Origin ARS (Origin A.R.S. Book 2) Read online

  Origin ARS

  By Scottie Futch

  Copyright 2015 Scottie Futch

  ***

  I had a dream last night. I ran through a field of wild flowers and fresh green grass. Behind me there were others, people who I had never met. I could not see their faces since I ran ahead of them. Yet, I knew that they were with me.

  I don’t know why we ran, but in the distance ahead there was a storm on the far horizon. The black clouds roiled like a living thing, an encroaching darkness lit only by serpentine lightning that shot out in all directions.

  I knew that I should have run from that storm, but I did not. My place was there at the heart of that maelstrom. Something incredibly important waited for me there and I would go to it. I did not know what that something was. I only knew that I could not turn away and profess ignorance. I could not be such a person, any longer.

  Chapter 1: Please Lie Next to Me

  There were many forests in the world. Each had a distinct presence, a type of existence that defined it. Within the leaves and boughs of those forests many secrets might be hidden by twisting shadows and numerous leaves born upon the wind. In one particular forest, the Hidden Forest of the Wayward Heart, that secret came in the form of a small group of people.

  A swirl of leaves stirred by a sudden wind indicated the arrival of a newcomer. Immediately that newcomer was greeted in a familiar manner. “Hey, Sharde!”

  Sharde, a ninja master of shadow and flame turned swiftly toward the one calling out to her. “Hey Gambol!”

  The ninja girl gracefully performed a backflip that took her from the forest teleportation circle and down a large drop to the ground below. A lesser person would have died horribly, but for a true ninja master such a drop was nothing more than a casual step.

  “I did not expect to see you back so soon.” replied Gambol, ninja master of wind and rain. He was a tall man of modest build, but his eyes and casual grace bespoke his true skill and power.

  Sharde, a red haired girl of average height and above average beauty smiled at the man. “Something interesting has happened.”

  “Oh, what is that?” asked Gambol.

  “My sister has her eye on a man.” said Sharde.

  Gambol’s left eyelid began to twitch spastically. “When you say sister...?”

  “I think you know which one, Gambol. If it was one of the other’s this would hardly be worth my attention.”

  “Ah, I see! So, the goddess of love finally took an interest...” said the man. He seemed both intrigued and relieved by that revelation.

  “Now, now Gambol. Use her proper name here.” requested Sharde.

  “Ah, Rhea Ardente wasn’t it?” asked Gambol.

  Sharde nodded. “If we’re going to be here, the least we can do is actually act like it.”

  “You always get so into it, don’t you?” Gambol smirked at the ninja girl. It was good to see her so interested in something in this world, again. Recently she had begun to act as though she were bored of it all.

  Sharde laughed heartily then slapped Gambol on the shoulder. “Of course, what’s the point otherwise? This world is a wonderful place.”

  “Truly it is... Sharde, what kind of man is he? This man who has your sister’s attention?” asked Gambol.

  The ninja girl spread her hands to the side then shook her head. “Never met the guy, but I overheard mother talking to my dear sister. You’ll never guess what kind of guy it is.”

  “What kind? Do you mean which family? I would suspect that he must be of noble birth, at least.”

  Sharde put her hand to her mouth and laughed haughtily. “The noblest!”

  “Really? Which one?” asked Gambol. This was even bigger news than he had thought! Was her sister’s current love interest a true family scion just like she was?

  She gestured for him to come closer so that she could share the secret. After he did so she said, “He’s an Earth Human!”

  Gambol’s eyes widened to almost comical proportions. “No! How is that even possible...? I mean, that’s amazing news... but how?”

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” said Sharde. She looked to the side as she said it, however.

  “Going after him yourself?” asked Gambol. He noted her body language and considered the ramifications. He had never known her to act like this before. At least, not in regards to a man. She was notorious for ignoring the affections and attentions of men.

  Sharde laughed softly then looked back up at him. She grinned mischievously and said, “What’s a modern ninja girl to do? I can’t let my sister have all the fun. I want to play with him too.”

  “Well, yeah... me too.” said Gambol. He’d love to play with an Earth Human. The human race was the foundation of his entire civilization after all.

  “Denied!” replied Sharde. Gambol made a face and she laughed at him in a playful manner.

  Gambol groaned loudly. “You’re really going to deny me the chance to play with an Earth Human? Really?”

  “Let me check him out first. Maybe he isn’t even that interesting.” said Sharde.

  The ninja of the wind and rain gazed at Sharde with a disbelieving and sarcastic expression. She stuck out her tongue at him then twirled her left index finger in the air. “If he sets my heart aflame with passionate butterflies I’ll let you know.”

  “I hope so. It would be awful if the first Earth Human brought here turned out to be a dud.” said Gambol.

  Sharde grew quiet for a moment. For a time she wore a thoughtful expression. That moment passed, however, and she smiled at Gambol. “I’ve already investigated and discovered some information. Dear sister needs to delete her browser history more thoroughly and learn to name her personal files better. Would you believe that he defeated a black grass rat overlord when he was level five?”

  “No...” Gambol said in a surprised, but hopeful, tone.

  “Well, he did.” said Sharde in a reassuring manner.

  A sudden girlish squeal erupted throughout the area. Sharde eyed Gambol critically and he apologized for becoming so excited. He could not help his outburst. He was incredibly happy to hear that the Earth Human might actually live up to the hype that surrounded his race.

  “I wonder if he’s handsome. I had thought that if I ever managed to meet one, it would be one of those cute little fat ones who wore glasses and had that weird skin condition. What was it called?” She turned to look at Gambol for further information.

  “I believe it is called acne if it is on the face.” replied the powerful ninja.

  “Yes, of course! I wonder if he has that? I’ve never seen it in person...” said Sharde.

  “One can only hope!” Gambol’s eyes lit up happily. A real live Earth Human to play with! Who would have thought it possible?

  “What are you thinking, Gambol?” asked Sharde.

  “I wonder if we can be bros!” Gambol’s eyes lit up with great excitement.

  “Denied!” exclaimed Sharde.

  “You’re so mean, Sharde! I’ll tell your sister about you.” said Gambol.

  Sharde laughed at her long -time friend then patted him on the shoulder. “There, there, Gambol. Oh, did I mention that he chose the sorcerer class?”

  Another girlish squeal of joy echoed through the small forest clearing. Gambol was certainly excited to hear that. Maybe they could spar! Bros could totally spar. Who would have thought that an Earth Human would come to this world and that he would choose a magic and agility based class. Sorcerers were the closest class to the ninja class that a basic class could be at present.

  ***

  Fists flew furiously in rapid-fire succession. Quick and skillful footwork moved Scott through the pa
ttern that his body wanted to follow. Since the day that they had left the inn, he had spent at least an hour each morning training his body and basic movement skills. After he had first arrived in this world he had not spent much time in simple training. The fact that raising his level also increased all of his stats by a small degree, made him think that level was everything.

  While he would gain no physical benefit from training his body outside of maintaining a lean appearance, he had become slightly more aware of his movement capacity. He could feel the knowledge of the sorcerer flowing through his body and mind.

  Scott could already feel greater confidence when moving with strength, grace, and athleticism. His agility was higher than an average human back home by a great degree. He could perform actions that would astonish an Olympic level gymnast due to the nature of this world’s system mechanics.

  Scott leapt into the air and performed a quick spinning jump kick before moving into a series of quick punches after landing. Before he had started his daily training regimen, he had relied only on sudden instinct. However, even the minor training that he actually performed had greatly improved his basic capacity for unarmed combat. He already had the instincts, and apparently even the knowledge, of a trained fighter. This sort of training helped him to better execute that knowledge.

  “Not bad, but you’re still leaning too far to the left when you jump and land. Your balance will be off.” said Rhea. She rubbed her chin and considered his performance with a critical eye. He had improved quickly, but it would still take quite a bit of time before he could be called truly competent. Of course, she had a biased and critical eye for agile combat movements.

  “Thanks, so I should do it more like this?” He performed the same spinning kick motion as before, but over-compensated by moving farther to the right.

  She shook her head. “Better, but now you lean too far to the right.”

  Scott practiced the movement several more times before he finally found the proper rhythm. He could have trained alone and possibly reached a greater level of precision. However, utilizing Rhea to check his movements for awkwardness sped his training along at a tremendous rate. She acted as a set of beautiful jade green eyes that could perceive the flaws in his still basic, if flashy, technique.

  “Well, if you’re done for the morning we should probably head to Meaden.” said Rhea.

  The sorcerer smiled then stretched. It was good to work the kinks out of his body. “Sure, we can resupply a bit and rest up for the final push toward the mine.”

  “That’s the plan! Since you’ve covered the costs of the supplies and the tavern a few days ago, this stay will be my treat.”

  “Far be it from me to deny a lady the right to spend money on Me.” quipped Scott. His cheeky grin caused Rhea to laugh. It was a mutually enjoyable moment and Scott joined her by unleashing a laugh of his own.

  They packed up their bedrolls and put them away in their inventories before heading out. They only needed to travel another few hours to reach Meaden.

  Along the way, they were occasionally accosted by a stray rabbit or a wild dog. There was nothing particularly powerful this close to the road, so it took little time to dispatch them.

  “So, that’s Meaden?” asked Scott.

  The town in the distance seemed to be much smaller than Victory Station. He knew that it would be that way, but it was still a bit shocking. There were probably fewer than one thousand people living there.

  “Yes, it’s just a small town with nothing to set it apart from other similar little towns. The largest in this region is Victory Station. If you want a bigger town, or an actual city, you would need to head north toward Arnette or East toward Eizen.”

  “Eizen, that’s the coastal kingdom right? The one with the main portion of the country on a single mountainous island, but it has several small allied towns on the coast of the continent?

  Rhea nodded at her comrade. “Yes, they have a strong naval presence but their ground soldiers aren’t as strong as Arnette’s soldiers. That situation is the reason why free towns like Victory Station can exist.”

  “Right, they act as some sort of buffer between those states.” said Scott. He had read that much in the library.

  “True, they are not currently at war. These buffer zone towns tend to keep things that way to some extent.”

  While the conversed the town came rapidly into view. Soon they were at the entry gates. Though, the gates were little more than a set of massive logs that could be raised or lowered quickly from inside the wooden palisade. Meaden did not even register the need for a true stone wall, apparently.

  There was a short line of people waiting to enter the town. Scott was curious about the wait and looked askance at Rhea.

  “Hmm?” she asked.

  “Everyone has inventory screens right? Why do they need so many wagons?” asked the sorcerer.

  “Ah, it is because of how items become tagged as property when they enter someone’s inventory. If you hire someone to simply walk around with a massive amount of your merchandise, they can legitimately walk off with it and never come back. You can write contracts, but you can only really enforce them in certain locations.”

  “How do people move things then, is it always in carts like this?”

  “Yes, when it is large shipments. However, they do hire couriers too. They just need to be sure that the contracts are registered in locations with a large reach and authority.”

  “Such as?”

  Rhea smiled at Scott. “Cities and towns with a merchant guild branch office. If the guild exists in a town in any meaningful manner, they control commerce in that area and can enforce contracts.”

  “Does Meaden have such an office?” asked Scott.

  “Yes, of course they do. Only small villages and unincorporated frontier towns will lack a merchant guild office, normally. Though, towns can refuse the guild and start their own local commercial laws. Most of the towns in this part of the world work with the guild since they also offer extra commercial protection.”

  Learning that bit of information brought Scott back to his original thought. Why not just hire people to carry your goods? Carts and wagons were just targets for thieves. If Meaden did not have a Merchant Guild office, he could understand it. However, since they could enforce contracts here, it made no sense to the man. He mentioned that to Rhea and she chuckled at him.

  “Well, you might want to take a look at what they are hauling.” The elf maiden gestured to the closest wagon.

  Scott looked it over then checked another. “Produce and Hay? Farm supplies and things like that... Oh, I see now.”

  “Yep, a lot of these people are probably local farmers. Why hire someone who might run off with your merchandise, when you live close enough to town just to haul it here yourself.”

  “That makes sense.” said Scott. He could carry over a few thousand items in his inventory, but they had to be extremely similar if not identical. A farmer might have to walk back and forth several times with items in their inventory if they were not nearly identical.

  The wagons made sense, now. If he ran a business where he had high value items, like armor or accessories, to sell he would use his inventory. The value in produce was found in how much of it that you had to sell. Individually, a potato is not worth the cost in time or labor to walk a few dozen of them to town in your inventory.

  While they waited, another wagon moved into line behind them. Scott turned to see that it was driven by a middle-age man. Next to the driver sat an attractive woman with a baby on her lap.

  “Mornin’.” said Scott.

  The farmer looked down at him then nodded his head. “Mornin’. Been waitin’ long?”

  Scott shook his head. “Nah, we just got here not too long ago.”

  The older man nodded again then settled back to wait. Time passed, and a wagon moved forward into town. Once that wagon managed to make it inside; the other wagons moved through at a steady pace. Three more wagons appeared behi
nd them while they waited, but no one acted like the wait was unusual.

  Scott heard discussion behind them. After the discussion grew heated he turned to see that the farmer was trying to silence his wife in a gentle, but firm manner.

  The man gave up when he saw Scott looking at them, and he apologized. “I’m sorry. My wife was just excited. She wants me to ask you if your companion is an elf.”

  Rhea winced then sighed. She had not kept up her former disguise after partying together with Scott. It was obvious that she was not human, but that did not matter to her. There was only one opinion besides her own that she cared for at the moment. That opinion belonged to Scott.

  Scott turned to look at Rhea and she nodded at him in a casual manner. He looked back at the farmer and smiled. “Yes, sir. She is an elf. Though, she does not like to make a big deal out of such things.”

  “Oh, I’m sure my wife meant no harm by it.” said the farmer.

  “I didn’t! She’s just so pretty... Like some sort of fairytale princess.” said the woman excitedly.

  Rhea’s face darkened slightly then took on a reddish tone. She spoke softly, “Thank you.”

  They moved forward in line. Only one wagon was ahead of them now.

  The farmer and his wife argued back and forth for a moment. Eventually, the farmer sighed in exacerbation and asked. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you two. My wife wanted to know if you’d like to come to our house for dinner tonight?”

  Scott blinked then quirked his eyebrow. They did not even know them, but wanted them to come over for dinner?

  Rhea tilted her head to the side and smiled. “That would be fine with me...”

  The sorcerer glanced at her then rolled his eyes. Of course it would! She was supposed to pay for meals and lodging while they were in town. He composed himself then turned to the farmer. “My companion and I would be delighted to join you and your lady wife for dinner.”

  “Lady wife? My wife?” The farmer‘s face took on a strange and confused expression.

  His wife slapped him on the shoulder in response. “If I wasn’t such a refined lady, I’d whip you good Jacob Rasnell!”