With Hands Clasped Firmly Together

"(3) In matters sensitive to the public interest,
and only where the Peak's wisdom deigns it necessary,
or where the lives or livelihoods of more than 100,000 souls are imperiled,
a popular vote shall be carried out to decide an issue or action
that the Peak would see done. In such votes:
(a) the vote of the Peak shall count as one hundred,
(b) the vote of a Lawman shall count as ten,
(c) the vote of a First Disk resident shall count as one,
(d) the vote of each beneath the First shall be divided by ten for every level beneath the First they might be, and
(e) the vote of those upon the Plate shall not be taken whatsoever,
and that final, total vote shall decide the issue."
-- Vantage Government Public Departmental Code (VKDA) • 98.01

Getting Regan her head back proved a simpler matter than getting Ahk—who still made no other intelligible noise but her name—to understand that she ought to never do that again. Regan walked away wiser, certainly, and John resigned himself to hoping Ahk obeyed even those commands she couldn’t entirely understand. With that, John was ready to depart; Lily took her place at the Psychosphere as John instructed, and with a mental command, John returned to Vantage.

The underground hideout materialized to replace the temple... only now the quiet, sometimes oppressive chamber was alive with conversations in differing tongues. Golgon the Fool had returned, and not empty-handed: with a toothy grin, Golgon swooped down to land before John and, eagerly, showed off his treasure.

This pelos key glinted in the artificial light as gold might. Its narrow tip remained the same as the one John had pilfered from Botuk, but the rest of it was hideously enlarged: it was bulbous and lumpy, a kind of faux orb seemingly wrought by untalented hands. Malformed as it appeared, however, it still had an impressive resume before John’s Eye:

Pelos Key (Major Drain): magical item. Enchanted to complete a magical circuit constructed from the combination of alchemical reactions and runic coding and made from grade IV pelos, this key can hold up to 30,000 mana. Rather than add to the circuit, however, it is programmed to drain whatever technology it touches. Mana drained by it is unrecoverable and slowly wasted as ambient radiation.

“So it’s already made? It’s only been like a day...!” John nodded approvingly as he spoke... but then hurriedly opened his quest log as he remembered something.

THE KEY TO ASCENSION
Aid the Bitter Nines in putting their plan in motion!
OBJECTIVES:
Harvest enough refined bok to make pelos: COMPLETED
Craft an Ascension Bridge Key (Pelos): 0/1
Enchant the Key to Drain Mana: 0/1
REWARD: +70,000XP, +$300,000, +5 bars of pelos, +1 significant magical weapon
BONUS OBJECTIVE: Suffer zero casualties before completion of the quest: FAILED
BONUS REWARD: Learn one offensive spell OR +2 to an existing skill

The quest had not yet been completed. But more importantly... Casualties? Everyone who had been hurt had been healed. There had been no deaths save perhaps Kitok... if she was even dead. Did casualties include injuries, then? John had a vague memory of the word meaning as much in certain contexts, sure… but it was quite the bonus to lose, and so the Gamer was left feeling both indignant and worried.

Golgon, being unable to see the Game’s interface, simply replied, “The runesmith I sought didn’t so much as try to hide, young John the Newman: he had heard of the massacre of Lawmen and was emboldened enough to seek me out as I slipped through the last slums I knew him to occupy. It was... heartening to see him be so willing to aid the cause."

John had only a vague idea of what to expect of Golgon's alleged connections to begin with, so he had no complaints or suspicions. But that last part... "... So people are talking about us."

Golgon blinked at the mass-killer of Lawmen. "How could they not? A human-like warrior who destroyed legions single-handedly?"

"I was not alone."

"Ho ho! But that's not what the people whisper... all the better, given our plans," Golgon beamed.

John nodded along, sure as he was that they were on the same page. With another glance to his quest, John reached for the completed key... and with an odd smile, the Ootuk let him handle the prize. The quest counters all ticked the moment it was in his sole grasp.

QUEST COMPLETED!
+70,000XP
+$300,000
+5 bars of pelos
+1 Lambda Securities FAR-949 Disruptor Cannon

"So this is the real deal," John muttered more to himself than to Golgon the Fool before handing the key back. "When do we move?"

Golgon's grinning finally died down as he whispered, "That... is a more complicated matter."

Again the round table had been assembled: all the Bitter Nines stood or sat amid the humans who gathered around the oily model of the centermost Ascension Bridge of Vantage. Each scanned its length for vulnerabilities; none were found even on its dissected side where, as before, the closed barriers at every disk remained indomitable. They only looked more so after Golgon admitted their newest problem.

"So we have to wait until they decide to open them all?!" Rave's indignation was the loudest, but she was not alone in her reaction; the faces had become crestfallen once John translated the news.

Golgon did not need a translation back to understand the reaction.

[MM = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=975mEVSESIs]

"They were supposed to open it in about forty days for Loremaster's Journey," Miles answered as she squatted between two uncomfortable-looking knights, "but we also weren't supposed to be done this soon." The mood of the room was tense for everyone, but more so for John as the music of Miles' presence became louder. He eyed the smoke-haired entity, ever curious as to how or why the music chose to rise or fall depending on her given moods or declarations. But here and now, he felt it in his bones: caution, hesitation, and frustration with a conspiracy not of her make. It's ethereal guitar plucked slow until another spoke.

“What is that?” Tricia asked with a glance at the alleged Dorani.

“Just another stupid propaganda holiday; one of the loremasters from the Peak comes down and tells us how our sins can be forgiven with hard work and so on. Of course, we’re extra sinful lately,” Miles added with a smirk.

"We made quite a mess of the Lawmen," Hurk grumbled, "which has made life better for now, but in forty days... they'll be back up in their numbers. The loremaster may come down with an army."

"Nevermind that the Peak and all the Disks are probably up in arms about finding us, even more than before," Cidi added.

"They'd need to search every Immovable and then defeat our wards besides," Golgon the Fool assured them all, "so we needn't fear their hunt."

John glanced at his fellows and imagined them continuing to eat and drink whatever the Abyss and magic could make for them. Would that be acceptable for forty days? For twenty? His eyes fell on Deanna as she peeked over the rim of her usual hiding spot; her black eyes were mirrors of murky depths, but he could feel that her gaze was locked onto him. "I don't think we can wait forty days."

Travolta stuttered, "Forty-?! We've already been here nearly a week! What're we- what'll your dad- there has... has got to be another way."

"Not without something that can break a permanent barrier's rules," Galley muttered, "and without my Breaker Arms... well, I don't know what else might do it."

"I mean, if I understand it right, the bridge is already an exception to the rules... it's just the physical barriers that block us," John explained as he flicked one of the model portals. The soft, squishy black substance deformed and then reformed as his finger passed through it. "What are they made of?"

"Pelos," Golgon flatly declared, "and it's more the enchantments put upon them than the material. We may as well dig through the wall of the Peak's fortress if we managed something so absurd..."

John thought of the weapon that ended up in his inventory. Was it the answer they were looking for?

Tricia narrowed her eyes at the model. “Are the outermost bridges similarly equipped? Perhaps we could test our capabilities against these defenses there.”

With a few clicks, John opened his menus to find the quest reward that was now taking up thirty of his inventory slots by itself.

Lambda Securities FAR-949 Disruptor Cannon: a siege weapon normally mounted on combat-ready exo-suits. The cannon charges a condensed energy construct of overlapping disruption fields for one full round before containing it and making it ready for firing for three rounds, after which it dissipates back into the battery. If fired, the ball rapidly expands until impact when the quasi-stable structure explodes, dealing [500-1,500] physical damage to all matter and energy structures within 30 feet of the point of impact. This damage ignores the first 100 points of mundane (and certain magical) damage reduction. The projectile detonates automatically after traveling for one mile without impacting solid matter. Containing the projectile during firing strains the cannon, requiring a cooldown of five rounds between shots. One full mana battery pack of the four it can equip is drained per shot. This disruptor cannon was modified with four rechargeable mana batteries. This weapon has no registration or serial information in violation of Praxis Bylaws Section 47(5)(b) and Lambda Securities Protocol Section 1.004(a).

It had been a reward for completing one step towards this siege, so of course it had to be a siege weapon in and of itself. But would it be enough to clear the way? Only four shots, but I've got at least nine barriers to blow away... nevermind the... John squinted at the inventory picture: it was zoomed out enough that it just looked like some kind of black rifle. "What about the fortress' entrance? Is it just a clear shot from the First Disk level into the Peak's home?" Where would the batteries even be on this thing? He had no chance of knowing just by looking at it on the Gamer menu.

The visual model everyone else focused on generated the piece John inquired after: the golden pyramid impaled on the central ascension bridge was visible again and, with most of its insides a solid, black void of the unknown, showed that the bridge ended at a small, circular platform built into the round relief of the underside of the Peak’s home.

There, the elevator rose up to meet the platform and kiss its innermost edge. Across from this risen platform waited innocuous, and oddly human, sliding metal doors. "What waits beyond those gates is known only to the Lawmen thought worthy enough to serve the Peak so directly," Golgon explained, "but those gates are rumored to be more decorative than they are fortified; Hurk alone, I trust, could rend the gates open."

The huge-handed Dorsin beamed proudly as he brushed his mustache with a single, massive fingertip. "But of course! It is the least I can do in exchange for getting us so very near to freedom!"

"That means you need to survive long enough to get there," Cidi spat.

"Your concern... it touches me," Hurk sighed with fatherly pride.

"So have we addressed not waiting over a month to get this done?" Travolta asked.

"Maybe... I just need to test this thing out," John explained as he clicked the new weapon in his inventory.

"What thing-?"

The inky black model was suddenly pulverized by a long, black shaft of steel. Golgon's head seemed rather tiny where it was between the three prongs of the device that now extended from where John cradled its user end; the entire thing threatened to fall over as John struggled to keep it in his arms. "What the fuck-?!" John blinked away with his prize... and just barely managed to put his hand on what he suspected was the grip.

The grip turned out to be the trigger, and the entire machine began to hum.

"JOHN!" Tricia suddenly shouted.

Travolta sputtered, "Isn't that a-?!"

"Holy shit, that's...! Everyone shut up!" Rave yelled as a chorus of confusion started up. John heard a table shudder as the service-end of his gun landed upon it with a not-so-gentle thud. Small lights and indicators began to glow near his face as it pressed awkwardly against the weapon’s vibrating side. John continued to struggle with understanding what he was even holding.

"S-Sorry, I-"

"John, listen to me," Rave urged, "and just ease your hand... your right hand... away from the trigger mechanism."

More confused chatter emanated from the Bitter Nines--particularly after seeing what had appeared to be John threatening Golgon with some kind of weapon--but only Miles seemed ready to urge them to be quiet as well.

"That's a... isn't it?" Tricia half-thought, half-spoke her confused analysis.

"Yes, it is," Rave agreed, "and I have so many questions, but right now, we just need to make sure he doesn't kill us all."

Confused, John slowly obeyed... and all the room inhaled as a small, pulsating green light began to emanate from the cannon. Now that John just held the cannon up by its pointed back, he could get a better sense of what he was even holding. What felt like a bulbous, beach ball-sized back-end was more angular and streamlined than John had figured: it had some dozen lights that no doubt indicated one thing or another, though three rows of green lights were now totally lit as they led from the back of the gun towards the front. The lights sat atop notable lumps on the body of the gun; between those lumps sat red blocks slotted into the hull of the weapon, two of which flanked the trigger-grip John had accidentally manipulated. Most of its body consisted of three thick rails instead of a proper rifle or cannon; each was painted the uniform gray of the body on the outside, but white on the inside. As John peered around the body of the weapon, he saw that the white was now a soft, glowing green thanks to what sat at the base of the rails where they met the rest of the gun’s structure. There sat what John could only think to describe as a rapidly pulsing, reconfiguring, and rotating Rubix cube of small, green blocks of energy. Despite doing nothing else, somewhere between its violent movement and the heat radiating from it, John could sense this was dangerous.

"John," Rave slowly explained, "you don't have to do anything... I think."

"That's a… that’s a Praxis weapon," Travolta finally managed.

"Duh, shit," Rave replied.

"It’s… fucking huge!"

"Duh. Shit."

"I thought the design seemed Praxian, if anything," Tricia almost sighed in wonder, "but at what point could he have acquired it?"

"Praxis, here," the eldest Confessor suddenly, worryingly sighed. "Or perhaps they were the **** behind this 'Champion' all along...?" The worried glances between the ex-Orderlings was lost on John.

"Guys, can I just... put it away?"

Rave shook her head more in confusion than to shoot the idea down. "I don’t think it’ll shoot from here… and I don’t know what’ll happen if you try to use any of your magic on it.”

"So he can’t even portal that thing out of here?" Travolta managed.

Rave ignored the eldest co-member of Collide. “What the Hell is that glowing thing doing, anyways? Slowly ticking down?"

Tricia, whose drones had begun to spread out into the air, looked at the readings shown on the hologram emanating from her bracer as she explained, "It is suspended mana in… well, suspended in a manner that defies analysis,” Tricia muttered, defeated, “but it still has a connection to the weapon, so theoretically it should-"

"Theoretically-!" Travolta sarcastically interjected.

"-be deconstructed without detonating."

"- my ass!"

Galley had remained silent as she watched the entire thing unfold… but her nose twitched until, with a satisfied nod, she declared, “Ah, so that’s all it is.”

John thought to explain what the weapon's tooltip explained... though he wasn't sure his words would outpace Galley's dash towards him. He could react easily enough to her charge, but he was too busy worrying about the gun, or the effect of moving it, to jump or blink away. “Wait, yeah, it’ll go back in if you just-!”

Galley’s hands were already in the space between the rails before the shouted objections of the humans nearby could be finished. Her fingers, bruised and still wrapped in some bandages, cupped together as she went in to smother the rapidly-spinning construct of mana. The strips of cloth on her fingers ignited in green flame, and the cube began to slow its spin as a growing light emanated from its center.

“Galley, NO-!”

Galley’s hands clasped together, letting leak through the gaps of her fingers the sharp beams of radiation as it threatened to explode outward. The heat and energy emanated light through the flesh of the back of her hands as the heat of destructive **** began to scream.

Rave’s body turned to light as she leapt backwards.

“It’s detonating!” Tricia shouted. “John-!”

Fzzt.

The Hound of Titusville remained hunched by the weapon for a moment longer.

Slowly, Galley stood erect and turned before opening her hands… to show herself and John that she grasped nothing of the live munition that had vanished between her palms.

The collective gasp of the humans and Vantage denizens did not release until Galley turned as she clapped her hands together as if to dust them off.