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Technology Heist

A drone changes Mark Epolen's life forever...

By Hugh SaylorPublished about a year ago 10 min read
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Ding!

I was jolted out of my sleep. I rubbed my tired eyes. Who was calling at this hour? I had called the man earlier today telling him I was not going to accept the odd “gift” I was being offered. So, who was it? I stumbled out of bed and dressed quickly. I opened the bedroom door and marched down the stairs. I looked out the window on my way down the stairs and screamed. Standing, no, floating, at his front door was a white and black drone, carrying an odd, and small object. I stood there in shock. So, the mysterious man had got around my rejection of the gift. He had literally flown it to me. I opened the door. The drone flew inside and dropped the package, a letter, which I had not noticed before, and left as quickly as it had arrived. I closed the door and opened the letter.

“Dear Mark Epolen, greetings, and salutations! Welcome to the game, my friend. Let’s get straight to it: There is another world, Mark Epolen, a world in which I am a prominent figure. I desire you to join me in this world. In fact, I have given you a powerful relic of a bygone time to prove my sincerity. I will not fail you, so you would do well not to fail me. To get to my world you need only put on the ring, and you will be transported here. But be warned: The humans of my earth are in a time of civil war. You would do well to prepare yourself. If you choose to ignore this letter, watch what will happen.

Sincerely, Lord of the Lone Isle

I stared at the letter for minutes. I then remembered the package mentioned in the letter and tore it open. Lying inside the parchment was a gold ring with a large sapphire upon it. I took it, it seeming to grow in my hand, and examined every inch of it. Engraved upon the back of the ring was an illegible word. It looked like the Latin word “Rex”, meaning “King”. Curious. I thought for a moment. Why not try on the ring? The letter was most likely a joke in poor taste. I put the ring on my finger, and “wished” myself to this realm. What a joke. As soon as I performed this however, I fell into a deep sleep.

When I awoke, I found myself lying in a forested glade, the ring still on my finger. Next to me sat a man in flowing blue roads with an insignia sewed in gold thread. I screamed, and the man covered my mouth.

“Hello, sir. I am Lord Elbert, Lord of Adium. Greetings, and salutations my friend. I am puzzled to the reason of your arrival.”, he said, clearly not pleased to see me. “Welcome to the land of Elendium, the great land, the land eternal!”, he shouted with on odd salute, one hand over his chest, and one hand in a sweeping motion toward the sky. He continued to speak. “You have done well, coming here. But we must not dally. This land is held by the Usurper. Come!” We hurried off into the underbrush.

After miles of walking through the densely forested terrain, filled with hills, mountain paths, and rivers, we arrived at a ferry. This ferry, apparently with no driver, conducted us to an island. On this island there was a large city. We walked through the streets, filled with people dressed as if they were form the fourteenth century. As we navigated the city streets, I attempted to question my mysterious friend.

“Where am I, and what do you want with me?,” I said. Lord Elbert replied,

“I desire to take you to my manor, where we shall discuss these things further.” I took this as a clear sign of dismissal and stopped talking. But not for long. After we had cleared the city, and began the walk through the country, I grabbed him by the forearm and said sharply,

“You will answer my questions now, or I will turn around.” He froze in his tracks. When he turned around, his face was contorted with rage. He grabbed Mark by the arm, and said in a voice filled with rage,

“You will come with me, or else I will destroy everything you love.” Now it was my turn to be filled with rage. Without warning, I swung at Lord Elbert, striking the inexperienced dueler on the jaw. Lord Elbert grunted in pain and swung at my arm. He missed, and the force of his missed blow sent him tumbling to the floor. I immediately stepped on his back, and shouted,

“What do you want with me?” He replied,

“I want to know why you are here!”

“I received a letter from a certain “Lord of the Lone Isle”. He paled, and grimaced, saying,

“My twin brother happens to be the author.” I chuckled. But the next thing he said was not nearly as amusing.

“He is a traitor. He betrayed me, and my army, the army of Adium, and joined my rival, my brother, Lord Albert, and the army of Berero. Both are wanted.”

“Why would he send me a letter?”

“Why would I know? I have not spoken to my brother since the betrayal.”

“Oh, and how would he possess a drone, which carried the letter, and ring to me?”

“Ring?” he asked in an odd tone.

“Yes, a sapphire ring.”

“Odd. I was not aware that he cared for such trinkets. Let me take a glance at it.” I showed him the ring, but was careful to keep it on my finger, lest he should take it. I was correct to be wary; as soon as I had put out my hand, Lord Elbert attempted to grab the ring. I withdrew my hand, and asked,

“Do you want to see the ring, or not?”

“I already know what the ring is. It is an ancient heirloom of my family. Give it to me!”

“I will not. It was given to me, and I intend to keep it.” He leapt to his feet, his eyes full of rage, and said in a commanding tone,

“Give it to me!”

“Never!”, I roared. We stood face to face for a moment longer, then he diverted his eyes.

“Fine. Keep the blasted ring for all I care.”

“I will keep it.”

“Let us continue walking.” We walked for some miles crossing over rivers, and marching through plains, grasslands, and forests, until we reached a large manor. Lord Elbert opened the door and pushed it open. Sitting in front of the door, in an old armchair, was Lord Olbert, the traitor.

We stood there, stunned. Lord Elbert was the first to come to his senses. He drew a sword with a golden hilt, encrusted with diamonds, which glinted in the sunlight. Lord Olbert simply sat in the armchair, smiling. Lord Elbert leapt forward and swung violently at his brother. We both screamed. The sword passed through Lord Olbert, as if he was a mirage. We screamed once more when the voice of Lord Olbert came from a different direction.

“The technology from the Sphere Dimension is amazing, is it not?” Lord Olbert, and Lord Albert had been stealing technology from my world for decades. Lord Elbert had been forced to do the same, to protect his city, Adium. Lord Elbert answered,

“It is marvelous. Yet it must not be used unnecessarily.” Lord Olbert laughed in a manic manner.

“Not to be used unnecessarily? Technology for the Sphere Dimension must be used in all fields of life, brother. How can you not see?” Lord Elbert answered angrily.

“It endangers our very way of life.” Lord Olbert laughed again.

“Then perhaps it is time that we changed our way of life.” I interjected myself into the conversation.

“Why did you call Earth the “Sphere Dimension”? Lord Olbert seemed caught off guard by the question.

“It is dubbed so, since your earth is a sphere, whereas ours is flat. Therefore, our earth is called the Flat Dimension” I chuckled.

“Creative name.” It was his turn to chuckle.

“Yes indeed. Yes indeed.” Even a chuckle escaped the stony face of Lord Elbert. But he soon regained his composition.

“Why have you come?”

“I have come for Mark Epolen.” I immediately looked up defensively, and said,

“I will not be coming with you.” He smiled darkly.

“I was not asking.” He rose threateningly and drew his jeweled sword. He lunged. Lord Elbert threw me his own sword. I caught it and parried the vicious blow. He struck again. I parried once more. This little game continued until I jumped on the offensive, swinging my sword like a madman. He parried desperately, but I got the better of him, knocked the sword from his grasp, and swung my sword to his throat. Fear flashed through his eyes. He slowly raised his hands, and said,

“Mark, let us not get ahead of ourselves!” he said loudly. Lord Elbert chuckled and stepped forward to put him in chains. Lord Olbert jumped up, and backed into a corner, making a variety of threats. Lord Elbert, still smiling, continued his advance. Lord Olbert halted his stream of threats, and put his hands forward, to be chained. He had given up fighting.

We marched toward the city of Berero, Lord Olbert in tow. We were in disguise, and the disguise was making me incredibly sweaty. The sun beat down on us. The temperature, and weather had changed as soon as we had crossed the border, and the costume was no longer appealing. In the land of Adium, it was snowing, and in the land of Berero it was sunny. How nice.

We continued marching soon reaching the city of Berero, capital of the land of Ombro. We marched through the streets, searching for the Palace. We soon found it. It was enormous, and incredibly luxurious, with gates made of solid gold. We strolled up to the gates, pretending to be wandering jesters. Our disguises worked, and the gates were opened. We walked up the way and entered the manor. It was crowded with servants, and slaves, and we easily disappeared into the crowd. I was disgusted. The palace may look appealing, yet it was a hive for scum from all over the small empire. Slave traders, and other merchants walked unhindered. Oh, how revolting to see slave traders!

We moved through the jumble of people, searching for the Throne Room. After almost twenty minutes of moving through the crowd, we arrived at the throne room, and sitting on the throne, in all his majesty, was Lord Albert. He saw the three of us, and immediately ordered the guards on us. I panicked. How did he know we were coming? And then I saw it. He carried an electronic phone and must have been tracking Lord Olbert with it. More stolen technology from my realm. We turned to run, but the guards were already upon us. We fought gallantly, punching, and kicking to no end, yet at long last, they overcame, and subdued us.

They dragged us across the palace floor, which was now clear of people. All the people had run to the sides of the room, to watch the proceedings. Lord Albert stood, and left the throne, a triumphant smirk on his face. He saw the ring on my ring finger and reached down for it. I lashed out, catching his jaw. He spit out some blood and continued to grapple with me for my ring. We clawed, and scratched, and had an altogether miserable experience. Suddenly, I remembered how I arrived here, and, stopping the fight for a moment, wished myself home. When I opened my eyes, I was at home, with all the ensuing comforts. I set the ring on the coffee table and lay down on the couch. Oh, how nice it was to be home!

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Reader insights

Nice work

Very well written. Keep up the good work!

Top insight

  1. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

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