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13: Last Resorts
Basil, now the center of attention for the entire room, decided to exit but was stopped by Spiro. “What was that?” he asked in an accusatory tone. Basil, turning around, replied nonchalantly “Don’t really know.” He went to continue walking, but Spiro stuck out his arm to block the exit, seeming to expect a more detailed answer. Basil paused to go over his thoughts, and during the pause Spiro continued, this time in a seemingly concerned tone.
Read more…12: Toes to be Stepped On
Finally settling in Basil made his way to the Redcap’s castle itself where the food and drink were being served. After a few casual conversations with Redcap guards who seemed at least tolerant of conversing, albeit a bit surprised to be prompted with questions, Basil learned some more of the basics and what to expect from the event. He also heard neither the Redcap royal family nor Lizard King were going to be at the dinner, both being in the Redcap royal quarters negotiating what would be an end to the ongoing war.
Read more…11: Attendance
Basil parked his truck on the inside of the gate before he and his passengers began to get out and observe their surroundings while waiting for Brayden. Strait ahead and in the center of the courtyard sat what Basil could best describe as a large castle or palace. The place looked like something that wouldn’t look out of place during the renaissance in Europe, somewhat of an equally captivating and unnerving thought for Basil as he was staring at it in the present.
Read more…10: Trouble at the Gate
Basil sat in his truck that had just been loaded onto a boat in the Arkepello harbor. Tuning out the constant movement of the waves and the conversations of those standing around his truck he spoke with ACE who was instructing him on how to relay signals from his PDA via radio waves. Of course, however, this would only work if he were to find a radio in the Redcap capital he could use capable of reaching the Arkepello.
Read more…9: An Invitation
Basil sat alone at a table tapping away at his PDA. He was drawing a little attention, certainly the unknown technology - whoever made it - would have been drawing attention even if he had been sitting in a cafe in NY or London. And yet here not only that, but he was technically an alien here, even if it only felt to him and the people here like he was just from another nation.
Read more…8: Battle of Sodium and Transistors
“Look away” Basil said, standing over a very boxy machine. “You can trust us to not share your secrets” Simon replied with a hint of confusion in his voice. Basil smiled. “Oh, I trust you, it’s just that ACE is going to arc weld and if you’d prefer to not be blind you’ll want to look away.” Simon, Tobias, and Basil all looked away as ACE used a repair drone to do some final touches on the radio.
Read more…7: Introductions
Basil drove his newly acquired truck through a much larger wormhole, quickly going from seeing a snowmobile in the dark room of the facility to seeing a tropical paradise. A gush of wind mildly rocked the truck as it wouldn’t fit in the sealed room, but before long he was driving slowly across the sandy beach. Basil could feel a bit of dread, recalling his parting misunderstanding with the small group.
Read more…6: Most Normal Floridian
Basil stepped through the wormhole, surprised at the sudden guest of wind. Though the pressure in the sealed room was equal to that of sea level, it still did not affect the winds blowing across the ocean. He covered his eyes as the blinding sun and humid salty air momentarily overloaded his senses; and as his eyes finally adjusted he could see the jet flying away from the inflatable boat that had just dropped out of it.
Read more…5: Domum
Basil had been walking for about five minutes yet saw very few signs of life aside from the birds flying around and the faint smell of fish. He flipped open his phone, odd, still no signals. Even though GPS signals were supposed to be everywhere, between remote areas being deprioritized and the cheap chip in the phone he reasoned it could easily explain why he hadn’t detected any. Looking around to be sure he was still alone he quickly pulled up his holographic PDA, but that also did not detect any signals.
Read more…4: The Fourth Variable
“How have you been feeling lately?” ACE asked Basil as he stared into the sealed room. Basil instinctively rubbed his arm where the injection had occurred. “Nothing so far, is that a good sign?” ACE reminded Basil of their previous conversation. “We will not know for some days.” The two remained in silence as several maintenance drones set up a device in the room before sealing it off. The device had been made in the fabricator from the cached schematics and had a peculiar design.
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