Stage 2: Road Trip Arc 3.0
Tuesday, Feb 23th, 2010
Your Disguise skill has increased by 1
5 of 5 events achieved for Quest: 'Become a Cape!'
+1650 XP, Quest: 'Become a Cape!' completed
+4400 XP, Quest: 'End Stage Boss Fight' completed
+825 XP, +3 Lightning Affinity for assisting in defeat of Sparky
+633 XP, +2 Earth Affinity for assisting in defeat of Granite
You have gained an Achievement: Assisted Parahuman defeat: Sparky
You have gained an Achievement: Assisted Parahuman defeat: Granite
You have gained a level! You are now level 16
You have gained a level! You are now level 17
Sparky has gone from Enemy to Nemesis
Granite has gone from Annoyance to Enemy
+231 XP, for evading Cops, PRT and Protectorate
Disguising my golems, and myself for my civilian look, had earned me a level. Then defeating Sparky and Granite gained me two levels. Why wasn't Granite mentioned in the quest? Why is it called 'Lightning' Affinity? I guess that's the unknown reward. Why did Granite only give +2 Earth, compared to Sparky's +3 'Lightning'. I have 6 Earth affinity now, so I guess 5 isn't a magic number for whatever the fuck it does, maybe at 10? My power likes multiples of 5.
I'm surprised that worked. I cheated wholesale there. Guess my power doesn't care. I was willing to abandon the quest if it hadn't. Definitely burned any bridge with the Protectorate there, Potter needs to retire. Guess that 'increased rep with 'Potter' will go to waste, not that I found any measurement for it anywhere in my interface.
Most significant lesson learned? 120 lbs. is my max total golem weight among all of them, not the max for one golem. That's a lot more limiting. I gave myself another INT so I'd have enough MP to put level 6 reinforcement on the 120 lb. Golem, only to discover I had to max it out at 109 lbs. due to still having 11 snakes left. Now I don't have any left, or any clay or sand. Whatever, I'll make more in New Hampshire. Now I need to make the most of my time grinding before I leave tomorrow morning. I did get XP for evading the PRT and such. That should mean I already succeeded. Hopefully I'll get another prompt if I have to evade again, but I think I can risk venturing out to resume mundane training.
-1 HP (1 deflected, 4 resisted) x24
For practicing your whole-body reflexes you have gained 1 AGI
Your Observe skill has increased by 1
I keep an eye on the news and check out PHO. Yeah, my fight with Sparky and Granite is the talk of the city. The fight is speculated to have caused several hundred thousand in damages, from blown out windows, wrecked cars, shorted out street lights (the other cause of wrecks besides the chase) shorted out other stuff, lightning damage and so on. A few dozen injured, 17 hospitalized, from car wrecks and flying glass, but no fatalities.
"Nobody got seriously hurt, and two villains are off the street. Win-win"
"You don't know that. There could be plenty of people hurt from the rampage you just provoked Sparky into."
"His actions aren't my responsibility."
My conversation with Olympus plays back through my mind. No, I didn't know that, yes there were people hurt. I did fuck up, in not planning it better to minimize collateral damage. This should bother me a lot more than it does. Is this Gamer's Mind affecting my emotions? I've twenty-five skill levels in Gamer's Mind vs. ten in Empathy. But his actions aren't my responsibility, am I just rationalizing this…callousness? Empathy has barely moved much since Maxing Gamer's Mind, is that because of apathy or just because of a lack of social interaction? It's not productive to dwell on this right now, though that could be more apathy talking.
Sparky didn't use his EMP during the fight. Perhaps he heeded Eidolon's warning about a kill order? The current speculation is that he or Granite will be sent to the Huntsville special detention unit. They probably won't be bird-caged, no known murders, or qualifying actions. Sparky's run was short-lived, and Granite was apparently always more a henchman-like follower to whomever. Whatever, it won't be my problem after tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
-1 HP (1 deflected, 4 resisted) x30
For testing the limits of your endurance and vitality, you have gained 1 CON
-1 HP (1 deflected, 4 resisted) x40
Your Drug & Poison Resistance skill has increased by 1
4am, time to meet Miguel and get out of here. I make a final pass at cleaning, because not getting my deposit back will screw my plans. They don't complain; cash safely in inventory I head to the day labor place. I'll waste a lot of HP and Stamina overflow on the bus ride, well not Stamina, my CON is high enough now that Stamina loss no longer makes any progress toward training the stat, only damage does.
After we get to the bus station, I pay Miguel $60 plus his rail ticket back. My money is nearly exhausted, less than $10 to my name, but I have lots of stolen food in my inventory. I pan through my notes and check my email one last time over the station's Wi-Fi. There's still no response from Julia. Damn, I won't be able to check again for a while. Am I doing the right thing to follow? It's too late to be debating that now. I listen to the bus start up and pull out, while I use Observe on all the other passengers. What am I going to do when I get there?
I have a few days to think about it, plus books, stuff I downloaded, and games to keep me occupied. At least I researched in advance and figured out what motels take cash. I'll have to steal and sell stuff for a while before I can afford it. At least I figured out how to cheat at cleaning my clothes and pseudo-showering with an inventory sweep; that will help. They have campuses in Brockton too; can always pretend to be a freshman sleeping on a couch or in a study room between classes. I get into as comfortable a position in my seat as I can, and practice meditation while I read about my cape exploits in the morning paper.
****
Your Observe skill has increased by 1
+330 XP, It's Elementary quest completed
You may gain the Science (Chemistry) skill
You have gained the 'Physical' specialty for Science (Chemistry)
At least that's finally done. Not like there's been much to do on the bus so far. Burn myself with my lighter in the bus bathroom for Fire Resistance, after disabling the smoke detector of course.
I don't want to cut myself in there because that will make a mess. There doesn't seem to be a slashing, piercing, bludgeoning category, so why bother? Well, maybe next time. Avatar makes the blood fade away, but not immediately. It'd suck if someone came in after me and saw it before it disappeared. At least I can just throw a few Power Strikes at pit-stops for physical damage, and five-finger discount the occasional snacks to heal back up. Though, healthy optimal HP gaining munchies may be hard to find in roadside travel stops. Beyond that, spam grinding Observe, can't make any golems right now, studying while meditating, or playing puzzle games on my handheld.
Too bad Power Strike on inanimate things or myself and petty shoplifting don't get gains anymore. At least the pills still give Drug Resistance. The weed is tapering off, I'll know for sure at the next pit-stop.
****
Joanna Kirkland has gone from acquaintance to stranger.
John Roman has gone from acquaintance to stranger.
Katy Schmidt has gone from acquaintance to stranger.
More relationship decays, I guess people are forgetting about me already. Fuck even Julia's went down a point, still at 125 though. Rachel's is still steady. My sheet is getting bloated, it seems every person I've ever had a brief conversation with and gotten a partial name from is on here. That makes most of it useless. At least I can sort them. Hmm, don't see a way to turn off notifications for the people I don't care about, guess it's all or nothing. The default sort seems to be based on most recent interactions, unless I change it, at least I can organize it better. Oh, filter tabs, good!
Well, here we are, first stop, New Orleans, I get out, show my ticket and change buses, next stop Nashville and another transfer. Only a few fellow passengers transfer with me, and a whole new set of passengers come aboard. It will be a while before we leave. Good, more chances to grind Observe on fresh faces. Typical, typical, typical, ugh TMI, typical… Whoa, wait. What is that one?
Name: Chela Sánchez
Level: 5
Alias: None
Gender: Female
Age: 14
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Race: Human (Parahuman-Candidate)
Class: Teenager / Migrant Worker
Faction: None
STR: 8 (+0) 8
AGI: 11 (+0) 11
CON: 15 (+0) 15
INT: ?? (??) ??
PER: 16 (??) ??
WIS: ?? (??) ??
CHA: 13 (??) ??
LUC: ?? (??) ??
Allure: 3.0
Armor: 0.1
Speed: 2.67 (+0) 2.67
Attack: ??
Dodge: ??
Health: 230/230
Stamina: 260/260
Stress: ??
H/T/F: ...
Summary Description:
Chela is a 14 year old Hispanic immigrant from Yucatan, Mexico; she grew up in a tiny house with her parents in a small fishing-farming village on the coast. Already struggling to live day by day, she felt devastated when members of her extended family were, and her father almost, lost when their boat capsized in a storm.
Although thankful her father survived and was rescued, the loss of the boat meant her family was forced to sell everything to pay a man to smuggle them via boat to New Orleans. She had hoped that arriving here had meant a better life and escape from the difficulties of her old one. Alas, she only found herself, more often than not, required to clean dishes and do housework alongside her mother to earn additional income more often than attending school.
Her father, unable to find consistent year-round work on a fishing vessel, became a migrant farm worker for half the year. Her family was forced to uproot again numerous times as they traveled to different work camps around the country throughout the harvest seasons, before returning for the winter in New Orleans. She has already found herself required to work in the fields alongside her mother and father over the last two years, even lying about her age to do so. Not that she ever thought the crew chiefs believed her, they just didn't care.
It had become necessary because her father's age and health issues are slowing him down and making him earn less.
She is once again heading north with her family to pick various spring harvests in March and April before moving again to pick early summer harvests.
The lack of a stable home and schooling, and the constant moving has left Chela feeling very lonely and without any consistent friends. She and her family do not speak any English and she is fearful her family's illegal status will result in being deported at any moment. She has felt a long-tern, desperate desire to escape the situation that is her current life and yearns for friendships and stability, but can't see any means with which to achieve that.
She has short wavy black hair, dark brown eyes and ruddy-brown skin. She is 5'1" tall, and weighs around 120 lbs. She appears to be slightly overweight. Her hands are slightly scarred and calloused from outdoor work.
Status Effects:
Mental: Very Stressed, Minor General Anxiety
Physical: Teenage Acne, Mild vitamin deficiency
Currently Feeling: Very Stressed, Anxious, Lonely, Shy, Very Hungry
Motivations: Find something to eat, Avoid being noticed too much, Not be bored the whole trip, Fantasize about becoming Latin pop-star, ...
Equipment list:
Blue Jeans, Long-sleeve Shirt, Jacket, Sneakers, …
Wow, what? Parapedia. Yeah, no shit. I know what the definition of candidate means. So, she is a not yet triggered Parahuman, one that is already very stressed. Damn I still can't see stress points on the Observe windows. Fuck no. No one deserves to go through a trigger event. I observe the mother and father as the family sits down in the seat across the aisle from me. Their info-boxes tell a similar tale. At least there isn't any abuse going on, a loving, hard-working family all in all, just poor, and having a very hard-time.
<"Hello, what's your name? I'm Simon"> I ask in Spanish, even though Observe already told me her name.
<"Hello, my name is Chela."> She says shyly.
<"Where are you going?"> I ask. Again, Observe had told me they were going north, though it left out the exact destination.
She looks to her father. <"Harrisburg, PA, to work the farms. Where are your parents?">, he asks me.
Harrisburg. That is my fourth stop-over before Brockton, after Nashville and Roanoke. I'll be on this bus or other buses with them for the next thirty hours. Well, no red flags from Observe and good vibes, no harm in telling them where I am going or that I'm traveling alone. <"I'm stopping in Harrisburg as well, then continuing east, to meet with my parents"> I reply. Of course I wasn't actually meeting my parents; some things can be left out.
Chela Sánchez has gone from stranger to acquaintance.
Carmen Sánchez has gone from stranger to acquaintance.
Rubén Sánchez has gone from stranger to acquaintance.
Rubén is a passionate talker about his work. I hadn't thought there would be a lot of crops to harvest as early as spring, but I guess there is. Spring Cabbage, Swiss Chard, Kale, Parsnips, and so on. I think he prefers fishing, and telling lies about the size of fish he's caught in the past, going by the earlier conversations. At least I got her parents warmed up to me enough they're less concerned about a teenage boy talking to their daughter.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
****
Thursday, Feb 25th, 2010
Your Observe skill has increased by 1
Stat Bonus Cheat: For playing related video games you have gained 1 INT
That was unexpected, but it shouldn't have been. I've been playing puzzle games on my handheld for six hours now. I keep forgetting about those stat cheats, and I really shouldn't. I've got INT, WIS, and PER covered now. What would I play for the rest? Have to think about it when I get to Brockton, but I can't do anything about it now. Well, I can probably stop playing these puzzle games then.
Looks like we're coming into the outskirts of Nashville now, it's just past 5 in the morning, most everyone else is asleep. Last update from the driver said we pull in around 6am. Plenty more chances to grind Observe and some resistances again.
Your Damage Resistance (Fire & Heat) skill has increased by 1
Your Observe skill has increased by 1
****
<"Are you sure you want to give me this? It seems expensive."> Chela asks me again, gesturing to the handheld I've been playing with for much of the trip.
<"Yes, it's fine, I swear. I've already beaten all the games I have for it anyway."> Since I got the stat cheat INT bonus, it had less utility for me. I need to focus on studying other stuff, rather than goofing off grinding my video game skill which is already obscenely high. <"It will help you learn some English too; there are some word puzzle games in there."> Plus it's not like I paid for any of it, I left unsaid.
"Tha… thank you" She responds in English. Using the phrases I taught her earlier. I check my sheet, +10 Relationship with Chela Sanchez.
"You're welcome." Her expression is still a bit confused. "De Nada" I say in Spanish.
She turns her attention back to the game. <"How do I move the boxes to get the character through the maze again?">
I hope this is helping. She needs this. Get over her shyness some; try to be a friend to her even if she isn't there yet according to my relationship sheet. I doubt she'll actually get there, not in time before we'd have to depart. It's almost 30 now, still a long way from 100. Even so, I want to get it as high as possible before we go our separate ways. If she does trigger, I really hope she doesn't, then if we ever meet again, we could be allies or at least cordial with each other. For now, I can't tell if I'm having a positive impact on her stress levels. I doubt my five levels in psychology is enough for any real impact.
I can't see the stress point values in Observe, and the status effect hasn't changed, so I can't be sure. The question marks there imply I might be able to eventually. I can see AGI modifiers, and Speed now when I got to level 20. Things tend to get revealed in five level increments, and if my suspected skill feature pattern holds true, I should get something significant again at level 25.
****
Everyone on the bus gets up to look to the right toward the south as we pass by the Eagleton Containment area. Sure we're far enough away that we're safe on the highway, but we can't help but gawk at all the signs. We can see military and PRT helicopters flying overhead toward the south, patrolling. Definitely throw some observes at them. Hell, might as well get a better view. I go to Free Camera mode, turn FRAPS on and send my camera up into the sky. My POV keeps heading East along with my body as the Bus continues on its way. From this vantage I can see a hell of a lot more, even into the outskirts of the enclosed area, even though it's far away.
Wow, there is some strange spired structure the helicopters are shooting at in the distance. It looks somewhat like a giant termite mound. I'd have never been able to see it if my POV hadn't been a few hundred feet up in the air. "Observe".
Machine Army Spore Tower
This structure was built by the 'organisms' that make up the machine army in an attempt to gain height to help the distribution of their seeds. They have yet to obtain a height significant enough for this tactic to be viable, as every time they erect one, the army and PRT gunships shoot it down after it reaches a certain height. Despite failing repeatedly, the single minded machine organisms just start building another one each time the prior one is lost.
Structural Integrity: on the verge of collapse
Hardened HP: 116/3467
Occupants: 7,577 Machine Army Workers, 2,058 Machine Army Soldiers, 1 Machine Army Queen, 33,678 Machine Army seeds.
And just like that, another gunship missile hit it and my Observe changed to looking at debris as the whole thing came crumbling down. Well that was a hell of a thing.
Soon enough we drive on past and leave the warning signs of the nearby containment zone behind us. We drive through the complete ghost town that used to be Knoxville, TN. Well, almost ghost town. There must be some stubborn hold outs. But seriously, who wants to still live in a major city that is only a short way north of Eagleton? No wonder the city got abandoned.
I swap my camera back as I feel someone touch my shoulder. Chela is asking me a question, about what all the signs and activity were for. Well, it's still another seven hours to Roanoke, may as well get that Speech, CHA, and Empathy up some more. This is a good enough lead in, I should probably explain some cape stuff to her so she's prepared, just in case, without giving too much away about myself.
****
Your Observe skill has increased by 1
Your Damage Resistance (Physical) skill has increased by 1
That's enough of that. I make sure the bloodstains fade away before I exit the bathroom stall in the Roanoke bus station. Power Strike is too noisy and damaging during pit stops. It's becoming too problematic to train resist any more while in transit, I should just focus on studying. Still haven't gotten 25 Observe yet either, despite the fresh targets as we travel.
The next leg of the trip is to Harrisburg, and my last period of interaction with the Sanchez family. As much as I want to tell her about her trigger potential, I have no way of knowing if it will actually happen, and it will probably make things worse for her. According to Observe, her mood seems to have been improving greatly after my interactions with her, just not enough to affect the long term mental status effects that are still present.
I eat lunch to recover some HP, and get back on the next transfer bus, double checking to make sure the Sanchez family boarded this one too. A quick nap should let me max my HP back up again.
****
<"Simon, Simon, wake up."> Chela says rousing me from my nap.
<"What is it?"> I ask mid-yawn.
<"The bus driver made some announcement; we don't know what he said.">
I nod and walk up to the front and get his attention. "What were you saying earlier? I was asleep." I ask as I look over the driver and the other passengers.
"I was saying we got to make a detour, some cape fight took out multiple chunks of I-81 and I-64 around Lexington that still hasn't been repaired yet. We've got to go up 220 through George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, before cutting back over. It will take a bit longer, but you get to see the scenic route." Harold answers.
I sit back down and translate what he said to Chela and her parents. Since Chela is engrossed in the handheld I gave her, I go back to my textbook quests, which I've been neglecting. Some hour and a half later, I look up after overhearing a few comments from my fellow passengers as we pull into Fallen Spring, VA.
"How come there's nobody around?" someone asks.
It's dark. I pull my phone out of my inventory to check the time; waiting for it to get a signal to update itself, but no signal arrives.
"What time is it?" I ask.
"7:30" is someone's response. There are very few lights on as we drive through the town, and like someone asked, I don't see anyone around when I look out the window, nor any cars on the road. No wait, there were cars on the road, wrecked and abandoned.
I go into free camera mode to get a closer look at things and the cars on the side of the road; all I'm seeing is a fair amount of broken glass, from both car windows and shop fronts. I hear the soft ping of a notification. I hate it when I get notifications while in free camera mode. Some awkward moments later I finally open it up.
This random encounter is OP!
Survive with full control over your mind and body.
Time Limit: ?? It's over when it's over.
Success: Duh, still being alive and fully in control of your mind and body, and +10,000 XP
Bonus Condition: Save your fellow passengers, +2000 XP per life saved that escapes with you. Increased relationship with those you save.
Failure: A fate worse than death.
Saved: 0, Dead: 0, Pending: 44
This quest cannot be declined.
What??? Fuck me. I futz with my interface as quickly as I can to get back into first person mode.
I manage to crank my volume controls up and turn FRAPS on just in time to hear a high pitched screaming hum, as the windows on the bus suddenly started to vibrate. I pull Chela down into the aisle just as everything explodes.
-34 HP (6 Resisted)
I look up, I'm cut up, Chela was more protected but not without injury. Everyone is screaming,
What the hell? My phone and the handheld I gave Chela have exploded, the screens cracked into tiny pieces on the floor of the bus. Some quick Observes on her and her family show injuries that are bad but not life threatening.
<"We need to get out of here!"> I yell, we barely got to our feet, when some weird bug-balloon thing flies in through a broken window and explodes in a shower of ichor and putrid green gas.
I hold my breath as I see people closer to it start to choke and fall over, but it's too late. I'm already feeling the effects from a lungful. Notifications keep firing off as I try to drag an unconscious Chela to the emergency exit in the back.
I'm still holding my breath and my stamina is ticking down. I can't move my legs anymore. There is some whistling, why is there whistling? I slump down onto the floor at the back of the bus. I can hear it better now. It's… the Andy Griffith theme song? Why do I even know what that is? A man steps onto the bus whistling the tune, white skin, bloody dress slacks and shirt, neatly trimmed goatee, is all I can make out as my vision becomes blurred. He is flipping a long thin object around in his hand, casually juggling it. A short, little blonde girl follows into the bus behind him.
The man stops whistling and speaks. "Well now, looks like some new toys have shown up for us to play with, and just when I thought this sleepy little town had nothing left to offer..."
"Oh, Goodie! New Specimens, I have so many things I want to try!" the little girl squees.
"Not too hasty now, you don't want to be like the others and dispose of your toys so quickly. We need to let this play out, maybe come up with a whole new game for them to play…"
Observe, observe. Can't read the text, too blurry, vision fading…
Simon's Character Sheet:
Name: Simon Clarence Anderson
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Race: Human (Parahuman)
Class: Teenage Runaway / Rogue
Faction: None
Money: $5.16
Title: Gentleman Thief
Level: 17 (67.33%)
XP: 27800
Primary Attributes
STR: 11 (+0.00) 11.00 (58.30%)
AGI: 9 (+0.00) 9.00 (12.40%)
CON: 21 (+0.00) 21.00 (74.74%)
INT: 25 (+0.00) 25.00 (3.12%)
PER: 12 (+0.00) 12.00 (26.94%)
WIS: 22 (+0.00) 22.00 (29.55%)
CHA: 13 (+0.00) 13.00 (58.97%)
LUC: 15 (+0.00) 15.00 (48.74%)
Unspent Points: 49
Secondary Attributes
Health Pool: 636/677
Stamina Pool: 555/555
Mana Pool: 1360/5312
Stress Pool: 470/470
Attack: 12.50
Speed: 2.80
Dodge: 14.44
Armor: 0.40
Carry: 110.00
Allure: 3 (+0.50) 3.5
Status Effects
Teenage Acne: ALU -0.50
Alluring Charm*: ALU +1.00
Skills
Max Slots: 52
Free Skill Slots: 12
Artistry: 10 (85.89%)
Athletics: 12 (36.88%)
Basic Academics: 9 (0.00%)
Computers: 10 (11.23%)
Crafting (Stone & Pottery): 10 (5.67%)
Create Mana Golem: 12 (18.03%)
Damage Resistance (Electrical): 1 (0.00%)
Damage Resistance (Fire & Heat): 2 (0.00%)
Damage Resistance (Physical): 3 (11.13%)
Disable Device: 11 (7.57%)
Disease Resistance: 6 (60.13%)
Disguise: 4 (25.98%)
Drug & Poison Resistance: 12 (48.76%)
Empathy: 10 (62.67%)
Firearms: 1 (0.00%)
Gamer's Body: MAX (0.00%)
Gamer's Interface: MAX (0.00%)
Gamer's Mind: MAX (0.00%)
Language-English: MAX (0.00%)
Language-Spanish: MAX (0.00%)
Mathematics: 4 (0.00%)
Medicine: 2 (80.86%)
Meditation: 12 (46.73%)
Melee Weapons: 4 (0.00%)
Null Resistance: 3 (13.69%)
Observe: 23 (4.99%)
Parahuman Lore: 7 (79.45%)
Power Strike: 10 (0.00%)
Programming: 10 (0.54%)
Psychology: 5 (0.00%)
Science (Biology): 1 (53.22%)
Science (Chemistry): 1 (0.00%)
Science (Earth): 1 (0.00%)
Speech: 10 (30.95%)
Stealth: 12 (20.45%)
Strategy: 5 (0.00%)
Thievery: 11 (0.00%)
Unarmed Combat: 5 (0.00%)
Vehicle Operations: 3 (0.00%)
Video Games: 26 (16.74%)
Unspent Skill Points: 6
Perks
Free Perk Slots: 1
Gaia's Blessing: Mana Pool and Mana Skill access
Gaia's Attunement: Elemental Affinity access
Light Sleeper: Need only 5 hours to get fully rested
Mana Reserve: Bonus MP per level increased by 25%
XP Whore: +10% Level XP
Flaws
Selective Amnesia: We had to make room for stuff in your head
A Bit of a Troll: Sometimes you just can't help yourself
Unnatural Curiosity: Can't always resist the urge to find stuff out
Affinities
Earth: 6
Water: 1
Plant: 1
Lightning: 3