The large open lobby is filled with shadows, instead of the elegant chandeliers hanging down the light is coming from emergency spotlights creating weird pockets of darkness, People are milling about everywhere guarding their luggage and looking for help, there is a crowd around the counters and a steady stream of people heading towards the parking garage. What I don't see is a lot of hotel staff, no one seems to be available to help anyone.There is a frantic lady going from group to group asking about her husband, you can hear the hysteria in her voice as she gets louder.
Ignoring the chaos of the parking garage and with no need to check out. I follow the signs for the street, and find myself walking back towards the escalators from earlier which will lead me through the casino and then to the outside. Another tremor shakes the building and the chandeliers sway back and forth. That's the fourth or fifth shake in a small amount of time, not a good indicator, I can see cracks forming in the walls and ceilings that shouldn't be there.
Shifting the two bags so they hang evenly I get a move on. Concentrating on my Attributes of Speed, Dexterity, and Agility toss in my skill for Running, then add a pinch of Mana Energy.......the world slows down or maybe I speed up, it is hard to tell, and maybe it's the same thing. The people all around me appear stuck in place as I slide around them, their motions and movement operating in extreme slow motion. The escalators when I arrive are a mess, they are stopped due to no power but people are still trying to travel up and down on both of them and they aren't wide enough for people to pass each other, then you have a few people with suitcases or packages, just standing on a step, not moving as if any minute everything will just be back to normal.
Pausing for a moment to figure out my path I check the pop-up
SKILL LEARNED - SPRINT
Nice! just what I need more skills. Contemplating how to get down to the ground floor, the stairs in between the escalators make more sense as they are wider with more room to weave around the sluggish people. Using the new skill is easier than concentrating on my Attributes.
In the time it takes me to get to the bottom of the stairs a young couple holding hands has made it up 1 step. Trying to pass them on the left I misjudge my dodge and my shoulder brushes into the man, feeling the jerk on my arm I stop when I'm 10 feet past the couple and stop the skill. Looking behind me, It seems that I threw the guy backwards with force, our brief contact transferred my momentum into him and he piled into a group of people to land in a heap. Amidst the confusion I wander off reading the two new pop-ups.
SKILL LEARNED - CHARGE
SKILL LEARNED - SPEED BASH
MODERATE HIT - BLUNT DAMAGE - HUMAN MALE
Note to self, when Sprinting around I now increase my kinetic force, and it looks like I could kill someone by running through them. Skills don't seem to hard to acquire use some Attributes with Mana Energy and wham-o a new skill. Also using the skill is a lot easier and faster than not using the skill.
Looking back at the guy I tossed around I use Identify
Damaged / Robert / Thrill Seeker / Level 0 Human / Dexterity
Dusting himself off he glares around at everyone and stomps off with his companion. He seems ok.....at least I didn't kill him.
Ok lets get out of here. I activate my shiny new skill and quickly move off gaming floor, I fly past the bar, the restaurant, and the cashier cages, and then I'm at the exit doors. Checking my stats I see the skill uses Stamina, slightly more than my stamina regeneration accounts for but I could still go all out for a bit.
Behind me the casino is eerie with its silenced machines, the few people I can see from here seem to be lost, as if they need someone to tell them what to do. There are a few people just standing at a machine looking around, I bet they are waiting to get their money back.
I push open the doors and head out through the breezeway. I don't think the outside is going to be any different than what I saw from my window as already I see an SUV crashed and stalled out in front of the far left doors. Shaking my head and looking at the street Its like a disaster movie come to life. Stalled cars just blocking the road in both directions as far as I can see. People sitting on the ground or on the cars with blank looks on their faces.
Here and there a person moves with more intent searching through vehicles or picking up dropped items from the ground.
Just a little ways up the street there's a man vainly trying to pull his bike out from underneath a truck. Sitting on the steps down to the sidewalk is a small person, at first I thought it was a child but when I actually look at them and use Identify I get.....
Daniel / Mage / Level 0 Gnome / Wisdom
Ok then.....not a child. The intro text did say something about races.
Opening my phone map app, I plot a route through the mess to Wingfield Park by the river, The coffee shop I like is there and it should be far enough from the buildings to relax in case the quakes get worse.
Stupid, I have a class based around path finding. With a thought and my screen I switch my active class from Gambler to Pathfinder, summoning my class item 'Pathfinders Map' and unfolding it. The description details the three ways to use the Item but on Instinct I pulled out the physical version which resembles your good old fashion paper map. I unfold it to get a nice high quality laminated 2 foot by 2 foot map. As I watch the map begins to fill in buildings, streets, cars, people, trees, everything is placed in perfect miniature detail, It's a bit better than my system map and it includes everything I can see or sense, My perception must be assisting it as the map extends farther in the directions that aren't blocked from my vision. I can't see the park on the map yet so I fold the map up and with a snap of my fingers it disappears. Maybe I can become a stage magician.
Opening my phone map back up, check the route, and head south.
The goal is to avoid people and move fast, Both duffel bags are strapped around my body and hanging behind me. Trying to remember to use the system I switch my active class to Parkourist and activate my Class Skill Small Domain Awareness. A bubble of awareness snaps into existence and instantly I know where every usable surface is and I move, I move fast. Sprint starts me off soon joined by my Jumping skill and my various Attributes the world slows down around me, with more skill than I used to have I dodge around the people that seem frozen in place, run across the cars that are crashed, stalled, or stuck, I dash through the Reno Gateway and slide to a stop in front of the old Horseshoe Casino, 1 and a half block in 3 seconds. The domain skill combined with Sprint is amazing I can see 360' around myself, see the other side of objects, and in some cases see inside of closed spaces.
People are crazy looking around I see 2 people on the Reno Gateway dancing some type of boogie and on the building across the way there looks to be a race between 7 people up the Rock Climb Feature.The ground shakes again, longer this time, not quite a bump more like a semi smashing into the side of a building. No one falls off of the building though.
A little farther down there is the crowd that has formed around the Starbucks, the faint sound of a generator humming along lets me know at least some people found coffee. Across the street there is a truck stuck in the fence at the construction site with a dazed man in overalls trying to pull the it backwards.
I look up to the sound of cheering, gathered on the upper patio of the building crowds of people are watching the climbers reach the top. The next set of free climbers start up, I count 19 people struggling to get into the lead. A few people fall as blows are exchanged and in one case someone climbs over two other people to reach the next level in the rock wall. I wonder how many of those people now have Rock Climber or Rock-Jock as their class.
I take a look around at the people all around on both sides of the road and realize it'll be faster to go down the street using the cars than race past all the pedestrians moving about. Movement catches my eye and a skateboarder zips past me heading down the street. His skateboard is a sleek black board with luminescent wheels that seem to glow in the daylight.Looking a little closer the wheels seem to be leaving little clouds of color as he moves. I concentrate on Mana Energy Sense and the area fills with wisps of color the skateboard itself glows and the wheels flicker in different shimmering colors. A silvery glow flares around the kid as he banks the corner and the board curves up off the pavement and rides the air for a second he must of used a skill.
Jimmy / Human Level 1 / Skate Boarder / Agility
(sys) Skate Board / Item / Custom System Enhanced Skateboard
Interesting. That skateboard makes me jealous for a moment, i should of picked up something for moving when I was shopping the system store. There were so many options maybe I can trade for something if I get tired of running everywhere.
Jumping up onto the car next to me, some type of four door sedan, I go from car to car the vehicles acting as springboards as I land the suspension gives me a slight boost to fling my way to the next one. 3 blocks go by in a flash as I leave a trail of dented up vehicles behind me.
Stopping again at 1st street, the city park to the east looks like a gathering point or a PokémonGO festival as small groups of people are staring at phones or pointing in a variety of directions as they argue.
Heading away from the park on West 1st Street, I see someone has broken into the abandoned corner store, there is movement inside but I move on.
This street has less cars stalled out and only one crash, the people here are all grouped around the second building on the right. Amid the cheering crowd and calls for more beer I can hear *thunk* *thunk* *thunk*. I can just make out the unlit neon signs for beer and axes. Axe Throwing a modern trend.
Brad / Warrior - Axe / Level 0 Human / Strength
Christine / Competitor/ Level 0 Human / Agility/Speed
Max / Warrior - Axe / Level 0 Human / Strength
Robert / Warrior - Hatchet / Level 0 Human / Perception
My Premonition Skill or maybe the Perception ability alerts me to someone or more than one someones watching me from the crowd. Never trust a crowd, mob mentality can be dangerous.
The crash is just ahead of me on the North side of the street, 2 of the 3 cars are stuck in the fencing and the third car is sideways pressed up against them with a mess of car parts scattered around the street. My Domain Awareness skill allows me to see underneath the cars and my Perception identifies a body and it must be my Luck attribute which allows me to find some additional items.
Before crouching down I take a moment to focus on the combination of skills and attributes and examine the 3 cars.
SKILL LEARNED - SCAN
Skills are handy, I can do the same thing with attributes and focus but the skill is like a perfect combination for less thought and quicker action.
Underneath the vehicles I see the body of a man trapped, or maybe squished would be a better way to describe it. Identify shows it as a dead body. Reaching out I grab the 2 items on the ground. My Scan had both items outlined in a golden glow, which must be a Mana Energy signature?
System Coins / Pouch / quantity 52
(sys) Computer Network Tablet / Compatible / System Store
Using Sprint I dash away from the wrecked cars and end up in West Street Plaza. A small crowd of people are hanging out in the open area watching 3 guys on bikes doing freestyle tricks, every now and then a flash of silver alerts me to a skill use from them.
The Cafe tables are mostly empty so I grab one and take breather. Placing a duffel bag on chairs to either side of me, a good way to indicate I don't want company. Moments later the world shakes again, the tremor goes longer than before and you can hear a grinding groaning noise from all around.
When the world settles down I hear "Sir, are you here for a drink or food. The powers out so we can't make anything warm but we do have cold sandwiches and I can create a drink if you'd like something" Turning my head I see the a tall brunette with stunning eyes waiting for a reply.