********************
Morning didn't come early.
To be exact, it didn't come until closer to
noon.
On account of the inn's positioning, it wasn't
until the sun had moved a considerable distance across the sky that it
was finally in a position to shine directly on her face. Groaning, she
turned her face away from the offending rays of light. Just a few more
minutes...
"You are awake now, I see-mgph!!!" Ashton
regained his balance and extracted the pillow from his face, courtesy of
a hard throw from Opera.
"Yeah, I'm awake," she muttered, deciding
that she didn't have much chance of getting any more sleep. Her Tetragene
physiology was accustomed to going longer without sleep, but it also wanted
longer periods of sleep in exchange. "Any more
brilliant deductions?"
He seemed to have clued in that she was not
a morning person. "I did not mean to wake you up. But I thought you might
not want to sleep too long. We do not wish to miss the ferry in Herlie."
Yet another thing this planet didn't have.
Alarm clocks. "Yeah, yeah, gotcha. I'm awake. Let's go."
Ashton handed a picture to her. "Your's, I
believe."
Opera glanced at the picture. It was her photo
of Ernest. She glanced back up at Ashton, a slightly dangerous look on
her face. "Where'd you get this from?"
"My apologies," Ashton offered. "I woke up
several hours ago, and took the liberty of borrowing the photo and asking
around at a few other businesses in town. Unfortunately, it seems that
your boyfriend has not passed through this village."
Opera sighed, before returning to the important
issue. "You went through my stuff, without my permission?"
Ashton took a step back nervously. "I took
utmost care not to lay a finger on... your little weapons, I assure you..."
She eyed him suspiciously. "Are you... absolutely
positive?"
"Absolutely positive."
"Swear it?"
"Sworn."
Opera quickly rummaged through her pack. Producing
both the automatic pistol and the two remaining clips of ammunition, she
gave them a cursory inspection. The gun's safety was on, and both clips
were full. Realistically, Ashton probably wouldn't
have had a clue how to work them, but firearms were notoriously easy
to figure out for people. Satisfied, she re-packed them and stood up. "Okay...
I guess we ought to get moving."
"I believe we have time to stop for breakfast
first, if you wish."
"Okay. Let's eat. Then we get moving."
****************
Half an hour later, the two were looking at an assortment of empty plates, the sole remnants of their breakfasts.
"Well, I'd say that meal certainly boosted
our luck for this part of the tirp."
"I most certainly think so-OUCH!!!"
Opera withdrew her fist from Ashton's shoulder.
"No, idiot. The correct answer is ‘No, Opera. There's no such thing
as luck. All that meal did was make sure we don't deal with this trip on
an empty stomach'."
He rubbed his shoulder. "Of course. How careless
of me to forget."
"I'm dead serious, buddy. You've got to get
rid of that stupid belief in luck. Prove to me that you've got bad luck."
"Well... I was the thirteenth child in my
family, I got food poisoning twice before I was five, a religious man said
that I was cursed, all five of the pets I have owned have died within a
year, I missed the cut for soldier training by one person-"
"Alright, alright, I get the idea," Opera
agreed, cutting him off. "But that's not luck. That's just life giving
you a bad hand. That's completely random. But that doesn't mean you have
to take it. You can either sit on your ass and sulk... or you can flip
fate your middle finger and tell it to go screw itself!"
Ashton blinked. "I beg your pardon? You were
making sense until that last part."
"You can go on believing in bad luck for the
rest of your life, or you can decide to face everything and try to make
something better for yourself!"
"That makes more sense."
"Good. So what's it going to be?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Didn't you hear a word I said? Are you going
to spend the rest of your life whining about your bad luck? Or are you
going take charge of your life and choose where you want it to go?"
"I see."
"Well?"
Ashton shrugged. "I will have to think about
that."
Opera sighed. "That was supposed to
be a rhetorical question."
"But you are suggesting to me that my entire
life has been based on a lie."
"No, I'm suggesting to you that the rest of
your life is going to be based on a lie. Unless you start changing things."
"In order for change to occur, opportunity
must as well."
"Alright... let's take this from the beginning.
You tell me the three things that you want most in life."
"Money, a girlfriend and good luck."
Opera scowled. "Well... ignoring the last
one, let's look at the first two. Money and a girlfriend. You just got
a 15000 gil reward. Do you still need more money?"
"No, I believe this will tide me over for
quite some time."
"Great. That's half your problem. Now for
the other half. You need a girlfriend. Why don't you have one?"
Ashton shrugged. "Because I am unluck-" Opera's
glare made him stop. "I... do not know."
"It's because you don't take opportunities
when you have them!"
"I beg your pardon? I do not believe I have
had any opportunities as of late."
"You just blew three chances back in that
village, you idiot!"
Ashton halted. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me! I distinctly saw three different
girls flirting with you! And those were just the ones I saw!"
"Impossible. Which ones?"
"The one at the entrance, the waitress at
the restaurant yesterday, and the clerk at the jewellery store. And I'd
swear that one at the jewellery store looked like she wanted to wrap her
legs around you too. Good thing the counter was in the way."
"They were acting quite normal, I assure you."
Opera sighed. "You mean, they acted just like
all the other girls you've met?"
"Exactly. Except for you."
"Argh."
"Is something wrong?"
"Ashton. Those girls were batting their eyelashes,
giggling, showing cleavage, and giving come-ons in general. That jewelry
store girl was practically yelling ‘I want to have sex with you right NOW!'."
"She was? I must not have heard that."
"For crying out loud... I give up. Check please."
*******************
"Well, that makes four girls flirting
with you from Mars."
Ashton shook his head. "But I have only talked
with one other girl since... the girl at the exit?"
"Uh huh. I don't think they normally lick
their lips like that for people passing through."
"But I was merely talking to pass time while
you made inquiries at several places."
"Maybe you were talking. She
was flirting. Do you talk with your eyes shut or something?"
"I do not know. Perhaps you are merely more
observant than I am."
"I'm pretty sure of it," Opera agreed, rolling
her eyes. "So what's with those swords? They look different than the ones
you had before."
Ashton nodded. "I purchased them in Mars while
you were asking around. They are magically enchanted to be more effective
against demons, as well as lighter and sharper. Since demons are more common
these days..."
"And you've got some money to buy them with..."
"Correct. Enchantments aside, they are quite
well-made. One must carry adequate equipment if one is to survive in the
business of being a hired sword. Especially with luck like mine."
"Nothing doing, buddy. Shit happens. To everybody.
You just let it get to you too much. You have to plan ahead, and then adapt
before the problem happens. What's the next bad thing that could happen
to you?"
Ashton looked thoughtful. "I may not arrive
in Lacour in time for the tournament."
"So you adapt. Walk faster."
He increased his pace to match Opera's. "Perhaps
these swords will prove defective."
"Did you inspect them before you bought them?"
"Marginally."
"You should think about that before you buy
things. You're a good swordfighter aren't you?"
"To hear those who would hire me, I am considered
quite good."
"So there you go. Tell the person that you'll
use his swords if he gives you a guarantee."
"Why would he agree to that?"
Opera displayed the metallic badge on the
arm of her jacket. "See this? Platinum membership in the IRWO."
"IRWO?"
"Intergalactic Ranged Weaponry Organization.
Biggest weapons club in existence. Over 5.4 trillion members. And I've
got a platinum membership in it. There's only 593 people with that."
"Quite exclusive."
"Damn straight, it's exclusive. You know why
I have this? Because I use a lot of different weapons. What's more,
I use them in some real-life, dangerous-as-hell situations. Which means
that I'm probably as good as dead if my equipment sucks. So
I know how to tell a good weapon from a bad one."
"I fail to see how all this would relate to
me buying a sword."
"It has everything to do with it. When I get
home in one piece, because a certain weapon didn't let me down, people
hear about it. A lot of people hear about it. They figure that any weapon
good enough to keep Opera Vectra alive must be pretty damn good. And whoever
produces that good weapon sees their sales go through the roof. I've had
manufacturers pay me to accept their latest weapons, hoping that
I'll use them and give a good report on them.
"Same thing for you. You're a swordsman, and
supposedly, a pretty good one. So if you use somebody's swords, get into
a whole lot of fights, and live, that looks good for your weapons. So people
want to buy those weapons. So the guy's sales go up, and he makes money."
Ashton appeared to consider the ramifications
of this. "I could have... requested a discount, in exchange for using his
swords?"
"Right. After you kill a few demons with them,
people are going to want to know what kind of weapons are helping you do
that. And you'll tell them. And then they'll go buy some weapons. Good
for you, and good for the guy who makes the swords."
"I had never thought of it that way. It is
similar to the system used in the Lacour Tournament of Arms. You use weapons
from various weapon shops, each shop hoping that you will win with their
weapons and gain them a contract with the military..."
"You got the idea. A reputation's no good
if you don't make it work for you, right?"
*****************
"So what's the low-down on Herle?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Tell me about it. It's got some kind of ferry
service, right? What else does it have?"
"It is the chief connecting port to the continent
of Lacour. Virtually anyone wishing to travel between Cross and Lacour
must go through it."
"So..." Opera reviewed the various tidbits
of information she'd learned over her association with Ernest. "So there'd
be a lot of commerce going through it. So there'd be a few wealthy people
there. Probably a decent amount of tourism happening.
Which means things are more expensive than normal. Probably some organized
crime. Stop me when I'm wrong."
"Not yet," Ashton admitted. "But the organized
crime is only minor if you do not pick fights. But the city as a whole
is abnormally wealthy, I am led to believe. I have taken up many well-paying
jobs from people there. But prices are regulated to keep tourists coming."
"Sounds like a nice place. Too bad we're only
passing through."
"I would not count on that. With my luck,
we may yet miss the ferry."
"Then adapt. Walk faster."
"But what if we are too fast, and end up having
to wait?"
"Too early or too late. Take your pick."
Ashton sped up slightly. "As you say. If I
was so unlucky as to arrive early... it would still provide a chance to
eat before the ferry departs."
Opera slowly nodded in approval. "That's the
spirit. And I'll have a chance to ask around to see if anyone's seen Ernest.
A port town would get a lot of information. Somebody has to have
seen a man with three eyes."
"Unless my bad luck was to extend to you-UGH!!!"
Opera withdrew her elbow from his stomach.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Unless you feel like explaining to me
how you could possibly have any bearing on Ernest."
Ashton looked thoughtful. "Perhaps, but one
must never underestimate the reaching influence of bad luck."
She rolled her eyes. "Alright. Let's assume
for a moment that there is such thing as bad luck. That means that
there's also such thing as good luck, right?"
He nodded. "Not that I would know from experience,
but that does make sense for other people."
"So what happens if you run into someone with
good
luck? What if you both want something to happen. Your bad luck tries to
keep it from happening. Their good luck tries to make it happen. Who wins?"
"Whoever's luck is stronger, of course."
"Now let's take that a step further. What
if you both want something to happen that is going to get you both
killed. Does your bad luck still keep it from happening?"
Ashton looked confused. "I would want to do
it. Yet, allowing me to do it would result in my downfall, so my luck would
not prevent it from happening. So, in the end, my luck would permit it
to happen."
"Okay. So you're saying that it's possible
for you to seem to have good luck. When really, it's just your bad
luck setting you up for a bigger fall."
"That is correct."
"So what about the other guy with good luck?
Does his luck let the event happen? Even though he'd get killed?"
"Of course not. His good luck protects him,
preventing the event from happening. Assuming his good luck is stronger
than my bad luck, of course."
"Of course. So you're saying that it's possible
for someone to seem to have bad luck. When really, it's just his
good luck arranging for good things down the road?"
"That is correct."
"So how do you know you've really got bad
luck?"
"Quite simple. Because..." Ashton trailed
off, a slightly bewildered look appearing on his face. "But... there is
no justification for believing that I am actually a lucky individual. The
idea that my entire life of bad luck has all been towards a lucky purpose..."
"...is as crazy as thinking it's possible
for a hired-sword to be unlucky as you for so long without actually getting
himself killed?"
"Yes. No. I mean... I don't know."
"I'm serious. You told me before that you
didn't make the cut for being soldier. Why not?"
"My swordsmanship was inadequate."
"You told me before that you were considered
good for a hired-sword."
"I devoted myself to training afterwards.
Quite extensively."
"See? Because of that little incident, you
became a good fighter. Instead of some stupid military flunky, you're an
independent business man. You should be glad you never made the
cut back then. What about that religious guy who said you were cursed?"
"Well, he did."
"And what happened next?"
Ashton shrugged. "He told me I was cursed,
then recommended a charm to ward off the bad luck-"
Opera opened her mouth to reply, but thought
better of it. A look of comprehension was slowly dawning on Ashton's face.
Finally, she settled for a "...how much did it cost?"
"I will KILL the man!!!"
"Uh... well, no need for extreme measures
like that..." Although she might have done the same thing herself,
after offering the man a chance to hand over his life savings in exchange
for saving his life.
Ashton abruptly calmed down. "No... I still
do not know for certain. Perhaps my bad luck merely overpowered the charm..."
"Hey, are you trying to be stupid?
You just figured out that you got swindled out of some money because of
this stupid bad luck fetish of yours! You're going to be poor lunatic if
you keep this up. As near as I can see, you're too much of a coward to
even want to believe anything else!
Ashton was unmoved. "You have your own beliefs,
and I have mine. You choose to deny the existence of luck, while I choose
to acknowledge it."
"I believe that shit happens, and that most
of it can be dealt with, overcome, and occasionally nuked, if you've got
the guts to face it. You just blame it on everything else!"
"You would think differently if our positions
were reversed, I believe."
"Are you trying to say that I'm lucky?!? I'm
in deeper than you'd ever believe! You have no damn clue what kind of a
fix I'm in right now!"
"Please, enlighten me."
"Do you know how fast light travels?"
"I do not. If light did indeed ‘travel', I
imagine that it would travel quite fast."
"So how far do you think it travels in a year?"
"Quite far."
"You'd better believe it. How far do you think
it travels in 143.8 years?"
"Extremely far."
"Well, that's how far away my FUCKING HOME
is right now!!!"
Ashton stared at her incredulously. "Inconceivable.
You are only twenty-three, you said. And you most certainly cannot ‘travel'
faster than light."
"I've got a ship that was fast enough to get
me here in two weeks. And it's FUCKING DESTROYED now!!!"
He assimilated the information for a moment
before making a judgement. "That is bad."
"No SHIT!!! You know why I'm
in the fix right now? Not bad luck. Not misaligned stars. Not bad karma.
It's because I was in such a hurry that I forgot to fill up at the last
energy station, and I ran out of power! My ship stopped working and crashed
here. I barely survived, and my ship so trashed that it's barely worth
selling as scrap metal. So I'm stranded here. 143.8 god-forsaken light-years
away from home!"
"That is very bad."
"DAMN RIGHT IT IS!!! But you don't see me
whining about bad luck, do you? I'm working to deal with this problem.
I know that there's an idiot named Ernest somewhere around here. He's the
reason I came out here in such hurry in the first
place, but he came in his own ship. I find him, I can get back home
with him. I have no clue where the heck he is, but do you see me getting
discouraged?"
Ashton acknowledged the point. "No. Extremely
irritable and profane, but not discouraged."
With some effort, Opera forced herself to
calm down. "Right, right. Nothing personal. But the fact is, I'm facing
my problem. If I'm stuck here for the rest of my life, than fine. I'll
figure out a way to build a ship or something. But for now,
there's a chance at finding Ernest. And I'm going to keep going, no
matter what happens. The day I give up and just attribute it all to bad
luck is the same day I roll over and die!"
Ashton nodded slowly. "I see. If nothing else,
you are certainly adamant in your beliefs. Perhaps I will meditate on them
at another time. In the meantime, we are wasting time like this."
Opera sighed, reluctantly nodding and letting
the issue drop. She'd made her case, and gotten a small load off her mind.
And it would be a good warm-up for the lecture she'd be giving Ernest when
she finally found him.
*******************