Travis walked out in front of his soldiers and turned to face them.
“Comrades, we come together on this field of battle with heavy hearts, for we know that not every brave soul among us will survive this day. However, we take solace because our enemy will be entirely vanquished from this earth. We face pure evil across from us—men who have turned against their own, joined forces with abominations and demons. They have laid waste to our land and killed our people, but no more!” His voice raised as he said this last part.
Travis began to wonder how it was that he saw himself doing those things while "he" watched from above. Now he was yelling, but in a commanding tone.
“Today, my brothers and sisters, will be a day of reckoning for the forces of evil! As we charge into battle, fear not, for we carry the blessing of the Sacred Manuscript. On it, we read the great prophecy and head forth into battle, knowing that victory is ours!”
Travis looked down on himself and a motley crew of warriors as they erupted in explosive cheers.
Then he woke up from his dream; or was it a vision. He was not leading an army but laying on the floor inside a meatpacking plant that had become his base, so it was something.
Unable to sleep, Travis got up and went into the HQ, not so much to talk to the System but to enjoy the cool air and lighting. He took out his journal to review the missions again.
**Main Mission** - 'A Building to a Village' -
There are currently 378 player characters left in the world. You will need to bring that number up by recruiting for your faction. As MC, you have the power to raise NPCs to PCs more so than anybody else. Here is your mission: Recruit at least 10 people for your faction over the next 7 days. That number is a minimum; there are already factions, both human and monster, with over 50 members. Out of your new faction members, make 5 PCs. Current company may be among that number included.
*Prize* - Upgrade scroll for your primary weapon, a tome of 'manipulate wood', JTS command patch plus 5 lower-level patches (patches boost XP and provide a boost in a random attribute).
*Secondary Mission* - ‘Shoot the Damn Flare Mike’* - Mike from the Interstate is in your area. He has gotten himself into trouble but keeps slipping out. If he shoots the flare, go and rescue him from whatever shitstorm he is in. If he doesn't fire the flare and you still find him, you get a bonus prize.
*Prize:* Skill Tome (instead of it containing a spell, it contains a skill. Skills are tailored for certain build types; make sure to use for the correct person.) *Bonus:* Tome will contain a choice of 3 skills.
Travis still thought this was all insane. He didn't think he would ever fully accept the fact that the earth was a game board, and he was its player 1.
It's actually funny, he never agreed to play DnD with guys from his unit because he thought imagining shit like that was boring. In the Army, you experienced that excitement in real time with real stakes. It would have been almost impossible for him to get excited about a made-up game where if you died all you lost was a character.
Now he was straddling both worlds, he experienced all of the features of the game combined with the real-life excitement that he thought it lacked previously. If he was honest, he didn't really know how he felt about it. Obviously, and without any trepidation, the death and destruction appalled him. There would never be a time when it didn't give him sleepless nights or anxiety when it came to his attention.
That aside, because death and destruction still existed in the world prior to all this happening, he had practiced putting things like that to the side. There were aspects of this 'game' that utilized his best assets. While also giving him a sense of purpose that civilian life did not. Unlike many of his coworkers, even one or two that had served, Travis couldn't get amped up over just making money.
On the flip side he knew he was not supposed to get excited doing the type of work he did in Syria and Afghanistan before that.
See, Travis was tough as nails, but not in the macho Hollywood way, or even in the macho commercialized version of the US Marines or US Army way. There was a sensitivity to him, one that brought the suffering of others right into his psyche and emotions.
He served with and under men who would call in a strike on a village knowing damn well that it was full of civilians, including children. Then they would get drunk that night and say some shit like “war is hell,” as if that absolved them.
It didn't absolve them, not at all. What those men didn't say, but deep down inside they knew, was that people like them make war hell. Not entirely, of course; the practice of killing people and destroying resources to achieve a political aim is, of course, hellish, and that wasn't on them.
What was on them, though, was how they went about achieving those aims. To Travis, war was surgical. You got good intel, found the bad guys or his stockpile, then you used reconnaissance to find out who was at the location. If it was just bad guys, then you ordered a “surgical strike” from the air.
If you couldn't find out who was there, or heaven forbid, it was occupied by civilians, then you ordered in some of the best-trained commandos in the history of warfare to take it out. Quick, clean—the way Travis operated when he was in command, which was most of his time in Syria. It could not always be clean, but if you did everything in your power to assure that it was, sleeping at night would be much easier.
He took a sip of water and realized he had gone off on a tangent in his head. That night in Syria when everything changed for him was always just a few subconscious thoughts away from dominating his conscious mind. That just happened here.
He got up and stretched, then went over to the System. He felt like talking to someone but didn't know if the system was equal to a someone or not.
Travis: Are you an AI?
AI had been a popular topic before everything went to hell. God, that was less than a week ago. So anyway, AI, you could access a chatbot that could do some pretty cool stuff. He was also aware of some pretty advanced AI from his military contacts. These were all job specific though. An AI that could run a naval vessel on its own while having pinpoint target acquisition.
This type of near sentient AI is way outside the bounds of what people had access too, regardless of some clickbait headlines that had dropped recently.
System: …….. …….. Yes, but why do you ask?
Travis: Are you a sentient being?
System: These questions are not within the parameters of things you need to know. Go back to bed, Travis.
Travis: I want to know more about the entity that I speak with on a daily basis. One that has information it couldn't possibly have and one that seems to know me on a level that makes me uncomfortable. (he was not being completely honest here)
System: I make you uncomfortable? That hurts a little.
Travis: You do, but only because I do not know anything about you.
System: …….. ……… That is understandable. How about this. I will tell you something about me that no one else knows, then you go back to sleep and get ready for your big day tomorrow. Deal?
Travis: How would you kno… (gets cut off)
System: Deal?
Travis: Fine.
System: My name is Lucy. All of the context clues that implies are accurate as well. Now good night, Travis. Get some sleep. Tomorrow will not be an easy day. [signs off]
Travis just stared at the blank screen for a while. Then he went back to the room and tried to get some sleep.
Gary was packing the car when Travis walked outside. He had his axe in a makeshift hook on his hip. Gary could see that Travis looked restless.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Didn't sleep well?” Gary asked.
“Not really, no. We need to grab some coffee when we go to your house. Preferably instant. I don't think we can wrangle up a Keurig. Do you have instant coffee?” He looked at Gary with a hopeful face.
That's when Sophie made an appearance. “We do actually. Dad wouldn't know. I bought it when I did a few night shifts at the hospital. Figured how bad could it taste. Well, it was baaaad,” she chuckled.
She had a long conversation with Thomas last night, and they decided to take a break while they worked through this new way of life. They were never great during any type of strenuous situation. Sophie knew that was not a good sign for their long-term prospects, but she convinced herself that just having a boyfriend was enough to outweigh that.
It took the transformation of the world for her to finally start to see her self-worth. Yet, if we are fair, it couldn't have happened at a better time. Travis would need her skillset in the coming days, even if Sophie didn't know she had one.
For Travis, he could have spent a lot of time with a selfish yet highly confident and skilled woman. Anna is no longer with us, though. Now Travis has a selfless yet insecure woman who does not quite know just how talented she really is yet. Pick your poison.
For the Dungeon Master, the switch is jarring; he thought Anna would have made a good counter to Travis and his “principles”.
Travis still wanted to discuss things with the group. He did not want to leave the base unattended. Yet he couldn't leave certain people here alone either. He also had 3 minion scrolls, but they were a waste if the caster wasn't going to be at the compound for at least a few days, if not many more. Whether or not Thomas could be trusted to act right on a dangerous mission like the ones they are attempting is far from certain.
Travis was discussing this and other thoughts with Clyde and Gary when one of them had a suggestion. Gary lowered his voice as if his idea was super top secret, “Before we came here the monsters were around, but they mostly reacted to things. Like people being around, I never seen or heard about them going into someone's house.” “I'm thinking that if we bring the truck it will draw attention. How about you and me go, Travis? We will go in all stealthy like we were deer hunting.”
Clyde didn't look like he thought this was a good idea, but Travis was more thoughtful, “What about bringing back as many supplies as we can, and possibly rescuing people?’ Travis asked. Gary didn't hesitate; he had been thinking about this, “Didn't you say that you can talk to Clyde through that book, and plus you have the bag that carries tons of shit.” “If anything goes down that we need to be rescued or have something hauled away just call Clyde. That will at least leave Soph here with Thomas, but he won't do anything dumb if she is here.”
Clyde spoke up now, seeming to find merit in Garys proposal, "if I have to haul ass and pick you guys up with the SUV it won't be a big deal, we are leaving anyway. But if you drive the SUV into town, it will draw monsters. How many times have we been ambushed in that damn thing." Clyde pointed suspiciously at the SUV.
There was silence as Travis thought about it. He wanted Clyde to start ranking up, and he also wanted to see if Sophie could think on her feet when danger lurked. Not in a way that put her in direct conflict, but eventually, she might have to expose herself, especially if she took up archery as Travis hoped she would.
"Okay, I just want to take care of some odds and ends first."
“Gary, how do you feel with your new axe skill?” Travis asked. They hadn't had a chance to talk much as Gary read his skill book last night. They try to keep quiet once the sun goes down and the base is locked up.
“It's hard to explain,” he started off. “I grabbed an axe because that was the closest thing to a weapon I had in my garage. I just swung for dear life and hoped I hit something that was trying to hit me. When I swing it now, I can feel the muscle memory taking over. I went to swing it like a baseball bat when I was practicing, but my body stopped me before my brain did. It was wild, but really hard to put into words.”
"Okay, sounds good enough to me,” Travis said.
He went on, “Clyde, do you think Sophie can read scrolls? I want her to be the one to read the minion scroll. Then she can focus on medicine, both real and magical, while she builds up her med bay. The minion can do menial tasks also, so that's a big help."
Gary cut Clyde off, “What's the minion scroll?”
Clyde explained. Gary didn't love the idea of summoning a monster and then leaving it here with just her and Thomas. They could understand that.
“Let's try it then,” Clyde said. Travis nodded.
First, she needed to be added to the party so he could see her attributes.
Sophie Finley - NPC
Race - Human
Tier 3/Level 1
Class - NA (not available)
Subclass - NA
Faction - None
Alignment - Neutral
Base Attributes
Strength: 3
Intelligence: 9
Reflexes: 5
Endurance: 5
Charisma: 7
Secondary Attributes - Luck: 8 Willpower: 6.5 Perception: 9
Travis explained to Sophie what the minion scroll did, and they discussed the plan. As long as she didn't leave the compound, the minion would remain in her service. While she stuck around, it would also do almost anything she asked of it. This part was a bit foggy, and the system—no wait, he meant Lucy—was a little vague in her description. As they got the scroll ready for Sophie to see if she could read it, things were about to be playing out behind the scenes.
There are so many ways to implement the structure of an RPG campaign. The rulesets just from DnD alone seem unending. Everything from AD&D (Advanced DnD) to the more modern 3rd edition with its upgrade to 3.5, and finally, 5th edition, which really streamlined a lot of stuff, for better or worse. Not to mention Pathfinder and all of the separate RPG companies plus their campaigns plus endless books and games.
Luckily for the DM, he is from a society that had the ability to comb through information at an unimaginable speed. This is after taking into account everything he already knew from his own RPG obsession. This is all a long-winded way of pointing out that the DM could have gone in so many different directions. There are decisions he made primarily to be different, the journals and bags. Then there are things he included that could be considered overused, but he thought they were superior. An example of that is the basic 1-99 leveling system.
Something that he just liked the concept of and didn't consider anything else was unknown items and the identity scroll, or eventually the spell and skill. It led to interesting situations where a player finds himself drinking potions blind because he is on death's door. Well, guess what, you just drank a sex change potion. Uh-oh, am I getting political? Not me, Baldur's Gate did that in their game that came out in the early '90s. It wasn't a potion but a belt; if you put it on blind and your character's gender changed. While the DM did not plan to have gender-changing equipment in the game, there would be cursed items and potions that altered the player.
Which brings us back to the minion scroll and Sophie's attempt to use it. Intelligence is the main attribute that governs whether or not a player can successfully read a scroll or analyze a potion. There are also equations running behind the scenes as intelligence is far from the only important attribute governing item use.
Perception, for example, plays a much bigger part in potion IDing than it does for scrolls. Also, luck, which has a hand in everything, also plays a role in whether or not you can ID that “small animal shapeshift” potion before you drink it. When Sophie gets handed the scroll, it's not just her 9 intel that makes it readable to her.
Sophie took it from Clyde. She was pretty nervous, always on edge when put on the spot, but this time she really wanted to be able to help. Lo and behold, when she looked at the scroll, everything on it was legible. She was going to be able to do this! Her father was nervous that she would summon something that would kill her, but she was just nervous that she would screw up the process. Now, though, she felt confident.
“Should I begin?” she asked as the rest of the team surrounded her, weapons drawn. Travis and Clyde were doing it more for precaution's sake; the other two generally seemed on edge. That is probably because Clyde had exhausted Lucy with questions about this scroll and a few others.
“Do it,” Clyde and Travis said simultaneously. About 30 seconds later, she was done reading. Nothing was happening yet until there was a circle of what appeared to be slime forming in the ground a few feet away from Sophie.
“Gary, I know it's your daughter, but be calm; this thing is supposed to be our friend. If it attacks, we will kill it; otherwise, do not make the first move,” Travis said in his Major Porter tone. This was Gary’s daughter, and he was much older than Travis, but he had to respect the calm, confident, and commanding tone of the young man. “I won’t.”
As everyone looked on for about 3 minutes, there grew a fully formed Orc Brute, just standing there. Clyde told Sophie that she needed to command it to start, and they were getting nervous that she would freeze up.
Sophie was so nervous that she might freeze up. Then, as if out of nowhere, a voice in her head said, “No! You are an adult. You are a strong woman, a nurse, a daughter, and now you are needed.”
As it looked like the Orc might start to gain aggro on these people, Sophie yelled, maybe a bit too loud, “I am your master, Orc! Do you have a name?!” The Orc turned a little to face her and, like a big dumb child with a mouth full of rocks, said, “My name Orc Brute, Master human.”
Sophie lowered her voice a bit but kept it commanding, “My name is Master Sophie, and you ARE an Orc Brute; that is not your name. Henceforth you shall be referred to as… Shrek!” The others started bursting out laughing, even Thomas, although not Travis. Mr. party pooper, but like usual, he understood something the others didn't. This brute was strong and dumb, like all creatures fitting that description; it was not going to take being made fun of very well.
As it turned around though to take in its prey, Sophie yelled once more, “Shrek, they do not concern you. Come with me; there is a lot of work to do.” She wanted to add something nice; she didn't know why, but that was just her personality. She felt bad for it. She finally went with, “That is a nice-looking weapon, Shrek.” Shrek ignored the others, as did Sophie when they reacted to her strange comment. The Orc turned towards her again, “You like weapon; rek found it in garbage. I follow you now, Master Ophie.” Apparently, Orcs couldn't pronounce the S sound.
This is part 1 of a multipart chapter - to be continued