The Fox

John found Red lounging on a chair, nose deep in a picture book, and with Saccharine sitting on her shoulder, when he returned. She looked up as he closed the door behind himself and stepped into the room.

“Hey, darling, check out what Saccha found!” the warg giggled, waving the picture book at him.

John peered at the covers and smiled. “Fairy tales, huh?” John didn’t need to guess which story she was currently reading.

“Want to read all about me together?” she suggested.

“Maybe later,” John replied. “I think I’ll browse the shelves a little first.”

Red pouted at him, but didn’t press the issue, and so she returned to her reading. John turned his attention to the impressive collection of books the Brightons had amassed. He chose one at random and scanned the cover, A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- the first Sherlock Holmes novel. For a moment he was tempted to ‘consume' the book but thought better of it. ‘I really need to start reading more,' John determined. It was information and/or skills he could pick up for next to no effort, really; he was appalled he hadn't been exploiting the system already. Sighing, John began to leaf through the first few pages.

‘I wonder what Sherlock’s Intellect and Wisdom scores are,’ John mused, thinking it'd be nice to have the famous detective's problem-solving skills. But John's attention was sidetracked as he noticed a slight movement in the corner of his vision.

A spider lazily hung from a thread of silken web, spinning slowly in the air. It wasn't a particularly large one or even an exceptionally small one; in every way, it seemed to be an average spider. Yet for some reason, John felt the distinct impression that its many eyes were on him, watching him carefully. It was then John recalled the words of a rather enigmatic man: ‘Seek out the spiders in any library. They’ll take you to me.’

John cleared his throat with a small cough, before addressing the spider. “Hullo,” John said awkwardly. “You wouldn’t, uh… happen to know Nancy, would you?”

The spider regarded him in silence, and with every second John waited for an answer, he felt increasingly more foolish. ”You seek the Master?” a quiet voice asked; John couldn’t tell whether it had been whispered to him or he’d heard the voice in his head.

“I guess so?”

After a moment's pause, the spider lowered itself to the floor and began to scuttle along the polished, hard-grain floor. John followed somewhat hesitantly. His last meeting with the enigmatic man had ended well, but John had not enjoyed the experience of being toyed with. But something told John that their meeting was orchestrated rather than something born from coincidence. Besides, John needed to make some powerful friends if he wanted to stand up to Vulpis, and Nancy seemed nothing if not powerful. Perhaps there was something Nancy could offer him that would help?

That question could only be answered by following the spider. It scurried across the floor and led John to an innocuous door on the west side of the room. John blinked. The door definitely had not been there before. More importantly, it was exactly the same as the one that had appeared at the Springfield Public Library. John's curiosity was fueled by his realisation that there were windows, on the very same wall the door had appeared, with a view of the Brightons' garden one story below. By this point, however, John's understanding of reality had already been well and truly fucked, so the door was more of a wonder than an impossibility.

The spider climbed up the face of the door and entered through the keyhole, causing the door to unlock with a soft click. Moments later, the spider scuttled back out. “The master welcomes you,” it told John as the door swung open, revealing the empty void beyond.

John nodded before taking the plunge.

Entered I.D. - Nancy’s Private Collection

He found himself standing upright in a dimly lit corridor. ‘Definitely not the same room I arrived in last time,’ John thought, looking at the stone brick walls with sconces bearing a pale blue flame. Between them, murals decorated the brickwork, depicting a range of scenes. As John followed the sconces down the hallway, he took note of each mural as he passed them. ‘Knights fighting dragons, a princess in a tower, a circle of warlocks, warriors huddled around a campfire…’ They were all beautifully painted, each stroke luminescent in the dim blue light so that they could be clearly seen.

At the end of the corridor, John arrived at a small oaken double door which swung open into a foyer. There to greet him on the other side was Nancy… or more specifically, a statue of Nancy. Carved from limestone, the life-sized sculpture depicted the enigmatic man wearing a cloak and hood overshadowing his eyes. In his right hand, he held a weighty tome, and in the other, he presented three objects. On closer inspection, John realised that they were, in fact, dice: a D6, D10, and D20 to be exact.

“Oh my, your scent is rather remarkable,” a soft voice spoke from the far side of the room.

A woman sat on her knees, back turned towards him and facing a small pool of water.

“Does everybody have super smell in the Abyss?” John asked drily as he moved towards the woman.

It immediately became apparent that the woman was inhuman. An air of class seemed to radiate from her, captivating John’s attention and drawing him closer. Her figure was supple and her complexion pale. Silken, snow white hair flowed across a vermillion-red kimono embroidered with foxes dancing under cherry blossoms. She seemed to be in her mid-twenties, though John had long since learned that physical appearance wasn’t a great indicator of age in the Abyss. But all these details seemed insignificant compared to the fox-like ears perched on her head and stunning nine tails sprouting from underneath her robe.

The woman let out a small chuckle. “Not everybody, though you will certainly struggle to find a kami without it.”

“So what’s so special about my scent anyway?” John wondered. “You’re not the first to mention it.”

“I can’t rightly say,” the woman hummed. “And I have one of the best noses in the business! It’s like discovering the smell of freshly baked bread for the first time--exciting! If I were to guess, I’d say you are that child Nancy was telling me about.”

“I didn’t realise I was a topic worth discussing,” John said modestly.

The woman raised her hand to her lips and laughed. “Nancy has a habit of digging up interesting people on the verge of becoming extraordinary. If you’ve captured his attention, it’s nigh certain you will be interesting. But tread carefully, John Newman, for Nancy spins webs that are rather tedious to untangle.”

It was clear this woman knew a lot about him, but he knew next to nothing about her.

Skill level up: Observe is now level 5

What an informative Observe sheet. ‘Well, I really should have expected that. Nancy was able to manipulate my Observe window, why would the company he keeps be any different?’ John scolded himself. At least he got a level out of it.

“Please,” the woman said, a slight note of scorn creeping into her voice. “Rather than so poorly trying to pry into my identity, why don’t you just ask?”

“Oh, sorry,” John replied sheepishly. “I uh… need the practice.”

"That you do," she laughed in return, and waved her hand as if to say all was forgiven. "But perhaps your training should be done in a controlled environment, no? And please do consider the privacy of others, it is easy to offend using such a spell."

That was fair enough. All things considered, she was letting him off far easier than he would if the same had been done to him. "Well, anyway, I guess you already know I'm John, nice to meet you…?"

"Ina," the woman replied as she rose to her feet and turned to regard him for the first time. Her eyes were just like those of a fox; it was uncanny. They had all the vivid colours of autumn, with no trace of white to them, and slits for pupils. The dark eyeliner she wore only intensified their vivid colour, but even without it, they seemed to radiate power. "My followers know me as Inari Ōkami, spirit of foxes, trade, and agriculture, patron to merchants and swordsmiths. But I'd rather we treat each other as equals, so you may call me Ina."

“So, you’re a goddess?”

“Of a sort, yes,” Ina confirmed. “Though nowadays I fashion myself more of a businesswoman.”

‘I wonder if Nancy’s a god too, then? Some sort of god of knowledge and spiders, maybe?’ John mused. “So what do you sell, Ina?” he asked the fox goddess.

“I own several companies - both mundane and Abyssal - that sell a range of products from food, to cosmetics, to blades and other arms. More recently, I have been investing in digital entertainment.”

“It sounds like you have companies rooted in the real world,” John inferred.

“Indeed, most are. The lack of regulation makes corporate espionage and even sabotage a high risk, and that blasted Abyss Auction has swallowed the market for general goods.”

“So how do you compete?”

“By specialising,” Inari replied. “Abyss Auction struggles to compete with high quality, specialty goods. For example, my company, Kami, sells battle gear but specialises in making custom weapons.”

“Right, and with you in charge, they must be pretty good quality,” John guessed.

“They are among the best,” Ina nodded, the ghost of a proud smile playing on her lips.

“Reckon you could make a sword that could kill a warg?” he asked. John wasn’t certain he had the heart to kill Vulpis, as vile as he was, but it never hurt to have measures in place.

“Of course,” Ina replied. “But I imagine our blades lie a little far out of your price range.”

“How much would we be talking?” John asked. “I can generate cash reasonably quickly.” His Token of Greed increased the money dropped from enemies, and he could sell item drops on Abyss Auction. Furthermore, Goblins dropped a higher amount of cash than other enemies he’d come across, and there was a lucrative market for their semen, apparently. So John reasoned, if he spent a bit of time focused on farming them, he could deepen his wallet substantially.

Inari eyed him as if to discern whether he was being truthful or not. “Our prices start at $6,000, and depending on the type, weight, and length of the blade that can reach up to $10,000. But if you’re looking for extra sting against a magical race like a warg? You’d need enchanted silver. As a non-standard material, it would double the price. So at the very least it will cost you $12,000. Can you really afford that?”

“Given a day or two, sure,” John nodded, somewhat flabbergasted by the price anyway. ‘$12,000 is a lot… I mean, I got my schiavona for $900… but if the weapon is strong, then it’ll be worth it,’ he thought. ‘It would be made by a company owned by a goddess.’

“Then perhaps something can be arranged…” Inari paused and hummed to herself, her tails swaying idly from side to side. Whatever she was thinking about, she didn’t share, however. “Where are you located?” she asked instead.

“Oh, Springfield,” John answered.

"Hmm… the nearest branch would be New York… alright, if a housecall is acceptable, I will have a representative of Kami sent over to work out the details."

“That’s fine,” John shrugged.

Inari made a note of it. “Pricing will be negotiated then, but you will have the option to either pay the entire fee upfront or make incremental payments at a slightly higher total cost. However, you are still expected to pay an up-front fee of $6,000, and must pay the remaining cost by the end of the manufacturing period. When would be your preferred time?”

John’s face broke into a grin; what would have been a rough grind just got a whole lot easier. “Friday noon,” he replied. His mom should be out of the house by then, and based on how much he’d sold the semen vials for on the Auction, he could easily gather enough to earn 6k in a night

Ina nodded and smiled at him, yellow eyes sparkling. “Then Kami looks forward to your business, John Newman.”