His clothing change and words caused a huge murmur among the defensive people before him. Joe could see confusion, relief and yet a large amount of wariness and distrust. Minutes went by and Joe lowered his hands and waited. Bixby sat and idly scratched an ear and stared out at the milling people. Their defensive line had faltered and now Joe got a better look at them.
The front line consisted of about twenty people, mostly young men, however, there were a few women standing in the mix. All of them had various kinds of low-grade wooden shields that had obviously seen a lot of battle. Scars from swords, axes and other damage peppered them along with a few that had saurian arrows still stuck in them. Most had medieval clothing interspersed with more modern shirts or jeans. A very few had actual armor although Joe also saw someone wearing a motorcycle helmet. They carried an array of weapons, mostly swords and axes, but there were a few spears and polearms sticking up from behind the line, and what looked like a few wizard staves. They all looked exhausted.
The person in the center of the shield wall stood out as he was taller than most and he not only wore armor but had a sturdy heater shield and a bright silver sword. Joe pegged him as the leader since it looked like everyone was deferring to him. He took a moment to Inspect him, courtesies be damned.
Ronald McGee
Level: (B) 24
Race: Human
Class: Holy Knight
H: 1240
S: 800
M: 780
Holy Knight. Interesting. I wonder how his religious beliefs are holding up with the System here? Beyond the group, Joe could see more people coming from the County Building’s protective barrier of cars. Eventually the armored man in charge bellowed out, “Enough! Quiet down people!” He turned to Joe’s group and lifted the visor on his helmet to reveal a rugged, good looking black man with a dark sweat stained beard and deep brown eyes. Eyes that seemed to take in Joe’s party with a shrewd look. “Well, Joe Sherman my name is Ronald McGee, and as you can see, we’re just a bit on the tense side. As you may well imagine, it is very concerning when a Monster Invasion stops suddenly and what looks like a demon and some non-humans comes waltzing out of the swamp!”
Joe nodded in understanding, “I can absolutely see where that would be a big concern. Would it help you to know that my friends and I here stopped the invasion boss for you?” Joe could see someone come up behind Ronald and whisper to him.
Ronald nodded and said, “It doesn’t really as I can’t help but think that stopping an invasion boss by yourselves seems a bit on the improbable side. How many more of you are there hiding in the swamp?”
Joe shook his head and smiled, “There is no one else in the swamp. It’s just myself, my companion Bixby,” he indicated Bixby sitting next him, “and my dwarven companions.” Rory stood with his hammer head on the ground and his gauntleted hands resting on the butt of the haft in front of him. Iona had put away her shield and taken off her helmet and Kier had put away his mace. They still did not look exceptionally friendly. “Oh, and we have a couple of friends and a small group of children waiting for us to come get them across the river.” Joe pointed.
This caused a renewed round of conversation which grew more and more heated during which time the enormous man that Joe had seen earlier tossing desks at the saurians strode up. The group parted for him, and he stood next to Ronald speaking in low voices. Joe Inspected this guy too. Can’t hurt to know who I’m dealing with.
Kyle Manning
Level: (B) 25
Race: Human
Class: Barbearian
H: 1550
S: 1005
M: 625
Whoa, he’s a bruiser. Level twenty-five and he’s close to Rory in Health and Stamina. And what the hell is a Barbearian anyway? Joe was just starting to fidget when Ronald spoke again, "Mr. Sherman, it seems we have another issue. While we understand that there will be other races like dwarves and elves can you please explain why you have no level or class and yet have some pretty incredible titles?”
Joe sighed. “I would be more than happy to tell you my story, but can it wait until we’ve retrieved our friends and the children? They’ve been without our protection for longer than I like.”
Ronald thought it over then called out, “Call me paranoid but I’ve seen men do horrific shit in the past month. How about this, you and your group follow Ocean Street over to Water, staying in the middle of the road where we can see you at all times. We’ll follow you across the bridge and if your friends and children are there, then, and only then will I believe you.”
Joe nodded, “Fair enough.” He turned to look at his group, “You all good with that?” He got affirmatives all around then turned back to Ronald. “Look, Ronald. Thank you for being willing to give us this bit of trust. We are going to pull out our weapons though as we do not want to make that walk unarmed. And I am going to recall my armor. I understand that my armor makes me look scary, but please ask your people not to shoot any arrows or hurl spells at us.”
Ronald consulted his people and yelled out that they would not attack, and Joe recalled his armor back, but not his swords. He looked at Iona, “Standard marching order?” He could only see her eyes under her helmet, but he could tell she was smiling.
“Oh aye. Bixby you’re on scout duty. Let’s go get the wee ones.”
The group moved out at a brisk pace with Bixby taking the lead followed by Iona, then Kier and Rory with Joe bringing up the rear. They double timed it towards the bridge and Joe cast a glance at the humans pacing them along the trees and cars of the County Building parking lot. He was actually glad that they were so cautious. The encounter with the Costco group had left him shaken in his trust of his fellow humans, but these guys seemed to genuinely be taking care of each other. God, I hope my sister is there.
Joe’s group had just crossed the bridge and were within shouting distance of the bank when he took a look behind to check on their chaperones. The small group of about ten people had stopped at the corner of the bridge watching Joe and his group. He noted how they spread out enough to allow the front-line fighters room and for their spell casters and archers lines of sight between each person. They were obviously well practiced with working as a group. Joe was pleased to see them taking this all seriously, it meant that if his sister was part of this group, then the probability of her survival was good.
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Joe turned his attention back to the bank and was pleased to see that several of Bixby’s wolves were still wandering the parking lot. He took that to mean that there were no problems while he and the others had been gone. Bixby went up first and Joe could hear the kids chattering away inside as they saw the dog that Joe thought they looked upon as their personal protector. Man, kids are resilient. It took a few minutes to explain the situation to Mirabella and Kelly and to corral the kids back into marching order. Joe was surprised that both Kelly and Mirabella received experience from their battle with the monster invasion as he hadn’t paid attention to the fact that they were still active Party members. Both were extremely happy with the result as Kelly went up two levels and Mirabella went up almost as much. This has to be some sort of cheesing of the System. They were a long way away from the fight to have stayed connected to the Party. Before leaving the bank, Joe offered the spell book to Mirabella who was delighted that she could use it but offered for Joe to take it as she did not earn it. They argued for a short time before Rory impatiently shoved the book into her hands and told her to take it so they could all get going. Sheepishly, she accepted it then helped gather the children.
As the group exited the bank, Joe stepped next to Kier, “Hey Kier, how come Bella and Kelly stayed connected to the Party? I would think that distance would play a factor in keeping someone connected.”
“Oh, aye, time and distance have their limits, but methinks we were skirting the limits just a wee bit. The Party distance limit tis a mile before those furthest from the Party host are dropped. However, there is a short grace period of about five minutes to allow for stragglers to catch up.” He stroked his beard in thought. “I’m pretty certain that we were further than a mile away from the lasses. I suspect the play what’s been happening to you and Bixby pushed the limits just a tad more than is normal.”
“So, do you think that the person or persons or whatever it is that’s watching over me is including my friends in the benefits that I’m receiving?” Joe asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Aye. I do. And I’m just as happy to reap the rewards, but…” He paused, took Joe’s arm and stared into his eyes, “Tis only good until it isn’t. Do you get my meaning?” He released Joe’s arm.
Joe saw the concern in the dwarf’s eyes, “Yeah. I’m worried that the other shoe is gonna drop too.” At Kier’s confused look, Joe amended, “Sorry, human expression. I too am worried that there will be a price to pay at some point.”
Kier nodded, “So long as you keep your wits about yourself and donnae become complacent. Methinks tis a dangerous situation that we know sore little of.”
As the ragtag group made their way over to the small band of human fighters, Joe saw that the large man, Kyle the Barbearian was calmly walking towards the group. Joe and Kyle stopped about ten feet apart. This close, Joe could see the incredibly defined muscles on the other man’s torso as he was only wearing cotton leggings and boots. He held a massive wooden club that casually rested on his shoulder. He glanced past Joe and said, “You weren’t lying. You really do have kids with you.”
Joe nodded, “Yeah, so do we pass the test? Can we please bring these kids to your camp?”
Kyle gave Joe a shrewd look then nodded, “Yeah, I think you guys are legit. Let’s get these kids safe.” He smiled and Joe felt a small weight lift from his shoulders.
Orders were given and Kyle split his people into two groups with Joe and his Party in the center. Joe had noticed that all the humans, once they had seen the children, become even more wary of their surroundings. Joe took it as a sign that these were a better class of people than the ones from earlier.
Rory whispered to Joe, “That one’s a right monster of a human. You think his Mum shagged a giant?” Joe looked at Rory as if he were crazy, but the dwarf did not seem to notice and continued on, “Hmmm. Nae his Mum. She’d have been torn in two. Had to have been his Da was truly ambitious.” He continued smirking and mumbling to himself for a while as Joe shook his head and rolled his eyes.
They managed to make it back to the County building without incident, however even with Kyle’s assurances to the gathered people, Joe could tell there was trepidation and distrust. Everyone was on edge and there was a feeling of fear and weariness among the people. Man, it seems like they went straight from the tutorial into fighting for their lives as soon as they got here. I don’t blame them for being leery.
The group was met by the Holy Knight, Ronald and a small contingent made up of various fighters and support staff. As Kyle was relaying to Ronald that the group did have children, a man from the onlooking crowd dashed out, “KELLY!” he cried out. The man rushed forward and wrapped Kelly in a huge hug and spun her around. The two cried and exchanged hugs as the man appraised Kelly’s health and looked her up and down as if looking for injuries. As the two embraced, the tension in the crowd seemed to lessen.
Joe felt less inclined to be socially inappropriate at the moment and Inspected the man. He noted the man’s class and made a mental note to talk to him later.
Earl Sullivan
Level: (B) 15
Race: Human
Class: Alchemist
H: 380
S: 430
M: 880
After a few moments, Kelly presented the man to Joe and the rest of his Party. “Everyone, this is my dad, Earl.” Kelly introduced each member of the Party in turn, and they all paid their respects and shook the man’s hand. “I really don’t think I’d be alive if not for these people.” Joe noted that she said it a bit louder than she needed to and several people around them took heed.
She’s pretty savvy to the situation, Joe thought, impressed. “Pleased to meet you sir.” Joe held his hand out but noticed the hesitation with which it was received. Dammit! Freaking armor! He thought. Joe mentally swapped his armor for his robes, much to Earl’s obvious relief.
At that point Mirabella tugged on Kelly’s skirt and motioned to the children. “Oh, so sorry.” Kelly gathered the children, introduced her father and they were led away by several other people. The children protested at being separated from Bixby, but Joe promised that he would visit soon. Kelly looked back at the Party and mouthed a silent “Thank you.”
Once the children were gone, the Holy Knight, Ronald, came forward with a few others and held out his hand which Joe shook. “I apologize for the initial distrust, but it looks like you were telling the truth about the kids. Also, Kyle says he likes you and he’s the best judge of character I know, so…” He gestured towards the County Building, “Welcome to the group.”
Joe smiled and said, “Thank you. And no worries about the initial meeting. I completely understand the need to protect your people. We’ve run into some less than savory characters ourselves.” He then introduced his companions.
Ronald shook hands all around as Kier asked, “So are you the Overseer of your people?”
Ronald’s eyes narrowed as he answered, “If you mean leader? Then, kind of. You must understand that we’ve only been back on Earth for less than a day and we’ve already lost more than half our original group just getting here.” He motioned to their current surroundings. “I’m only leader by the fact that I was the one to step up and get everyone organized. Well, as organized as we can be considering the circumstances. I was a police officer and a pastor in my former life, so I took it upon myself to see these people to somewhere safe.” He sighed and waved a fly away from his face. “But then we arrived here and were almost immediately attacked by the lizard people. If your group had not come by when you did, then we would have waged a war of attrition until we either ran away or were all dead. So, I have to thank you for that.”
“We came knowing we were looking for survivors. I’m glad we managed to help you guys out. We’ve all been through the ringer and this whole System thing is so screwed up. I’m impressed that you all managed to get as far as you have. You must have endured a lot. I’d like to hear about it at some point.”
Ronald nodded, “I suspect you too have one hell of a story to tell, but at the moment we’re hard pressed to keep everyone safe, so I think story time will have to wait. Let’s head inside and I can get you up to speed.” Ronald began to lead them towards the barricaded entrance to the five-story cement building.
By then the news of Joe’s party’s arrival had hit the rest of the survivors and many came out to see the newcomers. Most were curious to see the dwarves and a handful took a keen interest in the very exotic look of Mirabella. The scrutiny made her extremely uncomfortable, and she stayed pressed to Bixby’s side when she realized that no one really wanted to approach the fearsome looking dog. After only a few minutes of this, though, Joe noted that she employed her invisibility. He made a mental note to make sure she was okay later. The dwarves, on the other hand, were happily chatting with people and were outgoing and genial.
As the crowd moved past the entrance to the barricade and on towards the main entrance to the building, Joe looked up and saw, standing in the frame of the broken windows of the second floor, a young man in jeans and a leather biker jacket holding an acoustic guitar. The blonde man smiled down at Joe as he caught his eye and gave a jaunty wave. A sudden commotion at the top of the stairs leading into the building brought Joe’s attention back to his immediate surroundings. He heard someone shout his name and brought his gaze to the entryway, then his breath left his body.