"Can you hear my voice?"
I blinked and rubbed my eyes. I reopened them to see a woman with black hair standing in front of me. Wait, standing? I whirled to see a hilly area covered in a light dusting of snow. I turned back around to the woman, who was standing on a raised stone circle. This was not my bedroom, with its blue walls and my trophy case. I became aware of the clothes I was wearing. A tunic with white and brown threads with trousers, boots, and gloves. Not only that, but... I twisted around to see a sword hilt over my right shoulder. I looked down to the left, and sure enough, there was a long scabbard there. I turned back to the woman and opened my mouth to speak, but then she began speaking.
"You're dreaming now. This is the resting place of the greatest power. The Memory of Atlantis."
I scratched my head and shivered a bit. George's jokes were getting bigger and bigger.
"Although you probably do not remember, I am a remnant of the great power and the first of the Three Sisters of Atlantis, Lea."
Damn right I don't remember. Regular high school students didn't learn about the "Three Sisters of Atlantis." What I wanted to know was how George managed to get me out of bed, dressed in strange clothes, and get me to stand up sleeping in the middle of nowhere with an beautiful actress willing to stand in the cold in that dress. And those wings on her back looked pretty damn good.
"James Chai, you can become the master of us sisters if you heed our words and find the will of Atlantis."
Okay, now this was just crazy. Maybe George was trying to get me laid. The stupid queer sure did overdo it though.
I said, "Okay, did George put you up to this?"
She gave me a cute frown. "Who is this George you speak of?"
I shook my head. "No, seriously, how much did he pay you?"
"I do not know who this "George" person is. I was certainly not paid to do this."
"Then what am I doing here?"
"You are here because you are a descendant of Atlantis."
Good God, what is this? "Are you joking?"
"No, I am completely serious. You are a descendant of Atlantis, and thus have great potential. Please heed the knowledge that I must impart onto you. Undoubtedly, you will face numerous enemies on the path that lies ahead of you. If you wish to survive, you must find Mercenaries, who will aid you in your battles. If you go to the Mercenary Manager..."
She pointed and I turned around to see a figure in a white and blue cloak with wings standing on another raised circle.
"...you will be able to recruit some mercenaries. When you are done hiring two mercenaries, please come speak to me again."
I stepped backwards off the circle and tried to figure out just what the hell was going on. This was getting too elaborate to be a joke. I decided to play along until the situation explained itself.
I jogged over to the figure in the white cloak. His face was completely veiled in darkness and I couldn't even tell which gender he belonged to with the billowy cloak of his.
I spoke. "Uh, I guess I'm supposed to hire some mercenaries or something..."
"Ah, yes, Lea has already informed me of that." The voice was surprisingly deep, and had an airy tone to it, like it wasn't coming out of a mouth. "Here."
The white cloak guy handed me a list. "These are the mercenaries that are on the waiting list right now."
I stared down at the list. There were four titles, but no names. It listed Swordsman, Spearman, Gunner, and Archer. The rest of the list was crossed out. "What the hell is this? There are only four things I can choose from. And there aren't any names."
The white cloak guy nodded enthusiastically. "The mercenaries are trained for a certain weapon and are classified by them. We choose them at random when you choose a weapon type, so it's fair for all of them."
I nodded uncertainly. "Uh okay, so I can only choose two?"
The white cloak guy nodded again. "At your current skill level, we only allow you two mercenaries. Oh, I almost forgot. You should have a book in your left pocket.
I reached in my pocket, positive that I wouldn't find anything, until my hand touched rough leather. What the f**k. That wasn't there before. How the hell did that get in there? I grasped and pulled it out to find a book that couldn't possibly have fit in my pocket, and yet I had just pulled it out of said pocket. I hadn't felt anything in my pocket at all, and the book was huge and weighed a lot.
The white cloak guy gestured towards the book. "Open the book to the first page."
I opened it, grunting under the weight, to find a picture of me in my odd clothes and my sword drawn. Next to it looked like a trading card game, with stats and numbers lining the page. I ran my gaze up and down the page and noticed that I had a level next to my name. It said "Eric Chai: Sword Main- Level 1.
"So I'm level one?"
The white cloak guy beamed, or I assume he did from his body language, since I couldn't see his face. "Yup. At level one, you can only hire two mercenaries. At level two, you can hire one more, then another at ten, then twenty, thirty, etcetera.
I closed it. "Convenient. I've been wondering. Are you sure I'm the right person that you need?"
The white cloak guy got serious. "Yes, we know of your past 'occupation'. That was one of the reasons you were chosen. We needed a person of great skill to help us. A young one was also needed for their ability to adapt."
I nodded slowly. "So that's why I'm here instead of in my bed at home."
The white cloak guy laughed. "That wasn't your home at all, was it?"
I smiled. "Got me there." I shoved the book back into my pocket. The pocket was turning out to be useful.
"Well now," I said cheerfully. "Lets get to business. I wish to hire a spearman and a gunner."
The white cloak guy swirled his arms around and opened a blue portal. "It is done," he intoned.
Two people toppled out of the portal. The girl managed to land on her feet with a show of agility. The guy merely fell on his butt and groaned. The girl wore all black with the exception of her hair ties. Her dark hair was tied up in two loops behind her head with red hair ties. She wore a form fitting tunic that bared part of her midriff with a skirt that went midway down her thighs. Her legs were covered in a dark pantyhose and she wore knee high black leather boots. On her back was an old looking rifle that looked worn from repeated use. The guy wore a jacket with no shirt, and had an impressive body to show. He had a sort of skirt that only covered the front of his legs, which were thankfully covered in a pair of dark trousers. On his back was an impressive spear that was about as tall as he was. His hair was dark and unruly, reaching to the nape of his neck.
The guy muttered a curse as he stood up. The girl stared in slack-jawed amazement at her surroundings.
"Where the hell am I?" asked the girl as she took in her surroundings. For the first time, she noticed her clothes. "Why the hell am I wearing these slutty clothes?" she cried as she looked down at herself.
"They sure look nice," the guy said slyly. He looked down at himself. "Not really sure about myself though. What is this skirt thing?"
Then at the same time, their heads snapped up to look at me. "And who are you?"
I raised my hands. "I'm just a guy in the same situation you are. Dragged out of bed, dressed in weird clothes, and given a weapon to stand out in the middle of nowhere. Although I've been told that I'm dreaming." I grinned at them. "Let's introduce ourselves. I am James Chai, from Irvine, California.
The girl spoke first. "Raina Bond, from Orlando, Florida." She narrowed her eyes. "And no James Bond jokes either."
I shrugged. "My name is James. Why would I ever do that?"
The guy shrugged. "Brandon Lowe. From the Big Apple."
Raina looked around. "So why the heck am I doing out here in strange clothes and not in my bedroom at home?"
"Well, I've been asking myself the same question," I said. "And I still haven't got a clue."
Brandon blew on his hands and rubbed them up and down his arms. "It's chilly here. Even more than New York."
Raina rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."
I clapped my hands together. "Well now, if we're done, then lets get back to the woman back there." I pointed over my shoulder at Lea with my thumb.
"Who's she?" Brandon asked, seemingly bored. "Some loony like us?" Suddenly, Raina smacked the back of his head.
"We are not loonies. Don't talk about others like that," she said.
Brandon rubbed the back of his head. "Okay, Mother."
Raina pulled the gun off her back and started walking towards him, holding the gun like a club with a malicious glint in her eyes. "What did you say!"
Brandon finally realized she was serious and started backing away. "U-uh, n-n-nothing important."
Raina put her gun away. "Good." They both looked towards me to realize that I was already talking to Lea.
Five Minutes ago:
I looked at the two bickering mercenaries, then turned and jogged my way back to Lea.
"I hired the mercenaries."
Lea looked confused. "And where would they happen to be?"
I sent a wordless glance towards Raina, who was advancing upon a cowering Brandon. Lea followed my gaze and sighed.
"Well done. In the future, as your strength and leadership grows, you will be able to manage a powerful force by hiring more Mercenaries. This will surely grant you the greater advantage in battle."
The two looked around and finally realized that I had already gone to talk to Lea. They began running over.
Lea continued, "I pray that your new-found knowledge will prove to be beneficial in your journey. Will you please go through the next gate?"
I looked where she was pointing and saw a blue portal on the ground a couple miles off. I nodded at her, then started off.
Raina and Brandon, who noticed me moving off, changed directions and started after me. Soon, they caught up.
"So what was that all about?" Brandon asked casually.
"We're done here. I guess we go through the gate portal ahead."
Raina moved ahead. "So let's go, slowpokes!"
Brandon yelled, "Oh no you don't!" and ran after her. She squealed and started to run. I snorted and shook my head, then started running.
Soon, I had reached the portal. I turned back to see Raina and Brandon straggling about half a mile behind.
"Come on, slowpokes," I yelled and waved at them impatiently. A minute later, Brandon and Raina collapsed at my feet, gasping for air.
"What... what was that?" Raina puffed, sweating profusely.
I shrugged. "A little talent of mine. Come on." I waved my hand at them impatiently. Little did I know of the three day hell that would be imposed upon my two companions on the other side of the portal.