A sturdy fence segregated the walkway from the cargo area. A two person wide gangway divided the storage space and I walked down it while studying the boxes.
There were rope handles on the side and locked clasps on the tops while there were zero indications of what was inside.
I passed them and saw a command flight bubble further down the strip of decking. The blimp must have been four to five hundred feet long and I found the loading area bland with its functionality.
We passed a vertical ladder on our way forward and I saw a closed hatch in the ceiling. As we progressed I got to see the piloting area.
There was an expansive bubble of glass facing forward. A captain’s chair sat a few feet from the edge with clear flooring under the pilot station. A few feet back there were copilot chairs on top of wooden decking.
A myriad of controls and levers sat in front of the captain’s chair. Currently, a bearded orc - a first sighting for me - was showing Garataur the way the levers operated. Instead of interrupting them I found a spiral staircase going up.
My neck creaked as I set my gaze up high. The stairs went up four floors. A chain was across the third to fourth floor.
Even from down below I could read the private suite sign and twisted my jaw in an approving smile. I bet there were some great views from up there. Nicole gave me a smile as she passed me to go first. I watched her shapely butt snap in her tight robes as she stepped up the stairs.
I leaned my head sideways and saw her smirk as she was caught tightening the robes to showcase her assets better.
She scurried quickly with delightful giggles when I started hunting for places to drag her behind.
There was no choice but to hopefully find something on the second floor. Nicole gave a quick glance at the second landing and bounded up for the third.
When I reached the second section I noticed crew quarters and more storage rooms with guards and heavy bolts. Yup, passing this floor up. I shot up the stairs three at a time and caught a giggling Nicole on the third floor platform with top and bottom private cabins. Inside this floor was a lavish leisure area. The left and right walls had viewing domes and round benches to watch the view from. In the middle was an oval bar with bottles that sat behind wooden bars locked to keep the containers from falling.
There were tapestries of all sorts of boss creatures hanging from the twenty foot tall ceiling. A velvety soft rug was sprawled against the entire decking and I felt bad tracking in the dirty snow. I saw my first glowing orb that appeared to be a familiar used as a chandelier that brightened the entire area. The bartender was a mustached human who waved and I saw the place was half full of people. I guess the King was unable to escape alone very often and I figured this was probably a small retinue. I frowned because I was still left clueless as to who my meeting was with. I did find it ironic there were nobles living it up here in the warm compartment instead of in the cold with their liege. Then again this fancy enjoyment room was spectacular and far more elegant than a snow cave with smelly adventurers in it. A quick sniff test confirmed I was indeed a ripe adventurer in need of a bath.
A whistle from a second floor balcony caught my attention but I failed to identify who was signaling for us. My arrival would obviously be noticed and I walked for the inclined staircase to the private booth up top. Nicole again cut in front of me with a smile and I sighed. I was such a horny man around her. My mind roamed to cumming on her tits when I was greeted by a face I never expected to see here in the gaming verse.
Rina. As in Unforina the goddess of contract magic from my home universe. Except she was a female with a furry orange tail with a white tip that swayed until she latched eyes with me and froze still. Her furry ears perked with surprise. I was shocked to see Rina as a kitsune. Rina and I had a past. I had beaten her unconscious once before and I went to do so again when my feet froze in place. My body tightened and no matter how hard I tried I was stuck. Everyone was frozen in time and my mind caught up to the situation. There was only one being I knew who could do this.
The plant beside me turned and talked. “Calm. They are here at my behest. I must be quick. I am under investigation by the council of the managers for moving you from Yariw to Thur. We have our own rules and I may have broken a few in my quest to help you help me. The leaker of information is also under investigation and both sides have entered a more covert tactics phase. I cannot move anything or gift anything. This is as far as I can go when it comes to you. Inspecting a random plant and forgetting to freeze your mind will escape notice… I hope. No violence with Rina and listen to your new partners.”
Time returned and I fell on my face. Stupid James and his godly tricks. I grunted in anger and returned to my feet. Rina was hiding behind a chair that was occupied by an ugly rhinorc who wore a black fluffy robe with golden trim. His legs were crossed and a bare three-toed foot bounced in impatience. The creature drank from a glass of some green liquid and he pointed to a seat beside him. There was a deep frown at the rhinorc seeing me but no other reaction.
“Rina, sorry not sorry. You are safe though. I was told you are not here for me to sacrifice,” I said with an assholish sneer.
“Fuck you Gryff. I hate this fucking verse. Stupid levels. Goddamn tail, and for what?” Rina was going on a tirade. Pretty typical of her to spout her displeasure to a situation.
“Rina dear, stop. Or I will yank your tail off and not have it healed for a weak.” That voice belonged to Warg. A god of war from my universe who fled, apparently with his sidekick, before I closed the gateway. He was a flipping rhinorc. Actually, I reasoned that one made sense. The insanely naturally armored humanoid gave an aura of battle and death. “Please sit Gryff. I can send Rina down to fetch you a drink. And who is your lovely friend?”
“Nicole, this is Unforina who loved to pretend to be an elvath. This is Warg and well he was always in demon armor but definitely not a rhinorc,” I said to Nicole and she refused to wave or greet them. She knew exactly who and what they were, as she was a victim of their atrocities. “Go wait at the bar dear. There was a certain someone who demanded no violence.”
Nicole stomped her way out of the booth and down the stairs. I relaxed as the tension in the room eased. Why? Of all the people, why them? My thirst for violence may have been soothed but my anger at the situation was raging.
“What the fuck do you want?” I asked with all the hostility I could muster without killing them both.
“Woah, whoa, whoa…” Rina said as she crept out from behind Warg’s seat. She sashayed her tail to avoid Warg’s reach to sit in a chair on the other end of the booth, far from Warg. Movement outside the glass view of the exterior distracted me. I could see my team in the cave down below talking with the King and his Captain Osgral. Regaining my focus I decided to take my seat and saw two wrapped presents on an end table next to Rina. “A talking plant gave us a message. Normally I would say fuck you to the plant, but they froze time. Which is impossible in the master verse. As in, I went and researched how many orbs, familiars, potions, and experts could tell me how to freeze time. There were zero ways. Warg was an instant believer though. So…”
Warg gulped down his drink that dribbled down his chin a bit. He used his fancy robed sleeve to wipe the excess up. There was a belch that was nasty in sound and smell that caused me to scowl at him.
“Pussy,” Warg said and I never wanted to throttle someone so bad before. He saw my rage building and waved me down as if it would placate me. “Ugh, I never say this. Like maybe twice in a long life. Sorry. There, get over it. Actually, I see you are less aggressive to Rina. I am going to get another drink while she tells our story.”
“Nicole can, and will kill you if you mess with her,” I warned to his back as he faded out of the booth. When we were alone, I saw Rina shifting uncomfortably. She wore a tight corset with her minimal cleavage from her small breasts and tight yoga pants. “Hey, I want those pants.”
I may have blurted that par
t out.
“They will never fit… Yeah, I forgot you have a harem already. How the fuck did that happen?” Rina said with a scrunched foxy face. While her nose protruded a bit her face was still very much skin. Her furry ears flattened with this question.
“Perception,” I retorted and her eyes widened.
“She predicted this?!” Rina stood and started to pace. “Wow, of all the gods Perception was the most powerful in the long run. He slash she or I guess they won against us merely when given enough time.”
“Yup, she broke me out of a prison I was locked into after saving Prox from destruction. She had a crack team of six elvath waiting to help me with whatever toils I faced. I do not think she had any inkling this was a gaming verse,” I said sadly. “We lost half the first night due to a Justicar roaming boss ambush.”
“I am sorry, I know how long elvath live and how much they went through because of this place. I tell myself the orders were never justified and I think it helps me sleep,” Rina said in the biggest sign of not being a raging bitch ever.
“I like the body, it suits your meekness,” I said with a slight giggle.
“I spent five billion years waiting to be born. That was my driving goal, to pick a body destined to be locked in place here in the master universe. I toiled and was anxious the entire time.
“For me, it went by fast, which would seem like only a week in regular time. Yet to my parents it was an eternity, literally. Anyway, there are so many sexy and fun bodies. Hell, there are even an infinite amount of female warriors I could choose from. I was so close to being a female ogre. This close,” Rina said while holding two fingers inches apart. “I wanted something fun and sassy. Only to discover this body is so fragile, dainty, and weak; while the universe is brutal, about killing things, and full of dangers everywhere. And then my sidekick had a penis the size of an arm that simply would kill me.”
“Ugh, too much…” I said but did find myself checking out her shapely rear. “Story, please. The story of why the… almost swore again. You rile me up something fierce Rina. Why are you here?”
“Feeling is mutual. You make my skin crawl worse than he does,” Rina said pointing to a returning Warg. He handed me a whiskey. I set it on the end table and removed my boots. I used the blanket from the couch to wrap my cold feet while rubbing them gingerly. I was surprised when Nicole returned with Zoey. Then I realized she brought backup. The girls flanked me on the couch. “Who is this one? She is without curves, how unusual for an elvath.”
“Gryff never complains and I am Zoey,” Zoey said while seating herself between my legs. She undid my boots and wrapped my feet next to her to conserve warmth under the blankets. “You’re ice-cold babe.”
There was interior heat from somewhere in the blimp. Time would warm us up. Nicole piled another blanket on Zoey. Rina huffed in agitation before continuing, I think Rina always craved attention that Warg was never willing to give.
“In my first sign of friendship. I will give you the location of the best place to get pants like these, ladies. Oranius grows the right plant to craft these and luckily for me they are not in fashion. I get a whole bunch for cheap,” Rina said while snapping the yoga pants against her butt. The sway of her tail kept my eyes unfocused. “Back to why we are here. There was a talking plant that said the tide for our success was here on Thur. News flash there are six planets named Thur. I went back to the plant and asked which one for two hours before it replied. The embarrassing action made me feel fucking retarded.”
Zoey snickered laughter that caused Rina to pause. “What? She told it so well, imagine a foxy babe asking a plant for help finding a planet as you walk by. The thought of it is hilarious.”
“Awe thanks. Well, this shithole of a planet held some special being we needed to help in order for us to become a master tier faction. Again it was utter nonsense and I tried to tell Warg as much. The big thing was that time froze each instance the plant talked, which was creepy and frightening. So we snuck out of massive headquarters under the guise of a private vacation. We booked three public portals to get a chain destination here. The companions on the last leg were stinky slugmen wanting to find a new jungle home. Ugh, the smell is still so vivid in my mind and the portal summoner was late by an hour. When we finally arrived here and went before the King,” Rina paused to point across the enclosure at Warg. “Side note - Warg here used his gains from Prox to found the forty first ranked company in the universe. There are billions to compete against and he is in the top fifty. Well, we are and I am honestly proud of our ranking.”
I held up a hand and stopped her. The vague situation was becoming clearer.
“I am not staying. Therefore if I create a massive faction that can rival the big two someone needs to lead it when I am gone,” I said while tapping my chin. “Why use me in the first place?”
The question was open-ended and indirect. I was mostly talking to myself and trying to figure out what James had planned. Warg stood and handed me my whiskey while I contemplated it. He forced Rina up and snatched her tail when she tried to retreat. Warg placed her gently in his lap in what was probably the nicest I have seen him be to her.
“I think it is you because I have ties to both the Justicars and Inquisitors. As in we are friendly and I cannot directly sow chaos into their ranks and infrastructure. While you can do whatever the hell you want,” Warg said with a loud grunt. “In other words, I am bound by politics while you get to be the wild card. The doom bringer.”
“Why are you two less violent and enraged here?” I asked noticing he was very well behaved.
“The magic of Prox is gone. Here we are another player in the only game of importance. I am easy enough to kill if someone hacks my head off. We have the same limits as you. Five orbs and limited mana based on our levels. The reality is humbling compared to being an immortal capable of fighting in the vacuum of space and smashing planets to dust,” Warg said and then whispered into Rina’s ear. “Rina is going to give you those two gifts. The plant said you would need them. I am very powerful and wealthy here while still being vulnerable. I will never climb much higher in the rankings without outside help. What level are you?”
“Four hundred something,” I said without looking down. Zoey grabbed my wrist and it flashed four hundred and thirty-one. I saw Warg rub his nose between the horn and his eyes in frustration. “Why what level are you?”
“Seventy three thousand. Gryff. I have been sacrificing war prisoners in exchange for elvath for eons. You are…” He was clearly frustrated. I saw him slouch and then reach for Rina but she swished her tail out of the way in time. She handed me the boxes. “Do not make me regret this Gryff. Four hundred is abysmal. I bet you don’t even have five orbs slotted do you?”
“Four,” I retorted and handed Zoey the boxes. She beamed a smile my way. Somehow I knew she would enjoy opening them more than I would. “Thank you for the gifts even if they were not thought of by you. I see the pain on your face at their delivery. Rina thank you for wrapping them.”
“I have shit else to do. I need a hobby or something, and no Warg I am not going to be your fucking accountant,” Rina said while deftly avoiding his grab attempt.
“Screw math,” Zoey said the girls high fived.
Nicole looked disappointedly down her nose at Zoey. I tucked her into me and turned her so her blue eyes locked with mine. Our foreheads touched and she calmed.
“Relax Nicole, relax. Our friend wants this. We are not staying here. Let the right people help us get home. Everything is about getting home,” I said and I gingerly tucked her hair down behind her ear. She lost her composure and fled back downstairs.
“What is her problem?” Zoey asked in a confused tone as she looked down the empty exit way.
“She was alive when these two arrived. She witnessed all the destruction and chaos they caused in justification for this gaming verse,” I said and Warg snorted for attention.
“Never use that
term in public Gryff. Ever, please. It’s the Warring or Master verse,” Warg warned and I saw sadness in his eyes. “I get it, I am a player here. I was a god in Prox and am a player in an odd video game system. Yet this is where things matter. All other universes connect to one place. Here. Do not cheapen what people die for, because they will kill you for doing so. Hell, my own officers would be trying to merc you on that couch on this peaceful planet for that statement.”
I was going to say some witty remark when Zoey jumped off the ground in surprise. She handed me an orb that looked like a whirlpool. The second was a familiar evident by its boxy shape. A divine familiar at that. I let out a loud whistle at seeing the red. I could only imagine what a divine familiar would upgrade into. I then looked inside and gasped. There was the image of a mighty blimp a few times larger than this one. The vessel was soaring into the sky and then returning to a launch sequence.
“A space dragon that destroyed an entire planet dropped that. The creature named Leviath the Corrosive appeared on a world that was predominantly gnomes mining leenspar. The result was catastrophic and complete,” Warg shuddered at the thought and that in itself gave me pause. Warg was a mass-murdering psychopath and the thought of the space dragon gave him a fright. “I had three portal teams from multiple parts of the universe showing up asking for help when the word reached them. I mobilized the entire company and millions arrived before it was over. We lost forty thousand troops. Forty thousand who are never going to breathe again in a universe built to be immortal. All for that divine blimp Gryff. The value of that was so great our company went from four-hundredth in rankings to forty first. Now I will have to hide the fact that you have it. Oh, it eats me alive to see you. I see that boxy familiar in your hands and barely control my rage the same as you. Then I see you for what you are, a tool. The plant promised I would get that back when you left my universe. So far I have trusted that plant and hope to see that familiar again in a trusted officer or Rina here. Would being a captain please you, Rina?”
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