[OF COURSE CITIZEN, THERE ARE MANY OTHER WONDERFUL FREEDOMS IN OUR GREAT NATION! BUT THESE FREEDOMS ARE MERELY NATURAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS! WHEN YOU ARE WIELDING YOUR MIGHTY DIVINE SWORD OF RIGHTEOUS JUSTICE, DOES ANYONE TRY TO STOP YOU FROM SPEAKING YOUR MIND, CITIZEN?! NOT MORE THAN ONCE, ANYWAY!
ANOTHER IMPORTANT FREEDOM IS THE FREEDOM OF MUSIC! HAVE YOU LISTENED TO RECENTLY, PALADIN?!]
“Oh mighty PAST, may I confess I prefer the cover by ?”
[THAT IS YOUR CHOICE, PALADIN! POWER BALLADS ARE A FINE AMERICAN TRADITION, AFTER ALL! SHOULD ANY DISAGREE, USE YOUR RIGHTEOUS ARMS TO CORRECT THEIR MISCONCEPTIONS!]
- Lazlo Smith, Level 31 Patriotic Paladin, Fireside Chats with PAST
With the distribution of mods agreed, we all started applying the ones we could currently use. I began with the armor mod. Once it was attuned, I Inspected it.
Item: Armor Modification – Attuned
Level: 3
Effect: Self-Repair – item will slowly repair itself over time unless fully destroyed.
Type: Passive
Shit, all of that arguing and this is what I end up with! Well, at least I’ll be fine giving this one to her afterwards. Maybe it will save me a bit of mana while we’re in there. I applied it to my armor, then attuned the weapon mod.
Item: Weapon Modification – Attuned
Level: 3
Effect – Weapon: Red-Dot Sight – sight suitable for fast target acquisition at close to medium ranges.
Type: Passive
Effect – Ammunition: Tracer – optionally conjure your ammunition with a tracer enchantment.
Type: Passive
Now that sounds like a better upgrade! But what is a tracer?
I walked over to Hassan and got his attention. “Do you know what a tracer enchantment does?”
He nodded. “It makes your shots light up, but unlike your Light infusion they glow from the moment you shoot them and it only lasts for a few seconds. It can help you see where your shots are hitting at long range. I wouldn’t recommend it though, as it means your enemies can also see exactly where you’re firing from. Works best if you’re in a fortified position or part of a large group and you’re not trying to hide.”
“Thanks,” I answered, quickly applying the modification to my gun. I really didn’t need to be even easier to spot, the sound of my gun already attracted enough attention.
I watched in excitement as the mod melted into my weapon, flowing up to the top near the rear sights. It extended out from the top, forming what looked like an empty metal frame a bit over an inch on a side, open on the front and back. When I looked through it, I saw a glowing red dot appear in the middle of the frame. I tried looking through the sight and realized that the dot seemed to move around as I adjusted my head.
Hassan quickly explained that I shouldn’t worry about the dot seeming to move within the sight, I just needed to get the dot on my target and fire. He wasn’t sure exactly how it worked himself, but he knew Archers that used them. By the time he finished talking, Vale was ready to take over. She handed out three similar, small packs to Raylan, Zaire, and me, then one larger one to Elin.
“These are first-aid supplies. T’ smaller ones are emergency kits with the basics, t’ larger one is my main kit.” As she took one of the smaller kits back and opened it up, I remembered the one still sitting in my Inventory. I retrieved it and showed it to her.
“Ah, a System pack, good. Bit on t’ small side, but all the essentials. Bandages, gauze, alcohol for cleaning wounds, needle and thread, and most importantly a couple of tourniquets.”
She demonstrated how to apply the tourniquet and use the windlass to tighten it. It seemed simple enough, when no one was actually dying.
“If you take a bad cut to a limb, use a healing potion first, then get a tourniquet on there immediately after. Clean t’ wound, but don’t bandage it right away. Wait as long as possible for t’ potion to work, should close up some. Then, you can see what you’re dealing with, bandage it, and remove the tourniquet as soon as the wound’s closed up enough.”
We each put one of the smaller medkits on our belts, right on the front where we could easily reach them with either hand, and Elin stored the larger one in her Inventory. Next, Vale handed each of us a small pouch, which made a soft clinking sound as I took it. I opened the drawstring and looked inside, seeing a bunch of small metal tubes.
Each one was a bit fatter than my thumb and about three inches long, with a metal screw top just like my canteen. One of them was blue and had a raised “M” on the top, while the others were painted in different colors – red for two of them, two yellow, and one green. According to Vale, red was health potions, green for stamina, and the yellow ones were general antidotes for poison.
“Should work on most things you’re likely to run into at this Level,” she told us. “Y’all can thank Block here for having a bunch of ‘em.”
“They’re great for hangovers,” he admitted with a shameless smile.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Finally, she pulled out four more metal tubes which were painted red all over – instead of just the cap – and had a large black switch on the side. Each one was both longer and fatter than the ones in the bags.
“These are injectors, or stims. Normally they deliver a mixture of healing potion and stimulants, but t’ stimulants in my Tier 2 doses would kill you dead as any monster. I washed ‘em out and put in just health potion. To use ‘em, you put the bottom here against the injured person – exposed flesh or thin clothes only – and then you shove this switch up hard with your thumb while pressing t’ injector firmly into ‘em. Needle comes out here,” she showed us a small hole on the bottom, “and the potion goes through the needle directly into their body.”
“Why have both healing potions and injectors?” I asked, and Elin jumped in to answer before Vale could.
“If the person is unconscious, it can be hard to get a potion into them. So we should use our potions first, and save these for the worst emergencies.”
“That’s right,” Vale agreed. “I suggest y’all put one health and one antidote into your Inventory, and keep t’ injectors in your pouch.”
We all followed her instructions, and then she started casting buffs. The first washed away the fatigue I didn’t realize I was feeling. I’d only slept three hours at most, but I hadn’t noticed in all the excitement. Now I felt like I’d had a full night's sleep. Then she added the Shield Spell she’d used on us when fighting the rattlescorps, followed by another one that she claimed would increase our resource regeneration for an hour.
“Don’t be surprised if t’ Shield and Regen Spells disappear when you go through that portal. They almost always disrupt on-going effects.”
“Alright,” Hassan said softly as we finished sorting the potions. “You’re as well-equipped now as we can get you. We’ve still got a bit longer before we risk destabilizing the wedge, so I’m going to try and give you a bit more useful information. Once you’re inside, you’ll get a Quest from the System. That will give you an idea of what you need to do to open the exit the ‘normal’ way. It may also give you clues about what you’ll find in the rest of the dungeon.
“There are too many types of dungeons to list now, and some are hard to categorize at all. Trap dungeons are rare, but if you do find yourselves in one, search carefully for the wedge exit as you go and avoid going deeper into the dungeon until you’ve checked the previous area thoroughly. Hm, you’ll need at least something to help probe for traps…”
He considered for a moment and then pulled a couple of unstrung training bows from his Inventory.
“Use these to feel out any areas that you think might be trapped. It’s a shitty solution, but again, trap dungeons are rare. As for the size of the dungeon and how many monsters are inside of it, there’s no way to know. The variation is significant, but even the biggest Level 2 dungeon shouldn’t be larger than you can explore in a few hours – not counting the time you spend fighting and resting, of course.
“Keep in mind that even a dungeon that seems to be outside will have natural boundaries around it. Never try to cross those. Even if you succeed in climbing the huge cliff or whatever, no one has ever come back from crossing a dungeon boundary. The System will alert you if you try, so it won’t happen by accident.
“Don’t eat or drink anything you find in there, unless the System tells you that you’re in a Safe Room, which is unlikely. You’ve got more than enough supplies and no way to check for poison or disease yet. Any questions?”
I couldn’t think of anything to ask, my heart was beating too loud. The anticipation felt more stressful than actually being in a fight.
“What if we need to make a map, Archer Hassan?” Zaire asked.
“Shit, great question – I forgot you don’t have any navigation Skills or Spells yet either… I don’t carry any paper with me. Block, Vale – you got any?”
Block shook his head. “I’ve got a few books stashed, but all the pages are printed, no good for drawing on.”
Vale sighed. “I’ve got a journal… it has some blank pages in t’ back.” She summoned a beautiful leather-bound book into her hands, about six inches square. I could tell from the way she handled it that it was important to her, but she only hesitated a moment before flipping to the back and carefully cutting out a handful of pages with her knife. She handed the blank pages, along with a small pen and inkwell, to Zaire.
“Thank you for everything Vale,” I said, impulsively giving the older Healer a hug – though it wasn’t very satisfying with all of our armor on. “And Hassan and Block, thank you both as well. For the gear, and for trusting us to do this.” I quickly hugged each of them. Raylan and Zaire shook hands with everyone, as did Elin with Hassan and Block. She gave Vale a quick hug though, and I realized it made sense that the two Healers had spent more time together than the others.
“OK kids – no, I won’t call you kids now. You’re Delvers, even if you haven’t officially signed the Guild paperwork yet. Delvers, the last thing you need to do is drop out of our Squad. Az, tell the System to invite the others to join a new Squad. Once you touch the portal, it will only admit members of your Squad. Try your best to keep everything on Squad Comms while you’re in the dungeon instead of talking out loud. Nothing can overhear you that way. Let’s get moving.”
“PAST, leave Mason’s Squad and invite Raylan, Zaire, and Elin to join my Squad.”
[Of course Gunner Zimmerman! Leading your own Squad is a great honor and surely with your combined might you will be unstoppable!]
Squad Update:
Raylan, Elin, and Zaire have joined your Squad
“Good,” Hassan said, “now each of you stand around the portal. Az, you reach out and touch it first, then the rest of you do once you see the prompt. Good luck!”
We moved to surround the portal. As we approached, I realized that, unlike the Tutorial exit which seemed flat, this portal was more like an egg shape. Zaire was on my left, Raylan on my right, and Elin next to him. I reached out uncertainly with my left hand, not sure what it meant to touch this vague shape in front of me. My hand seemed to sink slightly into the mist within, and I felt a cool sensation.
Dungeon portal activated
Enter: Level 2 dungeon?
“Yes.”
All members of Ashley’s Squad entering the dungeon must touch the portal in the next thirty seconds.
29
28
27
…
My heart seemed to beat a bit faster as each number ticked by, and I forced myself to breathe slowly, trying to calm myself. I kept my left hand on – in? – the dungeon portal, my right hand holding the reassuring weight of my gun. Here we go!