Chapter 91: Gnome Built
The warmth of an early Vegas morning saw QJ finishing his morning run; this time, he stopped at the gate to talk to the guards before returning to his residence. They were a good group, handpicked by one of Tal's military friends. The words she said the first time she introduced him to the security team always stayed with him: never take someone who protects you for granted.
A few minutes later, the fresh scent of cinnamon wafted over him when QJ returned to the house. "Who's cooking?"
The question was answered when Breeze popped up from behind the island. Her brown face was liberally splashed with flour. A glance at the oven told him the timer was counting down.
"Your favorite Chero!"
"Smells great," QJ acknowledged. "Whatever it is."
"Cinnamon rolls," Breeze flashed him a smile. "You and Sato both like them, so I thought I'd give you guys a treat."
QJ gave her a sweaty side hug before retreating to his room. "Sorry about the sweat!"
Breeze waved it off. "I'll pay you back next time Nina and I do yoga."
QJ paused in his doorway. "You and Nina do yoga?"
"Just started," Breeze admitted. "Gotta be something to fitness and gaming skills... You and your dad are always working out; maybe it isn't coincidental that you're both awesome players."
"Maybe so," QJ admitted. "Can't hurt to try."
Breeze looked at the timer. "Ten minutes until they're ready."
Sato chose that time to peek over the railing from upstairs. "Breeze is the best."
Breeze nodded in agreement while pointing a floured finger at Sato. "Wake up, Wu. Breakfast on the patio."
"Won't we be late for roll call?" Sato asked.
"No more 0700 roll call; that's been pushed back to 0900," QJ replied. "I'll clean up and check on Lotte."
After taking a quick shower, QJ eased Lotte's door open. Surprisingly, she was sleeping soundly. Her long hair covered most of her face, and she slept peacefully on her side, curled up in a ball. Her eyes opened when she felt someone else's weight on her bed.
"Morning, sunshine." QJ bent low, kissing her lightly on the lips.
"This..." Lotte smiled at him from behind her pillow.
"This what?" QJ asked.
Lotte shrugged. "Nothing. Just this..."
"Breakfast by the pool. Can you make it?"
"Even if it's temporary, I love the later roll call." Lotte stretched lazily. "Five minutes; pour me some OJ before Sato drinks it all."
"Done," QJ agreed. "Cya out there."
"I'm surprised you wanted it frosted," Breeze was all smiles while watching her roommates partake in her baked goods. QJ liberally smothered the cinnamon roll with cream/cheese glaze.
Instead of answering, QJ took a large bite. "So good..."
Even the sleepy-looking Wu looked happy. "My aunt never cooked or baked. I should send her the recipe."
The small group sat at two different glass patio tables since they were pretty small. Breeze was with QJ and Lotte, while Wu, Sato, and Nina shared another.
QJ saluted Breeze with a half-empty glass of orange juice. "This is a great idea. Let's keep it going. I'll make something for you guys next week."
"I'm in, " Sato chirped in from the other table. "Hey... You guys here that the 2nd years from GnG have been making some noise?"
Lotte exchanged confused glances with Breeze. "Is there a 2nd year GnG class?"
"News to me," Breeze admitted.
Sato nodded, happy to be the purveyor of Academy gossip. "Seems they spend a lot of time publically shit-talking us."
Nina coughed, cursing loudly when she burned her mouth on her coffee. "Their instructor is a guy named Damon; nobody likes him. Bit of a douchebag. Roman is his golden boy; hard to make that title stick with QJ around."
"Guess he's pissed," Sato said with a shit-eating grin. "First, his 'special boy' gets bitch-slapped by one of the TAP NPCS; then the same guy loses a quick draw to Mai Tai."
"Robin showed me the feed," QJ snorted. "They are running it on-screen at the Songbird."
"She's fast," Lotte admitted. "I doubt I could beat her, but Ringo might have a chance."
QJ didn't respond to the comment. After seeing the feed, he and his dad agreed that Tai would be a top-ten ranker if she tried her hand at Bizarros. "According to Dessi, she's a leveling machine."
Nina smiled widely. "Some people find her a bit abrasive, but I think she's kinda neat."
The rest of the group wisely held their thoughts, but no one was shocked that the person dubbed the 'purple-haired demon' by the other Academy classes would get along well with Jinn's difficult offspring.
After helping clean up, QJ returned to his room, where he sent a quick message to Angel before logging in.
[Welcome to Guns and Gore, the Phoenix Server.]
Location: Briar Rose
Time: 0840 hours
Server Population: 107,828 Your current level is 55.
[System Message] You have a package waiting at the Maelstrom General Store.
Instead of gating to the Keep, QJ decided to let Scorch run a bit.
[Briar Rose: QJ] We need a groundskeeper for the peach orchard.
[Briar Rose: Aji] I'll start looking.
[Briar Rose: Ivy] The Royal groundskeeper has several apprentices. You could start there.
[Briar Rose: Aji] Perfect.
"What the...?" QJ pulled up a quarter mile from the gate, NPCs were lined up two hundred meters long and four across, completely blocking the entrance road.
[OP: QJ] Quite the crowd outside. Is this about the houses for sale?
[OP: Ringo] Yes. Meet outside, our [Gnome-Built machinery] has arrived.
QJ rode on the grass, ignoring the somewhat hostile looks of those remaining in line. When he neared the gate, the two dark elf guards rushed out and cleared the path.
QJ nodded politely at the guards. "Brother QJ greets the Jol Clan."
The guards were new, one male and the other female, two faces he wasn't familiar with.
The male seemed overly muscled for a dark elf, his white hair shaved to the scalp. He ushered QJ through the gate. "Tero Jol greets Brother QJ."
The woman bowed more formally, "Ruyami Jol greets Brother QJ."
When QJ arrived at the Keep, OP's officers and Ringo were waiting. He slid out of the saddle while studying the massive crate outside their Guild Hall. "Wow... How'd they deliver that?"
"Remember those big ass wagons from the Convoy?" Ringo asked.
QJ nodded. "This seems larger than that."
"Let me finish," Ringo grinned. "The one that delivered this was three times that size and pulled by two teams of oxen."
QJ walked around the reinforced metal crate. "Gnome crates... You have to get on top." He clambered up the side of the container, grinning at what he saw. "It's a rolling door. Once I unlock the latch, it should slide open."
[Whisper: Ringo/QJ] Going to leave me standing down here?
QJ peeked over the edge of the crate. It might be a challenging climb if someone wasn't used to it. Without commenting, he tossed his lariat over the edge and anchored it as the small group joined him.
Lotte smiled in response. "Thanks! Not all of us climb like monkeys."
QJ moved to the latch that was holding the door closed. "We should take guesses! Remmy already said it's not a Beast."
"Cannon," Sato guessed.
Breeze raised an eyebrow. "That's not a bad guess... I'll jump in. Let's go with cannon. A big-ass cannon."
Ringo shook her head slightly. "With gnomes, it could be anything. I'll go with a motor coach."
Lotte nodded. "Could be a coach, but I'll take it further. It's a bad-ass tank transport."
QJ studied the length and width of the crate. "Portable engineering lab."
Ringo laughed at her Vice Leader. "That's the best you got?"
"Guess so," QJ shrugged. "Let's take a look."
The latch mechanism opened smoothly, and with barely any effort, QJ slid the door to one side. "No way..."
"Huh..." Sato stared into the open crate. "Did Ringo or Lotte win?"
QJ shook his head. "Normally, it would be hard to say what it is since we only have the top view. But I've seen these before, so I know."
"Share, QJ," Ringo demanded.
"It's a locomotive. A train engine... You know, choo-choo." QJ grinned at the stunned faces. "We have a train."
[Locomotive] (Exodus Compliant)
Steam Powered Train Engine (Artifact)
Description: This miracle of design innovations is left over from the days of the Great Gnome Empire. It rides on standard gauge tracks set 1.46 meters apart and has a top speed of 97KpH.
[OP: Sato] Anyone know where we can buy train tracks?
[OP: QJ] The tracks and railroad tie can purchased at the Exodus market.
Ringo was all smiles. "We'll have to plan a route. This is big."
"Agreed," QJ tapped his chin. "Let's check with Wu."
[OP: Chainy] Did anyone notice the sudden increase in server population?
[OP: QJ] Climbed past 100k, nothing next to the older servers.
[OP: Chainy] Righteous Hand closed two of their feeder guilds on Legends and sent them here to shore up their numbers.
[OP: QJ] Getting beat down by Chupa Lupa must have stung.
[OP: Chainy] The conglomerate that pays RH, paid Kendrix a sizable bonus to give leadership on Legends to someone else and take over Phoenix.
[OP: QJ] Seriously? Hand his character to someone else and start a new one?
[OP: Chainy] I told Haven to stay away, the only thing they'd find on Phoenix was an ass-whooping.
[OP: Breeze] Got that right. You'd fight your old guild?
[OP: Chainy] Damn straight.
[OP: Ringo] Goodwill Games practice at 1300. We'll be divided between TAP and Exodus Academy. This is day one of our three-day practice block.
(Day 1)
1300 [Submission Grappling] TAP Academy.
1430 [Small Arms Range] Exodus Academy.
1600 [Cross Country Equestrian] Exodus Academy
(Day 2)
1300 [Captured: Team Competition]
1430 [Fencing: Foil, Epee, Sabre]
1600 [Mounted Melee: Team Competition]
(Day 3)
1300 [Archery]
1430 [Escape: Team Competition]
1600 [Take the Tower: Team Competition]
QJ took a moment to study the schedule. The first day was his busiest since he was entered in all three events. However, after that, only [Captured] remained.
[OP/Officer: QJ] We should squeeze the train heist in. We could do it tomorrow morning or today at 1700.
[OP/Officer: Lotte] Today, please.
[OP/Officer: Sato] Today.
[OP/Officer: Breeze] Sooner is better.
[OP/Officer: Ringo] Tonight it is.
[OP: Ringo] All hands on deck at 1700. We're doing the next part of the Venture quest. QJ will send everyone a brief.
[OP/Officer: QJ] I will have Wu stream it live.
[OP/Officer: Ringo] Are you sure you want to do that? Remember your field test.
[OP/Officer: Breeze] Did we miss something?
[OP/Officer: QJ] Not really.
[OP/Officer: Ringo] Definitely. I only wish I hadn't deleted the proof. :P
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
BotwaCazador
BotwaCazador Thanks for reading.
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