Delvers LLC: Welcome to Ludus

by Blaise Corvin

  He opened the door and did a double take. The first thing he registered was that the man and woman standing outside were both wearing masks. The woman smiled and stepped past him, and the man followed. Aodh was aghast.

  He automatically shut the door behind the two strangers and turned to get his first good look at them. Both the man and the woman wore identical masks. They were made of some thin, silvery metal. It was too dull to be tin, so probably pewter. Both masks were relatively small and covered their eyes and cheeks above the nose. The eye holes were filled with a very fine metal mesh. The only decorations the masks had were chasing around the edges and printed words on the area over the cheeks.

  Aodh was trilingual. He could read and write Luda, Quadrant, and English. Well, a bit of Gaelic too. He recognized that the words on the mask were in English! One cheek read "Delvers," and the other cheek had "LLC." Aodh had no idea what it meant.

  The man was athletic and about average height, so a few inches taller than Aodh. He had tan skin, dark hair, and wore a black-and-green tunic emblazoned with a clawed paw. His dark pants were bloused into green boots. He was probably part of a great House or Clan. On his belt, he had a strange contraption built from leather and bronze with a couple bronze tubes attached. He also wore an axe.

  The woman was dressed in more contemporary clothing. She wore a dark blouse over loose, tan cargo pants. Her blouse hugged her athletic, curvy build, and bronze, bazuband-style bracers with small decorations covered her arms to the elbows. She carried an enormous bronze hammer and used its all-metal haft as a walking stick.

  She stood about five five, barely shorter than Aodh. Her skin was dusky, and her hair fell in ringlets to slightly past her shoulders. Aodh caught a glimpse of light brown eyes through the mask. Even with her mask on, he could tell she was an astonishingly beautiful, exotic-looking woman.

  Aodh's mouth went dry, and he thought, Who are these people? His question was answered when they took their masks off.

  Aodh had seen an orb-Bonded one time since Dolos' proclamation, so he'd experienced the chime in his head and writing scrolling over his left eye. However, despite immediately knowing what the sensation meant, it was so unexpected he still nearly cried out.

  Over his left eye, he read:

  Henry Mirai Sato, Terran, American

  Dolos Orb, Modular Build, Generation Three

  Second Rank

  and

  Mareen Jacobs, Ludan, Tolstenian

  Dolos Orb, Body Enhancement, Generation One

  First Rank

  His first shock was that they were Bonded. His next shock was when he realized who Mareen was. That's Thato Jacobs' daughter!

  Okay, Aodh, be calm. Just be calm. He sat in a chair and struggled to maintain his composure.

  Henry smiled at George and shook his hand. Now Aodh could see Henry's Asian features. He could also see that Mareen was even more beautiful than he'd imagined. She was younger than he'd thought she'd be, though; she only looked a little older than he was! He decided she could have been anywhere between seventeen and twenty-five years old. Aodh tried to never judge a woman's age more specifically than about five to ten years.

  It was one piece of advice Vitaliya had given him that actually made sense.

  "How are you doing, old man?" Henry grabbed a chair and straddled it. Mareen moved a chair over but sat in her seat normally.

  Aodh was having trouble reconciling that George's granddaughter and Henry, the same Henry from the stories, were both actually in front of him. Part of Aodh was offended that Henry talked to George so casually, but he had to remind himself that every single person in the settlement would have been dead if not for Henry. It was a sobering thought.

  George smiled. "No real complaints. I was going to say I'm getting too old for working in the fields, but the truth is I'm already too old."

  "Grandfather, you're too stubborn to stop working. I know for a fact that people try to get you to stop every year." Mareen's voice was sweet and cultured. Aodh was astonished and intimidated. He knew his own Luda had a strange accent, probably because of his old-Terran Irish accent while speaking English. Mareen sounded like a Ludus aristocrat. It was difficult for Aodh to imagine she'd grown up on a farm.

  George chuckled, "Well, what can I do? It's too late to change. Anyway, I see you got those masks figured out."

  Henry nodded. "Yeah, it was Uluula's idea. It seemed to offend her when she found out we were using leather. She decided to use the opportunity to force marketing on us."

  "What, with the name of your company on the masks?" George asked. Aodh's ears perked up at that. Thato Jacobs' daughter is orb-Bonded... and an adventurer? His eyes shined.

  "Yeah, she sold Jason on the idea when she said it might let people from Earth know that we aren't locals." Henry jerked his thumb at Aodh and asked, "Who's he?"

  "That's Aodh O'Breen. He's from the neighboring farming community. I've been hoping you could meet him, actually."

  "Aodh?" Henry frowned. "What's your full name?"

  "Aodh Antonni O'Breen." Just be cool, Aodh. Just be cool.

  "Antonni? Mind if I call you 'Tony,' Aodh?"

  Aodh had heard that people with certain backgrounds had difficulty with his name. Plus, he actually liked his middle name. "Sure," he responded. He couldn't believe he was having a conversation with a real orb-Bonded adventurer!

  "Why did you want us to meet him?" Mareen asked her grandfather.

  George smiled mysteriously. "I thought I might be able to do a favor for several people I care about at the same time. How has your search for new team members been going?"

  "Not very good," Henry sounded frustrated. "We need fire, water, and wind mages or orb-Bonded. Most of the people we interviewed are way too full of themselves and demand too much pay, or they're newbies and aren't exactly what we're looking for. We still don't have enough street cred to get the kind of people we want."

  "You need a fire mage, right?"

  "Yeah. A while ago, we found out the warehouse we were imprisoned in a few months back actually blew up and caught fire because someone was illegally making gunpowder. Then we learned gunpowder is extremely fucking dangerous to mess with on Ludus. All of this gave me and Jason a few ideas, so we've been experimenting with all the gunpowder the Jaguar Clan can get us."

  Mareen said, "I have no idea what kind of crazy things they're working on. I've just been doing sums, practicing archery, and hitting things with my hammer. This is news to me too."

  George said, "I don't understand what your capture in Mirana has to do with finding a fire mage."

  "It's more about what we're inventing. Well, most if it happened because Jason liked the idea of my exoguns," Henry said, pointing at the bronze tubes holstered on his belt. "As far as we know, nobody else really boosts magic with technology. Sure, we've seen Ludus technology based on magic stones. Heck, we're even developing it. But at the personal level, no mages really use tools."

  George shrugged. "Wands and staves don't do anything. I even had it in my journal."

  "That's true, but just trust me on this." Henry winked. "We might have figured something out. So anyway, why did you want us to meet Tony?"

  George quirked an eyebrow at Henry before answering, "Well, Aodh is a fire mage, and he's been trying to get into an adventuring company for over a year now."

  "Oh really?" Henry's eyes lit up, and he looked more closely at Aodh. "Tony, how old are you? Convert it to Earth years, please. I'm not good at math in my head."

  "I'm sixteen, sir."

  "Don't call me 'sir.' I work for a living." When everyone stared at him blankly, Henry muttered, "Never mind. It's an old army joke, and it wasn't funny then, either. How powerful is your magic?"

  Aodh had known the question was coming, but he still cringed. "Not very powerful. I have good control, but I'm at the low end of the Berber magic scale."

  "Meh, it doesn't matter. Can you do Blood Fire?"

  Aodh was confused. Blood Fire was
one of the most basic fire mage abilities and was only really used to start campfires and stoves. "Uh, yeah. I mean, yes, I can."

  Henry's eyes glittered. "Can you prove it?"

  "Yes, sir, I mean, Mr. Henry. Umm, George, can I have a piece of junk wood from the floor?"

  George nodded and found a long splinter from his pile of shavings. He handed it over, and Aodh examined it. Then he bit his thumb. He hated blood, he hated pain, and he hated biting himself. However, working with the sheep and goats had made the sensation somewhat familiar since they were always chomping on him when he wasn't looking.

  He placed a drop of blood on the splinter which immediately soaked it up. Then he concentrated. Blood Fire was easy even for a mage with his limited power. The little piece of wood instantly started burning.

  "That's great, dude!" Henry was acting too excited, like Aodh had just run a blacksmith's forge for two days straight. Aodh was a confused by the reaction. Granted, Aodh had pretty good range, but just about any fire mage could do what he'd just done.

  "How far away can you start the Blood Fire?"

  Aodh thought about it for a few seconds before answering, "I'm not sure. I've never tested it, but at least two hundred feet. Probably more."

  "Awesome!" Henry grinned and said, "That's perfect." He turned to George. "He definitely fits what we're looking for, but he's a little young, isn't he?"

  "Maybe on Earth, not on Ludus," George said. "He was legal to work two years ago, and I already talked to his aunt and uncle about this. Not that he needs their permission, but they support it, especially after I told them I believe in you and Jason.

  "What about the danger?"

  George looked Henry right in the eye. "This young man is going to join an adventuring company one way or another. If he goes off with someone, I'd prefer he goes with you and Jason. So does his family."

  Henry grimaced and thought for a few seconds in silence. Eventually, he gave Aodh a level look. "So, kid, you want to be an adventurer? We can't pay much at first, but how would you like to join Delvers, LLC?"

  Triggerman

  Before he began his new job as a real adventurer in a real adventuring company, Aodh asked around about Delvers, LLC. He trusted George, and he was excited to work with Thato Jacobs' daughter, but he was curious too.

  He asked the guards he met, a few tradesmen, and some adventurers he saw. He knew that adventurers gossiped like old men on a porch. What he heard was... confusing.

  Most people he talked to didn't know of Delvers, LLC at all. That was what Aodh had been expecting since the company was new. However, he did hear a few things, but what he heard sounded so unlikely or embellished that he didn't believe most of it.

  For instance, he heard that Henry and Jason, the founders of Delvers, LLC, had killed an entire crime ring and burned down a building all in one day. He heard that they kept a Mo'Hali Hero as a servant and that one of the great Clans had spent a fortune in magic stones to bring them home with an airship just so they wouldn't have to walk.

  It was rumored that Delvers, LLC had gotten its adventuring license for free by blackmailing one of the Guild's leaders. He heard that a High Priestess of Dolos was spotted around the areas that Delvers, LLC members frequented. A drunk adventurer even told Aodh a supposedly true story, claiming Henry and Jason had destroyed a large group of bandits and killed a second-rank Bonded, a wanted criminal.

  Most of it sounded ridiculous. Even the stories the people in the Georgetown settlement told were unlikely. Henry and Jason had killed twenty demon wolves? Aodh was skeptical. He believed that they'd saved the caravan but not that they'd actually killed a large pack of horned demon wolves. He guessed they'd probably managed to kill a couple and the rest had run away. In his experience, people embellished exciting tales more often than not.

  Then came the day he was supposed to report to work at the Delvers, LLC building. After his first week in the company, he'd officially be added to the roster in the Adventuring Guild register. He still wasn't entirely sure what to think about Delvers, LLC, his new company, but... he was going to be an adventurer!

  He was incredibly excited. All his training over the last year would finally pay off, and he could be a valued addition to a real adventuring team!

  Aodh had run errands in Mirana a few times in the past, so he knew his way around the city. However, when he got to the location written on his slip of paper, instead of an office or an adventurer-owned inn, he found himself in front of a rental house. It wasn't even an impressive rental house. There was a small, rough building connected to the side, filling most of the space that would otherwise have been a wide alley.

  He walked up to the door and paused, gathering himself for a moment before knocking. The door was almost immediately opened by a large, scarred, fearsome-looking canine Mo'hali man. The man was wearing a mask similar to the ones he'd seen Henry and Mareen wearing when they'd visited George. The man also wore hide clothing and a sash adorned with an unfamiliar heraldry.

  Aodh had the right place all right, but his first impression wasn't that great. Delvers, LLC had a growing reputation around Mirana, but based on the location of the company, it looked like they had no resources. His new employers were broke!

  Aodh cleared his throat. "Aodh Antonni O'Breen, here for first day of employment."

  The Mo'hali man's expression didn't change, and he stared at Aodh for a few seconds. Eventually, he grunted and motioned him to follow.

  Aodh followed the wolf man through the home, a fairly normal Mirana house but kind of sparse. There wasn't much furniture, and what was there seemed cobbled together from scrap wood.

  At the side of the house, the wolf Mo'hali knocked on a door which was opened by another Mo'hali, this one young with jaguar features and wearing black, quilted armor with green trim. He had on one of the Delvers, LLC masks too. The Mo'hali man bowed deeply, his expression reverent. The boy looked at him quizzically then shrugged and walked back the way he came.

  As soon as Aodh followed the wolf man through the door, he gasped in shock. They were in the small building attached to the side of the house, and it was filled with a huge bronze vehicle-thing.

  Aodh wasn't quite sure what he was looking at. The whole vehicle had no wheels and was propped up on wooden blocks. When he looked more closely, Aodh saw that it wasn't made of solid bronze but wood covered in bronze plates. It had a thin band of gold at the bottom, and Aodh assumed the entire bottom of the contraption was covered in the metal as well.

  The front of the vehicle had a thick, glass windshield. Aodh was familiar with windshields from drawings of magic tech vehicles used in other countries.

  He'd never seen anything quite like it before. On top of the vehicle was a round, donut-shaped protrusion with two pipes sticking out of it. In some ways, it reminded him of the military vehicles he'd seen drawings of in the past. However, all the military vehicles he was aware of functioned as moving marksman platforms or platforms for siege engines. They were built high with many openings, and most of them started their lives as flying ships or large wheeled vehicles. The contraption he was studying appeared much smaller and was shaped completely different.

  From underneath the vehicle, he heard voices arguing. "I need a channel cut here."

  "Here?"

  "Not there, here."

  "Oh, okay."

  Aodh could identify one of the voices as Henry's. The other man's voice was unfamiliar. Aodh glanced around and saw tools, scraps of metal, wood planks, and other objects haphazardly lying around everywhere. The only exceptions were two desks at the back of the building. Mareen sat behind one desk, wearing her mask. Her huge hammer was propped up on a stand, and a large composite bow with bronze backing hung on the wall behind her.

  The other desk was smaller and had maps and notes arranged in neat piles. The woman sitting at this desk was jotting something down on paper with grids. She was obviously Areva, and her hair was a rare shade of white for her age and her race. Aodh judged her
to be about thirty-eight to forty-six, young for an Areva. Aodh knew he could be wrong about her age, but unlike the rest of his family, he had a knack for judging Areva ages. It was all about the ears and the eyes.

  Mareen looked up and smiled. "Hello there, Tony!"

  "Hi, Ms. Mareen."

  "Jason! Henry! Get out from under that thing and greet Tony."

  "Okay, coming," Henry's voice was muffled from under the vehicle.

  "Be right there." The other man's voice sounded relieved.

  The two men shimmied themselves out from where they'd been working. They were both wearing masks as well as some sort of coveralls made from canvas meant to protect their clothes. Aodh recognized Henry and assumed the taller, light-skinned man with unruly hair was Jason.

  They all stood there awkwardly for a moment until Henry nodded and said, "Good to see you again, Tony. This guy next to me is Jason. Jason, this is Tony."

  "This is our triggerman you were telling me about?" Jason asked.

  "Yup."

  "Oh! You met Rark-han already, Tony? Sorry that he didn't say anything. He actually just joined back up with us again. He can't speak anymore, but he's with Bezzi-ibbi. In fact, that crest on his sash is Bezzi-ibbi's new sigil." Jason seemed excited, and Aodh decided he liked him even though he didn't know who Bezzi-ibbi was. He assumed Jason meant the Mo'hali boy wearing black and green.

  Aodh tried not to judge because he knew he was fairly young himself at sixteen, but the other boy didn't look old enough to be an adventurer at all.

  Henry frowned at Jason. "You know you're babbling, right? The baby goat just got here. Why would you start talking about Rark-han right away? I'm still pissed the fucking Jaguar Clan cut out his tongue."

  "Well, they didn't kill him, did they? Plus, he is going to be hearing a lot of Clan secrets. It's barbaric, but it makes a certain amount of sense. Also, you just said 'baby goat' again, not 'kid.' I think you meant to say 'young man.'"