Banished Pt. 01

"So, in here, we're... safe?" she asked, but I shook my head.

"I wouldn't say we're safe, but I think we'll at least get answers."

Francesca's legs began to shake as she drew closer to the guards, so I offered to go ahead of her.

The guards gave me a light pat down, then inspected a spot on my wrist, before giving me the okay to go on ahead.

I turned and gave Francesca a quick, 'it's not so bad' look, and she responded with a little appreciative nod as I was ushered inside.

There was a short corridor that turned off ahead, but my eyes were immediately drawn to the small, incandescent light bulbs that bathed the hallway in a pale, yellow light.

Not very eco-friendly, I thought sarcastically.

I hung back and waited for Francesca to re-join me, and as soon as she entered the corridor, she immediately noticed the lights.

"Guess you're right," she said, gesturing to the light bulbs, and I nodded as we proceeded down the corridor.

We took a few sharp turns before coming to a room with rows and rows of chairs, and a strange glass tube, at the center.

Some of our peers were already seated in empty rows, and I noted that there were two more 'guards' in this area, though these looked more like the 'security guard' type to which we were accustomed.

They wore matching polyester t-shirts, and were directing us to an appropriate seat.

I gave a little nod as I passed them by, and the guard responded in kind.

Gun holster, concealed on the back. Taser on the belt, I observed.

I paused as I got to the tube looking device, but I barely got a proper look in when a hand on the shoulder directed me towards a row of chairs.

"Right this way, if you will," the man said, his tone firm.

Damn.

These guys aren't messing around.

I wanted to get a closer look at the tube looking device, but I guess I'd have to settle for a far-off inspection instead.

"Jeez~. How are you staying calm through all this?" Francesca asked.

"I dunno?" I replied.

As I glanced at Francesca, however, I noted that her hands were tightly gripping the armrest of her seat, and after taking a look around, I noticed that there are a few more faces like hers; anxious, nervous, and in some cases downright terrified.

"For all we know that thing could just vaporize us," she added, and I chuckled.

"If that was all they wanted, they wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of bringing us here... wherever here is."

"That doesn't sound very reassuring."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to offer you meaningless reassurance, it's just that I think that the things you're afraid of right now have already happened."

My words trailed off as the lights in the room dimmed slightly, and the guards gave us a quick look over before heading out through a door that I hadn't initially noticed, and seemed to kind of... seamlessly meld into the wall.

I leaned forward to get a better look, when suddenly a blue light filled the glass-like tube, and I sat back as the projection of a person; a woman, wearing a lab coat and with thick white glasses, appeared within the tube.

"Greetings, heroes of Avalon," the woman began, her arms spread grandly as she uttered the words with gusto. "A great destiny has been today, thrust upon you! What will you do? Will you run from it, and hide? Or greet it with the resolution of great heroes, just as others have before you."

"What are you talking about?"

The question came from a tall girl, with long, plaited brown hair.

"Speak your name, adventurer."

"Vanessa."

"Let your name be known as Vanessa, the candid, henceforth. You, my child, like the others around you, have been chosen to lead a life of adventure and heroism in this land of magic and mystery."

"Chosen? How were we chosen."

"Yeah, and how do we go home?"

Murmurs could be heard around the room, as everyone began to voice their own discontent.

"Patience, my children. All will be revealed to you, in time."

The woman faded into the background, and the blue light seemed to expand beyond the tube, as a map of some kind gradually came into view on the projection.

"Behold, Avalon! A planet four times the size of our own earth. A land teeming with life, and most of all; adventure! With its four corners undiscovered, Avalon is the perfect land for pioneers of discovery; and certainly, much bounty lies in wait for prospective adventurers, like yourself!"

"Another planet? We're... on another planet? How is that possible?" a girl cried from somewhere off to my left, and to my surprise, the narrator responded.

"This is possible through transference; the transmission of matter between two known points. As long as the required conditions and criteria are met, living subjects can be transported between these two points. For further information about this process, please look up transference in the guild database at your own convenience."

"But we didn't sign up for this," someone else cried.

"Oh, but you did, my dear. Some of your memories may be muddled; a side effect of the process of transference, but rest assured that all eighteen candidates before me are brave volunteers of project Kepler, and thanks to your sacrifice, our own planet stands a chance of survival into the future! Your bravery will be remembered, and your names honored for-"

"Do you remember volunteering," I asked quietly, as the voice spoke on, and Francesca shook her head slowly.

"No. I- I don't remember doing anything like that."

I pondered the information for a second.

"If we've had a change of heart so to speak, can we go home?" I asked.

The voice paused for a moment, before an answer came.

"I'm sorry, but the process of transference is a complex and expensive procedure. Thus, one's return to earth must be purchased, and can only take place after extensive preparation."

"Purchased? How?"

The question came from the boy from earlier.

Caleb, was it?

"The land of Avalon is a special place, home to a host of life of all kinds. From the humans you met upon your arrival, to humanoids the likes of which you've only seen in movies, and read of in fairy tales."

"So, native money?" Caleb asked, and the voice chuckled before replying.

"State your name, young adventurer."

"Caleb," the boy replied.

"You shall henceforth be known as Caleb, the inquisitive! As for your question, native currency is not what we seek. Behold, the true wonders of Avalon!"

Fuzzy footage began to play on the projector, of monsters, dragon-like creatures, and what I could only describe as dinosaurs.

"As you can see, brave adventurers, Avalon is a world unlike anything you can imagine. Here you will find all sorts of wonders, the likes of which no living mortal on earth will ever see! And at the heart of all of this life, lies this-"

A blue and black stone was projected before us, spiraling as the voice continued:

"-this stone; an energy core, or orb of life, so to speak, lies at the heart of all living things on Avalon; from the tiniest of ants, to the most mammoth of beasts. Bring these stones back here, or to the adventurer's guild nearest you, and you will be rewarded, based on the quality of stone, in E-coins, or credits, as they are more commonly known. Credits will be the currency with which you will trade here, and not just for your return ticket to earth, but for the tools, gear, and weaponry that you'll need on your heroic quests! And speaking of credits-"

A beep sounded, and I noticed that a red light was blinking from my left wrist right at the spot where the guard had inspected earlier.

"-each of you have been granted fifty credits, free of charge, to get you started on your quest!"

"Jesus, this is crazy," Francesca muttered, as she studied her wrist with interest.

"At any guild terminal, like the one you see before you today, you can check your current balance, make purchases with your credits, as well as check on the prices of various items, equipment, and services. Like this-"

A catalog, easily readable and well ordered, appeared on the projection before us, giving a brief preview of the list of available purchases.

"Wait- why are some things on here more expensive than a ticket back?" Caleb asked, and the woman appeared before us again, a huge smile on her face.

"Most astute, Caleb, the inquisitive! A basic return ticket, as you've noticed, is most easily acquirable, however, for those of you who truly wish to return to earth, triumphant and victorious, premium return is available at a higher cost."

"Premium return?"

"Yes- rather than return to the dull life that most of you signed onto this program to escape, you will return with a substantial amount of money and power, to your name. The ability to be... whatever you dream of being; whether it's a famous actor, a billionaire CEO, or celebrated philanthropist! Just take a look at this list of prominent project Kepler alumni!"

A quick reel went by of billionaires, actors, and even politicians, and I scoffed, though I noted, with a bit of derision I might add, that not only Caleb, but several others, immediately seemed to be taken with the idea.

"Your only limit is your imagination!" the woman declared, gesturing grandly with her hands for effect.

I used the lull in the presentation to take a quick scan of the room.

Most of the group still seemed tense, or at the very least, as nervous as Francesca, but apart from those and the ones who now had that gleam of 'money that wasn't quite theirs yet' in their eye, I noticed one girl which stood out.

Resting her head on her hand, and her bangs covering much of her face, she looked... bored, almost, though still somewhat nervous.

You've been here before, I thought, or at the very least, you've already seen this.

I made a mental note to keep an eye on her, and if possible, get a word with her alone.

The presentation went on for a bit, but largely, it was more or less hero recruitment propaganda, painting the world of Avalon as a chaotic, but exotic land, peopled by helpless humanoids who were at the mercy of tyrants and ferocious beasts, and in need of heroes to save them from peril.

I filtered out most of the noise, looking instead for useful bits of information, but eventually, the monologue came to an end.

"Well then, unless anyone has any further questions, the world of Avalon-"

The woman gestured again, here for effect.

"-is now open to you!" she finished, and a large metal panel behind the projection area opened up to reveal an impressive scenery of green plains, dotted with small patches of woods and shrubbery.

Little villages could be seen in the distance, dotting the landscape with dusty roads connecting them.

"Venture forth into the unknown, and become what you were always meant to be; heroes of might and fortune!"

On that note, the presentation ended, and everyone had begun to move around and hold little deliberations in groups.

Francesca seemed to be looking like a lost puppy between me and a girl and two guys who were waving her over, but my eyes were already zeroing in on someone else.

"Go on ahead, I'll be there in a sec," I said, and Francesca nodded, heading over to the group as I made my way over to the girl I'd observed earlier.

She was already heading through the opened exit, and I caught up to her just as she'd gotten to a little pathway that ran from the keep, down to the village below.

"Hey, wait up," I called, and she turned on me sharply.

"I'm good," she replied, immediately turning to leave.

"You've been here before."

This time, she stopped, then turned around to study me.

"You're Nathan, right?"

Hmm.

Was she close enough to hear when I gave my name earlier?

I wasn't sure if anyone but Francesca was within earshot, or even paying attention for that matter.

I gave a cautious nod, and she smiled.

"You might wanna be careful. You see, I know everything about you. So, unless you want me to mess things up for you and your new little girlfriend over there, I'd leave me alone!"

She gestured subtly up the pathway to the where the presentation hall had opened up earlier, and I glanced back to see Francesca cautiously approaching.

"I think you have the wrong idea. If you know about this place, then you can help us. You can help everyone to survive."

"Final warning, Nathan. Unless you want me to reveal your secrets, stay the fuck away from me."

"Nathan, something's happening up there. We need your help," Francesca said, as soon as she arrived, and I turned, looking past her to the guildhall.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"That Caleb boy is causing trouble. Who was that girl?"

"Was...?"

I turned back just in time to see the mystery girl disappearing around a bend in the trail.

Fuck.

So much for that.

I traced the direction the trail headed in and realized she wasn't even heading for the town just below the keep.

I made a mental note of the direction, before heading back to the presentation hall with Francesca.

"What were you two talking about?" Francesca asked.

"That girl. She isn't like the rest of us."

"What do you mean?"

"She knows things about this place, about our situation," I explained, and Francesca frowned.

"Really...? But how?"

"My current guess is that she's working... or maybe worked, for the people who brought us here."

As we got back to the presentation hall, I could hear Caleb from a distance.

"It makes more sense than any idea the rest of you can come up with!"

There were murmurs of discontent, and as I got to the hall, I could see a larger group made up of many 'deer in headlights'-type expressions, as a smaller group stood threateningly around them.

"What's going on?" I called, and Caleb turned to face me.

"I'm making- fucking- sense, is what's going on!"

I moved to the front of the larger group and turned to face Caleb.

His group consisted of himself, the Vanessa girl from earlier, and two others who I'd not paid much attention to before.

"What's this sense? Because it kinda seems to me like you're scaring a bunch of people."

Caleb laughed.

"They're pathetic worms who wouldn't last a day here. Look at them. They're clearly not cut out for this."

"And you are?"

"More than they are, for sure."

I sighed.

There was very little point giving this guy an ear, but tensions were high.

I needed to defuse the situation.

"So, what is this sensible suggestion of yours?"

"Pool together our credits. I've looked through the list- we can afford some pretty good gear for a small group if we do, and make the credits back more quickly."

"Hmm. That's an interesting proposition," I responded thoughtfully.

Caleb looked taken aback by the genuine tone of my response, and I internally smirked at his naivety.

"Yeah. You bet it is," he began, but I raised a hand, cutting him off:

"Two things, though. Firstly; if the small group gets wiped out, we lose everything. What assurances can you offer us against that?"

"What? That won't happen, man. With higher grade gear we can handle anything out there!"

"Anything? Are you certain? I mean, I can't really do anything but speculate about the monsters that are out there, or the conditions, but let's take a look at the available data."

I walked over to the console and pulled up the list of available equipment.

"There's... let's see, seventeen of us here-"

"Seventeen?"

Caleb began doing a headcount, probably only just noticing that one of our initial group had already slipped off.

"-so that'd be eight hundred and fifty credits. It looks like that can get us one set of high-grade tier one gear, or two to three sets of medium-grade tier one gear. That doesn't seem like much of an advantage..."

"The fuck are you talking about, man? Of course, it is!"

"Is it? I mean, look at the list. There're five tiers of gear, and three grades per tier, with tier one being the lowest... so with one set of t-one gear, you'd be at a disadvantage against... eighty percent? Eighty percent of every type of adventurer you could encounter."

"What?"

"And if you come up against multiple adventurers, those numbers drop quickly to ninety six percent for two adventurers, more than ninety-nine for anything more... I mean, a one percent probability of success doesn't sound like a good risk to place all of our capital on, does it?"

"Oh, come on! That's bullshit. Three of us in good equipment would do better than all of us with whatever we can afford."

"What are you talking here? Efficiency?"

"Yeah!"

"But that's not right, either. Is it? If one person with high grade armor represents one hundred percent efficiency, and one person with low grade armor represents... thirty percent efficiency, then one person in high grade armor is only as efficient as three to four persons in low grade armor... I mean, all seventeen of us in low grade armor, that's... five hundred and ten percent efficiency, or roughly five times as efficient as the single person in high grade armor."

"Man, your numbers 'bs' is a load of crock."

"What? I thought we were being sensible? Besides, you seem to be assuming that the best way forward is for this group to remain together."

"Of course, it is! If we split up, we stand a smaller chance of survival!"

"Well, that's not really true. A single group can be wiped out in one fell swoop. Two, maybe three groups, spread out, would increase our overall survivability. Plus, three groups working separately and sharing info will allow us to more quickly learn about our new environment. We could establish information networks, and over time trade networks to strengthen our position here as outsiders."

Caleb was quiet, and to my relief I saw his own little group was now talking things over, so I retreated from my position at the head of the group to talk to Francesca, who was now standing with the group she had gone over to from earlier.

"Nathan, this is Nolan, Jordan, and Cameron," she said, introducing them respectively. "If you want to form a group, they would be happy to join up with us."

Nolan and Jordan looked like two ordinary, young men, and Cameron was a pretty, yet simple looking girl.

I considered the proposition.

Truthfully, I'd only suggested splitting into smaller groups to get Caleb and his goons to form their own group and stay away from everyone else, but as I looked around, I realized that smaller groups of three to four were already bring formed.

The Vanessa girl seemed to have abandoned Caleb's group, which had now dwindled down to him and two other muscle heads, while Vanessa now seemed to be trying to group up with three or four other girls.

Then there was another guy standing off by himself; at first, I thought he was probably just a little shy, but as I studied him, I noticed that he was taking sharp, quick breaths, in an irregular manner.

"Hey, uh- is he alright?" I asked, and Francesca and the others looked over at him.

I began to walk over to him, when his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, and he suddenly fell as his body went limp.

"Shit!" I cursed, as I rushed to his side.

His body began twitching, and I quickly checked his mouth to make sure that his airway was clear, before turning his head to the side just as he began to convulse.

"Just let it out," I coaxed, and he began to vomit up what looked like bile.

"Jesus, what's wrong with him?" Francesca asked, and I took a deep breath in.

"Dunno. Might be a panic attack? Anyone here have a medical background?" I asked, but Francesca and her new companions all shook their heads.

I looked around the room, and while a few glances were cast in our direction, no one came to offer assistance.