Marcy joined me in the backseat of the Bentley, and we spent the first part of the trip talking about her abilities. She gained another awakening with her milestone. The system described it as a dual-wielding melee skirmisher named Miyamoto. I had a suspicion about who that might be, but Marcy hadn’t used the ability yet and couldn’t provide a description.

  None of her combat-centric legends, Balor, Achilles, and Miyamoto, had an initial cost to activate. Instead, they drew lore directly from her Matrix for as long as they were active. When her Matrix ran dry, any active legend would vanish, and she wouldn’t be able to awaken them again until her Matrix was at least partially refilled. She could have multiple legends active at once, but it drained her Matrix even faster.

  Her scouts, Hugin and Munin, had a set cost to awaken and a hard duration of fifteen minutes. Other than the awakenings, she had what Aria called a buff, which increased her Intelligence, Will, and Vitality, similar to what Sanguis Vita did for me. Interestingly, she didn’t have a healing ability. In place of healing, her Price of Valor ability transferred all her damage to a legend. That was better than healing in many ways, but she was shit out of luck if she didn’t have an active legend.

  Eventually, the car grew quiet as Aria tried to navigate toward the quest marker in the southeastern part of Mt. Sylos sector. We wasted a solid half hour searching for a road from FlexTech sector before giving up and heading into Pine Ridge. A little way past the golf course we finally found a gravel road snaking into the trees that seemed to be headed the right way.

  Entering Mount Sylos Sector

  This sector cannot be claimed!

  This sector is impassable!

  “Finally,” Aria growled.

  “Good job,” Marko said. “Slow down, there’s a sign there.”

  Aria slowed to a crawl, giving us a chance to read the sign partially obscured by trees and undergrowth. This way to Camp Splendour. It included an arrow pointing in the direction we were heading.

  “That doesn’t sound particularly intimidating,” I said.

  “Why does it have a ‘u’ in the word splendor?” Aria said.

  “Maybe the owners are British?” Marcy offered.

  “Let’s keep moving,” Marko said. “We’re down to a little over three hours.”

  Aria stepped on the gas, peeling out and sending gravel flying everywhere, while Marko studiously ignored her. The road began to descend, and we passed two more identical signs pointing us toward Camp Splendour, not that the road had any turnoffs. The fourth sign said something different. Aria burst into laughter when she saw it.

  “Hmm,” Marko said. “That’s not what I expected. Would you mind letting me drive the rest of the way, Aria? We might have to talk our way inside.”

  Aria, now laugh-crying, switched with Marko, and we continued past the sign. Camp Splendour. Nudist Retreat. At one with nature. Aria eventually subsided into giggles, wiping her eyes.

  “Is this going to be a problem for anyone?” Marko said. “We need all hands on deck, but if one of you has a firm nudity taboo, we’ll make do.”

  “I’ve been to topless beaches,” Marcy said. “This isn’t much different.”

  “I look amazing with or without clothes,” Aria said. “Good thing I took a shower this morning.”

  I hesitated.

  “Do you think the camp will have a lot of people?”

  “I hope so,” Marko said. “We’re lucky it’s Sunday. Bigger crowds will make it easier to snoop around without looking suspicious.”

  I must have looked nervous because Marcy patted my hand and tried to comfort me. Marcy, who’d hidden in her apartment for six days, trying to comfort me. I guess nudity frightened her less than Roombas.

  “It’ll be fine,” she said. “You’ll be surprised how quickly you acclimate.”

  “Oh, all right,” I said. “I don’t need any snark about this from anyone, Aria.”

  Aria turned her head and winked at me.

  “No one should be making snarky comments,” Marko said. “We want to blend in. Eyes up and forward. No shenanigans.”

  “He’s dadding us again,” Aria said.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The gravel road ended at a large gate with an arcing Camp Splendour sign rising over it, painted in an array of fading colors. The gate also had a few warning signs. Warning! This is a clothing-optional campground and resort! Warning! This is private property! Warning! Harassment of any type will not be tolerated!

  Marko pulled up to a security speaker and pressed the call button.

  “Welcome to Camp Splendour!” a female voice answered. “Are you here for a stay or for a tour?”

  “Hello,” Marko said. “Both, I think. We haven’t been here before and this will be my friend’s first time visiting a naturist retreat.”

  “How exciting! Does your friend understand the etiquette?”

  “We explained it. He’ll be respectful.”

  “Wonderful! Please stop at the office to pay your fees and receive your welcome gifts!”

  The gate rolled open and Marko drove forward and down into a small valley. At first, all I saw were the same trees I’d been looking at for the last ten minutes, then the road took a sharp turn and emerged into the more lightly wooded retreat. I saw naked people. Everywhere. Well, maybe not everywhere, but it seemed like a lot. Naked people of all shapes and sizes. And the colors. A nudist camp back home would have seemed boring in comparison to the variety of colors on display. I tried not to stare while simultaneously looking around at the campground. The quest arrow on my mini-map pointed northwest, deeper into the resort.

  Marko pulled the Bentley up to a small building marked as the office and parked. A nude, blue-skinned jann, obviously female, came out of the building and waved to us. By now, I was used to the idea that all jann, male or female, were bald and heroically proportioned. Those proportions were, err, even more on display now.

  “Hello!” she said. “I’m Azra and welcome to Camp Splendour. Which of you is our first time nudist?”

  “That would be Victor,” Marko said, resting a hand on my shoulder. “This is all new to him.”

  “I thought as much,” Azra said, giving me a gentle smile. “Try to relax, dear. Come into the office and we’ll get you settled.”

  Victor (Party): Why me?

  Marcy (Party): You look a little tense.

  We followed her into the office and the welcoming embrace of air conditioning. I’d broken into a light sweat just walking from the car, and I wasn’t sure if it was because the resort was warmer than other sectors, or just nerves. Azra walked around a small counter and gathered up a clipboard with paperwork and a bundle of what looked like multicolored scarves.

  “I only need one of you to fill that out,” Azra said, sliding a pen onto the counter. “Though I will need all your names. It’s 100 credits per person per day. These are for you!” She placed the scarves on the counter. “It’s our welcome sarong. Even if you don’t want to wear it, remember to keep it with you for sitting.”

  Marko picked up the pen and started filling out the sheet.

  Marko (Party): Aria, pay her please.

  Aria (Party): I’m paying for all of you?

  Marko (Party): Don’t make me ask how many credits you have.

  Marko handed back the sheet and Aria paid. Azra checked over the information, then reached under the counter and produced a key with the number 27 on it. She placed the key and a paper map of the resort on the counter. Aria snatched both.

  “It’s good to meet you all,” Azra said. “Follow the road and turn at your first right to find bungalow 27. It’ll be on the left. Do you want to schedule a tour, or would you prefer to explore on your own?”

  “I think we’ll explore,” Marko said. “Thank you, Azra.”

  “My pleasure. Enjoy your stay!”

  It only took a minute to find our bungalow, and I was somewhat relieved when we were inside and away from the fleshy hordes. The bungalow had a small kitchen and living area, a bathroom, and two bedrooms equipped with separate beds.

  “Before we get naked, let me familiarize you with our new weapons,” Aria said. “It could get awkward later.”

  She went over to the couch and laid out four of the odd firearms she’d recovered from our attackers at the Lux. Marko started to reach for one and she smacked his hand.

  “Listen first,” Aria said. She pointed to a button above the grip “This is the safety; you push the button down and forward to disengage it. This is the fire selector.” She pointed at a switch. “One dot is single shot, two dots is semi-auto, and three dots is full auto. It generates its own ammo and does not have a clip.”

  She picked up a gun and turned away from us before snuggling the stock into her shoulder and sighting down the barrel.

  “I’d like to get some optical sights, but iron sights will do for now. It’s a carbine and doesn’t have a ton of recoil, so it’s pretty easy to use.”

  Aria put the weapon back down on the couch. Marko and I each collected one.

  GHA TEC +1

  The pride of Gray Hat Arms, the TEC offers a high ROF with nearly unlimited ammo,

  built-in aim correction, and GLOW suppression. Improved accuracy and damage.

  Ability: GLOW

  Each hit from this weapon applies the GLOW debuff.

  The GLOW debuff lasts for 3 seconds and stacks up to five times.

  Each instance of GLOW increases chance to hit by 1% for any future attacks.

  A target afflicted by GLOW suffers a penalty to stealth and invisibility.

  Note: Firing at full auto for extended periods may cause the weapon to overheat.

  “Any questions?”

  Marcy raised her hand.

  “I’ve never fired a gun,” she said.

  “We’ll start you with a pistol,” Aria said. “Come on, I’ll explain how it works while we change.”

  The women trooped off to one room and Marko and I to the other. I don’t have any tattoos, but I don’t have any problems with them either. Marko had enough tattoos for both of us. He had full sleeves I’d never noticed, done in a gambling theme. I saw dice, cards, and a pinup style lady luck. Marko also had more muscles than I’d guessed. He looked jacked even without hulking out.

  “Cool tats,” I said. “What am I supposed to do with this?” I held up the sarong.

  “Tie it around your waist,” he said, demonstrating. “If you walk around fully dressed, people will stare. Just a sarong won’t draw attention and provides a bit of modesty.”

  I tied it around my waist and wasn’t impressed. It was filmy and barely came to my knees. Direct sunlight or a faint breeze would put my junk on full display. At least I didn’t have to worry about sunlight. It remained overcast.

  “Make sure to stash your gear in your inventory,” Marko said. “We can’t wear it now, but we can take it with us for when it’s needed. Let’s go see how the ladies are doing.”