Otherlife Nightmares: The Selfless Hero Trilogy (35 page)

10:23 am Sovereign Earth time

11/17/43

Queen Helen had been quick to provide him with everything he’d asked her for. He had discovered, much to his chagrin, that she had included far more than he’d requested when checking the inventory list that had been delivered to him.

Promptly after that, he snuck to the warehouse that she’d stated the supplies would be sent to. He didn’t really want to be in the eye of the nobility if he could avoid it. Didn’t fit in there.

There was so much to build. So very little time.

“I hate this,” Katarina complained.

Runner looked up from his inventory sheet and gave her a lopsided grin.

“I know you do. And I’m sorry for it.”

“Doing it because you asked.”

“I know. And thank you, Kitten. I promise I’m not getting rid of you—I truly believe Lady Death will need your help. Many look to you for strength, including her,” Runner quietly said to her.

She stood a few feet from him and looked more than a little annoyed. After a moment of hesitation, she closed the distance between them and put her hands on his shoulders.

Smiling up at her, he rested his hands on her hips.

“Don’t like it,” Katarina muttered, watching him for his response.

“I know you don’t, but that’s life. I promise I’ll be good. I’ll spend time with your mom, build toys, and get everything ready here.”

Katarina grunted at that. Clearly she didn’t care for that answer either. Or she didn’t like the idea of him spending time with her mother.

“Come on, Kitten. Get moving. I promise I’m not going anywhere and I’ll be fine.”

A faint blush came over her cheeks before she ducked her head down to kiss him firmly. Too soon for his own desires she pulled back and gave a tiny bob of her head in agreement.

She slipped out of his grasp and left him there in the warehouse.

He blew out a breath and tried to focus on something other than the lovely Barbarian. Runner leaned back and then stretched his arms out above his head.

What a lovely tiny break. Now back to work. Tanks, and cannons, and potions, oh my.

Settling in for work, he grinned and started sorting out wooden planks and beams for tank hulls.

Hours into the build, Runner finished molding another set of pistons for the fifth tank. It had taken a serious amount of time, and he had started to consider cutting down on the number required to power the tanks. Time was a commodity he hated to spend right now.

“Quality over quantity, right?” Runner muttered to no one. He went to the next crate of materials.

“Depends on the quality,” said a soft feminine voice.

Looking up from the crate, Runner found a human woman by the name of Amelia sitting on a nearby chest. While not exactly beautiful she could easily be called pretty. Runner deliberately gave her the once-over from head to toe and immediately felt she was a little off.

Finally he pinned it to her face itself. She had clean straight features that looked like she’d been carved from a stone. As if someone had labored over her during creation.

Everything else seemed ordinary by comparison. Straight tawny hair cut short in a pixie style with dark emerald eyes.

Level ?? and clearly out of place here in Kastell as a Human. Her way of dress—leather armor with belted short swords—screamed her profession that of a thief or an assassin.

Judging the situation to be out of his hands, he returned to his work. Scooping up a large number of iron ingots in his hands, he sat on the ground.

“You have me at a disadvantage, pretty lady. Name’s Runner, Runner Norwood. Let me finish up this set and you’ll have my undivided attention. This is literally the last set I need for six,” Runner managed to say as he began shaping the iron.

“Amelia. No last name. Never needed one. Watcha workin’ on?” She had crossed the space between them in a single instant. Her breath tickled his ear as she leaned over his shoulder.

“Weapon. I’m fairly good at making things to kill other people. It’s regrettable, but better them than me, or my own.”

“Ah, right that. You have no idea who I am, do you?”

“Sorry, I don’t,” Runner said honestly. Setting down a finished piston, he picked up another ingot. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re quite pretty. Kinda sexy in leathers. If I didn’t already have a serious harem issue, I’d make a hard pass at you. Well, even with the harem I might make a pass. You’ve really got that tomboy charm about you that I don’t have yet in my collection. Care to tell me who you are? Other than sexy Amelia.”

Runner targeted the woman and hit the
Persuade
and
Seduce
functions in tandem.

You use Persuade on Amelia

Amelia is Persuaded

You use Seduce on Amelia

Amelia is Seduced

As if contemplating his request, she poked at the back of his head.

“Does that work? The whole smarmy flirty thing?”

“You tell me, it worked on you.”

Finishing another piston, he glanced over his shoulder at Amelia. Raising his eyebrows, he grinned at her before starting in on another piston.

Amelia looked shocked at the directness of his response. A handful of seconds passed in silence before she started laughing.

“Right you are! You have the truth of it. Consider me smitten and ready. Care to take me now or later?”

“Later, Minxy. Don’t even have a bed here. Do you have any idea what this floor would do to your back? So, who are you?”

“Minxy? Like a minx? I like that. I’m the goddess of thieves and assassins. A truly horrible and wicked woman.”

Runner blinked and thought about that. Terribly convenient and well timed. Made him nervous. Paranoid even.

He reminded himself yet again that fate happened to have a soft spot for him. As well as a real need for his blood and ultimately his death. Sometimes she helped, sometimes she tried to murder him.

Amelia wasn’t a part of the major pantheon, which meant she could only be a minor goddess.

“Oh? Lovely. I’m all about dangerous and dark ladies. You’re just in time, too. Right now I’m starting a harem of goddesses. Beautiful and fantastically powerful women who I’d never have a chance with. Could kill me on accident with a solid hug. You can join them. You’d be third but I promise to share myself equally. The tomboy charm and all is a definite win.”

With a sniff he dropped another piston down and sighed. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he tried to clear his thoughts. Brunhild and Ernsta could ferret this one out for him. Why worry over it himself?

“How much do you know, Minxy?”

“Everything. Hanners prayed to me, ya know. Back in the woods when you tied her up like a hog for slaughter. Or kinky good times. Maybe both? Been following you around ever since. You’ve got a great ass by the way. Really got a good look last night.”

That took care of needing to Awaken her. Explained her timing a bit more. Also threatened to turn him the color of a cherry.

“Well aren’t you brazen. Saw a chance with the timing and took it, eh? I love it. So, care to take me up on the deal? Same setup except Humans. Considering the guild house of thieves is there, that’ll work out well. Need to replace the current guild master with someone else though. Still after Hanners last I knew.”

“Done and struck. Though I gotta tell you up front. I plan on making you mine. There’s a certain temptation to stealing you out from under the noses of so many. Like a lovely jewel on display.”

“Work hard, Minxy. I’ve already promised myself out to four mortal women and they do not seem like the type to invite more. There’s also two goddesses you’ll need to deal with who have a claim to me of their own. Not sure how far they’ll take those claims, but they have them.” Runner paused and looked up at the ceiling.

“Angel? Brighteyes? I have your third. Come start her education so I can get to work here.”

Brunhild and Ernsta joined them in the warehouse before he had even finished calling out their names.

“So I see,” Brunhild said cautiously. “I approve of the choice, though I wonder about her long-term goal.”

Ernsta growled in response. Runner could feel her presence at his side and it wasn’t entirely friendly towards Amelia.

Runner patted at Ernsta’s booted calf as he let the piston take shape.

“Couldn’t agree more. Be nice to her though. I like her spunky attitude. We’ll need it,” Runner said. Looking up, he caught Amelia’s eyes with his own. “You let me know if they get too rough on you. They forget how powerful they are at times. Glad to have you on board, Minxy.”

Brunhild snorted but her tone softened. “You’re right, Runner. Amelia, I name you sister and welcome you. Come, we should speak.”

Amelia looked from Runner to Brunhild with a small smile.

“Of course, Sister.”

“I’ll catch up. I have a request of Runner,” Ernsta said, dropping a hand on Runner’s shoulder.

Then he found himself alone with the goddess of death.

“What can I do you for, my Dark Angel?” Runner dropped the last piston onto the pile, completing that set.

“I need a weapon made for my champion. As the resident blacksmith, I call upon you for a favor.”

“Ptff, no favor needs to be called, Angel. I’ll do this one for a smile. Maybe ask you to throw in saying my name at the same time. Not right now mind you, down the road. A hefty fee, I know. I don’t come cheap. I’m assuming you need it today? Drop the mats in one of the empty crates and I’ll build it out. Anything specific?” Runner leaned back and set his eyes on the goddess.

Ernsta considered him as she thought on that.

“Nothing but strength. No spells, no skills, nothing. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Runner shrugged his shoulders. “Done, then. One artifact for the smile of a goddess who happens to say my name at the same time. I’m robbing you blind. Alright, run along, Angel. Oh, and please be nice to your new little sister? She had a lot of guts to present herself in the way she did. She’s only a minor deity, and it’s obvious even to a mortal like me she’s nervous. Please? For me, maybe?”

Ernsta frowned as if eating something she didn’t care for and then nodded her head.

“Alright. For you, little lamb,” she said before disappearing.

Finding a third god to fill out his triumvirate was crossed off his to-do list.

One problem down, a bazillion to go. Though, a very good problem to no longer have.

“Now, back to work. Need to get this done. More work to do. Always more. Work, work, work.”

Like clockwork, a ding alerted him to a scheduled reminder he’d made going off. Growling, he opened the alert to find it wasn’t something he could put off.

The medical server.

Up and running for a while now, it awaited instructions from him.

Forcing himself to do the work, he called up the ship’s console and opened up the medical server program.

Username:

“Let’s see. User name…NorRun001.”

Password:

“Password. Ah…uh…hm. Default password should be the same for every system. Sooo… NorRun0019683504714. Bingo, now we—”

Runner stopped dead in his tracks, his fingers hovering over the virtual keyboard that he’d called into existence.

Could it be that simple? What if I never set anything up? If I didn’t have time or it slipped my mind because, I dunno, the ship was exploding.

Runner dismissed the ship’s console and called up the game console.

/Permissions

Please enter Password: *******************

Password Accepted

Oh my god. It was this easy the entire time?

Runner wasn’t sure if he was angrier at himself for not figuring it out or for not setting a normal password.

Time for the moment of truth.

/Commands

Available Commands:

Adopt

Broadcast

ClassReset

DiasbleChat

Divorce

EnableChat

GMHub

GMHub Palette

LogOut

Marry

RaceReset

Rename

GMHubReturn

Unstuck

/AddPermissions

Security prohibits altering permissions while the server is active. Please submit a ticket to have permissions added during the next maintenance period. Maintenance period overdue. Schedule now? Y/N

/Y

Server will be turned off during this period and all characters logged off. Please enter date to schedule maintenance:

/Abort

Task Aborted

Runner felt frustration at the commands boil up inside him rapidly. They were all worthless to the situation he found himself in. Clenching his fists in futility, he stared at the commands as if willing them to change into better ones.