The Good Life: Introductions (ch. 55) (El Dorado Start) (Patreon)

“So, what's changed with this one?” I asked, looking at the new and improved Dias. The design was more compact with fewer rings while the portal itself was larger. It had been under construction for about a month and its home was the old Vault 111. It was for safety concerns, in the end -- the further we got away from this World Line, the weirder things would get, and there was no promise that we'd find friendlies on the other side.

So, the old hibernation tech was cleared out and sent over to the Institute. Not sure what we would use it for, but better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it and all that. The Vault itself was something of a satellite lab, ready to test and read any data we brought over from the other side. With the only way in or out being the elevator, it acted as a natural choke point for potential enemies as well as resource funneling.

“With the data gathered from the first version of the Dias, several inefficiencies have been smoothed over. We'll also be able to gather more data about the target worlds before a jump,” Cate Dunlap informed, careful to not look my way, like I was a gorilla that might take it as a challenge. I was surprised to find her in the circumstances that she was in -- the last I saw her was when Robin broke her neck after I rescued her from Vought's clutches.

At some point Cate had fallen under Robin's wing. Her power was useful -- it was hard to beat telepathy and mind control. Which Robin had used to slip Cate into Asami's faction as her secretary. As far as Asami was aware, Cate had always been her secretary. That made her perfectly poised to send any information our way that she thought we would want to know and, more importantly, in position to steal the designs for the Dias.

And, to avoid giving me the grand tour of what her people built over the past month, Asami sent Cate over while the Dias 2.0 started to warm up as it went through system checks by a team of technicians.

As Cate spoke, she drew my attention to a monitor, “We can now observe the space between universes with far more detail, and plot more efficient courses.” The screen gave too much information in all honesty. There was a lot of math that I didn't really understand. But, as far as maps went, it was pretty straight forward. There were little dots that represented worlds, and lines in a 3D space that marked travel paths. The one we were currently eyeballing was a cluster of worlds.

But that was all we could tell. It was our target because the jump distance between the worlds would be small, less than what it took to jump between Fallout and the Old World.

“Miss Sato plans to further refine the technology,” Cate said, and I recognized that for the silent plea that it was. ‘Don't make me steal anything yet.’ “Meanwhile, the Anchor has been completely overhauled. It carries an independent charge to help sustain the portal with the distance, allowing the Anchor to open the portal to the Dias once and for a short time, in case of emergencies.” Cate finished and I simply hummed, feeling excited as I saw the system checks were all green.

We were about ready to make landfall on a whole new world once more. It was a bit like what I imagined walking on the moon felt like -- the first time would always be the most memorable, but the second time was no less thrilling. I was already suited up in an environment suit and everyone that was coming with me had already been picked out.

I decided to go with my core team with a plus one. Robin, Yoruichi, and Cinder with Nora coming along with us for the ride. At least, that was the plan until I found another familiar face joining us before the Dias began locking in on the world we would soon jump to.

A bulkhead door slid open to reveal Rumi, who was wearing one of Asami's environment suits. Her red gaze flickered to me as soon as she crossed the threshold, and she wasn't hiding her intentions in the slightest, “I'm coming with you to make sure you don't make a mess out of things. Or forget why we're jumping Lines in the first place.”

By that, she meant Asami sent her to keep an eye on me.

“The more the merrier,” I replied, though Cinder looked like she couldn't disagree more when she and Rumi locked gazes. Nora watched the conflict with mild interest but not much investment while Yoruichiand Robin were at my sides as I waited for the portal to open. Despite having fewer rings, it felt like it took longer than the last Dias, and that was entirely because of the power demand needed to jump Lines.

The entire output of a nuclear power plant was the equivalent to a jump start. It took months of power saving from settlements, and half the settlements we had were dedicated to generating power. If we didn't find what we were looking for on the other side, it would be another three months before we could make another attempt. Or we would be forced to settle for another world in this Line, so more post-apocalyptic wastelands.

Rumi joined the group as the rings began to interlock one by one. My body was practically vibrating with anticipation as the final one slotted into place. Then, with a flash of light at the center of the ring, a portal appeared. A window into a brand new world.

“Looks better than this one, at least,” I noted, seeing what looked like a forest. An untamed one too, by the looks of it.

“I would be shocked if we managed to find one worse,” Cinder remarked while the science team did its thing by checking stuff like air quality and searching for any red flags like airborne mega malaria. Given the power demand, the science team had to rush through their tests a tad. Even with our current energy output, we still couldn't maintain the portal for more than fifteen minutes.

“Don't say that, Cinder! This one was pretty alright, I think,” Yoruichi said with a laugh, the Anchor on her back. It was a similar set up, only with two dozen fusion cores embedded into it to open the portal on our end. And only when the Dias was primed to meet it halfway.

Cinder gave Yoruichi a scathing glance, “I don't recall you doing anything beyond lazing around the past year.”

Yoruichi pouted, “I helped!”

“Draining Law's balls, maybe,” Rumi tacked on with a dismissive snort. A roguish grin flashed across Yoruichi's face, but before she could speak, the airlock turned green and we were given the go-ahead. The door unsealed itself, and I was first through the door, with Robin alongside me.

With a confident stride, I stepped through the Dias and once more I was in a brand new world. The sky was a bright blue with some clouds overhead, and I was right about the forest. Though it was more of a jungle, really. And it was humid, I quickly noticed. And the silence that I had taken for granted in Fallout was absent here -- I heard birds chirping, the creaking of wood, branches snapping, bugs chittering, the works.

“After a year dealing with sand and dust, all this green is… overwhelming,” Robin admitted, echoing my thoughts as the others followed us through. I turned to face the portal, giving a thumbs up -- there weren't any immediate dangers I could find in my Room. Honestly, for being a whole new World Line, I was expecting alien creatures. Instead, all I was finding so far were bugs, birds, and a monkey.

Through an earpiece, Cate reminded me of the mission. “The goal is to find a location that could better sustain farming and resource production. The same as before, a localized power grid would be ideal but we don't expect to get lucky twice. We'll close the portal now but keep it primed for emergencies. If not… see you all in a month.”

With that, the portal closed and we were on our own.

“Seems Earth-like,” Rumi noted, kicking a wooden log to free up some dirt. Familiar looking grubs came crawling out. There goes my hopes of a totally alien planet.

“It would be best to find a vantage point,” Robin reasoned. “With luck, perhaps we can find civilization.”

To that, Rumi tilted her head, her ears searching for something. I knew she wouldn't find anything because I couldn't hear any sounds that indicated people reaching my Room. Instead, she said, “I hear a waterfall. A pretty high one. That should give us a decent view of the area.”

“Might have picked a bad spot to open up -- last time, we were practically dropped right into Nuka-World,” I remarked to Yoruichi, who chuckled at the memory. The Gauntlet had been one hell of an introduction to the world. Nora cast us a look before a sigh escaped her.

She looked pretty annoyed when we started following Rumi, who was taking us to the waterfall she’d heard. “That's why you became raiders? You showed up in a shit hole like Nuka-World?” She questioned, an exasperated sigh in her voice.

I shrugged unrepentantly, “Mostly, yeah. The nuclear power plant was pretty convenient too. If it helps at all, taking over the Commonwealth was always going to happen. It was just a question of how,” I admitted.

Nora shook her head, unsurprised but still annoyed. “It doesn't,” she replied. If I had to guess, she was still pretty sore about losing the war. To that end, my gaze slid to Cinder, who was striding through the forest -- Nora wasn't the only sore loser. Cinder wasn't acting on it, but she was still fuming mad about losing out on ruling Fallout to Taylor.

With a shrug of my shoulders, I let the matter drop to Robin's amusement. We followed Rumi through the jungle and it wasn't that long before I could hear the waterfall even without the help of my Room. The trees and shrubbery began to thin out ever so slightly and I realized that we had found a path. Not a well trodden one, but a path all the same.

It wasn't long after that we found something else entirely.

Sticking out of the ground, outside of the edge of the jungle and before a cliffside that was covered with a massive waterfall, was a monolith. It stretched up a good fifty feet high and twenty feet wide. On the dark surface was an engraving of two men on a serpent with another in supplication to them, which were in turn surrounded by tribalish markings. It stood out like a sore thumb, unlike the gray stone that outlined the grove it marked the border of.

“Cool,” I noted, looking up at it. Robin, in particular, seemed very interested in it, admiring the craftsmanship.

“It was made with primitive tools -- carved with stone and wood. It's been here for the better part of two hundred years, if I were to make an estimate-” Robin started, and I saw a genuine excitement in her that I rarely saw. She’d mentioned that she was an archeologist, hadn't she? She hadn't seemed that interested in Fallout's history, so maybe only ancient history was her jam?

I filed that away even as Rumi called out, “You can ask the locals. We're not alone,” Rumi noted and I only then noticed that she was on top of the monolith. Interested, I rounded the corner to see that she was right -- there were about a dozen people heading our way. Not because of us, but rather because they were chasing a woman that had a bundle clutched to her chest.

The woman was beautiful -- dark skin, eyes and hair, a pretty face with plump lips, and an hourglass figure. She wore rough cloth clothing which consisted of an off white tube top looking thing with a pink strip over her breasts that revealed her flat stomach, and a skirt that was tied off at her hip, which contrasted the jade earrings that she wore.

Behind her, interestingly, were men armed with stone spears. They seemed pretty locked in on her, not even noticing us.

“Law, don't be yourself-” Rumi tried, but there was no way I was going to be anyone but myself.

“Room,” I intoned, drawing my sword. The woman took notice of me, her eyes widening before with a flick of my blade, I sent a cut forth that banked at my will to cut the heads off the spears. Despite what Rumi might think, I wasn't completely tone deaf. I stole the hearts of the underbosses of Nuka World because that's what I needed to do to keep them in line. Here?

I suppose we'll see.

The woman came to a skidding halt in front of us, barely more than a dozen feet away. The men chasing her down exclaimed in surprise, making her glance over her shoulder and her jaw dropped at the broken weapons. Now the warriors had taken notice of us. Just in time for arms to sprout out of them, locking their joints down while I strode forward.

“Who wants to introduce themselves first-” I started, only for the woman to throw herself at my feet and raise the little bundle up to me. I heard Cinder take in a sharp breath when the bundle was revealed not to be a baby, but a golden idol. Solid gold too, it had to weigh close enough to fifty pounds.

“A gift, oh gods! For you!” She exclaimed, and I could feel her inner panic as she just made shit up on the spot. I was pretty amused with it, though. Especially when I realized that she wasn't really talking to me. She was talking to the men that were chasing her, who now wore expressions of growing awe and panic. “I wanted to be the first to welcome you to El Dorado!”

“Oh, God, what the fuck?” I heard Rumi mutter under her breath while I tilted my head at the woman. Then, with a finger, I rose the idol up from her grasp and caught it in my palm. It looked like an egg in the shape of a face -- pure gold, the eyes were carved emeralds.

There were a few things to note there -- the woman was speaking in English, but if I had to guess, she wasn't American or British. Secondly, the name El Dorado stirred up some half forgotten memories of my history class back when I was still in school. The City of Gold. A mythical city that drove the conquistadors to the New World en-masse in the hopes of finding and plundering it.

If memory served then the ‘city’ was somewhere in South America and it wasn't a city but a tribe that had easy access to a decent amount of gold. Which they threw into a lake as an offering to the gods. The stories got exaggerated because while the gold was valuable to the conquistadors, it was worthless to the tribe, and the conquistadors assumed that the reason they could throw the gold away was because they had so much of it. And they did, just not in the quantities that the conquistadors expected.

Robin let one of them go, the lead one, a solidly built man, who dropped to his knees alongside the woman. “Are… you the Destroyer of Worlds?” He asked me and I tilted my head.

This wasn't the unknowable alien world that I wanted, but this was getting interesting.

Well, Homelander wasn't here to share the credit. “Just two, so far,” I replied and I could feel the panic spike in the woman while awe flooded the men. They dropped to their knees, bowing their heads and any annoyance I felt for immediately taking over another local population was drowned out by amusement. “What's it to ya?”

“We have long awaited your arrival! Forgive us our trespass against you! With your permission, I shall bash my head open upon the rocks to make amends!” Oh, this guy was a true believer. Little worrisome that he chose to believe in a god called the Destroyer of Worlds, but I wasn't so closed minded that I'd judge a man for his religious beliefs.

I could feel Rumi's gaze burning a hole in the side of my head while Robin seemed thoroughly amused by the whole situation. “Nah, don't worry about it. If I wanted you dead, I just would have killed you.”

The man bowed his head lower, “Of course! Thank you for my life! With your permission, I can escort you to El Dorado where your arrival can be celebrated,” the man all but begged and I chuckled. This wasn't so bad, I decided. It was different from Nuka-World, where I froze everyone with fear of me. I didn't even have to do anything and they were worshiping me.

“Sounds like fun. Lead away,” I decided, tossing the gold idol to Cinder, and I could feel her wicked amusement through my Room. Robin released the others and the woman kept her head low, but I didn't fail to notice that her eyes were on the gold. There was a story there. I could still feel Rumi's gaze on me, but she wasn't interfering. I was a little disappointed by that -- she was proving to be more indecisive than I had expected of her.

Even if I understood why she was indecisive. This was a good thing for us. This world hadn't been destroyed. We had locals that were tripping over themselves to help us. This was an ideal opening for us, even if it would have been better if they had a readily available power grid for us to tap into.

“An intriguing development,” Robin noted as the men brought boats around for us to sit in. The woman stuck close to us, trying to blend in as much as she could. “Though, claiming credit for the destruction of two worlds is something of an exaggeration.” She noted with a teasing grin as we pushed off, heading to the waterfall. I closed my Room, ready to open it back up again, but I didn't feel anything but sincere awe from the people escorting us.

To that, Nora scoffed under her breath, disagreeing but not arguing. I paid her no mind, focusing more on the cave we were sailing through at a sedate pace. The rough hewn walls started to give way as totem poles with carved faces started to line the walls. The cave became more structured, and in the distance, I saw light peek around one of the many bends we went through. Robin seemed enraptured, her eyes glued to murals that depicted things that I could only guess at.

When we reached the opening, a low whistle escaped me.

“So that's El Dorado, huh?” I muttered under my breath, seeing that the title City of Gold was in no way an exaggeration. I had half expected a village made out of mud and sticks, but instead I saw a full city crafted out of colorful terracotta and gold. Not all of it was solid gold, of course, but it was everywhere as we sailed up a canal. There were solid gold statues on bridges that connected the two sides of the canal, people were wearing gold jewelry, drinking from gold cups.

Gold and jewels were used to decorate the city that was filled with people. Carvings were highlighted with gold foil, or eyes were made of jewels. Emeralds, sapphires, rubies, diamonds, and everything in between.

Our arrival didn't go unnoticed either. People who were going about their days caught sight of us to stop and stare. I imagine that they didn't get many visitors and we were as unique as you could get when it came to strangers. A lot of them in particular seemed interested in Rumi, whose white rabbit ears were fully on display.

Word of our arrival got ahead of us and I saw a group forming to greet us. With a fair number of spearmen. Seemed like they didn't have any real tech in this place. Possibly world.

Two figures in particular seemed to be the leaders -- a tall scrawny guy with a painted face that was visibly excited for our arrival. The other was a short fat guy that seemed wary and suspicious.

The boat came to a stop and I was the first off and I could feel all the eyes on me, so I wore a slight smile before stopping in front of the two. When I came too close, the spears were leveled at me and it was the leader of the squad that interfered. “Lower your spears! You stand before a god! You stand before the Destroyer of Worlds!” He announced, much to the alarm of the others while the skinny guy suddenly looked very interested in me.

“That,” the big guy started, his voice low and he clearly commanded a lot of respect because as soon as he started talking, everyone else quieted down. “Is quite the claim. Forgive me my impudence, but do you perhaps have… proof that you are the gods we have waited for? There are more of you than the prophecy foretold,” he noted. He looked to Rumi in particular, his gaze lingering on her ears.

“Sure, no problem,” I agreed easily, and more than anything else, that made the big guy uneasy. My confidence made him uncertain. “Room,” I intoned, and my Room covered a sizable chunk of El Dorado. Without any visible action, a gallon of water lifted itself up from the canal behind us, much to the awe of others. I condensed the water, building pressure before I unleashed it through a hole that was barely bigger than the tip of a pin. In a wide half circle, I disarmed the spears that were pointed in my direction and amazement rippled out at the display of power.

Big guy looked alarmed, but skinny guy stepped forward, his hands up in the air and an expression of rapture on his face. “Bow your heads! We stand before the gods!” He announced, and he dropped to his knees, lowering his head until it touched the ground and everyone else was quick to follow. Even big guy. “I am High Priest Tzekel-kan, Speaker for the Gods.”

Big guy lowered his head as well, “I am Chief Tannabok. Forgive me for not recognizing your nature. Will you bless us with the knowledge of your names?”

This was kinda fun. “You can call me Law. This is my lover and better half, Robin,” I said, and she smiled at the introduction. “Yoruichi, my other lover and enabler for all of my terrible ideas,” Yoruichi looked like that gave her ideas. “Cinder, a follower of mine,” I said, amused by the slight twitch that she gave when she wasn't considered a lover. “Nora, a defeated general and warrior that I've taken as a trophy.” No reaction beyond a roll of her eyes.

“Rumi. Hero,” Rumi introduced herself curtly, crossing her arms.

“Please, allow us to throw a celebration in your honor at your long awaited arrival! A feast like never seen before!” Tzekel-kan requested and I figured that would be as good of a chance as any to see what was really going on here. Because, so far, this was looking like we were back in the past, only El Dorado wasn't a mirage conjured up by the conquistadors’ greed.

Tannabok was quick to back him up, “El Dorado is yours,” he agreed, gesturing to the temple behind him. That was a lot of stairs, I decided, looking up the tall temple.

So, with a quick Shambles, I brought the lot of us up there to get a better view. Tzekel-kan seemed nothing less than enraptured with me while the woman from earlier was looking somewhat panicked with the casual displays of power. I gave everything a long look around to find that we were in some kind of grove.

A vast forest in a large mountain range that El Dorado laid in the heart of. From just the looks of it, that canal might be the only way in or out.

“A feast sounds nice,” I decided. “There are some things I'd like to know, but that can wait until the party starts.” This world wasn't what I wanted, but I could tell this was going to scratch Asami's logistics itch. The people of the Old World and Fallout were going to be eating good from here on out. “You got any clothes? These kinda make us stick out,” I said and based on the eyebrow Robin cocked in my direction, she knew my true intentions.

“Of course, my gods! Your every whim shall be catered to -- this, I swear,” Tzekel-kan announced, bowing again. He was practically skipping down the steps.

Tannabok's gaze lingered on me, then looked at the woman. “Chel shall show you your lodgings, my gods, while I prepare the feast in your name. I hope it all shall be to your liking,” he said, and Chel's face pulled, realizing she’d just got tossed into the deep end.

I laughed, “Don't worry too much about it.” I said, waving him off before turning to the temple. Still chuckling, I headed inside to see that it was a lavish palace. Primitive, sure, but that kinda added to its charm. There was a fountain that pumped cool water, the decorations were made of solid gold, while everything was colored vibrantly.

Rumi kicked me in the ass as we entered, and I let it happen, meeting her baleful glare with a smirk. “You're the worst,” she decided while Cinder found where the gold statue was meant to go.

“Worked in our favor, didn't it?” I replied, unbothered. I knew this was coming. It was something that had been brewing for a long time now, but we were steadily inching towards it now that Fallout was back in order.

To that, Chel glanced between us. “Wait… so… you aren't… gods?” She questioned, sounding vaguely hopeful.

“To you, there's not that much difference, but not really. We're just extremely powerful people,” I admitted to her, setting aside my diamond sword.

Her hope grew, “So, that stuff about destroyed worlds…”

“Oh, no -- that was true. I wouldn't worry too much about it though,” I said, and based on her expression, she was very worried about it. “So, what's your story? What had you running away with arms full of gold?” I asked, keeping my awareness open. I didn't sense anyone with my Haki, nor could I sense anyone that could overhear with my Room. Robin was inspecting the place while Yoruichi threw herself on a pile of cushions. Nora stood by the door, looking standoffish with her arms crossed.

Chel glanced around at the lot of us for a moment before her gaze settled on me. “I'm… I wanted out of here. I grew up in this valley, in this city, and there's a whole world out there to explore!” She said, slowly picking up steam as she spoke, “I've heard rumors that there are people out there that value gold and I was going to use that as my ticket to get out of here.”

Huh. “But, you got caught,” I summarized and she made a gesture at me, agreeing with me. “Well, that worked in your favor. The people that you're talking about are a twisted bunch. The conquistadors,” I said, taking off my jacket and frowning in thought. “Meaning that the year is… the fifteen hundreds? Fourteen hundreds?”

Wait. We were time travelers? Neat.

Chel looked like she didn't know how to respond to that. Cinder, however, looked my way, “Will they be a problem?” She asked and it was Robin who nodded.

“For our longstanding goals, almost certainly. They waged a war of cultural genocide in the name of God and gold. This world, while ideal geologically, will require a long term investment in establishing ways to make use of its resources.” She pointed out, and I had to agree there. We were better off building power generation in Fallout rather than breaking ground for it here. But a fusion core wouldn't do much good without anything to power up. Stuff like farming equipment, or mining.

The thought was pretty amusing. “So, we help the natives defend themselves,” I ventured with a chuckle. Considering the horrors that occurred when Europe started treating the Americas as their personal piggy banks… honestly, considering all that we would prevent… there was a very real possibility that my karma would find itself back in the black after this.

That was a wild thought.

Chel seemed concerned with where the conversation was going while Rumi was watching me for ill intentions. There was still more that we had to check out, and this feast was going to be a perfect opportunity for it.

So, for now?

We mingled with the locals.