The Lesser One Arc 2 Version 2 Chapter 28: Game

 

Game

Lacy arrives in a yellow Ferrari. Sebastian and I get into the back seat. Lacy tears away from the side of the road and weaves through traffic like a madman, shifting gears as she does. The open top sends wind blowing through my hair.

We rip into the parking lot of a skyscraper. Lacy steps out of the car. Sebastian and I exit after her. The skyscraper is familiar.

“Is the place that was attacked by that, ah, terrorist a few weeks ago?”

“It is.” Lacy snaps her purse shut. “Come on now.”

We take the elevator to the top. The restaurant has been rebuilt since the last time I was here. Remarkably quickly, considering how much damage was done and how little time has passed.

The waiter gives us our menus. I look at the silverware and mentally rehearse how I’m going to eat with it.

A waiter fills Lacy’s glass with wine. She picks it up with a dainty hold and sips.

“Okay. You need that legal antimatter now.” Lacy puts her glass down. Her red lipstick has left a mark on the rim. “There’s one way to do that. An official decree by the Queen herself.”

“What?” I almost drop my fork. “How am I going to manage that?”

“You’ve had an audience with the Queen before, right? You’ve already gotten further than anyone I know.”

I sigh. “Okay.”

We order.

Lacy takes a piece of the bread on the table and breaks it. “You see, meeting the Queen nowadays is kind of like fly fishing. You can cast many lines, but very few of them will lead somewhere.”

Sage, fly fishing? What’s that?

It’s a method of fishing using artificial flies that is notoriously difficult.

Okay, got it.

I smile as if I understood that reference all along.

“By the way.” Lacy puts the bread down. “I never asked you why you needed something as dangerous as antimatter. The only reason why I haven’t reported it to the authorities is because you specified that you want it legally. While I can’t help you obtain it illegally, I can definitely help you with the “legal” part.” Lacy takes papers out of her purse. “I did some research into the United Kingdom’s laws on antimatter. It seems that they aren’t as strict as America’s. Which makes sense considering what happened to Detroit.”

“Right.”

“So here’s the rub. Possession of antimatter carries a hefty sentence. But the creation of it? No penalty. This is to cover the fact that there are legitimate scientists who want to study this phenomenon. The key point is that artificially produced antimatter lasts for nanoseconds. You can’t hold it. You can’t transfer it. You only know it’s there because of complicated scientific calculation.”

“Okay. Then how should I get an audience with the Queen?”

“You should talk to your friends. I hear you are acquainted with the Royal Gable.”

“Right.” I nod. “I’ll ask him.”

The food arrives. Lacy takes a bite. “I’m still charging you for the rest of this dinner. You’re paying for the food too.”

“No problem.” I engage polite mode as taught by Sebastian. “I never actually learned what your law firm specializes in.”

“Spirit law.” Lacy tilts her head. “You’re telling me you didn’t know?”

“Well, my people, they were the ones who took care of everything.”

“It’s funny hearing a sixteen year old saying “my people” like a veteran CEO.”

“I mean, yeah.” I force a smile.

“But you’ve got the cash, and you’ve got the product. I hear Esmex is betting big on Rearden Metal. I think I’ll start buying the stock of whatever company holds the copyright to Ayn Rand’s material.” Lacy shrugs. “As long as the advertising department doesn’t stick their grubby fingers in and change the name for publicity’s sake. I mean, she is a very decisive figure.”

I laugh. “That’s great. They can name it whatever they want. I just named it that because I thought it was clever.”

Lacy raises an eyebrow. “Hah.”

We continue the dinner with pleasantries and, when it’s over, I ask for the bill. It’s staggering, but I have the cash.

When we leave the building, Sebastian insists that we take the limo back. Another devil driver has positioned it in the parking lot. I step in.

Mandrake is sitting with his arms crossed in the back seat. “Markus. I hear Generica gave you a challenge.”

“Right.” I take out the tacky business card. “She gave me this.” I show it to Mandrake. “Legal antimatter. We’ve narrowed it down to a decree by the Queen. Also, Generica never said how much, so I’m planning to create five atoms of antimatter and seal them inside a device.”

“So you need the Queen’s permission for five atoms of antimatter.” Mandrake sighs. “Getting an audience with the Queen herself can take years without special circumstance. However, there is one such special circumstance that I know of. The Great Joust.”

“The what?”

“The Great Joust.”

“No, I heard the name. I was wondering what it was.”

“Oh, right.” Mandrake shrugs. “You’re not from here.”

Sage: It’s the spirit version of that big game you Americans are so in love with that plays every February.

The, ah, yeah.

“Okay?” I frown. “So how am I supposed to win that?”

“As a matter of fact, I am gathering a team of adventurers right now to play as companions to the Royal Gable.” Mandrake taps his chest. “And I’ve seen you fight.”

“How does the Great Joust work?”

“Two teams of five use their spirits to manipulate the environment and score “hits” on the other team’s goal.”

“So it’s like spirit soccer.”

“So—” Mandrake laughs. “Right, you Yankees call it soccer.” Mandrake shrugs. “The game is in a week. I know this is really short notice, especially for a professional event, but it’s quite like an actual combat scenario and I know how you handle those.”

“Gotcha.” I frown. “How do people avoid injuries?”

“The whole arena is set inside an artificial dungeon aura. That means that all injuries sustained can be healed through healing magic.”

“Right.”

Mandrake shrugs. “It’s like that, ah, what do you call it, the one with the cars?”

“Nascar?”

“Yes, yes. I think people watch the game as much for the accidents as they do for the actual content.” Mandrake shrugs. “You need four more votes, right?”

“Right. Robin’s quest is on the schedule, and I think I have an idea of how I can get Grey’s vote. Biren, a while back, said he’d be watching me to see if I did something amazing, whatever that means. So I think I have everything locked in.”

“Good. Then we’ll set a parliament date.”

“That means that people will cast their votes?”

Mandrake nods. “Yes. All Silverbones are required to attend. Each member can call a parliament once every two years, with an exception for induction votes.”

“Okay. I’ll be done with my contract on July twenty-fifth. Then give me a week to get that ingredient from Hawaii. Then a day after that for me to gather Grey’s vote.”

“Do you have an idea of how you’ll do that?”

“Yes.” I take the orb out from my pocket. “It has to do with this.”

“Lots of people seem to want that orb.” Mandrake sighs. “Okay. Then I’ll set it for August third. Today is July twentieth.”

“Right.” I take out my phone and set the date. “Then we’ll see if everyone keeps their word about my vote.” I put the orb back into my pocket—the one with the zipper.

Mandrake nods. “When’s your next lab date?”

“Tomorrow at ten in the morning.”

“Then we have time. I’ve been told you have a good work ethic when it comes to training.”

“Right.”

Mandrake leans up and taps Sebastian on the shoulder. “Here’s the address of the practice room.”

Five minutes later we pull into a lot with a short, squat building in it. It seems to be aa gymnasium of some sort.

We enter. Mandrake signs us in at the desk. Then we walk into the back room, where three people are already standing. The room has a vaulted roof, and there is a trench about two stories deep surrounding the middle. The platform is divided by a number of obstacles. On each side of the room there are five pillars with different elements inside of them. Water, fire, air, earth, and light. The five basic elemental spirit types.

I already know two of the people. Neo and Az. The third is someone I don’t recognize.

“Hi.” I walk up to the three players. “I’ve been scouted for this team for the upcoming Great Joust.”

“Have you ever played Joust before?” Neo approaches me.

“No. I don’t even know the rules, but I’ve been told my combat experience will really help me.”

“That’s correct. Joust is a game designed to simulate dungeon combat.” Neo turns. “You already know Az.”

Az bows.

“And she’s Jane.”

Jane is a tall, thin blond woman with wide-rimmed glasses. She’s wearing a track suit. She walks up to me and shakes my hand. “Nice to meet you, Markus. I’ve heard a lot about you. You’ve been in a lot of fights since you came here to England.”

“Right.” I look at the course again. “So how does this game work?”

“The goal is to destroy the other team’s monolith using spirit magic.” Mandrake stands between me and the other players. “Each monolith is constructed by the team that owns it.”

“So that’s why you allowed me on the team.” I understand. My Rearden Metal will make our monolith untouchable.

Mandrake grins. “Yeah. I didn’t just let you in out of courtesy.”

“He’s the one who made Rearden Metal?” Jane looks me over. “His aura is powerful. What is your spirit?”

“Technically blue anima. But it manifests as a toolbox spirit. Like a metaphysical toolbox. My spirit isn’t actually a toolbox.”

“Show me.”

I hold out my hand and anima fluid pours from my palm, collecting in mid air and forming a block of pure elemental copper. The bar clatters to the floor. “And I can do this.” I snap my finger and grass spreads from my feet and starts curling up the wall. “I am able to conjure iron, wood, copper, water, and grass. Rearden Metal is an alloy of iron and copper with carbon.”

Jane turns to Mandrake. “So you’re saying that this kid is going to build our monolith.”

“Correct.” Mandrake turns to me. “So the game happens in four fifteen-minute bouts. There are five balls in play at once, each ball being filled with one of the essential elements. When a ball comes into contact with a monolith, the side who threw it gets to “explode.” This means that the team uses whatever is in the ball to attempt to destroy the enemy team’s monolith. If the ball does not destroy the monolith but damages it, that teams gets points based on how damaged the monolith is. A judge makes that call. The monolith must contain three specific geometric shapes, chosen from a list. Is there anything you don’t get?”

“Right. This seems like a pretty simple game.”

“The balls are made from a special kind of rubber. They hurt, but won’t kill you.” Mandrake hands me a sheet of paper. “These are all the shapes that you need to choose from. We’ll help you.”

Az bobs his head up and down. “I am very well versed in the systems required to build a monolith. My only disadvantage is that lanthanum is a very brittle metal.”

“Right.” I look at Mandrake.

He nods. “You ever played any other kinds of sports?”

“I played soccer in middle school. I wasn’t very good at it though.”

Mandrake lifts his chin. “I know you’ll do good. When you’re done discussing the monolith with Az, we’re going to start our practice.”