Test Summoning: Apocalypse

It was just a few minutes past 5Af when Tizek and I returned to The Gnashing Teeth. Our trip to the arena to observe the monsters was semi-successful. I had to bribe the door guard a silver Sovereign as a finder's fee to find an employee to bribe another silver Sovereign to give us a tour. They thought it odd what we were doing and didn't comprehend it when I explained to them what a zoo was. It was a strange notion to pay just to look at monsters and not kill them.

The spider introduction went fine, assuming Tizek hiding behind me like a little child was a good sign. I did manage to get him closer to the cage down in the first level basement of the arena. At least until the spider reared back and hissed, which sent Tizek back to hug the far wall away from the cage. I wasn't able to bribe anyone to let Tizek smash the spider since the arena carefully controlled their inventory.

I did get him to agree to stand next to the cage longer in exchange for going to an all-you-can-eat meat place I knew of in the upper class district. We weren't going to turn him into a spider-rider after that, but at least he wasn't shaking at the sight of the giant spider after about an hour of being in its presence. We will see how he reacts in the dungeon.

Otherwise, we returned to The Gnashing Teeth on a good note. Tizek had gorged himself on meats while I kept it light since I was expecting to enjoy excessively sugared and deep fried carnival treats in an hour or so.

When we entered, there was a minor crisis going on. I saw Void and Doun arguing by the bar while the place had filled up with customers. I saw Willem and his family in their booth again and gave them a wave. That's when Sari indicated she wanted to talk to me.

"Mind going outside where it's a little quieter? I have something to tell you," Sari said when she approached.

I was wondering what the squirrel-clan woman wanted. "Sure. Tizek? Go find Lia upstairs. The night belongs to you two. Just be back before midnight so you aren't too tired for our trip to the dungeon tomorrow."

"Yes, my lord!" Tizek chirped happily before moving across the tavern to the stairs leading to our rented rooms. I briefly pondered how I interchangeably used tavern and pub to describe The Gnashing Teeth. What was the difference between the two anyway? I guess I had to file that one away for later to ask.

I turned to Sari. "Sure. Just be warned, if you make a pass at me, I'm going to have to inform Willem," I joked.

A brief smile passed Sari's lips before her face went serious. "It's something related to what you just said. I'd like to say this where no one will overhear."

"Lead the way," I said.

I followed Sari outside and we moved around the side of the building into a quiet alley. She turned to me and spoke. "I'm sorry about this, but it's about my sister."

"Oh," I replied. "Jummi. What's up? Something happen you need help with?"

Sari shook her head. "No, it's what Jummi said to you the last time you were in her shop. It's been eating her up inside and she wanted to apologize. As you can imagine, she's not great with communication and asked me to relay the message."

I felt puzzled as to what Jummi was sorry about. "Did she underpay me for the gloves?"

"No," Sari replied. "It's about her propositioning you. She felt so bad about it she didn't even take a profit on the gloves."

"That seems out of character," I replied. "Do you know why she did it?"

"You only met her twice," Sari said.

"From what I was told," I hastily added.

This seemed to placate her. "She predicted you'd ask and gave me permission to tell you. She's been having trouble since her divorce. Her ex moved out of the city three years ago and took their four kids with him. She hasn't seen them since."

"Wow," I replied. "That's awful of him."

Sari shook her head. "No, that's not it. Amis cares about Jummi and still sends letters. The reason was the kids were feeling stifled. Jummi has a bit of a hoarding problem and it was harming the kids' social lives. Her oldest daughter hates Jummi and Amis wanted some space so the negativity didn't transfer onto the younger ones."

I thought back to the state of Jummi's Baubles. It was filled to the brim with garbage. I thought it was just a quirk and never knew there was something more behind it. "That explains the store."

"Oh, no," Sari said. "It's only gotten worse. The mess was previously only in their living area. It's expanded to the store when the back and upper floors ran out of room."

"That's not good," I empathized. "What's that have to do with the propositioning though?"

Sari sighed. "Since the divorce, Jummi had gotten to dressing in frumpy clothing and started wearing that ridiculous hair style. She's really a pretty woman, but she felt ugly inside and decided to look the part. You complimenting her made her realize how much she missed affection and it just burst out. She's beating herself up over it."

What Sari just told me changed everything about what I thought about Jummi. Of all the times I interacted with her, I just thought of her as a quirky resident of Vialina. She was far more complex than I previously thought. "You can tell her I thought nothing of it. If I can help any, please tell me."

Sari gave me a sad smile. "I tried. It's a problem she's been fighting her whole life. I doubt you'd be able to do anything about it. Thanks for not taking advantage of her, though it was mostly because you don't find us all that attractive. Willem has told me the other summoned heroes show disgust around us."

"Oliver? Where'd you go?" I heard Void say.

"Coming!" I shouted back around the corner. I turned back to Sari. "Sorry to cut this short, but I have hot date to go on. Tell Jummi no hard feelings and it won't impact our business dealings."

"She'll like that," Sari said then her face screwed up in confusion. "Wait, a date?"

I turned and saw Void looking at us. She was wearing her turquoise vest I liked again. I returned my gaze to Sari and smiled. "Not all of us find people here unappealing. Enjoy your evening!"

I left Sari gaping at me as I hooked an arm around Void's. We left and made our way to the carnival area in the section of the city between the wealthy district and the middle-class section.

On the way, I turned to Void. "What were you arguing with Doun about?"

Void growled low. "We were fighting about work. He wanted me to cover the hostess stand and wouldn't let me get a word in. It wasn't until mother told him to shut his meat hole did I tell him I had a date with you. That resolved the issue."

I snorted. "Good old Doun. Can't fully remove the badger-clan tendencies from them, eh?" Void smiled at my comment.

We arrived at the carnival around 6Af. The carnival was an interesting place. It reminded me of a State Fair from back at home. It was in a large open area between the city buildings and entry was free. Money was made by paying for individual rides, game booths and food stalls. Odors of frying food wafted in the air and shrieks of happy children echoed across the fair.

"Where to?" I asked Void.

She looked at me with a twinkle of child-like glee in her eyes. "I suspect you know."

"Sure, the roller coaster," I said with a grin.

Her expression changed. "What? I can't ride that. I thought you knew me."

I laughed. "I do know you. I also recall saying to pretend I don't. This is a date. The point is to get to know each other better."

Void gave me a playful slap to my chest. "Fine, if it's a date, how come you didn't dress better?"

I looked down at myself. I was wearing the same thing I always did. Unbuttoned red checker shirt. Denim shorts. My pink boots. "I see, let me fix that." I buttoned my shirt. "There, formal mode activated."

Void snorted. "I'm going to have to take you shopping."

I shrugged. "Your wish is my command."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Come on, let's head to the midway," Void said with a bemused shake of her head.

We took our time and strolled through the carnival and enjoyed the sights. The carnival was popular with various street performers who were attempting to earn a little coin with their performances. They weren't formal employees of the carnival, but the city didn't mind their presence. The musical acts, acrobatics and displays of unusual magic helped draw a crowd to the premium booths.

I took a brief glance at the rollercoaster. Constructed out of dark wood, the coaster operated on a magical repellant system similar to a maglev train. The ride was also complex and compared favorably to the top coasters back on Earth. It had loops, drops, tophats, zero-g inversions and rolls. The only weakness was it was just a coaster. There wasn't any fun theming like at the major parks back home.

I had convinced Void to go on it during one loop, mainly because I guilted her and it was not a great experience. She was feeling so ill from the ride she was willing to shove her snout into a public toilet to release her snacks. I should have known she would hate the boat ride out to the island just from that.

Void happily chatted about the times she came to the park as a child and pointed to a smaller kids' section she enjoyed. When she mentioned the walk-in fountain, which was an open plaza shooting water into the air from holes in the ground, I grabbed her and pulled her in.

Void protested getting wet, but I knew it was all an act. Had she not wanted to go in there, there's nothing I, without an Advancement, could have done to drag her in. After we got thoroughly wet, and endured the stares from those wondering why adults were in the kids' splash zone, we stood in a dryer booth for a bit and moved on.

The next destination was the midway. Like any good fair, the carnival had a wide variety of rigged games of chance. Ring throws with pegs a little too close together. Basketball hoops that looked round from the front but were really ovals barely big enough to fit a ball. Fishing games where the clamps weren't strong enough to hold into the hook. The place had it all.

I suggested Void try the high striker. Because of the nature of the world, the high strikers here first measured your Advancement level and adjusted its settings to the user. Unlike the Exterminator's Guild crystal, the device here was only able to read Advancement, not your rating or ability. They didn't want to waste 10 minutes between each use dumping heat into a pool of water or replacing the expensive crystal ball every two years when it dissolved back to mana.

Void eagerly agreed to test her strength. I knew the scam on this one was when the device read your Advancement, it set the resistance to one higher. To avoid being too obvious, those without an advancement only got a tough setting while it would randomly give the contestant a fair setting so others could see it's possible to win.

I picked this game precisely because we were about to scam them back. I paid the carny a copper Sovereign to take my turn first. I set my hand on the small crystal in the device and then picked up my hammer. A number 0 appeared on a slate signifying my Advancement and I lifted the hammer overhead. Then, with my mightiest John Henry slam, I brought the head down on the pad. I watched as the weight made it only about ¾ of the way to the bell before falling down again.

"Oh, better hit the gym," the carny, a deer-clan man, said with a friendly tone.

"You're up," I said to Void, gesturing to the device. I gave the carny another copper coin for the next attempt.

"Time to show you how it's done," Void taunted. She set her hand on the crystal and the number 1 appeared. She picked up the hammer and gave me a little flex of her bicep. I gave her an appreciative whistle. It was nice seeing her feeling more comfortable with her physique now that she knows I find it quite sexy.

Void heaved the hammer up and got into her stance. She then swung down hard on the lever and the weight rocketed up. When the weight contacted the wooden bell at the top, it let out a long ringing tone across the midway.

The carny looked up at the bell with a mild look of surprise. He hadn't set the machine to winner mode and was shocked Void won. The machine was calibrated to the Advancement 2 average. Void's 130% rating put her almost to the Advancement 3 average. The carny recomposed himself and shouted out. "And we have a winner! The lady has proven her mettle!"

Void jumped up and down with joy after ringing the bell and gave me a hug in the process. The game didn't give out prizes, only public acclaim. That said, even though I didn't ring the bell, I was the one getting the prize.

Our next stop was a crossbow game. The game booth had various prizes depending on which of the moving hoops you managed to get the bolt through. The scam here wasn't in the hoops, which moved in a complex but predictable pattern through the air. It was in the bolt they provided with the crossbow. Each bolt had subtle unbalanced weights, mild curves in the shaft and fletching that wasn't quite right. This made bolts fly on an unusual path. To the typical person, it looked like the bolt moved in an unpredictable pattern.

To a talented archer with centuries of experience? It was just another adjustment to make like reading the wind or gauging distance.

"You first," I said to Void as I paid the carny, a wolf-clan girl, the 50 copper Sovereigns for the attempt. Void received five bolts to load into her crossbow. Predictably, the bolts flew all over the place and never made it through a hoop.

"Better luck next time," the carny teased.

I placed another 50 copper on the counter for my turn. I picked up the first bolt and ran my thumb over the surface. Slightly forward balanced with a clipped fletching. Shaft is straight. I made my adjustments and sent the bolt through the smallest ring which lit up and rang when the bolt passed through. The carny gave me a nod of approval. "Lucky shot."

I grinned back at her. "Then watch this."

I proceeded to send the next three bolts through the exact same ring. Each time one went through, the look on the carny's face continued to droop at the prospect of giving out the most premium prize, a complex woodcraft pocket watch.

Then I had my final bolt. This one was really unbalanced and had a wave in the shaft. To even a skilled archer, it would be a massive challenge getting it into the same ring. I decided, instead, to add a different flair.

Aiming the crossbow, I pulled the bolt upward toward the overhead support beams for the booth. I could see the look of relief out of the corner of my eye when the carny realized I wasn't even aiming in the direction of the rings. She wouldn't have to explain to her boss why she gave away the watch.

This would be a tricky shot even for me. I waited as the ring's movement pattern reset and would be in the perfect spot. Then I pulled the trigger. The bolt streaked toward the beam and deflected off toward the rings. I was sweating a bit since the wobble in the bolt was a little off from what I was expecting. Then it hit the ring and slid through along one if the edges, barely clearing.

Void and a few others in the area who I hadn't noticed I attracted began to cheer.

"I heard he was a dud."

"He is, but I also heard he's an amazing archer."

"I saw him at the arena, he hit two albatwitches in the forehead at 70 meters an instant apart."

"I can believe that now after seeing him win one from these crooks."

I received another joyful hug from Void. "Wow! Great shooting!"

The only one not happy was the carny. She had a dejected look on her face when she waved at the prize wall. "Which prize would you like? Anything here is yours."

Once more, I already received the prize I wanted from Void. I looked over the prize wall and pointed. "That one."

The carny looked where my finger was leading and I could see a massive sense of relief wash over her. "You sure?"

I nodded. "That's the one."

The carny reached up and grabbed a stuffed rabbit toy. I took it and handed it to Void. "It's not the real thing, but I figured it's the next best given our lifestyle."

Void stared at the rabbit and her eyes turned to the watch. "You sure you didn't want the watch?"

I gestured at myself. "Do I look like someone who wants a fancy piece of jewelry?"

Her eyes drifted toward the stuffed rabbit and her hands tentatively reached out to take it. She drew it into a brief hug.

"Aww, how romantic."

A few voices from the crowd still watching us cooed at the display. When Void heard it, she gave a bashful smile and moved the toy under one arm. I looked at the crowd and saw the people happy with what I had done. Except for one lynx-clan man who was getting the "why don't you do that for me" look from his badger-clan girlfriend or wife.

"Come on, let's go do some more things," I suggested and offered an arm. Void took it and we went off.

The evening proved wonderful. We played more rigged games and won nothing. We visited a few booths selling greasy food and excessively sugared drinks to the point we started building up grey in our stamina bars. I even managed to convince the corndog booth guy to batter and deep fry a chocolate caramel bar. Void felt like she was going to die from heart failure from it and got sick because she doesn't handle sugar well.

We also visited the House of Oddities. It was mostly various beast-people with unusual fur coloration from their heritage or strange birth defects. I ended up ruining part of the display, the Bald Man, when all the children assumed it was me and not the clearly shaved squirrel-clan man. The actual performer had a few obvious shaving nicks and one still had a piece of toilet cloth stuck to it.

Our next destination was the rides. Void wasn't much for rides, except one she enjoyed. Even in this world, the people enjoyed bumper carts. The carts were propelled by the rider's mana stores while riding on a cushion of air provided by an air-attuned carny filling a mana core crystal.

Unfortunately, for me anyway, my paltry mana stores ensured my cart remained slow and an easy target. The children on the ride were brutal. Void was especially ruthless and had me crammed in a corner while she shrieked with joy as she slammed my cart into the wall. The things you do for love.

I exited the bumper cart ride with a few percentage points missing from my health bar and steadied my wobbly legs. "Are you alright?" I heard Void ask.

"I'm doing fine." I had lied my ass off just there. The sun had set and the carnival would close soon, so I gestured in the direction of the Ferris wheel. It was a massive, 120 meter diameter wheel which gave an excellent view of the city from the topmost point. "How about we cap off our evening there?"

Void's face scrunched up in an expression I recognized as one where she wasn't convinced of the idea. "The wheel is boring. It just spins in a circle."

"The wheel has a whole different meaning for adults than it does for kids," I said with a cryptic tone. "Trust me on this."

It earned me a raised eyebrow and a look of intrigue. We paid our 10 copper Sovereigns and boarded the chair. "So, what's makes this special for adults?" Void asked.

"This." I reached an arm over her shoulders and gently pulled her closer to me. She gave a little yelp, half in surprise and half with joy.

"I see," Void said as she nuzzled in closer and leaned her head into my shoulder.

We silently rode the ride upward as the seats filled in with more passengers. As we reached the top, we paused to get a good look at the city. With the thick treetops, the city didn't cast harsh light pollution into the sky. We could see the full expanse of stars normally invisible to the residents save those in the slums or along wide boulevards like the one leading from the castle to Victory Square. The lights visible through the treetop canopies gave the effect that we were floating out in space in the dark. Stars above and twinkling lights below.

"This is wonderful," Void sighed as she looked out over the city.

"It is. How was your day with Lia?" I asked as I leaned back to soak in Void's warmth in the cooling night air.

"Still struggling with the kill," Void responded. "I am, too. It's not easy harming others, even when we had to."

"That means you're not broken." I watched the lights flicker more as we began our initial descent before the ride started in earnest.

"What about Tizek? He was going on about how you made him something called a knight," Void asked. I mused on how she had used the English word for knight and not the local translation of night, which wasn't a homophone.

I chuckled. "It's just something cultures in the past where I came from had. They were the top warriors in service of a lord. I realized I wasn't getting anywhere trying to force my way of life on his and decided to make him happy instead."

Void's hand pulled my free hand into hers across my lap. "You're a wonderful person. Speaking of, how are you?"

I sighed. "Can't be happier."

"No," Void replied. "Not now. You've been manic since we left Orvis and you killed five people recently. You even had a dagger jammed in your gut and you didn't react to it."

I held my tongue as we drifted closer to the carny operating the ride and waited until the wheel began rotating in full. When we passed, I responded. "I think those parts of me are broken. Pain doesn't register much anymore and those gang kids? It was something we had to do."

I felt Void comfortingly squeeze my hand. "I don't think you're broken. You're adapting to a horrible situation. How many times have you seen me die?"

My chest hitched from the question. "I'd rather not think about it and focus on us now. We have a plan I know that will work. Making sure this time around is perfect is more important than the failures of the past."

From the look Void gave me when she shifted her head from my shoulder, I could tell she wasn't convinced. "Just know we are here if you need support."

I was grateful Void didn't press the matter. We silently rode the wheel around a few revolutions and enjoyed the night before heading back to the Gnashing Teeth.

We arrived at the Teeth around 10Af. The tavern was unusually quiet. It seems Doun and Mira had gotten their final closing preparations done early today. Must have been a slow night.

"Let me walk you to your home, m'lady," I said with a whisper.

Void snickered and held her stuffed rabbit tight. "We are home."

"I'll escort you to your room. There may be dangers I need to protect you from on the way," I responded with a grin.

"My hero," Void giggled back. We both knew she was the stronger of us now that she had her first Advancement, but it was the thought that counts.

We went up to the second floor and stopped at the hall landing. I never went further than this before since it felt like intruding. "This is me," Void said with a bashful tone.

"Goodnight," I replied. We stared at each other a few moments before I gently drew her in. She acquiesced to my touch and leaned down. I had waited for this moment for centuries when we drew into a kiss. We held each other for a few moments savoring each other's scents and taste before disconnecting.

"A few more dates like this and maybe we can go a bit further," Void said with a playful tone.

"Don't wait too long," I heard a feminine voice behind Void say followed by a deep scuffing snort. I peered behind Void. There, I saw Mira and Doun staring at us through their cracked open bedroom door. Mira had a smile on her face while Doun was trying his hardest to look like a tough father figure. His chest convulsions as he tried to hold in his chuckle from their little prank said otherwise.

"Mom! Dad! Privacy!" Void snapped.

"We're just making sure you're not being taken advantage of," Doun replied.

Mira let out a mirthful giggle. "Maybe she wants to be taken advantage of."

If Void's fur were shaved, I bet she would be blushing under there right now.

"Goodnight, folks. We have an early day tomorrow for our Silk Caverns run," I said. I turned Void and quickly gave her another kiss.

"Definitely mahogany ones on that boy," Doun snickered. "Kissing a girl in front of her father." Mira gave Doun a playful slap in response.

I left Void standing in the hallway with a look of shock on her face. I took one last look back before ascending the stairs to my floor and she gave me a warm smile as she hugged her stuffed rabbit. I gave a wink before going up the rest of the way. Yup, I'm definitely going to make sure we fix the apocalypse this time. This moment is just too perfect to lose it.