The massive doors loomed over the white clad cavern, at least 20 feet tall, with a large Wonder Corp. Logo on the front. The entire cavern felt slightly surreal to Jacob as he stepped out of the WCS Ceasarion, walking down the ramp after emerging from a side hatch that opened to a corridor next to the bridge. After they had emerged into the cavern the crew appeared on the bridge, acting as if nothing had happened. Captain Marcus Johanson took the wheel from Rama, while the navigator gave Jacob back his Card of Illumination and took control over the console. The crew moved quickly to secure the vessel, locking down the submersible and shutting down all critical systems. The Ceasarion jolted slightly as docking clamps attached, holding it in place as the ramp fully attached to the side of the submarine. Rama looked out over the frazzled faces of the tour group and smiled.
“Well that was fun.” Rama walked over to the spiral staircase, pausing at the bottom to look at the group once more “Everyone up to the observation deck, we’ve still got a lot to see.”
Rama started walking up the stairs, and Jacob’s Grandfather appeared in view. He approached the rail shakily, grabbing on to it for support. The elderly man looked down at Jacob and shook his head.
“I don’t know about the rest of you” Jacob’s grandfather sighed “But I’m getting a little tired of fun. I could settle for some boredom.”
“Idle hands are the devil’s playthings” Rama continued walking up the staircase, not looking back as she rose to the top deck.
“If Satan will get me out of this place, sign me up for hell.” Jacob’s grandfather began walking along the railing, holding onto it as a crutch. On Jacob’s level he saw the South Koreans begin making their way up the stairs as well, emerging from where they had fallen onto the Operations Deck. Their armor equips had worn off, and Amaryllis seemed to have a large bruise on her arm.
“You two ok?” Jacob asked them as they paused on the platform. Ku Do-Yeon nodded at him, then they both began silently making their way to the staircase to the next level.
“I’m also ok, in case anyone was worried.” Stan helped his wife to her feet from where both of them had fallen.
“Good.” Jacob replied sarcastically “Since we all know how notoriously frail Hollywood actors are.”
“Hey now.” Stan gave Jacob a look of mock frustration “I could have broken a nail in all that. What would I do then? Give up my hand modeling contracts.”
Jacob chuckled as the two walked over. “How are you actually holding up?”
“Frazzled.” Stan sighed “When I brought the wife out I figured this would be a fun little tour, not a life threatening experience.”
“You’re telling me. I brought an elderly man with a prosthetic leg.”
“If you two are done yapping, I’d like to get on with the tour.” Jacob’s grandfather peered over the railing of the top level, frowning at them “Before I die of old age.”
“I dunno, he seems to be doing fine to me.” Stan chuckled
“Yeah I’m starting to get a whole different set of regrets bringing him here.”
The two made their way to the spiraling staircase and climbed it to the top level, emerging onto the ring shaped observation deck. The deck itself was mostly bare, safe for another line of plush movie theatre inspired chairs facing the bridge window. There was a hatch on the wall on the side of the ring, which the rest of the group had gathered around. Rama opened it dramatically without a word, ushering the group into the cavern beyond. Jacob was the last of the group to reach the hatch, Rama giving him a strange look as he did.
“What?” Jacob asked
“You have a card in your deck which could have handled both of those creatures.” Rama looked around at the bridge as she spoke, checking it for any more passengers “Consider casting it next time.”
“What were those things?” Jacob paused at the hatch, looking at Rama critically
“Cards weren’t the only things that came out of the portal.” Rama turned to look at Jacob seriously, before gesturing out the hatch. Jacob stepped out into the cavern, blinking to adjust to the bright exterior. The cavern itself was massive - large enough to store the entirety of the WCS Ceasarion and still have enough room for several more vessels. Jacob guessed it must have been magically reinforced to be able to maintain it’s stability this deep underwater, without any collapsing or threat of collapse. Despite this Jacob couldn’t see any form of equipper or casting platform built into the cavern itself; whatever magic was happening was being cast behind the scenes.
Jacob began walking down the ramp slowly, seeing the rest of the tour group having already gathered at the bottom. Whereas the submarine was incredibly functional, the cavern felt for show. The whole space was minimalist, feeling more like a car showroom than a factory. Jacob glanced at the Ceasarion and it looked incredibly out of place in the space - its dark hull standing out even with the darkness of the water beneath it.
“Took your sweet time.” Jacob’s grandfather clapped him on the shoulder as Jacob stepped off the ramp and joined the group, still looking upwards in awe “What’d you talk to Rama about?”
“Same as every time.” Jacob said quietly “More mystical nonsense.”
“Seems that’s her primary language.” Jacob’s grandfather grunted and looked around “Though given everything we’ve seen I’ve started to wonder how much of that is mysticism, and how much is madness.”
“Oh it’s all madness.” Rama suddenly appeared at the edge of the group. Jacob hadn’t seen her walk down the ramp, though given how absorbed in the space he wouldn’t be surprised if he just missed it “With a dash of innovation, and a pinch of initiative. I rolled a nat20 on all my stats, some people are just lucky that way.”
“You know a lot of the time that woman says things.” Stan muttered to Jacob “And it’s just a whole bunch of words, that don’t make any sense.”
“Mystical nonsense.” Jacob muttered back.
“What wise men relish,” Rama moved through the group to stand towards the front “is nonsense made zealous.”
As she reached the front of the group she turned to look at them, before gesturing grandly to the space around them.
“What you see is the last space people regularly travel.” Rama looked past the group around the cavern “We can fit all 5 of the Wonder Corp. submarines in this dock, with facilities on the sides for loading and unloading tucked away out of sight.
What happens beyond that door,” Rama gestured to the massive set of doors in front of them “Is my closest guarded secret. Almost no one has ever gone inside, much like my repositories around the world. You are the first group to enter these factory doors in decades, so enjoy everything you see. That being said, a warning:
This space is not built for tours. It isn’t built for people, nor is it built for your amusement. This factory is a dangerous place; do not wander off. Touch nothing, take nothing, and this’ll be just like any other tour of a place beyond your wildest imagining. Break my rules, and I promise nothing besides a most painful future.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Nothing at all ominous about that.” Jacob’s grandfather quipped.
“Your cabins are waiting on the Ceasarion if you truly don’t like it; she sets off again in 3 hours.” Rama winked at Veronica whimsically “Larverne and Shirley should be asleep again by then.”
“What about Kerl?” Jacob called out “Is he going to be ok? Have you fixed him?”
“Kerl broke my rules.” Rama dropped her tone, becoming serious “He is facing the consequences. Whether he is alright is in his own hands right now. And those of the doctor’s”
“Is there a tour going to happen at some point during this tour?” Veronica glanced at a glittering diamond encrusted watch on her wrist, fiddling with the band “Or are we going to stand here talking?”
“You’re quite right my dear.” Rama replied cheerfully “Enough of this dreary topic of conversation. None of you have broken my rules, and I’m sure none of you will. Come! We have a factory to see.”
Rama flicked her cloak, and walked towards the doors. The group rushed to keep up with the sudden movement, stumbling over each other as they moved forward. They stumbled into each other again when Rama suddenly stopped in front of the door, turning to look back at the group dramatically.
“Welcome.” Rama placed a hand on the door, hyping up the drama “To the Wonder Corp. Factory.”
She pushed on the door and it swung open with ease, the massive entryway gliding silently on its hinges to reveal the massive space beyond.
The first room of the factory was even bigger than the doors that led into it; a giant 50 foot tall cylindrical room of two levels, with a large dome at the ceiling. The dome had a variety of skylight styled windows built into it, beyond which Jacob could see well lit ocean water. Sharks and rays swam along the glass, reminding him of the national aquarium he had visited as a child. The aquarium was considered one of the crown jewels of Cascadia; one of the few buildings remaining that predated the nation itself. At one point it had been privately owned, but by the time Jacob had visited it had fallen control of the Cascadian government. A few years before he had visited they had added a shark experience and tank with their latest aquarium expansion, complete with a shark tunnel. It was Jacob’s favorite exhibit, and he couldn’t help but flash back to the nostalgia of it in the massive room.
The rest of the space was meant more for display; two large balconies encircled half the space to create second and third levels, which had a variety of ornate doors on each. A giant spiraling staircase was past the door and to their right, which made a 180 degree arc as it reached the second and third level. The staircase was ornate, with marble class steps and beautifully finished hardwood railings with brass accents. 9 ancient greek styled columns supports the balconies of the two levels, spread equidistantly around their arcs. The room was primarily adorned with white marble, dark hardwood and brass, with the platforms themselves appearing to be built out of a fine concrete mixture.
In the center of the room was the most impressive piece; a series of five statues depicting a variety of creatures - one of which was the Ancient Dragon of the Forgotten God. The other four statues were of a large mechanical being with six arms, a massive wolf like creature with three tails and two heads, an ancient looking armored shark with fins running along its body and six eyes, and a small unassuming looking floating orb of fur that almost appeared to be an oversized version of the Tokens Jacob had summoned on the Ceasarion. The statues all appeared to be frozen mid battle, with the oversized token above the rest, appearing to control them. They were ferocious and awe-inspiring, though Jacob could swear that the statue of the Ancient Dragon was looking right at him. He couldn’t help but stare back after tearing his gaze away from the sharks above. Even in its stone depiction the creatures radiated power, and Jacob had a nagging suspicion that the other four were some of the other rumored Cards of the Gods that were spoken of in whispers on the street.
“Truly amazing.” Ku Do-Yeon appeared besides Jacob, staring intensely at the figure of the wolf “They almost look alive.”
“They were once.” Rama spoke directly behind Jacob, who jumped slightly. The woman seemed to excel at jump scares, and Jacob heard his grandfather chuckle a little bit at his surprise. Rama shared up at the creatures, moving to stand between Jacob of the South Korean woman.
“In ancient times, somewhere far away.”
The owner of the factory paused there, and Jacob almost saw a sense of longing in her eyes. For a brief second Rama appeared far older than she was, the enormity of time falling into her gaze. She seemed at peace amongst the statues, serene, staring at them with a gaze similar to a fond lover looking on photos of the past. There was a little remorse in her eyes, but mostly her look conveyed a sense of memory. Like she had known the creatures from the ancient times, like she had cherished them. Rama caught Jacob looking at her and smiled, wiping the look from her face and replacing it with her usual brand of whimsy.
“As I’m sure all of you know, Wonder Corp. was founded almost 50 years ago, just after the cards appeared in this world.” Rama looked across the group, who gathered to listen to her speak “This room is from that time. We brought it here brick by brick, stone by stone, column by column from the first headquarters we built at our founding in Vancouver.”
“So you’re Cascadian?” Stan asked
“The company is, yes.” Rama paused to return to her original train of thought “Or at least, it was. This was our main entrance. Our foyer. It was built to show the people of the world the power of the cards, and our role in making them. I didn’t want to leave it behind, so when we found this cave system I decided to move it. To remind everyone who passed through those doors of where we came from, and what the goal of this company is.”
“And what goal is that exactly?” Veronica’s father piped up, his daughter giving him a sharp look as he raised his soft voice.
“To make cards the world has never seen.” Rama looked briefly at the man, then turned to the rest of the space. “Each of these doors leads to a different part of the factory; most of them are incredibly boring. Logistics, shipping, purchasing, inventory, receiving, most are just offices that you need to keep a business running. Almost all of it is automated; our power comes from the cards and the heat of the earth itself. We can run 24 hours a day, non-stop, delivering cards to every continent on earth. Including Antarctica.”
“What’s down in Antarctica that would need cards?” Veronica butted in, her tone incredulous.
“Old American Research station down there is still active.” Stan replied “Buddy of mine in college did a summer there.”
“Of all the doors in this space, the one we are concerned with is right up there.” Rama pointed to a door at the center of the top level “Which luckily will give us a beautiful view of the room. Shall we?”
Rama gestured, and the group began heading towards the staircase. She watched them go for a second, before glancing back at the statues. She caught Jacob watching her again and nodded, before moving to lead the group up the steps. As usual Jacob and his grandfather were at the back of the group, just behind Stan and his wife. They both looked at the statues for a moment before following the group.
“Is that dragon…” Jacob’s grandfather started
“The one on my card, yeah.” Jacob glanced in its eyes, seeing the same glimmer he saw on the sacred card he had found a few weeks ago. “It stares just like the card does.”
“Do you think it was made here?”
“I don’t know what to think. Let’s catch up to the tour.”
They hurried over to join everyone just as they were climbing up the stairs. Rama led them up the flight triumphantly, as the front of the room came into view. it was similarly clad in marble and brass, though a large carved relief of a priest battling a monster hung over the doorway. It appeared to be ancient, not quite Egyptian in styling but feeling similar in age.
“What’s the carving?” Jacob called from the back
“An ancient Assyrian carved relief “Felt appropriate to add given the subject matter. Their mythology was full of monsters.”
“Doesn’t that belong in a museum?” Stan asked
“This part of the factory is a museum.” Rama replied “With all the mysteries and wonders such a building requires.”
“Wonders like the statues?” Jacob couldn’t help himself but to prod deeper into them as they reached the third floor, seeing if Rama would give any clue to the card he had in his deck - a card he knew Rama was aware of.
“Those are less mysterious.” Rama chuckled “I had them commissioned when the building was constructed. Marvelous aren’t they? Some of my favorite cards to exist. Ah, here we are.”
Rama reached the unassuming door, and paused dramatically once more in front of it. Jacob was beginning to wonder if every entrance was going to get such grand treatment.
“Once you step inside this room, please find a seat and strap in. It’s a short ride to where we’re going.” Rama smiled, then opened the door. The group funneled in, and found themselves in the loading area for an ancient amusement park ride. A large tracked vehicle sat waiting for them, with rows of four seats, and enough room to fit at least 12. There was a single seat at the front, which Rama walked past the group to settle into. The group hesitated, then followed her to board the rows behind. Jacob glanced at Stan, who shrugged before guiding his wife to the back row.
“Oh great. Another ride.” Jacob’s grandfather said sarcastically.
“Might as well get it over with.” Jacob sighed. He let his grandfather step into the car first and strap himself in, before Jacob boarded the vehicle and sat down. The seats were padded, but still uncomfortable. Jacob pulled the seat belt out from the edge of the row, and clipped it in.
“Folks.” Rama looked back, and smiled at the group. “Let the tour begin.
can promise you'll see them all by the end of the series. They each have their own unique attributes and effects, and take their casters on their own unique journey. I hope you like the journey Jacob is on.
trust in the cards...
Would you take the Wonder Corp Tour?
