The city of Vedastine was a primarily dwarvish city, and that was reflected in its construction. Instead of the cold metal and stone architecture that defined elvish cities, Vedastine was organic and growing. Wooden construction defined its style and every rooftop was covered in gardens and greenery. Many buildings had vines crawling up the sides, woven in specific patterns. The roads were paved with stone, but framed by trees. Only the city’s huge black walls were bare of any plant ornamentation.

  Their small caravan had stopped in front of the city gates and Seneschal Cormac had hopped out of Imohi’s hover cart to talk with the guards. Luke drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, impatient to get into the city. Hopefully they wouldn’t charge too much for entrance.

  Cormac finished his conversation and then said something to his lord, and then the other lord. Luke rolled down his window and leaned out to talk to the older orc as he walked up.

  “The train to the capital is earlier than expected. The man I spoke with said they might be leaving within the hour. Provisional Lord Imohi and Lord Momoh have decided to drive around the city and park directly at the train station. The fees are slightly higher there, but that way we don’t miss the train and have to wait until tomorrow.”

  Luke slumped. “So we don’t get to see Vedastine? You went on and on about the cuisine and echo plants and we won’t even step foot in the city?”

  Cormac waggled his hands in assent. “Yes. Sorry about that. The lords are happy though. They are typical elves in that regard. They prefer their civilization to be clean and spotless.”

  “Well, as long as they are happy, I suppose I can’t complain, can I?” Luke groused.

  He really wasn’t going to complain to them. Only a few hours ago, Momoh and Imohi showed him why it would be a bad idea to piss them off. Their class skills were well beyond anything Luke could match.

  A swarm of more than two dozen black beetles had attacked the caravan. Each one was ten feet tall, with a trio of horns that stretched up twelve feet high. The two monster cullers in the front hover cart had been quickly overwhelmed, prompting Momoh to join in the fight. He swept a scintillating beam of brown energy across the assembled monsters. Everywhere it touched, the monsters liquified and decayed. They went from healthy to year-old corpses in an instant.

  While Momoh was decimating the front line, Imohi was taking out the back line. Luke finally saw his skills in action. The Provisional Lord had a type of summoning skill, it created mana copies of a half dozen of the monster beetles. The copies were mutated and stronger than the originals, bigger with stronger natural weapons. They cut through the back line and met the disintegrating front line. Between the two elves, they had killed twenty-six high leveled monsters in a handful of seconds. They were high leveled monsters too, as evidenced by the fact that all of the servants hopped out of the hover carts and scrambled to quickly collect the cores before they sped off again.

  Outside the black city walls of Vedastine, Luke followed the other two hover carts in a looping path around to the train station on the other side of the city. There was another gate here, one just big enough for the train itself to pass through. He noticed that instead of a train track, they had installed a thin blue stone in a straight line leading away from the city. After another short conversation with the guards and they were let into Vedastine.

  Luke could hear the beautiful music and smell alluring foods in the distance, but he couldn’t get to any of them. Instead, they had to board the train right away. The conductor let them know they were the last ticketed guests and they would leave as soon as they were loaded.

  The train itself sat in a long loop around the train station. It was a hover train, sitting above the blue stone. The stone probably made the hovering more mana efficient. Towards the front of the train, there were multiple small train cars. Each one had ornately carved designs in different metals. Past them there were more sedate cars with minimal ornamentation and thick glass. The final cars were long wooden blocks with thin slit windows. The entire thing was perhaps a half mile long. There were no doors between cars, instead they had a walkway on the train’s roof with short bridges and low railing.

  Cultural norms insisted that the servants load all the luggage and prepare the rooms while the aristocrats ate crackers. Momoh suggested they pretend that was what happened and loaded up his luggage into the train car himself. Luke followed suit since his mech gave him even more effective strength than the mountain lord.

  Within ten minutes, everyone was aboard and ready to go. Luke’s group got the brass train car, the last of the individual train cars. He suspected he was supposed to be upset that the other lords got better train cars. Instead, he couldn’t be happier with his accommodations. It was like they gave him his own apartment.

  The bronze designs on the outside continued inside, giving the room a muted and calm feeling. It felt like they had been inspired by the art deco style from Earth. There were three rooms, one large room in the center with a bed, two chairs, and a small table. There was a small closet with a hole in the floor and enchanted water spigots. A basic toilet and shower was a luxury on a train. To the front and rear were two much smaller rooms with not much more than a bed. Kruro would have to stuff herself into the room in order to fit, but she assured Luke she preferred it that way.

  A hidden hatch in the floor opened up to the storage underneath. Half of that storage had been taken up by the Black Mamba mech, the rest with everyone’s luggage and the trade goods Luke had packed. He knew the spices and chocolate would sell well, but wasn’t sure about the VR goggles and ornate pocket watches. It was an experiment, some things were bound to fail.

  The train started moving shortly after they got settled. It started up so smoothly, only the movement outside let them know they were moving. They accelerated for a while, getting faster and faster until the sound of wind rushing past the windows grew loud. At some point, they reached an equilibrium and the oscillations dampened. They were going at least twice as fast as the hover truck’s top speed.

  For the first time in the trip, Luke climbed out of his smaller set of power armor. The conductor had said that the train had the highest grade of protection available and the privacy wards were as good as the ones in the Triumvirate's castle. It felt nice to finally relax.

  He was about to sigh in relief when he saw the look on Bosa’s face. Her expression was twisted with disgust. It was like she was looking at a rat in her soup.

  Luke glanced down, but his fly wasn’t down. “What? Do I smell? I’m sorry, I can take a shower.”

  Bosa schooled her expression and said, “No, no, that’s not it. It’s not you at all. I was just reminded of an unpleasant memory.”

  He sighed and sat down heavily. “Seems to be a lot of that going around. No one can stand the sight of me.”

  She shook her head, worried now. “Seriously, it’s not about you. You seem great.”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  He flopped back on the bed and said, “It’s not you, it’s me. How is it that even the lesbian servant wants to break up with me?”

  “What?” Bosa sounded confused now.

  Luke sat up again. “Sorry. That was me being overdramatic. I’m normally not like this, but I guess I’m still getting over being dumped a few days ago. My girlfriend, Vanessa, was supposed to come with me on this trip. She dumped me because she has PTSD and now she gets triggered when she sees me. It’s why we broke up. I guess I’m sensitive about it. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t make that your problem.”

  Bosa ran through a few different emotions. She looked away and said, “I’m sorry I made you think of that. I didn’t mean to throw you into a tailspin. I’ll stay out of your hair.”

  She hurried to the rear servant room and slid the door shut. A large rune in the center of the door started softly glowing.

  Kruro had been retreating into her own room during the discussion. The naga really hated talking about emotional stuff. With Bosa gone, she slithered back into the main room. Kruro pointed at the rune on Bosa’s door and said, “That’s a privacy rune, one of many around the cabin. She can’t hear us anymore, neither can anyone else, regardless of their skills.”

  “Huh. Seems like a useful rune. I’ll have to memorize it at some point. But you said something last night. You wanted to tell me something, but only while no one could overhear. What was that about?”

  Kruro wiggled her hands in assent. “Indeed. The Empire’s spies are everywhere and most nobles are loyal to the Triumvirate. I couldn’t risk talking to you about this before. I know you have an interdicted skill.”

  Luke’s eyes widened. “What makes you think I have an illegal skill?”

  She waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t bother trying to deny it. You aren’t nearly as secretive on Earth as you are on Kalibutan. I saw you use the phase spell that bypasses armor. That’s not just illegal, it’s actually interdicted. One of the few skills that. if properly leveled, could kill the Triumvirate."

  “I’m not sure what you saw, but I’m pretty sure I’m too weak to be a danger to any royal, let alone one of the Triumvirate."

  She huffed. “I’m not going to turn you in, Luke of Machines. Just the opposite. I know you are a just and good man, and I trust you with my life. That is why I’m willing to admit I am a member of the White Scales.” She paused and held her breath.

  “Uh, is that supposed to mean something to me?”

  She shook herself and leaned back on her tail. “I see I’ve assumed too much. A history lesson is needed to explain who the White Scales are. Kalibutan is the world of the elves. They are the only intelligent species native to this planet. Almost a millennia ago, The Empire of the Rising Dawn succeeded in conquering the disparate tribes. For centuries, the Triumvirate ruled with an iron fist. But an empire built for war cannot survive without an enemy. They attempted many solutions, organized religion, eldritch enemies they called the Outsiders, none of it worked.

  “When their nation was about to fall to infighting and civil war, the Triumvirate’s Runewrights succeeded in creating a distraction. They opened portals to another world. A race of warlike beings, called Kapro, attempted to invade Kalibutan. They failed. Instead, the elves beat them back and invaded their world. It was a total genocide.”

  “They killed off an entire species? A planet of people, just gone?”

  “Indeed. They only realized their mistake when the last foe was dead. With no one to fight, the Empire grew directionless again. They opened up new portals, only this time they conquered instead of exterminating. They turned the dwarves into a vassal race. When their world was completely dominated, they moved on to the Merfolk, Orcs, Cyclops, and Naga. The Naga were a proud people, so we didn’t capitulate like the rest. They had to kill almost all of us before the remainder surrendered. Our world is still devastated decades later.

  “They think us a broken people, but we never stopped fighting. Many Naga are part of the White Scale, a group of rebels with the goal of destabilizing the Triumvirate and closing the gates to other worlds. People from all the conquered races are working together to trap the elves in their own world. We will not rest until they turn their war machine on themselves.” She leaned forward. “And I believe you can help us.”

  Luke blinked and sat back. He never would have guessed that Kruro was a terrorist. She played the part of a dutiful servant so well. “You want me to join your rebellion? I assume it’s because of my skill. Do you want me to kill a king with Phantom Shot? I don’t know if I want to be an assassin.”

  “Eventually, yes. You are too low leveled for now, the White Scale would help you past your next few thresholds first. If you agree, we’ll train you and arrange a meeting with one of the Triumvirate. With one of the three killed, the government will slow to a crawl because the remaining two won’t be able to agree on anything.”

  Luke was still reeling from the revelation and took a minute to respond. “What if I say no? I sympathize with your plight, but Earth is at peace. This might send my entire world into war, millions would die.”

  “Millions have already died and many more millions will die if we do nothing. Your world is at peace for now, but that is only because the Triumvirate is taking time to build up a bigger invasion force. They will attack your world again, it is an absolute certainty. The only way for you to save your fellow humans is to help the White Scale stop the elves before they can attack.”

  “I believe you, I really do. Everything I know about the elves tells me you are telling the truth. But still. I have to assume this would plunge my world into war. No one man should be able to make that decision.”

  Kruro sighed and looked out the window. The countryside slid by as the train rocketed forward. “You asked what would happen if you said no? Nothing. You would be left alone. We only recruit from those whose whole being is dedicated to the fight. I would report to my superiors that I have failed and they would eliminate me.”

  “They would kill you?!” Luke shouted. He was glad for the privacy runes so no one else heard that outburst.

  “The only reason the White Scale still exists is that we take our security very seriously. The moment I mentioned their name to you, I knew that my life was on the line. I understand your reticence to join our organization, you must be loyal to your world first and foremost. However, give my proposal some thought. You do not need to make a decision until after we are at the capital. We will either give you some training, or you will never see me again.”

  “That’s not fair. You can’t put that on me like that.”

  “Life is rarely fair.”

  A soft chime rang from near the door to the roof. A small hexagon hung there, with dozens of small colored flags. They flipped over after the chime, forming a new pattern. Kruro slithered over to the magic telegram and consulted the small booklet that hung there.

  She said, “It is a notice that the train will be attacked by monsters soon. It is not an emergency, those that wish to exercise their skill may join in the defense of the train.”

  Luke looked out the window. He didn’t see anything yet, but he felt like killing some monsters right now. “I’ll join the defense. But this isn’t the last we are talking about this. I won’t let you kill yourself, even if I don’t join your terrorist organization. I dueled a lord to save your life, I’m not going to let you throw it away.”

  Once he was back in his slim power armor, Luke opened the exit door and stepped onto a narrow platform. There was a ladder attached to the side of the train car for roof access. One slip or false step could have him falling off the train to his death. Then again, most people using this ladder would be very high leveled, unlikely to fall and strong enough to survive if they did.

  When he got to the roof, he saw a simple platform with a four foot tall railing on the edges. There were small bridges connecting to the other train cars. Of the twelve high class cars, four of them had people on them. The wind was howling, whipping their robes and tunics. Jinx had followed him up to the roof, but decided she didn’t like the wind so she phased back into the cabin. Luke smiled as he realized it wasn’t affecting him at all. Score another one for mech suits.

  Luke turned to the countryside. They were in a dry area with scrub brush and stunted trees in between the rocks and sand. Off to the left of the train were about fifty monsters racing this way. Some of them wouldn’t get there by the time the front of the train passed, but they would still hit the rear of the long train.

  If any of them survived that long, anyway.