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CH 49: Quest Assigned
🕑 Added 2024-12-06 15:36:38 +0000 UTCReid, Sara, Susan, Marlene, and James walked atop the battlements while they chatted and ate. Reid was deeply focused on the most important part of the morning - the food. Today's breakfast was luxurious. Scrambled eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper, were stuffed between two pieces of freshly baked bread. The bread had been lightly oiled and toasted, and it crunched with every bite. Reid would've killed for cheese and sausage - possibly literally. Variety in food was something he'd taken for granted, and he promised himself he wasn't going to forget how awful a lack of options could be. His cheeks stretched as he stuffed the remainder of the egg sandwich into his mouth.
Their food situation had been greatly improved by Sara's scavenger runs as of late - which included an overturned grocery delivery truck that had 10 mostly-intact boxes of spices. The bit that had made this morning possible, though, was when a scavenger team stumbled onto a small chicken farm. They'd managed to bring back four dozen hens, and most of them were good layers. Mark crafted a coop in half an hour - and Sanctuary was now rich with eggs. They still needed more supplies - they always needed more supplies - but they were getting closer to truly being able to support everyone through the winter.
Susan and James were chatting through how Reid's energy expenditure had worked during the creation of Requiem - and how that might translate into actionable changes the magic casters could make in order to hit harder, or strike more often. They'd grown more accurate with practice, but none of them were truly outstanding with the skills. After Reid's creation of the bone arrowheads, the archers had taken massive steps ahead of them in terms of lethality. James didn't want them to lag behind.
Requiem Hung off a makeshift sling on Reid's back. It wasn't pretty, but it held the thing to him well enough. A thick red blanket was wound around the blades and the spike, and it made the whole ensemble look like Reid was wearing an upside-down Christmas ornament. He didn't care about the odd look, so long as it kept the blades from accidentally bumping into other people - or into Reid himself.
Reid had 'practiced' with the weapon - if you could call obliterating wooden mannequins practice. Mark had banned him from wasting any more of the practice dummies, but that was alright. Requiem, in the few swings Reid took, felt like a living extension of his body. It was, in a sense, a living extension of Reid. But the feeling he had while holding it was simply sublime. Swinging it felt right and natural in a way that the clip point radius and Reid's knives never had. That part of Reid that hungered for violence wanted something to test Requiem against, but he pushed those thoughts down again as he finished chewing the sandwich and swallowed.
In front of him, Sara walked with Queen's Edge in its scabbard attached to her belt. It barely bounced as she moved, as if the sword was constantly moving with her. She was in the midst of a conversation with Marlene about ideal troop formations for flying enemies. It involved some change to the amount of people using ranged weapons in each squad, and Sara was questioning whether someone with sufficient strength could jump up to reach a flying creature.
Everyone froze when the message changed.
Current Quest: Secret Event Quest Assignment Pending. Please Wait...
...
NOTICE: Secret Event Quest Assigned!
NOTICE: This is an event quest. During event quests, all awakened individuals may earn bonus points.
Quest: The Crimson Titan's Domain
Sanctuary failed to hunt and kill the Crimson Titan as an adolescent. Their failure allowed this beast and its domain to prosper. While you grew in the tutorial, the Crimson Titan gained levels, minions, guards, and other resources that made it the inherent ruler of all surrounding territory. Now that your tutorial is complete, you must take back control of this area. Defeat the beasts and conquer their domain to preserve Sanctuary. Destroy the Crimson Titans and its minions to prove your superiority and seize your prizes:
* Human Control of the Local Area
* Upgrades to the [Calderwall] Empire and its Citizens
* Direct XP Bonuses and Titles
* Graduation from Provisional Lord to Local Lord
Marlene swore. Sara's eyes darted back and forth, reading text only she could see. James had subtly moved himself into a defensive position between their group and the outer wall. Reid moved to join him. He knew they'd failed at least one hunt quest early on, when Marlene was knocked unconscious. But the quest didn't make sense - they'd already fought off all the beast waves they were supposed to - and they hadn't been running into any other beasts of significance out on their scavenger runs. There was no 'domain' that Reid could see them needing to control. Sanctuary was by itself, it was stable, and it was safe.
The notifications pinged on.
ERROR: Tutorial Incomplete. Pre-Tutorial Event Quests disallowed by safety controls. Pre-Tutorial Domain Quests disallowed by safety controls. Controls adjusted...
CONGRATULATIONS! Safety controls overridden. Quest may continue.
ERROR: No Provisional Lord detected. Detecting alternative...
CONGRATULATIONS! Upon successful completion, Lord Candidate may directly become Local Lord.
ERROR: Time limit detected. Tutorial may begin before quest completion. Calculating solutions...
CONGRATULATIONS! Hostility adjusted. All beasts will attack Sanctuary to expedite this quest.
CONGRATULATIONS! Beasts will be teleported closer to Sanctuary to expedite this quest.
NOTICE: Countdown to beast teleportation: 1d 0h 5m 40s
NOTICE: Hostilities will begin in 1d 1h 5m 40s
ERROR: High number of individuals detected outside quest area.
CONGRATULATIONS! All [Calderwall] Empire Residents will be teleported to quest location.
NOTICE: Insufficient teleportation points. Enabling disruptive teleport procedures. Please brace for localized shockwaves.
James shared a concerned look with Reid. Marlene silently stared at Sara, who was still sifting through text only she could see. Sara let out a rapid-fire crescendo of 'fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck's that only ended when she sent out a Sanctuary hierarchy-wide notification. It popped into view for everyone a moment later
NOTICE sent by [Lord Candidate Sara Calderwall]
Don't panic. The system is teleporting people to Sanctuary. If you aren't here, you'll be teleported. Don't make sudden movements, stow weapons, and stop vehicles if you're traveling. Again, stay calm.
Sara's eyes focused back on reality when the message was sent Her face was filled with concern as she turned to the group and spoke. "Okay - I looked up-"
Dozens of deafening thunderclaps interrupted Sara as they echoed over Sanctuary. Trees and windows shook. People appeared with every sound and let off flashes of light and small shockwaves wherever they popped into existence. Sara shouted over the noise.
"I looked up disruptive teleportation! A normal teleport makes a pocket of empty space for someone to get pushed into. This one just has the person's mass shove all the other air out of the way when they appear. We're hearing the sound of people disrupting air."
A window shattered in the Rec Hall. Along the wall, guards were half-panicked. The very-new set of officers were doing their best to maintain order and stop their guards from firing off any shots.
The frequency increased until dozens of thunderclaps sounded out every second. People appeared in the middle of roads. Some flashed into existence on the beach, others over the surface of the water - where they promptly fell in and started shouting. Many appeared just inside Sanctuary's walls, and large groups were popping up in last stand field. It was absolute chaos. Some people were naked. Others were clad in full combat gear. Everyone was disoriented, and some were armed. Reid hoped they wouldn't start shooting each other. It took another twenty ear-splitting seconds for the teleports to stop.
Amidst the noise and chaos, Reid watched a ragged, disheveled man sprint for Sanctuary's currently-open front gate. He wasn't familiar, and looked like he'd been hiking through the woods in the same set of clothes for days. It only took a moment to realize this was a 'guard' from one of the outlying settlements that had originally escaped justice. The teleport had forcibly reunited him with those he'd mistreated - who were currently sprinting after him.
The gate guards had rifles ready to fire, but the officer in charge continued to give them the hold signal. Gunshots now would only stir up more issues, Reid knew. He was even happier with the decision not to fire when he saw what happened next.
A few hundred feet outside Sanctuary's walls, the man slammed headfirst into an invisible wall. His impact made a small, shimmering ripple that extended 10 feet in either direction. He was thrown back a few feet from the point of impact, swearing and clutching at his face. When he saw the mob nearing him, the man stood again, and ran towards the same spot.
The invisible wall blasted him back this time. He was thrown twenty feet back, and had an arm bent at the wrong angle. The mob following him closed in, and Reid turned away from what happened next as justice caught up with the bastard.
Another notification brought everyone's attention back.
NOTICE: All forces of the [Calderwall] Empire have been gathered at quest location.
NOTICE: To prevent unfair advantages, travel restrictions are in place until hostilities begin. Attempts to circumvent restrictions will be met with resistance.
Reid realized Sara was hyperventilating and sweating. Her hands trembled, and she whipped her head in a new direction every few seconds. Reid tried to approach her, but she held up a hand to stop him, then waved off everyone.
"I don't - I don't know what to do. There's too much. There are too many paths. None of them are... oh my god, I'm-"
Sara rushed to the outer wall and vomited over the side, then collapsed in a heap. Susan rushed over and started healing her stomach, but quickly moved to her head. She spoke soft, calming words as she worked. Marlene bit her lip and looked between Sara and the confused masses now inside of Sanctuary. Reid moved to position himself between Sara and the inside of their settlement. James followed suit, and Marlene stepped in as well to form a makeshift wall of bodies in front of Sara. It took half a minute for Sara to calm down enough to continue.
"I- I'm feeling a different path every time I breathe. Every time I think, or I want something. We can't... we can't get away, and I don't know where to put people, and I don't know what to do. It's all wrong. Every path is the wrong one. None of them overlap. There's so much. Oh god, there's so much. I can't - mom, there are too many decisions. Too many options. I can't sort through them all. I can't keep them separate. They're all overlapping and... and I don't know how to stop this. I can't stop this."
Susan shushed her daughter, and continued healing. Green light glowed and pulsed.
Sara waved one hand around in the air, and more quest details were shown to those standing above her.
Quest Sub-Objectives:
1. Prevent Losses: 0
2. Defeat the Crimson Titan: ( 0 / 1 )
3. Defeat the Crimson Titan's Guardians: ( 0 / 3 )
4. Defeat the Crimson Titan's Elites: ( 0 / 10 )
5. Defeat the Crimson Titan's Minions: ( 0 / 2,106 )
6. (Optional) Sue for peace.
7. (Optional) Negotiate with the enemy.
"We can't negotiate. There's no room for peace. I checked. There's nothing... there's nothing there when I want to kill the Crimson Titan. Mom, I don't know what to do. I... I don't even know how to save you and dad. Nothing's clear."
Susan's healing pulsed again, and Sara slumped down on the wall. Reid, Marlene, and James rushed over, but Susan waved them off.
"I put her into a restful state. Wasn't sure if it was going to work, but I'm glad it did. Her skill was working overtime, Reid, just like when you half-destroyed your internal energy landscape. She was about to burn out. She would've if I didn't knock her out."
James looked around them. "So, what do we do now?"
Reid took a long look at his daughter. Her words echoed in his mind. She couldn't save Susan, or him. People were going to die.
The mob walked back from the invisible wall.
An enemy was being teleported to Sanctuary. It was, most likely, an overwhelming force of Salamanders. They would be powerful. And Sanctuary was trapped. They might all be doomed.
Reid rolled his shoulders and cleared his throat. The group looked at him.
"Easy. We fight."
