97 Amachi
Amachi removed the ceramic discs from her temples and smiled at no one while easing out of her recliner. Her excellent mood faded at the mouth-watering scent of homemade enchiladas.
"Look at your hair, Chi!" Sonya shook a wooden spoon at her oldest daughter when she entered the kitchen. "You need to take better care of yourself; want to know what is after twenty-eight?"
"Twenty-nine," Amachi answered before the older woman had the chance to finish. "Why are you here? No one is allowed in my apartment while I'm in VR."
"Someone has to take care of you, Chi." Sonya smiled when her daughter opened the nearby cupboard. "Get two plates for us."
Instead of complying, Amachi grabbed one of her Tupperware bowls and handed it to her mother. "Take your enchiladas and leave immediately."
"You spend all day playing games. What kind of wife will you be?" Sonya continued, ignoring her daughter's words.
"I work in virtual reality." Amachi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I purchased this quad-plex that our four families live in. Uncle Ramon, Maria, and you all live rent-free because of my work in VR."
"Your job won't keep you warm at night," Sonya countered. Their resemblance was close enough that most people guessed they were mother and daughter. "Your bathroom was disgusting. It took me an hour to clean everything. Your garbage is filled with instant noodle packages. What kind of life is this?"
"My life, Mama." The famous Chi patience evaporated into nothing. "Don't come in my house unless I invite you in. Never mind... I'll change the keypad combination. Thank you for the help that I didn't require or ask for."
"You'd lock me out? Is this the daughter I raised?"
"Last year, you visited me while I was in VR." Chi opened her fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer. "Do you remember what happened? You left without locking the door, and I was robbed."
Sonya crossed herself. "Thank God, they only took a few small items."
"My things, important to me... You don't get it." Chi waited while her mother spooned all but two enchiladas in the Tupperware bowl. "If you leave any, I'll throw it in the garbage."
"Be respectful, Chi."
Chi pointed to her recliner. "I would have been right there when the person who took my things was here. Did they look at me? Touch my hair? I wouldn't know. But at least my bathroom was cleaned."
"Did you call David?"
"No, we have nothing in common," Amachi replied.
"He's perfect for you," Sonya countered.
"I'm curious, Mama. What makes him perfect for me?" The younger woman crossed her arms in front of her. "You don't want to say?"
"Because you're both deaf..." Sonya snapped the plastic lid in place. "You can't even sign properly anymore."
"David and I share the same affliction, so that makes us a perfect pair?"
"Affliction? That's part of your problem; it's not an affliction, it's a disability." Sonya brushed past her daughter on the way to the door, where she paused to look back. "I regret ever letting you go into VR. You don't even sound like a deaf person anymore."
"OUT! GET OUT!!" Amachi shouted. Following her mother, she slammed the door behind her, then kicked it twice for good measure.
"Fuck..." Chi limped barefoot into her kitchen, grabbed her beer, and returned to her recliner. Tears ran down her brown face; sniffing loudly; she placed the cold bottle against her toes. "Serves me right for kicking the door without shoes on."
The apartment was quiet for a few minutes; only the soft sound of someone crying disturbed the silence.
Wiping her eyes with the back of one hand, she grabbed a picture frame from the nearby corner table. "My guys." It was a picture of a small group sitting at the Songbird Tavern. She touched their faces while reciting the names out loud. "Sato, Lotte, Breeze and QJ."
After a few minutes, Amachi cleared her throat and finished her beer. "Okay, Chi. Pity party complied with... Time to jump back in."
Instead of moving, she continued staring at the picture. Although born deaf, at the age of twelve, something amazing happened. Chi became part of a tiny percentage of deaf people who could hear in virtual reality.
Her silent world came to life. Chi would spend hours in any virtual setting she could find. Listening to music, dancing, and singing. Although, admittedly, her singing voice wasn't very good.
Eventually, she became part of Exodus. Where most people spent only a few hours a day in VR, Chi was just the opposite.
"Crap... I'm going to be late."
She limped back to the kitchen and grabbed an instant noodle package before frowning at the counter where her mother had left two enchiladas. "You never listen, Mama." Instead of tossing it in the garbage, she sighed heavily and grabbed a fork.
A few minutes later, Amachi was back on her recliner. She changed the front door code and sent a quick message to her mother.
Mama,
I'm sorry for yelling. From now on, let me visit you. Thank you for the food. Love you.
Amachi.
***************
[OP: Ringo] I'm back!
[OP: QJ] I'm in my workshop, almost ready.
[OP: Ringo] Be there in a second.
By the time Ringo arrived, QJ was carefully placing several square items in a backpack. She watched him momentarily while trying to figure out what he was doing.
QJ didn't look up when she entered. "Gnome explosives, in case you are interested. Similar to what was used against us during the train heist."
Ringo leaned an elbow against the workshop bench, her blue eyes making small observations while QJ worked. On the table's far side, a continental map of Berg was opened and tacked to the surface. An odd thing considering the hud mapping system.
The Berg continent comprised six separate nations, at least on paper. Maelstrom, the biggest and strongest, often dealt heavy-handedly with its smaller neighbors. The ruling class of Maelstrom considered all of Berg their domain. Still, neither the old King nor the new Queen had ever truly united Berg into one Empire.
"This map looks different," Ringo looked away from the gnome devices to study the map. "Caravan routes, border patrols, shipping lanes..." She pointed to a timestamp in the upper right corner. "Updated less than an hour ago? You're keeping tabs on all this?"
"Not me personally, but our intel network is continually monitoring several different factions and their assets." QJ pointed out a pinned area on the map. "Know what that is?"
"It's called the corridor," Ringo replied. "I was there once while playing on Legends. It's an unclaimed strip of land between Dharba and Yennil."
QJ nodded before stowing his backpack. "It's been fought over for so long that both sides finally stepped away and washed their hands of it. There's an abandoned logging town, decent hunting and fishing; that's about it."
"Then why is it pinned?" Ringo asked.
"That's where RH is hiding," QJ grinned at Ringo's expression. "We found them."
After the King's Assassination, RH fled Maelstrom a step ahead of the Crown's Executioner. One Problem compiled a list of RH's known allies and presented it to the House of Lords. This resulted in many guilds disbanding and reforming or leaving the territory to avoid being arrested.
QJ rolled up the map and stowed it away. "Let's go. We can take a portal to Dharba and ride the rest. It should be about an hour.
"Just let me post a new gmotd, and I'm ready."
[Guild Message of the Day.]
When you reach level 60, report to the Treasury for free gear upgrades. No GCP is required.
The pair exited the Keep a few minutes later and took the OP portal to Kibel, a mid-sized town on Dharba's southern border.
[Group: Ringo] What's the plan?
[Group: QJ] Scout, find Tucker, and figure the rest out.
Ringo nodded happily.
[Group: QJ] Have you looked through the 60-level gear from Falcon's Pride?
[Group: Ringo] I saw a few nice pieces. A fade ring, set armor with damage bonus, and a [Blur] hat like you wear.
[Group: QJ] The fade ring is nice, but amplifying it is a must.
[Group: Ringo] I'm aware. I'll make an appointment with the Painted Lady.
[Group: QJ] No weapons?
[Group: Ringo] I have the best gunsmith in GnG. Why do I need weapons?
[Group: QJ] True. I'm almost 60.
[Group: Ringo] You'll hit it first, and I'll be the next.
Although mid-sized, there was something warm and comforting about Kibel. The buildings were constructed from cut lumber and boasted sweeping eaves and pointed spires. As was the case in most towns, the portal was in the marketplace.
[OP: Ringo] Nice town; the marketplace is enormous.
[OP: QJ] Why is it already closed? It's barely 1400.
QJ frowned at the empty stalls and booths that littered the marketplace. Most days, he would have been interested enough to investigate, but since they were on other business, he ignored the mystery.
They rode out of town side-by-side, heading south toward their target. Lowlands quickly gave way to a heavily forested area where they were forced to delay long enough to find a passable trail.
Giant fir trees stretched their green needles into the sky while littering the path below with hundreds of enormous pinecones.
[Group: QJ] We're close to the corridor; let's find some high ground.
Finding a suitable ridge with a decent view of the forested valley below took another hour. Several times, they were forced to stow their mounts and take cover from the roving groups of players wandering the valley.
[Group: Ringo] There's a tar pit that continually spawns mid-level mobs. It's the perfect place to grind your way to thirty.
[Group: QJ] Wu told me the same thing. They're here to farm levels. Maybe even stay in the long term.
[Group: Ringo] Going in?
QJ shook his head. "I've got a new sniper companion. I figured we'd take a look at her."
"Is that from the character card? How do you summon?" Ringo asked.
"Scan it, and then an icon appears on your hud... Here's the card." QJ held it out for Ringo to examine.
[Character Card: Unique]
Name: Samantha "Sam" Trahern
Occupation: Train Engineer/Secret Occupation
Description: Engineer Trahern is shrouded in mystery. She has been known to disappear for weeks at a time without notification.
Employer: Sandhealer Faction Leader, QJ.
Length of Contract: Unknown
Additional Bonus: (Bind on Pick-up)
+ 300 Passenger satisfaction
+200 Personal Luxury
+ 100 Train Security
Ringo studied the card with interest. "What makes you think she's a sniper? Passenger satisfaction and personal luxury... That sounds more like a brothel worker than a sniper."
"She carries a big case, just like the one Remmy has for Reaper." QJ scowled at the OP Guild Leader. "Why are you jinxing me? It says she disappears for weeks at a time... i.e., paid Assassin."
"HAHAHA..." Ringo belly laughed. "Or she could be a housewife with seven kids."
QJ scanned the card and activated the icon when it appeared on his hud.
Engineer Trahern appeared a moment later; her black uniform had recently been pressed, and black leather work boots freshly shined. She carried a shotgun harness over one shoulder and a long-barreled six-gun belted to her hip. Under one arm was a long wooden box.
[Group: Ringo] She's looks like your class, wrangler. I guess that could be a sniper rifle.
[Group: QJ] Obviously so...
"Sir," the Engineer saluted crisply. "How may I serve?"
"Engineer Trahern, we would like a demonstration of your secret occupation," QJ replied.
The Engineer nodded and removed her hat before unbuttoning her jacket and folding it neatly. She then placed them both on the ground. Underneath the coat, she wore a long-sleeved white shirt that clung to her curved figure.
"Alright then..." Engineer Trahern set the box flat on the ground before quickly unlocking the latches and removing the object inside.
"HAHAHAHA," Ringo didn't bother to cover her laugh as QJ's new companion began setting up.
[Group: QJ] The hell is that?
"I love this..." Ringo snorted, which caused her to laugh even harder. "Padded table, with a doughnut headrest... Engineer Trahern is a masseuse."
"Just call me Sam." She patted the table. "Who's first, then?"
[Group: Ringo] Go scout. I'll let you know when we're done.
"That would be me," Ringo smiled so widely her face must have hurt.
The open box doubled as a changing screen. Sam handed the OP Guild Leader a towel. "My current stock is a bit low; I have mint, pine, and jasmine oil."
"Oh... jasmine, of course," Ringo replied.
An hour later, a stealthed QJ had just finished mapping the hidden compound he found when his Guild Leader notified him they were done.
[Group: QJ] On my way back.
[Group: Ringo] Let's talk turkey, QJ! Thirty million for Sam's character card.
[Group: QJ] I'd give it to you, except it's no-drop.
[Group: Ringo] Shit... Really?
[Group: QJ] Did you at least get a happy ending?
[Group: Ringo] Not in the traditional sense, but I'm happy about it.
"Going next, Sir?" Sam asked when he reappeared at their campsite.
"Not today," QJ replied. "Thank you for the demonstration."
Engineer Trahern nodded and began folding up her massage table. "We should talk about the specifics of my contract."
"Report to the Briar Rose Estate in Maelstrom," QJ said. "My MajorDomo, Aji Sai, will see to your quarters. When I return, we'll discuss your employment options."
Engineer Trahern displayed a hud icon that said [Briar Rose]. "Do you need my help here? Or should I go now?"
"When did that icon appear?" QJ asked.
"Right after you activated my card," Trahern replied.
"We'll manage, you can head out." QJ waited until she left before turning back to his smiling Guild Leader. "I hope you're rested; it will be a long night."
