bodies moved in formation toward them. They were black and nearly skeletal, bodies made of metal and machines. Their heads were smooth and pairs of eyes appeared along the smooth helmet shaped head, a line appeared for a mouth; their faces were nothing more than digital light to make a crude face. A rifle was attached to each right metal thigh as a pistol was attached to every left thigh.

  “Run,” Lily shouted.

  The pair turned and ran. The shaft of light followed them as they raced away. Black armored bodies burst into a charge, legs moving in a blur as two dozen sentries chased after the couple.

  “Stop non-consumers,” the voice shouted over the loudspeaker.

  Victor readied himself for a fight when a metal hand clasped on his shoulder. The hand held tight as Victor was nearly yanked off his feet. The sentry turned the Blade around and Victor looked into its digital eyes and mouth.

  “Non-consumer, you will be returned to your home after an investigation is performed to understand w
hy you left the network,” the digital eyes blinked.

  “Get…off me,” Victor shouted as he spent a point of strength.

  The Blade grabbed the sentry’s arm with his left hand and began to pull. The mechanisms in the arm whirled as the sentry matched his strength. Victor’s arm trembled as the digital eyes of the sentry widened in concern.

  “Stop resisting. We are not here to harm you,” the sentry said as several more took hold of the struggling Blade.

  “Yea…right…,” Victor grunted as he aimed his sword at the sentry’s midsection and thrust with all his might.

  The Blade stabbed through the armored body, the point emerging out its back and sparks flying. The sentry’s digital eyes turned red as it peered down on Victor.

  “Subdue the threat! Subdue the threat,” the voice chanted over and over again.

  Victor drew back his sword and sliced upwards, severing robotic arms and carving a path through the smooth glass face. The sentry stumbled back as several more drew pistols and aimed. With the Blade’s strength and speed enhanced, he moved in a blur, slicing through one sentry and then another like they were made of cardboard. Sparks flew as Victor tried to find Lily. Eyes caught sight of the succubus as she struggled against four sentries. Gritting his teeth, he barreled toward his partner when something flashed and struck him in the back.

  The force of the blast hit him dead on, sending him hurtling forward and crashing down in a large puddle. Water splashed as pain fried his nervous system. Limbs couldn’t move as the Blade barely lifted his head to see a sentry pull a pistol and shoot Lily in the chest.

  “NO,” Victor shouted.

  The succubus fell onto her back, a blast mark on her chest and eyes reeling. Several sentries took hold of the succubus and lifted her to her feet. They dragged her along, back the way they came. Victor fought to move but his body wasn’t responding.

  Several sentries stood over the downed Blade. “Not to worry non-consumer. You will be reintegrated to the network once we…,” the sentry never finished as a bolt of the light slammed into its digital face.

  Victor looked up as a hail of energy bolts crisscrossed from multiple directions, blasting the standing sentries. The armored drones pulled pistols and rifles, turning around and returning fire. The pillars lit up as bolts flew in all directions. Victor managed to turn his head to see Lily’s unconscious body being loaded onto a large, armored vehicle.

  The sentries fired into the dark in all directions. One reached down and grabbed Victor just as its head was blown off. Sparks rained down as Victor spent another point of strength. Despite the added power, his body remained mostly unresponsive.

  “Dammit,” the Blade grunted as his mind worked.

  Seeing his stats hover in his mind, he spent a point of Will. Feeling returned to his limbs as he could move again. Glancing up, the sentries around him retreated as they fired. Energy bolts slammed into them as they walked backward to the armored vehicle. One by one they entered as they returned fire. The last one had nearly boarded when a bolt hit it in the chest, sparks, wisps of smoke, and fire emerging from its chest. It fell flat on its smooth face before the side door slid closed.

  The armored vehicle backed up as the crossfire stopped. Victor was to one knee as he struggled to stand despite his will power fueling him. The vehicle turned and sped off. Victor was to his feet, stumbling toward the fleeing vehicle when shadows emerged from the behind thick pillars.

  “Lily…,” Victor said as he tried to break into a run.

  A shadow lifted a pistol, aimed and fired. Victor’s eyes widened as his body was hurtled forward and hit the ground, sliding a foot. The Blade groaned as shadows moved closer, pistols and rifles aimed at him. Will power giving out, the last image Victor saw was a hooded figure leaning down and pulling the trigger on its pistol.

  Twenty

  White light filled blinking red eyes. Lily let out a moan as she slowly sat up. A throbbing pain filled her head as she tried to shake the mental cobwebs away. Glancing around while touching her head, the succubus saw that she was in a room with clear walls and two rows of hollow circles that ran along the top and bottom of the room. Beyond the transparent walls, cells similar to hers ran from left to right. A clear door stood opposite of her bed and the demoness swung her legs over the side. Trying to stand up, the throbbing on her head grew louder and she sat back down.

  Several bodies moved in the other cells, heads lifting up and turning in Lily’s direction. The succubus looked to them, taking note of their pale skin and subdued hair colors. Three women, all in different cells, stood up and moved to the glass barriers, looking at the light purple skinned demon as she remained sitting on the edge of her bed.

  The white light was blinding as Lily closed her eyes to gain some relief. The room felt like a sterilized prison cell, causing her stomach to turn. The sound of mechanized footsteps caused the demoness to open her eyes once again. Down the main hall, three robot looking drones with blue coloring walked in single file. Lily was about to get up again when she noticed something heavy around her neck. Fingers touching the thick band, the succubus looked to her fellow prisoners, each one wearing the same collar.

  The three blue drones reached Lily’s door and it slid upwards. The blue drones walked in, simple digital faces warm and inviting as the door slid back down behind them.

  “You are awake, excellent,” the middle blue drone smiled.

  “I believe there has been a mistake,” Lily stated as she readied to summon her staff.

  The blue drone nodded its robotic head, “There indeed has. Your genetics don’t match our databases. The deformities on your head, tail and pigment have alerted higher levels and require more testing so we can cure you.”

  Lily’s brow sharpened, “There is nothing wrong with me.”

  “Despite your appearance non-consumer, we would simply connect you to the network so you may lead a happy life but your genetics are incompatible to our nano drones. It leads us to summarize more testing is required.”

  Lily’s eyes narrowed. “I do not consent to more testing. Open the door so I may leave.”

  The drone gave a sheepish digital expression. “We can’t let you do that. All non-consumers must be converted to consumers. It’s not safe for you beyond the protections of the network. You understand.”

  A fire blazed in Lily’s eyes. “Let me out of here or I will tear this place apart!”

  “We understand your confusion. Assimilation and conversion will take some time. We are here to guide you through the process.”

  Lily growled as she launched herself to her feet. Hand out, she was ready to call her staff when energy blasted her nerves. The succubus clawed at her neck as the collar sent volts of power into her entire body. The three blue drones simply watched as Lily screamed before falling to her knees, smoke rising from her neck.

  “Violence will not be tolerated. Allow us to do our work and we will find a way to convert you to the network. Rest now and we will begin further testing in a few hours,” the blue drone said as the door slid up behind them.

  Lily huffed as the three drones turned and walked out, the door closing behind them. The demoness watched as they walked down the corridor and disappeared through another door. Slowly standing up, the succubus made her way to the glass wall and looked out to the three other prisoners.

  A woman moved to her clear cell wall in a simple white gown, eyes on the purple skinned demon. “Did Vala send you?”

  The fire in Lily burned out and she looked to the three women, hope in their eyes. “She did.”

  “We may have a chance,” one of the other prisoners said with an excited edge.

  “Why are you here,” Lily asked through the glass.

  A woman pressed her head against the glass of her cell, eyes weary. “They have been studying us for weeks. The cells had more prisoners but we are all that’s left. Our bodies rejected our nano-shells and the mainframe wants to know why. The others here before us were escorted ou
t after their tests were completed, we…believe they were euthanized for being incompatible with the system.”

  “They will come for us next,” another woman said sadly.

  “But Vala sent you to help us,” the excited woman beamed.

  Lily’s expression softened as she heard the desperation in their voices. An image of Victor floated into her head and the succubus let out a long, deep sigh.

  “Victor,” the succubus whispered.

  ***

  A cloaked figure smiled and the dreamscape melted away. Victor opened his eyes, a blurry reality slowly moving into focus. The shapes before him took on finer lines and after a few blinks, the Blade snapped up and crawled back until his back hit a wall.

  Three women were at the edge of his bed, smiling with fanged teeth. Pointed furry ears faced the startled Blade as fur covered part of their bodies. Cat-like eyes glowed in the dim lighting as furry tails swished back and forth. Tight body suits hugged their frames as they leaned in closer. Purring filled the immediate area, the vibrations caressing Victor’s skin. The Blade wrinkled his brow as he looked down, seeing that he was completely naked.

  “He’s awake,” one of them purred.

  “And not so bad on the eyes,” another smiled wider.

  “Can we keep him,” the third one asked.

  Victor wasn’t sure why, but the way they looked at him felt like they were going to eat him. Hand grabbing a sheet, he held it to his chest, back still firmly against the wall. A shadow moved from behind as the figure of woman sauntered closer, a hood over her head.

  “Maybe…if you’re good,” the hooded figure said as it moved into the light.

  Victor looked to the woman as she pulled back the hood. A fur covered snout appeared as yellowish eyes looked down. Orange and white colors melded along her pointed face, pointed ears standing up. Whiskers stabbed out from each side of her wet nose as she stood, arms crossed. Victor couldn’t help but let his eyes wander to her large breasts, killer figure and bushy tail moving from behind.

  She looks like a real fox.