When people hear the word ‘rifle’, a specific weapon often comes to mind. Some would think of a hunting rifle, while others might think of a self-loading military variant. A full or even semi-automatic weapon would make his in-game life much easier. But Nathan was nothing if not realistic. Therefore, he was thinking of the former, but was hoping for the latter.
What he found on the wall was neither.
A rusty and rather basic metal pipe - longer than it had any business being – bolted together to not one, but two stocks. Or rather, a rough and splintered wooden base that split into two stocks. One for each shoulder, apparently, with the pipe in the middle. There were two vertical grips, one on each side, and a single bullet loading mechanism on the top. A small wire on the left grip connected to a small wind-up hammer and functioned as a trigger. The impression its shape gave was closer to a fixed machine gun or an anti-air gun than a rifle. And it was well used. The whole thing looked like it had seen better days, and was then buried for a couple of years before it was dug up again and finally put on the wall.
[The herder's cane]
Unique rifle – Ranged
2d10 -4 piercing dmg
4/60 durability
The pride of the Shearer family, this homemade ‘rifle’ has been used by multiple generations to protect the flock. Even when missing, more often than not the loud noise is enough to scare away any predators.
Uses a custom caliber of an unspecified size, created and handloaded by the (late) Jebediah Shearer.
It packed a real punch, no doubt about that. Nathan took it down from the wall and examined it closer.
It was too heavy, too long, and too unbalanced to use when standing, but it had a bipod connected at the front which indicated that it was supposed to be used while prone. That the bipod was permanently deployed only reinforced this. There was no scope, but there was a... not an iron sight as such, but some iron scratches and bumps that could be used to aim with.
There were 10 slots for bullets cut or drilled out in the dual stocks. Only three of them were filled. Disappointing, but he understood that if he’d gotten a lot of them, the weapon could easily be considered overpowered. Not, this was something he could use once or maybe twice when he’d time to prepare, and even then, it would introduce some risk.
And that was if he would actually keep it. The irony of him killing someone for robbing (and killing) NPCs, and then grabbing all the valuables from said NPCs wasn't lost on him. While he wouldn't stoop so low as to ransack the rest of the cabin, he couldn’t in good conscience abandon a weapon like this just hanging on the wall. For now, he threw it into his pouch. He'd figure out what to do with it later.
Nathan was fine with robbing the brute and the thief, though. He took everything he could find of value, but it wasn’t much. They probably had their own storing relics where they kept anything valuable, but when they died the connection between the relic and their implant was lost and it turned into a normal bag without any of the content. Nathan checked them even so and found a small amount of money – about 7 silvers worth. If that was theirs or if it was randomly generated on death, he didn’t know.
That left anything they had equipped. As for weapons, the thief had two daggers and the brute had a shortsword—all rather bad quality, and not something Nathan wanted to use. He took them even so. Besides that, they each had hide armor, and Nathan decided to put on the thief’s, since it had significantly better durability than the other one.
[Hide armor]
Common chest- Leather
1 DR
18/20 durability
A poncho made from untreated hide with openings for the head and arms. Offers some protection.
Not exactly a fashion statement, but better than nothing.
Just as he was about to leave, he noticed that the light reflected something on the thief’s finger. Leaning down and looking closer, he saw that it was a ring. He hadn’t even thought to look for such things, so after he’d pried it off, he checked for necklaces, ear dubs, and armbands as well, without result. Still, the ring was nice, and he could probably sell it for something. Its surface was smooth and unblemished, made of an unknown alloy. If he were to guess, he would say titanium, if that was even a possibility. Analyze might give him the answer.
[Ring of Awareness]
Rare ring – Relic
Dexterity +1
Perception +1
Indestructible
This ring contains exceptional processing power, produced for and by an empire long forgotten. It is designed to integrate with the implant of the bearer, and will enhance how the world is perceived, and how fast the mind is able to react.
In another age, these rings and others like them were quite common, but most of them have been lost. Still, since they are virtually indestructible, they have the habit of showing up in the strangest places.
Any thought of selling the ring was quickly forgotten as he put it on. The effect was instant. Everything around him became just a bit clearer, and his movements became just a bit sharper. It felt good. Why the thief had such a treasure he did not know, but he suspected he might have purchased it, like how Bruce had gotten his glasses. He wondered what other treasures people could be walking around with.
As he jogged instead of walking on the return trip, the trip back to the village went much faster than the trip out. It felt like no time at all before he once again walked into Ollie’s and received the normal greeting. And, as on many of the previous visits, also this time he had bad news.
“I am sorry, Ollie, but they were already dead before I got there,” Nathan explained after the initial platitudes. “Killed after a disagreement by the very people sent there to help them.”
“What? That can’t be?” exclaimed Ollie, deflating until he had to support himself on the bar disk. “Oh, what have I done? Too trusting, am I! Too trusting by far. How did it happen?”
Nathan gave a brief rundown of what he had seen, what the two thugs had said, and how he had taken them down, but didn’t add too many details or any embellishments. He didn’t see the need for it.
“You did the right thing, and for that I thank you,” said the bartender when he’d finished the story. “It can’t have been easy for you, killing one of our own – it's not like fighting a goblin or an orc - but it is clear that you are not one to shy away from the righteous path just because it is difficult or unpleasant. I appreciate that and will remember it.”
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“Well, you should know that they were clones, so in a couple of days there is a good chance that they will be back here acting like nothing happened. Might want to ready a nice warm welcome for them, if you get my drift.”
Ollie frowned. “No, we can’t do that. A new clone is its own legal entity and cannot under any circumstance be punished for crimes committed by any predecessor. Sure, their reputation will be varnished – I'll make sure of that – but no action can be taken against them. That is just how it is.”
Nathan mulled over his words. From a game's point of view, it made a lot of sense. This world gave the players a lot of potential ways to fuck up, and this way death was a good way to clean the slate if you had managed to dig yourself so deep down a hole that there was no way out. A clean slate towards the NPCs at least. The enmity between players might take a bit longer to wipe clean. In the end, he just shrugged. “If you say so.”
“I do. I do,” confirmed Ollie quietly.
“I have a small confession to make, though,” continued Nathan. “While I left all the Sheerers' valuables back in their cabin, I did take a... rifle, that was displayed on one of the walls. It seemed too valuable to leave behind, only to be picked up by the next recreant happening by, but now I’m not sure what to do with it. Did they have any next of kin?”
“No, sadly they did not. I know the rifle you speak of. An heirloom that Shaun talked of often, though he himself had never used it. An ugly thing, and more of sentimental value than anything else, really. No, I think you should keep it. Consider it a reward for what you have done. It is what Shaun would have wanted. As for the rest, I’ll send someone to clean up the cabin and provide a burial for everyone involved. You have done your part.”
“Thanks, Ollie. That is a load of my mind,” Nathan said as he noticed Bruce in his side vision. “If there is nothing else?”
Ollie shook his head before pouring a pint. “Here, have one on me, a toast for the ones we have lost.”
“For the ones we have lost,” Nathan repeated as he took a small sip. Suddenly hit by a wave of regret and second-guessing, he closed his eyes and took a moment to remember all the friends he had lost over the years. Some of whom he could have saved it only he’d been better, or quicker, or taken a different choice. Alas.
He gathered himself before he moved towards the beaconing Bruce. When he looked back, the melancholy that Ollie had displayed earlier had vanished like fog in the sun, and he was once again back to his jolly self. Smiling and joking while serving another customer.
Bruce guided Nathan over to one of the free tables before speaking. “Margos and RedReaver should join us shortly. I wasn't able to reach any of the others, but I found another player that was willing to join. One -” His fingers did a little dance in front of his face, while he stared at something in the air over the table that only he could see. “- Ashira. She is only level three, but so far it doesn’t seem like levels are that important. Besides, she had some other things going for her. Ah, here she is now.”
A small, slender woman walked in. Comely, but not beautiful. She was wearing a dark layered outfit, which looked tight and unconstricting at the same time. Several knives were strapped across her outfit at different locations, and from here waist dangled a coiled rope with a small sharp-looking blade connected to one of the ends. She scanned the room slowly, and as she spotted them, she started to practically glide through the room in their direction.
Nathan couldn't resist giving her a closer look.
Ashira [???]
Level 3, Ninja
“Ninja?” he blurted out in surprise.
Bruce only laughed. When Ashira made it to the table he made the introductions, designating Nathan as the group leader. Since they were still waiting for their remaining two members, Nathan decided to better get to know Ashira.
“I have to say,” he started, “your weapon selection is unusual, to say the least. Have you tried to use it? I can’t imagine it is easy to handle?”
Ashira smiled. “I wouldn’t recommend it for most people. Me, I wasted most of my youth doing rhythmic gymnastics, specializing in rope and ribbons. Who knew those skills would be useful in a game a couple of years later? Not me, that's for sure.”
“Ah, that explains the weapon. And the ninja path. Sounds cool, I’ll give you that.”
Ashire looked up in surprise. “How did you know my path?”
Nathan was taken aback. “Oh... I analyzed you as you walked through the door.”
“You can see the path when analyzing players? I only get the name, and that is only if I knew it from before. For mobs I get more useful info, but not for players.”
Nathan thought back to the different times he’d used it and the results he’d gotten. “I think it’s dependent on the level difference and the perception stat. For you, I didn’t see anything besides your first name and your path – and the first name was probably just because Bruce mentioned it. I only see question marks for your last name.”
“Last name? I don’t have a last name,” Ashira denied.
“You don’t? Then I don’t know what it is. A bunch of question marks inside a bracket right after your name is what I see.”
With that information, Ashira knew enough to venture a guess. “It’s probably my guild,” she reasoned.
“Fraternity,” Bruce corrected.
“What?” said Ashira and Nathan at the same time.
“It’s called a fraternity. Or... it’s dependent on the size, but I assume you aren’t more than 20 people?"
“No, we are currently 5. Or we will be soon,” admitted Ashira.
“Then it’s a fellowship,” asserted Bruce.
Nathan was lost. “I don’t follow this at all.”
Bruce straightened up in his seat, brushed off some dust from his collar, and started explaining, happy to find an area where he could contribute. “So, it’s like this. A loose temporary group is a squad if you are 10 or fewer, and a troop if you are more than that, up to 30. You probably remember that we were called a squad when we were clearing the goblin camp.” The last bit was addressed to Nathan.
“I can’t say that I noticed. Did any of you?” Margos and RedReaver had joined them while Bruce was talking.
“Yeah, I remember,” said Margos. RedReaver just nodded.
Bruce indicated that he had more to say. “So that’s the unorganized options. The permanent variations are a bit different. Usually, those are called ‘Guild’ or ‘Clan’ or something like that in other games. Here, the names depend on how many members you have. Fellowship is up to 5, Fraternity is 20, then Brotherhood is up to 50, and after that, there is a bunch of others that I can’t quite remember. Order, Organization, and some others. All the way up to Government.”
“Sounds confusing,” said Margos. “What’s wrong with the classics, and why so many?”
“I think the idea is that you have to pay for the different levels, so it’s kind of a gold sink I guess,” theorized Bruce.
“Probably,” said RedReaver. “I suppose it does give you an idea of the strength of a group, but it mostly sounds like typical scummy corporate behavior to me.”
Bruce snapped his fingers, suddenly remembering. “Yes, Corporation is also one of the levels. And Syndicate. That might be all of them, actually. If you or your group control a village or any other land, those things got their own terms as well, but that is all very new, so I don’t know a lot about that.”
At this point, Nathan had lost all interest in the conversation and decided to get it back on track. “Anyhow, what is your Guil... eh... Fellowship called?”
Ashira looked a bit embarrassed. “’MinMax’. Not my suggestion.”
Nathan chuckled, as he did a new analyze.
Ashira [Fellowship of MinMax]
Level 3, Ninja
“Yeah, now it shows up,” he confirmed. “I’m not gone ask you to reveal your stats or anything, but based on your path I assume you’ve focused on Dexterity?”
“Yes, but despite the name of the fellowship, I haven’t tanked all of my other stats. I figured that would be impractical. Some of my guilders took it a step further, and it cost them.”
That last part caught Bruce’s attention. “How so? I was about to ask where the rest of your... Fellowship was? There is room for some more muscle on this quest.”
“Two are dead – respawning tomorrow – and two haven't had time to do anything besides creating their character. For now, it’s just me.”
“Pity.” Bruce looked around and let out an exaggerated sigh. “I guess you bums will have to do.”