Delvers LLC: Welcome to Ludus

by Blaise Corvin

  Mareen's head shot up. "That's not how it happened! You kissed me first!"

  "Yeah, well, you still basically attacked me. I have no regrets. You're extremely beautiful, brave, and smart. Stubborn too. And since you won't take no for an answer even though I'm too old for you, I guess I'll just somehow have to suffer through the fact I have a new girlfriend. A new girlfriend with impressive endurance.

  "I am looking forward to ripping off your clothes again, by the way. Next time, please don't scratch my back so hard, though. It feels weird to use my healing ability for that."

  "Be quiet! You're terrible!" Mareen lightly slapped Henry on the arm, but her eyes twinkled.

  Jason rubbed the space between his eyes again. Keeja started chuckling. Mareen suddenly hid her face in Henry's shoulder, and Henry started nonchalantly scratching his ear. Uluula had her mouth open and stared between the two of them.

  "But, what, you..." she sputtered.

  Henry rolled his eyes. "Let me get this straight. You have no problem walking around buck naked and getting in baths with people you barely know, but the idea that Mareen and I didn't, what, pre-date before dating and then date longer before making a decision to commit before boning bothers you?

  "On my home planet, people have casual sex all the time. It's none of your business, but Mareen and I are exclusive. What is the problem? Sheesh, even I have seen you naked."

  "You've WHAT?" Mareen's entire demeanor changed.

  "These are not the same things! Nudity and intimacy are not the same!" wailed Uluula.

  Keeja chucked. "Where did you actually first ravish your man, Mareen?"

  "That's a weird way to put it," said Henry. Mareen tried to burrow even deeper into his shoulder. Her body was shaking from silent laughter, though.

  "Did you not even go back to the guesthouse last night then?" Uluula put a hand on her forehead and said, "Surely you left the park first before--"

  "Ahem," Jason butted in. "'Lula, don't ask questions you don't want answers to. Also, we need to move on to real topics of conversation." He glared at Henry and Mareen, but neither of them looked even remotely apologetic. Jason got a bad feeling about the two of them being together now. Henry was already rubbing off on Mareen, and it made Jason a little worried about his future sanity.

  "First off all, we need to discuss this." Jason took the spirit stone out of his pocket. "Henry, this is a spirit stone. Bezzi-ibbi gave it to us." The Mo'hali boy in the corner nodded. He'd been staring off into space; the previous conversation had obviously bored him.

  Jason continued, "I actually think I have a few more things I can learn about my magic if I stay at my current rank, and you said something earlier about building a truck. I was leaning towards suggesting you use this first spirit stone, but I want to hear what you think first."

  Henry leaned forward and rubbed his goatee. "I don't mind if you take it first. I think I might be able to copy this world's technology just fine without it. On the other hand, I think I might be able to make blessed steel weapons if I level up."

  Henry had everyone's undivided attention. "I've been studying blessed steel weapons and enchanted items. Keeja won't answer my questions now, but I was thinking about something she said before, that everything revolves around Dhu. I think blessed steel weapons are made of steel that has a Dhu bonded to or living in it. That's what protects the metal.

  "I actually realized this might be the case when I heard how hard it is to rust a blessed steel weapon. It happens. They can rust away, but even if the steel itself is high carbon, all blessed steel swords are resistant to corrosion.

  "I can just almost sense something in blessed steel weapons. I think with some more points in my sensing skill, I'll know a lot more. Plus, these types of skills probably actually will come in handy if I build any transportation."

  Jason nodded and said, "Okay, how would you spend the points? We haven't talked about it, but I'm assuming you were able to talk to your orb when you were passed out like I was, right?"

  "Yes, I talked to my smoking-hot bikini model orb. Sometimes I too wish I was cool enough to hang out with cartoon cats." Jason ignored the barb. It had gotten old ages ago. He was most definitely not irritated. Nope, he wasn't irritated at all.

  Henry chuckled to himself for a second before his voice turned serious. "We get twelve points this time if we level up, not just ten like last time. I was planning to take another rank in Magic Control and Magic Perception. I think these two skills are the key to making kick-ass weapons."

  "I think you may be right. You're also effectively the tank of the group right now, although Mareen should be pretty strong now too."

  "You bet she's strong." Henry grinned at Uluula. "Flexible too!"

  Mareen lightly punched Henry on the arm. "Stop embarrassing Uluula, you idiot!"

  Keeja laughed, but Uluula didn't react. Only her bright red blush gave her away. Bezzi-ibbi rolled his eyes.

  "Shouldn't you be embarrassed?" Jason directed his question at Mareen.

  "No, I figured it would be like this before ever getting involved with this rotting moron. But once I heard my heart song, I really didn't have much of a choice. I just accepted it." Mareen smiled. Her happiness lit up the whole room.

  Jason cleared his throat, and after Keeja stopped laughing, he brought up the subject he really wanted to discuss. "Now that we're a part of the Jaguar Clan, we can pretty much do what we want. We have one spirit stone that is going to Henry." Jason handed the spirit stone over to his friend. "Now we need at least one more for me and one more for Mareen."

  He turned to Keeja and said, "I think there are circumstances or triggers that have to be met in order for you to give us information. Hopefully we have satisfied one of them. So now can you tell us of a dungeon with a spirit stone?"

  "Yes, yes I can." Keeja's eyes glittered. "I can only give you the name of one such place. It should be fun to see how you handle a dangerous dungeon. I believe it will be your first too, right?"

  Henry replied, "Yeah. What's the name of the one you know of?"

  Keeja smiled mysteriously. "Its name is Yanbei Cavern. It is about three days' travel from Mirana. The scout that discovered it was reset was part of the last adventure group to try conquering it. The entire group died, so nobody else is currently aware it has been restocked.

  "Unfortunately for you, it's been inhabited by warthog-toothed, thick-hide man-demons."

  "The names for everything on this planet are all so stupid. What in the hell does that even mean, 'warthog teeth, man-whatevers'?" Henry shook his head, his voice disgusted.

  Jason sighed. "Probably orks."

  Delvers, LLC Garage

  Two weeks had passed after Uluula had gotten back to Mirana with the rest of the group. The moment they'd returned, she began practicing in earnest with her spear. Her half-remembered jaalba-energy halberd drills from the Academy served her well, but she was still sorely lacking. Uluula was accustomed to being good at most things. In fact, she expected a certain level of excellence from herself in everything she did.

  It had come as a blow that she was barely competent during the battle with Thod's bandits. Sure, she hadn't been as useless as Mareen. Mareen was a sweet young thing, but she was a little soft between the ears and in the heart too. And yet, now that silly girl was orb-Bonded and could beat a normal person to death with her bare hands.

  Uluula had to establish her worth. She had to prove her pedigree. Losing to Mareen would simply not be acceptable.

  Plus, next time Bezzi-ibbi might not be around to save them.

  Uluula didn't know where she fit into the group yet, but she wasn't going to be anything other than the best at what she did. She definitely wasn't willing to burden a little Mo'hali boy with the responsibility for her life.

  She'd been the fastest rising star in her old battle group. She was the daughter of a governess on her home planet. She'd worked hard for everything she had, and in her forties, barely an adult, she'd already proven herself i
n combat.

  Yes, she was currently stranded on a hellhole planet with only basic technology. Yes, she knew her aspirations for the Admiralty were pretty much ashes at this point. None of this meant she had to give up her pride or personal standards. At least not yet.

  The only good thing to come out of her predicament was Jason. As she walked toward the makeshift "garage" that Henry and Jason had set up for their bizarre experiments, she felt a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

  Like most Areva on her planet, she'd never actually seen a Terran before being stolen to Ludus. It was a shock to learn that Terrans, the monsters she'd heard stories about as a child, actually existed. Furthermore, the reaction of the Areva in her first village on Ludus where she'd learned this fact was... amusement.

  I had taken her some time to realize the truth was that Terrans--or "humans," as they called themselves--weren't monsters, at least not in the sense she'd grown up believing. On the other hand, they had the potential to be worse than demons. It was sobering to think what the universe would be like if Terrans ever got their hands on Areva technology.

  The village had been good to her. She'd learned how to speak Luda; she'd grown to understand the basics of the new world she lived in. She'd worked hard to learn what she needed to know to be independent.

  As soon as she could, she'd journeyed to Mirana to find work. The rest was history... and she'd never forget when Jason and Henry had rescued her. They hadn't asked for anything in return; they'd obviously just done what they thought was right. And remembering Jason's expression when he'd seen her for the first time still made her eyes twinkle.

  She actually hadn't found any Terrans attractive to begin with. They were too big, too muscular, too loud, too... alien. But the longer she knew Jason, the more she came to appreciate him. It seemed like every day she was discovering a new side of his personality, and each facet of who he was made her like him that much more.

  She knew Terrans weren't accustomed to the long, rational courting process of her caste and her people. She'd thought everything was going well and things were progressing nicely until Mareen and Henry started courti--seeing each other. Now Uluula felt like she was under scrutiny. She knew intellectually that Jason was patient and didn't mind waiting for her. She knew nobody else really judged her, but she'd felt on edge the past two weeks.

  Scathing and unflinching self-analysis had led her to only one possible reason for her unease: she was afraid of sex. Perhaps it was because before Ludus, she'd assumed she wouldn't attract a man until she was at least eighty Terran years old. Maybe deep down she'd thought she'd focus on her military career and never even have time to experience romance.

  For much of Uluula's life, she'd thought she'd never attract a satisfactory male. Despite her status and her breeding, she wasn't a first daughter and didn't have the pedigree to have much luck at being a first wife. Her personality and political affiliations were too strong to be a second or a third in an established marriage. It was a "catch twenty-two," as Jason would have said.

  Either way, Uluula was aware she had a weakness now. It was gnawing at her, not least of which because such a large part of her personality was competitive. Jason and Henry were still adapting to Ludus too, but so far they'd started their own business, created strong alliances, and made heroes of themselves. They had a literal Hero working for them. Meanwhile, Uluula was barely scraping by, getting captured, and performing as a subpar porter.

  She'd had to be rescued by a little boy.

  No more. It was time to get her act together. She didn't know how she was going to prove herself yet, especially surrounded by such amazing people, but she was determined. Her name was Uluula b' Anami b' Pairose of the Blue, dammit.

  She shook her head and shifted her burden as she walked down the cobbled street. If Jason hadn't asked her for a favor in a message via runner, she'd still be at her own rented house. Still, she was glad for the interruption. Deep down, she was also curious what Jason and his friend were building in their "garage," which apparently was just a big room attached to their house with a large door in front.

  Henry insisted everyone call the room a garage. Uluula had been there for that rant, when Henry had insisted that since Ludus was full of stupid names, everyone could "throw him a fuckin' bone and call it a goddam garage." Uluula respected Henry; he was honorable and brave. She didn't really understand his personality or motivations at all, though.

  She was getting close to Jason and Henry's rented house with the adjacent shed they'd turned into a garage. She felt her heart fluttering, a strange sensation she'd only had to deal with recently.

  She stopped for a moment to calm herself. She would face her fears about intimacy, just... not today. Before releasing her sexual bridge, she was honor bound to bring up the subject of marriage, and she felt presumptuous and entitled just thinking about it, much less saying it out loud. She wasn't even fifty years old yet!

  She shook her head hard enough that she caught glimpses of her white hair. It was time to pull herself together. If she was going to surpass Mareen's position in the newly-formed Delvers, LLC, she couldn't start emulating the girl's habits.

  She started walking again and got close enough to the garage to hear Jason and Henry working. She went down a tight side alley and knocked on a small door. The noise inside ceased, and Jason smiled as he swung open the entry for her.

  Uluula walked in and set her bundle on a chair. The magic stones inside clicked together as they settled. She glanced around and frowned; the garage was a mess. There were wooden planks, chairs, bronze sheets, bronze bars, and random tools scattered everywhere.

  She glanced at the corner desk where Mareen usually sat, writing down columns of numbers. The girl wasn't there. "Where's Mareen?" Uluula asked.

  Jason waved her deeper into the garage and replied, "She went to the Adventuring Guild and some other places to try finding another candidate or two for the company. We have a few positions open, and we still have some time before we leave."

  "That's right," Henry said, nodding. "Jason had some good ideas for a larger roster. We have plans for what we're doing here in the garage too."

  "Yes, but we are out of funding." Jason sighed.

  "Story of my life," Henry muttered.

  "You're out of resources even with the extra funding from the Jaguar Clan for research and development?" Uluula arched an eyebrow.

  Jason frowned and answered, "Yes, even with the grant, but it wasn't very big. The Jaguar Clan isn't exactly rolling in wealth right now, which was why they needed us in the first place. They have some money now... but not a lot. We used the last of our budget getting those magic stones." He jerked his head at the sack Uluula had brought over.

  Henry shook his head, saying, "No, we'll have a little more soon. We didn't have enough money for materials to build the cannons we talked about, so I asked Mareen to sell my Bad Axe. It would only accept one more owner. Just by touching the thing I lowered the value. It was still worth selling, though."

  Jason blinked. "That is kind of random... but if you feel strongly about it, it was your weapon. You can do what you want with it."

  "When Mareen gets back, she can run over to that supplier we've been using and order some more bronze bar stock."

  Uluula asked, "Why would you sell your enchanted axe? It was rare, correct? And you just said that you lowered its value by taking ownership of it."

  Henry's expression became serious. "Yes, that's all true, but improving on the Delvers' Battlewagon is more important."

  "We never agreed to call it that." Jason rolled his eyes as he moved around some scraps of leather, looking for a tool.

  "Ignore him." Henry waved his hand dismissively. "This is gonna be the Battlewagon."

  Uluula was skeptical. So far, the contraption Jason and Henry were building resembled nothing more than a large box. She could not imagine what it would eventually look like at all or even how it would function. "Isn't it a problem to lose such a power
ful weapon, though?"

  Henry grinned. "Normally I'd say yes, but I already made replacements." He walked over to a counter, moved some scraps of wood aside, and lifted an axe out of the mess. It was shaped just like the enchanted axe he'd sold except for being made of bronze. "Even though I made it a bit smaller, it's still kind of heavy since it's bronze. I'm calling it the Bad Axe Reloaded. BAR for short."

  "And he complains about stupid names," Jason muttered.

  Henry ignored him and put the axe back down, "This axe is really only in case we run into a hostile Mo'hali Hero. I don't have the khopesh anymore after returning it. I don't really need a melee weapon anymore for most situations." Henry grinned again and said, "Jason! Let's show her!"

  Jason shook his head and grumbled, "We need to get back to work. Don't you get tired of doing this?"

  "No."

  "Fine."

  Jason crossed the room to a desk and grabbed a native fruit out of a basket. Henry began to explain, "When Jason let me have the spirit stone and I hit the next rank for my orb, I took Endurance (Rank 2, three points), Magic Perception (Rank 2, three points), Magic Power (Rank 2, two points), Magic Control (Metal Rank 1, two points), and Durability (Rank 1, two points). I used up all twelve points."

  "Think fast," Jason said and threw the red fruit toward Henry. In the blink of an eye, Henry swung his arm, and the transformation happened so fast it looked like a metal-colored blur to Uluula. The fruit hit the wall behind Henry, sliced in half.

  Henry's entire arm was covered in glittering steel, a long blade extending from the top of his fist. The steel on his arms crept up into the sleeves of his dark tunic, and Uluula could see tendrils of steel extending up through his collar, overlaying the skin on his neck.

  It was very impressive.

  Henry grinned as he de-manifested his blade, its length melting back into the steel on his arm. Then the metal on his body just seemed to fade away until he looked normal again. "I never get tired of that. My abilities now really show how fucking gimped I was by not getting Magic Control before. It's like night and day.