The Excisionists: Book 1 Read online

  There wasn’t much more to see in these pools other than waving fronds of familiar plants and small fish. I swam to the surface and walked around the land again. When the winged creatures flew past, I jabbed at them, their blood spurted in all directions as they dropped to the ground, and I collected dozens of white crystals for destroying them. I was hoping to see an inhabitant of Tuman soon but found a hangar with small ships instead. It wasn’t guarded because none of the ships seemed to have been used recently and it was more like a dust covered graveyard than a ship hangar. I decided to enter one of them anyway to see what was inside. I picked the largest of them all and gazed around as I explored the interior. It was shiny and metallic with ten seats and complicated instrumentation on the bridge. It wasn’t dusty inside despite being in disrepair on the outside. I found the reason for the tidy interior after additional inspection of the ship. Cleaning bots were still working away as were medical drones and dispenser drones.

  A drone greeted me as I passed by the door of the cocktail lounge. “Welcome to the Leyv. What can I get for you?”

  I jumped and then laughed at my response to the unexpected conversation starter. The drone was more like an A.I. than a cleaning bot but was completely metal instead of having rubbery flesh to simulate a human. The male voice was tenor and pleasant. I entered the room and sat at the bar. “What would you recommend?”

  “Many Tumans enjoy a cup of hot currant juice, but you’d probably enjoy it on the rocks seeing that you’re a Vibrian.”

  “Okay, I’ll take it on the rocks then.” I watched as it dispensed purplish juice into a silver tumbler filled with cubes of ice. “How long have you been here without people on the ship?”

  “The Leyv was abandoned sixty years ago at the end of the war with the Lutrians. A peace was established between the two species and many of the Tumans travel by portal now with a companion Lutrian rather than utilizing a ship.”

  I chuckled at the extensive timeline that had been built into the game, but thoroughly enjoyed the details. “Is this ship able to still function if someone can pilot it?”

  He placed the metal glass on the counter in front of me. “Yes however, tokens are required to purchase a ship from the shipmaster.”

  I lifted the dark liquid to my lips and drained the cup. It was cool and effervescent as it cascaded across my tongue. The fluid was sweet and tart at the same time reminding me of a of berry dessert I’d had a few times as a kid. “Mmmm. That was good. Can I get another?”

  “Certainly.” It moved about to dispense another.

  “Where’s the shipmaster and how many tokens are needed for this ship?”

  It placed the tumbler on the bar in front of me. “The shipmaster can be found in the Kvadrat. He will likely be in the gallery enjoying a show. As for the required tokens, the Leyv was worth four tokens when it was decommissioned however, due to a low volume of requests you might be able to talk him down to two.”

  I savored the cool drink before departing. I knew I’d have to go back to Verbinia to find more tokens before I found the shipmaster. I jogged back to the portal to escape the warmth of this planet and slipped back into the icy river to continue my journey. The river sped along and pushed me toward the islands of ice. I dipped and bobbed in the water that rushed downward, eventually running back into the dark water below the glacier. I continued exploring until I found another area where I hadn’t been before. A chasm opened below and all I could see was darkness. I lit up my light reaction cells again and snaked downwards into the darkness. When I reached the bottom, an eye slit opened that was larger than I was. A chill ran down my spine knowing I’d unknowingly awakened a sleeping giant. I turned away and swam upwards as hard as I could, feeling the water push past me trying to draw me down into the mouth of the previously hidden creature. It took all my strength to escape the current, but I reached the ice shelf just before my strength was gone. I pulled myself up on the shelf and waited for my strength to regenerate. I dove back in and swam straight along the bottom before turning to see what I now faced. The sable beast was now further away but I could see it searching for prey with its glowing green eyes and massive sharp teeth. I froze the water around me into jagged shards that I used to shove into the rubbery skin when I approached the creature.

  It let out a scream as it thrashed and blew bubbles to obscure my view. I swam below the beast and tossed several bombs upward at it. I waited until the bombs floated upward near the eyes before I detonated them. Suddenly, it stopped moving upward and rushed at me. I swam for the nearest cave and ducked inside just seconds before it slammed into the rock, trapping me inside. I spun around to try to find a way out but couldn’t find one. I turned back to the blocked opening and dug at the sand with my arms moving rocks one at a time until an opening just large enough for me to wiggle through emerged. The beast was still swimming near the cave and its wide tail brushed past me as it circled around for another try. I quickly filled the cave with vibration triggered bombs and partially covered the opening as it took its wide berth to return. I swam to a nearby rocky outcropping and hid behind a wall of rock to await the arrival of the beast. When it came for another pass, I detonated the bombs by shoving a live one in the direction of the opening and detonated it when the current took it inside. I ducked behind the rock as the blast sent shock waves and shards of rock in all directions. I checked the health of the creature and it was finally near zero. I was emboldened to swim back toward the beast now that it was nearly dead and shoved more spears of ice through the center of the beast until it died.

  I was surprised that I’d survived the game so far without taking any major damage and hoped I’d be able to continue being so lucky. The reward for defeating the massive beast was two additional coins, a small crystal that resembled a warp point, and two blue hexagonal crystals. I collected my reward and swam back to the cave that had the river that would take me to the portal. When I stepped through it, I was immediately transported back to Tuman.

  I set out in search of the Kvadrat and ignored the small flying creatures this time even though I knew I was giving up some crystals. Eventually, I found the towering cubic building made from green glass. I entered the Kvadrat and met a Tuman on my way to the gallery. I hadn’t seen anyone else and I was fascinated by the miniscule avatar. She was much shorter than me but had enough length to have several pistols strapped to her heavily armored legs and an axe strapped to her back. I knew based on her weapons and armor she’d likely be a good friend to have in a battle. Her hair was curly long and white, and her skin was nearly as pale. Jade jewels of eyes sparkled as she blinked back at me. Her armor was black and the material peeking out underneath matched her irises.

  “I’m Amber. Who are you?”

  I smiled at her. “Crispin.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Uh, I’m looking for the shipmaster. You don’t happen to know where the gallery is, do you?”

  She giggled. “You can’t fly a ship, what would you want with him?”

  I shrugged. “Well, I was hoping I’d find a Tuman that would fly it for me, so then we could explore more planets together. Are you with anyone yet?”

  She giggled again. “Are you asking me on a date, or wanting to join a party?”

  I was a bit embarrassed by her response but tried not to show it. “Uh, a party. I uh, I didn’t mean it like that.”

  She placed a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. You’re the first player I’ve seen so far, and I know how to pilot a ship. I’ll help you out, but you have to give me something in return.”

  “Okay. What is it that you want?”

  She cocked her head and put her hand on her hip. “I want someone who will be friends with me when we get out of the game.”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond for a second and furrowed my brows as I tried to grasp the real meaning of her words. “Friends? That’s it?”

  She tossed her head back when she laughed. “Yeah. What did you think I was
going to say?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe you wanted a bunch of crystals or something.”

  “No. I’ve got what I need so far. Well, are you up for it?”

  I grinned and nodded. “Sure. And by then, maybe I won’t be so scary looking so you’ll want to still be my friend too.”

  Her brows raised. “What? What do you mean?”

  “Oh, I should explain I guess. When I was born, I had some problems after I was given some kind of medication and all of my skin peeled off. It left me with a bunch of scars, almost no hair, and only one working eye. Cygnet told me I’d get a new one to replace my missing one when I win the game and that they’ve figured out a way to heal my skin. I can’t wait. People won’t be afraid of me anymore when they see me.”

  She momentarily glanced away from me. “That’s too bad, but at the same time, it sounds pretty cool to have a robot eye.”

  I peered deep into her eyes when she looked back at me. “You don’t feel sorry for me, do you? Because I don’t much like it when people do. I’m not different, even though I look like I am.”

  She shook her head and looked at the ground. “I don’t.”

  It was starting to feel awkward, but I was used to that. “You know, you…you don’t have to be friends with me if you think it’s weird.”

  She looked back up at me and wrapped her narrow hands around my arm. “I want to be friends, I really do. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel like that. I know how it is because I’m the same.”

  I was a little confused. “You have scars too?”

  She giggled again. “No, no. It’s not that, it’s my pilot. People just don’t know what it’s like to have someone else calling the shots sometimes. It makes it hard to keep friends.”

  I must have had a puzzled look on my face because she started taking again before I responded.

  “My pilot.” She snorted. “As if you’re supposed to know who he is. Let me explain. I have a condition that’s like having a little guy in my head telling me what to do, and sometimes I just have to do what he says.”

  I was just beginning to understand what Amber was talking about but wasn’t sure how it would make her hard to be friends with. “What’s it like? I mean, I’ve never known anyone with a pilot before.”

  She tossed her hair behind her shoulders. “Um, it’s fine most of the time but sometimes I can’t ignore what he says. He insists I call him Commander, especially when he’s being loud because I’ve ignored him all day.”

  I was fascinated. “Commander, huh? That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “Yeah. But it’s not all bad. Sometimes he shows me stuff I wouldn’t see otherwise.”

  I raised my hands quizzically. “Like what?”

  “Well, one time there was someone in class that kept letting out the pet mice to scare the other girls and the teacher couldn’t figure out who it was. The Commander told me to go stand next to Jim and smell him. When I did, he smelled like cheese and I told the teacher it had to be Jim because he was the one who had been feeding the mice last and he came out to recess late. He denied it, but the teacher found some of the cheese in his pocket in the same shape as the one he’d used to put under the chair of the girl he wanted to scare the most. Eventually he confessed when the teacher showed him the evidence.”

  I chuckled. “That’s awesome and funny at the same time. I think it’s cool you got someone inside you looking out for little stuff like that. I think we’re going to be good friends. And that starts now.”

  She squeezed my arm as she beamed up at me. “Friends for life?”

  I placed my hand on hers and grinned. I felt a deep connection to her despite knowing nearly nothing about her. “Friends for life.”

  Suddenly, she shook her head and dropped her arms to the side. “No, it’s the gallery. Yeah, yeah. I’ll take him.” She looked back up at me. “This way. I’ll help you find the shipmaster.”

  I followed her down long corridors and into a room with strange pieces of art along the walls and in piles littering the walkway. Instead of nice neat rows to walk down, I had to dodge low hanging paper sculptures and weave around piles of garbage that had small signs displaying information about the artist. Many of them had been created from Shipmaster Yardis. By the time we reached the back of the room, I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet the person who’d made such ridiculous stuff. The eccentric little beast sat on a gilded chair with dozens of brightly colored curled tubes surrounding him. Each one was connected to either a different pot of dark liquid or an instrument that gave off strange noises. He sat making music while stopping occasionally to sample the concoctions from the pots. I stared at him for several minutes, taking in the small details carved into his beard, the rich embroidery in the garnet robe he wore, and the pockmarks that littered his sable skin.

  I grew tired of waiting, so I addressed him. “Are you the shipmaster?”

  He stopped making odd noises from the instruments and shot me an angry look. “You’re quite rude. Everyone knows who I am. How is it you don’t know me.”

  I tried not to sound overtly sarcastic. “Sorry, I don’t come from here. I’m looking to purchase a ship and was told to find you.”

  His eyes narrowed with greed. “Oh, you want a ship, do you? I have many ships. Did you have one in mind?”

  I nodded. “The Leyv. How much do you want for it?”

  He rubbed his thick fingers together and then steepled them. “What price are you willing to pay?”

  I wasn’t going to fall for salesman tactics. “One coin.”

  He scoffed. “She’s worth at least five. I won’t sell it for that low. Make another offer.”

  I shook my head. “No. No one uses ships anymore. I saw the dust collecting on them when I walked by the shipyard. I’ll just find someone else who wants to sell a used ship they have.” I turned to walk away.

  Desperation crept into his voice. “Wait. Maybe I could work a deal with you. I’ll give her to you for 3 coins, ten red crystals, and a Bismuth.”

  Again, I shook my head. “I guess you don’t really want to sell it do you.”

  He folded his chubby arms across his barrel chest. “What are you willing to pay for her?”

  I stared at him coolly. “One coin and five red crystals.”

  He folded his arms and shouted. “No Bismuth? No deal.”

  I shrugged. “If you want a Bismuth, I can throw one in. And I’ll give you one coin with the five red crystals. But that’s my final offer.”

  His eyes lit up at the prospect of receiving a Bismuth. “Deal. Pay my broker.” He pointed to his left to another short creature wearing much less costly clothing. “Now, leave me.” He turned back to his instruments and liquids as if he’d never been disturbed.

  The short service beast hobbled over and held out his hands. I dropped the coin and crystals into the open palms. He tucked them into his robe and then pulled out a shiny white access card. I took the card and he trotted away.

  Amber leaned over and whispered up into my ear. “Let’s go before he changes his mind.”

  “A deal’s a deal. He can’t do that.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, but he does.”

  I followed close behind her to get out of the compound and back to the shipyard. When we entered the Leyv, I handed her the card allowing her to pilot the ship. She gratefully accepted the card and I now realized just how well the ship was suited to someone of her size. I watched in amazement as her hands danced like lighting across the controls while she readied the ship for takeoff.

  Jade green eyes smiled up at me. “Strap in, takeoff is always a little bumpy.”

  I did as I was told. “Where are we headed?”

  She stared at the screen. “I say we find the closest planet and explore it.”

  I scanned the horizon before us. “Have you passed everything off on this one?”

  She shook her head. “No, just the stuff that matters.”

  “Oh. Well, do you want help finishi
ng it off?”

  She giggled again. “No. Some of it needs a Marxian or a Vibrian. Let’s see who else we can find first. Plus, some of it’s just fluff. It’s not like I have to get every single crystal that exists, you know?”

  “Fluff, huh? What other things do you consider fluff besides the extra crystals?”

  She lifted the craft from the ground with ease. “There’s always stuff that’s fun, but not necessary. If you spend all your time finding hidden gems, fighting every enemy for exta points, or going on every unnecessary quest, you end up behind all the others.”

  “Yeah, but isn’t that the point? Aren’t you supposed to enjoy your time away from reality and revel in the extras you have that no one else does?” The craft lurched ahead and pressed me back against my seat until pressures equalized.