Breaking the Habit

They docked and delivered the generator; not long after Shelle appeared from the treasure room, first returning it back to its original state. John couldn’t find Lance or Boathaen for much of the rest of the trip, but every now and then he noticed odd shadows with jerky movements. He attributed it to their sailing.

“I can teleport us home, I’ve recovered enough mana by now,” Shelle said, waving to the crowd of scientists, researchers, and other myriad staff of the research facility as they sailed away.

“If you can teleport, why didn’t you just teleport the generator there in the first place?” John asked incredulously, head snapping from their thankful admirers to the mage.

“For a big ship like this, I would only be able to safely teleport us somewhere with close proximity to Rider-Waite gateway mirrors. They take in a lot of ambient mana, and the type of enchantment placed on them isn’t used anywhere else. They’re really easy to find in the Astral Plane. Teleporting individual people is easier, but still tricky. Even at our exorbitant charge rate, it’s still much cheaper for them to hire us as an escort rather than tracking down the two or three already busy people within the Rider-Waites who could reliably teleport a fine magitech instrument such as that generator reliably,” Shelle explained, closing her eyes and scrunching up her eyebrows in focus. “Lance, wherever you are, go scout the harbor we left, I need somewhere safe to teleport our ship.”

Lance rushed into the room, though from where John didn’t know. “Aye-aye, cap’n. I’ll-”

“Wait! How long is that going to take?” John asked, pulling out his phone and checking his notifications. Jenny had created a group chat with him and Abigail, and he opened it then quickly closed it when he saw the redhead’s bare breasts. Even still, because it was her the image easily stayed in his mind. She took a photo in her dressing room mirror, wearing no shirt or pants but the white jacket she often wore while performing hung open over one shoulder.

“I dunno. I’m pretty fast, but Astraea is huge. I don’t want to cross that guy’s path again either, or anyone like him. I’m gonna have to take a scenic route. Probably an hour?” Lance guessed, stretching his arms and legs.

“Well, why don’t we use a far-seeing spell? That way Lance doesn’t have to go all that way,” John asked, texting his friends to see if they were free.

John: Hey Abigail, you busy rn?
Abigail: What is rn? I'm on a contract but I'll see you after <3
Abigail: OH RIGHT NOW!! IM GONNA START USING THAT!!
John: See you tonight <3

"It's not a bad idea, but I can't concentrate on scrying so far away and formulating our teleportation spell at the same time. By the time I regenerate the mana to do our teleportation, I'd have to check the harbor again anyway," Shelle explained, she traced a few sentences in the air with a glowing finger, and a slip of paper materialized. A reminder to work on John's idea. As it floated slowly to the ground, it was engulfed by a portal and shunted into Shelle's pocket dimension. "At this level that's something I should start working on. It'd be much faster."

John: What’s up Grace? Are you on base?
Grace: I got accepted into the Wands! A bunch of different Swords want to try my stickers, and the New York City Queen of Wands wants to research the way I made them!
John: Wow, that’s great! Does that mean you’re not going to be a Sword anymore?
Grace: Can’t get rid of me that easy :P I could mentor with a Wand, but because we’re already working together, I was hoping you could mentor me. I’d just transfer to the Wands and apply for a Swords apprenticeship. I’m about to take a mirror home to Springfield, what did you need?
John: Oh, yeah sure! We already go on contracts together anyway. I’ll probably have to be a higher ranked Sword member first though. Could you come to the Astraea docks for a few minutes? It’ll help me get home faster.
Grace: Awww cmon cba
John: Pls D:
Grace: Alright alright fine you help me out all the time, but you better pay me back! Going from here to there to Springfield is gonna cost me an extra five thousand quid -.-
John: I will!

“I can do it! I’ll be scrying a friend that’s there. It’ll save us the time,” John explained, putting his phone in his pocket. He waited a minute for Grace to get through the light security Sword members enjoyed before using Stellar Witness. The Brit was strolling out of the door of the Rider-Waite base. She had on a different puffy hat today, this one a dark blue that complimented her jean jacket. She was walking toward the harbor, but from his aerial perspective John could see a large part of the town. “Shelle, there’s a lot of clear water in the direction leading out of the door of the Rider-Waite base.”
“Is the entrance marked with a star? On Kingdoms with magnetic poles like this one, the northern wall of every Rider-Waite base is marked, for the convenience of scryers like us,” Shelle explained, and John had to shift around a little bit. He tilted his head, and his view focused away from Grace, though he had to keep a perspective in which she was still in view. Around the corner from the entrance to the left a star emblem sat on the wall of the base.

“It’s west. West of the base are the clear waters,” John confirmed, ending Stellar Witness and taking out his phone.

John: Thanks, Grace, you can go home! I’ll be there soon.
Grace: I’m knackered. I’ll see ya at the dorm.

The rest of the contract proceeded smoothly. Shelle teleported their ship to the base, shortly after they disembarked. The crew didn’t leave Boathaen or Lance with many words, but they thanked Shelle and John before they left.

“Well, John, you helped us out quite a bit more than we thought you would. It was a pleasure to work with you and see you grow, keep it up! Since you saved us a boring hour and helped us out more than expected, we decided to let you take the cash. Call it reimbursing you for your time, we don’t really need it anyway. I’ll submit the mission report, add me on the app,” Shelle said, pulling a packet of paper out of her pocket dimension. Without another word she flew toward the Rider-Waite base.

“Hey, good going on the contract today. You were a big help. We’ll add you too. Might want to use some of that reward to buy yourself a new shirt. Message me anytime, even if you’ve just got something fun going on.” Lance took off with Boathaen in his shadow, leaving John to make his way back to base on his own. Glancing at his mini-map, he started toward an alley that led to the base. As he neared it, a familiar voice from the next street over made him pause.

“I just stepped out to get some kraken calamari, but there’s some asshole in main street looking for a fight. Home hasn’t changed a bit. Always a pleasure, Lucien,” Isabelle said, rolling her shoulders as she stared down a hulking paladin.

The silver-white plate gleamed in the sunlight, and he stood a head above her. In his left hand he held a tower shield almost as broad and tall as he was, covered in gold inscriptions and runes. In his right, a sword to match. The blade was straight and sharp, made for thrusting and slashing. The grip was wrapped in a rich black leather, and a diamond on the guard seemed to be producing an aura of light. I’d need three hands to wield that thing.

“Isabelle Ardyn. It is rumored that you are going to be inducted into the Major Arcana as the next Strength. I am the strongest Ace of Swords. Duel me so that I may prove it!” Lucien challenged, widening his stance and lowering his sword toward her. Isabelle rolled her eyes at this display. She firmly gripped her sheathed katana, and stalked toward him.

In the blink of an eye, she was on the other side of the paladin with her katana drawn, but Lucien was able to pivot and follow her, blocking her draw-slash with his shield. John backed out of the alley, rerouting to the base. I didn’t know Rider-Waite members could duel each other. Sucks to be Isabelle, I bet people are hounding her for duels all the time. Kraken calamari does sound pretty good though…

John made it back to the base without any further incident, and collected the bounty he finished with Shelle’s team. Their troubles had earned them three million Astreaen gold doubloons, and John almost dropped his phone when he saw the amount transferred into his account. It was stored separately as its own currency, and he was able to withdraw a pouch of a thousand easily from the second floor help desk. Holy shit. I guess they weren’t kidding when they said they didn’t need the money. But then, they got nothing out of the contract. Was that all for my benefit? They did some good along the way, I guess. Shelle seems to care about that, anyway.

He re-emerged with his money stowed away in his inventory, and Jumped along the rooftops, avoiding the skirmish between Isabelle and Lucien as he spied the vendors on other streets, some of whom watched the legends clash from afar with interest. Finally, he found a man with a large cart selling long, dense strands of the fried delicacy he sought.

“How much for one?” John asked, nodding to the paper trays that lined the metal edges of the food cart. Behind them sat an odd green fruit John had never seen before beside two glass bottles, one with a white sauce the other yellow.

“Two doubloons for a tray, five for a kilo,” the salesman explained, eyeing John with scrutiny. His pockets were flat and his dress strange for the place, he looked like a grifter.

I don’t really need to limit how much I get. If I keep it in my inventory, it’ll stay fresh. Jenny loves fried calamari too, I should get her some. Fuck it, I can get enough for everyone, John thought, taking out the head-sized sack of gold. The vendor’s eyes bulged, and he clicked a button on the cart. A small fan at the bottom wafted the smell over to John. Though the steak the cook served on the ship was superb, the fried goodness in front of him was too tempting to pass up.

“How much would you like, sir?” the vendor asked, taking a pair of metal tongs hanging from the side and opening a hole in the top of the cart to access the golden goods therein.

“I’ll take all of it, the sauce and fruit too,” John replied, setting his gold pouch down on the front of the cart. It almost began to tip from the weight, and he loosened the drawstring on top. “Should be enough here, right?”

“Of course!” He pulled the door off the top of the cart, and layed out trays across the rest of it. In a few minutes, he had transferred all of it to the many trays, and John stowed each tray away, save for one that he ate from as the man prepared his food. When all was said and done, he had a stack of almost fifty trays, not including the one he kept to snack on. “Thank you so much. If you’re ever in the capital, my family runs a restaurant there. We both get our supply from my brother, who journeys across the sea to deliver us the best. Millennium Calamari, if you’re interested.”

I don’t know if I believe that, but this is really good. I’ll remember it. “The pleasure’s all mine, pay it forward!” John replied, trashing the empty tray of calamari and summoning another one to his hands. Man, I’ve gotta be careful. I could go through half of this by myself.

By the time he made it back to the Rider-Waite base, Isabelle and Lucien were in the thick of it directly in front. John got back in time to witness her teleport five times around him, but each time he pivoted to meet her slash with his shield; he was locked on to her. Though Isabelle couldn’t get past Lucien’s shield, as they traded attempted blows, it was clear that he didn’t get close to hitting Isabelle. John trashed his second tray as she slashed his shield three times in three separate places before he even got one missed slash in.

“Alright, fuck it, fine, I can’t get past your defense, is that what you want to hear? Trying over and over is so fucking boring. You win, happy?” Isabelle exploded, jumping back from Lucien. He stepped toward her as if to advance, then stopped.

“It is satisfactory for now. Expect to hear more of me.” Lucien looked at her only until he finished talking then sheathed his sword as if nothing happened and walked into their guild’s lobby.

“Oof. Tough break,” John said, and he didn’t even have the time to recoil in shock and fear as Isabelle’s katana appeared in front of his nose, but she lowered it when she saw who it was.

“John? What are you doing here? I don’t need you now,” Isabelle said, sheathing her sword and adjusting her robe post-combat for a few moments before tightening it back in place.

“Just passing through. Please don’t make me do **** stuff now though. I just finished a contract,” John explained; the thought that she could start ordering him around crossed his mind when he saw Astra’s stars on his wrist.

“What? Nah, you’re fine. That shit’s weird. I’m not gonna order you to do anything. Astra does that,” Isabelle said, and as John stepped closer her more dishevelled features came into view. Her hair was frizzy and matted, and dark bags hung under her eyes. She rolled her neck as she looked down at him. “Do you need something from me?”

“I’m just going home. Oh, you can have some of this though,” John said, he half-turned before remembering why he had spent longer in Astrea to begin with. He called a full tray of steaming calamari to his hands and held it out for her. “You should take care of yourself, Isabelle. You look like you’re running yourself into the ground. No offense.”

She gave him an odd look, and it occurred to him that probably not even the Major Arcana members talked to her like that. He opened his mouth to say something else, but she snatched the food from him and disappeared in a flash of light.