Beacons in The Dark

Chapter 10 - To Jubei's Bar?

"Power is like water, it can be cupped in the hand, but make a fist and it trickles through your fingers." - Autonomous Emperor

Nami and Blue left the apartment, leaving Bast, Tylux, and the Cleaners to do their proper jobs. There was, of course, a bit of frustration at the leader of the Loreseeker's Guild from the two Council members, but Blue felt something funny about one of the two, and he couldn't stand to be around them for a second more.

So off they went to Jubei's Bar, in one of Star City's seedier districts. Walking from the humongous apartment block he lived in into the equally gargantuan cityscape always gave him a sense of vertigo, so very very tall were the buildings, some reaching far above the clouds, when there were any, thousands of levels high, built with antigrav particles infused into the metallic struts of the buildings, allowing them to rise like veritable mountains and not topple to crush the ants so far below.

They walked past the green and pink neon lights emanating from a Pharamacon Guild store, blending in with the thousands of other colorful shops and tenements crammed into this space, a press of people that was palpable; the odors of differing people's sweat and perfumes, the rank stink of frying grease and Grue meat, the diffused silverscreen moonlight washing over everything; it felt as comfortable to Blue as an old shoe.

"You know we cant walk to Jubei's, it's at least a thousand miles from this section of Star City." Nami reminded with a grin after they had passed by a number of telecasters, Blue stubbornly ignoring them as he was lost in thought.

"Yeah, yeah." he muttered, but reached out to nudge Nami in the arm, "We'll take the next one, promise."

"It's Jhiva that has us connected in this web, this strange energy." the LIghtman replied.

"But what is Jhiva? The reports I gathered from the outer worlds were far too vague...it's some kind of energy, that is all I know."

"That's enough knowledge to start us down the path, a Loremaster should know that; besides, we're going to Jubei's, and the gossip is always in high fashion there."

Blue often went to Jubei in his bar for leads and tips on artifacts or lost technology; the man was a haven of information and Blue had no clue how Jubei was so well informed, it was truly baffling; but if anything, Blue was more appreciative at the friendship Jubei had shown him in the past.

"Blue." Nami said.

"Yeah?"

"You passed one." and laughed.

"Oh.." Blue said, turning back around and heading back towards the telecaster he had just walked by. Blue placed his hand into the recepticle on the side of the gateway, where it interfaced with the ports in his hands. Most people had to audibly speak their location, but that took away privacy.

He sent an encrypted databurst to the telecaster informing it to synch with another telecaster about a block from Jubei's, and that two would be travelling. The knowledge that his order was received and credits deducted from his banking account was transmitted to him.

The gateway began to shimmer like a rainbow made of roiling water.

Both men stepped through the telecaster, and all hell broke loose.