carl@fire

They passed through the door and into a more narrow corridor with doorless rooms on either side. The walls were still stone, but the lighting was dimmer down here, wherever they were.

Carl looked into the rooms as they passed. Each one seemed to be populated by nothing but elven orgies. Yeah, it's a bit odd. "Is this the scenic route or something?"

Mina giggled, one hand held up to her face as she walked along in front of Carl without looking to either side.

"It's the quickest way to discreetly leave from where we were," Lawrence called back, seemingly unconcerned about being overheard. "Don't ask why."

I probably could've just punched a hole in the wall or something with how wonky the obstacle physics seem to be. Well, whatever. This is part of the experience. Almost feels like I'm in some kinda heist movie.

After they'd passed a couple dozen rooms of frantically-copulating elves, Lawrence abruptly turned into one of the elf-orgy rooms. He stepped carefully around the tangle of limbs and pelvises on the pair of thin mattresses, then tapped a spot on the wall, causing it to open. He walked in, waving for them to follow.

Mina looked over at the elves with a small grimace as she passed by and into the passage.

Carl was less reserved as he walked. All with those collars, obviously. Must be some kinda sex guild thing, and this is where they hang out when there's no big role-playing thing going on. How many… Alright, so that's two girls and five guys? I think? Hard to tell since they all have such long hair. These people really know how to party, I guess. Feeling solidly disillusioned about the game now, though. Maybe things'll be better when I get away from this whole "City of Lust" thing. I'm gonna have to figure out some way to look at Bobby's location history when I get out and double check that she's never been anywhere near this place.

Lawrence shut the passage behind them, but there had been no attempt by any of the elves to follow.

The trio walked a bit more in the tunnel, which was only illuminated by Lawrence's light rock. The passage ended after some distance at a ladder.

"Here's where we must part ways," said Lawrence, circling back towards the way they'd come, no doubt with the intent to deposit the payment he'd received before he clocked out one last time.

Carl sighed, somewhat disappointed that this cool guy was just going to disappear after being so helpful. "Thanks, Lawrence. Really appreciate the extra effort."

"Yes, it was quite nice to not have to encounter anyone on our way out," Mina agreed with a nod of her head.

"No need for thanks," said Lawrence, "I did manage to overhear the tail end of your auction." He paused for a moment. "If you don't mind, however, I do have one question I'd like to ask?"

Carl shrugged. "Sure."

Lawrence stared at them with a frown, stroking his right eyebrow. "Why are your eyes glowing? I've never seen anything like it."

Well, I was thinking about giving him a bigger tip… Carl flipped through his inventory and pulled out a couple nightvision potions. "Nightvision potions," he said, holding them out. "My daughter made 'em. Here. It's not much, but I feel like you've really earned it."

Lawrence flipped his light rock in his hand a couple times, then reached out and grasped the small bottles with the same hand and began the process of untying his magical bag with the other. "Interesting," he said as he worked, holding the glowing bottles up to his face. "Alchemy, is it? I'd never considered such a thing. The world really is a big place, isn't it."

"Maybe we'll see you around sometime in this big world," said Carl.

"I'll be sure to give you a greeting," Lawrence said, now re-tying the bag's drawstring after depositing the potions. He looked up with a grin. "I'll buy you a meal or something." He flicked his hand, and a half dozen coins began to smoothly dance around over and under his knuckles in one final display of cool showmanship and hospitality. "The ladder here will take you up to an alley near the main entrance. There's a bit of false cobblestone at the top that you'll need to shift, but I imagine it's nothing you can't handle." He turned around, then gave a wave over his shoulder as he started back towards the elf orgy room. "Until we meet again."

Carl turned to Mina, his glowing eyes meeting hers. "Ready to get the heck out of here?" he asked.

"I'm not sure I've ever been more ready for something," said Mina, showing a grin that he might describe as impish.

He caught himself as his hand instinctively moved to ruffle her blonde hair. "Alright, then, let's do it." He turned to the ladder and started climbing. He reached the top and braced himself on the ladder, then began to push against the ceiling.

It didn't budge.

He pushed harder.

There was no movement whatsoever.

Carl rolled his eyes. I can see the freaking seams where this thing comes up. How is this so poorly-coded? It weighs the right amount, but it breaks super easily? He looked down and spotted Mina standing near the base of the ladder. "Move away for a sec, this is gonna get messy." He pulled his spear out of his inventory, needing to move down a rung on the ladder for it to fit, then started poking at the rocky ceiling.

As he'd predicted, it cracked immediately. More pokes created more cracks, and then the entire heavy block tumbled down around him. He'd braced himself in advance and was uninjured, but he looked down just to make sure that—

Mina waved up at him, still grinning and safe, and he felt a small knot of worry that had formed unravel.

"C'mon up," he called. He chucked his spear back into his inventory, then climbed up onto the surface.

The sky had dimmed considerably, but that didn't matter much to Carl's enhanced sight. He looked around, trying to see if he recognized his new location.

Mina's hand grabbed his foot, and he reached down to help her out of the passage. "I imagine they won't be too pleased that we've destroyed the entrance to their secret tunnel," she remarked, looking back down one more time.

"Oops," said Carl. "Didn't really think that through, I guess. Hope Lawrence doesn't get in trouble."

"He said he was quitting, so I'm certain he won't mind," said Mina. She looked around. "Is this the very same street I've left my steamcar at the end of?" she asked, sounding amazed.

Carl looked around. "Maybe? They all look alike to me. All these buildings are pretty much identical."

Mina let out a disgusted sigh. "I know. So unoriginal. And expensive, too." She started to walk, and Carl fell in beside her. "Did you know that we've mined nearly all of the limestone in the kingdom? We've even been importing it for the past decade, and it costs more to buy the limestone to make the mortar now than it does to fund the entire rest of a building's construction regardless of its size."

"Why don't they just stop using bricks?" Carl asked. "Or use a different kind of mortar. Not like I'm an expert, but there's more than just, uh, limestone-based mortars, right?"

"I've never spent time considering it," said Mina as they approached the end of the street. "But surely there must be a better solution. We've been constructing these same types of buildings for at least a century."

Yeah, I bet it feels like forever when you're just walking around through endless brick buildings like this. "Look on the bright side," Carl said, "I bet when we go other places they won't all have brick and mortar buildings. That'll be cool to see, right?"

Mina's car came into view. "Yes, that's certainly true," she said.

An idea that had been percolating in Carl's head finally came to the fore. "Hey, uh, I know it's your car and all, but would you mind if I try driving a bit? I've never driven anything quite like this before."

She snorted and leaned her head to look at him. "After all that talk of safety previously, I'd hope you won't mind if I pay careful attention to how you drive."

"You better," Carl grumbled. "There's gonna be a test."

"Ooh, now you sound like a proper tutor," Mina said before lapsing into giggles. She headed for the passenger seat.

Carl walked to the driver's seat and got in. "Hoo boy, this is a tighter fit than I expected." The dimensions of the car's interior had clearly been crafted with a smaller body in mind.

"Hm, perhaps I could make the seat adjustable," Mina mused. "I wish I had something to write on. I feel as though I'm forgetting a dozen new ideas every minute tonight."

"Seatbelts first, I think," Carl said, looking around the spartan cabin. "Uh, how do I start this?"

"Simply channel a small amount of fire energy into the reverse side of the wheel," Mina said as though it was a simple matter.

Carl made a face at her. "I'm kinda still learning how all that works. Any chance you can help me out for now?"

Mina stroked her chin. "I suppose I could…" She reached over and grasped the steering wheel. "I've never attempted this, but I believe if I tie this like that, and then…" Her brow furrowed in concentration. After a minute, she removed her hand and sank back into her seat. "Ooh, that was a bit more tiring than I expected."

Carl felt a slight vibration under his bare feet. "What'd you do?"

"I pushed most of my mana into a loop that will continually draw fire energy until it runs out," she said, explaining some complex game system that Carl struggled to remain interested in. "It's an extension of a simple use of magic I was taught to provide warmth on colder days, adjusted to provide significantly more heat along a vector."

He pushed the pedal on the right down a little bit experimentally and released it.

The car jerked forward.

"Nice," Carl said. He turned his head to grin at her while he nodded his head. "How long's that gonna last?" Some kinda vehicle buff or something maybe.

"I've no idea," Mina said, still rubbing her temples. "I imagine it should last quite some time, though. Enough to carry us out of the city, at the least."

"You don't wanna drive out?" Carl asked. He pressed the pedal again, trying to get a feel for how fast he'd end up going based on how far he pushed down. The car pulled away from the side of the empty side road and started slowly rolling along the street.

"I think I've had about all the excitement I can manage for one day," she said as she pulled her goggles out of her pocket. "I'm grateful that you asked, though."

She does seem kinda tired. All that posturing and telling that jackass to screw off probably wore her out. "Fair enough," he said.

The car came to a hard stop at the intersection of another road when he tested the brakes.

"Oops, those are a bit stronger than I expected," Carl said sheepishly.

"Yes, I was able to have most of the chassis as well as the wheels inscribed with glyphs to increase their durability," said Mina. "As such, I was also able to significantly increase the stopping power of the brakes without risking the integrity of the steamcar's components. The engine would otherwise surely explode from the pressure as well."

"Huh," said Carl. That's pretty cool. A good example of improving on stuff from real life with the game's systems. She's probably got scholarships ready for all the Ivy League schools with her smarts. Just like what Bobby would be up to if she was more into hardware than software, I bet. "You'll have to show me more how this magic system works sometime. Um, is there a way we can go which'll have a long street without many people on the way out?"

"Turn right here," said Mina. "I'll direct you."

"Cool. I wanna see how fast this baby can go without accidentally throwing one of us out the side."

"Ooh, that's something I've always intended to test! I'm not usually allowed to be out this late, however, and the streets are always so crowded during the day! Turn left here."

"Early curfew, huh? Wait, is that from your parents, or—"

"I don't wish to talk about that."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Turn left here, then a right immediately after. Yes, here. Now another right. Straight on through here, then the second left. Now a right onto this street. We'll continue along here for a short while. I must say, Carl, I do feel quite secure now while you're driving."

Carl grinned. "Safety first, Mina." He slowed the car gently with his improved control over the overly-strong brakes as they approached another intersection. A guard wearing light armor rode across, turning to frown at them as the horse passed by. Carl swerved the car gently around the horse, then accelerated again once he was clear of the obstacle.