If you didn’t know, the ability to fly is super convenient.

VTR doesn’t have a group heading to Carcosa, and since I want to get back and let everyone know about the Tri-Alliance, I use my Animal Form - Small Class Ability.

I’d seen a lot of different animals before the apocalypse. Unfortunately for me, none of those counted. Instead of turning into a peregrine falcon and zipping around, I’m stuck as some kind of weird monster variant of a sparrow. I could transform into a micro-titraptor, but they don’t fly (thank the gods).

The flight takes about twenty minutes. I make it a point not to fly too high or too low and to avoid zones higher than level fifteen. Even though One with Nature should keep me off other monster’s radar, I'm not eager to test that theory.

With a literal bird's-eye view, I can see the slow march of System mechanics at work. The first things to degrade away were modern materials like plastics, oils, complex chemicals, and metal alloys. Now, months later, even concrete is starting to go. Most bridges have collapsed, and plant life is breaking through roads everywhere. Since most structures are built with relatively simple materials, they’re going the distance. My guess is everything else will be reclaimed by nature within the first year.

I land inside Carcosa’s CZ and change back. The random nearby resident gives me a look, nods, and then goes back to their task. It was quite shocking to people the first few times I shape changed, but now it’s mundane.

Since the good night’s sleep, and the trip over, gave me time to think of what Talents to buy, I head straight to Chugg and spend some Credits.

Slashing Resistance (Basic Talent)

Prerequisites - Level 20, some amount of damage reduction

Effect - Reduce injury from slashing damage by 5%.

Piercing Resistance (Basic Talent)

Prerequisites - Level 20, some amount of damage reduction

Effect - Reduce injury from piercing damage by 5%.

Ability point wise, I stick the last five of this Tier into Increased Health Regen. This puts me at a grand total of 30%.

Needless to say, I’ve forgone the use of magic. Is it versatile? Yes. Will I find more than a few situations where it’ll be useful? Also, yes. Do I want to take endless amounts of damage and not die? More so than I want magic.

Besides, once I get to the Advanced Tier and pick Forest Domain, I’ll get a slight bump in my mana pool, mana regen, and two more spell slots. It’s not much, granted, but they’re free.

The spells I have at the moment, Forage and Speak with Animals, aren’t very useful. Once Carcosa gets a Shepherd, we’ll be able to tame pretty much anything that isn’t purely a predator. Sadly, there hasn’t anything to tame due to said predators eating everything.

I’m not sure what spells I need, and any useful in combat takes more mana to cast than I have. So, for now, I leave them be. You never know when you might need to tame something while on the go.

Speaking of taming something, I hear Sarah’s voice as I walk towards the ranch house. What she’s saying I’m not sure, but it sounds like a lecture. Rounding a corner, I find the Cleric, still in full armor, holding her stoat-dragon Brad?.

“Ok, you did good!” Sarah gives the creature a few head scratches. “Remember, you can’t eat the toy. You have to bring it back.”

Stolen story; please report.

Sarah tosses a stick and lets Brad? go after it. The monster tackles its prey, shakes the piece of wood violently, then breaks it into pieces and eats them.

“I don’t think Brad?’s very smart…” I give Sarah a smirk as she whips her head around to look at me.

“Harr harr. Brad? is, how do I say, a bit aggressive.” Sarah folds her armored arms and lets out a huff. “So far he violently attacks, and usually eats, everything I throw. Been trying to find out how to train him with no luck.”

Brad? is a strange creature. The stoat-dragon’s head looks like a bearded dragon crossed with a Komodo dragon. If that makes any sense. The stoat body, which would normally be soft and fluffy looking, is jacked. Kind of reminds me of those too-swole pitbulls where you can see every muscle under the skin. The meld of lizard, weasel, and weight lifter’s physique is comical.

“Any troubles with him?” I cringe, waiting for the answer.

“Well, the second day you were gone, he slipped into the chicken cage. He ate three before the rooster ran him off.”

I shake my head in disbelief. “Three whole chickens? That’s like thirty pounds!”

“He’s a growing boy, no doubt.”

Maybe modifying his size was a bad idea. The question is: how big will Brad? get?

“If he can woof down that much in one go, what have you been feeding him?”

“Anything I can, really.” Sarah pulls some meat from her inventory and tosses it towards the stoat-dragon. “He needs about four pounds of food per day, or he gets grumpy.”

That’s not a comforting thought, especially since Brad?’s only a foot and a half long.

“How’s he with other people?”

“Wildly unfriendly.”

I blink twice. “Fuck, what have I done?”

Sarah gives me a stern look. “I’ll tell you this right now, Brad? is my child and I love him. No matter what, he’s mine and I will fight for him.”

“He’s your responsibility. You know that, right?” I give the Cleric an equally stern look. “If he hurts someone, you’re to blame.”

“I understand.”

“Good. Because the safety of this community is my primary concern.”

“I’ve had chats with everyone. They understand to leave him alone.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” I look back at Brad? “Do you have plans for when he gets bigger?”

Sarah lets out a heavy sigh. “Not yet. Since Earth is new to System, there’s not much info yet on native monster varieties. He’d probably get the size of a small dog, but with the size modifiers you gave him, it’s hard to make an educated guess.

“Talking with Curtis, and consulting guides, Brad? might get the size of a large breed, like a German shepherd or Labrador. Or he could be the size of a hippo. We honestly have no way of knowing.”

“The modifier I used was Tier X. I doubt it’d have too much effect.”

“Randomness is a factor. Higher Tiers have a better guaranteed minimum increase, but the lowest Tier can still have a profound effect.”

I frown. “Fantastic. We have a vicious monster with a bottomless appetite, who could grow to immense size, and will probably be both super strong and difficult to kill.”

“Just think what the other egg could turn into.”

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the other egg. “Speaking of, I was talking with Ketrell about just that thing. I need to visit Braycott and pick up a better incubator and spawn rarity modifiers for it.”

Sarah gives me a head tilt in confusion. “Isn’t that the insular Hamlet that doesn’t allow anyone to visit?”

Oh yeah, the alliance. I take a few moments to give the Cleric a rundown of the last few days and the decisions I made for the group. Unsurprisingly, the news spreads like wildfire the instant her and I part ways. By the end of the day, I have to call a town meeting.

*****

Like I figured, people are happy we’re making friends, but annoyed I didn’t consult them. It seems they still think Carcosa is a democracy. Which it is, somewhat, but in the end, I own the place, and until someone kills me and claims it, I’ll run things how I see fit.

Copies of the agreement are sent out, and since the provisions it lays out are actually beneficial to everyone involved, they calm down significantly. I still have to answer questions for three hours.

Once they run out of things to ask me, I can overhear the crafters discussing trade, while the combat classers discuss dungeon runs. Some talk is had about how we’re now obligated to defend VTR and Braycott if they’re attacked. People are worried about it, as that puts us in the hot seat, but overall it’s not that big of a problem. Everyone understands we need to work together in order to survive, and helping our friend stay alive is an important part of that.

With the impromptu town meeting over, I find myself back in the bunker. I seal the door, crack open a few beers, and relax on the couch. It’s been stressful the last few days, and I need a break from people, damnit.

The apocalypse puts a damper on your well-established habits. In the Before Times, I would enjoy a few cold beers while binge watching some random police procedural. Now that there’s no TV, I read. A lot. Books from Earth sold to Shops are available to purchase directly from one’s menu. I’m glad System doesn’t restrict them based on time periods. I’m assuming stories from the seventeenth century aren’t great.

Actually, I know they wouldn’t. I’ve read Shakespeare. He’s an overrated hack.