James had a shit day, he had missed his bus, and the rain was making a dreary Monday even worse. He pulled his cellphone from a pocket, angling it to make sure the screen wouldn’t be covered in water. “Another fifteen minutes, damn…” He hated being late, possibly even more than his boss. Someone had vandalized the bus shed, there was no escape from the torrential downfall all around him.
It wasn’t cold, despite the rain, this spring was a warm one. At least global warming was good for something he muttered quietly to himself, as he tried to ignore a sudden unnatural shiver.
Climbing aboard his bus, he quickly sat down and picked up his phone, he had the time and now the ability to check some news. James had barely gotten to the front page of his favorite news site when he received a chilling text. “Emergency alert, all civilians must seek immediate shelter at their closest location..” James looked around the bus and saw that he wasn’t the only one that has received the text, worried expressions crowded the bus, some of them already panicking, shouting at the bus driver, trying to call their families. He tried to bring up the address he thought was the closest bomb shelter, he hadn’t even clicked the link before the entire world turned to absolute chaos.
He idly thought to himself how weird it must look from the outside, like a bus-shaped bag of little gummy men. Shaken about to distribute the sugar evenly, that was all that managed to pass through his brain before the feeling of vertigo set in, much like a rollercoaster from hell. He lost consciousness, or maybe he was in shock? Anyway, he could not recall how he went from his seat to the side of the bus onto a cracked window. He didn’t know what had happened, but it was safe to assume the bus was no longer on the road.
Slowly getting up onto his feet, James took in his surroundings. The bus was on its side, people like him slowly checking if anything was broken or damaged before slowly rising to their feet. He heard crying, or he so he thought, as he was slowly coming to his senses his ears were starting to pick up a rumbling sound, that was increasing in volume gradually. The noise reminded him of gravel being shaken in a bucket, and then it increased to gravel being dumped by a truck. It kept increasing until all he could hear was that insane rumbling, like the world itself, was changing clothes…
He moved up to a person that was stuck in some seats, having tangled themselves into the loose seatbelts, damn, they would probably have helped. The tangled person was an old man, clearly approaching peak panic as he couldn’t get loose from the seatbelts. James leaned down to him and grabbed the old man’s shoulder. “DON’T WORRY” he shouted as calmly he could while still yelling loud enough to compete with the rumbling. “I WILL HELP!” he couldn’t hear the old man over the grating sound of rock against rock, but the man seemed to calm down with his presence. The man said something and reach a hand towards James, and James shook it. As James nodded reassuringly to the man and shook his hand, he was hit with a weird feeling, like his entire chest was filled with mint or eucalyptus. An icy feeling spread through James’s body, he wrote it off as a panic response before he helped the man out of his predicament.
The man looked grateful, he really did, and then the man’s distress seemed to double, and then, the old man turned to dust. Right in James’s hands, he turned to ash.
Congratulations
Deal completed.
A screen appeared out of nowhere in front of James’s eyes, his shock, panic, and general fucked-ness now complete. He looked around the bus and saw several people staring at him in disbelief, “oh no” he thought, that made it less likely that this was a hallucination from a brain injury. People were approaching him now, one of them grabbed his arm, and shouted into his ear “WHAT HAPPENED?! WHERE DID THE OLD MAN GO?!” James couldn’t do anything but raise his shoulders up and shout “I DON*T KNOW! HE JUST FUCKING TURNED TO ASH!” He could feel tears pressing on the corners of his eyes, panic now truly taking hold. The screen had disappeared, and the only thing left of the old man was light gray dust covering the seat and belt in front of him. He managed to stagger outside the bus before emptying his stomach on the pave… No, not pavement, dirt. His mind was screaming something at him, but he was too distraught at the moment to pay his possibly failing mind any attention, the sound of what he at this point could only describe as a mountain falling was actually staring to subtly become quieter. Thank any higher powers that it had stopped raining at least.
James took a quick look around and could see other people from the bus looking up at the sky, he followed their gaze, and was once again dumbfounded… A mountain, an actual mountain visibly rising towards the sky. His brain kept screaming at him, that there was something else wrong, “Dirt!” he exclaimed to himself, and took in his surroundings for the first time, they were standing next to a bus on its side, no longer in a city, but a small forest clearing.
The nearest forest to Branburg was several kilometers from downtown, even out past the suburbs, and this wasn’t a small leisure park, this was an actual forest. A stuttering “How?” was all that left his lips, as they stood there close to a dozen strangers watching a mountain raise itself from the ground, horror replacing confusion as he saw a familiar highrise topple down the mountainside. “Well, at least it doesn’t matter that I am late anymore,” a woman said out loud, a soft chuckle spreading through the crowd. As James chuckled he found himself agreeing to that at least.
After a few minutes of watching the mountain, later silence was upon them. They all stood there in a state of confusion and shock, nobody sure what to do. Then they all jumped, James was maybe less startled than the others, the screen had returned.
Welcome to the multiverse.
Due to the introduction of charged dark matter to your local universe, you have been teleported to safe locations, please stay calm.
The screen you see in front of you now is a local Earth spirit bound to you and loaded with information from the Core. It can answer a few questions and can be called upon by its given name, please do not wait too long to name your companion, as it will start its path towards sentience.
This companion also gives you access to your stats, skills, spells, titles, and traits. These are also accessed by the utterance or focus on the companions’ given name.
“What the actual hell?:” He couldn’t stop himself at this point, his voice broke the silence, and the muttering of discussion quickly followed.
They were all standing there together, watching their world crumble down around them. Faced with a new reality, one without the comforts of the modern world, they started looking at each other, no one wanting to be the first to take charge. James felt he needed to do take charge, the feeling was sudden and unexpected. He felt like he knew how to lead people, almost like an instinct, a whisper crawled itself into his mind, and he spoke the slithering thought as it came to him “We need shelter, preferably somewhere with water, food can come later, but water is paramount. We should spread out a little and keep a watchful eye out for a stream or lake. I suggest we move downwards in the terrain since water should be more plentiful further down in the terrain.” His tone was like steel, his gaze pierced through the crowd around him, his demeanor suggesting this was merely a Sunday camping trip and not the end of the world.
The strangers around him got to it, they gathered up and made themselves ready to move out, until one of the people there, a young man, decided to be belligerent. “Oi! I’m not moving a fuckin muscle until you tell us what happened to that old man!” His tone was accusatory, and he was pointing his thin yellow-stained finger at James while gesturing around the crowd with his other hand for support. The energy to start moving evaporated like dew in the sun, suddenly there were uncertain murmurs again, sideways glances, and defensive postures.
“And who are you, thinkin you can jus command us about like little soldiers? I’m waitin here for the army or the red cross or some shit like that!” The youth continued his way of speaking reminding James of his own youth. Bringing back memories of hanging around in malls and being up to no good on a Friday night. James was about to answer, but the answer felt wrong, he was going to say that he had been in situations like this before, camping, fighting in a war, having experience with leading men into combat, survival training, and that a little child should watch his tone around his elders. James managed to stop himself this time, that answer was obviously a lie, at least to himself, he had never done any of those things.
James looked around, and the scared people around him, the hopelessness returning more and more for every second that passed where James didn’t explain himself. He had to say something, anything. “I don’t know what happened to the old man on the bus, he just disappeared when I finished untangling him from the seatbelt.” An older woman spoke up then, her tone clearly displeased with James’s answer “What the hell do you mean disappeared? people don’t just turn to dust!” she looked around the crowd, looking more and more panicked as the reaction to her statement told her something that she was not ready for, the old man had turned to dust, several people had seen it, and now it seemed they wanted to forget what they had seen.
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James was worried that the situation was going to spin out of control, the new reality proved too much for the old woman, as she broke down crying after a few people did confirm that the old man turned to dust without any outward sign as of to why. The youth with the yellowed fingers now known as Dave, kept badgering people on what qualifications they had to lead the group. Now that James had thrown his hat in to lead the group to water and shelter, the metaphorical floodgates had opened. Several others had stepped up to try their hand at this leader gig, and as the rain cleared, and noon turned to dusk, they still hadn’t moved from the tipped bus.
James sat down, not wanting to engage in the heated arguing that was taking place in the group. “Well... I guess it is time to name my companion thing.” James had a sudden feeling of vertigo, the feeling of standing on the edge of a roof, the excitement of buying a house, the dread of bringing bad grades back to his parents. The entire world turned flat in his vision. He had wanted to just name it interface, or Gui, or something else practical, but his senses told him this would be a monumentally bad idea. He fell into a sort of trance as he scoured his memories for a name, a good name, a name for a companion that will be with you for life. He thought of his parents, previous lovers, friends, and family. Nothing felt right when he thought of a cat he used to own, he had it while going to university. He had rented a small studio apartment at the time, and his landlord was a cantankerous bastard. A mean, small-minded, ungrateful creature. His landlord had never fixed anything wrong with the apartment, had demanded outrageous late fees on rent, and had even turned off the power several times to “save some money”. But during this time he had adopted a cat, and old grey, short-haired stray. It was all alone and during the worst months of winter, he had seen it shivering next to his trash cans. He had sneaked the poor thing inside, it was barely conscious so wrapping it inside his jacket to sneak it into the apartment was relatively easy.
That cat had been an amazing creature, after paying an unreasonable amount of money to have it checked out by a vet, he got it chipped, and brought it home. The cat had learned to use the toilet since his landlord would not react well to finding used cat sand in the trash James didn’t think that the landlord actually went through his residents’ trash, but wouldn’t put it past him, and wasn’t willing to take the risk. The cat had a strict diet of boiled fish, fresh meat, and things like eggs. He once again couldn’t risk having any proof of owning a cat. It turned out to be a wonderful companion, sharing James’s bed, sleeping in his lap, waking him up in the morning by nuzzling into the crook of his neck.
His body tensed, his eyes shone with determination, Jame’s stood up, the other people going quiet, worried that Jame’s was going to do something drastic. His voice was firm, even, controlled, and filled with a reverence normally found only in a church.
“I name you Grey.” as his intentions became clear, the world turned white, as his body was bathed in a piercing light. I felt it then, a vitality flowed through him, strength, wisdom, and raw power coursed through his veins like gas through an engine.
Thank you, James, I am Grey
The people around him were stunned, the light had been intense, but not entirely blinding, like the sun shining through a light cloud. There was a feeling of wonder in the air, the slack-jawed faces around him, bulging eyes locked on his glowing form as the light receded slowly. James laughed, a clear, joyous laugh that rung through the small clearing, echoing through the overturned bus. Filling this horrid day with the sound of happiness.
A young woman in her mid-twenties approached James’s laughing form, her eyes shining with child-like wonder as if he had pulled an entire watermelon out of pocket as a party trick.
She “What the hell was that? You looked like a fucking glowstick!” James mirth was winding down, and he wasn’t in a mood to stand here explaining something he barely understood himself. “I followed the instructions from the box that appeared.” he sighed, “I don’t know anything more, but I will tell you if I find out, I would suggest the rest of you name your companion too” that last part was directed at the group as a whole. “I will sit down over there” James pointed to a small boulder next to the bus, “and I will see what I can find out”
after deflecting a few more questions, he went over and sat down.
“Gray?”
James Toodley
Class
Not active
Companion: Grey
2,01
Strength
1,91
Body
1,71
Speed
1,61
Mind
2,46
Magic
2,36
Titles
3
Skills
6
Traits
2
“Huh?” he was surprised it even worked. Now, to figure this thing out. At first, he was confused at the weird numbers, but he reasoned
He walked over to a large stone, about the size of a shopping basket, and tried lifting it. It was rather lighter than he expected, much lighter. He looked at his screen from time to time as he did a few strength exercises. He was surprised, he was a lot stronger than he used to be, probably, twice as strong At this point, he saw several other people lighting up as they named their companions, and then proceeding to do much of the same activities he was doing.
He did several things, jumping, sprinting, doing other physical exercises. He then tested his mind and found that it seemed faster in some way. Arithmetic came easy for him now, remembering things he had briefly seen was easier, it was disorienting, like stepping off a boat after a long time and getting used to the ground being still.
As he moved down the list he came then to magic, how would he test that? “Gray? How do you use magic?” The screen had said that their companion could help them, so why wouldn’t it be able to help with this? The response came as a feeling, no words, no pictures, but a feeling on how to move magic through himself. Or, at least James hoped that it was, “nothing ventured, nothing gained” he sighed to himself as he tried replicating the feeling. It was not easy, and James had a feeling this would take a lot longer than just a few minutes of practice to produce a meaningful effect, but it did feel right in a way.
“Gray? what are my titles?”
Titles
The first trader.
Trades give 1% more profit to you.
Rank two (First)
You gain 5% extra stats
The first past two (Mind)
Your Mind is increased by 5%
The first past two (Magic)
Your magic is increased by 5%
That would explain why some of the numbers were weird… One part started to worry him, trades, his newly sharpened mind recalled with perfect clarity. The man mouthing something drowned out by the rumble of the mountain being born. James agreeing and shaking his hand, untangling the old man, the old man turning to dust. He recalled the moment, slowly analyzing the sequence of events with a manic meticulousness. Cold sweat started going down James’ back. “Gray? What is my class”
Class: Trader
Skills
Trade:
Allows the user to initiate a trade for any resource. Any trade must be made freely.
Sense Value: You have an innate feeling of the value of an object
Hauling: You have access to a personal extra-dimensional space, size is based on rank.
Mark Cargo: You can mark a number of items equal to your rank, you can feel the location of the objects if you focus on your mark.
Beaten Path: While traveling on a road you expend less energy on traveling.
Miser: You know within reasonable accuracy how much money you have access to.
James vomited, he now realized what he had done, he had killed the old man, he didn’t even know his name. The image of the flittered through his mind again, the old man stuck in the seatbelt, mouthing “Son, I’ll give you damn everything if you get me out of this tangle.” This was bullshit! The Old man had basically traded away his life, for what? Being released from some fucking seatbelts. James’ mind started to spin, the world was going through some unexplained cataclysm, he was stranded in the wilderness with a bunch of strangers, no food, no water, no hope… He stood up, he was not going to let anyone else die. His mind was suddenly filled with a fire, a fire that told of battlefields, of death and destruction, a fire that would not give in. He now knew where it came from, he had gained the old man’s experiences, memories, and knowledge. He looked upon his hand as he tightened it into a fist, “Your death will save many old man, your death will be my burden to bear, I will try my best to save as many people I can.” as he spoke the words, he could feel that weird feeling again, just like when he made the trade with that unfortunate soul. This time James embraced it, he let it flow through himself, let it mold his words. He recognized the feeling in more ways than one, this was magic, far beyond the beginners practice Grey wanted him to do.
The feeling receded after his outburst, he quickly looked around, and it seemed nobody had heard him. “Good,” he thought “It wouldn’t do to sow confusion now, it would just complicate matters.”
He climbed on top of the bus with hardly any effort. He stood up straight, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted. “Gather up! Come on everyone! GATHER UP!” He pulled on his stolen knowledge, and the time Oldy had spent as a drill instructor in the army. When a sizable crowd had gathered he continued in a much easier tone. “Good, good. We need to plan our next move, this area has just one of the three things we need to survive, possibly two. We need water, food, and shelter. IN. THAT. ORDER.” James emphasized that last part to hammer home the dire situation. Fear would be a good way to lead for now, just until the situation was under more control. “Does anyone here have any relevant skills that can better our situation?” He saw a few people raise their hands. “Excellent, those of you that raised your hands gather up on the rear of the bus when we are finished here, the rest of you, start searching the bus, and the IMMEDIATE area for things that can be useful, check your bags, pockets, and purses for anything that can help US ALL survive.” He saw people start checking bags and pockets. “I want you to deposit anything not of vital importance inside the bus, to keep it safe and dry, the rain might return at any time. Dismissed”