POSSESSED BY BORED GEEKS FROM ANOTHER WORLD
CHAPTER 4 DESDEMONA AND THE STORM RIDERS
Rich Goldman POV
Richard Goldman (no connection to Stylus) was not entirely happy. His initial vacation idea was a tour to Mars. He could not take that much time off. The board went nuts at the suggestion. Stock in his company dropped 50 points with the mere mention of it. His posse told him that he was one of the richest, most powerful men on Earth. They also told him he could not take even a week off from work. They did not see any problem telling him he was rich and powerful but that he did not have the freedom to play around. He became rich and powerful to do whatever he wanted instead his own people kept him on a short leash.
He had more freedom than sports stars who had contractual agreements on what they could wear, what they could eat and drink, sometimes even what vitamin they could take. It all got so confusing they would have multiple assistants to keep track of it all for them.
Of course, the simple solution was to give up the money, and do what you want. He could dedicate a few years to going to Mars, he would probably still be rich afterward. Not as rich as he should have been. Of course, the momentum would be gone and might never come back.
He sweat blood to get where he was and he was not giving up anything he had. Screw outer space! It is old news anyway. Trans-dimensional travel was the new wave. He was going to fight goblins! He was going to hang out with elves! He was going to cast fire spells!! He already had a three-day week end lined up with a virgin meat ride. A fire mage rated: best steed. Rich would be his first rider.
That sounded off.... Rich would be the mage's first rider. That sounded a little better.
Rich Goldman was a man's man... and a lady's man! This weekend would be as masculine as hunting... hunting fucking Bambi!
The most important thing was that he could do whatever he wanted. There would be no paparazzi. Nobody selling him out to the gossip mongers or trying to extort him for their silence. No one trying to win his favor or to get him to invest in their schemes. Nobody trying to be his baby momma. Nobody asking for selfies or autographs. No critics judging what he said or did. He could cut loose and do whatever he wanted because he would not just be in another country or another planet, he would not even be in this solar system or universe. He would be in another dimension, and he would be back in time to sleep in his own bed. He had reserved Friday, Saturday and Sunday night (six to six) for the next six months. He was going to pull some all-nighters. He was going to have some fun damn it!
Desdemona POV
The first time Rich Goldman rode her; things did not happen at all like she thought it would. She had signed up for weekend nights, twelve-hour shifts. It was past noon but nowhere near nightfall when they had her prepare for her shift. Apparently, it was night on Earth. The billionaire had bought exclusive rights to ride her on her scheduled weekend shifts for the next six Earth months. Evidently, Earth's cycle was irregular and months could last as little as twenty-eight days or as long as thirty-one. It seemed like a dangerously erratic orbit to Desdemona. She wondered if Earth was being torn apart by earthquakes all the time.
Faux explained she was going to make Desdemona sleep. "They want Mr. Moneybags to have a smooth ride. I told them you were a steed and would make sure he had a smooth ride. Du said this had too much riding on it and insisted you be unconscious for the first ride."
Thralls were rated as rides. Donkey, mule, oxen, steed were the early designations. Steed was a great rating for a new inexperienced thrall. Desdemona asked Du about the ratings once. She said the rating system was the result of customer satisfaction polls during Phase 2. Apparently, they used the riding club setup with Earthlings on Earth, before crossing dimensional borders.
Sara, the hobbit was rated a poor donkey as a ride. She never fully gave up control, and the sensory link was flawed as well. Instead of full immersion the experience was more like a "high-end virtual game experience that was a little buggy." According to Du.
Ilsa the barbarian was a mule. She would surrender control, but snatch it back if she did not trust the rider. It was a surprisingly bad rating for the leader of our party.
Oxen were plodding mounts. The party did not currently have one.
Desdemona had not had enough people in her yet to be accurately rated, but the Chef and Blade felt she was at least steed level.
Du actually came and apologized to her. Du was riding Clay. "We were having cash flow problems on Earth. There were rumors of a hostile takeover. Rich waved a magic money wand and all our Earthly problems went away. We can't screw this up. Put up with us, this is just temporary."
After The Ride
Desdemona had heard tales of blackout drunks. She wondered if this was what it felt like. The ride was a disaster. She of course was unconscious the whole time and had to rely on Faux and Sara to tell her about it. They were calling themselves storm riders.
When the rider was instilled into her, he suffered from syncope or vertigo. There are several theories why this sometimes happens. Changing bodies, different nervous systems, simple disparity in height and gait might all play a role in the feelings of faintness and disorientation. Another theory is that the differences in the spin of the planet, force of gravity, magnetic field or draw of the moon might be the cause. Whatever the actual cause, Rich was severely suffering from trans-dimensional drunkenness. So, someone decided it was a great idea to take him to a tavern while he got his 'sea legs' under him.
Theory: If you feel drunk anyway, you might just as well be drunk.
At first it went well. "He was fawned on by a sexy hobbit. Flirted with a cute cat girl. Arm wrestled a dwarf. Rubbed shoulders with an elf. Was watched over by a hard body female barbarian and a feminine swordsman."
Desdemona was pretty sure the swordsman was Clay. She was sure Clay liked women. He was not scarred up or loaded with bulging muscles which made Faux question his orientation. Polite does not equal gay, but Desdemona was unable to get that message across to Faux.
"Everything was purr-feck!" Faux was practically singing. "Until, it was not."
"You can't buy beer. You can only rent it! As they say on Earth." she continued. "He went to take a piss and had forgotten the plumbing was different. Was shocked when his junk was missing and ended up pissing on himself. Eran was able to use hygiene magic on him and they were trying to get him calmed down and back in the mood when his work called with an emergency.
"Suddenly, he is bugging out to take care of a crisis on Earth! I did what I could to salvage things. Du was riding Clay and tried to get our customer to stay for the contracted time. We don't give refunds so he should have given us a chance to make things right without leaving." Faux was ticked off.