Vanya's flowing script continues on the following pages, but your mind is preoccupied with something else: what language did the soldiers of Ballpoint speak? Vanya, by her own admission, was bilingual - she knew dwarven and elvish. In the previous journal she'd proved it, writing in two different languages. You put the book down for a moment, musing. Vanya had been able to converse with the Ballpoint soldiers she'd mentioned in the previous entry, so despite largely being human, they either spoke dwarven or elvish. After further thought, you decide that it must have been dwarven: after all, why would Mr Frog bother sending Urist and Hans there if they couldn't speak the language? Satisfied with your conclusion, you pick the journal back up and begin to read.Usually, everything feels better when you're not doing it alone. It's always nice to have a friend by your side, or be able to show someone what you've accomplished. Or even just to have someone with you as you die. Loneliness is a depressing feeling to have, but if you feel supported by your friends, you feel as though you can accomplish everything. This goes for all sentient races, and not just dwarves: elves, humans, and mountain barbarians feel that way too. Even goblins would rather not be alone, as they enjoy bragging and showing off their war trophies. In a way, we're all the same: we're social creatures. We need each other to be happy.
...Except for the Spawn of Holistic. Unlike the rest of us, they don't really care if anyone of their race knows of their triumphs... All they want to do is kill. It doesn't matter if their killing makes a difference; it doesn't matter if the people they're killing were going to die anyway. Maybe it's not really a want, and it's a
need - maybe they
need to kill: they don't seem to have a choice, anyway. The moment they turn from sentience to the wretched monsters that they are, they become pure evil - with no exceptions. There's just no such thing as a "good" Spawn.
But then there's another race that's born evil: the goblins. From the moment they set foot in this world, opening their little eyes for the first time, they're evil. Somehow, it doesn't seem fair... They don't really have a choice in it. Like the Spawn, it's almost like they're
forced to be evil. For the rest of us, we start out neutral and choose our path, but goblins...
And what if a goblin saw how much harm he was causing and didn't like it? What if he wanted to stop hurting and start helping others instead? He'd be put to death for heresy by his own society, all because he wanted to make his own decisions. It's unfair, in the end... and in a way, I can't help but feel sorry for them.
All the same... at least they enjoy the company of those they're with.
~~~
It was early morning, and I was getting dressed in my hated Ballpoint spysuit. I was sleepy, and my eyes were still a little blurry. I'm not much of a morning person, and I'd much rather sleep in, but Mr Frog had woken me up, saying I needed to be ready "early" today. In my opinion, six o' clock is
already too early. Five is ridiculous.
I'd spent the evening before teaching Urist and Hans about technology and Ballpoint, and they'd listened to every word I said. It was funny, watching the looks of disbelief and uncertainty on their faces. Urist in particular looks cute when he's confused; sometimes I just wanted to laugh tackle him with a hug.
But they were coming! Urist, Hans and I were going on a mission together, and I was
so excited. I almost dropped my hairbrush a couple times as I stood at the mirror, brushing it carefully. I'd seen how Urist was looking at me the night before - he liked me. I was almost
sure of it. Now I was fantasizing about how I could let him know that I felt the same way.
I was actually looking at my hair without feeling regret at what Mr Frog had done to it.
I'd been ecstatic lately.
A buzzer sounded, echoing through my little bedroom. The walls are soundproof - the only way that Mr Frog could let me know he wanted me was either to open the door (and risk my being less than decent), or sound the buzzer. Usually he didn't care either way, but somehow I felt that my friends had arrived. With a few extra brushes to my hair, trying to arrange it as best I could for Urist's sake, I left the mirror and walked towards the door.
I paused at my beanie as I passed it, wondering whether I should put it on... I couldn't wear it at Ballpoint, but I didn't want to remind Urist that I was an elf, either... I was ashamed of my ears, anyway.
The buzzer sounded again, interrupting my thoughts. "Fine!" I yelled pointlessly, pushing the button beside the door. The wall slid away, revealing the faces of three dwarves: Mr Frog, Hans... and Urist.
Urist and Hans had a couple of Mr Frog's special weapons slung over their backs: Urist had a sawpike, and Hans had a "buzzhammer", which is like a warhammer, except it has a buzzsaw blade at one of the flat ends. The extent of their disguise was how they were both wearing dark gray clothes: Ballpoint's color.
They didn't have to wear a tight, skinny outfit.
But that last detail was lost on me as I smiled at them happily, lost in my fantasies, unsure of what to do.
Mr Frog quickly answered that question for me. "Get over here, stupid girl," he ordered brusquely, walking over to the hallway door. "I've got an errand to run; I'll be back in a moment. Take the opportunity to say hello, or whatever it is you socialites do." With that, he was gone.
I walked towards the middle of the room, stopping short before the little table-lined walkway where Urist. "Hi!" I said with a smile, my eyes lingering on Urist. His eyes met mine, and I looked away, embarrassed.
"You didn't cover your ears this time..." he said thoughtfully.
I blushed and wished I could turn invisible. "I'm sorry," I began apologetically, "I'd cover them if I could, but -"
Urist interrupted, trying to ease my thoughts. "It's all right, Vanya. I don't mind." He hesitated for a moment, and ventured, "You look nice."
Basking in the compliment, I looked at him, meeting his gaze. "Really?" I tried to smile as prettily as I could, hoping for more.
Urist opened his mouth as if to speak, but before he could manage, Mr Frog burst back into the room. "That's taken care of!" he said, seemingly annoyed as he closed the door and stalked towards the portal machine. "Do you remember your mission objectives?"
I followed him with my eyes and nodded, as he began to set the console for our journey. Mr Frog had rehearsed our objectives with me the night before. First, we were supposed to find an access card of a high enough level to allow us into the warehouses. After that, we were supposed to get Mr Frog's PEA and return. It all seemed very simple at the time...
The portal hummed, and with a whish, the air within it coalesced again into a shimmering, rippling surface. The looks of surprise and wonderment on Hans' face almost made me laugh, but I kept quiet so as not to embarrass him. I think Urist saw me smiling, though.
Mr Frog, however, didn't feel anything close to mirth as he saw Hans begin backing away. "No, you don't!" he said with a scowl, rushing over behind the giant of a dwarf and pushing him forwards with ease. "You have to get in there. Vanya, you go first! Lead them through so this buffoon doesn't get terrified and run out on us!"
For a moment, I paused, struck by how similar in height Mr Frog was to Hans.
"Move!" Mr Frog ordered. I felt my feet rushing me forwards towards the portal in response.
Moments later, I felt my consciousness twisting as I traveled through nothingness.
I "came to" in a dimly-lit, metal-clad room, illuminated only by one of Ballpoint's trademark trapezoidal corridors, visible through an open doorway. Except for the portal behind me, everything seemed quiet, and I stepped back and turned around to look at it in curiosity. I'd never seen someone exit a portal before, and I wondered how it would look.
Urist appeared, first his leg and then the rest of him, as he stepped through at a brisk pace, gritting his teeth as if he felt he'd be ripped apart, or worse. My expression changed from curiosity to surprise as he ran into me, tripping and knocking us both to the icy metal of the floor.
For a second I lay there, wondering what had happened, and why I felt a heavy weight pressing down on me. Against the cold floor, wearing Ballpoint's thin spy suit, I felt naked again. As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I began to make out the strong outline of Urist's lantern jaw, his face hovering inches above mine. Then it began to dawn on me - Urist was lying on top of me.
"Ah! Get off!" I yelled in a panic, trying to get out from under him. My face burned in embarrassment. I liked him, yes, but we were sort of in an intimate position...
too intimate for my tastes, really.
He struggled to his feet in a hurry, trying not to step on me or trip over me again. I scooted backwards across the floor and got up.
For a minute or so, we stood there awkwardly, trying to say something or explain, but not finding the right words. It was very... uncomfortable.
"I didn't mean to fall on you," he finally said. He looked abashed by what he'd done, and I couldn't help but want to assure him that it wasn't really that big of a deal.
"It's all right," I answered, almost whispering, getting to my feet. "It wasn't intentional. You didn't see me there, and I was in the way. It's my fault, really."
"No, the fault is mine," he replied. "I should have been watching."
I took a few steps closer, looking up into his eyes. "It's okay, really."
For a moment, we stood there, looking at each other. Right then, I felt
sure he cared about me; for a moment, I felt sure we were just about to kiss. My heart fluttered as if it'd grown wings, like I'd flown away to a dream world, and I tilted my lips up closer to him, almost begging for him to make a move.
Without warning, there was a noise from behind him - heavy stomping boots and a loud "- but Mr Frog, I don't
wanna go in -" that cut off abruptly as Hans plowed into both of us, knocking us down with me, once again, underneath.
After we'd untangled ourselves and had apologized a second time (I couldn't help but glare at Hans for ruining our romantic moment), we assessed our situation. Mr Frog had already closed the portal from his side, and there was no going back through.
"So... You've any idea where we are, missus?" Hans asked me, looking around the room.
I shook my head, though I knew the gesture was barely visible. "There should be maps on the floors of the intersections - I saw them last time I was here. Once we get there, we can figure out where we are."
Urist spoke. "Did Mr Frog inform you of where to find the access key?"
"No..." I replied slowly, remembering. "He just said that only people who have them are higher-ranking officers."
"Well," rumbled Hans, "let's go find one, then."
We left the little room, and I led my friends through the hallways at a good pace.
Once, I glanced backwards to see where they were, and to my relief they'd kept up. "We are still here," Urist said. "No need to check."
I nodded absentmindedly. "There's an intersection in front of us, see?" I pointed ahead at where another hallway crossed ours. "On the floor in the middle there's a map; it should be marked with different places, and we'll be able to figure out where we are."
"Oh, one of them 'you are here' maps, ya mean!" Hans said knowingly with a smile. "Spearbreakers don't have any of them."
I started to laugh, but abruptly stopped: a dwarf-sized figure, clad in the heaviest armor I'd seen at Ballpoint, turned off the side hallway up ahead and started towards us.
Consciously trying to look natural, I slowed my step a bit. "Just keep walking, don't look at him," I whispered to my companions, trying my best to act brave. I actually think I did a good job. "And don't attack; that gun he's carrying is huge. If it's a guard, he should just walk on by..."
Unfortunately, that wasn't what happened at all. "Halt, state your business," ordered a woman's voice, as the helmet's visor lifted to reveal the face of a battle-scarred female. "I'll need to see your ID." She stopped a few meters in front of us, waiting expectantly.
I got it out quickly, trying not to offer any resistance. I especially didn't want Hans or Urist to go battle-crazy. I wasn't sure if they would: we hadn't really gotten to that... "Vanya Carena," I said, holding out my little card. "I'm a -"
"Level 3 spy," she interrupted with a glare. "Yes, don't look surprised, I know the uniforms' color code. You're supposed to be down at the southeast quadrant. Why are you over here?"
I opened my mouth to speak, but Urist spoke as he stepped past me, arms folded. "Who wants to know?"
The dwarven woman pulled herself up to her full height - several inches taller than me. "I'm Commander Acetalyta, it's my business to know," she said as she stared down at us.
Urist looked over his shoulder at me with a smile. "Convenient," he murmured, and then turned again to face the commander.
"Where's your identification?" she asked. "Don't you have it with you?"
I didn't like Urist taking control -
I was supposed to be in charge. "They're with me," I spoke up. At the same time, I was beginning to worry that our mission had already failed: The commander looked at us suspiciously as a result of my comment.
Urist spoke again, calm and collected as ever as he stepped slowly closer to her. "We're on an assignment," he said. His voice was like chocolate. "But... if you would like..." he continued, almost seductively, "I could come back after it's done."
I opened my mouth to protest, but couldn't produce a sound. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was
flirting with her!
"Well..." she said slowly, her expression softening as a smile stole over it, "I think that might be against protocol..." She looked back at Hans for a moment. "I think I might have to take you two down to security."
"Mmmm, sounds like she caught us," rumbled a voice I would've ordinarily found sexy, and I turned towards Hans in disbelieving surprise as he stepped past me to stand with Urist. "Guess you'll have t' take us in." They seemed to be in on whatever was happening, and "security" was obviously a poorly disguised metaphor.
"Let's go, boys." Commander Acetalyta began walking down the hallway at a slower pace, swinging her hips with Hans and Urist close beside her. "You two are in biiiiggggg trouble," she crooned, and I almost vomited.
"You can't go yet!" I protested, trying to keep my voice level. I wanted to yell at them for so many things, not the least of which was the fact that they were abandoning me.
And then, Urist turned around and tossed a little card at me. "Don't wait up for us, Vanya," he said,
winking as they turned the corner. He actually seemed to enjoy it.
I was left alone in the hallway, standing silent, dimly aware of the passage of time. Finally, I shook my head in disbelief and bent down to the floor to pick up the little card Urist had tossed. I felt my heart soften slightly as I read the label: "Level 8 Security Key, Property of Commander Acetalyta." I had a way into the warehouse district... but at what cost?
Dejectedly, I walked forwards to the intersection, reading the map on the floor. A bright blue "you are here" marked where I stood, and it wasn't difficult to tell the way to the warehouses. With an effort I started in that direction, but as I walked my mind began to wander, and I remembered what Urist had said only minutes before. He hadn't specifically flirted with her, but his seductive voice still lingered in my ears:
"If you would like... I could come back after it's done." Even then, I could imagine him in a dark room with Acetalyta, his lips on her, her hands moving over his chest. It was horrid, and my vision blurred as a tear formed and fell down my cheek.
That surprised me. I'd known Urist for over a year, and he'd often been on my thoughts... But did I
love him? Would I be happy for him if he'd found someone he liked? Part of me desperately wanted him for my own, and for that filthy skank to keep her grubby little hands off him... but at the same time, I wanted him to be happy.
I shook my head angrily to clear my mind, roughly brushing away my tears. It's impossible to love someone right after you meet them! It wasn't love he felt for her; it was lust!!!
Walking onwards through the corridors, I quickened my step as if I could escape my thoughts; I couldn't let it get to me. Urist and I were friends, and nothing else. I couldn't possibly love him, could I? We'd only spent 12 hours together, at the best.
I also had to admit to myself that I'd never really been "in love" before. My whole life, I'd always avoided people... all out of fear of finding out who I was. Urist had been the first one who'd been different. He hadn't cared what I was.
But now he was off somewhere with that woman, that
Ballpoint Commander. In my mind, I could see him making out with her, her giggling at his low voice, clothes lying on the floor... I could almost hear her detestable voice moaning in wicked pleasure. It was the worst type of torture imaginable: the torture of the heart. It was slowly, cruelly murdering me inside, and I desperately wanted it out of my head.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before something happened to draw my attention. Turning the corridor's corner in front of me were forty or more armed guards, marching in long lines, four abreast. Not knowing what else to do, I got to the side of the hallway and waited for them to pass, hoping I wouldn't be questioned.
They marched past me without giving me so much as a glance, acting very professional and orderly, much unlike the off duty mercenaries I'd met in the barracks. In a way, I admired their level of control - dwarves could never hold such perfect formations for more than a few seconds... even when standing still. But at the same time... every soldier there reminded me of
my soldier, Urist. It was tugging at my heart; every one of them a cruel slap to my cheek, my thoughts an icy prison from which I couldn't escape.
Finally, they passed by me without incident, and I continued towards the warehouses. I was almost there, and I had the key in hand... but I'd paid dearly for it.
☆
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Topic: [34.11] Spearbreakers - It shudders and begins to move (Read 2279495 times)