Alex followed Nekya up to the first floor of the villa.

“Stop sulking will you, it’s what you agreed to,” Nekya said with a punch, “and don’t forget about the bonus. Fifty Leycrals, just keep Gypsum in our control for two weeks.”

Alex grunted. He just signed the first soul-contract in his life and already felt cheated. No matter how many times he tried to explain her, Alex couldn’t convince Nekya that he hadn’t agreed to the price for the bio-rune.

It got to the point where Nekya offered to just cancel their agreement. Of course, he’d have to ‘return’ the bio-rune and the advance she had given him. At that point, Alex knew there was no other choice and just grit his teeth and signed the contract.

Alex didn’t even mind the cost. A bio-rune was so precious, people would literally sell their souls for it. It was just that she already had the contract ready. She assumed that he would take the bio-rune for sure – that’s what pissed him. She was right about it, but that didn’t make him feel any better either.

The duo walked up the stone stairs winding up, and finally ended up in front of a large pair of double doors.

“Forget about all that, okay. Your bodyguards are in there, and you need to look strong in front of them. Otherwise, they won’t respect you,” Nekya said straightening his shirt.

It was supposed to be a special shirt as well. Made of some living fabric. He felt a little queasy about wearing something alive at first, but then it would be better than reaching a new world buck-naked. Besides, the attire didn't feel different from any ordinary clothing, so he didn't protest.

Alex raised his hand and showed it to her. He snorted, “I’ve your Identification mark. They have to follow my orders if they want to get paid.”

There was a black circle on the back of his palm just above the wrist, with a single spoke extending from it to the base of the knuckles. It was a temporary brand that would let her men know that she trusted him and that they follow his order. Alex was also starting to realize the limits of the Wormhole construct. There were nuances to the way it worked!

“But if you want to make sure they always follow your orders, they have to respect you,” Nekya snapped back.

“Let's just go,” Alex glared. He intended to fulfil his part of the deal as well. There was no reason for him to lose such a rare opportunity just to spite her anyway. He stood straight and tried to look professional.

Nekya pushed the door open and a large space opened up. It was lit up similar to the laboratory. A food of bright light hit his eyes. The first thing that caught Alex’s eye was the gigantic black frame at the centre of the room. The oval structure stretched from the floor to the ceiling with several conducting arrays attached to it on all sides disappearing somewhere above.

A couple of mages were busy among themselves prodding and testing the Wormhole with focuses, entering and exiting the room through the numerous doors to either side of the room. But apart from that, the area was left empty.

“That Mr Alex, is the Wormhole construct,” Nekya spoke.

“Is it turned off?” he looked at her and asked,

“Yep. It’s a massive mana-drain. So we try to limit how long we keep it running,” she commented. “Wait till you see it start up though. It’s quite a sight. ”

Alex nodded as he looked around aimlessly. He felt his stomach bunch by in knots. He was going to go to a different world in a few minutes. He couldn’t keep still.

“They’re here,” Nekya said tapping his shoulder. Alex looked at her startled at the sudden contact.

Almost immediately a door to the side opened and a dozen-odd people marched out. Alex could immediately tell from their appearance that they were combat mages. But what surprised him the most was the person leading them.

“What took you so long?” the standing beside him asked with a frown

“There were a few things I had to explain, Original,” the girl identical to Nekya replied with a shrug.

There were two Nekya’s in the room!

“Whatever,” the Nekya beside him spoke. She turned to Alex and explained, “She’s the simulacrum that’s going to go with you. Pretty useless, but you can ask her stuff. And if know it now, she’ll know it too.”

Alex nodded deftly. He had a thousand questions in his mind but decided to save it for later. It wouldn’t bode well to make a fool out of himself in front of his bodyguards.

The simulacrum-Nekya nodded with a wide grin and stood to one side. “Alex, let me introduce you to Captain Zevin Veter, the leader of the Brazen Outcomes,” Nekya voiced pointing to a rather large man.

The mage that walked forward had a belly the size of a cauldron and arms as thick as trees and an unkempt stubble growing on his face.

Alex quickly looked over the rest of the Brazen Outcomes and had a sinking feeling that this wasn’t a cream-of-the-crop among mercenaries.

“Nice to meet you, Captain Zevin,” Alex tried to keep his apprehensions at bay and extended his arm. Combat mages were known to focus on body-cultivation. Their appearance could just be a professional trait, he reasoned.

“Nice to meet you too Mr. Alex,” Captain Zevin replied shaking his hand with a firm grip. “Just don’t wander off on your own and we’ll keep you all safe and sound, eh.”

“Just call me Alex,” Alex replied with a plastered smile and added, “We should get going unless you have something else to report.”

The large man didn’t say anything in reply.

“And this is second-in-command Lieutenant Venessa,” Nekya stepped in and led Alex to a rather ordinary-looking woman.

Venessa looked young to be a second-in-command of a mercenary company. She had long blond hair tied to a ponytail and didn’t seem to be a body cultivating mage like the rest of Brazen Outcomes.

“Good to meet you, Mr Alex,” Lieutenant Venessa shook his hand. Her hand felt cool to the touch and Alex couldn’t help but smile in reply.

“The pleasure is all mine,” he replied immediately.

The Lieutenant chuckled politely and added, “Please don’t mind the Captain. He means well.”

Alex looked over at Captain Zevin busy talking with his men.

“Make him understand that he follows my order, it’s not the other way round,” Alex said.

“Of course,” she nodded cordially. The Lieutenant then introduced Alex to the other eight members of the mercenary company one after the other. Alex tried to remember the names but failed almost immediately. There was too much on his mind right now. He settled for just knowing their faces. He could get to know their names later, he had two weeks to learn. For now, just the Captain and the Lieutenant’s names would do.

After the introductions were done, Nekya finally pulled them towards the Wormhole. The Brazen Outcomes and the simulacrum-Nekya stood on one side while original-Nekya stood with her back to the Wormhole.

“Okay, we are almost ready,” she said clapping her hands. “Once the Wormhole opens, simply walk through it. For first time travellers it might feel a little uneasy, but don’t worry. It’ll pass.”

The Brazen Outcomes laughed aloud. Alex looked around confused. Was this a joke or not?

“Once you reach Bambee, you’ll arrive at the Leypoint of Gypsum city. Your job is to help Mr Alex keep control of the Leypoint at Gypsum for two-weeks time. All the best everyone.”

Everyone in the room started clapping and Alex joined in awkwardly as well. He had never seen the airheaded girl keep a straight face for so long!

Afterwards, Nekya quickly wished him all the best and all the technician-mages along with the original-Nekya cleared out the room. Leaving only the Brazen Outcomes, Alex and simulacrum-Nekya in the room.

A few seconds passed in silence when a sudden humming sound reverberated throughout the room and the arrays connected to the Wormhole came to life.

The room lurched into a jolt and then the Wormhole finally activated. The dark vortex came alive in the empty frame, looking ominous, drawing in all the light in the air.

“Came on fellas. Let’s move eh” Captain Zevin barked. He turned to Alex and added, “Come with me!”

“Okay,” Alex nodded. He didn’t argue. He was going to a different world and he wasn’t going to pick a fight here. He didn’t want to mess this up right at the start.

Hearing the Captain’s order, the Brazen Outcomes quickly launched into action. In quick succession five of mercenaries led by the Lieutenant entered the portal.

“Let’s go! We’ll cover you back!” he heard the Captain shout from behind.

Alex took a deep breath and steadied his heart. He stood at the edge of the Wormhole for a second and looked back one last time before jumping in.

Contrary to what Alex expected, he didn’t feel any pain. There was only darkness around and he quickly felt his energy plummet. Before he could ask what was happening, Alex fell asleep.

***

Alex stumbled back on his feet when he regained consciousness again. A dull headache coursed through his head and he could taste dirt and salt in his mouth.

“Fall back everyone,” he heard Captain Zevin’s voice.

Alex immediately opened his eyes in panic. They were supposed to be teleported to the Leypoint within the city castle!

“What the-” the words were caught in his mouth and his heart skipped a beat.

They had reached Bambee, of that he was sure. The shoddy stone-paved roads and wood and stone houses didn’t look like anything he recognized. But instead of being inside the castle, he was standing in the middle of a city square surrounded by a mob! Men with feline heads and human bodies stood around him daggers and pitchforks In hand.

Alex looked down and finally realized the taste in his mouth. The ground was soaked red. There were half a dozen bodies scattered on the ground. He knew those faces, they were mages of the Brazen Outcomes!

***

Excerpt from 101 Accidental Inventions, 2nd Ed, Tutanitanza HighSchool Library

Soul-contracts

Healer mage Fein Baugh accidentally discovered soul-contracts when he was trying to create a spell to cure soul injuries. He was surprised when he held a [glue] and [chain] rune inscribed paper hoping to fix his patient’s breaking soul. Felin Baugh expected the two inscriptions to react to create an effect that would hold the patient’s soul.

The Healer promised with his life that he would cure the patient while holding the inscribed paper in hand. But when the procedure failed to cure the patient, the soul-contract took effect and killed the Healer.

The patient correctly predicted that it must be something to do with the inscribed paper and invented the soul-contract!