“I will not keep you long. I’m sure you wish to use my Shop and see what has transpired in your city. Still, I would feel it remiss if I did not speak with you beforehand, to ensure that certain matters are clear,” Roxley leans forward, meeting my eyes and waiting for a nod before continuing, “I am the System registered owner of this Village. I have every intention of growing it to it’s fullest and adding this region to my Clan’s holdings.
“To ensure that, I’ve already hired many of your compatriots in the village. I understand you even met up with some of them and were instrumental in bringing some survivors back. For that, you have my thanks”
Quest Completed: The Safety of Many
Reward: 2,000 Credits per Each Survivor (22,000 Credits Received); 500XP per Survivor (5,500XP Received)
Type: Repeatable
Level Up!
You have reached Level 8 as an Erethran Honor Guard. Stat Points automatically distributed. You have 18 Free Attributes to distribute.
“Ah, congratulations!” Roxley smiles slightly as he watches me even as I will away the windows. He then stands and walks away to a sideboard, getting us a couple of drinks. “In my culture, each Level is celebrated.”
“Ali, how the hell does he know what’s going on?”
“At a guess boy-o? He’s got a System Companion too. From his eye, I’d say it’s an AI. Or you know, he could be reading you like a crystal,” Ali shrugs. “I’ve stopped a dozen probes into our information on the System already, and I only managed to stop them from reading us completely. He definitely has your basic stats at least. Well, hello there… Got to go. Try not to get killed.”
With those last words, Ali is gone. What the hell?
“To Strength!” Handing me the glass of dark blue liquid, Roxley toasts. I echo his cheer, sipping on the drink tentatively first. It’s sweet and smooth, almost like drinking a good mead. On that thought, I pull the drink away from my lips as memories of waking up on a beach, pantsless intrude. Good times with Luthien… I push those thoughts away too. Not now.
“I, will of course, reward you similarly for any others you may find and for other relevant information,” Roxley says.
“Ummm…” I pause, considering and then fill him in on Haines Junction giving him the abbreviated version I gave the others. His eyes narrow a bit but he doesn’t interrupt me, just thanking me for the information.
“Well Adventurer Lee, this has been enlightening. I expect I shall be seeing more of you, one so titled after such a short period is certain to do much,” Roxley says, offering me his hand. I take it, feeling a shiver pass through my body on contact which I push away. When he lets go of my hand, he inclines his head to the door and I take the dismissal, following the guards out. They deposit me a few floors down into the Shop.
Interestingly, when I arrive and place my hand on the crystal that will transport me to the Shop, I get a System window asking me to choose which one. I also have a default option and after a brief consideration, I decide to go with it. Ali seems to know them and I do too, a bit. Who knows - the others Shops might be even worst.
The Shop itself hasn’t changed much in the time that I’ve gone, which isn’t surprising. The two within greet me with cool professionalism until they realise that Ali isn’t here. Then the professionalism thaws a little bit, probably in anticipation of fleecing me.
Too bad I don’t have much for them to buy or sell. I push them a bit on the last few pieces of Ogre loot I hadn’t been able to contain in my inventory the first time around and the few pieces of extra loot I’ve picked up then but don’t bother haggling too much. Better to let them have a good deal now to build up some goodwill for when I bring Ali and more loot back in the future.
That done, I take a deep breath. I’ve been putting this off for a bit, making excuses for why I couldn’t do it in Haines Junction, promising that I’d do it once I was in Whitehorse. Now, faced with the ability to check on the Status of my family, I find myself hesitating. Believing they are dead and knowing are two different things. I bite my lip and then finally pay the cheap, cheap price to the System for information on my family.
I close my eyes, hands clenched before me as I hold back the tears by sheer force of will. I force myself to look up and breathe, force control over my body and by that, my emotions. I knew the answer before I paid, I knew this was the likely result. I knew it, but the pain still chokes me up for a moment. I cycle my breath for what seems like hours but is probably just a few minutes before I stuff the grief away again. Another time - I’ll deal with it another time.
I came down here for another reason though, one that came to mind when I stepped into the school. I pull up information on these Safe Zones, browsing for information. A quick perusal and a few questions get me the answers that I need. Any building purchased from the System is considered a safe zone, the System automatically stabilising the flow of mana in that location. Locations within a city are generally more expensive as the City Owner taxes all prices but in return, if 80% of all land that lay within a city’s boundary was part of the System, the entire city would be considered a Safe Zone.
Once again, I can’t help but feel the entire System is a scam. It seems engineered to force people into using it – destroying sensitive electronics with mana, creating safe zones only when a building is purchased, even the inventory items. If Steve Jobs was still alive, he probably would be jerking off to the System Help Guide.
I pull up the listings for the schools and then the other buildings that have been bought in short order. Not many at all, most owned by Roxley himself, with the only exceptions an armoury, an alchemist and another house. The house is registered as owned by Nicodemus of the Raven’s Circle, which puzzles me for a second before I recall the Giant. Ah right, Nicodemus / Nick, he was the accountant and GM wasn’t he? That must be where the ‘Raven’s Circle’´ was headquartering themselves.
Out of curiosity, I make another query of the System and grimace. Of course, it’d work that way. Unless a fee was paid to register a designated heir, all buildings owned by an individual upon death would revert to the System. Yeah, keeping Roxley alive was in our best for now - he literally kept the monsters at bay by being alive.
I make a note to mention this to someone at some point before finally pulling up my own residence.
89 Alsek Rd.
Current Ownership: None
Current Occupant: John Lee, Adventurer
Cost: 20,000 Credits (50% discount for previous occupancy status)
Current Assigned Purpose: None
I’d rented a 1 bedroom suite beneath a house, but it looks like the System has decided I live in the entire location. I eye the Credits that I have left and I bite my lips for a moment. Easy come, easy go.
Congratulations!
You have purchased 89 Alsek Rd. You now own the building and may assign a purpose and upgrade the building. Upgrades may be purchased at the residence itself or at the Shop. Please note that all buildings have a minimum maintenance cost and if not met, will be returned to the System Pool.
22,000 Credits Deducted
Even after the Apocalypse, there are taxes.
Coming out of the City Centre, I come across a group of teenagers trying to bikejack Sabre. Something a little cruel rises up in me and I just stand there, grinning as one hunts for the keys and ignition, another attempts to pry up the seat with a crowbar while the last fiddles with where the engine is, trying to discern how to get it started. The crowbar slips, putting its edge into his friend’s shoulder but not even leaving a scratch on the bike.