Rider

Errit was sitting in the bar, enjoying his expensive drink. There were adventurers everywhere, some of them were still dressed in armor and all of them were armed with at least one weapon. They spoke loudly, mostly about their experiences.

"And there I was, Knee deep in Gabrin Territory, thirty soldiers surrounded us. It was Jessie that got off the best shot. She downed four of them with one wind blast. They never stood a chance! HAHA KWAHAHAHAT." A Dwarf, Errit presumed. Had been boasting to his friends, topping the voices of everyone in the Bar. He was drunk and sloshing his beer all over the place. "I smelled the Fear in their eyes.."

Errit grimaced. 'smell the fear? in their eyes? Is this guy fucking stupid?'

"HEY! YOUH, Whut's with that loohk?" He stood up and tripped. The Bar started to laugh. It was a matter of pride, he stood up very quickly and rushed at Errit's waist.

"You can't be serious." Errit looked down at the midget hugging his legs like a dog humping at him. He kicked him away and into the wall. He hung there, supported by the space in the wall.

"Hey.. That.. urt. You wanna thake tiis..outsi.." he passed out.

The Bar started to cheer and ran up to Errit. The Blackout hat still covering his eyes, he stood there with a grin on his face from the absurd situation in front of him. "Why was he trying to hump my leg?"

The Bar started laughing again. "That's the funniest shit i've heard all day. Bartender, get this guy a drink. What's your name?" One of the Adventurers that had come along with the Dwarf came forward and asked.

"You can call me Kink." He grabbed the drink from the adventurer's hand and returned the question. "What's yours?"

Errit took a drink and looked at the Elven kid, he looked no older than twenty but he was built like a truck. "You can call me Roddy, these are my friends, Jacob, Derek, Kristi, John and Terrel. You've already met Dair, don't mind him, he flies off the handle at everything. You'll get use to him." Roddy offered Dair's seat to Kink and they all sat around the table. "So tell me, what brought you to Kiwissel."

Errit didn't understand the word, but hoped it was the city name. Roddy had more to say, but Errit just answered for the hell of it. "I came to find books and maybe a route toward the Zao Clan. I have some business with them that needs to be settled." It sounded ominous, the table didn't much like it but they moved on.

"Did you find what you needed?" Derek asked, he looked ready to help for some reason. Maybe Dair's loss had been Kink's gain.

"No, I did find a map of the city, though its mostly useless once I leave. I'm not even sure which direction to head now that I've finally found a City." Kink sipped on his drink and waited for someone else to talk.

Kristi seemed eager to talk, the silence was great but jarring to people who were always on the move. "What business do you have with the Zao Clan? We're headed to the East, there's a port that's controlled by them down the river. But, Its a sect controlled city, you'll have to submit to a psychic scan to enter." Sure that she had scared him off if his intentions were foul, she shut her mouth and stuffed some food in between her lips. Licking her fingers she stared at him with intent.

"Is everyone in this world such an eccentric personality type? I've met a few people, and all of them seem to have this sort of 'Everything was created for me' attitude. Is that common in these parts?" Kink's question stumped the group again.

After giving it some thought Terrel came forward and answered as best he could. "Yes. You are 100% correct, most adventurers know with a certainty that they are bound to meet a violent death, but we all still go out. What is life, if not created for our amusement and enjoyment. Live life to its fullest. What was it my grandmother use to say back on Earth? Yolo.. " He laughed.

"Your grandmother was from Earth? Then this planet is?" Kink had another question that got mixed looks. "I know this isn't earth, but I haven't heard the stories. Enlighten me a bit."

"You really haven't heard anything then huh? Okay then. So its like this. About 40 years ago, the Esper Emperor came to Earth for the second time. When he left, he took about 20 million people with him, my grandfather and mother were with that group. Mom married an Elf.. Things were different back then for humans. Most of the transmigrated didn't fit in well with the Humans from Shiyan, so they splintered off and a lot.. like.. a LOT of them died. Oh. To answer your other question.. This is Shiyan. Home of the Esper Emperor." John and Jacob both looked closer trying to make out Kinks' eyes, "It would be pretty stupid to fight with the Esper Emperor. The Zao Clan is his family, most of the other races don't dare insult the Emperor out of respect. He controls a Weapon of the Gods and stands undefeated." John finished talking and swallowed the rest of his drink.

"I don't go after family members, I seek answers. The One called Ho. Do you know where I can find him?" Kink's smile went flat while he waited for an answer.

They all shook their heads. Roddy gave it some consideration and came up with a plausible reason. "They don't share their movements, the Zao Clan work as a guild. Sharing information with outsiders is strictly against the way they operate. They prefer their schools and fighting competitions rather than government and policing how people live. If there is a problem, they come once its brought to their attention.. "

"You sound like you don't like the Zao Clan much, Can I ask for what reason?" Kristi felt like prying, the stranger had gotten more interesting.

"Zao Ho murdered thousands of my friends." Kink stood up, drank the rest of his drink and moved away from the table.

"This was fun, good luck." Errit walked up and took the ring off of Dair's finger then scanned through it. 'Che' He tossed the ring in Dairs face like it was worthless and walked out.

Standing on the decking out front of the Bar, Errit, Kink, stood looking at the stars and planets in the night sky. 'East huh, to the river and along its banks..'

Errit looked for Sweizar as he was leaving but couldn't find him. The nightlife outside in the streets was heavy, he kept his hat on and left through the East Gate. Outside, there was a building, it was a stables of some sort. Dozens of animals stood inside, beside it, a steampunk like building, covered in brass fittings and tubes stood. On its door it had a sign, "CP only"

Looking at its interior left Errit feeling dizzy, there were conduits and chemical smells all over the building.

"WELC..'cough'OME" The old man coughed and straightened his eyewear. "Oh. Don't want to show me your true face, that's okay. I'll add it to your bill. What you come for. You seek transportation, I can help you. How about this Wheel? Just sit on it, send power to your ass and balance, its pretty simple. Give it a try?" The old Man tried shoving a unicycle made from unknown materials in front of Kink.

"Maybe not this. Sorry" Errit pushed it away and was about to leave when he saw a cart. It looked like a dune buggy, there was no motor in back. "hey, how much for this?"

"That is a project leftover from the early days, I can sell it for 160,000CP. Its made with strong and durable materials, i'm sure you'll agree." The old Man didn't look like he was too invested in the Cart. "Just like the monocycle, sit down and put power into the seat. That will increase its rate of speed. However, this cart takes a lot of energy and will require you to stop to regain your energy regularly.

The Framework Cart was about the size of a Jeep, a cargo area in the back looked like it could fit at least two passengers. It wasn't bad at all, the steering mechanism was just like a Car, a wheel attached to a steering system for the front tires. Even the suspension was unique, once activated, the magnetic spells pushed the carriage away from the wheels, it was rather smooth. He bounced in the drivers seat and nodded. "I'll take it."

A door opened, and it was rolled outside.

"How far does this road go?" Errit asked the Old Man.

"The Road? This trail goes all the way out to the plains after that there are no roads. Just avoid big rocks, the rocks won't hurt the Cab, but you .. " The Old man Laughed, feeling like he had made a decent profit.

Errit sat down in the Driver Seat. There was no seat belt. No helmet. Bouncing around he thought to himself and focused power into his ass. It felt awkward, like he wanted to fart. He stopped and slapped himself, focusing better. The Lights on the front sprang to life, small bits of light traced up the frame in green and gold. When the light reached the top of the register, it lit the tires up and threw Kink into the back of his seat. "Hell motherfuckin yeah!" Errit gave a woohoo as he turned left and spit dirt and rocks in his wake.