~~~~~~~~~~~
Samara,
It’s been five days since I last wrote to you. Is it more? I don’t know. It feels like a Friday though. Do you remember those? When we’d go out with the rest of the crew to Pepperidge Farm for drinks? I remember. The riots are only getting worse. I’m holed up here in Cagoth, at least for now.
We always thought that it would be our enemies to bring an end to the country. I didn’t realize we would do it to ourselves. From what I’ve heard, it sounds like the unrest is everywhere. Eblain might be faring a bit better. They’re probably lapping up all this fanaticism. It’s disgusting is what it is, but they’ll probably come out ahead when things stabilize. It has to, right?
The military has been mobilized, at least as best as they can. I’ve heard rumors about generals rebelling but the government is trying to keep it under wraps. I know it’s worse than they’re letting on. How much? I don’t know. The troops are utilizing non-lethal ammunition on protesters for now but they are taking people away. They aren’t seen again after that.
I’m scared.
Yours,
Percy
~~~~~~~~~~~
Rushing towards the pained sound, I burst through the underbrush to find a battered wolf kin standing over a small orange smudge on the rock. His fur was disheveled and looked burnt in a couple patchy places.
“Jacob?” I asked.
“Hey man, it’s good to see you. Whoever you are and all that. We are totally boned out here unless you’ve got a way back out.”
“I marked a path to get back, but what’s the problem?”
“It’s these fire ants bro. They’re all bitey and stingy,” the scraggly wolf kin motioned at his burnt coat.
“Well then let’s get out of here before more show up. Your dad and sister are worried about you.”
“It’s too late. They’re already here,” The blitzed wolf pointed toward another small orange insect. It looked like a series of three orange olives. Far bigger than a typical ant, but nothing extraordinary.
Not trusting anything in this world, I readied my shield and walked carefully toward the small insect that was looking up at me.
I readied my pilum, I wasn’t about to get close enough to stab it with my gladius. Smashing it with a solid thump of metal against stone, I received a notification screen.
You have slain LV1 Fire Ant Worker: 1 XP awarded
“There. See, it’s all clear to head back. Now let’s get moving before nightfall.”
“Not that one, those.”
I inwardly groaned. Because of course it wouldn’t be that easy. The recently smashed insect caught fire spontaneously as a half dozen of its thumb sized relatives appeared from the underbrush.
“Fuck a duck.”
I quickly lashed out with my pilum, not wanting to get whatever flammable fluid they were filled with on me. The slain ants began combusting one after another as the air temperature began to rise.
Then I saw the soldiers. A good two dozen appeared, likely drawn by my slaying of their compatriots. Their first two segments were each roughly the size of my fist, but their abdomen was thrice as large and glowed dangerously.
As if on a silent cue, a wave of fluid was launched at me. Most of it missed, poor shots that they were. I took the opportunity to spear two of them straight through. They were no match for direct contact.
Then the fluid ignited.
Most of it was concentrated on my shield and I was protected, but small splatters had landed on my arms. Out of reflex, I activated the trigger effect of my armor. A wave of coolness washed over my torso. It was immediately buffeted by the fluid igniting. I learned quickly that 70% of on fire still hurt like 100% on fire. My health wasn’t dropping too quickly yet, but I didn’t care to catch a full broadside from their business district and put it to the test.
Ducking and weaving with swift and well practiced footwork, I clubbed and speared ant after ant but there were always more.
My [Siphon] ability helped with the pain and the damage I was taking from the flames but it wasn’t quite enough. I was getting slowly worn down mentally and physically.
Another quick jab and an oversized ant crumpled to the ground. They seemed limitless but the numbers were thinning. Small workers tried to swarm me, some getting smashed beneath my feet before swathing them in flames.
I retreated to the point where Jacob had been standing uselessly this whole time, the vermin didn’t follow onto the hard rocky outcrop.
From this higher vantage point, I was able to see what Jacob was talking about. A swarm of glowing orange dots covered the ground in the distance and were coming closer. Instead of attacking though, they were marching off into the distance. A cordon of soldiers has formed up where their peers had fallen but made no further aggressive moves forward. A few wiggled their abdomens menacingly but nothing more.
“Pretty far out right?”
The voice startled me, having forgotten for a second the wolf kin I’d came here to rescue.
“Yeah it is, did you do something to tick these guys off?” I asked.
“Nope. After Bella, she’s that hot girl, well after she dumped me I decided to like stay out here in the wild like my ancestors and you know, be one with nature.”
“Did that include smoking?”
“Yeah it did. How’d you guess? You want some? I might have a bit left.”
“Naw, I’m good for now. Just keep it safe.”
“You got it brah.”
“Anytime.”
At least he wasn’t likely to get a hero complex and try to charge through the horde. I’d managed to activate my armor twice during the brief combat and was feeling too tired to continue.
You have slain LV1 Fire Ant Worker (x17): 17 XP awarded
You have slain LV2 Fire Ant Worker (x7): 14 XP awarded
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You have slain LV5 Fire Ant Warrior (x8): 64 XP awarded
LEVEL UP
At least it was a good source of experience. I wasn’t about to charge into the giant mass of insects to capitalize on it though. Even with my unusual recovery ability, being lit on fire was not a comfortable sensation.
“Hey Jacob, your dad sent some food,” I handed over half of the generous portion of bread and jerky to my unlikely companion on the rock, keeping track of the horde beyond as they moved silently through the forest.
“Aww thanks, you’re the best thing to happen to me out here. I really appreciate it man.”
“It’s okay, don’t mention it,” Really, please don’t I thought to myself.
The two of us sat on the overhanging rock as the endless march continued. If they decided to turn on us in mass, there was little I would likely be able to do. So, I decided to not worry about it and enjoyed my dinner as best I could while surrounded by certain death. It really wasn’t that different from being under siege. Either they attacked and people died, or they moved on. Seeing as the swarm was steadily moving, I would be content to wait them out. It might even give me some time to explore my next level up. I smelled something burning, different from the pitch-like scent of the ants.
“Don’t worry about him. It’s fade leaf. Talking to yourself is the least of his concerns right now.”
I looked over and sure enough Jacob was rediscovering his left hand with great interest.
“How do you know this?” I asked.
“I was in grad school for five years.”
Her tone of voice seemed to indicate that response was enough to explain it all, it didn’t matter to me too much as long as Jacob didn’t go charging off into the swarm of otherwise passive insects.
“No sense putting this off then, I doubt we’re going to be heading anyway tonight. Status Menu.”
***
Fabius Dansin
Level 2
123/150 HP
30/150 SP
Progress to next level: 262/200 XP
Statistics
Body: 15
Mind: 15
Soul: 10
ALERT- You here 10 unspent stat points
Skills
Endurance (1)
Sword (1)
Throwing Weapons (1)
Piercing Strike (1)
Rune Crafting (1)
Magitech Interface (2)
Scholar (1)
Siphon (2)
ALERT- You have 7 unspent skill points
Skills Available:
Martial-
Endurance (2) - Through countless trials your constitution has hardened. Resist fatigue and boost healing rate from all sources by 20%. Increase physical damage resistance by 2.
Sword (2) - Proper sword work involves more than sticking them with the pointy end. You know this. Increase damage done with swords by 15%, 10% chance to parry a physical attack from the front.
Throwing Weapons (2) - Sharpened edges increase the rate of bleeding from wounds on your foe. Accuracy of thrown weapons increased by 20% and damage by 8%. An additional 25% of base damage is dealt over 10 seconds as a bleed.
Shield (1) - Durability of equipped shields increased by 30% Damage Resistance of shields increased by 2.
Piercing Strike (2) - Aim not for your target, but through it. Ignores 66% of armor. Activation Cost: 8 SP, 8 second cool down.
Technical-
Rune Crafting (2) - Construct and apply apprentice runes to equipment or weapons. SP cost depends on rune.
Magitech Interface (3) - {Locked LV 5} Ability to disarm apprentice magitech traps and notice them from further away. Activate Class 1, 2, and 3 magitech devices for 50% SP.
Efficient Conductor (1) - Reduce SP costs by 5% for all actions.
SP Channeling (1) - Efficacy of elemental energy runes increased by 20%
Esoteric-
Unbroken Will (1) - Gain immunity to [Stun] and [Fear] afflictions for 45 seconds. Activation Cost: 20 SP, 12 hour cool down.
Scholar (2) - Careful studies of your foe leads you to better aim for weak spots or protect your own while learning. 15% increased critical chance vs studied enemies / 15% damage resistance vs unknowns. May choose the opposite effect for the duration of an encounter at 50% efficiency.
Thaumaturge (1) - 10% chance to receive a random beneficial effect on each successful attack.
Conversion Matrix (1) - Sacrifice 20% max HP and SP to increase all damage done by 30% for 15 seconds
Siphon (3) - {Locked LV 5} Pulling at the fabric of reality itself, you are become the destroyer of worlds. Heal 8% max HP and SP with your next successful attack. Passive Ability: 8 second cool down.
Perks:
Twinned Souls
Eyes of the Void
***
“So what are we thinking Fabius?”
“I want to avoid another headache like that. If we’re going to be wearing more enchanted gear then we also need more recovery just to keep from getting drained dry. I think I’m learning the benefits of this air conditioning technology.”
“Just wait till you find out about the heater in winter. More baseline SP will help with recovery since it’s percentage based, at least up to a point.”
“I think we’re good on health for now. I don’t plan to get hit, and [Siphon] takes the worst of it when we do.”
“Five points into Mind and Soul it is. I really want to get the next level of [Rune Crafting]. Condense this down to a ring instead of making it our whole chest piece. Probably make it less SP intensive too.”
“[Scholar] and [Endurance] too. I like not dying, but I’m not sure how the damage reduction works. More is better though if you ask me.”
“[Unbroken Will].”
“Definitely. Getting knocked around by the oversized bunny was a nuisance.”
My selections complete, I looked out over the swarm still crawling by. There was no additional movement toward me, and I was happy enough to leave them be for now.
Jacob had fallen asleep long ago and being sleep deprived wouldn’t help me in the morning. I soon followed him resting on the uncomfortable rock face.
***
I woke up, covered in dew but surprisingly not chilled despite the moisture omnipresent across my body. That air rune Samara had talked about sounded better and better. Too bad that I’d have to get a new piece of armor to make use of it. Still, my current load out was starting to take some damage. Before long I’d be looking like a vagrant myself.
Deep gouges lay across my shield from where the Caerbanning had tried to rip through. My leathers were mostly intact, scorch marks and small rips scattered across the surface. In the last few days I’d accumulated more wear and tear than was typical on an entire campaign. Was this the new normal? It would explain the appearance of that dark elf in the guild. Why bother with pretty armor if it’s just going to get torn to shreds?
Then again, it looked like he never got hit either. That was something for me to figure out another day. Jacob was still laying where he had been last night, snoring like a bear.
Carefully checking my footing, I climbed to the peak of the hill. Such as it was. My view extended to a few hundred meters, but there was no sign of the insect horde from the night before. They must have continued on their way to wherever they were going to.
Thinking that the carapaces might hold some alchemical value, I descended to where I’d fought the ants. Scorch marks and some smoking embers were present in a few places where an errant branch or shrub had caught cross fire. Strangely, all evidence of the deceased was methodically removed from the scene. If they were anything like the ants back on Earth they probably ate their own fallen.
Then again ants on Earth didn’t shoot fire. Minor details and all.
“Hey Jacob! Wake up! The ants are gone and I will be too in ten minutes. Let’s get moving!”
“...nother five minutes.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to sleep when we get back to Oxdale. Now step to it and look lively SOLDIER!” Using my practiced commander voice, even this layabout snapped up. Since there wasn’t much in the way for him to pack, I started walking back towards town. He could catch up on his own.
“Hey, hey man, that’s not cool! Don’t you leave me here, what if they come back?” He called out in a slightly panicked tone.
“Dunno, won’t be my problem since I’ll be safely back in the town.” Picking on this guy was low hanging fruit, I have to be honest with myself after all. But being stuck sleeping on a rock while a death swarm of fire shooting ants would leave anyone a bit peeved.
“Alright, I’m coming. Just hold up a sec. Need to find my breakfast.”
“You ate it all last night, and mine as well.”
“Oh right, sorry brah. I’ll pay you back for sure once you get me back.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I wasn’t looking for this guy to be in my debt. The less interacting I had to do with him the better. He was lucky his little sister was so damn cute.
We made it back to the village just shy of two hours later. As we approached, I saw a disturbance down one of the side streets I’d not explored before.
“Think you can make it from here, right?”
“Yeah, thanks a million man. Those bugs woulda gotten me and been all like,” He pantomimed chewing a turkey leg. “So I’m really glad you were there. I’ll say hi to my pops, let him know I’m back. Maybe I’ll go talk to Bella too...”
“How about talking to your dad first?”
“Oh yeah, great idea! I’ll do that and get some money. But her a present to make up for it,” Mind made up, Jacob loped off towards the tavern.
“He’s toast isn’t he?”
“If his dad doesn’t do something, I’d put money on the angry Larothian dad.”
“Might want to check in with him to be sure Bella got back safe. I only saw a couple that might be old enough to be her father and they were all with that caravan in the market. Let’s see what’s going on here first.”
I made my way through the streets, hearing indistinct shouting in the distance. Others we moving towards the sound of disruption as well. A sizable crowd had already formed around one particular building where the event seemed centered.
“I’m an innocent man! I swear it! You have the wrong guy. I pay my taxes in time and can recite the Canticles of Dave if you would just let me go!” The frantic avian man was being restrained by a group of guards I’d never seen before.
The guards were covered from head to toe in gleaming white armor. A dark plate hid their faces. Interlocking pieces of some kind of white metal made up the remainder. I watched them move and then pick up the man as if entirely unhindered.
One of the faceless guards snarled, “Right, we know you were the one behind the bombing in Calgoth three months ago. There’s no way out of this one now. It’s to the Ecclesiarch for you. Better than you Mechanist worshipping vermin deserve, but I have my orders.”
“No! Please! I swear I’ve never worshiped anyone but Dave! I’d never betray the Ecclesiarchy!”
“SILENCE!”
The lead guard struck his captive with the back side of... some sort of club? The man went limp as two other guards picked up the unconscious man like a sack of grain.
“Is that... power assisted riot gear?” I whispered.
My heart thundered in my chest as the guards started to clear away the crowd. This whole time I had been searching for tech and it was here all along! But these kin...what were they doing? I heard the guards shout for the crowd to disperse. The situation was becoming increasingly volatile.
“Fabius, we need to get out of here. NOW,” I began making my way back towards the market and away from these soldiers... these secret police. I wanted nothing to do with them.
The unmistakable crack of energy weapon fire shattered the unease like a thousand panes of glass cracking at once. The crowd roared in panic as I barely heard the captain’s screams berating his trigger happy guardsmen.
“You damn fools! You have any idea how valuable those relics are! If anything on them is fried because you were firing it frivolously, it’s coming out of your hide! Pack up the prisoner and let’s get out of here before you do something really stupid Jenkins. Oh wait... YOU ALREADY HAVE!”
Falling back from the stampeding crowd, I hurriedly made my distance from the men wielding such strange weaponry that even Samara was frightened of it. The crowd had descended into panic and it was a struggle to stay ahead of them and avoid being trampled.
It was borderline a riot by the time I made it to market square and found Colette’s shop. Reaching the door, I flung it open to see Colette directly on the other side. In my haste to get in before the frightened mob caught up, I nearly bowled her over. Regaining my footing, I barred the door behind me.