Delvers LLC: Adventure Capital

by Blaise Corvin

  Volleyball Death

  Aodh walked slowly, following Henry’s majordomo, Ellen, towards the meeting Henry had scheduled with Lady Tanushree. It was time for the Delvers leader to convince Lady Tanushree to give him her support. Aodh wasn’t entirely sure what this meant, and he got the feeling Tanushree wasn’t sure herself.

  If anything, she seemed to be playing along. Granted, some of the things Henry had accomplished over the last couple days had been incredible. The man was driven and seemed to be everywhere at once. On top of that, his magic power seemed limitless.

  He’d built several structures, raising earthen walls to form simple shelters for Tanushee’s armswomen and the caravan animals. He’d also fashioned a workshop of sorts on the patch of land he’d first asked Tanushree to give him two days before to prove himself.

  Aodh had not stepped foot in Henry’s workshop—nobody had. After Henry had disappeared into the small building he’d made of earth, he’d barely come out, only leaving to rummage around his house or ask Ellen for more food or other random things. Once he’d wanted to know if the estate had rubber on hand. Henry had acted like an excited child when he’d found out they actually had some.

  The door to the small building was unlocked, and the hallway Aodh actually found himself in was...surprising. He’d thought that the building was about the size of a small house. At least, that was what it had looked like from the outside. However, since he’d entered the thick double doors of the building, the hallway had sloped down into the earth.

  It became immediately obvious that the small building outside was just the entrance to Henry’s real laboratory, which seemed to be underground. Far underground, Aodh amended.

  The hallway led downwards at a gentle angle, switching back to lead even further down. The path itself was interesting and unlike anything Aodh had ever seen.

  The walls were smooth, earthen, almost like the surface of a plate for eating. Regular recesses in the walls sported domes of glass that offered pale light. The illumination was dim, but more than enough to see by while descending underground. Aodh recognized what the walls looked like, too. He was reminded of what Henry had done to the rock walls back in the Gobskulls caverns.

  At regular intervals, huge double doors were recessed into the hallway walls. Aodh had missed them at first, but after he noticed, their purpose was clear. They were defensive measures. If each barrier was closed and locked, it would make descending deeper into the laboratory very difficult for anyone that didn’t have Henry’s unique magic power.

  Majordomo Ellen walked nervously, taking everything in with obvious awe. She held a stick with a socket for a magic stone on the bottom end, and a ball of glass on the top that emitted a pale light. Aodh had never seen such a thing before, and assumed that Henry had made it for her.

  How had he done all this in two days? Aodh was shocked. He quickly glanced at Lady Tanushree and verified that yes, even she seemed impressed. The young adventurer quickly glanced away. He didn’t want to risk her seeing him look. The last day had been...awkward.

  Aodh wished he was better with girls. Well, normal girls. He was just skilled at avoiding psycho cousins like Vitaliya. He wasn’t sure what Lady Tanushree wanted. She had been giving him conflicting signals. It seemed like she was usually casually interested in chatting, or annoyed at him. But the night before, she—she’d kissed him. On the lips.

  Remembering it, it took Aodh a brief effort of self-control to avoid touching his lips. He still didn’t know what the kiss had meant. The only other girl to kiss him had been Vitaliya, and that had been when they were so young that Vitaliya could still be mistaken for a boy at a distance. While his cousin had obviously been teasing him, he wasn’t sure what to make of Lady Tanushree’s action. Had she been teasing him, too? He wanted to believe otherwise, but maybe it was just wishful thinking.

  One moment, she’d been speaking to him normally, bidding him a good night. The next thing he’d known, she was leaning forward, her soft lips against his for a split second. The tall, blonde girl had stood up straight and looked him in the eye for several seconds while Aodh had just goggled, his brain frozen in surprise. Then she’d briskly said, “Goodnight, Esquire Aodh.” Then the girl had whirled, heading to Henry’s house where she had a room, not sparing a backward glance.

  First, Aodh didn’t know how to deal with the fact she’d called him an esquire. Second, she’d barely spoken at all with Aodh since, so over half a day now. It was currently mid-afternoon.

  Aodh didn’t get it. He wished he could be good with women like Henry and Jason were. But they were older men, wise and... cool. Uluula was a beautiful Areva, strong and smart. Mareen was the daughter of Thato Jacobs, for Creator’s sake! To meet such amazing women, much less interest and marry them, both men must have been amazingly charismatic and romantic. Aodh made a mental note to ask for their stories one day when he saw his friends again.

  After the fourth hallway switchback, a last set of double doors was closed. Aodh snapped out of his daze and noticed the doors were emblazoned with the letters, “S.I.” in English.

  Ellen knocked and after a slight pause, the red-haired woman seemed increasingly nervous. At the pressure of the knock, somehow the thick, ponderous doors swung inward. Aodh gasped, and all thoughts of Tanushree, kisses, and social awkwardness vanished, at least temporarily.

  The room was huge, at least five times larger than the Delvers Garage had been. It was also at least twice as tall. Just like in the hallway, there were recessed domes of glass in the walls that offered some light. However, globes of glass hung from the ceiling by thin copper wires, emitting a bright, steady glow. Aodh traced the wires up the ceiling to one wall, down to a box made of bronze. He figured there was a magic stone in there powering them.

  Tables made of stone ringed the room. Rolling carts made of metal and stone stood in random places, laden with tools. Seriously, how did Henry do all of this in two days? Aodh was aghast.

  Near one wall, a large object was covered with a sheet. Scattered around the area were tools, papers, chunks of metal, and parts fashioned from a variety of materials.

  There was a banging sound from behind a smaller set of double doors at the opposite end of the large room. As soon as the noises started, Ellen spun on one heel and retreated as quickly as propriety allowed.

  Aodh cautiously walked deeper into the room, tensing in case some horror were to jump out at them. Tanushree could take care of herself, but he’d make sure to protect majordomo Ellen if they were attacked. She couldn’t be that far back up the hallway.

  Suddenly, the smaller doors on the opposite wall were thrown open and Henry stalked out, holding a cup of steaming liquid. “Oh, you’re here!” The Asian man glided forward, grinning, his demeanor manic. His facial hair was uncharacteristically unkempt and his clothes looked rumpled and dirty, like he’d been working and sleeping in them for days. Aodh amended he probably had.

  Henry gestured with his cup. “I finally found some coffee on this fucked up world! Ellen helped. I have no idea where it came from, but it was in the house, and I will go to war if I have to in order to get more. I’m not even joking.”

  Henry grinned again and Aodh felt dread. What was coffee? Based on how Henry was acting, it must be some sort of extremely powerful magic. His friend’s appearance and energy made him nervous. Had the powerful ‘Bonded even slept in the last two days?

  As if reading his mind, Henry chuckled and said, “I haven’t slept since we got here a few days ago. How long has it been? Two or three days? Doesn’t matter. Feels like a year. I made a toy for you, Volleyball!” he announced, pointing at Tanushree.

  “My name is Lady Tanushree if you please and—” the blonde girl’s clipped words were cut short as Henry yanked the sheet off the object to the side of the room.

  “I’ve always wanted to do that,” said the Delvers leader. “The big reveal! Oooh!” He took a sip of his coffee.

  What am I seeing? Aodh wondered. What Henry
had uncovered was... it was unlike anything he’d ever seen before.

  It was some kind of humanoid figure, but stood at least nine feet tall. Each arm had some kind of machinery on it and the left one was bigger, ending in a gray cylinder. The hands didn’t have fingers, just clamps capped with bronze. Aodh looked more closely and noticed that most of the figure seemed to be made of earth of some sort, looking almost like pebbly, hardened clay.

  The man-machine thing, it couldn’t be anything else, had clearly articulated joints. But the strangest thing about it was how it was opened up. The body, and even the legs had doors that opened outwards. It was obvious that something was supposed to go into it, but Aodh couldn’t figure out what. Maybe more machinery?

  “What is this, Sir Henry?” asked Tanushree.

  “This is what Jason would call a mecha. He forced me to watch Gundam once. It was retarded, but that sort of thing gave me the idea for this.”

  “Uh…” Tanushree’s voice trailed off and she gestured helplessly. “Like I said, what is it?”

  “It’s a robot. Well, sort of.” When Aodh and the young noblewoman continued to give Henry blank looks he snorted and said, “Like the dolosbots, but this one can be piloted inside by someone with the right kind of earth magic. Someone like Volleyball, in fact.”

  Tanushree’s sharp exhale was audible and Henry grinned, his eyes wild. In that moment, Aodh was a little afraid of his employer. Given enough time, what else would this man create?

  ***

  Tanushree’s jaw dropped as she understood what Henry’s creation was for, what it meant. Once he’d said ‘pilot’, she remembered the quick experiment he’d done with the finger made of earth. She could control things he’d made...probably even something like this...device.

  Suddenly, the strange metal boxes and protrusions on the arms of the figure were of much greater interest to her. This is a war machine!

  “Go ahead, Volleyball. Give it a spin. I tried using it earlier but my magic doesn’t work like yours. I can make it move, but I can’t animate it. I was afraid I was going to destroy the fucking shop, so I gave up.”

  “Do I just...climb in?” Tanushree felt uncharacteristically shy and uncertain. Granted, if the finger experiment was any indicator, Henry might be able to eject her control. Even so, if this contraption worked the way she imagined it would...the possibilities were staggering. She was rank two ‘Bonded now and she could control up to five earthen animates. Henry had started calling them mudmen. The name didn’t make any sense, but it seemed to have stuck among the armswomen.

  She clenched her jaw and reined in her wandering thoughts. When Henry nodded in response to her question and pointed with his chin, Tanushree channeled her pride and her determination, stalking forward and climbing into the body of the strange, hollow, earthen man. Her weight didn’t make the figure move in the slightest.

  When she curiously poked one of the inner walls, Henry chucked. “Yeah, that thing is fucking solid, heavy as hell. I added a ton of material and a bunch of sand. It’d probably stop a fifty caliber round. On top of that, I have copper wires running through the whole suit that transfer power from the magic stones in the rear of the suit. I think they might even stop things like Jason’s scary-ass null-time blades. Well, maybe a chop or two.”

  Tanushree was a little overwhelmed. “Magic stones?” she asked dumbly. “I don’t need magic stones, I can control it with my ability, right?”

  “Sure, but the magic stones are for the weapons and the lights. You’ll see in a second. The suit itself wasn’t all that hard to build. It really only took me like an hour or two. Most of my time the last couple days has been working on the weapon systems and other mechanisms. Some of that shit was really fucking complex.”

  “Have you slept at all, Henry?” Aodh asked. Tanushree turned and regarded the young man. His obvious concern for his friend and mentor was honorable.

  Henry said, “Nah, I already said I hadn’t. I’ve had too much to do. Plus, I finally have some fucking coffee!”

  Tanushree clenched her hand. Aodh confused her. When she had kissed him the night before, and did so right after telling him she was ready to go to her bed, her invitation had been obvious. The mysterious, ‘Bonded young man hadn’t moved at all. His face was usually so full of emotion and life, but he’d stared her down, expressionless, like she had been unworthy.

  She hadn’t known what to do and finally just retreated to her guest room, angry and frustrated. The next day, Aodh had acted normal, and had been pleasant, right up until she’d just climbed into this monstrosity that Henry had built.

  Her whole life, Tanushree had never backed down from an enemy. Being a young Berber noble could be dangerous, but never boring, and she’d been raised to know how to conduct herself. However, around these newcomers, she felt like...like a cobbler’s daughter!

  Tanushree’s frustration galvanized her. She reached out to the suit around her and touched it. The sensation was just like when she took control of the finger Henry had made before. It was easy to fill the vessel with her will, and she immediately saw all the magic pathways that Henry had talked about earlier.

  Her feet reached the knees of the figure, and her hands were about at its elbows, but she could already feel that she’d be able to control it like an extension of her body. How had Henry known? She experimentally twitched an arm. It was slow, heavy, but her second rank ‘Bonded magic had great depth now. She knew she’d be able to operate this tool all day. Wow.

  Henry gestured down with both hands. “Hey, Volleyball, wait! Christ, wait for the fucking briefing before you go tearing around in your shiny new death machine.”

  Tanushree stopped moving the suit and noticed that Aodh had jumped back, his hand behind his back near the handle of his mysterious dagger. The young man had looked extremely dangerous for a moment. Tanushree thought it was... dashing. She turned her attention back to Henry. “Okay, how does it work?”

  “In front of you, you have a few doors that you pull into place to seal yourself up. You can see them if you look down. There are little handles on the inside of each one to shut them, and you can open the latches from inside.

  “If you look up, you’ll see that the top of the suit is made of thick bronze bars to protect your head and allow you to see. Inside each bronze bar is a core of iron, something I’m not sure anyone else can do on Ludus.”

  Tanushree gasped. “How did you do that?”

  “Trade secret.” Henry grinned. “But it obviously makes your protection stronger, and might help against electrical attacks. I have smaller versions of these bars throughout the suit. Can you feel them?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Anyway, you close the top of the suit the same way as the doors in the front, just pull it down. Do it last, and it latches the same way as the other openings, but with two latches, not one. Since you felt the bars inside the suit, you can feel the switches I put inside too, right? They have their own little boxes. Don’t do anything with them yet if you can find them.”

  The young noblewoman closed her eyes as she explored the suit with her mind, and once she knew what she was looking for, she found what Henry had been talking about. “Yes, I found them.”

  “Whew, that’s a fucking relief. I wasn’t sure if your power worked that way. I had a backup plan but this thing would have looked less cool with levers.” Henry stretched before continuing, “You have three magic stones powering your weapon systems. This new, modified magic circuit is one thing I’m really proud of myself for. It wouldn’t have been possible without my Mind Whip skill.”

  “What are you—” Tanushree started to ask. She was having a hard time following along.

  “Don’t worry about it. The point is that magic stones have elements. Usually, people don’t give a shit. I wouldn’t have even thought about it if it wasn’t mentioned in my books.” Henry pointed to a stack of books on a distant table. “Anyway, your systems are really efficient now, but you have to use the correct
type of magic stone in them.”

  “Magic stones have elements?” Aodh asked. It was news to Tanushree, too. They all looked the same to her.

  “Yup,” Henry answered. “It’s pretty obvious if you know what to look for. Anyway, you have an earth stone, a fire store, and an air stone slotted behind you in your suit. I figured out something weird, too. Each greater element also supports light magic just fine, and it’s just as efficient for all of them.”

  Tanushree blinked at Henry, not following. When he noticed, the rolled his eyes and said, “Just close the thing up and follow me. We need to go to the other room so I can show you the other stuff this thing does.”

  Reaching out with shaking hands, Tanushree did as she’d been told and felt warring emotions. Confusion, fear, curiosity, but above all else, excitement. The longer she stood in the suit, the more it fit her, the more it seemed like an answer to a question she’d never even asked. After a few moments, she was able to figure out how to close up the front of the contraption. She marveled at how tall and massive she felt. The bars around her head allowed her to easily see, but offered a good amount of protection.

  She wriggled, putting her limbs back into the hollow spaces in the armored arms of the suit. Then she let her magic run through the earthen armor surrounding her, taking a few experimental steps forward before relaxing. The armored suit really did feel like an extension of her body. Amazing.

  Henry laughed and said, “Now that’s awesome. When Jason sees this he is gonna pop the biggest geek boner on Ludus. So Lady Tanushree, how do you like Volleyball Death? I’m thinking we can call it V-death MK1 for short.”

  “Wait, what—”

  “Don’t worry about it right now. Let the name sink in, marinate a bit. It’s fucking genius, you’ll eventually love it.” The scruffy man took another sip of coffee. “Follow me.” He gestured and began walking to a wall of the room with a large sliding door.