“So, that’s the long and short of it,” Fara said, after she explained their adventures, poking at the internals of the home made tank,”Did you really build this because you wanted to find me?”
Fanrik sighed, nodding, “I know I haven’t been the… best of fathers-”
Fara gave him a glare, “Don’t. You’ve been the best father I could have asked for. Don’t you dare say that you haven’t been.” She stepped away from the tank, walking up to Fanrik and wrapping him up in a big hug, “You’re my dad. You. No one else. I think you’re a great dad. You built a tank to come find me. I don’t know how many parents would do that for their kids.”
Fanrik returned the hug, giving her a confused look, “Tank? What’s that?”
“Oh, that’s what Mori and VII called it. It’s really interesting, apparently,” Fara said, turning to Mori and VII sitting on the couch beside a very nervous man, “What did you say about it?”
Mori turned to VII, then to the man, then to Juka, “I don’t think we can talk about it with this many. Unless you want to do your thing, VII, or we’re bringing them along.”
VII turned to the man, Kile, and nodded, “I can do it to him-”
“Wait, what are you two planning!?” Kile cried, leaning away from VII. VII herself was not entertained, and began her ritual as soon as he began to move away from her. One speech later, and Kile was shaking, “You’re… WHAT!?”
“Yes, I’m the daughter of the ‘Demon of the Clock’ you people keep going on about. What of it?” VII asked as Kile shied away even more than he already had been. Mori found their exchange a bit cute, though she thought it would have fit more if he did not actually find her the most terrifying thing in the room.
Fanrik stared at VII, then at Mori, “Do you have any groundbreaking revelations to give as well?” he asked with grim humor in his voice. Mori gave a smile, one that she knew Fanrik could tell meant that she, indeed, had something to say.
“Well, other than the fact that I’m an archlich now because of some divine intervention, some other thing I can’t tell you because of that divine intervention, the fact that the Clockworks are, apart from the one doing all of this,” she said, gesturing around her, “actually our allies, and the fact that I’m being evicted from Granulous, nothing much.” She smiled as he simply stared at her with a baffled expression.
Fanrik turned back to his daughter, giving her a hug, “Creators, you’ve found some odd friends…” he said, “Alright, what’s this about you being evicted from Granulous? That sounds… bad.”
Mori shook her head, “No, it’s not. We’re just… incompatible with the world they want after the war here is over is all.” Fanrik gave her an uncomprehending look, “If you want to know more, then just join us. I have a hundred tickets to come with us and a fair few of them are tentatively claimed by the people I came here with. Actually, now I have a bunch of other people who might also come along… Eh, that’s for later. But, anyway, I know Fara would want you and Molly to come along, so you two get tickets.”
Fanrik turned to Fara, who simply nodded, then he made an uneasy glance towards Juka, who had a wide-eyed expression on her face. Mori shrugged, “What do you want from me? I’ll give her a ticket if she wants to come along, but it’s not my decision to make; that’s between you two and Molly, so I won’t throw my hat into that arena. I will keep one open for you, Juka, if you want it.”
Juka nodded absentmindedly, “I appreciate it…”
“No problem,” Mori replied, “So, apart from stories, what do you guys want to do now?” She turned to the tank sitting in the middle of the room, “Actually… Fanrik, you aren’t going to use that anymore, are you?”
He shrugged, “I was going to use it to go back home and talk to Molly, but other than that, no. Why?” Mori smiled, and Fanrik looked between her and the tank, “You… want to use it in your private army, don’t you? If you think it’ll help, I don’t mind parting with it. I just need something to bring me and Juka back home.”
Fara gave Fanrik an odd look, “Dad, are you sure ma would be alright with that? I mean, I know it’s an important decision, but still…”
“I’m sure, Fara. So, do you have a spare skiff or something I can use? I deconstructed mine to build this…” he said, gesturing towards the tank.
“I can give you mine,” Fara replied, “Mori, how are we going to get this over to Athy?” she asked, “Can we use the tunnels made by the Necromancers’ Guild below the fortress to do that?”
Mori nodded, “We can. I did want to settle my other affairs before we do that.” When her two companions waited for her to continue, she stood, “I wanted to talk with the other Earthborns and see if they wanted to join us when we leave; they didn’t come from this world, so I thought it would only be right to offer it to them.”
Fara nodded, “That’s fine, but I’m bringing my dad and Jukato to get my personal skiff. VII? What are you going to do?”
“Hmm…” VII hummed, “I think I’ll join Mori. No offense, Fanrik, but I thought that I may as well meet the others who might be joining us.” Fanrik shrugged, smiling as Fara dragged him and Juka out of the building. As Fara’s group left, VII turned to Kile, “Alright, I’m going to leave you alone. The guy who tried to kill you also tried to attack us, with predictable results. Now, if you steal anything or cause a scene, I’ll beat you myself. Got it?”
Kile nodded quickly, taking back the couch as VII stood with Mori, “I’ll keep it in mind.” Almost immediately, he fell asleep, snoring quietly.
Mori chuckled, “Looks like he was tired. So, how are we going to find them from here…” Mori pondered aloud, “VII, you tracked Fanrik down, so you know how to find people, right?” She nodded, “In that case, I know who we need to find first.”
*=====*
“VII, you need better sources,” Mori complained as they walked the streets of the fortress, “It took us an hour before we found him…”
VII turned, a deadpan expression on her face, “Mori, I’ve been here for a night. Give me a week and I can come up with a better network. For now, though, we know where your people are and we are almost there.”
“Fine,” Mori conceded, “We won’t have enough time between projects you’re helping Fara and I with and the battles for you to run around and make an information network, so I won’t hound you for it.” She paused, “I’ll still make fun of you for it though,” she chuckled.
VII sighed, “Of course you would,” she muttered, “Whatever…” They continued on, a jovial atmosphere around them, until they reached a specific group of huts. They were arranged in a ring around a small courtyard with a table in the center. In that courtyard was a group of men and women Mori remembered.
Some were different from what Mori remembered, with one of them suddenly having a scorpion’s tail, but they were all recognizable. With a glance towards VII, she stepped forward from between two of the huts and into the courtyard, VII following. It took a moment for any of them to notice her, but as soon as they did, a silence passed over their calm, relaxed group. Tension built in the air as Mori stared at them all, ending when Mori sighed, “Yeah, it’s me, Mori. I have an offer for all of you. Do you mind if I have a seat?”
There was a pause before Natalia, the woman with the scorpion’s tail smiled and walked up to her, “Sure, not a problem.” There was a moment of shuffling as a few people took seats at the table, including Philip, Bella, and Kevin.
Mori sat beside VII, across from Natalia and Kevin. Mori looked between them, then nodded, “Alright, basically, I have about a hundred tickets to get out of this world. Well, ninety seven if some other people agree. So, do you want to join us?”
There was a palpable silence that passed through them all, with only the distant shouts of some soldier or other piercing the silence. After a long moment, Natalia huffed, “A ticket out of Granulous. Not a ticket back to Earth, right?” There was another silence as Mori debated how to soften that particular blow.
In the end, she simply decided to be blunt about it, “No, just to the… place between worlds. You would need to ask a god for a way to find our Earth. And I do mean our Earth. It’s… complicated.”
Natalia thought for a moment longer, “Will there be battles to fight?”
“Maybe?” Mori said, “I don’t know, but there’s probably somewhere that needs soldiers, so…”
“I’m in!” she cheered, much to the surprise of Bella and Philip and the annoyance of Kevin. She looked at the two sitting at the third side of the table, “What? You know me, I love this job. And if I can become a soldier of gods, then I’m in. It’s better than a soldier of fortune, anyway. What about you, Kevin? I doubt you want to stay here, in Granulous?”
“And why would you think that?” he replied grumpily.
She chuckled, “Because you like learning new things, and there’s only so much to learn here!”
He stared at her, then sighed, “Fine, I like learning, but I like it here. I’m sure that a lot of us do. I don’t want to uproot my life again…” There was a long minute where the Earthborn all around considered Kevin’s words.
The first to break the silence was a young woman with a scar across her arm, again for the chance to find my way back to Earth. I’m staying,” she said, turning around and walking into one of the huts. There were a few murmurs of agreement as they went back to their own business. After the first few, more and more agreed, all of them leaving until it was just Natalia, Kevin, Philip, and Bella at the table.
Mori whistled, “You know, I didn’t think it’d shake out like this. I mean, I didn’t see Mark’s friend, Caleb, around here, so he might want to join, but I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough spots for everyone.”
“Meh, they never wanted the adventure,” Natalia replied, standing, “So, are you two lovebirds coming?” she asked, chuckling as they sputtered in response, “How about you, Old man?”
“It’s Kevin, Stars and Stripes. But… I think I’ll stay. I don’t want those endless adventures either. I prefer my quiet life here. Soon to be quiet, anyway.”
Bella nodded, “I agree, I’m staying,” she said, “You Phil?” He could only nod, his eyes closed, “Yeah, we’re staying… So, Natalia, are you going to join Mori’s crew, then?”
Mori smiled, “She doesn’t have to yet. We are still waiting for-”
“Yep, I’m joining!” she said with a bright smile, “Is that alright, Captain?”
Mori sighed, turning to VII who simply shrugged, “I guess it is. In that case, I won’t bother you any longer. I suppose this is goodbye, then.” She stood, VII following, and quickly made their leave in silence. Mostly silence. Natalia was still chattering about fighting and her Traits.
