Chapter 1

Life for me was pretty bland. I grew up in the barrio with my mom and abuela. My mom worked to put food on the table while my grandmother pushed for me to do good in school so that I could one day be the man who supported my mother. That means I did what I was asked because I didn’t want my mom to have to work her fingers to the bone her whole life.

My dad? The only thing I knew about him was that he went to prison before I was born, and never came back to my mother, or me, after getting out. His family never came to see me so I guess I didn’t exist in their minds. I didn’t care because I had all the family I needed right at home. I had the best cheerleaders any guy could ask for. When my mom couldn’t be there, my abuela was. That meant I didn’t screw off like my friends, I didn’t date like they did, and I took my education seriously. That also meant when I wasn’t at home or school I was being hated on, but I didn’t care because they didn’t have the kind of women I had in my life.

When I got out of college I got a great job in the tech industry. Of course I got that because I spent months as a slave. Ok that maybe too harsh, but what else do you call someone who works sixty hour weeks with no pay? Oh right, that is called an intern. While I was one, I made the right impressions on the right people and when I walked for my diploma, I kept on walking into a six figure job. My first paycheck moved all of us into a new home and my mom only had to work because she hated sitting at home in front of the TV watching Telenovelas with my abuela.

One evening, two years later, I was on my way home from work feeling great. I was going through an intersection when someone ran the light and that was it. End of story for a young and rising star in the tech industry and gaming world.

Next I found myself sitting in front of a white desk with a rather bored looking person. “Welcome to the afterlife Howard, I see by your record you had a pretty good life by your world’s standards so it should be pretty easy to move on.” I raised my hand. “Excuse me, but my name isn’t Howard.” The person looked at me, then at the screen and then back at me. “You aren’t Howard Blake?” I shook my head. “My name is Samuel Cordoba.” The man typed on his screen and his face fell in before he shook it. “Sorry, give me a minute here.” He tapped his ear and I saw his face turn red, his mouth move, and many other interesting hand movements for quite a while.

A woman came in, looked at me worriedly and then went to talk to the guy across from me. I figure I must not be allowed to hear everything going on, but it did make me curious. The man I was with left, and the lady in a white suit sat down across from me and tapped her ear. “Sam, I’m sorry but it seems we have a problem. Normally if something like this happens we can fix it easily but this is one of those rare ones.” I just looked at her. “Simply put, you weren’t supposed to have been in that accident. According to our records you should have died at the age of seventy.” I kept just looking at her. “So what do we do now?”

She looked at me and shrugged. “Well that is what we are working on now. See your world, well all worlds, are kind of like a tapestry. You were only one thread, but your actions, and all the actions of a myriad of people around you, weave the future. Some threads are cut so the overall tapestry maintains the pattern. The man who was supposed to be removed from the picture wasn’t and all the people you were supposed to influence won’t be.” I nodded. “Sounds like the imagery of the fates from Greek mythos.” She smiled and me and nodded. “Well that is because that is how things work. This is the department of cut threads, where a soul ends up when it is no longer a part of the overall picture. Now just because you are no longer a part of the fabric of the universe doesn’t mean you are ended. Those who wove the fabric then move on to making sure things keep going on like they are supposed to.”

“So you move from being the woven to being a weaver?” She smiled at me. “Exactly, only someone who has been a part of the work can understand how important every thread really is.” I nodded. “And having this happen means a snarl in the threads?” She nodded and sighed. “You have no idea. If this was a case where you were fatally injured we could pull off a miracle.” I looked at her and she seemed a little off. “Sorry to say this to you but your body was turned into hamburger. No redo.” I shrugged. “You know you are taking this oddly well.” I looked at her and felt tightness in my chest. “Well it’s not like there is anything I can do but accept it. My family will morn, then be thrown back into poverty, and my life will have been wasted.” I said as an edge came into my voice.

“Wasted? It seems you don’t know how important every life is.” She waved her hand and the white room turned into a scintillating image that my brain really couldn’t grasp. “Everyone from the smallest herdsman in the desert to the greatest king ever born are equal. Some make grand influences, while others are supporting ones, but without one we can’t make the other without flaws and distortions occurring. Those distortions would cause greater and greater problems till there was nothing but chaos and the collapse of everything.” She looked at me. “So yes Sam, you matter. You matter, your family matters, everyone matters. That you were removed before your time means a distortion started and we have to make every effort possible to redirect and minimize the damage. We have to reconstruct the image intended into a new form quickly. We have to alter things, make miracles happen, and try not to create a massive flaw in reality.”

She snapped her fingers and things went back to the way they were. “So don’t worry about your mother and grandmother. They will find you had a great amount of insurance from your contract. We are currently working into the image a man who will love and support your mom as well. He works with her and is someone you would approve of. Their lives will create a new level of deepness now. The problem is all the others. The people you didn’t meet, the children you didn’t have, the future that was supposed to happen. You leave a mighty big hole in your region even if you didn’t think so.”

Then it hit me. “So might I ask what happens now? I mean as far as I’m concerned?” She shrugged. “That isn’t really my call.” She could tell I was confused. “Well don’t I just get like an early admission to the club up here?” She shrugged again. “There are all kinds of options for a soul, but I don’t make those calls. Most likely you will wait here for an opportunity to be ... well be recycled, or reborn.” Well that sucks. There was a buzz and I saw her tap her ear which meant I was put in quiet time again. Great, everything that was me was about to be washed away and that was that. Maybe this soul would get a fair shake next time, if not this consciousness.

The managers (?) face turned red again and she was shouting while looking at me. She tapped her ear and looked at me. “You played a lot of fantasy video games right?” I nodded. “Feel like doing that kind of thing for real?” I couldn’t help but nod. “Well we have another new and unique problem. Some moron was playing around with magic items and blew his soul right out of his body. As in the body is fine, but there is no soul to put back in. Feel like taking his place?” I was excited by the idea. “Yes, but how will that work?” She nodded and began tapping on the surface of the desk and looking into the air in front of her. “Think of it this way. You were a red thread, he was a blue thread, and with a little work on our end you become a purple thread. Normally we stand back and do a repair like yours, but since you are here we can make the best of another bad situation.” She looked at me and gave a small smile. “Plus you are a good guy and we need that kind of thing in the universe. This world is kind of a dark place and maybe you can make a few bright spots in it.”

She smiled at me and sighed. “Have fun.” She said before hitting a key and everything went dark. “Master, wake up master, please wake up!” I heard a panicked girl’s voice crying out. I opened my eyes and saw the most beautiful golden eyes looking at my face. “Good morning?” I said trying to figure out what was going on. Imagine having the worst migraine ever, but it was your whole body. “Damn everything hurts.” I said and the eyes moved away and then came back. “Eat these master, they will help.” I nodded as two little beads were pressed against my lips. They tasted nasty, but the pain ebbed into an ache so I began to sit up. As I did I felt warmth against my back that could only be breasts. Well this day just got a lot better.

I looked around and saw I was in a large room with stone walls. There was an old chest on the floor and as I looked around I saw a broken sword and a couple of backpacks. Two thin arms were wrapped around me and I could feel moisture on my neck as the girl was crying. “Master shouldn’t take risks like that, that is what a slave is for.” Knowledge for me was there, but I had to be reminded to know it. Slavery was the norm in this world and it made the modern me really sick to think about it. An owner would have no problem throwing a slave into danger, except for losing the money that life represented.

“Master is always too kind to his slaves.” She whimpered and held me tighter. I gently stroked the arm in front of me and she gave another whimper, but a nicer one. “All life is sacred, even a slaves.” Was all I could say. “Master, are you feeling ok? You sound kind of strange.” She said and when she moved back in front of me I got to see more than just her eyes. HOLY FUCK! CAT EARS! Was all I could think. This was every nerds dream come true, a super cute girl with real cat ears. She had human features, but her hair was calico and she had the curtest twitching kitty ears. “Why is master looking at me like that? It’s embarrassing.” She said shyly.

“Sorry, but everything is really messed up in my head right now. It’s almost like my mind was affected.” She bit her lip and looked worried. “We are in a dungeon. You stabbed the chest over there. Your sword went in, there was a flash of light, and you were thrown all the way over here.” I nodded. “And you call me master, so that means you are my slave?” She nodded and seemed to be a little worried. “Yes, when you came of age your father bought me to help you become an adventurer.” I nodded. “And how long ago was that?” She really seemed worried. “It’s been a year now.” I nodded. “What kind of master am I to you?” She smiled at me and seemed unsure. “You are more like my friend than a master. You treat me like a human instead of a demi and have often faced abuse because of it.”

I reached out and took her hand in mine. “Well considering what a sweet person you are maybe it’s justified.” I saw her look at our hands and there was relief written on her face. Maybe she worried I would be mad or change in a bad way. “Of course I don’t think I am the smartest person in the world either. Stabbing an enchanted blade into a chest is really stupid. I think someone told me that something violent could happen when two such artifacts collide.” Kitty just sat there nodding. “Um what is your name?” She looked at me and blushed. “You named me Jewel.” I named her? Like some kind of damn pet? It was going to take some real work to get used to this kind of shit.

“Well Jewel how about we gather up what we found and get the hell out of here.” I looked around. “Damn, you are going to have to explain everything to me because unless you jog my memory, I don’t think I will know a damn thing.” She nodded and helped me stand up. We were both in what I would call light armor and hers was showing quite a bit of wear. I found a sword on the floor and the tip was melted so that may mean it was scrap metal now. We pried off the lid of the chest and found some gold coins about the size of a quarter, and what looked like a silver cloak pin with a melted center. “Master this looks like it was an enchanted pin of protection. No wonder it did this to you.” She looked at me amazed. “That kind of thing usually kills the person who strikes the person wearing it so we are very blessed you are alive.” She had no idea how blessed we are.

Jewel walked over to a corner and took out a stone. She placed it against a pillar and a ring lit up on the floor. Looks like some rooms had an escape function. We stepped into the ring, I had a bit of free fall, and then we were in another room with people standing around looking bored. Jewel walked out and that is when I noticed she had the cutest tail swaying behind her. I closed the distance between us as she guided me to a dark doorway, and when we stepped through we were in full sun. After my eyes adjusted I could see we were in a large enclosure of stone walls, and Jewel was walking towards a large gate. As we approached it there was a line and we took our place. “What is going on?” I asked and she remembered I was new to this at the time. “We have to turn in all the items we found in the dungeon here and they will give us fair market value for them after the dungeon tax is taken. Any coins we found are ours, but magic items belong to the nobles.” I nodded and moved along. “Jewel can I have you do all the talking?” She nodded and smiled. “Just look bored and I will deal with everything for you master.”

We walked up to the door and went in to find a long line of windows with pretty women on the other side. They took in items, it seemed they were appraised, and then people walked off with small bags in their hands. When it was our turn Jewel handed over a few items, the melted pin was handed back, and she was given a small bag after a few minutes. She presented it to me and we left through the exit. Once outside she smiled at me. “We did good today master. There is enough there to pay for our inn for at least a week with food. With the coins we found your sword can easily be repaired.” I nodded and did my best not to look like a noob at all the people walking with animal people behind them. “Well let’s go get that done and then we can go to the inn.” She nodded and began to lead me where we were going.

There was a short man, had to be a dwarf, standing in an open air forge. “My master needs his sword repaired.” She said quietly and the dwarf looked at me when I took out what I would call a gladius sword from the late Roman empire. “Well the blade is no problem for five silver, but the enchantment of sharpness will be gone. To put that back on it will take another five gold.” I looked to Jewel and she gave a tiny nod of her head. I handed it off to the man and after paying him half we left and headed to the inn we were supposed to be living in.

Jewel ran to the large counter, handed over some gold, and then was handed a key. I followed her up with that tail dancing before me and enjoyed the climb up the stairs. She went to the door, touched it with the key like a key card, and when there was a click we went in to find one large bed two chairs, and a small table. I went over, dropped my pack on the table, and sat down with my head in my hands. “This is going to be a lot more work than I thought. I feel like a noob that didn’t do the walkthrough.” Then I noticed Jewel looking up at me from the floor. “Something wrong Jewel?” She shrugged and just looked at me. “There is a second chair here you know.” She seemed a little stunned. “Salves rarely are allowed to sit in master’s chair.” I just waved my hand. “Well starting today you sit if I do. I need a friend a lot more than I need a slave.” She blushed, then stood up, and bashfully sat in her chair.”

“Well I am lost. Nothing is coming back at all.” I looked at my waist took out my knife, and it felt alien in my hands. I put it back and saw Jewel looking at me worriedly. “Would master like to get out of his armor?” I nodded and she got up and began unbuckling me out of it all. She laid it out carefully and then handed me a small bag. “Please take out the oil and rags so I can clean the armor.” She said. I pulled the edges and suddenly a sound went off in my head.

spatial magic has been learned

I looked at Jewel and her expression hadn’t changed. “Did you hear a voice?” She shook her head and looked at me concerned. I looked at the bag and everything that was in it appeared as a list in front of me. “Jewel, why can’t you get things out of this bag?” She cocked her head and her ears twitched. “Demi can’t use magic other than common artifacts. When the ancients created us to serve we were not given that ability.” Ok new realm to be learned. “The Ancients?” She nodded. “The ancient high elves that once ruled the world created Demis as a workforce. Through magic they combined ancient human blood and animal blood to create their slaves. Since we are not natural creatures we don’t have the ability to use natural magic.” I nodded along with this...

“You said the elves once ruled the world, what happened to that?” She shrugged. “The humans and dwarves revolted and overthrew the high elves. They were wiped out and only their lesser cousins who didn’t join the war were allowed to live.” I nodded and absorbed the fact that my little companion was artificially created. From my love of sci fi I remembered that Robot was from the old Czech word for slave, an artificial life form born into slavery. She must have thought the same thing and her ears drooped. I reached out and stroked between her ears and she looked up at me. “Well I don’t know what others think, but you are a naturally wonderful young woman in my eyes. You are my friend and companion.” Her ears perked up and she smiled gently at me. “So do humans have magical ability?” She nodded. “Yes, humans are now the most powerful magically in fact. The dwarf blacksmith will remake your sword, and then have a human put the enchantment back on.”

I smiled at her as she rubbed her head into my hand. “You are very smart Jewel. Thank you for imparting all of this to me.” She looked at me with red cheeks. “My mother’s owner put me in a school to train how to be a good dungeon slave. I studied harder than any of the others because I wanted to make sure I would be of use to my new owner.” So she was naturally bright, but in the end it was so she would be of greater value. By being valuable meant she would get better treatment. “So how am I as a master?” She smiled and perked up. “You are very caring master and I could never ask for a better owner.” Why did that just sound wrong to me.

“Could I do better?” Her eyes grew large and she shook her head. “No. Master has treated me far better than any slave has a right to be treated.” Her eyes seemed to pull me in. “You treat me almost like I was human.” She said as tears began to fill those wonderful eyes. “Then maybe I can see myself as a good person as I learn who I am again.” She sat back and got stiff. “Maybe we should return you to your family to do that. It’s not the place of a failure like me to do so.” That didn’t feel right for some reason. “If we went home what would happen to you?” She sat there bravely, but her ears drooped and the tip of her tail twitched. “Master doesn’t need to worry about a slave. You should go back and have your family help you regain your memory.”

I nodded at this. “So when a person comes of age do they often go home?” She shook her head. “No, once you come of age your family’s duty to you is effectively ended. Only among the nobility do offspring stay connected to the family.” I looked into her large eyes and smiled. “Then that makes you the only family I have Jewel. Please continue to look after me.” Her lip quivered and her tail wrapped around her legs. “But I am a slave, a slave can’t be ... family.” She looked down and I could tell this was a lot for her to absorb. “Jewel, our lives depend on each other. When I all but died in that place the first thing I saw when I woke up was the love and worry in your eyes. Can you honestly tell me I am wrong?” She shook her head but didn’t look at me. “Did you do act the way a slave reacts when I was laying out cold?” She gave a little shrug.

“I didn’t think so. So from now on you may be my slave, but between us we are family.” Her shoulders started to shake and I slid to the floor and pulled her into my arms. She clutched me as she sobbed and I stoked her hair and held her tight. It was like a lifetime of pain was pouring out and I held her so she would know she was loved. I thought about it more as she cried and wondered if such a relationship was even possible in this strange and fucked up world. She calmed down and sat back with her head down. “I thank master for being so caring but.” I put my finger over her lips. “No Jewel, from now on that is all. I need you, you are all I have in this world and together we will not only survive, but thrive.” Her eyes shined and then she smiled and nodded.

I pulled out the things she had asked for and when I handed them to her she got to work on my armor. “I think I need to find a library and do some studying.” She looked at me and seemed confused. “Only the nobles and the wealthy have access to libraries master.” I nodded and shrugged figuring the idea of educating the masses could remove the privilege of the current system. “Well then you will be my library. When we are able to relax at times like this how about you tell me how the world works.” Well she took that job very seriously and started with common knowledge and then moved onto life in the labyrinths.

While the world produced lots of craftsmen the Labyrinths had been a major source for material and goods for the high elves. Thus “dungeon harvester” was a long standing position in society for the middle class. This was done by the adventurer’s guild and jobs were leveled just like in many games I used to play. It seemed all those game developers game gave me an advantage after all. After we ate dinner I asked if there was anything like a bath we could use and she said that public baths were very common in dungeon towns. For just a silver we could go there, wash up, and relax for a little while.

The inn we were staying at was next to one and I paid for the both of us to get clean. Jewel stopped and looked at me. “Master is allowing me to bathe too?” The lady behind the counter looked at us as if it was slightly odd. “Yes, we worked a lot in the labyrinth today and I don’t want the room smelling because of it.” I gave her a wink and she nodded her head and went to the women’s changing room. With a towel around my middle, and my clothing in the changing room safe, I found another person waiting to guide me to a private room. I went in and found it to be like a Japanese bath set up where you shower off before getting in the tub. I was using the poor excuse for soap they had when small hands began to work on my back. I jumped at the contact and turned to find Jewel standing there wrapped in a towel.

“Is master ok?” I nodded and tried not to ogle her slim but firm figure. “When you paid for two that means we were given a bath for two.” I nodded and took a breath before quickly hosing off before Jewel found something rather embarrassing for me. I got into the water and tried not to think of what Jewel looked like as the water to the shower was going, and I heard her making little happy sounds. “I’ve never taken a shower with such warm water. The best I ever had was a barrel that had been heated by the sun.” The water stopped and as I sat there wondering what was happening now I felt her small hands on my shoulders. “Would master like me to rub his shoulders?” I shook my head. “Then can I sit with master in the water?” I nodded and I felt the water surge up a little.

When I figured she was settled in I looked over at her and saw she had a very elegant tattoo between her ample breasts. “What is that tattoo you have there?” I asked and she seemed confused for a second and then remembered I was clueless. “That is my slave mark. It matches the slave mark you have on your shoulder.” I was wondering what the hell that was since it looked more like some kind mix between Elvish and Celtic runes. She reached out and touched my tattoo and that made hers glow with a light blue light. “Only your master mark can make your slave’s slave mark light up.” I reached out and stroked her mark causing it to light up and she seemed to smile. “This shows I belong to you.” I nodded. “Yes it’s proof we belong together.” That caused her face to glow as well.

I got out in a hurry and told her over my shoulder that we ought to get dressed and get back to the inn. She followed and by the time I was able to get a certain part of me under control Jewel was sitting in the waiting room. We headed home and when we got in I looked to see what kind of clothing options I had. While there was a lot for me, there were only two changes for Jewel and they were exactly what she was wearing right now, probably bought in bulk. I pulled out clean clothing for the both of us and we changed with our backs turned. Once we were done we went to eat. The server told me that slaves weren’t allowed to eat in the main hall so I got our food on a platter and took it back to the room. I set it down and Jewel looked at me.

“Why are we eating in here master?” She asked while kneeling. “First, please sit with me at the table.” She seemed a little reluctant but did as I asked. “Second, from now on we eat together and we eat the same food.” She looked at me in total shock. “But...”I held up my hand. “I feel lonely not having someone to eat with so you will fill that role from now on.” She nodded and as we ate we talked about all kinds of “normal” things. Soon she was thinking more about our conversation than she was about the conditions. When it grew dark I stripped down to my tunic and crawled into bed. I looked around and saw Jewel curling into a ball on the floor. “Jewel, don’t you have a bed or a room?” She looked at me as if I was crazy. “Who would pay to have a slave sleep in a bed or a private room?”

Ok more bad logic. “Well get up here and lay with me.” She nodded, stripped naked, and got into bed with me. “How does master want me?” she said shyly and it took me a moment to realize what she meant. “I meant I wanted you to sleep up here with me. I don’t want my family to sleep on the floor anymore.” She looked at me and I felt something going on in her head. “Master doesn’t want to lay with me, but wants to sleep with me?” Ah, that was a difference in language usage. “Jewel I will always respect you and your desires. I will never force myself on you, I just want to be close to you.”

She nodded and her eyes really caught the dim light of the candle. “Would master be happy if I did want you?” I shook my head. “It’s not what I want Jewel, it’s what you want.” She rolled towards me and when she kissed me I felt my soul float for what seemed like hours. “When I thought you were dead a part of me ached that we had not been together. When you woke up I promised that if you wanted me I would give myself to you as soon as possible. All day I have felt this desire build up more and more as I learned more and more about you.” She pulled me into another kiss. “Now I want to give myself to you body and soul. Not just for tonight but for the rest of my life.”

Well when a woman makes that kind of speech you either tell her to leave forever, or take her with everything you have. That night we learned everything about each other’s bodies. We drove each other to the pinnacle of ecstasy over and over and loved every moment together. Eventually she fell asleep in my arms as I held her against my body. For some reason I felt more awake and happy than I had since I got here. This led me to think about things I hadn’t had time to think about before. I thought about that sound and what spatial magic was. I mean I’m sure it has something to do with the magic of the bag of holding that triggered it, but what does that mean to me? I started to drift off and I wished I could talk to that lady who sent me here so quickly.

“Ask and you will receive.” I opened my eyes and found myself dressed and sitting in a chair before the lady who started it all. “I’m sorry I didn’t have time to tell you what you needed to know, but we were kind of pressed for time. Now that you have let the world you’re in know you didn’t die, we can do a little better getting you adapted to where you will live from now on.” My head began to ache as memories began to flood my mind. “Don’t fight it or it will hurt more.” She said so I relaxed. The dead man’s memories came to me like a short film. I began to get some context on the life I lead until now and I realized this was a harsh world after all.

My parents didn’t want to get rid of me, but they couldn’t really afford to have me around. I had four sisters and another mouth to feed wasn’t possible. They spent everything they could to make sure I had what I needed and even spent more than they could afford to get Jewel for me. It was like how middle class people used to save to send their kids to college, my parents had saved to get me my first slave for going to the dungeon. I could have followed my father into business, but I had grown up wanting to be a dungeon crawler. I learned everything I could about the known dungeons, studied the sword day and night. I had worked odd jobs to buy a good set of armor and even a spatial bag to keep it and other supplies in. When I left home I was all ready for my new life, odd that it ended before it really began.