Lord Momoh, ruler of the estate village of Monta Hejmo, Lord under the Mountain, belched and scratched his rotund butt. The vast majority of elves were thin and tall, they weren’t genetically predisposed to putting on weight. Momoh bucked that trend by putting on the pounds. Most of the world would call him obese, but Luke was used to American standards, so he thought of the elf as merely chubby.

  The two of them were having lunch in his spacious dining room deep underground. Its ceiling was painted with images of Momoh leading an army. An orc servant delivered them the second course and hurried out of the room. Most of the staff was orcish with a few elvish mixed in. Dwarves were common on Kalibutan, but they had an aversion to living underground. Luke suspected it was because they couldn’t show off their pearlescent skin without sunlight.

  Luke picked up an eating stick and skewered the chicken nugget. He thought it was ridiculous to travel across the galaxy to eat lunch on another world, only to be served food from Earth. It was his fault too. In addition to killing monsters for their cores, Luke had taken to providing food for the estate villages. Compared to the options on Kalibutan, Earth food was shockingly cheap. Even with a 70% markup, the elvish chefs he dealt with felt like they were getting a steal. It was cheaper to produce food on Earth where monsters weren't trying to eat the farmers.

  “I received word that my villa will be ready for our return when we visit the capital,” Momoh said and dug into the chicken nuggets. “I have a suite set aside for you, with an attached room for your servants. I know you humans don’t like having servants, but I hope you understand by now it’s expected of anyone with a high enough status to inherit a twelfth of Edobar’s holdings. It will be hard enough to get them to accept a human, we must adhere to all other conventions to give them no cause to object.”

  Luke held up his hands in surrender. “It's a sixth, not a twelfth. And I have already arranged to have two people act as my servants. They’ll take lessons from your staff on the train. Speaking of which, it’s a day and a half to even get to the train in Vedastine. Any word from your nephew on borrowing his hover cart?”

  Momoh sighed and looked away. “I’m sorry, but Provisional Lord Imohi will need it for himself. I offered to host him in my own hover cart, but he insisted that he ride in his own cart. He wants to look the part of a lord so that he will have a better chance of being elected permanent lord during the shuffle. I hate to say it, but I agree with him. Every little detail will affect his chances.”

  Luke huffed. “Fine. I’ll buy the hover truck from Earth. It’s not as nice as yours, but there’s no way I’m walking in my mech for two days straight.”

  “See if you can paint it your house colors, gray and violet. It will smooth things along, I promise.”

  Luke rolled his eyes, but wiggled his hands in the Kalibutan sign for agreement. He used to think of the movement as jazz hands, but he was adjusting to their culture. Certain aspects of it anyway.

  This trip was shaping up to be a real hassle. It would take days and he would have to jump through several hoops to access the riches he was promised. Momoh assured him it would be worth it. Edobar had lived for hundreds of years and had amassed a fortune before making a political gaff that got him sent to the edge of society near the portal.

  Luke would prefer it if Momoh went to the capital and shipped his share back through the portal. Sadly, that would be illegal. The Triumvirate had laws against that to ensure their wealth didn’t flow to other worlds. Edobar’s fortune couldn’t leave the city, but Luke could spend it all after he arrived there. Then he could take whatever he wanted home. It would be the mother of all shopping trips.

  One precaution for that trip was something he was practicing right now. He was convincing his War Machine class that his prosthetic leg counted as a machine he was piloting. It took about half his focus to cycle his mana through his core and his leg, but the benefit was that he got a class buff. That equated to fifty-six extra stat points, as long as he didn’t lose his concentration.

  “Who will your nephew bring with him on the trip? Will Seneschal Cormac be coming with us?” Luke asked. Names and titles were important in Kalibutan culture. Luke was insulting Imohi by not referring to him by his full name and giving Cormac extra respect by referring to him by his title.

  Momoh laughed boisterously and slapped the table. “If Provisional Lord Imohi had his wishes, that old orc would stay here. Those two do not get along. But as you know, Cormac has fully healed and having a Chosen Seneschal will boost his standing considerably. Your friend will be in the entourage, no worries. It will be years before Provisional Lord Imohi can afford to replace him.”

  Luke smiled back at him. This mess had all started when Luke had saved Cormac’s life and later his job by taking over the monster killing duties for him while he healed. The medicines that could heal his cracked class core were expensive and took months to work. But Luke had given him the money and time needed to make that happen. Cormac’s Mana Maestro class was available once more.

  “I’m glad to hear that. I guess having a head of your household with a high level silver class is rather prestigious.”

  “For an outer lord? Yes, very prestigious. Of course, context matters. A baron wouldn’t be caught dead with anything less than a silver classed Seneschal. I hear that Viscounts and above have multiple gold classed servants.”

  Luke wiggled his hands in assent. “I’m sure the upper echelons of Kalibutan royalty are rarified. Honestly, I hope that I don’t meet any of them. I want to claim my share and get out. Maybe fight in the games under the city a bit, but that’s it. Politics has never interested me.”

  “Then we have very different personalities. But don’t worry. I promise to handle the icky politics for you. I will fulfill my debt to you as soon as I can and then we will part ways. If you change your mind and wish to stay for the shuffle, please let me know. I can get you in to observe the process and I’m positive that your presence will make things more interesting.”

  Luke slashed his hands down. “I’ll accompany you, but I doubt my presence will make politics interesting.”

  Momoh laughed again and they went back to eating.

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  ???

  Luke’s second meeting of the day was slightly more pleasant. He had Vanessa with him. Even the most boring conference was more tolerable with his girlfriend there. Things between the two of them had been strained recently, but their relationship was worlds better than his working relationship with Agent Brown.

  The SPEAR agent wasn’t a bad guy, he just wasn’t good either. He blindly followed his superiors and only occasionally helped Luke out. He probably wouldn’t stick his neck out for Luke at all if it wasn’t for the fact that he owed him. Luke was employing his friend Daniel as a favor.

  “Thanks for coming in, Luke. I had a few things I wanted to go over. First off, shield runes. I know we mentioned it before, but you might be able to buy shield runes in the Empire’s capitol. I just wanted to remind you that we would pay you handsomely for the runes and intents.”

  Luke nodded along. That was his number one goal after collecting his share of Edobar’s holdings. If both worlds had shield runes, war would be way less likely. Plus, he wanted to kit out his ultimate mech with shields.

  Agent Brown tapped his laminate wood desk and continued. “But that’s not the real reason I asked you to swing by. I have an opportunity I wanted to run by you.”

  Luke leaned back on his rickety metal folding chair and said, “What kind of opportunity? And is this an opportunity or an order?”

  “It’s a real opportunity. Leadership has been developing infiltrators since day one. They want to send one with you to the capitol. We don’t get the chance to send agents that deep into Kalibutan often.”

  “Infiltrator, like a spy? You want me to bring along a spy for SPEAR? Not sure if that’s a great idea. What if they get caught?”

  “She won’t get caught, trust me. Our agent has been at this for a few years and has been fooling the aliens the whole time. She’s even fooled your snake friend and the rest of the aliens you brought to Earth when you killed their boss.”

  “Did she really? Elves aren’t just humans with long ears. They have a distinctive bone structure.”

  Agent Brown shook his head. “They used magic to make her look just like an elf. Trust me, she won’t get caught. Even if she did get caught with some bullshit magic power, who cares? We aren’t at war, she would just get sent home. If you want her to come with you, it won’t cause you problems.”

  Luke leaned back, glancing over to Vanessa. She hadn’t said a word since they came in here. When she didn’t look up he said, “Why would I want her to come with us?”

  “I think it’s prestigious, right? Having a classed elf as your servant? You mentioned a few weeks ago that you were trying to look fancy,” Agent Brown said. “Besides, I haven’t got to the best part. I arranged a base visit for you. Tomorrow you can sit in a fully armed attack helicopter.”

  Luke’s eyes widened. That would be fantastic. He had been wanting to add an attack helicopter to his Summon Vehicle skill for months. And having an elvish servant would be useful. As long as she wasn’t caught, having a spy act as his elvish staff would make the whole trip easier. Then he shook his head. “As much as I want to accept, I’ll have to pass. I’m bringing along Jinx, Vanessa, and Kruro already. Lord Momoh said the train cabins won’t fit more than that. So unless you want to pay for an extra train car for your spy, I think that won’t work.”

  Agent Brown turned to Vanessa and said, “You didn’t tell him? I thought you were here to help me convince him.”

  Vanessa gave her head a small shake.

  “Tell me what?” Luke asked.

  “I’m not...” Vanessa shook her head. “I’m not coming with. Agent Brown talked to me last week about preparations and I told him I wasn’t going to the capital. I’ve been trying to tell you too, but there was never a good time.”

  “Why not? Did something happen? Are you alright?” Luke asked and put a hand on her shoulder.

  She flinched back and said, “I’m fine. I’m fine.” She stopped herself and cleared her throat. “Actually, I’m not fine. My therapist says I need to be more open and honest about my feelings. I... can’t do it anymore. I’ve tried to keep going, to not disappoint you, but I can’t visit Kalibutan anymore.”

  “Is it -” Luke stopped himself and looked at Agent Brown. This looked like it was turning into a private conversation. “Can you give us a minute?”

  Agent Brown looked over to his computer and moved some files around. “I can’t leave this stuff. It’s classified, sorry. But you can use the conference room. It’s empty. Feel free to lock the door.”

  Luke huffed and Vanessa stood up. She hurried out the door and Luke followed her. She walked into the conference room at the end of the hall and stood there, not turning around.

  “What’s going on? Is it something I did?” Luke asked.

  “No, no, you’re great. That’s what makes this so hard. If you were a jerk, then these feelings would make sense,” she said as she spun around.

  “What do you mean?”

  She took a deep breath and said, “You know how I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD from that time I almost died? It’s about that. It flares up whenever I visit Kalibutan, and particularly when I see monsters.”

  “I thought therapy was helping.”

  “It was. Or is. I don’t know. It’s bad. My therapist says, and I agree, that I shouldn’t subject myself to triggers anymore. That means no more visiting Kalibutan. At least for now. I need time out of panic mode before we can start exposure therapy.”

  “Whoa. That’s a huge change. You’ve been doing great work as our negotiator and I was counting on your help with this trip.” He stopped himself. “But that’s fine. We can make this work. I still love you and you can keep your job. Maybe you can be in charge of training the new hires on Earth? And Allen’s been talking about hiring an assistant, maybe you can help him out between classes?”

  She slowly shook her head, “No, those are triggers too. And-” her voice cracked. “And you are a trigger too. Every time I see you, I remember that day. It got worse after I saw the duel. The sight of that death and blood, and, and you killed a guy. Shepard was a jerk, but I knew him. I just don’t think I can be around you. We... We have to break up.”

  Luke stood there in shock, unable to come up with a reply. He had lifted his arms up to give her a hug and he dropped them. He had known things were rough between them, but he hadn’t ever guessed this could be the reason. He had been trying to do nice things for her, made dinners, surprised her with romantic dates, and gave her little gifts. He hadn’t understood at the time why it wasn’t helping.

  He whispered, “I thought you were getting better.”

  “Maybe I am. But I think we’ll have to do it separately. I want to still be your friend, but I can’t. I’m so sorry. None of this is your fault. You saved my life. I would literally be dead without you, but I just can’t be around you right now. Maybe if you're still interested in six months or a year from now we can talk again. I don't want you to put your life on hold though, I might not ever get better." She paused and sighed. "I’ll come get my stuff after you leave and I’ll leave the extra key with Allen. I’m so, so sorry to do it like this, but it’ll be worse if we drag it out. Goodbye Luke.”

  She walked up and gave him a peck on his cheek.

  “Wait, seriously? You are going to give up on us? Can’t we just take a break? What if therapy works and you feel better in a month?”

  She bit her lip and shook her head.

  Luke sighed. It took two to create a relationship. He dropped his hands. “Goodbye Vanessa.”

  She hurried out and Luke stood there, staring at the wall. Tears dripped down his face.

  Author Note: The chapter title is a quote from American Psycho (2000)

  Sorry to start the second book on a bit of a downer. I think people ignore the psychological wounds in fantasy often because it’s a fantasy, an escape from harsh reality. But I feel there is a value to injecting realistic consequences to trauma in fantasy. Occasionally, anyway. I don’t plan on having the majority of the novel be a bummer.