Chapter 59 – Friend or Foe? II (Patreon)

When Luke didn’t immediately shake his hand, the elf looked at it, then back at him. “They don’t handshake where you’re from? I’m pretty sure that’s universal for people with arms and hands.”

Luke’s hand eased off his weapon. It could be just a trick to get him unarmed, so he swapped the dagger between hands and shook the elf’s hand heartily.

Though Luke could feel no ill-will behind the man’s calm and placid purple irises, his experience with this new world so far was that everything wanted to kill him.

“Are you a student of Master Frendlebren’s too?” Alfair asked, turning back to his stack of books while politely ignoring the dagger in Luke’s left hand.

If he thought he was safe because it was in a typically non-dominant hand, he would be in for a surprise.

However, the elf appeared to think of the dagger in Luke’s hand like spinach in somebody’s teeth. Unsightly, but it would be a breach of some esoteric etiquette to bring it up directly.

“I don’t know who that is,” Luke answered truthfully, keeping his distance. He sent his shadow senses out into the dark corners of the room in case somebody was lurking there.

He felt something and tensed, turning to track the oddly slippery sensation. One moment he had the impression of a large cat-like creature, perhaps a panther or puma of some sort? It stalked the rows of books, hidden behind the shelving on the upper tiers of the room.

Alfair caught Luke’s gaze, studied the way Luke shifted smoothly from one side of the octagonal room to the next, tracking the sensation in the shadows.

“Don’t mind her,” Alfair said, “she means you no harm as long as you don’t try to harm us.”

As if summoned by the elf’s words, a large yet slim shape slipped out of the shadows on the second floor and padded down the steps with a stack of books balanced on its head.

The first impressions Luke had of the creature were confusing, to say the least. At first, he was certain it was a supernaturally large cat. It moved with a cat-like grace, was long, sleek, and blacker than night, but as it stepped into the light of the stars, he saw it was a lizard or flightless dragon of some sort.

It was large enough that Luke could have easily sat astride it like a miniature horse. It gave him a curious look with gold-slit eyes, then continued on its way to Alfair’s side.

“Thank you, Yindferl.”

The drake made a sound somewhere between a V6 engine and a purr in response. It turned to regard Luke with a critical eye. Black lips peeled back to reveal gleaming ivory teeth as its eyes focused on the dagger in his hand.

“Sorry to say, she really does not like weapons in my presence,” Alfair said without looking up. He was looking through the new books, sorting them and flipping to various pages. Several were already open.

That was a clear enough message for Luke. If neither of them were going to outrightly attack him, there was no need for it. He put away the dagger, then showed his open hands to the awesome drake.

Yindferl immediately ignored him after that.

She found a spot beside the worktable, padded around in a circle like a cat, and then curled up into a tight ball of black smooth scales that reflected no light.

If you were walking into the room, you would think of the creature as little more than an oddly large and dark shadow. Out of place, perhaps, but certainly not a living creature.

She cracked open one golden eye and peered at Luke as if she could feel his unblinking gaze upon her.

Luke stared at the cat-like dragon. She would be a deadly predator indeed, sneaking up on monsters and pouncing before they even knew she was there.

“Beautiful, is she not?” Alfair said, flipping another book open with care and respect. “She is my companion. A Shadow Drake, very rare creatures, shy and exceptionally skittish. Not unlike a Void Panther, some say they come from similar ancestry, considering how similar they act to one another.”

“She is looking at me,” Luke heard himself say. He had so many questions. Not just about the panther-like drake, but about Alfair.

The Discordant Dragon was another race, just like Alfair, who clearly appeared to be an elf. Were they both associated with the Company?

He didn’t think anything other than humans had been uplifted, but if his whole universe had been… maybe that included other planets?

He wasn’t sure how to broach the subject.

“You are an unexpected guest,” Alfair told him. “Besides, you are likely more interesting by far than what I am doing.”

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to repair the Gordian so my master’s soul can find peace. Of course, I managed to trap myself in here.” He looked up and gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “What with the barriers breaking down with a new universe added to the fold, I figured it was now or never. Unfortunately, I managed to lose my way. Unplottable location. It’s a very difficult countermeasure. Then again, Master Frendlebren was a Master Runegraver.”

What Alfair had to say explained that he wasn’t part of the assessment test, though it didn’t confirm whether he was a part of the Company or not.

“A Master Runegraver?” Luke asked in surprise.

“You said you were not a student of his, yes?” Alfair asked with all the guile of a 12-year-old.

Luke could see where he was going.

Eyes still on the drake, Luke said, “I’m from that new universe you were talking about.” He figured there was no use in hiding it. He wanted to learn, and what better way than to admit his beginner status.

Alfair’s eyes lit up. “Truly! Oh, it has been so long since I’ve seen a newcomer. How are you liking it so far? Who is your sponsor?”

“Sponsor?”

Alfair put a hand to a charmed necklace dangling from his robes. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I did not mean to presume! Usually, unless the peoples of a specific universe are already close to utilizing mana, they often require a sponsor to smooth things out to make the transition possible. I assumed, for which I apologize, that because you were human that maybe you required one.”

“Well, before I answer, are there any sponsors that are enemies with one another?” Luke asked, already knowing the truth before the words were out. He didn’t want to suddenly turn Alfair and his drake against him because of some grudge between sponsors.

The elf laughed. It was a quiet tinkling sound that brought to mind silver bells. “Oh my, yes! Who isn’t these days, really? The web of allies and enemies is an ever-changing one, and one you would likely need a guidebook to navigate!”

“Who was your sponsor?” Luke asked carefully. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Oh, I didn’t have one! Elves are generally capable of wielding mana in most universes. Some peoples from my universe required help, others didn’t, like my people. Sorry to disappoint.”

That surprised Luke greatly. Granted, elves were generally considered mystical people, even back in Earth’s stories.

“You could say I’m a bit of a free agent,” Alfair told him. “But really, just because one person is sponsored doesn’t mean they’re loyal. There is a stark difference between owing a debt to a sponsor and being loyal. You get a few…” He trailed off, looking at Luke curiously. “I do not mean to offend if you are, but every universe has a few oddities that get irrationally attached to their sponsor.”

“Haven’t thought about my debt in a while,” Luke admitted, still watching the drake. He couldn’t help his fascination with the mysterious creature. “Everything else has seemed a lot more pressing. I’m not that crazy about mine, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Oh, good! I must admit, you seem a little skittish, but otherwise quite sane for somebody recently uplifted. Bravo! I take it you were gifted with a translation skill too? It has been a while since I spoke my native tongue and it feels good.”

“We’re speaking elvish?” Luke asked.

“Indeed! The High Tongue, as my people call it. It has a musical quality to it that I have missed ever since I went away to the Academy.”

“I… had no idea,” Luke said, trying to concentrate on the sounds. It was difficult to pick out the differences, but there was an unusual flow to the words that wasn’t typical of regular speech. “Amazing.”

Alfair’s eyes blazed with inner light. “Please tell me I’m not your First Contact? I am, aren’t I? Oh, Aeson is going to pull his pretty silver hair out at the roots when I tell him!” He paused, deflating slightly. “If I get out of here, that is.”

“First Contact?” Luke started to let his guard down. He was still ready at a moment’s notice, but it was nice to have a genuine conversation with a being of the multiverse.

A literal elf, no less.

“Somebody outside of your universe. Which world are you on right now? Perhaps you could get a message out to one of my friends at the Sorcerii?”

“I… don’t think I’m on any normal world,” Luke admitted. He told him about the assessment and a brief overview of what he knew about the world so far.

“Oh my, the Company is your sponsor? I am so very sorry. At least it’s not the Covenant or the Church. You could have done worse, but admittedly not by much.”

Luke shrugged. “Sorry I’m not much help.”

Alfair waved his concern off with a shooing gesture of one pale hand. “Quite all right.” He folded his hands in front of the wide brocaded belt cinching his waist. “Well now, you’re about as green as they come then. I suppose I should do my people proud by welcoming you to the multiverse and to the System at large. Any questions you have, feel free to ask them, but I may ask for a favor in return.”

Luke quirked an eyebrow at him. “Why?”

“Not to put too fine a point on it, but I have valuable information that would put you well ahead of your people. Some of it you may be prohibited from hearing, it depends on your Authority level.”

“My what?”

“Nothing to worry about for now. Suffice to say that your Authority level is something that you’ll likely get access to when you are fully integrated into the System. It tells the System what you are allowed to know and, therefore, manipulate. It is entirely divorced from your other levels, ranks, or grades. Think of it as System mastery in a way.”

“How do I get more Authority levels?” Luke asked, suddenly hungry for more information.

Alfair shook his golden locks. “You’re definitely human,” he said with a laugh to take any potential sting out of his words. “Unfortunately, my new friend, it does not work like that. You can’t grow it. The System has to bestow it upon you. And if I knew how to get more, I would be doing it and–I mean no offense–I would not be likely to divulge that information.”

“It’s not the same as Marks?” Luke asked, finally turning his attention to Alfair. “I don’t take any offense, though. I appreciate anything and everything you have to share with me.”

Alfair’s eyes brightened. “So you know about that? Interesting. Your Authority is likely higher than average for your people then. It is… similar. Marks are collections of deeds and recordings of great feats. If you do something noteworthy, the System updates your Marks, which are a collection of otherwise invisible modifiers.”

“There are a lot of ways to grow then,” Luke surmised. From Marks, ranks, levels, grades, skill rarities, and now Authority level.

There was probably a way to move up through the Company too. He didn’t like that they didn’t have a good reputation, but that was hardly a surprise. There were other options, it seemed.

The Company had thrown humanity into a test for survival. That wasn’t the kindest of onboarding processes, but a cruel self-serving act to find the best workers of the bunch to further their own gains.

Those who couldn’t be of use wouldn’t survive.