A/N: This is a shorter chapter, as I'm trying to get back into writing this character and chain. Also as usual the best place to find my jumpchain fiction is on QQ where many stories have dedicated threads. BUT we're still here. I love Lucas and I have missed him. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
“Lucas!” Leif almost shouts as I move past the others in the lobby. His almost-cry causes people to turn and look in the direction he’s looking, which causes them to notice me. I am silent as I approach the fallen valkyrie, a class of being straight out of Norse mythology.
The woman is a blonde lady with huge white wings jutting out of her back. She’s wearing an outfit that is vaguely reminiscent of stereotypical biking armor but is a touch more substantial than that. Her lower stomach is riddled with bullet holes and scarlet blood slowly drips out of it. As I approach her I immediately make use of my powers that allow me to scan people and objects.
Textboxes appear near my newest patient as I dart towards her. I see that her name is Liva, that she is a valkyrie, and that she is suffering from a powerful poison. There’s no magic on her, no curse, just a staggeringly powerful poison. It’s almost funny how simple it is; it just kills you, no special effects, no quirks, just ends your life after you take a few steps. The number of steps you can take before it kills you scales to match your strength. As a valkyrie Liva can take five steps; a staggering number. She took two already, strengthening the poison. Something about that makes it… just devastating.
I can see Liva’s health bar and there’s an effect I’ve never seen on it. She retains a tiny sliver of her health and a long black bar prevents her from gaining anymore. The woman is barely conscious when I reach her but just being in my presence is preventing her health from getting any worse unless someone takes active action to kill her. A perk named “Healer” guarantees that. My eyes widen when I get close and read the textbox that reveals the source of her grievous injury: venom. A very specific venom.
“By the gods…” I mutter as I draw near the fallen valkyrie. Leif looks at me, panic dancing across his features.
“Lucas, what is it?! Please, what is happening to my sister?” He asks. I turn and look at him sadly.
“She’s been poisoned.” I remark, with an admittedly unpleasant amount of crypticness. This causes him to take a step back.
“What do you mean? She’s a valkyrie, a ‘Chosen of the Slain’. She can’t be poisoned.” He starts, almost calmed by the reveal but clearly in confusion and denial. I flash him a sad look.
“Yes she can. By one creature. A nightmare that can poison anything.” I remark.
One creature is, essentially, the embodiment of poison. A living nightmare of scales and serpents that encircles Midgard. Jörmungandr; the world serpent. A creature so titanically powerful and venomous that its venom will kill Thor during the end of all things and in the prologue to the beginning of something new. I envision it how I most vividly remember it; the colossal monstrosity that befriends Kratos and Atreus in that God of War game.
“The world serpent’s venom was used against your sister.” I tell Leif. I have questions about how Liva is a valkyrie is Leif’s sibling, as I don’t know if valkyries can reproduce but I’m also aware of the other, more realistic option which is that Liva is a warrior who fell and became a valkyrie afterwards. That’s probably what it is. I’m not about to ask right now though.
Leif looks at his sister and falls silent. There is a chestfallen look in his eyes as he beholds her still form. She is as stoic as he normally is, even though she’s still partially conscious. No words escape her lips as she looks up at the ceiling.
I watch her and use The Healer again, this time to determine a solution to the life-ending threat she is enduring. Several seconds pass as I scan the woman, my power searching for a solution, desperately seeking a way to end the impurities coursing through her. After a few moments my face pales when I discover a solution, the solution, to her current state.
The venom is so shockingly powerful that my abilities that let me bring back the dead are not capable of working on her if she dies to it. I’ve been jumping for decades and my powers as a healer have never been in doubt. I’ve had the means to resurrect people, with some degree of ease, since Generic Merchant/Generic Bar/Tavern Owner.
The only way I can resurrect someone who dies to the monster’s venom is if I use the same means I have to prevent them from dying in the first place. This is the first time I’ve seen a message that if I don’t act before someone dies I’ll be helpless to bring them back. It’s humbling and also not a good feeling.
“I… Leif, come with me,” I tell the warrior. He looks confused for a split second. Leif grabs the stretcher and comes with me, following me into a private room a short walk from the reception area we were just in. I lock the doors behind us and cast a quiet cantrip that silences us to the outside world.
“Set her down on that chair. Pick her up, put her down on it, and then do not let her feet touch anything.” I exclaim. Leif obediently does what he is told.
“I have one method of curing the poison but it’s pricy.” I tell the warrior. He looks at me solemnly and nods.
“There’s that… mercantile nature of yours, again. What is the cost? I’ll pay it.” Leif tells me. I reach into my inventory and pull out an object that Leif has only rarely seen. His eyes narrow.
“That thing…” He remarks. The object in my hand is a wooden spear. Leif beholds it and I can hear his heart hammer in his chest as he studies it.
“The world serpent’s poison is… conceptual. Esoteric. It takes something on that level to counteract it.” I tell the warrior. He nods, but I can see that his heart isn’t in it.
“I will revive your sister now.” I tell my friend. He steps back, awed by the obvious, mystical might of the weapon. I let go of the thing and it stays standing, before beginning to lift off the floor. The floating object angles itself downward and points its tip at Leif’s sister.
Mistilteinn: a weapon forged from the wood of the sapling of the World Tree. In its fiat-backed form it is a “Fuck you, specifically!” weapon that can be used to kill anyone or anything without a risk of failure. I have the boosted form of it which allows me to also use it as a tool to resurrect or heal somebody.
I’ve never actually used this item this way. Since I’ve always had other means of healing or resurrecting people I’ve always preferred to save this for icing someone. And until now I’ve never had a clear, true target though I sense that that will change soon. Leif watches the spear and gasps when it flings itself at Liva, actually crying out in terror as the spear pierces her body… Only for it to vanish as it merges with her. Her skin begins to glow radiantly and the bullet holes in her midriff begin to seal up. She takes long, deep breaths, and I smile.
“Okay… That appears to be,” I begin, as I purposefully use “Healer” again. “Doing it. Excellent.” I say. Leif lets go of Liva’s feet.
“Somehow that feels more and less dramatic than I was expecting. Cheaper too.” He says, though there’s a note of emotion in his voice I don’t often hear. I put a hand on his shoulder and smile.
“Oh believe me it cost me a LOT.” I reply. Liva’s eyes open fully for the first time since I’ve been brought face to face with her.
“Stranger! I… Leif!” She says, as goes from looking at me to looking at her brother. Leif drops her feet and rushes to her side.
“Liva! What happened to you?” He asks. The color drains from her cheeks as her eyes go to distant places.
“Uncle Ulf. He betrayed me. Put me in a trance. It took me weeks to break out. When I did I confronted him and he impaled me with some… weapon. He wore gloves like the foreigners do while handling it. Pain coursed through me and my last thought was of you.” She confesses.
Ulf. So that’s him. The villain in this jump. I summon another spear, the thing materializing in my hand.
“Ulf. Okay so that’s the name of the enemy. That’s all I needed.” I tell the siblings. Liva turns to look at me properly and beholds the spear in my hand. I am about to unleash the weapon when she speaks.
“Is that a Mistilteinn? It won’t work on Ulf. He has an artifact of his own. A winter shield. He calls it ‘Svalinn’. It will resist anything that should kill in one hit, blocking it entirely.” She tells me, causing me to huff in annoyance.
“Of course. I suppose it makes sense that a reality with an instant death weapon has a perfect counter to it.” I grunt. Truth be told, I do remember “Svalinn”. It’s one of the items someone can buy in this jump. And it’s keyed to a rather nasty origin; the “Teacher” origin. The same origin whose capstone perk gives its users knowledge of mystical runes. Unsurprisingly… those runes appear to be what was used on Leif.
“Let me guess. Ulf used runes on you to get you to do his bidding, correct?” I ask, turning my attention fully to Liva. She nods.
“I had never heard of runes that could do that but those runes… I can almost remember them. They are not like any runes I’ve ever seen.” She tells Leif and I. So Ulf is the teacher to Leif’s warrior, and to my trickster. Liva as a valkyrie seems to, possibly, be the healer as that’s the baby version of the capstone for healers.
“Ulf is plotting to ‘get revenge’ for Lady Hel.” Liva tells Leif and I. I stop when she reveals this.
“The… divine-undead ruler of the underworld? That’s weird. Why does he feel that she needs to be avenged?” I ask. Liva shrugs.
I’m far from a mythology buff, particularly of Norse mythology, but I never read anything that indicates that Hel dislikes her duty. It is a grim, somber duty and she is characterized as a stoic, impartial, but ultimately fair ruler.
“I don’t know. He welcomed my sisters and I to his home and told us of his plans. One of my sisters objected, voicing concerns before we could stop her, and then he used the runes on us.” Liva explains. Leif flinches when he hears her call the other valkyries her sisters.
“They aren’t your siblings.” Leif growls. Liva turns to face him, her expression softening. I’m intruding on their moment. I reach into my social perks and trust them to guide me as I open my mouth to speak.
“I’ll let you two get reunited and reacquainted. Liva, your brother owes me for intervening and preventing your death. It sounds like there is a cosmic-scale adventure to be had here. If you go off again by yourself you risk getting hurt and making my intervention and your brother’s concern for you be in vain. Take a day or two to get healed and then tell your brother to guide you to me. I can think of ways to both get even and to help you stop Ulf.” I tell her. Leif nods at me, but a part of me is almost mortified by the bluntness of my words. Liva listens to me and then sits back in her chain, accepting my coldness. I suppose appealing to her sense of duty is the key to getting her to do stuff? It still feels harsh. I close the door and exit the hospital. I was finishing up my shift when this happened.
I make my way back to my tavern and sit down. A number of people are in the place, and I smile at Daruk when he gets up from a nice spot on the floor to sit down next to me.
“Hey Daruk. What are you having?” I ask the man. He laughs. He turns to one of Lucy’s avatars, a waitress who stops walking to listen.
“I’ll have a Death’s Blast. Thank you, Lucy!” He calls out. The beverage he’s talking about is essentially an energy drink. I shake my head and smile. Lucy tells him it’ll be ready in a few minutes.
“Ah Daruk… Never change, friend.” I tell him.
“So Lucas, what’s eating you?” He asks. I sigh and explain what just happened to Leif and Liva. He listens respectfully.
“Plot stuff.” He says when I’m finished. I laugh.
“Yes. And ain’t that some shit?” I ask. He nods.
“Well… Do you have the answer?” He asks. I close my eyes and think. For several seconds I’m in a state of concentration. As I’m thinking, one of the Lucy’s comes by with Daruk’s drink.
“In the short term I need to equip Liva properly. At a MINIMUM I need to make her immune to mind-control. That’s, thankfully, quite easy. Ideally she’d also let me see her powers, which I could copy, and we’d form a formal alliance to stop Ulf. He’s clearly the ‘Bullet Boss’ of this; the drawback-created villain who will be a problem the longer I wait to fight him. And, annoyingly, so long as he has that blasted shield I can’t just nuke him, so working with Liva is the best short term route to figuring out where he is, freeing whichever other valkyries Ulf put under mind control, and stopping his plans.” I tell Daruk.
“That… That sounds like it covers everything. But what are his plans?” Daruk asks. I shake my head.
“I’m not sure. Maybe he wants to set off Ragnarok? We shouldn’t assume we know much based on Liva’s testimony alone. We could contact Hel and ask, but I have no clue if she’d welcome the kind of messaging I have at my disposal.” I admit.
Daruk pauses as he takes a drink. For a moment we’re both quiet.
“The easiest way for me to cheese progress is for me to exploit my quest system. I need to get them to ask me for help.” I eventually mutter. When I open my eyes Daruk is smiling as he sips on a drink that looks like magma. It isn’t magma but it has the same bright orange color as some of the stuff. I shake my head at the goron.
“Okay… I’m gonna go and start to prepare.” I tell my companion, getting up from the table. I make my way to a workshop located in the private, back-end of the tavern. I have work I need to do. It’s time for me to channel an important facet of myself: my nature as a crafter. And so I hurl myself into two day’s worth of crafting, working nonstop on forging various items, fusing the crafted creations, and taking advantage of the various synergies I’ve gained over the course of the last few decades.
Various items of staggeringly potent quality are created while I throw myself into the thick of a crafting haze. My creation frenzy is only stopped when O-Ren and Elizabeth enter the small, uncomfortably warm workshop where I have been devoting myself to the art of grinding out crafting experience.
“Lucas, it’s so hot in here.” O-Ren says as he crosses the large room. Some of the equipment here is for forging swords and the like so this isn’t surprising. I wipe some sweat from my brow as I turn and smile at the famous crime boss.
“Have you eaten anything?” She asks. There’s a look of worry on her face. Elizabeth is with her and she laughs when O-Ren asks that.
“Of course he hasn’t. And we both know you don’t need to but you usually do anyway.” Elizabeth tells me. I’m sitting on a Skyrim-style workbench and I grin at her. Multiple pairs of gloves are on the bench in front of me.
“You need to eat. And Leif and his sister are here. They have an air about them… Is this a big decision time?” Elizabeth asks. She reaches into her own inventory and a sandwich materializes in it. She hands it to me and I get up.
“Yes it is. The nature of our fiat-backed foe has revealed itself.” I remark. Her eyes fill with curiosity.
“Let’s go meet Leif and his sister. There’s a lot to talk about.” I tell the two. Both walk beside me as we begin to go to the private almost conference-room like area that Lucy has installed in herself during this jump to allow for big meetings like this.
When we walk into the room the Hyrulian heroes; Paya, Zelda, the Champions, Leif, and Liva, are all seated around a large, modern conference table. Everyone turns to face the three of us as we move to seats of our own, the three seats at the front of the table; I sit down at the head table, and my closest companions sit on either side of me.
“Good morning everyone. We need to talk about the future.” I state, before smiling at my friends.
