The flickering flames cast long shadows on the walls of the hideout, where Frank, Diana, Hector, and Mia gathered around their fire. The scent of burning wood mingled with the mustiness of the enclosed space.
Frank leaned against a wall, absentmindedly twirling one of his daggers. "So, we're finally ready to go after the nest," he stated, his tone casual despite the gravity of the situation.
"Yes, that seems to be the case. We’ve all leveled up and became better with our abilities.."
Hector, rubbing his new calluses from the guige, on his neck, nodded in agreement. "We can't keep avoiding them forever. It's time to take the fight to their doorstep."
The room fell into a momentary silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire. The gravity of the decision hung in the air.
Frank broke the quiet, injecting a hint of levity. "Well, we’ve got our levels, weapons and a whole lot of hopefully not misplaced confidence, all we need is a plan."
A soft chuckle passed through the group, briefly lightening the mood. The fire's glow danced in their eyes, and Frank took stock of his friends.
Their bodies themselves reflected the harsh reality of survival. They all looked wiry, made only of skin, muscle and bone.
Their clothes were worn and tattered. Centipede ichor stains marked the fabric in irregular patterns, a result of countless encounters with the monstrous creatures that roamed the city. The odor of the creatures' musk lingered, ingrained into the fibers, creating a distinctive, earthy scent.
There were no gleaming armors or pristine garments, just a group of worn-down individuals. But they were still alive and kicking. He was looking at a group of survivors that just plain refused to die no matter the horrors the city threw at them. They used every single resource they had to its maximum potential and beat all the challenges up till now. Maybe the confidence really wasn’t misplaced.
He looked at Mia, she seemed to have regained her spirit but something in her eyes worried him. She seemed to be pushing herself too hard, and he thought it might lead to too much risk taking. Though he really couldn't deny that she became a force to be reckoned with.
Then he turned his eyes to his oldest friend, Hector. He also was doing better but Frank had a strong suspicion something nasty was brewing just under the surface. He knew the guy, when Hector got this single-minded it usually blew up in a real shitstorm later. He got an idea in his head and got so stuck on it that he forgot everything else. This time it was training and getting stronger. Frank tried talking to Hector a couple of times but it was useless. Not the type of guy to talk about his feelings.
Finally his eyes rested on Diana. Damn the woman confused him. Before this nightmare started she was always cold and dismissive of him, but something changed along the way. If it was any other woman he would be positive she was flirting with him. With Diana it was just so.. Impossible to imagine.
Nevertheless it seemed to be happening and to his own surprise he wasn’t entirely against it. He cast a quick glance at the outline of her bra visible through the holes in her torn clothes and the way her jeans hugged her figure. He gulped.
Sure she was mean to him in the past but she was mean to everybody and anyway recently she has been nice to him. Damn it Frank, take your mind out of the gutter, your survival is on the line and you're thinking about sex.
The conversation was going on without him and as he refocused he heard Hector say.
“Yeah, and we have all the armor Mia made, chitin for me and leather for everyone else.”
“It’s the same as with the weapons, my crafting, how should I put it… gives me knowledge? About how to craft better stuff but I just don't have the tools or means to make them here. What we have is the best we can currently get.” Mia shrugged.,
“Fine. We also need to discuss enchanting and the actual game plan for our attack” Diana interjected.
“What do you mean enchanting?” Frank tried to get back into the conversation.
“I mean what pieces of equipment I should enchant, I’m thinking your daggers, obviously as they are a real asset” There it was again, she was nice. Diana continued unaware of Frank's thoughts “Mia’s and Hector’s weapons and that leaves armor” She finished.
“Don’t you want to enchant your staff?” Frank asked genuinely curious, Diana would never give up an advantage.
“I’ve checked and my current enchantments only improve the melee aspects, so it would gain me very little. I prefer a bit more mana, "she explained.
“Well that makes sense i suppose” Frank shrugged “What was that about armor?”
“I finished the last set for Diana and was saying that I can't craft anything better without a forge. Also Diana can enchant armor too” Mia explained.
“To the point, everyone is ok with only upgrading Hector's armor? Same logic as before, I need the mana and the protection increase on the leather armor is minimal.” Diana took control of the discussion. “Ok now as for the plan, any ideas?”
Frank thought for a while. “We could lure as much as we can outside. Remember when we were collapsing the entrances Diana? We could do something similar.” He shuddered at the memory of that fight. He was reluctant to propose this solution but he had to, it was the best way.
“Maybe we could sneak through?” Hector proposed, his voice barely above a whisper.
“No, Frank’s idea is better. If we try to sneak in and we are forced into a fight we won't be able to choose our battlefield. Luring the monsters gives us the biggest advantage.” Frank heard Diana say.
“But we will have to fight all of them, instead of a smaller group” Mia countered.
“True, but if we prepare correctly it shouldn't be a problem. We would also prepare escape routes so if we're about to be overwhelmed we can escape.” Diana said.
Frank thought about the whole idea for a while. “If we prepare an escape route that we can collapse behind us the risk is small, we’re strong enough to disengage, no matter the amount of bugs”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Mia sighed. “Fine i’ll agree to this plan if we have a secure way to escape, and ill judge if its enough. Ok?”
“What about you Hector?” Frank asked. “You would probably be at the most risk in this”
Hector was silent for a while, Frank noticed he was working his jaw and took a breath a couple of times as if he was about to speak.
“Come on Hector, say what you want to say” Diana said impatiently.
Hector looked at her and looked like he finally made a decision “It's a good plan, i'm all for it.”
“Finally” Diana said coldly “Now that we're all on board, do you have any ideas how to refine it a bit more?”
“If i had a platform a bit higher up i could protect us from any Duskshiekers that come for us” Mia offered
Diana nodded “I’d probably be on the platform with you so I could target my spells more effectively. We could also create a funnel of rubble so that Hector could fight at the narrowest part and not be surrounded.”
“I like that idea, we could box them in and the girls could kill them from above.” Frank said. “What about me though?”
“Your main job would be to support Hector and deal with anything unexpected that happens”
Diana said.
“The reserve, trump card and support all in one?” He joked. “We would need to prepare two entrances to the escape route. Escape tunnel maybe?”
“Yeah one next to me and one next to Mia and Diana” Hector offered.
“It sounds like we have a rough outline in place. We should move out tomorrow after breakfast” Diana finished the discussion.
Before everyone could stand up Hector spoke up “There’s one more thing.”
Frank looked at his friend “What is it?”
“I got this Aspect thing, and i wanted to know if any of you got them too”
Frank hesitated for a second, but his friend looked sincerely distressed and he didn’t have it in him to hide this any longer “Yeah i got one too” He admitted.
Hector’s eyes opened wider, surprise and relief clearly visible on his face. “I got Aspect of the Just Hero, I got it after I lost my hand.” He was silent for a second “I also got the Aspect of the Coward” He finished quietly.
Frank felt a surge of pity for his friend. So that's what Hector has been struggling with. Eh it was time to share. “Yeah… i got the Aspect of Cackling Madness, it seems to take control of me in some fights” Even though he already talked about this with Mia and Diana saw the effects firsthand he felt immense relief when he put it out in the open like that.
“Mine don’t do anything like that, but I have had those nightmares, they feel more like actual memories though” Hector said. “What do you mean it takes control over you”
“I just kind black out but my body keeps moving and talking. Both girls saw this “
Mia and Diana nodded and Frank continued” I think i have it mostly under control now, i just have to not get too excited during a fight.” Frank noticed that the way Hector watched him changed, he was wary and the change definitely hurt. To hide his feelings Frank quickly added” I didn’t have any weird dreams. But I have those weird flashbacks, like when we were exploring with Diana I just remembered floor layouts. Or I remembered the way a centipede would attack, because it always does it that way…”
Frank looked questioningly at Diana, she seemed reluctant, but finally said “Yeah i have an Aspect, Insidious Strength, i had some weird dreams too”
“I don’t have an Aspect, or any dreams or flashbacks” Mia added.
“Maybe it's because of the aspects that we experience all this then?” Hector asked.
“Hard to say, the sample size is too small” Diana interjected.
“Well it makes sense to me and we are unlikely to learn more. The question is what should we do with it?” Frank asked.
They all looked at each other, all fresh out of ideas. Hector shrugged. “Nothing we can do about dreams or visions. But those Aspects are worrying, something is watching us.”
“Shit, we should get out of here as soon as possible."
Noone had anything to offer after that and they split up. Frank had one more thing he wanted to talk to Mia about, so he approached her.
“Hey, could you prepare a bunch of throwing daggers for me?” He asked.
“They could be useful and anyway it's a chore to go pick up my main ones in the middle of a fight” He added with a crooked smile.
“Sure no problem, we should have materials for them.” Mia responded.
Frank thought Mia looked like she needed someone to talk to. He went with her to grab her tools.
“Hey let me help you with that,” He said, picking up scraps of metal from their storage and carrying it back to the hideout.
“It's fine, I can manage,” Mia protested.
“I know you can, I just wanted to help.” He smiled.
They worked in silence for a moment, until Frank caught her glancing at him and raised an eyebrow. Mia chucked and then sighed.
"Do you ever wonder how we ended up in this mess? I mean, monsters, infected buildings, a city that just … ends." Mia began, the weariness heavy in her voice.
“Yeah, I do. But you know, Mia, sometimes I think it's not about how we got here, but how we're gonna get out. We're survivors, all of us” He rubbed his forehead scar. "and this messed-up city hasn't broken us yet."
Mia nodded, her eyes fixed on the half finished dagger in her hands. "Survivors, huh? Sometimes I worry that we're already dead and this is hell."
Frank made a serious face and in a deadpan said "I believe the food would be worse."
Despite her overall mood, a small smile tugged at Mia's lips. "True. And there would be no baths." After a while the bit of levity evaporated from her face. “I also worry about something else.”
“What is it?” Frank asked, serious for once.
“I think about how this place changed us. Even if we get back home it's not like we can get back to our old lives” She cast a meaningful glance at Frank's forearms.
He followed her eyes, and noticed the criss crossing pattern of scars he has coletted over the past weeks. Diana's magic allowed them to heal near instantly for minor injuries, but each wound still left its marks.
Frank knew that Mia meant something far deeper that the surface scars. He wondered if any of them would ever be the same. The experience of fighting for their lives daily changed them all. Each of them dealt with the demands of their new life in a slightly different way. Mia and Hector both fractured a bit from the constant pressure but they seemed to be coming out of it stronger.
Diana certainly grew colder and more distant towards the others while she warmed up to him, no idea what was really going through her head. That left only him, he knew that his coping mechanism was to turn everything into a joke, make it easier to deal with. However in this place it has backfired spectacularly.
“You think our skills and Aspects will follow us once we go back home?” He asked Mia.
“I don’t know. But i hope they don't” the woman answered.
“Why, you would be a world class archer and if i went into MMA i’d be the champion of everything in no time” Frank half-joked.
“Because I'd rather put all of this behind me and forget all about skills, levels and Aspects. And never play a game with those for the rest of my life” Mia said.
“Yeah I got the Aspect part, that one I'd really like to lose.” Frank sighed. “Remember back on the rooftop, we talked about the book with a little girl lost in a forest full of monsters?”
“Yeah? What about it?” Mia looked him in the eyes.
The next sentence was hard to push through his own throat and he barely managed “I don’t feel like i'm surrounded by monsters anymore, that Aspect makes me feel like i’m one of them”
Mia immediately hugged him. “You’re not a monster Frank, you’re the good spirit of our group, always seeing the good in people and situations. Even when you lost control you never hurt anybody, you would never do that”
Frank took solace in her words even if he was not sure they were true