Polynya

“Fick yeah! All right, Marbles, you and I are getting our chalupas wet tonight!” With that, Hiccup charges the treasure box and jams his grubby hands in. “Love that feeling.” His nostrils flare as he inhales the money. “And the smell!”

“I apologize for him,” Ryuk says as he takes a step closer to Dave. He glances to Zaena, who watches Hiccup bite down on one of the rupees to test for authenticity. “If you don’t mind, Dave, I have some questions for you.”

“Oh?” Dirty Dave cocks an eyebrow at him.

“Earlier tonight, we were tricked by the Shinigami.”

“And the White Warrior betrayed you?” Dave asks, his eyes flashing orange.

He’s a Mind Mage, Ryuk reminds himself.

“That’s right. We want, I mean, we need to get a message to Sophia, head of the Knights of Non Compos Mentis. You said you had some relation with my former guild, if I remember correctly.”

“I do.”

“Can you pass a message along to her?”

Dirty Dave shrugs. “You have learned many things in the last few days, and I’m sure the betrayal you experienced tonight stung. I can tell you this: this is just the beginning. As an immiNPC, I prefer to be a spectator in what is set to take place as it will directly affect me in ways I’ve yet to fully comprehend. I’m sorry for being vague, but this quest is yours alone to take.”

“Is that a no?” Hiccup asks, another rupee in his mouth.

“It is.”

“A lot of fickin’ help you are, Dirty Dave.” Hiccup stands and pockets a few rupees. “My guess is you could easily get a message to Sophia. Dunno why you’re holding back on us, but if it’s rupees you’re after, that’s not a problem. Name a price, pal, we got angel investors!”

Hiccup bats his hands over his head, again terrorized by Zaena’s ghost limbs.

“We still owe 70,000 rupees to FeeTwix’s fan who gave us a loan,” she hisses at him.

Hiccup snorts. “Pfft! Every goblin worth his weight in rupees knows the best way to get rid of debt is to ignore it.”

“I’m not interested in your money,” Dirty Dave says flatly. “The Knights are the most powerful guild in Tritania. As a former, lesser member of the guild, you should know this, Ryuk.”

Lesser member?

“You will need to go to Polynya yourself and try to get an audience with Sophia yourself. That said, you should know: because of an attack that took place an hour ago, entry into Aramis, the capital city of Polynya, has been severely restricted.”

“An attack?” Zaena gasps. “What happened?”

“It seems the Shinigami are stirring up trouble everywhere. Only people that are residents of the city can enter. The Knights are overseeing the investigation, which is how, I believe, you could get a message to Sophia.” A sinister grin spreads across his face. “There may only be one way to truly get their attention, and that may be to do something that warrants them coming after your guild. This is just a suggestion. There may be other ways.”

Hiccup’s eyes flash as an idea takes shape in his head. “So we fick the place up, and the Knights and the city guards come. Easy peasy. But that doesn’t answer the question: how the fick do we get in if there’s a travel ban?”

“The continent is brimming with quests that could grant you entry to the city. I suggest starting there. If not there, at least begin at one of the entries to the catacombs.”

Ryuk nods. More quests, easy. He then looks at his two guildmates, and narrows in on Hiccup, who has a finger up his nose. Well, easier said than done, but still doable.

Dirty Dave turns, stops, and looks over his shoulder at Ryuk. “Do you mind if I borrow four of your marbles. I’d like to run some tests.”

“Um … ” Ryuk reaches into the pouches on his belt and retrieves a single black marble, clear marble, sword marble, and a molten marble. He walks over to Dave and extends his hand. “Here you go.”

“Very good. We’ll be in touch soon, after you’ve completed the next leg of your journey. Good luck, and keep your heads down.”

Chapter 4: Special Delivery

Ambient music by Hiroshi Yoshimura pipes in from the small, cylindrical speakers in Kodai’s kitchen. He doesn’t normally spend much time there as most of his meals are specially delivered for him. Most of his dinners, if he eats dinner at all, are eaten at some of Tokyo’s finest restaurants, or at one of his hostess bars.

Today is different. The Yakuza lord doesn’t feel like being disturbed yet, and as the bright morning sun fills his apartment, Kodai actually feels an overwhelming sense of joy.

Today, in less than an hour, his new humandroid bodyguard will be delivered.

Which reminds me… he thinks as the messenger interface on his iNet screen flashes.

Kodai: Please pack your things and leave.

He returns to his automatic espresso machine, watching as two shots pour into an imported demitasse. Once the tiny cup is full, he throws it back and closes his eyes for a moment, ignoring the bitter taste as he waits for the caffeine to take effect.