“Cal, I’m torn on this. If what they say is true, that sucks. It really does. But how can we trust them?” Marshall asked.
“I’m with Marshall.” Ian said, “The fact is, they were given a choice, a shitty one sure, but still a choice. They likely trashed our camp while we were gone and then came back to do even worse. What if they’re bullshitting us right now, hell what if they’re Knox’s little cronies. They did mention he has loyal followers.”
Calvin sighed, this was not ever a place he thought they’d find themselves. Fighting monsters in the jungle, getting magic powers… sure, that was starting to feel a little more normal, as screwed up as that sounded. But they’d just killed another human. It was necessary, they’d been in danger and frankly, that person was no better than the monsters out in the jungle. This wasn’t a path they could easily walk away from. Hell, now they had prisoners.
“Seth, what do you think?” Calvin asked.
“I don’t think they’re lying. Unless they’re damn good at it. Sasha is genuinely afraid. I get the feeling she’s much more afraid for her sister than herself.”
Calvin nodded in agreement, “I’m on board with that as well. Putting myself in Sasha’s shoes, if it was Amy in her sister’s position, I can’t say I would do anything different. I’d like to think I would, but I just don’t know.”
“If I am ever in that position Cal, you better not turn into a complete jackass. That goes for all of you. I can understand where those two are coming from, and I sympathize with it. But let’s get it out in the open right now, we don’t become monsters out here. No matter the stakes. We are good people, and we will stay good people. Got it?”
The group looked at her for a moment, wrestling with their own internal discourse before collectively agreeing.
“I don’t think Knox is just going to go away. Every fiber within me is telling me that we’re going to cross paths with him again. We can’t just let him kill us out of a sense of morality.” Calvin said.
“I’m not saying we don’t fight. I think we’re all pretty clear on the fact that violence is inevitable out here. Hell, if I see that bastard again, I’m personally going to ram a dagger into his gut, and I will have no regrets about that. He has made his choice. He got a taste of power and became a monster. He takes from others for his own selfish gain. That will not be us. We won’t become roving bandits because we’re hungry, or hurt. That’s what I’m saying.”
“Amy’s right.” Marshall said, “I killed someone. That doesn’t sit easily with me. But I would do it again if the same thing happened. This place is fucked, and now, it looks like some of the people are fucked too. Shouldn’t really be a surprise to us, people were screwed up before this whole mess, the difference is now they have real power to back it up.”
“I’m going to add on to Amy’s point before. We have power now too. We stood up to that asshole out there and sent him packing. We’ve learned that we aren’t the only ones out here, and judging by those two, it sounds like not everyone has been as fortunate as us. Knox is out there preying on people weaker than him, taking what they’ve worked for and building up his own little goon squad. I say we put a stop to that.” Ian said.
“That’s a risk. Our goal is surviving this tutorial. Actively looking for a fight with other humans runs pretty counter to that.” Calvin said.
“It is. Here’s how I feel about it though. We’re gaining power, we level up, get skills, find gear and all of that is leading us towards completing this tutorial alive. For what? We don’t know what sits on the other side, but from everything we’ve heard so far it’s some cosmic shit-storm that we’re going to find ourselves at the ass end of. If we gain all this power and don’t use it to help people who are truly desperate out here, then what good is the power anyway? I was a firefighter, I knew the risks. Seth and Marshall, they both gave up cushy lives in favor of helping others. We have a real chance to do that out here.”
“To be clear with all of you. I agree with what you’re saying. I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind here. I just want to be clear we’re all on the same page. If we go this route, we’re actively going to be fighting other people. We will kill other people. We might get killed in the process. If we all agree, then we’re in. If any of us doesn’t agree, now is the time to speak up.” Calvin said.
“I’m in.” said Marshall.
A chorus of agreement followed from the others. Even Freya gave a little yip.
“Ok… so, onto other business, we have prisoners. We don’t have a prison. Honestly, I don’t want to keep people prisoner. That’s not us, and if their story is true, we’re just a new shitty situation for them in a string of shitty situations. What do we do?”
“Easy.” Seth said. “We save her sister, and everyone else there who doesn’t want to be little pawns for Knox.”
“Do we just keep them tied up? Can we trust them enough to let them go?” Calvin asked.
“If I may,” said Andy, appearing in the middle of the room
“Shit! Andy! You can’t just pop up like that. I almost shot you. We need to put a bell on you or something.” Marshall said, startled.
“Understood. I will announce my arrival in the future. As to the matter at hand. As owners of a settlement, you can contractually bind others to your banner. It is a heavy-handed approach and should be used cautiously and with restraint. You may bind up to 10% of your settlement's max population in this manner. Bound individuals would be unable to take action against you or your settlement, any attempt to do so would result in their deconstruction.”
“Can we undo this binding?” Calvin asked
“Yes, and I suggest that you do. Tyrannies rarely find success within the system. Individuals bound against their will may not be able to act directly, however they can influence the actions of others. Death of the binding agents or destruction of the base rune will sever the contract.”
“Ok, so, we give them a choice. Sign the contract, or leave. Regardless, Knox cannot be allowed to continue.” Calvin said.
With that, the meeting came to a close and the group made their way out to their prisoners.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Liam and Sasha both looked up from their meal. They sensed the serious nature of the group’s decision and anxiety tore at them.
“Have you decided what you’re going to do to us?” Liam asked.
Calvin took a seat in front of the two prisoners.
“We have discussed it. First, I want to know what you think we should do.”
“Let us stay. We’ll work. We’ll do whatever you ask.” Liam stammered
“Liam! What about Lexie? Just let us go. We won’t cause any trouble. I swear on my life. I just want to get my sister.”
“About that. We will rescue Lexie. At least, we will do our best. We have decided to put an end to Knox and his bullshit. We will do this with, or without you. We don’t exactly trust you yet, but that’s something we can work on. For now, you have two options. You can sign a system-enforced agreement that binds you to us and our banner. As I understand it, attempting to subvert that agreement and cause harm to us or the base will result in your death.”
“So, we’ll be your slaves, just like with Knox? We do what you ask or die?” Liam scoffed.
“We have no desire to put you through the same situation you came from. The binding will specifically prevent you from attempting to harm us. It will not force you to work for us, but if you stay, you do need to contribute. You need to understand, it hasn’t even been a few hours since you tried to kill us. I understand your reasons, but we can’t take any chances.”
“And if we refuse?” Sasha asked defiantly.
“Then you leave, immediately. We won’t harm you or come after you. If you return to Knox, we will consider you in the same light we consider him.”
“You’ll just let us walk out of here?” Sasha asked, her voice dripping with disbelief.
“Yes, if that’s your choice. You should consider your options carefully. We have food, we have walls and we just want to help ourselves and others get out of this mess. We feel that we need to take a strong stance against Knox and people like him. What good is this power otherwise? If you want to try and go it alone, that’s your choice. If you want to go back to Knox, that’s also your choice, but when we show up there and give everyone the same choice, you’ll have already had your chance.” Calvin let those last words hang in the air. The implication was clear. It wasn’t a threat, it was just the facts.
Liam grabbed Sasha’s hand and gave her a pleading look, “I’m not going back to Knox. That fucker killed my father, and he’s going to pay for that. Going back won’t save Lexie. Knox probably thinks we’re dead anyway. I want to stay. If you want to leave and take our chances in the woods, I’ll come with.”
She looked back at him, and then back at Calvin, “We’ll stay, and we’ll sign your agreement. We will not be your slaves though, and we’re going to get Lexie with or without you.”
“Fair enough. Andy, can you help us out with the binding?”
Within a few moments, Liam and Sasha had shiny new runic brands around their wrists. Calvin winced at the fact that they looked like shackles, but he didn’t design the stupid things.
“Are you still hungry?” Calvin asked the two.
They were starving. They hadn’t eaten a real meal in days and the food Amy had brought them was unlike anything they’d had in the tutorial so far. They helped themselves to another full helping.
“We’ll get started on somewhere for you to sleep, it will take several hours though, so for tonight you’re probably going to have to camp out by the fire. Is that fine?” Calvin asked.
“Man, we’ve been sleeping in the dirt since we got here. A fire is already a pretty big upgrade. How are you going to set up a place in several hours? Let us help.” Liam remarked.
“Ha, Robots. We have magic robots.” Marshall said with a smile
Liam and Sasha just stared at him in disbelief.
They brought out some hides for the two to crash on and Seth and Calvin got to work laying out a spot for housing. They’d decided on a dorm-style structure that could support up to 20 people and by morning it should be complete.
----------------------------------------
“I wanted to show you guys some stuff. Before my spa day was interrupted, I actually made some pretty cool discoveries, and I think you’re going to like them.” Seth said with just a bit of excitement.
The group sat down by the water around a small fire they’d made, letting Liam and Sasha get some rest.
“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.”
“Great. First, Marshall… ” With a flourish, Seth produced a wooden tube of sorts. It had a large runic inscription on the bottom and was lined in smaller script along the length. “Could you be a dear and try infusing this with your nanomist?”
Marshall took the tube in his hand with a small bit of curiosity and did as instructed. The runic inscriptions took on a green aura.
“Ok, now what?” Marshall asked when nothing else happened.
“I think… Just throw it. That way.” Seth pointed out into the water.
Marshall hurled the object out onto the lake where it promptly burst into a small, green, healing cloud.
“Seth… Buddy…” Marshall said with a massive grin, “Did you get me some healing grenades for my birthday?!”
Seth chuckled, “That was an experiment, but, yes. I guess I did. Andy actually helped out a lot.”
“I thought you couldn’t provide direct assistance to us.” Calvin said to Andy.
“I cannot. I am permitted however to provide confirmation on things provided your questions are detailed enough and show a sufficient understanding of the subject matter. Seth had already devised the theory, and I simply confirmed that it would work.”
Calvin eyed the strange robot. Is it gaming the system with loopholes?
“Well, thanks. Good work.” Calvin said.
“That one was a prototype. That specific runebinding on the bottom helped Marshall transfer the energy into the tube. The runic script on the outside helped strengthen it. Damaging the script weakened the structure and the energy inside was released. I only had enough juice to make two of the wooden ones. If I use stronger materials, I can make stronger grenades.” Seth handed the remaining grenade over to Marshall. “The wood one isn’t good for much besides healing. I think any other energies would be too destructive, sorry Ian.”
“Ian will be just fine.” Marshall said, “He’s basically a walking grenade already. You said you had other discoveries? Lay it on us pal!”
“This one could take a bit longer to actually put into practice. Remember those sentry drones? I can attach them to the base. Actually, when Knox attacked us, I had just finished getting those two drones connected to our rune. Those little guys are more of a deterrence than anything, but I have a few ideas. We could probably get a dozen or so of those on sentry duty. Andy says there’s a limit to how much energy the base rune can supply, but also that we can supply power through other means. I’ll work on that. The real gift here though, is that there are much stronger options in my handy little kit here. Speaking of which…”
Seth released what appeared to be a mechanical bee, just 10 times larger. “This is Scout. I named it myself. As you might have guessed, this is a scouting drone.”
“Damn Seth,” Amy said, “we’re going to have to leave you behind more often.”
Calvin reached out to give Scout an experimental poke, but it nimbly avoided the touch. “How far can it go? How do we use it?”
“Right now, a radius of about 2 miles or so. If we find better ways to power it or recharge it, much farther. Also, it can fly in a straight line even farther. It has no long-range communication, so as of right now, it flies around, gathers up intel, and brings it back here to drop off at base.” Seth flipped open the base management screen, bringing up a map of their town and the surroundings. “We can see the information right here from this screen. Scout updated this about 6 hours ago.”
“This is really amazing. Can we bring it with us to check out Fort… uh… Knox’s camp.”
Marshall gave Calvin a knowing smile
“Sadly, not really. We could bring Scout with us and send it out, but we would have to bring it back here to process the information. I don’t have a way to connect to it yet, although there are plenty of options in that regard, I’m just not high enough level, and I don’t have the stuff I’d need to make it.”
“That actually works out well. We could head out, grind out some experience over by Water Beartopia, send out Scout to take a peek, and head back here for the night. It will give us a chance to confirm some of the things Liam and Sasha have told us.”
With that, the group began forming a plan for the next few days. Seth’s show and tell was over for now and they needed to get some rest.