Today's Earth date: April 14, 1992

Horcus found us a job to use as an excuse for staying in Iomallach longer because Wilmond wants the whole swimming issue to be a secret. Sounds like an inspirational Hero story to me, but he doesn't agree.

Anyway, we weren't planning on going back into the Cuts ever again, but a couple rich kids ran away from home and were so smart about it that they disappeared into the jungle.

But this is what Heroes do. So we're off.

-The Journal of Laszlo the Paladin

After a number of encounters with clobs and manacondas on their way to Vientuls, the Zeroes leveled up again. Wayne didn't, but he also wasn't surprised that clearing the Earth Temple put them relatively close to their next level-up, even if it felt too soon.

Fergus was on his second to last Phantasy Star II unlock:

Crystal Cape – Found in Yellow Dam and Guaron, and supports the Gra technique.

Though the party didn't learn this immediately, they would eventually deduce that Crystal Cape increased the strength of Fergus' Gra spell, allowing him to make the pull of gravity even more extreme if he so wished.

Armond and Margo unlocked the same Smart Suit ability that Fergus did last level:

Smart Suit – Incorporates internal circuitry and microcomputers for climate control, defense, and communications. The smart suits purchased by team members include contained atmosphere spacesuit capabilities.

Wayne assumed that also meant they could control their ambient temperature and would get warnings about incoming attacks. He was surprised neither Armond nor Margo had mentioned it yet.

Hector's unlock offered all the benefits of Smart Suit and added more:

Armor, Battle – Is made of modular shells of high density plastic impregnated with beryllium. The armor is further reinforced by an exoskeleton that contains movement enhancers so that the wearer is able to move at a speed comparable to an unencumbered person. All battle armor is outfitted with contained atmosphere space suit capabilities.

Just as Smart Suit didn't appear as an actual wearable, neither did Battle Armor, but Wayne could see that Hector had it activated and that it gave him +5 to strength, agility, and vitality. Holy crap was that a good get. It was so good, Wayne was envious.

By the time the party pulled into Vientuls, the hour was late, so much so that they doubted they could find an innkeeper who was awake to check them in. Instead of dragging their tired bodies around town, hoping to find something that was open, they opted to sleep on the train instead, after confirming that the Goods Storage train car was a safe place to store the siren traps. Wayne wasn't sure if the car was soundproof and was happy to learn that they were.

But the Board command didn't appear for the Zeroes in Vientuls. For everyone but Wayne, Board was greyed out. For Wayne, Board was replaced with a Call command. When he activated it, he got a notification that the train was on its way to Vientuls from Mudsville, which was the station where they had left the train.

Goods Storage.

The door to Goods Storage opened like always, so even if the Board command wasn't available, the party could enter the train through their dimensional backdoor. Every Zero wished they had left the Cold Goods Storage door open in the Blackwell house so they could skip right to a fancy bath, but they still agreed that closing it for the sake of security was the right call. Leaving the train hanging open and unattended for that long wasn't wise, no matter how much they liked and trusted Billium.

Two hours later, the party was refreshed by the enhanced recovery buff provided by the train, and it was close enough to morning that most inns were preparing to serve breakfast. More importantly, the train didn't have baths, but inn rooms did.

As Wayne checked the party in, the innkeeper made small talk. In the course of that dialog, he asked Wayne where they were coming from.

"We visited the Earth Temple," Wayne said. "We were in Iomallach before that."

"Did you get out before the attack?"

Wayne cocked his head. "Attack?"

"Sounds like you missed it. Count yourselves lucky. A ratman army attacked the north gate almost two weeks back. Folks are saying it would have been real trouble if Laszlo didn't come to help."

"Laszlo helped?"

The innkeeper nodded, smiling. "Can you believe that? A Chosen Hero still helping people after all that time."

"How much trouble did it end up being?" Wayne asked.

"I hear they got through the gate, which is something considering how serious the Defense Force can be. A good many were killed, but it could have been the end of Iomallach if it weren't for Laszlo."

"Interesting." Wayne looked over his shoulder and saw Fergus listening in. "Any news since?"

"Nothing that exciting, that's for sure."

Wayne thanked the innkeeper and passed out room keys to the Zeroes. He had never been so ready for a bath before in his life.

Two hours later, Wayne and Fergus went downstairs to enjoy a big breakfast. Despite the early morning timing, Fergus pestered the innkeeper to show him their wine selection. The old scholar wasn't thrilled with his options, but he picked a bottle and brought it to the table, not caring that he was enjoying a drink when the sun had only just come up.

"I'll see what I can find out about this ratman attack," Fergus said between forkfuls of omelet. "With how much time has passed, might not be anything useful to glean from it, but we'll see. Otherwise, my agenda for the day is to submit a report to the Royal Library and see about finding property for a permanent station and gate."

"No need to rush," Wayne replied. "The train won't be here until tomorrow morning, and I have a thought about where to put the station."

Fergus raised an eyebrow as he chewed.

"Perris put his vault inside an abandoned storefront. What do you think about using the space beneath Tulip's apartment? It's got a big door in the back, big enough for Outlawson."

"Interesting. How much of that idea is motivated by practicality and how much by pity?"

Wayne chuckled. "I'm that transparent?"

"Mmhmm."

"Yes, I would like to do something nice for Tulip. If we buy the building, she can stay. We don't know her that well, but of anyone in Vientuls, we know her best. I think having a friend nearby one of our stations would be helpful if only for peace of mind. Then we have to consider Lasz- I mean Luke."

Fergus poured another glass of wine for himself. "In what way?"

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"If the ratman attack was as bad as we've heard, everyone is lucky that someone that strong was nearby. I know it's counter to our plan to keep our distance from Luke, but if someone like that can travel instantly around the world, he could save a lot of people."

"And pop home to say hello to his dear mum."

Wayne nodded. "Yeah, I can appreciate wanting to visit family. She's up there in years, and they seem really close. Feels like the right thing to do."

"If we do our best to be discreet and don't put our train security in jeopardy, I'm in favor," Fergus said.

"I figure we give the crew at least a few days to relax in Iomallach, but really the next phase of our journey is going north to Bata, right?"

"Seems so." Fergus' eyes lit up like he just remembered something, something that couldn't wait until after he swallowed a bite of bacon. "I put the Earth Sigil fragment in Goods Storage. The translation with it."

"Do you remember what it said?"

Fergus scowled at Wayne.

"Right, of course you remember. I didn't mean to offend."

"You're forgiven."

Fergus sat his fork down and recited the inscription while Wayne typed into his documents.

When he finished his recital, Wayne re-read the text in its entirety back to himself:

Even in death, a king watches his kingdom

Even in peace, a warrior carries his sword

Even in silence, a bard hears music

"These are obviously clues," Wayne said, "but can we be sure the dwarves actually hid the other pieces? We might just find another empty chest. Even worse, it might not be that obvious that the piece isn't there to find. We could run in circles for months if we're not careful."

"How about we start looking before we assume failure?"

"Right."

"Are you done with your sausage?" Fergus sank the tines of his fork into a link on Wayne's plate before he could reply.

"I figured you'd be knocking on my door again soon," Tulip said, inviting Wayne inside.

"Why's that?"

"By now you've heard, and I can't imagine you're happy with what Lucas is doing. Please go easy on him."

Wayne reclaimed what was beginning to feel like "his" spot on the loveseat. "He's part of the reason why I'm here but not because I'm upset. We ran into him a few weeks back, he helped save lives then, and it sounds like he's saved a bunch of lives since. We haven't told anyone he isn't Laszlo."

"I'm surprised but relieved. If you aren't angry, what brings you to my door?"

"There's a lot to explain, but I'd like to see about buying this building."

When Wayne used Voice later that day to update Fergus–informing him that he now had the contact information for Tulip's landlord–the wizard replied with news of his own.

"The local Scholars told me the ratman attack was just rats," Fergus said. "No wererats or any abominations. Just rats."

"That… That doesn't make sense, right?"

"When we know they're capable of better? Yeah, it makes me uneasy."

"Add that to the list of things to check out when we get back to Iomallach, I guess."

"In other news, Sammy would like to speak to us both at dinner tonight," Fergus said. "He wouldn't say what about, but the kid is nervous."

"Should we be worried?"

"That's hard to say. I feel like I know the boy pretty well by now, but I've never seen him like this."

"Do you have a restaurant picked out?"

"Naturally."

Wayne laughed.

Later that night, Wayne and Fergus joined Sammy at the small family restaurant where Vanilli gifted the whole party cowboy hats not so long ago.

The Sammy Wayne knew was cheerful, enthusiastic, and easy to get along with. Even on the road with monster attacks an inevitability, he was positive and optimistic at every turn. The young cook seemed to love life and relished the idea of sharing that joy with everyone he could.

The Sammy sitting across from Wayne and Fergus didn't smile. He was red in the face. His hands shook. And his voice cracked.

"I'm sorry for being such a bother, but thank you for taking the time to hear me out," he said.

"You're making us nervous," Fergus said. "Is everything okay?"

"Well, yeah. I am nervous, though. I want to share an idea with you, but if you think it's stupid, just say so and I promise not to bother you again."

"Hey." Fergus leaned forward to catch and hold Sammy's gaze. "We both know you're a smart lad, and talking to you over dinner is not the inconvenience you seem to think it is. Take a deep breath. When you're ready to speak, we're ready to listen."

Sammy nodded and breathed slowly, centering himself. He produced a notebook and set it on the table, facing Wayne and Fergus.

"I'm learning so much about cooking because of this job. I've never had the chance to travel, so all of these flavors and dishes are new to me. What we ate in Mudsville and in Iomallach? There's nothing like that in Cuan, so if a person can't travel the continent, they never get to experience any of that."

Wayne and Fergus listened and nodded.

"I want to open a restaurant," Sammy said.

Fergus slapped both hands on the table. "You're quitting?"

Sammy shook his head. "No, not at all."

"Gods, Sammy, don't do that to me," Fergus said.

"My idea, if it works, would let me do both."

Sammy opened his notebook. One page of the spread had a diagram of the train, and the other had a rough sketch of the continent and its cities.

The cook wanted to convert his personal car into a restaurant and offer dinner service on the days the party wasn't on the road. The example he shared was having a fresh batch of manotaur steaks to offer as a one-of-a-kind meal in a city like Cuan. The restaurant would have limited seating and would only be open for select periods.

Essentially, if the party wasn't on the road where they needed a cook, Sammy pictured bringing guests onto the train from whatever city they happened to be in. When the party moved on, so would Sammy and his restaurant. In his mind, the combination of exotic dishes, a one-of-a-kind atmosphere, and ultra-limited availability would attract enough business for him to at least break even.

When Wayne started to laugh, Sammy's face fell.

"Oh god, no," Wayne said. "I'm not laughing at you. An idea like yours exists on Earth, and we call them 'pop-ups.' A store or a bar or a restaurant appears in a city for a limited time and then is gone forever. I'm laughing because you invented that idea in this world all on your own."

"You don't hate it?"

Wayne shook his head. "I'm impressed, actually."

Sammy's eyes darted to Fergus. The scholar stroked his beard and didn't share Wayne's levity.

"Have you considered security risks?" Fergus asked. "Inviting strangers onto our train could lead to trouble."

"We would lock out access to any of the other cars, and Hector volunteered to bounce for me."

"You already spoke to Hector?"

"Yeah, he encouraged me to bring this to you guys."

Fergus' face stayed serious. "I see two other problems. One, a passenger car is not ideal for a dining experience. Two, a venture like this is not cheap."

"I know," Sammy replied. "I can make the car work, even if it isn't ideal, and I've been saving my pay. I know these things usually fail, but I'm okay with the risk."

"Unacceptable."

"What do you mean?" Sammy asked, his voice quivering.

"I don't care what Wayne says, I'm not letting you give up your passenger car," Fergus said. "To do this right, you need a dining room and a kitchen. I'm picturing one car for each. Then, the kitchen needs a cold place to store food, so that's another car. And using your cook pay? Absolutely not. If you'll have me, I'd like to be your investor."

"You mean it?"

Fergus nodded and then looked at Wayne. "Probably should have asked you first, though."

"As long as visitors can't get to the rest of the train, I don't have a problem with it."

Fergus turned back to Sammy. "Well?"

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

Sammy beamed and hugged Fergus from across the table before giving Wayne the same treatment. When he returned to his seat, tears welled in his eyes.

"Thank you both for risking so much to keep helping me."

Scoffing, Fergus said, "This isn't a handout. I think you're underestimating how good of an idea this is, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. Exotic food that's impossible for a city to get anywhere else? A dining room in another dimension? A narrow window of time to get to enjoy all of that? You'll have folks like the Blackwells fighting each other for reservations."

"You really think so?"

"I'm certain, and that's before they hear about our extensive selection of wines expertly sourced from every corner of the world."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.