Play Testers Wanted Pt. 11

"I believe you." I stated. "Let's move on and see if... nope! This one is worse than that one." I grimace as I approached the cityscape beneath the octopus lamp. It was slimy, dark stones, arranged in a mind-bending configuration that bent perception and geometry on its head. "I feel like I should know this place."

"It is the sunken city of R'lyeh, home to the Dreamer in the Depths." She clarified with a weak grin.

"I slept on his couch once," I said and balked at moving deeper into the room. "How far have you gone?"

"I've seen them all," She admitted. "It isn't for the weak of heart."

"A few more," I whimpered. "What the hell is that?" I asked as I walked towards the web covered table. "Haven't you dusted in here?"

"That one has always been like that." She said. "It is the lair of one of the Many Angled Ones."

"Yikes! Okay, I'm done!" I said as I fled the room upon seeing a hundred or so beings snared in the strands of the webbing. While using webbing myself there was something soul chilling seeing the strands wiggle while I stood there watching. It could have just been the wind, but I had felt no breeze in that stifling chamber. Talia closed the door reverently and I suppose I understood why.

"I ran screaming the first time I dared that room." Talia admitted. "I had nightmares for weeks afterwards. I still have bad dreams. Scotch?" She offered as we entered the reading room. It was a small comfortably decorated room. It had a snug feeling about it, and I welcomed a good stiff drink. "My brother knew when he was going to die. He told me years ago. Please don't think me a cold-hearted bitch. I have mourned him many times since then until now."

"We all end but it is disconcerting knowing the day and the hour," I muttered, and she refilled the bottom of my tumbler.

"Exactly," she agreed. "You are one of Strange's students, aren't you?"

"More companion than student," I corrected. "Though she has shared some interesting spells."

"I shall do no less," Talia declared. "You have come here to support me emotionally. What sort of magic would like to improve?" She asked and my HUD dropped down automatically. My spell schools were displayed. They were divided and I had no idea how vast the game's magic system was. Had this been part of the upgrade? I looked at them carefully and my first reaction was to study time magic but my rating in it was already high thanks to Istus. I went alphabetical and when I hit 'N' I spied a school I had never heard of before. "Negamage?"

"Good choice!" Talia purred or was it more of a moan. "I've never met one of those before."

"What is a Negamage exactly?" I asked as she whistled shrilly and the air to her left warped and a cloven-hoofed girl appeared and curtsied. She was dressed in a traditional maid's uniform of dark cloth with white fringe that made her crimson skin stand out even more. Her long mane of hair started out a sapphire color near the scalp but by the time it reached her shapely ass it was the color of polished brass.

"You rang," the succubus moaned. "Ooh, he's a keeper. Shall I seduce him for you? I won't mind."

"I need your other expertise," Talia informed the demon.

"Other? What other would that be. The only thing you've ever had me do was suck... ow!" The succubus exclaimed when her mistress elbowed her in the left breast. "That's my lucky tit you know."

"Please explain to him about the noble art of the Negamage." Talia ordered.

"Please?! When did you start using words like..." the demon stated as she protected her perfect breasts from attack? "Fine. I'm not sure you'd classify a Negamage as noble. They are rogues and thieves. They can steal others magics. Whether it is a human sorcerer or even a demon's immortality. They can abscond with it if they are quick and clever enough about it. It often ends poorly for them. I am honor bound to warn you about that. That said, they can dismantle magic wards, traps, and whatnot. They don't have to steal magic. I've known of one that was content on simply robbing wealthy mages of their most prized possessions. They can also handle artifacts normally isolated to certain moral degradations or piety."

"So, they can steal holy and unholy items but not use them." I stated and she smiled.

"You caught that bit, good. Yes, they can touch dread and fearful things without harm. If they try and use them though eh it could end poorly or just corrupt them." The demon purred. "I got a treasure you can touch... ow! Aw come on! He's been staring at my arse this entire time. I am fucking soaked over here." She growled as she stuck out a foot-long scarlet tongue. I matched her and used the serpent technique to split it and wiggled it at her. "OOH! Did you see THAT! One for the pink and one for the stink. Let me at 'em!"

"Behave, this isn't a brothel." Talia said chewing her lower lip. "So, is it going to be the path of the Negamage for you?"

"Hell yeah," I said and winked at the succubus.

"Go fetch the books on it and return." Talia ordered.

"Huh?! I can teach him hands on though. I won't charge anything but a little sperm." The demon wailed in frustration. "I haven't been fucked in over an earthly month!"

"I don't know..." Talia whimpered. "The last time you left the poor guy nearly a husk."

"He was a mortal man." The demon yowled like a cat in heat. "This guy isn't even human... nor mortal... he's..." she stopped when she saw my expression. "My apologies sir. I got carried away."

"I know his past." Talia whimpered. "All those women. All that sex. Can he make me climax?"

"Absolutely oh insatiable one," the succubus declared as she whispered in Talia's ear. "He'll wreck you the way... never mind that yes he can."

"Good. I hate being left out of all the fun." Talia said and I felt like the key to her odd behavior and quick costume changes might be revealed. "Tell you what Svartalfar, you fuck me and little miss sunshine rotten during your training period here and you'll leave here a fully trained Negamage."

"I don't have the time to..." I began and she smiled. "Oh, I see. Chronomancer, you can slow or even halt the flow of time outside."

"I can if you make it worth the effort." Talia whimpered.

"Just sex nothing else," I said to clarify the arrangement.

"Just sex," the succubus purred.

"Just sex," Talia promised.

"Let's do it." I agreed.

A payment before any training was standard practice apparently. When they learned about the Double Dragon, they were both thrilled to death. My training began the next morning. So, there was quite a bit of a payment if I was being honest. I left demon and Talia semi-conscious in the master bedroom. I smacked my lips after the succubus offered to feed me. I had never tasted demon blood before. It didn't take much because of its innate potency. Talia already knew that little secret, she seemed to know all of them, but wasn't eager to share any of them. Was it part of being a Chronomancer? Could there be an oath of keeping such things to herself? I didn't know. I slipped down to the kitchen and prepared breakfast for the three of us. I almost didn't recognize the succubus when she strolled down naked wearing just a smile. She looked strikingly human save her yellow eyes and forked tongue.

"Thanks for last night," she purred with a kiss on my cheek. "I needed that."

"We all did, eggs and bacon?" I asked as I prepped the skillets.

"I'll get the coffee ready." The succubus said as she rinsed out the filter.

"Look at you two," Talia said appearing in an equal state of undress as the demon. She had changed again, and I began to think she was unable to control these subtle and not so subtle changes. Talia was now a stunning redhead with puffy inverted nipples. I remembered quite well suckling on her sensitive nipples last night. We ate, recounted last night's highlights, and then Talia informed me that it was time to enter the training grounds. We washed up and dressed. Talia opened a portal and the three of entered a realm that seemed straight out of an Escher painting. Gravity and reality didn't have anything to do with the laws that ruled this place.

"Welcome champion." A neutral uncaring voice greeted us clinically.

"The Grey Lady!" Talia gasped and dropped to her knees.

"Lady Istus!" I said and followed suit. "Of course, it makes sense for a Chronomancer to derive her power from you great lady."

"Astute as always," the goddess replied. "State your business in my realm Talia."

"I have agreed to reveal to him the secrets of the Negamage." She said with head still lowered.

"You would make of him more a rogue than he already is?" The colorless goddess chuckled showing the first hint of emotion since I had met her. "My home is yours. Keep that demon on a tight leash though, here!" A mystical collar appeared in my grasp. "Put it on her. You can take it off her when you depart. Do it." She ordered with a visible grin.

"Come here you," I said as I stood and approached the demon. She extended her neck and was purring as I slid the restraining device around it. Click.

"Excellent!" Istus stated. "Now, Talia and champion step over here," She said and pointed as a cave like opening appeared. Three granite steps led into the opening. "Talia, take your mark and champion I want you to walk into the structure and when you reach the end tell me what you make of this place."

There was a clearly defined path within, on either side of it was volcanic glass and appeared slicker than shit. A bright yellow beryl triangle was where Talia stopped, and I continued forward. Perhaps twenty feet forward the tunnel dipped downward at a forty-five-degree angle. I took it slow and noticed that the walls of the cave were made of translucent glass in this area. The tunnel went on for another hundred feet when it began to slope upward. The angle increased but I wasn't fighting as if I were walking uphill. Eventually the tunnel leveled out for thirty feet before it dipped just a bit and a subtler slope took hold until I found a matching blue beryl square.

"Huh." I said and my voice carried and echoed in that vaulted open space.

"Ghost?" Talia called out. "Is that you?" Her voice had that same hollow quality to it.

I looked around and then I looked up. I laughed when I spied her above me. I raced forward keeping to the path and once again a severe upward curve to the tunnel and before long I was standing directly above her. I knelt and tapped on the glass surface and she looked up at me.

"Oh hey," she exclaimed. "What is going on?"

"Ha!" I laughed. "It is a Klein Bottle! Give me a second and I'll be right there." I raced forward as the tunnel dipped and I rose to come face to face with her. "A four-dimensional object represented in a three-dimensional space. However, in this case, this one is a four-dimensional construct. Amazing!!" I cried thrill for the experience. "Thank you, Istus."

"I am thrilled you appreciate my sculpture." She said with an extremely rare smile.

"May I?" Talia asked and Istus inclined her head in the positive. We walked the sculpture together. I created a sphere of light around us and it became clear when gravity seemed to be defied by the severe turns that formed the neck of the bottle. I had learned about Klein Bottles in college. I dated a gal that wanted to be a topologist. It is a branch of math that looks at the relation of space, geometric shapes, and continuous change of size or shape. We exited the sculpture and found Istus waiting for us.

"Why here champion," Istus asked.

"I didn't choose our destination. Do you have a better one in mind?" I asked facing her and taking in her divine aspect.

"I do actually. My coven sister Manu-Rani. Her domain is energy and matter. What is magic but the manipulation of matter and energy?" She said as a portal opened, and Manu-Rani appeared.

"Sister?" Manu-Rani queried.

"Tell me of the legacy known as Negamages." Istus asked.

"Ghost Fire?" Manu-Rani laughed. "Scoundrel and Rogue. I will take this burden from you sister. Attend me champion... a Chronomancer and a Demon? What strange bedfellows yes?"

I entered the portal into yet another realm. This was a chaotic domain where energy and matter changed and exchanged constantly and without warning. The runic palace was the eye of the storm and it was disorientating even within the confines of the structure. The demon liked the ever-changing nature of the realm. Talia and I not so much. I had never had an official education when it came to the arcane arts, that would not do. Manu-Rani took over at this point and delegated Talia as simply a sparring partner. The demon she barely noticed as she turned her full attention to me. The goddess explained to me the nature of energy and matter and dropped a bombshell that I wasn't away of.

"Magic wasn't always a part of the universe. The first few iterations didn't possess it. You might call it a tweak added in the third or fourth cycle. It made things more interesting by adding the planes boiling over with arcane power. It also gave us new threats to deal with. I have the dubious honor of having one of my priests creating the mantle of Negamage. Ooh, he was a scandalous soul, but in his defense, he was a brilliant mage. He had the most delicate touch when it came to picking pockets as he did lifting wards and the like." She said with a smile. "Before I let the two of you clobber each other remember patience, flow, and adaption."

Manu-Rani called her famed cleric from his perpetual rest. He arrived naked and dripping wet. With a few gestures he clothed himself in the robes of a warrior monk. The bright silver and white uniform were as functional as it was stylish. His species of origin befuddled me. My first thought was that he was an albino of his race, but that wasn't true. His skin was silvery-white and translucent in many areas and transparent in others. I never saw a skeletal structure beneath his flesh, and I wondered how he was able to stand there unassisted. There were also no obvious openings such as a mouth, nostrils, eyes, ears, or other organs. His shape was roughly humanoid, but his fingers were longer and reminded me of short tentacles more than traditional digits.

'Specialized musculature,' he explained touching my thoughts. 'I can harden groups of muscles to do the work of a skeleton, but my people are closer to Terran cephalopods or the Klyntar symbiotes. I have been summoned to instruct you eh. You at least are a worthy student. I have been watching your antics for a while now. Let's get started.'

'Excellent, do you have a name?' I asked and he/she looked at Manu-Rani. She nodded and he replied.

'My people, now extinct, were known to your ancestors and they called us Fluidics or the Nenannon. We possess a very limited form of shapeshifting. As for a personal identity, that is difficult to explain. My race being telepathic by nature shared a hive mentality, so individuality was frowned upon. You can call me Penumbra; it is as good as any other. No, I don't have a designated gender. We reproduce asexually acting in both capacities. I envy monosexual species. It looks like a lot of pleasure.'

'Fascinating.' I replied. 'Where do you want to start?'

'I prefer practicality actually,' Penumbra explained. 'I have a raid planned but I'll give you a crash course in being an Arcane Rogue. It isn't limited to stealing magic, dismantling wards, but a lifestyle.'

I laughed and we walked around the everchanging realm of Manu-Rani. My conversation with him, since I didn't know how else to think of Penumbra, asking me what skills I already possessed and that gave him an understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. I got an ambiguous moral code vibe from him as he felt those with more should be unburdened of all that pesky wealth. As he explained how wards worked, he strongly suggested I take courses or read up on antiquities so that I could recognize value from junk. I liked his hands-on approach to instruction. He started off simply explaining how to create, recognize, and dismantle runes, wards, and arcane based traps. He also bolstered my less savory skills, lock picking, pick pocketing, and stealth techniques. He was a rogue through and through. The casual aspect of my training ended, and I was thrust into the middle of an impromptu mission. My HUD dinged as the side quest activated.

'Training Quest: To succeed acquire either Nth Metal, Father Box, or the Philosopher's Stone.'

Curious to see what each thing did I dug around and researched them. Nth metal was a 'crossover event' object that allowed the craftsman to make an object that was strong, resistant to magic, and capable of flight. The Father Box could create a 'hush tube' or a silent portal among other things. The Philosopher's Stone could be added to a forge and it could convert one element into another for a price. The rarer the desired alloy the more of the base alloy required. That could be of use to me. I think the Philosopher's Stone seemed the best bet for me.

Penumbra opened a portal that led to what was labeled as the Crossover Zone. My HUD informed me that a limited time Crossover Event would begin when I entered the portal. I recognized Nth metal from the DC Universe, and I guessed the Father Box was as well. I switched to street clothes and followed Penumbra through the portal.

The shroud of night hung over the city. It could have been New York, perhaps Gotham, or any other metropolitan city. While portions of the skyline reminded me of New York, the architecture was reminiscent of the gothic stonework of the other. Wayne Tower dominated this portion of the city, but it wasn't alone. Stark Industry had a presence here as well. How many comics and universes converged here and how long would this Crossover last? Time to get moving. I needed to gather information. The best way to do that was the internet in whatever form it took here. I stood atop one of the taller buildings and I peered off the room and two blocks away I saw the neon sign of an internet café. Perfect. I was about to teleport via shadow when a flying car soared by and I recognized the silhouette as that of a police car from the movie Bladerunner. It was getting better by the minute.

I reached out to the shadows and they embraced me. It took no effort to shift from the top of the building to the alley next to coffee house. I stepped out of the shadows and rounded the corner. I stopped cold and felt my jaw fall open when I saw the three cars parked out front.

"...Shelby Cobra... Thunderbird... GT40... oh... my... god!!" I gasped. "They are gorgeous!"

Were they all owned by one person or was this just my wet dream come true? I stepped into the coffee house and it was crowded with dozens of overlapping conversations filling the air. I smelled a variety of caffeinated drinks along with fruits and chocolates as well. No one was currently at the counter, so I was able to place my order, sit on one of the stools, and turn around to do a little people watching. The place had a strange interior décor that ranged from classic 50's to 90's neogothic, to a splash of cyberpunk on top of it all. The girls were cute, the guys ruggedly handsome, and then I saw them. The three guys sitting around a large circular table in a corner. I felt myself pulled over watching the intense conversation going on.

One guy wore a clean white long-sleeved shirt and on top of that a black vest. Next to him a well-dressed middle-aged man in a button up shirt, well-worn jacket, and a fedora on the table in front of him. Last was the man with the short cropped almost spikey brown hair, dark shirt, and intense expression. Hell, they all had a passionate expression.

"...listen I know you are on the run, but we need your help," the gentleman in the middle stated strongly.