Ortai Legacy: Arrival

12.1 - Unexpected Call (L)

Something was buzzing. The floor was... crunchy like pine needles? But covered in slick fabric, like polyester—ah, it was the synthetic fabric we'd bought for Veil Piercer. I was still on the ship, but I'd clearly been moved, as I was in pitch darkness rather than the dimness of the entrance room.

I panicked for a split second before remembering what Weylan had taught me. "Kris."

A golden orb flashed into being overhead. I stared at it for a few moments before my eyes adjusted and my sleep-fogged mind comprehended what I was looking at. It was a luminsphere, the same type that Cadmus used to light his house, attached to a steel-grey ceiling using metal prongs. The ceiling was free of rust but heavily scratched.

The entire room was like that—clean but showing decades of use. It was a bit bigger than my dorm room and unfurnished except for the rosalet-needle-stuffed pile of fabric I'd been sleeping on. Through the empty doorway, I saw another room across a relatively narrow hallway. That room was a little smaller than this one and lacked a 'bed' but was otherwise identical.

[Weylan?] I called out.

[I will arrive shortly.]

[What do you mean, 'arrive?' No one can hold you but Mar- is he here, Mar'kost?] I instantly worried about the risk he would've taken when he left the house.

[No, the avatars—except for Fretpai—are capable of holding Wedol as well, since Wedol isn't charmed against such handling.]

[Oh-]

The sound of crystal on metal preceded a mimic I didn't recognize appearing at the door. It was strangely intact but also a bit of a jigsaw, made from many slightly different pieces of Void crystage and metal. Without a word, it placed my polearm on the floor and left.

"Who was that?"

"'Who' wouldn't be the correct term—it's one of Fretpai's... unique creations." Weylan grimaced. "She seems to have achieved a type of sentience beyond her original programming, and she attempted to replicate her condition using the bodies of fallen avatars. She ended up with several mindless drones instead."

So she was basically Frankenstein--the ethics of which I didn't feel like getting into right now. "Where am I, exactly?"

"In Brother Weylan's old quarters. The avatars have been preparing them for you." He paused as the ambient buzzing intensified. "I recommend shelving that discussion for another time. You have an incoming call."

I froze, breath caught in my throat. "Who is it?"

"It's a conference call initiated by Oliv-"

"Answer it." I scrambled out of my fabric mound. Some of it caught on my legs as I dove to grab my polearm.

"Holding your weapon is unnecessary. I will project a hovering call screen—or a tangible one, if you prefer. I can also project full-sized holographic replicas of the callers."

"I'd like a tangible screen, please."

A screen the size and approximate shape of a large iPad appeared on the floor next to me. Dropping my weapon, I grabbed the screen. It was much too light for its size, but that barely registered as I caught sight of the members of the conference call.

The screen displayed six people in a half-circle who appeared to be sitting or standing in the same area. Only, parts of their backgrounds--everything from branches to passing sea creatures--hovered around them. Of the six, none were remotely human or recognizable. Though I'd maintained my general body shape and facial structure, the others all looked very... alien. Eyes of unusual sizes, muzzles, and wings stood out to me. A few appeared to have tails as well.