Safe Zone, The Emperor’s Ascent - 9:35 AM

  Even though I had told Jeff to pick Coyote, I spent almost the entire rest of the session warning him of things he should know about that particular Patron. The Red Oracle had told me that, when I was in Sedona, he was in a mischievous mood rather than a malicious one. Given the tendencies of a trickster, that could have easily changed by now, but it was something to consider.

  The best way to deal with one was to get ahead of them. Jeff was a knight, and he acted like it. So long as Coyote knew that he wasn’t going to act with malicious intent and the Patron agreed, things were probably going to be fine. Especially since Jeff would likely be fine playing some pranks, and had more than enough creativity and skill in combat to make it entertaining.

  It also helped that an avatar wasn’t bound to their Patron’s every whim. While Sara was an amazing sponsor that didn’t give me quests I wanted to deny, there had been times in previous runs when I flat out denied doing them. It wasn’t a smart thing to do under most circumstances as not every Patron could take being told no well, but if Coyote went on a malicious streak and dropped Jeff then it would just be something we’d have to deal with.

  For now, I was strangely excited about having the trickster on our side. I hadn’t been expecting him to give up the Red Oracle and follow me, but now that it had happened I couldn’t say I was too surprised. He wanted to be entertained and I had showed up on his doorstep.

  I voiced my question aloud as I left the Angel Express, and received two different answers.

  <<<>>>

  [[Notice]]

  The Patron [Coyote] greets you by cackling in your general direction.

  [[Patron Message]]

  Yes, I was rather surprised to see him, too. Coyote has become far more vocal than he was back in Sedona. Or, rather, he’s been open to actual dialogue rather than simply demanding answers.

  You should be happy to hear that the people of Sedona got out with minimum casualties. Those who were the most vulnerable and some protectors stayed behind in the safe zone, but the rest went to Flagstaff. There was some trouble with how many people suddenly showed up, but they’re working things out. The train line means there’s a lot of opportunities for where the people can go to settle down, which wasn’t something Antonio Luna had considered.

  As for why Coyote left Louise, the Red Oracle… well…

  She burned herself out looking at your future.

  I want you to know that it’s not your fault at all, Ant. She wasn’t ready to see me with her abilities at her level, let alone you know who at the same time. Her sight was burned out, and she won’t be able to see the future ever again. She did survive, though! Louise is safe in the Sedona safe zone where her advice is still useful.

  As you could guess, that’s not a great avatar for Coyote to have. As capricious as he is, it didn’t take long before he moved on to following you after you departed. He’s apparently been tailing you since Los Alamos. I guess he felt as though all these other Patrons might try to wedge themselves into Sol Ligatus and finally jumped at reaching out to Jeff to be his new avatar before anyone else could.

  Also, Cancer has informed me that Callie is waiting for you at the restaurant. Now would be a good time to switch ownership over to her.

  <<<>>>

  I nodded to myself. That made a lot of sense, even though I felt like allowing Louise to read me had been my fault whether Sara agreed with it or not. Taking a breath, I pushed it to the back of my mind. There was no use worrying about it now that it had already happened. She was safe and, disabled or not, that was all that mattered.

  +1 life. That’s what she was.

  Just as I was about to enter the safe zone proper, I received another message.

  <<<>>>

  [[Patron Message]]

  Ant, stop.

  <<<>>>

  My feet lurched as I immediately followed Sara’s instructions. I immediately went on alert, casting out my senses all around me to see if there was some kind of hidden danger. Fighting outside the arena was programmed to send the aggressor back to their faction with a timer on when they could leave, but there were always loopholes and I wasn’t sure which one had been found to make her stop me.

  Vigilance turned to confusion as I couldn’t find anything threatening or even out of the ordinary. Nothing seemed out of place. Certainly, nothing seemed dangerous. I looked up at the sky and arched an eyebrow.

  <<<>>>

  [[Patron Message]]

  Really? This is the kind of guy I fell in love with?

  Really?

  <<<>>>

  “I’m… sorry?” I asked, eyes widening as I had no idea what she was talking about.

  <<<>>>

  [[Patron Message]]

  Anthony, you’re about to leave the safe zone without any shoes. I know they’re really good socks, but you have an image to maintain.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  One that requires you to wear a Hawaiian trench coat along with a reaper’s cloak, but an image nonetheless.

  That said, I still love you. Even with your hardcore Comfort Plus obsession.

  <<<>>>

  “Okay, now I know you’re teasing me,” I said. “There’s no way I’d forg—”

  As I was speaking, I looked down to see that I was, in fact, without shoes. I wiggled my toes, which were currently residing in a realm of absolute comfort, and stared for a good while. It appeared as though I had simply forgotten to reequip after I put the socks on.

  With a sheepish smile, I reached into my inventory, retrieved the Heelies of the Twice Blessed, and put them on. Even though I was wearing shoes it didn’t feel any different at all. My feet were in a place of maximum comfort, so why would it? I decided that was the reason why I had forgotten them.

  “Good looking out,” I whispered, giving credit where credit was due as I coughed into my hand. “And I love you, too.”

  With my wardrobe issue fixed, I walked into the communal area of the safe zone. Unlike last night, it was easy to tell that there were well over a thousand people inhabiting the space. Many were sitting in front of the Sol Ligatus entrance watching the television showing that Kayla and Jamie had moved on from the puzzle floor and onto the next, running from bulls through what looked like the streets of Pamplona.

  The crowd was taking notes, but I was wondering how Jamie managed to talk the Double Agent into going straight into the next one. It was the story floor, so they probably assumed it was going to be about the Minotaur of Crete and his labyrinth. Given that Aries had his section touting Jason and the Golden Fleece, it wasn’t a terrible assumption.

  I watched as Jamie pulled Kayla out of harm’s way before putting on a burst of speed to get ahead of the herd. They’d be fine enough.

  Waving at a few people who nodded at me as I made my way by, I headed towards the restaurant I had placed in front of Cancer’s area. Already I could see the woman waiting for me inside, impatience permeating her aura as we locked eyes. I gave her a nod, and she gestured for me to hurry up. Her instructions went unheeded, however, as I walked normally to the front door.

  Callie Webber was the very picture of a pastry chef, though her outfit was checkered white and yellow. A rolling pin hung from one hip with a cleaver on the other, both looking pristine. Although she was only a couple of inches taller than Kayla and shared the same petite figure, the look on her face and the way she held herself made her seem much bigger.

  “I’m Callie,” she introduced the moment I opened the door, her voice far too loud for her frame. Her hand was thrust towards me. “Can’t say I enjoy waiting, but Cancer told me to, so, here I am.”

  With a smile, I took her hand and shook it. “Nice to meet you, Callie,” I replied. “I’m Anthony. Glad you’re here.”

  “Not much choice to be here. Our first floor was a monster mashup, so I’m not at the head of the party,” she sniffed. Jerking her head back, she started leading me towards the table she had been sitting at. “That’s more a Brandon thing. He’s my second and the real brawn of our operations.”

  I nodded as we took a seat, and snapped open my inventory. “Makes sense. We all have our own strengths and weaknesses. Just because I think you’d be just fine with that cleaver of yours doesn’t mean we need to tempt fate by putting you in dangerous situations.”

  “So long as you know I’m just as dangerous as those situations, then we’ll get along just fine, Ant,” Callie said with an almost feral grin. Her face softened as she leaned onto the table, stretching before resting her chin in her hand. “So Cancer says you want me to have this restaurant. I’m good with that, so what kind of price are you—”

  <<<>>>

  [[Safe Zone Notice]]

  You are attempting to sell ownership of the building [Restaurant] to Avatar [Caroline Webber] for the following price: 1 point.

  The recipient may make a counteroffer should they choose to do so.

  Send this offer?

  Yes

  No

  <<<>>>

  Callie stopped talking after I hit Yes and the offer appeared in front of her. Her eyes skimmed the space in front of her, and I retrieved two cups of tea from my inventory. Absently, she grabbed the one I pushed her way and took a sip. I had remembered what she liked, and the Monster Gourmand moaned appreciatively at the taste.

  “Damn fine cup,” she said, putting the cup back down before pointing at the space in front of her. “But what’s this? A single point? Why do I feel like I’m about to get fleeced? Cause that’s too good to be true.”

  “Fleeced like the sheep we all just got done dealing with?” I asked, smirking.

  “Yeah, something like that,” she grumbled. “So what’s the angle?”

  I made a show of making her wait by taking a drink of tea, a nice little smirk on my face, and I watched as her brows furrowed. “My angle, since that’s what you want to call it, is that I want as many people as possible to succeed. And, to do that, you need to be running the restaurant.”

  An arched eyebrow turned into a clueless look. “Huh?”

  Patiently, I put the cup back down. “Have you seen the memorial stone yet?”

  “Yeah? It’s got like, forty-fifty names on it already,” she answered slowly.

  “And when I built it yesterday, there were 20,” I said before turning to look out through the window. “Over a thousand of New York’s strongest are trapped in here, and we’re still losing too many people. Some of it is a lack of experience or instincts. Fighting can be scary, and when people are met with things they don’t expect or frighten them… well, you’ve seen it.”

  With a frown, Callie nodded.

  “I could ask for a bunch of points,” I told her with a shrug. “Or some concessions, or some food, or whatever, but all I really want is for you to keep your prices low and affordable so that people can get the buffs they need to return alive. The gathering floors are going to be big for you, which is something you already know, so you need to make sure to keep up.”

  “And why’s that?” she asked, jutting her chin out. It was clear she didn’t believe in my altruistic reasoning.

  “Because you can help the people outside, too,” I answered, ignoring her gesture. “This place is a den of death, but also a treasure trove for crafters and merchants. If you can stockpile everything you get here, you’ll be feeding a lot of mouths out there. A lot of people will be able to survive where they wouldn’t before.”

  “Shit, so you’re playing the long game, huh?” Callie asked, leaning her chin back into her palm. “And you’re doing this, what? Out of the goodness of your heart or something?”

  My smile became a little more strained. “Something like that.”

  The frown on the chef’s face intensified for a moment before softening. “It’s not just some Angel shit that Cancer mentioned, is it? You’ve lost people.”

  “More than I’m willing to count,” I quietly confirmed. “More than I’m able to, at this point.”

  Callie’s eyes flicked down to her cup, then she sat up and snatched it to take a drink. Instead of a sip, she gulped the rest of it down before sliding it towards me. “So, one point and keep my prices low. You know, I’ve got some good fighters and Brandon’s amazing, but other than him we don’t have anyone else that can match up with one of the other Zodiac’s avatars. Cancer told me that you helped out that Gemini punk; think you could give us a hand, too? I’ll give out some discounts for you and yours. Sol Ligatus ain’t that big so it’s not too big a burden or anything.”

  My smile came back at that as she accepted ownership of the restaurant and made me one point richer. “Callie, my training services are for anyone who wants them,” I said confidently. “But for you and the Cancer faction, I’ll take extra care.”

  With a brilliant smile, Callie reached out her hand and we shook on it. Gemini wouldn’t be thrilled about having to share my attention with the forces of Cancer, but it was only going to get worse as the other Zodiacs swallowed their pride and came for help.

  Those that could stomach it, anyway.

  I was looking forward to when that time came.

  Patreon!