Chapter 3-84: Phone It In (1/2)

His eyes glanced away, like he was thinking about something else, then he visibly flinched, looking back at me in shock.

His phone didn’t seem to be affected by being underground fifty feet when it buzzed a moment later. He handed it to me, I took it and looked at it, the whole thing swam in front of my eyes, and I just glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh, right.” He reached over and precisely poked one of the many buttons I couldn’t see clearly.

“Hello?” I asked politely.

“Who the hell are you or were you?” the clipped and dangerous voice on the other end snapped. It didn’t sound like my inherited memories, but that was fine. I didn’t, either, nor had Briggs.

“A shard of the soul Sauron wants to sue.”

“Sauron wants to...? The Lord of the... sunuvabitch! The Ringlord?! Here?!”

“A shard of his soul. He ended up having to chop off parts for reasons. I’m still a One, by the way.”

“Nooo Shiiit.” She was caught between amusement and consternation. “How long have you been here?”

“This is my thirteenth night. All sideways Levels.”

“Damn. Just... damn! You... you have all the gaming memories, too?”

“Kraken, two troops of sahaug, sea serpent, and kopoacinths. Didn’t need to call you to bail us out, either.” The encounters from the last time Ael had met her in-game, on the way to Coralost with Diana.

She burst out laughing. “Fuck me, you do know! And Briggs is here, too?”

“He’s a well-known figure in Baltimore. Commands the Shore Guard out of the First Light of Dawn there.”

“Huh, him and port cities... And he’s got a Source Oath to find me... not for bad reasons? I’m kind of a wanted person...”

“Yeah, I read the stories, which are long on condemnation, and preciously short on any facts except that you lived through shit nobody else did... which is what Nulls do. Interestingly enough, those who might actually be responsible also died, too.”

“Not that they wanted to!” she growled back in great satisfaction.

“I’m not going to ask you where you are, or how you know The Mick, or anything. I’m currently finishing up a Heavenbound quest in Pittsburgh, and I’ll be stopping at Heavenbound Hall in Detroit at the recommendation of Master Fred.”

“The Silent Warlock? Nice. How’d you meet him?”

“He was in the area by way of the New York Shroudzone. I hitched a ride to Baltimore. Guess who we ran into there, for some reason?”

She laughed into the phone in appreciation. “Damn Sources, and you being a One and all can’t stop him from pulling shit in around you to run into you!”

“Pretty much what I’m guessing.”

“Now, I would pretty much love to meet you in person, but I’ve got a deathmark on my head I don’t want you to have any affiliation with.”

“Have you been training up Forsaken, and someone found out?”

“You’re going to annoy me if you keep doing that.”

“Tell me who to watch out for.”

“The Weres, the Eryllian Amazons, the Imprusar, the Huulites, the Uruthimi, various Sinbound, and the Hags.”

“You simply do not know how to play diplomatic with people,” I said in an admiring voice. “Not the vampires? They must like the richer blood.”

“That is damn truth,” she agreed. “You got a number for Briggs?”

I rattled it off instantly, then added my own. “I’ll use The Mick as a contact if I need to reach you.”

“Good. If I figure out a good way to meet up with you, I’ll let you know. Don’t tell anyone you know me.”

“Master Fred knows.”

“The Mick speaks well of him. He keeps his mouth shut in more ways than one.”

“He does.”

“There is a great deal I want to talk to you about, but you can’t do shit until you Level, so it can wait.”

“There is a great deal you want to hear, too, but agreed, it can wait.”

“Take care. I’ll be in touch.” There was a click as she hung up as abruptly as she’d called.

I handed it back to The Mick. He had a curious look on his face as he turned it over slooowly for emphasis, I looked at it placidly, and he stashed it away. “I need your phone number,” I told him.

He rattled it off. “Want me to send it to your phone?” he asked.