I checked the clock on my headset as I flipped from one application to the other just to watch them spin in a circle to kill time. Five minutes until Reckoning’s official launch. I shifted in my bed anxiously, when was the last time I had been so antsy for a videogame? I couldn’t remember. I had only recently got back into gaming after I had grown out of it for a few years when I turned 14. I’m pretty sure my dad cried the night I said I didn’t want to play them anymore.
Jump forward a few years and here I am at 24, slowly getting back into the gaming scene. I stopped the spinning applications on the game that had fished me back into my old hobby. Legend of Xidamt, an open world RPG. It featured true sandbox gameplay with a storyline that culminated in an invasion from an empire from across the sea. Out of all the times I had played I had only won twice. Both times using scorched earth tactics, leaving nothing for the empire to take and use against us.
When pushed against the wall, we humans can truly become demons.
I flicked the app, once more going back to spinning them in a circle. Three minutes remained to launch, my father was probably already waiting for the server to unlock, fully comatose. We had spent the last hour on the phone, outlining our master plan. We had it down to three phases.
Phase 1- Gerheld.
This phase would be us embedding ourselves within the Gerheld Empire. By joining its military we would become key figures of their forces. While there were sure to be other players doing the same, not only for Gerheld but other factions as well, we just had to become the most prominent. This meant questing to further the Empire’s goals.
This meant clearing monster dens and dungeons, recruitment from frontier towns, eliminating bandits and so on. Just the two of us however could only do so much, so once we joined Gerheld we would begin phase 2 as well.
Phase 2- The Guild.
Forming a guild would cost money. Quick research showed that you would need fifty gold to start a guild. Not a small bit of change when you started out with nothing more than simple clothes and a dagger. Once we pooled enough money together we would immediately create one and start recruitment. When I suggested we start blindly recruiting everyone we saw my dad yelled at me.
“We’d be compromised by rival guilds faster than you could snap your fingers. We’ll do slow, precision recruitment my boy, grabbing those who show the same interests as us. We want unity and quality, not chaos and quantity.”
In the end I agreed with his reasoning, we’d have to be careful of other players. What made me double-take however was when he mentioned that we should begin by recruiting NPCs into the guild. He explained that since the AI in use was advanced enough to be considered semi-human, NPCs could join guilds to manage guild shops, houses and castles. As well as accompany players to fight and level up themselves. Madness. The only thing they couldn’t do was speak in guild chat as they didn’t have that function.
So if you wanted to speak to them you had to meet them in person.
Finally, we come to Phase 3- Offensive.
This phase would be simple once we had enough power. We would invade other countries and expand the Empire’s territory. This phase would last until we had conquered the continent of Lidana. We would decide on hitting either the Dohan Republic or the Issim State first later on.
With the plan firmly in mind I selected the Reckoning app with two minutes till launch time. I hit open and felt the probes connect to my temples before my vision went black. Hello darkness my old friend. The Reckoning cinematic started to play once more but I mentally cancelled it, jumping straight to the character selection screen. There stood my greyed-out character in his starting gear of brown pants, tan shirt with a golden hawk over the right breast, well-worn leather shoes. In his right hand he clutched a small dagger.
Starting gear would be quickly replaced, it always is. I just hoped to get some decent spells sooner rather than later. I watched the clock in the upper right of the screen intensely. Any second now…now!
My character had regained his color, allowing me to enter the game. A pop-up asked if I wished to enter the world of Reckoning. I mentally slammed the ‘Yes’ button. Once more I was greeted by darkness before I plummeted towards the world of Patelle. “Oh hell yes!” I yelled, flying through the air. Surging through the atmosphere I did all sorts of flips and spins, enjoying the free fall once more.
Today I learned I’m an adrenaline junkie.
A minute later I touched down in the familiar plaza of Orhu, Gerheld’s starting city. More and more players touched down around me, each with The Impatient title displayed. I smiled; not having to do character creation again would save us a few minutes from the horde that was sure to follow.
“Boy, over here!” I heard my father’s voice yell above the whoops and hollers of other players. The giant black Orc that was my father stood off to the north of the plaza near the familiar face of Captain Dehaven. A popup jumped into my vision.
-Musclewizard invites you to a group-
I mentally accepted. My father now showed on my minimap as a small blue dot. I jogged over to him and the captain, giving a quick salute to the military man who bowed his head in return.
“Greetings Touched Ones, my name is Captain Dehaven of the Gerheld Empire. If you have any questions please direct them to me. I shall do my utmost to answer them.” He spoke respectfully.
“Actually Captain, we would like to help you first.” My father cut in, “We have discovered an illegal magical tome trader. We would like to help you bring him to justice.” Captain Dehaven gave my father a searching stare before nodding.
“Very well, you two shall accompany me. Markos, Recht! Come here!” He shouted to two guards watching over the plaza. The pair rushed over and saluted, giving a hearty “Sir!”
“These two say they have uncovered an unsanctioned tome trader, they will accompany us to bring this man to justice.” He turned to us and nodded, “Lead the way Touched Ones.”
Quest Revealed:
Illegal Trader (Orhu)
An illegal Tome Trader is operating in Orhu. Bring him to justice.
Reward: 1000 experience, +Orhu Reputation.
“Right, follow us.” My dad commanded, walking off towards the west. What was he doing? I accepted the quest and walked next to him, followed closely by the three guards. We left the plaza which was rapidly becoming more and more crowded with players.
I leaned in close and whispered to my father, “Dad what are we-“
“Remember that book trader? There was a world reset so now everything is back to square one. This means he still has the Tomes. This will help us get in good with Gerheld.”
Oh right, Mafarino the bookseller. I completely forgot about him. Leave it to my father to remember every little detail. A bit later we entered the bookstore to a tongue-tied Mafarino who insisted he had no illegal tomes for sale. I stood off to the side next to the old bookkeep as my father walked around the counter and ripped a small cabinet door off its hinges. He placed the five spell tomes on the counter with a raised brow.
Mafarino tried to run of course, but my outstretched leg caught one of his, sending him falling into the arms of a waiting guard who in turn restrained him. Captain Dehaven ordered the two guards to bring him to the barracks’ holding cell until the constable could make time for a trial. He then approached the counter and stared at the magical tomes.
“I wish I had the money to reward you two with, but I have none with me at the moment. These tomes also must be used as evidence in the man’s trial. But it feels wrong letting you go without a reward. Please, take a single tome, each of you.” He motioned towards the counter and stood off to the side.
Quest Completed!
Illegal Trader (Orhu)
Rewards:
1,000 Experience.
+Orhu Reputation.
1 Magical Tome.
A bright light flashed from both my father and I.
Level 2 achieved!
+5 unassigned stat points.
+1 talent point.
I picked up the tome of Summon Elemental while my father grabbed the Rapid Strikes one. We both used the tomes and learned our respective abilities. Captain Dehaven then collected the remaining tomes and turned to us.
“Thank you for helping the empire. We could use good people such as you.” He reached into a pocket and held out two pins in the shape of a bronze hawk. “These pins are given to citizens who have proven themselves worthy of notice.” He explained, “Show these to General Ledric at the castle in town and you’ll be further rewarded for your efforts. As well as offered a position in the Gerheld Empire. You don’t have to accept of course…but…”
“Don’t worry Captain; we planned on joining the Empire officially anyway.” I accepted a pin and bowed my head, “This service was to prove our loyalty to Gerheld.” My father accepted the other pin, looking as if he would break it in his massive hands.
“I thank you again Touched Ones. Know that you will always be welcomed in the city of Orhu. If you will, please leave so that I may lock the shop so thieves do not help themselves.” We both agreed and stepped outside, followed soon by the Captain who closed and locked the door behind him before pocketing the key.
“I do not mean to second-guess Emperor Soddik,” he whispered, “but other countries do not restrict the trade of magic tomes. Only sanctioned Empire mages can purchase them from sanctioned vendors. I can’t help but wonder why he would decide such a thing.”
“I can see why quite easily actually.” I began as Captain Dehaven and my father turned to me. “It’s simple, if you restrict the tome trade to your military you lessen the chance of a rival kingdom obtaining powerful spells, as well as lessening the power of potential rebels.”
“That’s my boy!” my father yelled and rubbed a fist on my head.
“I see, perhaps you are right Touched One.” He seemed relieved, “I shall trust in your wisdom. Now I must return to my duties and bring these tomes to the barracks to be used as evidence. Know that you will always have a friend in Moross Dehaven.” He bowed deeply before heading towards the plaza.
“So far so good,” my father spoke as we moved onto a side street that would lead us to the castle. “Better than good actually. Got a level and a half, a free skill and some reputation to boot. We may even have a potential NPC guild member in Dehaven.”
I nodded my agreement and opened my character status.
Name: Geo
Level: 2
Experience: 500/1000
Health: 200
Mana: 100
Energy: 100
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 10
Unassigned Points: 5
I dumped all 5 points into Intelligence, raising my mana to 150 and increasing my spell power a small amount. I would do the same next level so that I could begin summoning elementals. Speaking of which I had a talent point to spend! I opened my skill book and stared at my abilities.
Unspent Talent Points: 1
Abilities:
Fireball – Cost: 10 Mana
Cast Time: 2 seconds.
Deals 30 fire damage to your target. (Rank 0/3)
Quick Strike – Cost: 10 Energy
Cooldown: 5 seconds.
Instantly strikes your target with current weapon for 110% weapon damage. (Rank 0/3)
Summon Elemental – Cost: 200 Mana
Cast Time: 3 Seconds.
Summons a random elemental of wind water earth or fire to protect the caster for 30 seconds. (Rank 0/3)
Cooldown: 2 minutes.
I began to experiment with the talent point, seeing what changed on each ability when placed in it without accepting placing it permanently. Fireball would increase the damage to 33, a 10% increase. Quick Strike went to 120% weapon damage and a 6 second cooldown. Summon Elemental increased the elemental’s duration from 30 seconds to 60 seconds however.
It was a no-brainer; Summon Elemental received the talent point. Unfortunately I didn’t notice that the mana cost increased as well, from 200 to 250. Now I had to wait until level 4 to be able to cast it. I mentally groaned at my frustration. But level 4 should come fast enough. I looked towards my father who walked with a relaxed gait, contrary to the deep concentration that appeared on his face.
“What you thinking about old man?” I asked, drawing his attention.
“Just messing with the skill fusion system. I just combined Quick Strike and Fireball with Quick Strike as the base ability to make Fire Strike. Same power as Quick Strike except it deals fire damage instead of physical. It also costs mana now instead of energy. Looks like I’ll be putting some points in intellect after all…I’ve only got 5 points in it.”
I laughed, “A Musclewizard through and through!” he grumbled in response. So an Orc’s starting stats were different than a human’s? Interesting. Though I guess I should have expected that.
We still had a ways to walk to reach the hilltop castle, so I myself decided to muck about in the skill fusion system.
Using Fireball as a base, combined with Quick Strike it would make Fireblast, a spell that instantly dealt fire damage to your target on a five second cooldown. Combined with Summon Elemental it would create Elemental Bolt, a 2 second cast that would deal damage from a random element.
I then moved to Quick Strike as the base. Combined with Fireball was as my father said, Fire Strike. But combined with Summon Elemental it became Elemental Strike, same as Quick Strike but dealt damage from a random element. An idea for an elemental warrior formed in my head, this system could certainly achieve that easily.
Finally I tried using Summon Elemental as the base. Combined with Fireball it became Summon Fire Elemental. I gasped. It would always summon a fire elemental to be used in battle but it also lowered the mana cost to 150. My talent point would be refunded if I combined these two spells, so I immediately, and happily, accepted.
You have forgotten Fireball.
You have forgotten Summon Elemental.
You have been refunded a talent point.
You have learned Summon Fire Elemental.
Summon Fire Elemental – Cost: 150 Mana
Cast Time: 3 Seconds.
Summons a fire elemental to protect the caster for 30 seconds. (Rank 0/3)
Cooldown: 2 minutes.
I quickly closed the alerts, now my only skills were Quick Strike and this Fire Elemental. I threw my new ability onto my quick slot bar and stopped walking. My father turned questioningly at me. I stood there with my hands out, flames soon surged from the cobbled street, condensing into a being of pure orange flame. Ghost-like in its appearance, it had two large arms and hands with three digits. Deep red eyes stared back towards me.
Both players and NPCs stared and gasped audibly at the display.
“Whoa.”
“Dude!”
“How did you do that?!”
“Please give me money, I’m new.”
My dad turned towards the person who asked for money, “We’re all new jackass now piss off.” Laughter followed as the player ran off. More people came to admire the elemental for a few seconds before it wore off a few seconds later. I was bombarded with question which I answered to the best of my ability before excusing myself and heading towards the castle.
“You need to be more subtle.” My father said to me, “We want to go unnoticed for as long as possible so that people don’t target us on purpose. Once the guild gets going then we’ll make a scene.”
“Right, sorry.” I apologized.
“Bah don’t worry; I’m eager to try out this Flame Strike ability myself!”
After a few minutes more of walking we stood outside the entrance to the city’s castle. Four guards stood at attention at the entrance, spears held in a rest position. I felt their eyes follow us every step as we entered.
Inside the entrance was a grand hallway which grew into the throne room further inside. Candles lined the sides of the hallway illuminating the sculptures, paintings, and the suits of armor that stood watch, never moving. We stepped along a faded gold rug led the way into the throne room. Inside the large room guards stood watch along the walls as rich looking nobles conversed among one another.
In the center of the room was a cushioned marble throne, on which a young man sat. I guessed he couldn’t have been more than twenty eight. He wore regal brown robes trimmed with golden thread, clearly the constable of Orhu. To the constable’s right stood a scarred man wearing full plate armor that shone silver. A golden hawk painted expertly on the breastplate.
“Hey eyeballs,” My father said to a nearby guard. “That tin can in the center wouldn’t happen to be General Ledric would it?” Unfortunately my father forgot to lower his voice. The room filled with murmurs turned silent in an instant as everyone noticed the giant Orc next to me.
The silence was broken with laughter coming from the center of the room. On his marble throne the constable clutched his chest in laughter. “The…the Orc has your number Ledric! Hah!” he took a deep breath in a poor attempt to stifle the chuckles he uttered occasionally. “Step forward Touched Ones, these halls are always open to the public.”
Ledric crossed his arms but betrayed a grin on his face as he stared at my father. “Been awhile since I met someone with the iron to call me a tin can, I hope you can back up those words Orc.”
“Back them up and pay them in full.” My father responded with a grin, showing off his muscles.
“Watch out for him,” I began. “He’s a bane to old women everywhere.”
The constable slapped his chair with delight, barely containing his laughter. Even Ledric’s grin grew. Polite laughter from the nobles peppered the room. “So what may we do for you sirs…?” The constable began.
“Geo.”
“Musclewizard.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“…sirs Geo and Musclewizard.” He spoke as if tasting the names. “Strange names, but who am I to judge the gods’ chosen ones? Ah, where are my manners? I am Constable Golt. So how may we help you two?”
“First Captain Dehaven mentioned a reward.” I showed them the bronze hawk, “We helped catch an illegal tome vendor.”
Ledric nodded, “We could find something for each of you to use. Anything else?” I nodded,
“Second we wish to formally join the Gerheld Empire as members of its military.”
Constable Golt clapped, “Excellent, excellent indeed. The empire should be proud to have such fine men join her. What say you Ledric, shall we accept this man and Orc into our ranks?”
Ledric nodded, “Indeed, I’d be happy to have them under my command. However Golt aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Bah, ceremonies are a pain. But very well, if two would please kneel before the throne we can begin.” Together my father and I knelt facing the throne. “Sirs Geo and Musclewizard, do you swear with all your heart to uphold the honor of the Gerheld Empire? To serve her justly and shelter her with your very lives?”
“I swear so!” I exclaimed
“What he said.” My father said. Damnit dad, way to ruin the mood.
“Then by the power vested in me by Emperor Soddik in the Grand Citadel, I Constable Golt pronounce you honorary members of the Gerheld Empire. Stand and accept your symbols of authority as Junior Squad Leaders in the Gerheld Guard.”
You have officially joined the Gerheld Empire!
Reputation with the Gerheld Empire has reached friendly!
As we stood Ledric handed us a larger version of the bronze hawks we received from Captain Dehaven. “Wear these with pride Touched Ones, they will show everyone your allegiance to our glorious country.”
“Thank you.” I bowed my head, accepting the hawk. My father nodded as he accepted his.
“Now since you two are unproven we must set forth a trial for you to complete to show you are capable of leading the men and women of the empire. If you would accompany me I will lead you to the barracks which is filled with fresh recruits. You will then be assigned three men each and given a task to complete. Should you complete the task you will be rewarded and given an additional two men. Your very own squads to lead.”
“Now we’re cooking! What are we waiting for, times wasting!” My father exclaimed, eager to be off.
“Very well then, let us be off! I’ll be back shortly Golt.” Ledric saluted before turning towards the castle exit and marching ahead. My father and I fell into step behind him. The guards nodded respectfully as we walked by. A sign of our increased reputation.
“Now that you’re officially members of the empire, we can up that original reward Dehaven promised you.” Ledric grinned, “After all, nothing says we can’t equip our own troops eh?” My father and I grinned as well. Gear!
After a short walk we turned east to a massive stone building surrounded by a metal fence. In the grounds surrounding the building were targets and dummies being used for practice as well as sand pits for training between members. Currently a small crowd was gathered around a sand pit cheering. Must have been a match going on.
“Welcome to the Orhu barracks.” Ledric spoke as we entered the building. “This is the main hall, off to the sides are the living quarters where our people sleep. Straight ahead is the mess hall where you can grab a bite to eat. It ain’t the most pleasant gruel but it fills the stomach. If you continue straight through the mess you’ll enter the kitchen. Gods help you if you do; you’re liable to be forced into pot scrubbing duty for interrupting work. Side doors lead outside to the training grounds.”
We took a quick look at the living quarters, bunk beds stood side by side with a handful of people sitting in the center playing cards. “Better not be gambling!” Ledric shouted which caused the group to shrink back.
“N-no sir!”
“Very well then, continue on.”
The men saluted and went back to their game, grins all around.
“Fuckin’ liars.” My dad snorted.
“We don’t need to know that.” Ledric said, “No real harm in it so long as I don’t see it.”
“Keeps the men happy and high in morale.” I noted.
“Exactly. Here’s the mess.” Ledric responded, opening the doorway to the mess hall. Tables filled the room with a few soldiers scattered about the room in groups. Laughter and banging echoed through the hall.
“Hey Ledric, whose the new bloods?” An Elf shouted from a nearby table with four others sitting with him.
“Pair of Touched Ones, freshly joined. Wanted to get the feel and lay of the place before being assigned a squad.” Ledric responded, closing the distance. “The big one’s Musclewizard, little guy over here is Geo.”
Hey you’re only a few inches taller than me dude, shove off.
“Touched Ones joining the fray eh? Battles are gonna start heating up then. Either of you cast spells?” A human woman asked.
“Both of us do. Though my dad here likes to punch things more than throw balls of fire. I myself can summon a Fire Elemental.”
“Orcy will get along great with Tin-tooth here. He likes to hit things as well. How about it Ledric, how about signing us up with the Orc?” The original Elf ask.
“I’m considering it. Think you could get along with the 81st squad, Musclewizard?”
“If I can’t I’ll break them.” My dad responded, cracking his knuckles. Laughter filled the table.
“I like him Ledric, we’ll keep him.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll assign you to the 81st Musclewizard.”
“Kay, but do we really have to call ourselves the 81st squad?” My dad questioned.
“Got a better name for us do ya Orc?” The Elf asked.
“Yep.” My dad grinned widely. “Da Big Boyz.”
All five squad members pounded the table roaring with laughter and chanting “We Da Big Boyz!” causing my dad to nod approvingly. Apparently everyone was an Orc at heart in the military. Ledric smiled knowingly,
“Sit here and get to know your squad Musclewizard, you’ll be working together after all. I’ll be back with some equipment and your assignment. But first I gotta find Geo here a squad.”
“Take your time; I gotta break my Boyz in a little.” Dad grinned, taking a seat next to the Elf who had called to us at first. Ledric motioned for me to follow, so I waved and followed the general. Raucous laughter followed a loud bang behind us as we neared one of the side exits. I turned to see one of dad’s squad members rubbing his wrist as another grabbed my dad’s hand. Arm wrestling.
I learned long ago to never challenge my dad to those.
“They’re a good squad, they’ll watch out for your old man.” Ledric said as he exited the building.
“Yeah but who’s watching out for them?” I joked as I followed into the courtyard.
Arrows zipped through the air, smacking into targets that stood a good distance away. Swords, maces and axes clunked against wooden dummies set up for practice. A large group of soldiers in full armor ran around a track further behind the barracks in the distance. It was certainly a sight to behold, soldiers training.
“Good facilities breed good men.” Ledric stated as he noticed my staring at the sights. “I was already planning on making the 81st your dad’s squad, seems like they’ve already accepted him. As for you I’m sort of hesitant.”
“Whys that?” I asked curiously.
“Well I do have a squad for you, good soldiers each. Thing is…they’re a bit of a problem in a group. Not that they’re at each other’s throats mind you, they just aren’t used to working together.”
“I see.” Ledric nodded
“I was planning on taking them out myself and whipping them into shape. Wouldn’t be too hard to do. As I said, they’re good soldiers. I just haven’t had the time lately.” His eyes stared off into the distance. “I’ve got a bad feeling about the days to come. I only hope that more of you Touched Ones join us.”
“I’m certain they will. They’re just…caught up in the moment is all.”
“Aren’t we all?” He smiled, “Another thing about the squad I mentioned. There are only three members. I haven’t found any others yet that would fit them well enough to assign more. If you want I can introduce you to them.”
“Alright, lead the way.”
Ledric strode towards the ranged targets, approaching a woman clad in leather armor who shot arrow after arrow into the center of the furthest target. Her black hair made into a single braid that ran down to her shoulders.
“This here is Amariah. Soldiers call her Ice.” Ledric whispered to me. “She showed up here one day years ago dirty and covered in soot. The general at the time had no idea what to do with a little girl standing at his doorstep. But at the urging of a few female soldiers he brought her in and they got her cleaned up. Never said a word to anybody for as long as I can recall. When asked where she was from she pointed on a map at a distant frontier town under our protection.
When we sent a patrol to return her home they found nothing but charred ruins and corpses picked clean by vultures. From that day on she’s been a member of our little family. As you can see, she’s obsessed with the bow. Has been ever since she was old enough to hold one. An amazing shot but she doesn’t speak which makes her hard to understand.”
I could tell she had noticed us by a quick look from her left eye before returning to her target and letting loose once more. Direct hit.
“Hey Ice.” Ledric said out loud, “Meet your new squad leader.” She quickly looked over before turning back to her target. I could certainly see how she got the nickname Ice; her stare would make a demon freeze. “She’s not one to say hello either.” Ledric shrugged.
I had an idea. “Get someone to get me an apple or a pear or something. We’re gonna play William Tell.”
“William who?” Ledric asked before sending a nearby soldier off to the mess to grab a fruit.
“You’ll see.” I hope.
Seconds later the soldier returned with a green apple. Ledric motioned towards me and the soldier tossed it. I caught it easily and walked over to Ice. She glanced at me before turning back to her target. I put a hand on her bow which earned me a glare. I hope she didn’t hit me on purpose for that.
“Hit this apple off my head.” Was all I said, letting her see the target before I walked off towards the archery target she had been shooting at. I could feel her gaze on my back every step of the way. When I reached the target I turned around, facing her and put the apple on my head.
It’s a strange feeling when you know your life is in someone else’s hands. Sort of like watching a movie with no pause or rewind, though it did help knowing that if I was killed I would just respawn. Was there that many people standing around there before? It seems I had drawn a crowd. In the distance I watched her raise her bow and aim. I forced my eyes to stay open, no blinking or closing.
A loud ‘Thwunk!’ sounded from afar, followed by the slight whistling of an arrow flying through the sky. I watched its arc, nervous to high hell and back. When staring at death, seconds turn into minutes. Why was I doing this? I could have gotten a different squad. One full of normal people. Well, as normal as you get in the military.
But I didn’t truly want normal. My family was anything but normal after all.
I heard the arrow split the apple on my head and hit the ground behind me. Don’t sigh in relief Geo; show them that you expected this to happen. I turned and grabbed the arrow off the ground, cleaned off the dirt and walked back towards the crowd that was now cheering.
I held the arrow outwards to her as I approached. Her eyes drilled into my own. I didn’t think that serious look on her face ever left. The crowd quickly silenced. I gave a warm smile and she took her arrow back. I then held out a hand, “I’m Geo, I’ll be your new squad leader.” Much to everyone’s surprise she gave my hand a firm shake. Respect.
Ledric shook his head, “You got some iron stones yourself.”
“Thanks, comes from my mother.”
Laughter rolled like a wave through the soldiers. Ice turned back to her target, her lip slightly upturned. Unnoticed by all but Ledric and I. “Forget squad leader, I should name you captain for that stunt alone.”
“Squad leader is fine. For now at least.” Ledric laughed,
“For now he says, you pull results like that and you’ll be named commander before the years over. Care to meet your other two squad mates?”
“Bring em on.”
“Gamble, Oak, get your rears in gear!” Ledric shouted. Shortly after a clean-shaven dwarf exited the crowd followed by a green and black scaled creature with a reptilian head and yellow eyes. A Misawi.
“Och, why ye gotta call when I’m collectin’ my winnings from a hearty wager er two Ledric?” The dwarf spoke grudgingly, “Ain’t like we’re on assignment.”
“Can it Gamble, this here’s Geo. He’s your new squad leader.” Ledric spoke motioning towards me. “Geo this is Kelon Stonebrow, aka Gamble. The Misawi over here is known simply as Oak.”
“Och so yer the boy with the stones-o-gold.” Gamble held up a muscular arm. “Won me a fair tip on that apple deal boy. We’ll get along real well if’n you keep that up.” He grinned allowing me to spy a golden tooth. I shook his hand.
“I’m sure we’ll beat the odds together once or twice Gamble.”
“Where ya been hidin’ this one Ledric? Words-o-gold this one. Words-o-gold indeed.” Gamble’s smile only widened as I felt a coin fall into my hand. I gave him a questioning look which earned me a wink. He let go of my hand slowly, giving me enough time to close my hand around the coin. I pocketed it, no need to look a gift horse in the mouth after all.
I looked towards the reptilian humanoid called Oak and bowed my head. He searched me up and down before nodding as well, “Greetings Touched One. I am humbled to have a Touched as a pack leader.”
“Honored to have you among the squad, Oak. If you don’t mind my asking, Misawi aren’t at all common here and…” Oak raised a three-fingered hand.
“Is no secret. When I was but an egg I was brought to this land. I hatched shortly after making landfall I was told. I was raised among a group of fellow Misawi who taught me our ways as I grew. I learned to hunt from my pack leader and was found to be quite skilled at it. It is how I made a living until a few weeks ago when I decided to hunt for the larger family. Now I am here.”
“I’m sure your skills will come in handy Oak. We’ll be doing plenty of hunting together.”
Oak then put a fist over his heart and bowed deeply. “May we hunt together forever pack leader.”
“Well you seem to have gained their attention Geo.” Ledric nodded, “This here’s the 102nd squad. Care to give it a personal name like your father did?”
I rubbed my chin in thought. It didn’t help that all three of my squad mates were now staring at me.
“How about ‘The Rumblers?’”
I never claimed at being good at names.
You now command The Rumblers!
Members:
Name: Amariah “Ice”
Level: 1
Experience: 0/500
Health: 160
Energy: 120
Strength: 11
Agility: 14
Endurance: 8
Intelligence: 7
Skills:
Eagle Eye- Increases the maximum range of ranged weapons such as bows by 5 meters.
Name: Kelon Stonebrow “Gamble”
Level: 1
Experience: 0/500
Health: 220
Energy: 85
Strength: 9
Agility: 7
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 13
Skills:
Lucky- Gains an additional 5% chance to land a critical strike.
Name: “Oak”
Level: 1
Experience: 0/500
Health: 200
Energy: 110
Strength: 10
Agility: 12
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 8
Skills:
Poisoned Strikes- has a chance on every hit to poison the target dealing an additional 10% damage over 5 seconds.
A new interface popped in front of my face displaying the members of my squad from their stats to their equipment.
“Oh boy.”
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Free talk zone.
Whew, another chapter done this weekend, I'm on fire.
The plan from now on is to do one chapter during the work week and one on the weekend.
Though I may be lazy sometimes.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this newest chapter!
Edit- just remembered that only a few people in this world can use mana so I removed the squad's mana bar. Oops.