I spend the rest of the day checking out the Settlement.
Twin Rivers is an interesting place, with a vast array of people and Classes all living in relative harmony. The Control Zone, situated between Mulberry, Center, Euclid, and Scott Streets, contains fifty some structures. Besides the south high school building and the nearby church, all others are System ones: numerous workshops, both an archery and dueling range, several cottages, along with a handful of random utility structures. Besides the modern building dominating the vista, it is every bit the picturesque medieval village.
King Malkav informs me their CZ almost perfectly butts up against St. Raphael Church’s CZ. The doom and gloom Settlement, or so they call it, is super poor. They don’t have a Shop, and though the Twin Rivers offered them access to theirs, the church group firmly declined. It seems when the apocalypse happens, religious bigotry and closed mindedness becomes exaggerated. Their entire congregation is an example of all the wrongs of blindly following religion.
I ask about what dungeons they have access to. Unlike Carcosa, there are none nearby. The closest, which takes up the entirety of Wittenberg University’s campus, is level 25 and is called Education’s Lament. A level ten dungeon, Mechanic’s Delight, sits on the corner of Pleasant and Dayton-Springfield. The one at Clark State’s campus, Cheap and Easy, is level five. The largest dungeon takes up the old International factory north of town on St Rt 72. Called The Mangler, it’s an astonishing level thirty five.
Cheap and Easy has been run a few times, but with it so far away it’s hard to power level people. Mechanic’s Delight is pretty close, but another faction, the Bloods, have control over it. King Malkav is a little jealous to learn we’ve got a dungeon right outside our CZ. Though our people are of a similar level to his, their experience came from seemingly endless hordes of monsters.
Jennifer is happy to learn that Settlement populations aren’t the only people in Springfield. Scouts have identified hundreds of others, all of whom purchased their own buildings. Efforts to bring them in have failed thus far. Rampant paranoia, tribalism, and general mistrust are common.
Considering the hours it’ll take to get back to Carcosa, we decide to stay in Twin Rivers. King Malkav provides us each with our own rooms and we spend the evening relaxing, visiting with friends, and generally having a good time.
Before we leave in the morning, I visit the Shop once more. Ketrell, just like Chugg, is ready to serve.
“Good morning, Jordan. What can I provide for you today?”
“As my Settlement’s leader, I’m wanting to see if you have items we don’t have access to.”
“Smart! While Chugg is an excellent purveyor, he doesn’t have access to everything.” Ketrell gives a toothy smile. “Neither do I, but you understand what I mean.”
I chuckle. This guy is too endearing. “Fair enough.”
“If I may ask, what do you currently have?”
“Both of our main structures, a big house and gigantic barn, have System utilities and upgraded defenses. We also have a well, three workshops, a communal storage building, some farm plots, and six cottages.”
“Not a bad start. Anything in particular you’re looking for?”
“Honestly, I have no idea.” A thought occurs to me. “Can I spend money from Carcosa’s wallet here?”
“To some degree. You won’t be able to purchase Settlement or building upgrades, but anything you can carry is available.”
“Gotcha. Can you sort what you have vs. what Chugg has? No sense carrying back something I can get there.”
“Of course!”
It takes Ketrell less than a minute to collate the information and send it to my menu. The list isn’t as extensive as I thought, but there are still thousands of items. I sort the items a few times, finally settling on crafting supplies. I’m shown a range of items, from farm equipment to potion making. Most of it is far too expensive, so I sort the list once more based on what funds the Settlement and I have.
“I notice you don’t sell any live animals. Neither does Chugg. What’s with that?”
“Ah, yes, unfortunately, that’s a galactic level ban.” Ketrell gives me a wink. “Can’t have dangerous and invasive species running amok, now can we?”
I shake my head in disbelief. “There’s already dangerous and invasive beasts running amok…”
“While the Earth has been transformed, System ensures only native species are present on world. The galaxy has many terrifying animals that would quickly overrun the biosphere.”
Ketrell sends me a list of such creatures: acidic spore colonies that eat oxygen and produce cyanide, an aquatic plant with a reproduction rate so fast it would clog the oceans in months, and a type of carnivorous ant whose colony members number in the billions. To name a few.
“Will we ever get access to a Shop that sells native species?” I cross my arms and frown. “Not having farm animals is hurting us.”
The smile the orc gives me is either very good, or very bad.
“There is, of course, a loophole.” Ketrell sorts the list he gave me. “While I’m not permitted to sell live animals, the definition of what is living is a bit vague. Generally, until something is born, it’s not considered alive in regard to galactic law. Eggs, luckily, fall within that gray area.”
Of the hundreds of species that lay eggs, only a dozen are listed. Luckily, the one I’m looking for is there: chickens.
“Just to be clear, Ketrell, will these chicken eggs hatch into normal chickens? Or are they going to be some kind of bizarre chicken monster?”
“Worry not, sir. I’ve ensured only normal animals are listed. You can, of course, purchase monster variants.”
“Oh no, normal will be fine.”
At twenty Credits per egg, they seem excessive. Then again, supply and demand is a thing. Figuring I should get a decent amount, I buy two dozen. 500 Credits later, I’m holding a straw filled wooden egg carton.
“As a bonus for the bulk purchase, please accept this small gift.” Ketrell pulls two single egg containers out from under his counter. “These are mystery eggs. Any oviparous species currently on your world could hatch from them, including monster variants.”
Shrugging, I add them all to my inventory. Considering how delicate eggs can be, this will keep them safe on the long, and likely dangerous, trip back to Carcosa.
“Anything else, sir?”
Though I’m tempted to get a few more things, none of it’s really needed. Chugg sells enough of the basics to keep us going for now, and as long as the Twin Rivers doesn’t get wiped out, I can come back.
“No, Ketrell, I think that’ll be all.”
I run down my compatriots, finding them talking to Dominick and Doctave near one entrance..
“It’s not that hard, and the loot is pretty good.” Dominick sees me approaching. “Jordan! I was just discussing a trip through the Cheap and Easy dungeon.”
“The Clark State one?” Dominick nods. “If we’re going back that way, I wouldn’t mind.”
Sarah nudges Andy. “Didn’t you go there after high school?”
“Yeah, for like a year.”
“I went, too, but dropped out when I couldn’t afford it.” Justin lets out a long sigh.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“So, how about it, people?” I receive nods from everyone. “Excellent. Dom, are you coming with us?”
“Yep. Both Doctave and I want to see Carcosa.”
The Nigerian Wizard in the yellow robes nods. “And run the White Witch’s Playground.”
*****
Heading back the way we came, we run into a few monsters. The first is some kind of giant eagle. Dominick explodes it with a fireball long before I can even identify the thing. The second, a mutated rat-dog-thing, is killed by Andy and his team while they scout ahead. We skin them both and stick their pelts, feathers, and meat into our inventory.
I’m very glad the inventory pauses decay. And that it doesn’t need cleaning.
As we approach the college campus, our Scout pops up ahead of us behind a car and gives the hand signal to stop, then signs there are others ahead. It takes a few minutes before Andy appears out of a tree line.
“There’s another group at the dungeon’s entrance. From what I could hear, they're waiting for others to come out.”
“How many are there?” Jennifer brings out the binoculars. It’s amusing to see a full plate wearing warrior using them. “Think they’re aggressive?”
“There’s one lookout who doesn’t seem to be very alert.” Andy looks over his shoulder towards the unidentified group. “The other five members are kinda just hanging around. As for their demeanor? Hard to say.”
Unable to see very well, Jennifer puts the binoculars away and draws her massive sword. “Should we get the jump on them?”
I turn to her with an incredulous look. “Damn, lady, chill.”
The others chuckle.
Conversing with Doctave for a moment, Dominick taps a finger to his lips. “Andy, what color are their outfits?”
“Variations on red.”
Doctave curses in his native tongue. “Those are the Bloods. Twin Rivers has been fighting against them and the Crypts recently. They’ll probably recognize Dom and I.”
“Well, shit.” I let out a heavy breath. “Should we go around them or take them out?”
Justin speaks up. “They’re criminals. It reasons they’re still up to no good. We should attack.”
Brian agrees. Sarah looks to Andy, who shrugs, then shrugs herself.
Andy, then everyone else, looks at me. “Seems the decision is yours.”
I think over the consequences. If we take out the group outside, then we’ll have to take out the group in the dungeon. That can only lead to aggressions between the Bloods and Carcosa. The fight itself might get some of our group killed, but the experience and equipment gained from the fight would be beneficial. My System enhanced desire to fight wins out.
“Fuck it, let’s take ‘em out.”
Since we don’t know when the dungeon group will come out, we decided to act immediately.
Andy and the other Rogue sneak their way to the Blood’s Rogue, and with expert skill, ambush and kill him. The Scout and I move into bow range of the main group. Sarah, Justin, Jennifer, and Brian ready their weapons. Dominick and Doctave’s fingers spark with prepared spells.
We fire as many arrows as fast as we can. The Bloods take a few hits before they can bring their defenses to bear. The melee fighters yell and charge forward, while bolts of lightning surge towards us. In a clash of armor and weapons, the fight turns into a mess.
The Bloods, a mix of ethnicities and classes, engage with true ferocity. Each of their two well armored Fighters, one with a pair of short swords and one with a large axe, engage all four of our melee combatants at once. Their Monk sprints towards me and the Scout, knocking away arrows with glowing fists. Their Wizard gets off a counter spell, then casts a fireball at Dominick and Doctave, engulfing them in heat and flame. A final Blood, the only one with any sense, disappears in a puff of smoke.
Realizing my arrows are doing nothing to the enemy Monk, I drop my bow and grab my twin hand axes. The Scout draws a sword. Still in a sprint, the Monk blink-steps next to me, breaking my right forearm with a knife handed chop.
The axe wielding Blood Fighter is overwhelmed by Brian and Jennifer. Using her broadsword with surprising dexterity, Jennifer disarms him. Literally. Brian, never one to miss an opportunity, winds up and obliterates the man’s left knee with his sledge. A follow up attack crushes the Fighter’s head like a melon.
The dual sword Blood, far better than either Sarah or Justin, is wearing them down. He effortlessly parries their attacks, reposting with precision and speed. Unfortunately, he doesn’t see Jennifer winding up an attack behind him. Though the man is wearing a hefty-looking set of chainmail, it doesn’t save him. Using her Talent Cleave, Jennifer slices the man’s arm off and buries her broadsword six inches into his chest.
Magic. There’s a spell for anything. So long as there’s enough mana, magic can last forever. And that’s where a Wizard’s strength, and weakness, lies. The Blood mage is smart, using his magic sparingly, counter spelling Dominick and Doctave’s attacks. But our mages are smart, too.
Dominick, having focused on direct damage spells, keeps up the pressure with bolts of lightning, energy missiles, and flying boulders. Doctave, specialized in AOE and crowd control, sends clouds of acid, tangling roots, and distracting illusions. The Blood mage, obviously outclassed, does his best. It’s not enough. A well timed deafening boom distracts the Blood, leaving him open for a spear of ice to pin him to a tree. He dies instantly.
The Scout and I are having a hell of a time with the Monk. My axes aren’t powerful enough to bypass his iron hard skin, and the Scout’s sword doesn’t seem to do enough damage to overcome System regeneration. Good thing Andy shows up when he does.
With my broken arm, I’m unable to block effectively. My damage reduction and health regen keep me alive, but it won’t last. Doing my best to keep the Monk’s back to the Rogue, I soak a few more punches and kicks. Tripping on purpose, I land on my back and drop my remaining axe. The Monk stands over me and pulls his arm back for a coup de grâce. I smile when the tip of Andy’s dagger appears through the front of his neck.
As the Monk falls dead I take a breath of relief. Andy helps me to my feet, then wipes his bloody blade on a pants leg.
“He was a beast of a man.” Andy gives the dead Monk a nudge with his foot. “I wonder what abilities he had?”
“Whatever they were, I hope to never see them again.”
Nodding in agreement, Andy motions to the other Rogue and they leave to see if they can find the vanished Blood. The Scout collects what arrows he can while I go to check on the others. Before I reach them, the bones in my arm are already healed.
Jennifer is wiping the blood from her plate mail. “That was a fun fight.”
I raise an eyebrow at her. “Fun?”
She shrugs. “First time fighting actual people. Excellent experience, too.”
The Fighter’s right: I received another level. Though I didn’t score any kills, all the experience gained by the group is shared equally between its members. Now at level nine, I put my latest ability point into Resilient, bumping my damage reduction to 25%.
Checking on the mages, I find Dominick and Doctave standing next to their pinned foe, discussing the spells he used. Their discussion is very academic and way over my head.
“Fellas, it seems you two did well in the fight.”
None of their clothing is damaged, and it looks as if they’ve done no physical activity at all.
“Oh, don’t be fooled. We used a spell called Cleanse. Helps keep you feeling refreshed when out on the road.”
Dominick snaps his fingers and my torn, blood-soaked clothing turns brand new again. The sweat, blood, and dirt on my skin vanish as well.
“And there you go.”
“Hot damn, Dom, that’s useful.”
“Right?”
The spell is used on the rest of our party.
Heading over to the dungeon’s entrance, Sarah stands in front with her arms crossed. As I approach, she points at the floating text.
“There’s still a group inside.”
Cheap and Easy (Level 5 Dungeon)
Can be run once every 8 hours.
1/1 groups inside.
“Wonderful.
“Are we taking them out or capturing them?”
I think about that for a moment. We just killed one team of Bloods, so it’s reasonable to think that would displease their other group. Capturing means we could interrogate them, but that means we’d need to not kill them. Hard to say how easy that’d be.
“Let’s try to capture at least one of them.”
Sarah nods.
We consult with Doctave. An ambush with his crowd control spells would be fairly easy. His spell, Mass Confusion, would put them at a severe disadvantage, allowing the others to disarm.
Andy, the Rogue, and Scout go on lookout duty, while the rest of us hide and wait.
Fifteen minutes. Then thirty. Then an hour. Brian notices the dungeon information update: 0/1 groups inside.
I walk up to the dungeon entrance and stare at the floating text. “Well, that’s rather anticlimactic. I’m assuming the party got wiped?”
Dominick stands next to me. “More than likely. This dungeon, at only level five, isn’t too difficult. Doesn’t mean you can have a bad run of luck.”
“Apparently.” I purse my lips and huff. “Do we run it like we planned?”
“I vote no. We’ve already fought today. Let’s loot these guys and head to Carcosa.”
The others vote we leave as well. We strip the dead Bloods and find some decent equipment. Sarah and Justin upgrade a few pieces of their armor, the Scout and Rogue each take a short sword, and Brian takes the big axe. Taking their Credits is interesting. Without physical money, the Credit balance is displayed when the bodies are searched. A simple mental command transfers the amount.
Two hours later, we crest a hill and see Carcosa in the distance.