Peregrination: a long trip in which you travel to various different places, especially on foot.

  Brutus didn't have to follow Saint Tristan the Just for very long before they came to a giant room with towering painted windows. He took time to appreciate the windows, because they allowed light to come into the room, while still being painted with magnificent battle scenes. He didn’t know how they did that, but he really wanted his augs to look like that! How cool would that be?

  Saint Tristan the Just went down on one Knee, so Brutus copied him. Like they say, do as the Romans do, or die trying! Or something like that.

  “Sire,” Saint Tristan said. “I have brought you four exotic heroes to help in our fight against the weres.

  “Four?” Said a man sitting on a throne. He looked so comfy and so regal—complete with a crown and everything—that he had to be God. What did the Saint say his name was, again? King Wolfman?

  “Alas,” said Saint Tristan as he stood back up (Brutus following quickly). “One of the heroes was injured upon arrival. She is in the infirmary with the Chief Physician.”

  The king nodded appreciatively, but still said, “injured? I thought your spell was supposed to bring heroes in their prime…?”

  “Indeed, Sire. But one of them came to us as fast as lightning and collided with a nearby tree.” The king gasped. “But rest assured, she is alive, and I have full confidence she will recover. She possesses magical enchantments the likes of which have only been found in legend’ry scrolls!” Saint Tristan spoke quickly, as if excited.

  Truth be told, Brutus couldn’t blame him. He also thought it was exciting to watch the Overseer explode a nearby tree. Rumor had it that if she ever joined The Tournament she would win for sure.

  The king made a ‘come here’ gesture toward Brutus, so he started walking forward, when Saint Derek strode past him to sit beside the king. Apparently the god king had been signaling Saint Derek, not him.

  Now everyone was staring at Brutus as if he had something to say.

  “Ahem,” he began, feeling put on the spot. “Your magesticalness,” he said with a deep bow at the waist. “We aw ‘eroes come to ‘elp wi’ killin’ dings.”

  King Wolfman stared at him for a while, before slowly smiling. He liked King Wolfman. He had a more pointy face than Saint Tristan, but he appeared to know what he wanted. Saint Tristan always seemed just a little bit confused all the time.

  “Welcome to Arania, Heroes!” Said the god-king. “Before I implore for your assistance, might you have any inquiries first? Do you need to rest from your peregrination? Maybe receive sustenance?”

  Brutus hoped he wasn’t talking to him because he barely understood a word. He’d heard of people in heaven “speaking in tongues”… maybe that’s what he was doing…well, he had understood the words, ‘need to rest’, at least!

  Brutus looked at Sebastian behind him, but the cyborg simply had his arms at his side still holding the blaster and looking around like a cornered animal.

  Brutus sighed. He hated to be the one to use deplorancy, but it looked like he had to, especially since everyone was looking at him to answer God Wolfman’s strange question.

  “Actually, your Excelentness, I feel qui’e lumber, and rea’y to star’ figh’in’ today, if ya don’t mind.”

  God seemed very pleased at this.

  “In that case,” God began. “Tristan, please take them to the eastern fief. The farmers are being plagued by a dire animal of some sort. Take care of it and come back with your summation of their talent.”

  Saint Tristan smiled and did a short bow. Brutus did the same.

  As Saint Tristan turned to leave, a female human was waiting in the doorway with her hands clasped in front of her, and her eyes lowered to the ground.

  “Mage Tristan,” she said in a quiet fast voice. “I was instructed to inform you that the heroine has awoken.”

  “Excellent!” He responded. “We’ll go there right now and see if she’s up for this quest.” He walked past her without so much as a “thank you” or a nod or anything. Brutus took a mental note of the interaction. Literally. His bionics allowed him to make up to three terabytes of information he could store for later extraction.

  He would have to get used to the hierarchy in heaven if he planned on rising to the top.

  Sebastian recorded everyone speaking with his left bionic ear so he could play it back if he needed it later. He felt more pressed to keep surveillance: There were two human guards in metal armor holding spears and sheathed swords on the outside and inside of the entrance, standing at attention; plus an additional eight humans in similar garb and stance stationed along the walls of the throne room. He and Fang were waiting on a coiled spring for any foul play. In Fang's case, that was not figurative. But so far everything appeared to be going just as Tristan had said it would.

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  Finally, from some queue that Sebastian had missed, everyone turned around and started heading out the door.

  Is everyone human here? He wondered. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised since they don’t even have electricity. Even still, Sebastian dared to hope that someone with some modicum of intellect still lived in this place.

  They made their way through more windowless stone passageways. Sebastian had never had issues with claustrophobia…but he’d also never been stuck in a backwater hell-hole either.

  Finally they walked through a wooden doorway into a moderately sized room with plenty of windows.

  He felt like he could breathe again!

  He placed a hand on Fang’s shoulder and realized his human hand was shaking. He took a few deep breaths, allowing time for the nanos to take oxygen to his brain. Slowly, his hand stopped shaking. So he turned to see the Overseer staring right at him with both her bionic and human eyes, despite Tristan and Brutus standing between them.

  Her glare nearly made him stop breathing again.

  “You’re awake!” Tristan said exuberantly. Then he turned to the pale human who pointed at her. “Is she fit to join us on a quest?”

  The human glanced at The Overseer with naked fright, before nodding stiffly.

  “Alright!” The Overseer yelled, as if someone had asked her a question, even though right then no one was even looking at her (except Sebastian, of course. He didn’t have a death wish!) “what is it you want? A reward? Is that it?” Everyone stared at her, nonplused. “Well my employer will pay you, I’m sure of it—”

  “Miss Ovahseeuh,” Brutus interrupted. “I don’t dink we’s captured. At leas’, no’ in duh way you’re dinkin’ of i’.”

  He seemed to have the Overseer’s attention, so Sebastian took microscopic steps backward, closer to the exit.

  “Dis is Saint Tristan duh Jus’,” Brutus continued, smiling and pointing.

  “Actually I—“ Tristan began, but Brutus didn't pause.

  “An’ ‘e’s duh one dat pulled us up ‘ere into ‘eaven.” Brutus smiled proudly. “If i’ wasn’t for ‘im I’m posi’ive I woulda gone da uvah direction, if you know wha’ I mean.” He gave a coy wink at her, one of his metal eyelids circling closed around his bionic eye and opening again.

  She seemed to weigh Brutus's words. Sebastian could just imagine her running calculations in her head.

  Sebastian was almost out the door, when The Overseer spoke: “Caesar, although you lack intelligence, I know you to be an honorable and honest cyborg.”

  “Dank you,” Brutus said with a bow of his head.

  “So,” she continued. “If you tell me you’re my ally then I trust you to be my ally in this…” she looked around the room with her nose crinkled. “…Place. At least, until I can figure out how to get back. But let me first ask: if you are my ally, then why are you with him?” She pointed her metal finger at Sebastian, who had half his body in the doorway.

  “Oh ‘im?” Brutus said, glancing dismissively at Sebastian. “‘E’s terrified and ‘armless. ‘Is ‘and is shakin’ so bad dat ‘e probably couldn’t shoo’ straigh’ even if ‘e tried.”

  Sebastian froze. How did Brutus know his right human hand had been shaking? It was only the slightest quiver, and he himself hadn’t even noticed until he’d looked at it!

  He suddenly realized the big oaf was much more observant than he’d given him credit. Which was not a good thing! He moved his human hand out of sight, because he noticed it was still trampling a little.

  The Overseer never took her eyes off Sebastian as she again spoke to Brutus. “That doesn’t answer my question, Caesar.”

  “We’ duh trut’ is dat we was all brough’ ‘ere at duh same time, see. We wen’ troo some sor’a purple light’, and BAM!” Brutus yelled and clapped his metal hands together. The physician leapt and screamed. “You smashed straigh’ into duh tree! I’m glad dat you’re all good again ‘cause we gonna find a…?” he turned to Tristan.

  “A dire beast,” Tristan supplied. Brutus snapped his fingers.

  “Da’s duh one! We’s gonna go take care o’ some dyin’ beas’, cuz it’s terrifyin’ the lessuh angels!” He paused to jerk a thumb back at Sebastian. “And I don’t much trus’ dis scav to no’ fling off at duh firs’ sign o’ trouble! So you come wi’ me, an’ I watch your back while you watch mine, see?”

  The Overseer was already nodding her agreement before he finished. As they shook hands, she said, “and you may call me No’Dea.”

  “An’ you can call me Bru’us!” He grinned.

  Sebastian's face drained of color. He felt oddly betrayed by Brutus, even though they hadn’t been friends, or even acquaintances… or even spoke at all… okay, so it made sense! But he still felt ganged up on! And he didn’t like the casual insults Brutus kept throwing around!

  His hand rubbed against Fang’s shoulder, his one comfort in this hellish nightmare.

  Good. He’s not a hologram, No’Dea thought, as she clapped her hand Brutus’s arm firmly.

  “And you, stay here!” No’Dea said, pointing at Sebastian. She didn’t want him shooting her in the back and scrapping her for expensive parts!

  “I’m sorry Heroine No’Dea,” Tristan said. “But the king instructed that I take all of you on this quest. That is, if you’re well enough after… your…” He trailed off under No’Dea’s glare. She blinked both eyes, and his eyes twitched in response, his head pulling back a fraction.

  Good.

  “And what role do you play in this ‘quest’?” She asked with her human eyebrow raised. She didn’t even have to use air quotes to convey her skepticism.

  “I am Tristan the Mage. I am responsible for you heroes’s missions. Our first is to go to a bordering fief and kill a dire beast.”

  “What is a dire beast?” No’Dea asked.

  “It is, shall we say, a larger and more ferocious counterpart to its animal kin, whether it be wolf, boar, bear, or some other animal. They are absolutely untamable by druids, and will often kill for pleasure, rather than for sustenance.”

  No’Dea nodded. “Sounds easy enough. Where is your teleportation pad?”

  Tristan’s eyebrows creased deeply.

  Brutus said, “beggin’ your pardon, No’Dea, but dey haven’t go’ any o’ dem normal dings we ‘ad back on earth. We aw probably gonna ‘ave to walk.”

  “Walk?!” Said Tristan. “Most certainly not! We have horses in the stable that are already prepped for this trip!”

  No’Dea said nothing, assuming “horse” to be a colloquial term for their vehicles. She motioned for him to lead the way. Brutus and she followed, with Sebastian behind them. No’Dea considered forcing him ahead of her, but it would be far easier to catch him in deceit if he didn’t think she was watching. Instead, she turned her bionic eye around and targeted it on Sebastian through the back of her own head, and set it to Standby Sentry Mode.

  Then she ignored it. She lost depth perception in her human eye as she walked, but she wouldn’t get a headache on that setting, and it would signal her if Sebastian did anything abnormal.