Other than the occasional fights, the rest of the journey blurs into one long, tedious and mentally wearing half-day. Every time there is a monster close enough to be a danger, I head out with Ali to deal with it. It’s possible I’m being paranoid, that many of those monsters would never have known or cared about the group, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Each time, I collect the loot but leave the bodies, mentally making a promise again about finding a storage solution in the Shop when I get back and have enough Credits.
“Ali, what’s up with the monsters? We’re in a zone 40 plus area, but we’ve only seen one major monster,” I ask the Spirit in my mind as I walk alongside the children.
“A few things. We’re just starting the transition, so higher level monsters aren’t that populous yet. The Council normally grabs a few high-level monsters at a time, dumps them into a Dungeon World like this and basically lets them breed. In a year, this place will be crawling with monsters,” Ali says. “Also, don’t forget – monsters need to eat. A high-level zone also means a higher number of low-level monsters, most of which are created from mutations of local animals. Of course, the mutations might actually come up with something really interesting too; but that’s normally in the later half of the transition.”
I nod slowly, reviewing what he said; “So, if we kill off a bunch of high-level monsters now, does that mean we can lower the level of the area?”
“Yes, no, maybe?” Ali shrugs. “Depends on how major a change it is and what the Council decides. It might lower the level here or the Council could just grab more monsters to add directly if they think the zone needs it.”
“Why create a Dungeon world in the first place?” I ask.
“Resources and power. The best way to get both is via the System, which requires fighting like what we’ve been doing. The Dungeon Worlds allow the Council to ship off the dangerous activity of resource gathering and leveling out of their backyard, basically creating farmland. Not to say that there aren’t Dungeons in other worlds, but Dungeon worlds are purely dedicated to it.”
When we get back to Carcross proper, most of the survivors are just grateful to be somewhere relatively safe. Only two want to actually go to Whitehorse, but 2 is more than I can carry. That’s another thing that I need to fix at some point, though I’m loath to trade in Sabre. Perhaps a sidecar? Elder Badger has picked up the parts needed to rebuild a few trucks as Ali points out, but it’s not going to help me right now. Well, nothing to be done about it right now so I just plan to do a pair of speed runs, blazing through the turns at speeds that leave monsters that want to fight me at odds.
That is until I’m on my way back after the first run. Increased Perception lets me spot the problem a few moments before I hit it, the spider silk strand so thin I don’t see it till then. I don’t bother attempting to stop as I’ll never make it, instead I engage Sabre’s transformation so that I can keep hold of Sabre when I hit the strands.
I end up spinning through the air, skipping along the pavement and only coming to a stop after smashing through a couple of trees by the side of the road. I groan piteously, a flashing notification letting me know I’m stunned.
In the distance, Ali is bouncing up and down and letting me know of the incoming monsters now that they’ve revealed themselves. Not that I can pay much attention to them as I struggle to bring my thoughts into focus. I swallow the pooling blood in my mouth, realising I bit my tongue somewhere along the way as well as adding a concussion to my list of ailments. I slowly push myself up, reaching to detach my rifle and realising it is not even there.
Shit.
I look around for it but doing so makes my head spin and I have to focus on casting a Minor Heal on myself instead. It takes precious seconds to cast the spell in the state that I am in and by the time I do so, the spiders are on me.
Except these aren’t really spiders like Xev - they are a weird hybrid spider-wolf creature. Spider legs and their bulbous body carry the creature forward as it is clad in dark black fur, a snarling canine head with all too sharp teeth bearing down on me. Calling forth the only weapon that I have, I lunge forwards and skewer the first monster. Unfortunately, it doesn’t kill the creature and it tosses me aside with ease, sending me spinning into the ground again. I stumble up and recall my sword immediately to swing to the left, catching another of the creature on its front legs.
After that, things get really hectic. Even partly healed, the mild concussion keeps me off-balance, though not nearly as off-balance as the creatures circling me, attacking one after the other. It takes only a few hectic minutes of swinging before I realise this isn’t a fight I can win, not injured and outnumbered like I am. Their bites scratch at and damage the armor bit by bit and they work like wolves, wearing me down for the final strike. I can’t win this, not in the state that I’m in so I trigger the QSM and run away. It’s a lurching, scrambling run that I’m glad no one but me can see.
When I get far enough away that Ali says they have given up looking for me, I start casting Minor Heal to fix the majority of the damage and down all the potions that I have. What’s not great is that I need to use my entire mana pool and Sabre’s pretty battered too. Structural integrity’s down to 48% and from what Ali tells me, my rifle is broken.
Not a good day. No mana, no rifle and creatures that Ali can’t spot automatically makes the way into Carcross dangerous. I groan, staring out into the distance and remember my promise to bring the other lady out. Fuck. Better to be safe than sorry though, I can’t afford to test those spider-wolf hybrids again. I just hope Ali is right and the slime’s nervous system is something that’s wanted because I’m going to need Xev to fix Sabre.
Worst part? I didn’t even get a damn level from all that.
Chapter 12
“Wexlix Spiders,” Mikito repeats after Ali, waggling her chopsticks in my face as we sit around having dinner together for the first time. Seems like both Richard and Mikito decided to stay and visit with Lana and I instead of going out again tonight and we are having fried noodles for dinner. We’re all working with the chopsticks that I keep in my drawer, chatting about our days. Both Richard and Mikito were both a bit surprised to be greeted by Ali at first but after the initial shock, they’ve taken it in stride. I guess small, floating brown men in overalls who isn’t attempting to kill them is not a problem. “Mixed wolf and spider?”
I nod firmly, rotating a shoulder again. I know it’s healed, my health bar says it’s full but my mind insists there’s still pain. “Tough bastards. Broke my rifle too while fighting them and I damaged Sabre significantly. Zev says it’ll take her at least a few days to fix it, some of the parts aren’t actually available till tomorrow.”
I’m already missing Sabre, having to walk all the way back on foot was less than optimal, stopping only long enough to let Sally know the results of the potions and let Jim and thus the Council know of the fate of Tagish. Unfortunately, I had to give nearly every single credit I had to Zev to fix the major mechanical issues. I’ll just have to deal with the fact that the armor isn’t going to be fully up to snuff for a bit.
“Nasty,” Richard shakes his head and uses his fork to spear more noodles. “Things are quieting down around here, most of the really bad monsters seem to have been dealt with by the guards by now. Mikito and I spent most of today just hunting for the pot. Seems like the Mana mutations have also increased the speed these animals grow and populate, otherwise we’d be in trouble trying to feed everybody.”