Langton Incorporated

This story takes place on the Beta timeline.

Introduction
This is the story of Delinius Rupert Langton's time on the northern continent of the planet Ludus, a continent known as Auzos. He initially sets out to live his life peacfully, after years of escaping paranoid Ludusians, but he will soon find out that there is more than that for him to do: more people seek refuge from paranoia on this small continent.

Chapter One - A Beginning
Solid ground, at last. He was tired and cold, but he had reached solid land again. He looked around, though there was clearly nobody here. But he was safe, and that was most important. He walks a little, quite unable to grasp the fact that he has arrived. Delinius couldn't imagine how things were on the mainland, and he didn't want to know. This continent had a new opportunity for him to live without too much problems. As he walked around, he spotted a pair of rails. Rails were a good sign: it indicated the presence of a settlement. He travels for the rest of the day until he finally discovers a city's skyline. He decides to continue his way until he reaches it, and gets there by nightfall. Fortunately, the money he has is accepted and he spends the night in a hotel. He looks back at the problems that he had on the mainland, paranoid and hostile people that went after everything that was magic or alien. It was over 30 years ago that he last was able to stay in the same place for more than a week. The next few days, he learns that he is in the city of Ivinopia, one of the few larger urban areas on Auzos. But that's not what strikes him most: everywhere he looks, he sees considerably more alien species, as well as Gridmasks that make use of magic. Perhaps the paranoia of the mainland had not taken its full effect here, he thought. And yet he noticed that most of them were distant to him, as if they did not want a newcomer from elsewhere. For several days, he had looked for a job, anything even as simple as sweeping the streets, without success. At least, until today.

"In a seeming land of dreams my hopes are smashed. None wish to interact with a foreigner, yet they are more foreign themselves than I have ever been. At least a shabby figure decided to speak to me, offering me a position in the continent's mail delivery. 'After all', he spoke, 'you got those big wings to carry you above the roads. We could use a guy like you for our express delivery. What you say, deal?' Deal, and it seems it's a position not many are suitable for - the fact that this man without asking any further seeks to hire me suggests it. I will see what it brings. Perhaps it will surpass what I imagined."

The next weeks, Delinius becomes familiar with his work. He trains to deliver faster and work in less-than-great weather, when the few others that work alongside him usually stayed inside. He was the only one who didn't have to deal with traffic during his delivery: everyone else worked on ground level. Most of them were young, most likely selected for this task because of their spirit, perhaps also their tendency towards reckless behaviour. One or two seemed to dislike Delinius, a Serrangio and his friend. He couldn't care, as long as he was able to do his work. And yet, it seemed as if not only they, but practically the entire company regarded him as strange, just like he had noticed before. Auzos wasn't exactly warm in welcoming foreign travelers.

Theo sat down. Three days and not a single job. He was sure it was impossible that there was absolutely nothing he could do: there is no city where there's no work to pick up. No, he knew what his problem was. He was an outsider, someone who you couldn't trust because who knows where he came from. Sure, they weren't hostile or paranoid, at least not like the people in the place where he ran from. He'd come all the way across the sea to find a better living here, and it looked like his hopes of finding a better life were false. With no way of going back, that also meant he was stuck here, in a city that he didn't know, with people that he didn't know and who ignored him, and most importantly very little food left. He could hold out another day, but the bag he carried was incredibly empty by now. He sighed. "You look very miserable, I must say", someone said. He looked around. A passer-by had stopped to look at him. "Yeah, laugh at me."

"I wasn't laughing." Theo took a better look at the man. He was only a little taller than Theo. His red-brown hair seemed to spring up in all sorts of directions, but without being very messy. What was most unusual, though, was his clothing: even though it wasn't exactly warm, he was walking around in some sort of vest, with a silly red band going across it. "Then what are you doing?"

"I'm standing here in a city of xenophobe-ish fools on a distant continent. You seem no more home to this place than I am." Theo gave a short laugh. "At least there's someone in this damn city who will talk to me." The man had walked closer and now offered him a hand. "My name's Delinius. At least you're not entirely on your own." Theo shook the hand. "Theo. Good to know that, I guess."

"I suppose you don't have a job, do you?"

-"Been here for three days and I haven't had any luck." Delinius sighs, as if he feels the frustration that belonged to Theo. "I was fortunate enough to run into a man who apparently noticed my ability to fly." He steps back a little, and a pair or wings sprouts from his back, glowing with energy. "They carried me across the ocean, and now they've given me work. I can't begin to describe how important it is. I have a day off, though." Theo looked at the wings, impressed by their size. He then showed Delinius what he did best: he held up his hand and formed a cube on it. "Not as great or impressive, but it's something, hey?" Even though that wasn't the only thing Theo was able to do, Delinius didn't have to know everything about him. "I'm pretty certain that it has some purpose you could use it for, though what I don't know. In any case, I referred to that day off, hm? Although I'm no rich man, I can definitely spare some money to get you something." Theo couldn't believe it. Not only was Delinius the only person who decided to be nice and talk, he was willing to help him out with his own money. "Uh, thanks... you don't have to do that, though."

"I insist upon it. After all, you'd do such a thing if you had any money." Delinius didn't just do this because it was right, it was something he wholeheartedly wanted himself. "Well, if you want to, I could use some food, for starters."

"Then follow me! I can't promise it will be a feast, but food you will have." Delinius walked off at a decent pace, forcing Theo to walk as fast as he could to catch up. "Hey, could you, uh, not walk so fast? My condition isn't what it should be..."

"Well, I suppose we have enough time. I thought it would bring some action into you, but it seems that was a bad idea. Off we go then, be it at a slower pace." Delinius was sitting behind the small desk in the room, writing something down. When Theo entered, he stopped writing for a second. "Yes, Theo?"

"Met this other dude who just got here. Gave him some food and a jacket, but that's all I could do. There's a lot more of them lately..."

Theo looked at Delinius, waiting for his answer. Ever since Delinius had rented this apartment a few weeks ago, Theo had been staying there. Although. Delinius turned around. "That's perfectly fine, though. Quite a shame we can't house a third person in here..." "No, we can't..." Theo replied. Delinius suddenly rose from his chair. "Oh there's something else..." Delinius walked to the kitchen to get some coffee. "You said that there are more refugees as of late, is it not? Could you give an estimate?" Theo nodded. "I'd say there's 8 or 10 of them, but that's just the ones I know of. There's probably a lot more of them."

"Indeed... if you could gather these people, would they be able to live together without too much discord?" Delinius had a strange gaze in his eyes, as if he was envisioning something. "If you mean how well they could get along, I'm pretty sure they would be fine. I mean, you and I did help them a lot, they could put differences aside if that would give them a permanent place to stay. Where are you going to find that, though?" Delinius smiled. "Come, I must illustrate my plan; unless I do so, you wouldn't understand." Theo frowns. "But... what is your plan?" Delinius doesn't reply, but puts on a coat. Theo decides to just follow his example and go with him.

They walk for several minutes until they reach an abandoned warehouse.

"Is this your plan?" What could an abandoned warehouse have to do with housing people? Delinius remains silent and heads for the entrance. "Wait, do you know what's in there?" "There's merely a bunch of drunkards and lowly addicts. In the worst case, one of them aggressively approaches. And that couldn't possibly scare me. One moment." He takes an old leather-bound writing book from his pocket and puts it on the ground. It begins to glow, and Delinius reaches his hand inside it. He pulls out an axe and closes the book, leaving Theo to stare. "Oh, right... I forgot to explain that. It's a little beaten from the years, but it's a convenient way to store my axe rather than carrying it with me. Moreover, it's much less conspicuous to carry a little book than an axe.

"Uh... okay..." Theo still got surprised by Delinius at times. The day before, he had suddenly cooked something, and casually told him that he would cook food rather than getting frozen meals or takeaway. Of course, it was cheaper, but it was completely unexpected. Delinius opened the door, revealing the inside of the warehouse. Whether his prediction was right or he had actually been there before, the result was the same: a bunch of drunken people were fast asleep, whereas a few others were sitting against walls or large crates, waiting for their prized narcotics to be delivered. Theo hesitated to go inside: Delinius didn't seem extremely strong, and Theo was even less prepared for a fight. Although drunk people didn't exactly have great coordination, they were more explosive, and there were many of them. Delinius simply stepped inside.

One of the drunken people wakes up, blinking his eyes against the daylight outside. "Wh- who's openin' the door? Close the fucking door! Close it, you-" Delinius cleared his throat, awaking more people and drawing attention to himself. "There's plenty of room in that other warehouse down the street. It would be really, really good for you to go there. Want to know why? It's a lot better isolated and there's more space. And if it helps, I could give each of you a little money." One of the drunks protested. "What, you gonna try to shove us out by givin' monneeyy? You knoww who you messsing with?" He rose from his makeshift bed, shaking his fists as he wobbled towards Delinius. "Yyoou gonna feel what hhapenns whenn you don't pay me ssome respect!" He attempted to punch Delinius, who stepped sideways as the man lost his balance and fell. "Unless you all feel like trying to go for my head, I don't think there's any reason why you shouldn't leave. In fact, I'm willing to guide you there if it's a problem." Some of the alcoholists muttered, either in agreement or because they weren't yet sober. One of them stood up with an extremely happy face. "BLESS YE SAVIOR, YOU HOLY LIGHT SHINE UPON MY FACE!" He continued to laugh and yell other nonsense. Delinius chuckled. He looked at Theo, who was quite scared of all these intoxicated people. "Let's hope his wailing song is sufficient to drive everyone else out. Quite obviously, that other warehouse is little different from this one, but they needn't know."

Soon enough, most of the people stir. Some of them go without a word, others come to ask for money. Delinius gives them a small amount, though probably more than what the average beggar would collect in a day. The last to depart is the singing drunkard. He gives Delinius a hug and runs off, before running straight into a wall. "So... what's next?"

"Next, we gather those people you were talking about. You needn't hurry; we can leave this as it is for the time being. I doubt any of those poor souls will wish to come back here, what with my small gift. Quite remarkable how a few of them went without a question..."