CyberCinder
patreon
Chapter 348: New to the Neighborhood
🕑 Added 2025-10-07 09:44:41 +0000 UTCI gently reach up to push Jumble’s hand down with a stern smile. She hums deep in her throat and drops the idea of killing all the people on the beach–which I really hope was, at least a little, some kind of weird attempt at a joke.
“I’m not allowed to, so you certainly aren’t allowed to,” Fleur seriously answers Jumble’s question. “Though when they get rude to me, it is quite hard to keep some level of anger in check. But a simple smack or slap from any of us is immediately deadly to those we protect.”
People are being asses to Fleur? That’s not just… well… asshole behavior, it’s also the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. She’s way more powerful than anyone we left behind at the resort. They should know that. Hell, it’d mean swimming out to the platform for the sole purpose of being a dick to Fleur. That’s some commitment to the bit.
I look out over the waters once more as the horn blares out yet another warning. Shields are already being raised against the shoreline, shimmering magical things that would stop a nuke if they had to. Probably March’s designs bankrolled by Noland and put in place by Ursula. Wonder if that’s automated or if someone’s in charge of raising them. Because someone must’ve contacted the resort by now to tell them… that…
Shit, that’s either Gil’s or my job. From the looks of things, Gil decided that that’s my responsibility. I tap Jumble on the shoulder and walk down the stairwell between the two of them while I quickly type out an explanation to send to whoever’s in charge right now. My brain instantly goes to the clothier who made our party clothes… but I can’t remember her name. Sami. That must be her, since she’s in my contacts as ‘resort designer’.
I send the message off with a tap. Everyone left follows me down from the tombs to the top of the city, leaving the tombs themselves open to whoever might want to mosey on into them. For all of five seconds before the Quest flickers with grey light and the opening closes itself off. I nod at them in thanks, a motion that they return with a smile, then feel at my coin that’s left back on the other world. The sensation of being extremely far away remains, but the sensation itself routes through the tombs on the way there. Hopefully that means I don’t actually have to be in the room itself if I want to relocate things across worlds.
“What’s the plan now?” the Quest asks. “Once we’re standing on the sands, are we supposed to relax for a while? Or do we prepare for the impending cataclysm?”
“You mean the one we have no idea on how it’ll manifest, when it’ll manifest, or where it’ll manifest? That one?” I ask sarcastically.
The Quest rolls its eyes and sighs. “Yes, that’s the one. And I know you’re more worried about it than I am.”
I snort and turn away. “You and Pearl and Illumisia; three beings that can somehow sense what I’m thinking. My brain’s not as private as I’d like it to be.”
“No, it isn’t. So–cataclysm prep? Or are you buried neck-deep in Earth things that I have no idea about?”
“That none of us have any idea about,” Jumble chimes in. “Except for the stuff you already told me. Like, should we try to stop the Preservation before they can make the deal with stonestep solutions, since the stakeholders or whatever the horizonguard called them still control the company?”
That’s… actually a damn good idea. Now that we’re out of the city’s communications damping effects, I should send off a message to the others and tell them what’s going on–maybe have them off a few of the shareholders while we’re dealing with things on Earth. I don’t have any idea what a horizonguard dying means for Palastia, either; do they instantly elect a new one? Are horizonguards even elected? Will they come after us for killing the asshole in the first place?
Jumble gently nudges my side. I cough and nod in thanks for her bringing me out of my own thoughts–again.
“I have someone on the inside of the preservation. Haven’t talked to him in months, or… weeks, thanks to the time differential, but he might be able to get us some information. Until I have something more concrete, though, we should focus on making this place as safe as possible for all of us. Now’s the perfect time for HuSt or the Preservation to attack if they’ve been watching the resort.”
I can hear Illumisia snort in amusement from wherever she actually is.
“The perfect time in their eyes,” I clarify. “I just got back, there’s a massive magical landmass that just randomly appeared, and it made everyone sound the alarms at the resort. If I was a spy or a scout I’d already be in the middle of calling in the cavalry.”
The Quest steps out in front of me and gestures at the shore. “You’re in charge of protecting these people?”
I nod. “All of us Worth Classes are.”
“Then you should go to them. Talk to whoever’s in charge of day-to-day workings and make sure they’re on the same page as we are,” the Quest taps itself on the chest and grins. “I’ll go with you to clear everything up. And, while we’re there, we might as well introduce the two newest Worth Classes to join your organization.”
“That’s an almost fifty percent increase in Worth Classes,” Jumble adds happily.
The Quest nods. “Two-fifths, if we’re being exact.”
Putting it that way, this really is a monumental increase. Seven Worth classes united under one banner. Almost feels like a miracle considering how rare we apparently are. I pull out a few coins and attach them to everyone who needs to go ashore–me, Jumble, the Quest, and… I think that’s it for now. Everyone else can join us when we’re sure it’s safe to do so.
I nod over at the shore to tell Fleur to make her way over, then snap my fingers and send the coins flying with the power of a single shield and projectile. Fleur disappears into a whirl of salty magic that speeds along the water’s surface, making her way to the shore even faster than my coins can go. With a little wave I say goodbye to the people who can still see me and flare the magic in the coins, relocating everyone to the shore in the blink of an eye.
The Quest shudders as its feet touch sand. “This ground is unstable. We should move.”
“It’s sand. Even if you haven’t set foot on it before, you should have knowledge of the material itself; that’s how I was when I was first brought here not so long ago,” Fleur says while reforming from the salt at the edge of the water. “Unless you’re referring to something else?”
“I… might be,” the Quest pauses to squish its gooey feet into the sand below. “It feels like there’s something below us that isn’t stable. Like a giant hole, or a massive… mass… of something… with a lot of mass.”
Pearl laughs and shakes her head from where she’s hidden away. “It took the Quest’s vocabulary away. That’s how we know it’s serious.”
She’s joking, I know, but there’s a hint of worry in her voice. Even if it is just the Quest acting strange from feeling sand for the first time, I’m not going to let that put anyone in danger. I take out my Class Card as a small crowd forms around us, whispering and shouting in equal amounts about the two paindne with me and the massive city on the waters. Some people recognize the shark-wolf-people and are curious how I managed to bring some back. Others are terrified about the not-human humanoids. There’s a clear divide here between people who have Classes and those who don’t.
Once I snap off the message–once more to Sami, since I don’t know who else it should go to–I turn to the crowd and raise my hands for silence. To my surprise, absolutely nobody shuts up. Which is… strange, now. I guess I got used to people in the city caring about what I have to say and giving me the figurative microphone when I need it. But hey, that’s what I have a voice–
“QUIET!” the Quest projects everywhere at once in a voice that demands obedience. That convinces–or terrifies–everyone into silence. It just smiles and motions for me to go ahead. “My master wishes to speak.”
Yeah, thanks for making everyone terrified of me. I take a breath through my nose to stop myself from getting annoyed at it calling me ‘master’, which it definitely did on purpose from the shit-eating grin that stares at me, and look out over the crowd once more. There’s fear and curiosity and simple worry in equal parts, accented by more than a little anticipation and excitement at whatever’s about to happen from who I assume are the more powerful people here.
“Quick show of hands–how many of you know who I am?”
Every single hand in the crowd goes up. That’s… a little flattering and unsettling at the same time. I thought I’d at least be unknown to a few people since I haven’t been around as long as everyone else. Apparently someone was damn good at getting the word out.
My awareness feels more people streaming out of the houses and shops and everywhere else while a few cameras click on to broadcast me to the entire resort. A few months ago this would’ve sent a knot into my stomach at the simple idea of being watched by so many people. Now it barely even registers.
“Well that’s daa…” my eyes flick over to an eight-ish year old in the crowd holding his father’s hand. “That’s dang good, since it makes things much easier for me. I just finished up with a quest on the other world, and the reward was this massive city wherever I wanted it. I wanted it to appear on Earth, and much to my surprise, it actually let me do it. We have no idea how safe it is right now, so everyone please stay away from it until my team can confirm that it’s safe for all of you to go and get a look. If you have any questions about that, direct them to whoever you usually ask questions to; they’ll make sure I hear everything you’re asking about.”
A hand shoots straight up as a murmur spreads through the crowd. I point at the woman it's attached to who looks like she hurried out of the water and up the beach a half second ago and nod for her to go ahead.
“Are they paindne?” she asks eagerly.
In a split second, I decide it isn’t worth explaining anything more about the Quest than I have to. “That they are; this is… the Storyteller and…”
I pause for a moment. Calling the quest ‘Servant’ just feels wrong, even if it’s what its class is called. There’s definitely a better synonym for this. Shit, the pause is lingering for too long. I can see questions forming on people’s lips.
“This is the Quest,” I say before any of those questions can wholly form. “They’re both Worth Classes who helped me with the quest. Before you ask; yes, they are designations like my own. No, I can’t tell you their real names, for the same reasons I can’t tell you mine. I thank you all for understanding, and if you have any quick questions, I’ll take a few before I go and collapse into a real bed for the first time in months.”
More hands go up, but an equal amount of questions are shouted out from the crowd in overlapping voices of all ages. My awareness ensures I hear every single one, and each of them has a varying amount of depth I’m willing to go into. Some of them are for Jumble and the Quest. A few of them are for Fleur.
Answering every one of them is going to take hours. But I guess if I’m technically one of the leaders here, I owe it to these people to make sure they feel comfortable and represented. So I point to a random man in tacky floral swim trunks with a horrible farmer’s tan to get the ball rolling.
“Miss the Gambler, with that there stony eyesore in our pristine waters, what’s going to happen to swim hours for the rest of the summer…
