"Thanks for coming out on such short notice," Darius said as his people climbed out of the van. Everyone his uncle had said he would send were there and ready for a fight.

"No problem," Ethan replied. "Marcus gave us a quick rundown, but was sparse on the details. I take it those are the people we're bringing back to the Hamlet?" Ethan nodded towards the people gathered just outside the door to the church. They had what few belongings they cared about wrapped up in bundles and were looking nervously at the people who'd just arrived.

"Yeah, that's them. Carlos, can you take them back home and then come back once again? We need to get these people to safety, but their loved ones were kidnapped by four men in power armor, and we still need to track them down and free the women they took."

"Do we have a location where they were taken?" Chad asked.

"Not a direct location," Darius replied. "But we do have a direction. All four of them had the flying upgrades to at least Tier 2, but the power drain from carrying an extra person each would limit the range they could travel, depending on their Power Bank and recharge upgrades. did you bring the drone with you?"

"Yeah, it's in my storage ring. I take it you want me to send it out to scout ahead?"

"exactly. I'd rather not go in blind, you know?"

"I get it, no problem. Give me just a minute, and I can pull it out and set up the scouting parameters."

"thanks," Darius said. Then he turned and walked over to Xavier and the others. "hey, these are my people. Carlos, there will drive you back to my compound, where you will be safe. Your people might have to double up, but we have plenty of basic rooms for everyone to have a roof over their head, food, water, and even a hot shower."

"Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to us. We are forever in your debt, especially if you can bring the others safely back."

Darius nodded and shook the preacher's hand. "We will do our best. I give you my word. Now just have everyone store their things in the back of the van and you all can be on your way."

"Yes, we shall. God be with you," Xavier said.

"And also with you," Darius replied. Then he turned his attention back to Chad and the strange drone he was setting up. It only took the man a couple minutes to finish, then the drone glowed faintly and lifted off, flying off towards the northwest. He hoped they would get some good information before too long. Looking at the sky, he saw it was around noon already, and he needed to be back home before it got too close to nightfall, he didn't want most of the defenders to be away if the undead horde decided to pay them another visit.

"Pax, can you link me to the drone through that remote there?"

Yes, Darius. you simply need to place your hand on the remote. Do you wish to simply view the Drone footage or take over control?

"View footage is fine. I'm sure Chad has it well in hand."

Very well, Darius. whenever you are ready.

"Hey, Chad. can I see that remote for a moment?"

"Uh, yeah… sure," Chad said as he handed it over.

"Thanks, this will be just a moment," Darius said. "I'm just linking my AI to the remote to watch the drone footage in real time."

"Ahh, gotcha. No prob."

Darius held the remote and watched as a few lines of code rolled down his screen before a new Icon appeared at the bottom. It flashed green, then a picture in a picture display appeared, and he could then see what the drone saw. Task accomplished, he handed the remote back and kept an eye on the progress.

"While we're waiting, I should give you the report about what we saw on our little reconnaissance mission." Chad offered.

Darius listened to Chad's report. It didn't take long, but it was informative. "What do you think the creature in charge was?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea."

"Hey," Ethan interjected. "Was it all desiccated like a mummy without all the bandages?"

"No, if anything, he looked kind of like the Draugr we fought. Except his eyes didn't glow blue, they were purple instead. And his intelligence was clearly magnitudes higher. Though, with the others I saw in their Necropolis, they look to have suddenly gotten smarter, too."

"Damn," Ethan said. "I thought it might have been a lich or something. I've never heard of a Draugr before, in the books I've read or the games I've played. You know, now that I think about it, it might be some kind of evolved Draugr. We already know they can command lesser undead. Maybe this one can command the more powerful ones."

"You know," Darius said. "That actually makes sense. It also means that he's probably a powerful son of a bitch. We really need to figure out a way to eliminate him before he gets any stronger."

"Yeah, we all need to get stronger," Chad said. "We also need to find out what is in that damn fog. just the thought of crossing into it churns my gut."

"Do you know what that reminds me of?" Ethan said.

"What?" Darius asked.

"I remember reading a book series with both mindless and intelligent undead. they didn't cultivate like the living did, instead they cultivated Miasma. if enough of them got together, their very presence would actually generate more Miasma than they consumed. If I didn’t know any better, and I don't, I bet that fog is something similar. May be something like Death Essence permeates the area, making them stronger and makes everything weaker."

"I don't like the sound of that," Darius said. "isn't Essence supposed to be, you know, the Essence of life? I mean, it's given off my living things, right?"

Stolen novel; please report.

"About that… In my studies, and what little experimentation I've had time for, while the living gives off Essence, it's not exactly pure Essence. there's actually an entire cycle the stuff goes through. It's kind of like the water cycle."

"Can you give us the cliff notes version?" Chad asked.

"Oh, right… well, it turns out that everyone has what's called a Soul Element and the Essence they give off is tinted with that element, also as the energy moves through the world, it picks up trace elements of, well, different elements. This can give the Essence different flavors, if you will. It can be one of the eight basic elements-"

"Wait, I thought there were only four basic elements, like earth, air, fire, and water."

"Right, those are the western elements, but this System seems to either have blended western and eastern elements or the different cultures happened to stumble on them on their own. Anyway, as I was saying, the Essence can be one of these eight, or it can be a blend of them creating various secondary elements like our soul element."

"Short version, man," Darius said. Darius was getting a little frustrated. It all seemed complicated to him and with everything else going on, he didn't need some kind of pseudo-scientific lecture about the damn apocalypse.

"Right, Right, what I was trying to say is that both life and death are two of these secondary elements. It's possible that the fog is filled with concentrated Death Essence and that is why Chad feels such aversion to the stuff. It seems like Cultivators are more sensitive to the surrounding energies, since they have to manually draw in Essence to make their Ki while those of us on the Path of Mana and the Path of Faith have some kind of automated conversion system that does it for us."

"Okay, if this is true, and that's what's going on, what do we do about it? I don't want to be breathing in this Miasma shit. What if that turns me into a zombie or something?"

"That… I don't know yet," Ethan said. "maybe there's some kind of enchantment or alchemical concoction that could protect us. I'll need to do some research. I can look into the enchantment side of things, but I don't know anything about alchemy, aside from what I've read about in books."

"I can help there," Chad said. "I'm an apprentice Alchemist. I took the skill book for my Minor Perk and I've been practicing the skill when I have the time."

Chad and Ethan fell into a discussion about various options and how they can test things, and really… Darius ended up tuning them out. With the recon report Chad gave him, Darius decided to check on the progress of his Warmonger two quest.

War Quest: Warmonger 2

Quest Details:

Learn the Warfare System.

The War Store provides essential resources and enhancements that can give your Settlement a decisive edge. By making your first purchase, you will unlock the full potential of your War Points. Following this, you are tasked with executing three War Activities, which will both train your forces and disrupt enemy plans.

Objectives:

Access the War Store and complete your first purchase.

Complete three War Activities of your choosing.

Potential War Activities:

Eliminate enemy troops

Win a skirmish or battle

Capture an enemy outpost or Settlement

Conduct a successful ambush or reconnaissance mission

Raid enemy supply lines or defend your own resources

Perform sabotage or rescue missions

Bolster troop morale or conduct training exercises

Rewards:

500 War Points

Increase in Loyalty of the Settlement

Increase in Morale of the Settlement

Instructions:

Access the War Store:

Open the War Store interface from your War Points menu.

Browse through the available items, equipment, bonuses, consumables, and special abilities.

Make your first strategic purchase to enhance your Settlement’s war capabilities.

Complete Three War Activities:

Choose any three War Activities from the provided list.

Successfully complete these activities to further strengthen your Settlement and disrupt enemy operations.

Note:

This quest is critical for building the foundation of your strategic capabilities and preparing for future conflicts. Each War Activity will contribute to your overall war effort against the Necropolis and boost the confidence and loyalty of your citizens.

Good luck, Headman. Your continued leadership and strategic acumen will ensure the future prosperity and safety of Zuri.

Objectives complete: 2/4

Access the War store: Complete

Conduct a successful reconnaissance mission: Complete

Good, that mission did count towards the quest. We still need two more war activities to finish. If they attack us again tonight, then that will take care of one, but what if they don't come for us right away? They seem to be wanting to collect people, not just kill them… I bet there're more pockets of people, like I've found here. What if that super Draugr decides to go after easier pickings? maybe we can take out one of those hunting groups. That would count, and we might save more people to bring back home. It's a hell of a lot safer for them in Zuri than hiding out in a church. Darius nodded to himself. Once they finished with the kidnappers, he would have to have Chad send the drone out again and try to find other people. Then they could plan on what to do next. Hell, if someone else managed to set up a hamlet of their own, they might be strong enough to help us re-kill all the undead. Now wouldn't that be nice, not having to do everything ourselves?

Darius heard a beep in his helmet and focused on the drone footage. he realized the beep was it letting them know it had found something. The Drown had flown over one of those remote, gated communities with large fancy houses. Most of them looked to have suffered some pretty extensive damage, but the one the Drone focused on seemed to be in rather good repair. The brick and stucco privacy fence seemed to have been reinforced and stood a good ten-feet-tall.

The Drone had switched to stealth mode and was hovering a few hundred feet in the air and was cycling through its myriad sensor functions. Once its scans were complete, it showed close to a dozen humanoid lifeforms inside the compound. It picked up a bunch of heat signatures inside and highlighted the people it could see outside. He could see four white men sitting in lounging chairs next to a fancy swimming pool. Around them, scantily clad women were performing various tasks. One was rubbing a man's feet; another was bringing fresh drinks. And each and every one of the women sported bruises and flinched whenever one of the men made a sudden movement. It also highlighted a few other men in the compound, but they all seemed to be performing menial tasks, and one and all were people of color. The sight made Darius's blood boil. He wanted to storm the place right then and there, but he took a long moment, counting his breaths until he calmed down.

As Darius watched, another man, this one carrying an AR-15 style rifle, escorted five men out of the gate. They moved to a nearby house and proceeded to use sledge hammers to continue the demolition of the outer wall while the armed man watched them and also kept an eye on his surroundings. It looked like they were gathering construction resources, probably to expand their holdings. It reminded Darius that he really needed to prioritize gathering more resources, along with dealing with the undead, saving as many people as he could… the list of priorities went on and on.

"You seeing this shit?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, I'm seeing it. Is it just me, or does it look like those people in there are being treated as slaves?" Darius asked.

"That's what I'm seeing." Ethan had a grim tone to his voice, something that was completely out of character for the young man. It was a stark enough difference that it made Darius turn to look at him.

"What?" Ethan asked when he saw both Darius and Chad looking at him. "It's the twenty-first century, and yet there are still people like that pulling that crap. It really pisses me off."

Darius saw one of the lounging men grab a woman by the arm and took her inside. When they entered one of the bedrooms, and the man flung the woman onto the massive bed, he had to turn off the Drone feed. she was clearly not willing and he couldn't stomach the sight. "That's it. We're going in and dealing with these pigs."

Sure, the world had come to an end, but it wasn't an excuse for people to turn into monsters worse than the ones killing and eating people. Darius wanted to activate his wings and fly straight there and deal with them himself, but despite the new class and upgrades he'd just received, he would be outnumbered and there were innocent people there. He couldn't just indiscriminately rain destruction on the whole place. Darius looked at his people, one and all. They held grim looks of steely determination. One by one, they each nodded at his statement. With nothing else holding them back, Chad put away the charging base, keeping the remote handy, and they headed off into the desert.