Magic Murder Cube Marine

Cassi, Jack, Mac, and Brick followed behind Francis as he guided them through the forest. They had initially tried calling Brick by his real name, but it didn't fit him. Masons were solid men and women with beer guts who built things. Brick was the kind of person who walked into stuff.

Tiffany had met Brick at a music festival and lured him back to her cottage. The young man wasn't sure how long he had spent in Tiffany's basement. There were others living in the basement when he first arrived, but they had vanished one by one. When Brick asked about it, Tiffany told him they had been “voted off” and sent home.

Francis wasn't exactly clear on what Brick thought was going on at the cabin. It sounded like survivor (and in a way, it was) or some other reality TV show.

Brick was bummed out when they finally managed to convince him that it wasn't real. “It would really have been great for my career,” the young man said as he tramped through the woods, “I was really hoping I'd win.”

The Marine wasn't too keen on having to take care of a total boot like Brick. But whenever they asked where he came from, all the young man could do was point (usually in a seemingly random direction). He didn't know the name of the town, or any major landmarks.

When Jack told Brick to describe the house he lived in, everyone was very excited to hear the details. That was, until they realized he was describing Tiffany's cottage. The pumpkin spice candles finally gave it away. Though really, they should have caught on when he mentioned the vision board. Brick didn't seem like someone with much in the way of vision. (That was probably why he kept walking into stuff.)

“Jack, can you do something about this kid’s vision?” Francis asked his resident Battle Medic. He was tired of waiting for Brick to get back up again after he walked into stuff.

The group came to a halt. Mac floated up until he was at eye level with Brick. “I could change his vision.” The demonic cat offered.

“Absolutely not.” Francis grabbed the floating feline by the scruff of the neck before it could make a deal with Brick. “No more making deals with people who are too dumb to understand, you hear? There's no sportsmanship in it.”

“Fine.” Mac sulked. “But he would have looked really cool with another eye right in the middle of his forehead. Imagine what would happen if he could see into the Other Realm!”

“If he wants to see demons, all Brick has to do is open a packet of treats and you'll come running.” The Marine laughed.

The demonic cat’s ears perked up at the mention of food. “Treats? You have treats? I would like a treat.”

Jack’s ears perked up as well. “Can I have one too?”

Francis shook his head. “Sort out Brick’s vision first, then we'll see about a treat.”

“Deal!” Shouted Mac as he lunged at the unsuspecting human. Brick didn't have time to react before the demon was on him.

It grasped at either side of his head with its paws like a faith healer as it spoke. “I grant you sight beyond sight! Vision into the maddening realms! Open your mind to the horrors of pure reality! Open your eyes, and see!”

The young man twitched once or twice as waves of demonic red magic washed over him, but didn't seem to be overtaken by any horrific visions. Mac batted at the side of Brick’s head a few times. “Is this thing on?” He asked.

“Probably not.” Francis replied. “Now, come on down from there. Stop being mean to Brick.”

“Fine.” Mac floated down to the ground. “I suppose we can let the Hound take a shot at it. Tell me, Jack. How are you intending to fix his eyesight? Restoration spell? Augmentation magic?”

“None of the above,” Jack said as he used his Battle Medic ability to summon a pair of glasses with chunky brown frames and lenses thick enough to stop an artillery round. “These should do the trick.”

The Marine tried not to laugh as he recognized the familiar frames. “Holy fuck, are those BCGs?”

The Hound grinned at Francis. “Indeed they are, but they aren't just any BCG. These here are genuine S9 Birth Control Glasses, the most ugly eyewear known to man. Apparently, System has a sense of humor.”

Jack walked over to Brick and set the glasses on his face to check the fit. “That should help you see better.”

Mac decided to make itself helpful (and secure a front row seat) by summoning a mirror for Brick. The demonic cat floated next to it, waiting for the young man to see his reflection.

Brick recoiled as the ugly brown frames came into view. He looked at his reflection with horror. “If it's all the same to you, I think I'll take my chances with the demon,” he said.

But when Brick tried to take the glasses off, they wouldn't budge. He fought with them for a few seconds before giving up.

Once they were on the move again, Francis sidled up to Jack. “That was a neat trick with the glasses. What was that? Some kind of retention spell or something?” he asked.

"Nah. It wasn't anything that fancy,” Jack replied, “System wouldn't give me a nerd-strap to stop Brick from losing his glasses, so I used a little superglue.”

The Marine frowned. He definitely needed to address the fact that gluing things to their newest recruit was not OK (even if it was probably for his own good).

But first, Francis had a much more pressing question. “Jack, where the fuck did you get superglue?”

***

Francis was surprised to learn that as a Battle Medic, Jack could summon all kinds of neat things. There were bandages, condoms, socks, minor potions of healing, even small jars of lubricant.

The Marine eyed the little wooden jar. “System sure is thorough.”

“I'd say that is a fair assessment.” Jack agreed. “The class description also says I can do special contraceptive tattoos, if you need one.”

“I think we're covered in that regard,” the Marine said as he pocketed the jar for later. Brexis’ front gates were in sight, and he was looking forward to what would probably be his last chance at a good night's sleep for quite some time. It was already creeping towards evening, and his whole day pretty much shot.

To make things worse, a group of riders was approaching. They raced down the main road towards Brexis, no doubt attempting to reach the city before nightfall. The riders and their mounts were covered in protective armor that reminded Francis of a certain Deathmark Paladin.

“Willow, baby. You better tell everyone to sober up.” He said through the telepathic link. “I think Julia’s family just arrived.”