Chapter 78 – What Did I Get Myself Into?

When I woke up in the morning, as always, I checked the archive to see if Lyura had answered. There was still no answer, but there was something else. I looked at the Map and saw a new Gate in Austria.

I went out into the living room of the suite and said, "Guys, you need to see this. Open the Archive, and look at the second message from the top."

_______________

Tr. AHM

To my fellow Travelers, I require assistance with a pressing matter. A substantial recompense is guaranteed for anyone present in the world named Gaia who is willing to come to my aid. I am located in the village of Johnsbach, in the kingdom of Austria.

______________

“There is also a new Gate in Austria that wasn’t there before.”

Lis hummed, nodded, and said, “Yeah, we should help. They might be in trouble if they were desperate enough to call for help.”

“You don’t think it’s something dangerous?”

“You tell me, you know this world better.”

“I don’t think it’s physical danger.”

“Write them a message to stay put. Let's add the Gate here to our count and go see what the pressing matter is.”

_______________ 

Tr. AHM

To my fellow Travelers, I require assistance with a pressing matter. A substantial recompense is guaranteed for anyone present in the world named Gaia who is willing to come to my aid. I am located in the village of Johnsbach, in the kingdom of Austria.

_______________

Tr. JR

Stay in Johnsbach. We will arrive to assist you in a day or two.

_______________

We rented a car and drove to the Gate.

___________________ 

Travelers Gate #482136295
Destination: Nahun
Status: Integrated
Mana level: 33
Threat level: Moderate

___________________

“This can be another option for our next world,” I told Mahya.

“Another? I don’t remember a medium mana before.”

“I know of three Gates that lead to mana level 32. I don’t remember the name; let me check.”

I looked in my old notebook from before going to Shimoor.

“Here it is, Lumis. Have you ever heard of it?”

“No.”

“It’s mana 32, and the threat level to humans is listed as moderate.”

“that's the usual threat level for this level of mana.”

“Why?”

“Monsters in the wild.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry; it’s less threatening than it sounds. You can stomp them like bugs with your level, even without your new class. In this case, the threat level applies more to a baby Traveler. You aren't a baby anymore.”

“I’m not that experienced either. Shimoor only had those annoying, bitey level one monsters called Jurbers, and once I got burned by a level two fire-spitting toad with a sticky tongue.”

“Yes, but in Tuonela, you didn’t even twitch from level three and four cats.”

“True. I’ll trust you on this one.”

My red light was blinking.

_________________

Class: Gate Traveler Level 4

Gates to next level (12/12)

Level up

+1 to all stats, +5 free points, +1 ability point

Class: Gate Traveler Level 5

Available stat points: 5

Available ability points: 199

Gates to next level (0/17)

__________________

I decided to add the free points to Strength, which was the lowest, together with Agility.

We flew from Marseille to Graz in Austria, slept one night in Graz, rented a car in the morning, and drove to Johnsbach.

As we neared the village, I asked Lis, "Any idea how to find them?"

"We'll go to the center; if we don't feel them, we'll write a message through the Archive to meet us there."

I was glad we were driving here in the spring; the place looked like it would be covered in snow in the winter. It was a very picturesque area, with high mountains and next to a beautiful national park. At least we arrived at a fun place to visit and see the beauty of nature.

When we reached the center of the village, we felt the Traveler. We parked the car and followed the feeling. As we got closer and saw his pointy ears, Mahya and I stopped.

"It's one of the monsters from Tír na nÓg," Mahya said.

"No, he's not." Lis said, "Use your senses; he is stronger than Lyura but weaker than John. The people of Tír na nÓg were stronger than me on many levels."

He was tall and lean, with long blond hair and very light blue eyes, glowing like all the Travelers.

We approached him, and he stood up and said something in German. I shook my head and said, “English.”

He sighed deeply and looked put upon, and I felt him spend the mana. We started saying random words in English. “House,” “chair,” "bird," "sky," "watermelon" ... after five minutes, we switched to complete sentences, "I'm reading a book," "the boy wants to play outside," "I saw a good show on TV" ...

come on, buddy, what's taking so long? 

"Let's go for a walk," "The coffee spilled on the floor" ...

After twenty minutes, he finally said, “That will suffice. You have the honor of meeting Alfonsen Holerand Mirbit VII, heir to the throne of Mirbit, from the world of Leylos.”

Lis sent me telepathically in a cynical tone, “Oh, great, one of those.” And Mahya snickered. Rue walked up to him and sniffed his crotch; I've never seen him do that!

"What are you doing?! You vile creature! Remove yourself from my presence at once!”

Rue scoffed at him, actually scoffed out loud.

Oh boy! 

I began to understand what Lis meant. Lis cast a Privacy Sphere, we introduced ourselves, and I asked, “What’s the urgent matter you need assistance with?”

"You are required to act as my guides in this perplexing environment and guarantee that I accumulate a significant number of ability points and fill my missing classes. When you arrive in the world of Leylos, my family will lavish you with tremendous rewards.”

“You sent an SOS because you wanted a tour guide?” I asked.

“I know not of the SOS you are speaking of. However, as I am the future monarch of Mirbit, you are obliged to help me achieve my goals.”

I just stared at him, and Lis and Mahya were making choked sounds. I turned to look at them with a giant question mark on my face, and they lost it. Both of them roared with laughter. After a second, I started laughing too.

Alfonsen looked offended and said, “This is an unsightly conduct.”

We started laughing even harder.

After I could stop laughing, I said, “You’re right, sorry.”

I telepathically asked the three of them, “What should we do with him? I’m not sure leaving him here is a good idea.”

Mahya sent, “Let’s take him with us; he will be a great source of entertainment.”

Lis sent, “I hate nobles. Travelers or regulars, it doesn’t matter, they are all shitheads.”

Rue sent, “No! Friend!”

“Yeah, buddy, you’re right. He’s not very friendly, but maybe he will learn.”

I asked, “Take with us or leave?”

Mahya nodded very enthusiastically. Lis thought for a moment and nodded. Rue nodded last.

I turned to him and said, “Well, Alfonsen, you can come with us and maybe, on the way, collect some points and classes, but we won’t be serving as your designated tour guides and specifically helping you collect what you want.”

He looked outraged and said, “I will thank you to address me by my full name, and I shall not follow you as a mere vagrant. It is incumbent upon you to serve as my guides.”

“Listen, buddy, if you think that every time I address you, I will say that long and ridiculous name, you are very mistaken. Besides, we don’t owe you anything. You might be some heir to some country or other, but the universe is large, and your country is just a speck of dust in the big picture. So either get off your high horse and join us on our terms, or stay here and find your own way. You got me?”

He just stared at me like I was speaking Chinese. Lis and Mahya lost it again; they were of no help.

Finally, when he stopped laughing, Lis said, “Let’s add this Gate to our count and go to Germany.”

We checked the location, which was very close, so we decided to walk there. We pretty much ignored Alfonsen; It was up to him now – I said my piece.

_________________

Travelers Gate #568333259
Destination: Muslar
Status: Integrated
Mana level: 22
Threat level: Low

_________________

We returned to the car, and Alfonsen followed us like a lost puppy. I felt a bit sorry for him. I guessed he grew up with everybody catering to him, and suddenly, he was faced with a different reality. We got in the car, and he followed suit. At least he knew what was good for him.

Lis said, “I traveled Muslar a long time ago; I don’t remember there being a Gate to a technological world, but maybe it was so long ago that the technology level progressed.”

Alfonsen said, “The Gate I traversed was previously designated for Leylos; however, it abruptly altered its destination.”

“The Gate changed?” Asked Lis.

“Yes.”

“Shit. I don’t think we’ll have time for Africa and China both. If gates are switching, the speed of the mana rise will double and triple very soon.”

Mahya and I spoke together, “China.” “China.”

“Why?”

“Cheap stuff to sell,” I said.

“Okay, let's finish with Germany and fly to China.”

When we parked at the airport, I switched my vision to look at Alfonsen. He looked the same, except for the pointy ears and glowing eyes. Good enough. I asked him, “Did you conjure identifications?”

He nodded and showed me an Austrian passport.

I told him, “Earth is unfamiliar with magic, so please don't take things out of your Storage where somebody can see.”

He nodded again.

“Do you have local money?”

“No.”

“How did you pay for your stay in Johnsbach?”

“I bestowed a gold coin upon them.”

I took a reloadable credit card with a thousand euros and told him, “Give me ten gold coins and take this. It has a thousand units of the local currency.”

"It is unbecoming for a prince to assume responsibility for expenses when escorted by his subjects.”

“Your princely ass can get out of the car, as far as I’m concerned, and go find some other subject to ‘assume responsibility for expenses.’ I don’t owe you anything.”

What did I get myself into?

He looked offended but gave me the gold. We flew to Germany and visited both Gates by train. Alfonsen trailed behind us, looking even more like a lost puppy, but he stopped assuming we owed him anything.

I discovered online that US and UK citizens need a visa to go to China. I initially thought about applying for a visa, but Lis suggested that we simply conjure new European identifications.

We had three days in Frankfurt before our flight to Beijing, so I decided to be the carrot for a change and registered the four of us for three workshops.

High Heels Dancing in LaCalidad Dance Center
Pole Dancing
Handlettering & Brushlettering Workshop

I found a shop named The Drag Queen Closet, and we went there to buy high heels for the class. Alfonsen looked like he might start hyperventilating, especially since the salesperson was in full drag but had a mustache.

He finally squeaked, “I am uncertain bout this endeavor.”

“You want an ability point?”

“Yes.”

“Be certain. Trust me, workshops are a lot of fun.”

The three of us had a blast in the workshop; Alfonsen looked mortified. Ha! He didn’t know yet what the next workshop was. I felt a bit evil, but those were the only workshops the three of us could farm. We did so many that we were severely limited.

In the Pole Dancing workshop, he looked at the instructor who was explaining about being sexy and seductive and walked out—his loss.

He came back ten minutes later looking resolved and joined the class. The three of us had a lot of fun and tried to be the sexiest we could with a lot of ass wiggles and sticking out our tongues. After the workshop, the instructor told us that she wished all her students were so accommodating and told us quietly to lose “the uptight prick.”

The lettering workshop was sedate, and Alfonsen managed without losing his cool.

Progress!