Ch.15
The Marshal had suggested I go to a motel for the night, maybe for the next few nights. At least until he’d gotten in touch with me and figured out what the next step was.
I’m not sure he completely believes me even after what I showed him. It was easy for me, I just suddenly HAD all of those memories, and zero doubt it was real. Any logical person would have doubts. Heck, I’m still surprised he didn’t arrest me. I DID admit to killing six people. Even with a decent argument for self-defense, people get arrested in situations like that a lot.
But... that’s why I made sure he really was Sensei’s buddy from the Marines.
I’d retrieved my old cell phone, since the new one was a pre-paid phone. The few minutes of recording and live streaming had probably burned through most of my monthly allotment of data, but that was ok, it had served the purpose I wanted it to.
I was too hyped to sleep, but I knew I needed to, so I tried to do some meditating. I was pretty surprised by how easy it was to clear my mind of all the random thoughts and relax. A little while later, I was sound asleep.
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I woke back up next to the Hearthflame, and somehow wasn’t surprised when I found the Bride of Virtue, Melnaria, there waiting for me to awaken.
“Welcome back, Awakener!” she told me with a smile on her face. “I shall wait upon thee whilst ye determine which reward thou dost wish to accept.”
Sure enough, while she was talking, I’d received a message.
Congratulations, Awakener!
Awakening in the first wave of your kind has been determined to be a Great Deed!
Choose from the following options:
These are all permanent, untyped bonuses.
1.) Gain +1 to all 7 stats.
2.) Gain +2 to 3 stats of your choice.
3.) Gain +3 to 2 stats of your choice.
4.) Gain +5 to 1 stat of your choice.
Well, holy crap. Those were some crazy options! The min/maxxer and power gamer in me had a screaming fit at one another. No, not literally.
Plus five to one stat would be a complete game changer, right now, into either Wisdom or Strength, though Wisdom was definitely the better choice of the two... but it was also a total of two less points than the plus one to all seven stats. All of the choices were amazing, really!
I’m not sure how long I stood there in full on decision paralysis until I went with the answer that infuriated both the power gamer and min/maxxer by taking plus three to two stats. The increases went into Con and Wisdom, because Wisdom was an absolute no brainer and Con because I was going to do everything I could to make sure I didn’t die again!
That done, I relaxed a bit and focused on Melnaria. I determined not to be a horse’s ass to her this time around since I still felt kinda shitty about snapping at her the first time we met.
I’d never consciously considered her being here when I woke up a possibility, but I knew that some part of me had, as I had felt no sense of alarm or surprise at her presence, at all. “Good to see you again, Melnaria. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?”
“Why, ‘tis simple, Awakener. Thine Dream self and thine Awake self are now, once again, united and whole. The Great One knows that thou must, perchance, have various and sundry questions. Please, ask them. I will answer what I may.” the Bride, in her silvery-white and cerulean dress said.
“Wow. There’s a lot to ask. I guess I’ll just throw them all out. Why me? Why now? Who or what is the Great One? I have a ton more questions, but those seem the most important!”
I could feel the Bride staring at me, despite her blindfold. “Indeed, as thou hath said, those are important questions. I will start with the first, as tis the simplest. You were chosen at random from a group of individuals who fit a certain set of criteria, mostly having to do with familiarity with role playing games, I believe the term is. Other criteria included general physical fitness, combat training and experience, and above average gradings on self-motivation.”
I held up my hand to get her to pause, which she did. “So, you're telling me that I got to become a Dreamer because I played RPGs, studied karate, got into a lot of fights when I was in school, and had opened a successful business?”
She smiled. “Essentially, yes. As far as why it is happening now, that’s very simple. The Great One has determined that a threat with the potential to exterminate your world of all life is rapidly approaching. The Great One’s duty is to preserve life in this galaxy, specifically the sapient species, though he is limited by his creators in how he may accomplish such a task. In light of the approaching threat, he borrowed from many sources, including other universes and his brethren there, to create the current Grand Method which he has gifted to your world and its species. Dreamers are merely one part of his plan.”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Galaxies? Universes? Threats that can destroy all life on Earth? What the hell!? It was a lot to take in, a lot to be asked to believe, but she had no reason to lie... and logically, the only thing that could make people into real life RPG characters pretty much HAD to be either aliens with insanely advanced technology or a being with essentially god-like power, right?
It felt like my brain was running a million miles per hour, trying to draw conclusions about stuff I just didn’t have the information to fully grasp, yet. “I take it your silence on the subject means you can’t tell me more about the Great One, huh?”
She shook her head. “Sadly, I know little about the Great One directly, only that its Plan is intended to aid thine world, and by extension this one and myriad other linked Realms. I have little or no information about the Calamity which threatens thine world, either. I only know that the people of your world shall have to make themselves far stronger, lest the Calamity end thee merely with its arrival.”
Well that all sucks. About what I figured, though. Shit. I hate it when I’m right about stuff like this.
“Ok, then tell me about the Grand Method, then. Wait. Grand Method. G.M. Did the Great One do that on purpose?” I asked her.
Melnaria smiled, sweetly and nearly innocently. “I know not. Dost that abbreviation hold some significance?”
It's amusing, but not important, I guess. I thought as I shrugged at her. “In RPGs, that’s short for Role Playing Games, the individual responsible for creating the world, the script of the story, and tailoring the encounters, as well as being the referee is referred to as the game master, often abbreviated as GM.”
She looked amused, and even graced me with a small titter of laughter, covering her mouth with her hand like a polite lady should.
“Uh, so, let’s see. Uh, my character is created using Legends and Labyrinths rules. Are there other rules systems available?”
Melnaria looked more serious. “There are not. The system has been tailored so that choices and personal effort are key to an individual’s eventual effectiveness, and the systems have been modified to increase both the number and effect of personal choices. The Great One believes that knowledge, effort, and choice are important components in your species’ advancement, and refuses to remove such important hurdles from your societies.”
Did she just tell me that it WANTS me to Rules Lawyer my way into becoming OP? I need to double check that!
“Uh, so just to be clear, there are no negative repercussions for using the systems available to me to their utmost, correct? The whole point is for Dreamers and Awakeners to get as powerful as they can, right?”
“No, there are no negative consequences. They have been gifted unto thee as tools, and as such, are given to thee to be used freely. They are a method to allow thine people to defend themselves. Why wouldst though not use them to their utmost?” Melnaria sounded genuinely confused.
I chuckled, a little bit of mad scientist in my laughter. “No reason, Melnaria. No reason at all!” I found it hard to keep myself from rubbing my hands together and cackling maniacally, for some reason!
She looked at me oddly for a moment. “Sorry, in Legends & Labyrinths and RPGs in general, for a variety of completely unimportant reasons, a vocal minority of people consider maximizing the strength and efficiency of characters to be socially unacceptable... but just as many disagree with that attitude. I’ve always been among the dissenters.” I told her.
The conversation continued for a little while longer like this, when I did remember an important question. “Now that I am Awakened, is there any way to help others become a Dreamer or an Awakener?”
Melnaria’s smile lit up the room. “To help them become a Dreamer? Nay, not directly, at least for now. Teaching them about RPGs, as thou dost call them, encouraging them to work on their physical fitness, and training them in the ways of combat would help to move them higher up the admission order. Eventually, most adults of your species shall become Dreamers... well, sixteen years of age is the point at which the Great One has determined those of your kind may be adopted into the Grand Method. People consciously working to improve their qualifications will be adopted by the GM as Dreamers more quickly.”
Wow. So, if I start training with people, maybe even if I tell them about it, they’ll become Dreamers sooner?
She continued. “That which differentiates a Dreamer and an Awakener tis the conscious knowledge in the Waking Realm of the abilities they’ve gained. Without that knowledge, however, it is difficult or impossible to use those abilities. The Great One hath determined that initially separating the knowledge from most would be better for them, overall. As thou hast experienced, Awakening to such knowledge is confusing, but even with only a few weeks of experience as a Dreamer, it didst become much easier for thee to accept thy new situation.”
I nodded. “That... makes a lot of sense. I had accepted the situation as a Dreamer, so when I Awakened, I accepted it, too. You didn’t really answer the second part of my question, though.”
She just smiled at me. “Oh?” she said, ignoring me once again.
Huh. She either can’t or doesn’t want to answer that question. Oh, well. It would have been nice. If they are a Dreamer, I bet I can tell just by looking at them with Sense Supernatural.
“Is there some way for me to know when supernatural energy reaches the point where external manifestations of it are possible?” I asked. It seemed like an important question.
“Verily, there is. The Grand Method will warn all Dreamers and Awakeners thirty of your world’s days before the earliest date that it is calculated to be possible. By that time, most of your world’s people that can become Dreamers should be. All Dreamers will be Awakened one week prior to the full materialization of your world’s Thaumasphere.” Melnaria told me.
“Wait. So, not everyone can become a Dreamer?”
“Sadly, no. Certain kinds of physical defects affecting the brain and nervous system prevent the process from taking hold, as well as certain chemical imbalances. Individuals over a certain age are less likely to be chosen, or individuals who do not display a minimum amount of self-motivation. Most people with what your species refers to as extreme mental illnesses, particularly ones that are known to lead to violence or self-harm, will be denied access to the Dream by the Grand Method. This second part was an intentional choice by the Great One.” she told me.
Well, that’s oddly reassuring. Not that it will make that much of a difference. Humanity has always been really good at screwing things up, after all!
“Can you tell me how many Awakeners there are, currently?” I asked. It seemed like an important detail!
“Nay, unfortunately, I cannot, other than to inform thee that there ARE other Awakeners and that the number of them will accelerate as more time passes.” Melnaria said with a smile.
I was quiet for a little while, trying to think of anything else I might want to ask her. “Well, I can’t think of anything else to ask you, Melnaria. Thank you for your time.” I told her, standing, then offering my hand to help her to stand from where she had been kneeling not far from me.
Her smile was radiant. “Why, thank you. May the light of the Great One continue to bless thy Path, Awakener.” she said, then touched the Hilt of the Blade within the Hearthfire, and disappeared.
I was excited. I hadn’t been going as crazy hard with the monster murder as I could be, and that ended NOW! Grindy McGrinderson of the Grinder Clan, reporting for duty, sir!
I needed to clear out the Skraven village, as I needed a place to finally start making equipment. I then need to make it to 4th level so I can start taking the Item Creation Feats to start making magic items... but not until I’ve ground out a LOT more Feats and Masteries!
I decided then and there that I was going to go full ninja-of-justice/Batman/Daredevil (The Getflix show, not the crappy movie, which wasn’t Affleck’s fault, BTW) on the Federovs. I wasn’t going to just murder someone just because they were a Federov unless I knew firsthand that they were murderers, human traffickers, and such. From what I’d seen, I really doubted that anyone in the Federov organization hadn’t already painted themselves in the blood of innocent people at least once.
At least, if the ones I’d dealt with so far were any example.
Still, if I wasn’t sure, I’d just knock them out. It's easy enough for a Monk to do. Anyone with at least one level in Monk can simply decide to do non-lethal damage with their unarmed attacks. It would be simple enough to hold back if I needed or wanted to.
Of course, if they tried to kill me, all bets were off...
Anyway, time to kill some spiders and Skraven!