Mad scientists in a magic world. Chapter 1: The Ferryman's deal

AN: while this is technical not the first chapter that i have posted in the series, the prologue i wrote last time was atrocious even as a first attempt so i decided to put the 'FirstOfSeries' tag on this making it the 'official' first chapter one as well while keep the old chapter so people can (hopefully) see how much my editing and writing skills have improved so far.

You can skip the prologue, it isn't actually needed to understand this chapter and I am going to rewrite it anyway.

I hope you enjoy this, if not please tell me how i can improve.

Saint Mons monastery, Holy Captiol of Reguola.

Apprentice Mage Situlo.

We entered the monastery's main hall together with master leading the way, the sound of heavy wooden gates shutting behind us echoing through the empty hall was more felt then heard.

The moonlight from the stained glass windows, while enough for my sharp senses was not quite enough for master who carried a torch to illuminate the way while I carried the supplies needed for the summoning in a satchel on my back. The sound of the supplies clinking on my back drowning the sound of our footsteps.

Master pointed to an empty spot in front of the divinity's statue, this is to be the place where we conduct the ritual. I unrolled a large piece of parchment with the summoning symbol of the Ferryman drawn on it in charcoal then handed a bag full of bottles and a brush to master.

She handed me the torch in return then uncork one of the bottles, the stench of fresh blood filling the air almost immediately as she dipped the brush in the bottle and drew over the symbol with it. While she drew the symbol I pulled six enchanted candles from the satchel and lit them up with masters torch and waited for her to finish drawing so I can place them.

After the candles were placed master began casting a privacy spell causing the entire area around us to be sealed inside a pitch black sphere that permitted no sound nor light in or out.

Once everything was set we prayed for a blessing from Iudex then began the summoning itself. I stepped back and away for my part in the ritual is over, the only thing left for me was to watch.

I will never get used to this spell, with the way it cut the sense from the outside world preventing even echos from reach the ears no wonder it was used for torture. My heart began hammering my chest against my will as my instincts screamed at me claiming I was in mortal danger.

"Are you alright, Situlo? If you think you can't handle this you should just leave" masters voice came unnaturally clearly, somehow she managed to sense my fear despite not turning in my direction.

"I am fine, I can handle this" this wasn't quite true but I wasn't going to let my fear stand in the way of the mission, besides if things go south I can always just run out of the sphere.

Master nodded and went back to work, The ritual itself was simple, she simply channeled mana into the circuit, causing the candles to switch form a warm and flickering orange glow into an unnatural steady white.

A tense minute of silence followed, the darkness seeming to close on me with every second.

then without any bravado it happened. A humanoid figure unfolded itself into existence over the summoning circle.

He looked like human male wearing a pair of pitch back gloves and a strange suit with clean tailoring fit for a noble, yet everything else about his appearance felt ordinary, too ordinary to the point that I couldn't even describe him in any detail beyond the most broad strokes, even his mana looked ordinary at first glance.

But Despite his near lack of a presence I was still able to read his emotions clearly, he eyed master with a mix of curiosity and more then a bit of greed. He spoke in voice so indistinct I felt it slipping away from my memory.

"You have 11 minutes and 17 seconds so hurry up, my time is worth more then your soul"

The Ferryman pointed to a strange metallic contraption on his suit that looked like a compass but with numbers instead of directions. It didn't take me long to realize it was some kind of time keeping device. Master didn't waste anytime and began negotiations.

"I heard that an Otherworlder has been summoned to our world sometime in the last 20 years and that the restrictions on other worldly summons have been lowered, if so I would like to purchase any information you have about them, more importantly I would like to know if it is now possible to purchase other worldly artifacts or summon Otheworlders"

The Ferry mans eyebrows shot up and I sense his curiosity spiking as well.

"Now how did you know that? as far as I know no one in this world has asked us about the state of the limited interference treaty yet"

"How about you stop wasting my precious time and get back to business?"

My body tensed, expecting imminent violence, to my shock the man just smiled at masters disrespectful reply and produces a stack of paper of such quality it would make any scholar salivate.

"This everything we know about the Otherworlder, note that this is information was obtained before they were transported to this world and has been screened to comply with the treaty. Purchasing artifacts and knowledge from their world is now legal as long as said items were 300 years old or older though we are offering translation circlets keyed to the most common languages in that world costing 8 Styx a piece. As for summoning itself, 750 styx a month for searching and 1600 Styx for the summoning, note that we are not allowed to interact with Otherworlders in anyway that might reveal our existence before summoning them. I recommend you purchase and read this information first before you come to a decision on who to summon"

"And lose valuable time?"

The Ferryman laughed at her question, his laugh sounding far too genuine to be real.

"Lady, you can read this in less then two minutes and it is only worth 18 Styx"

Master pondered this for a second then handed one of the bottles to the man.

"This should cover the cost of the information and a pair tiaras with some left to spare"

The Ferryman grabbed the bottle and examined it, satisfied with the content he handed the papers over to master along with a pair of golden tiaras decorated with a green and a purple gem.

Master summoned an orb of light and read through the papers faster then she had ever done before. I felt her emotions cycle between interest, shock and excitement.

She turned to the Ferryman, not bothering to hide her feelings as she spoke.

"Correct me if I am wrong, but you are saying that one of you has found a loophole in the treaty and used it to smuggle in some sort of a mage from another world?"

"Yes"

"And because of the other worldly knowledge that mage brought the treaty's restrictions have been lowered, now summoning Otherworlders and purchase some of their older artifacts is legal"

"Yes"

"And we can bypass the treaty's artifact restrictions entirely just by summoning one of those mages with the knowledge to create said artifacts"

"Yes"

"Well then I would like to summon one of these mages, how would you recommend doing so?"

At that last question I felt a excitement from the man before his emotions weakened as he sunk deep in thought. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before finally answering.

"I recommend a two months contract in which I would search for the best candidate for the summoning, any less then that and I suspect the summoned Otherworlder would not be on par in skill with the Otherworlder in those files"

Master pondered this for a precious minute before she turned to me and asked.

"Situlo, do you think his offering a sincere and fair deal?"

The question took me by surprise, I was never expecting to be a part of the negotiations that would decide the fate of this world. The two were now looking at me, causing my heart to nearly jump out of my chest. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore my instincts and focus on the question.

Now that I actually about it the answer is pretty obvious, the man hasn't show any signs of lying so far even though I was able to read his emotions like an open book so I nodded in affirmation.

Master handed over the rest of the bottles to the man who quickly examined them before somehow shoving them all into his suit. He then pulled a strange note book from that same suit, scribbled something on one of its papers with strange cylindrical writing implement then handed it over to master.

"Read the contract, if it is to your satisfaction then sign it so we can seal the deal"

Master read through it, a lot more slowly this time doubtless looking for legal tricks and loopholes then signed the contract and handed it back. In return she received a handful of silver coins with the symbol of the ferrymen engraved on it and a strange bottle of blue liquid.

"These coins should cover the reminder. When the bottle starts glowing use it to perform the summoning ritual. Any questions?"

Master took the bottle and coins then counted the coins quickly with practiced easy. she handed the bottle to me but gave the coins back to the Ferryman.

"I wish to purchase books about weapons manufacturing, natural philosophy, agriculture, medicine, metallurgy and mathematics from the other world in that order of priority"

the Ferryman emotions weakened once more before he answered.

"For the money you are offering I can give you one encyclopedia that covers all of these topics and more in a shallow manner or alternatively I can give you four books that cover the first four topics in detail"

Master took the later option and the Ferryman used his impossibly spacious suit to pull a large stack of books made out of the same snow white paper and handed them to master, who in turn give them a quick read before handing them over to me.

I was able to get a glimpse of the writing on the paper thanks to the light from master's orbs. It was perfect with each letter a twin of the last without a hint of a mistake or even the suggestion of personality or style, so strange the paper and books were I forgot to keep an eye on the Ferryman.

Once the Ferryman was done handing the books and with one more minute left on the clock he spoke "Any more questions?"

Master turned to me once more to asking if I had any questions, pulling me out of deep thought.

"I..I.. no I don't have any" I stammered without thinking, realizing half way through that I in fact had a question.

master, Iudex bless her realized my mistake and asked me if I was sure, giving me a chance to ask my question.

"Would the restrictions on otherworldly knowledge and artifacts drop again in the future?"

The Ferryman's expression didn't change but this time his emotions completely disappeared, not just weakening but disappearing entirely. He answered without any emotions in his voice.

"I am afraid I can't answer this question, anything else?"

I shock my head, while I wanted to press him farther on that to find out more I didn't want to tip my hand about the fact that I could sense them, nor did I want to draw the ire of the alien wizard.

With that closing statement master shook hands with the Ferryman before he disappeared just as abruptly as he appeared, causing the candles to return to their warm orange glow.

I felt a tension I never thought I had before suddenly drain from me. The feeling of relief only growing stronger when master dispelled that wretched black sphere.

When it was all done master walked over to me asking if I was alright.

"I am alright" I said a bit more shakily then I hoped "Could we at least make the sphere a little bigger next time?"

Master smiled at me and gave me a pat on the head and spoke "If you can joke then you must be fine, right?"

Masters smile then faded, her tone growing more serious.

"more importantly, now that you have seen a Ferryman in person do you think you can recognize them in a crowd?"

I was expecting this question, it was after all the main reason master brought me to these delicate negotiations.

"I am sorry but I can't, not in a crowd at least, the only thing unusual about the Ferryman's presence is the sheer mundanity of it. Perhaps I could point to a Ferryman in a group of two maybe three but anymore then that and they would just blend in"

Master bit her lip, clearly frustrated by my failure. I tried to apologize but before I could start she put her hand on my head once again and spoke.

"Please spare me the apologies, you did well today now lets clean up this mess so we can hurry and write a report to the council"

----

Planet Earth, 2029/7/12, the Stonemen estate's underground lab.

Curie Stonemen

"Finally!!, it is done!"

I exclaim to no one in particular as I finally completed assembling my magnum opus. Before me hang a armor of struts and gears from a large metal frame, the culmination of 2 years of studying, crafting and hitting incooperative tools.

A real life fully functional power armor.

Admittedly this child sized prototype would have been impossible without fathers own power armor design as a starting point but I built this baby with my own two hands and I am proud of it.

I wanted to disregard all safety procedures and hop in to test it out but my survival instinct stopped me from doing the obviously stupid thing, I was a mad scientist not a suicidal one.

Instead I turned to one of the terminals on the labs walls and spoke to it.

"Golem, give me a status report on the power armor"

The aptly named AI assistant replied in a cold robotic voice designed to not be mistaken for a human.

"All systems nominal, ready for test flight. Shall we begin with the test safely protocol?"

"of course also set any available 3D printers to manufacturing spare parts, priorities the leg and spine modules and send the dogs to fetch me the EEG system and the portable EMG from the biolab. Also bring me the grip strength meter, a few eggs and a rubik's cube"

"on it boss" with that last acknowledgment two large robot dog skittered out of the robotics section, one went into the medical section while the other headed towards the storage rooms. While waiting for the robot dogs to return I finished a manual check of the power armor as I couldn't trust Golem to find some of the more delicate flaws, by the time I was done the robots have returned with the requested items.

The EEG was a large hat like contraption that was designed to read the electrical impulses of someones brain while the EMGs were thin patches designed to read the electrical impulses coming from the users muscles. While they were not necessary to control the power armor thinks to the pressure sensors built into it they made controlling it a lot easier and allowed for more precise movements on top of collecting data that mom and dad my want to use later.

I took off my lab coat and placed the EMGs on my biceps, forearms and thighs then wore the EEG. After a bit of troubleshooting and a lot of cable management I was finally ready to enter the power armor.

"Golem, activate the boarding sequence" I said and the power armor unfurled like a flower allowing me to step inside where it closed around me. I shoved my arms into the gauntlet control glove being careful not to accidentally disconnect the EMGs in process.

First I tested the leg module, I was able to walk around without much trouble and even jump up to 20cm though the armor had way too much inertia making it feel less like a suit and more like a car.

Then I tested the gauntlet, it was by far the most important and sophisticated part of the whole power armor. Unlike the common and unrealistic sci-fi design of a worn gauntlet that covered the users hand to give them protection and super human strength mine had a more practical design with control glove housing the users real hand while a 'puppet' hand sat in front of the users real hand, the control glove then was used to manipulate the puppet hand while giving me haptic feedback to allow me to safely manipulate objects.

more importantly since the actual gauntlet wasn't just a shell around a squishy human hand you can have much more freedom designing the actual hand, like making it very precise or adding in a LOT of actuators for maximum grip strength.

First basic hand movements to which the gauntlet responded admirably with only a slight latency, then came the grip strength test. Despite my best attempts to be gentle with it quickly jumped to 60kg then stopped increasing.

I moved on to my next test, trying to grab an egg with two fingers without dropping or breaking it. It took me a couple of tries before eventually I managed to grab an egg without turning it into an omelette. I cleaned up my gauntlet and looked at the mess I made, then called out to the one creature on this planet who would gladly clean up my mess without complaining.

"Golem, clean this up"

While Golem did the cleaning I move on to the next experiment. Seeing the sticky results of the last test gave me a good idea on how the this would go, but rubik's cubes were cheep so I did it anyway and sure enough the cube was torn apart before I was able to solve even one of it's faces, making me finally admit to my self that shoving all of those actuators into the gauntlet was in fact a dumb idea.

Frustrated I moved on to the lifting test, it was the most dangerous test as it was the test most likely to break something but with the test safety protocol active it should alert someone upstairs in case I was actually in any danger. The leg and spine modules while not agile were able to handle a lot of weight as I was able to carry around 160kg without issue and the arm modules were able to curl to 80kg each. The spine had no problem handling the weight as long as I didn't move the spine while carrying anything heavier then 90 kg.

I felt tempted to test how hard the arms can punch but I didn't do so as it would risk destroying the expensive gauntlets, especially sense they were worth more then the rest of the suit combined.

Satisfied with the results I headed over to the metal frame to hang the armor so I can remove it when Golem suddenly spoke.

"Are you alright ma'am?"

This was strange, even with the test safety active Golem was only supposed to check on me in case something happened like losing track of me on the cameras or losing track of my vitals.

"I am fine what prompted you to ask?"

My question was met with a long uncomfortable silence followed by warning and a 10 second timer appearing on the projector screen.

"No visual or auditory conformation of the test pilots safety, activating alarm systems in 10 second, would you like to halt?"

"halt!" I said but the timer kept going down anyway.

Something was wrong, very wrong, I looked around for clues on what might have happened when I noticed a strange sight, the security cameras that were supposed to track me were gone and in their place were strange pitch black spheres.

I panicked and began looking around frantically trying to figure out what was going on when I saw a strange man in a business suit with a pocket watch hanging from it's breast pocket silently walking towards me. I grabbed a wrench from a nearby table and got ready to swing it with the full force of my power armor in case talking didn't work.

"Who are you, and wh...."

Before I could finish speaking the man's watch suddenly began spinning wildly and he rush towards me at super human. I tried to swing the wrench at him but he dodged it with easy.

The next thing I felt was a gloved hand palming my face, then everything going dark.