by James Hunter
He’d come at us with everything he had, and the way he’d said it—like someone absently explaining how he’d wipe up a glass of spilled milk—made me believe he could destroy us. Who knew what a man like that might have hiding up his sleeve?
“I know this isn’t easy, Jack,” Abby said, her voice soothing, concern lining her face, “but we’re the only ones that can stop him. Chief Kolle is right. Maybe he’s being genuine, but we’re going to be here a long time, Jack. Maybe forever—no one knows. Are you sure his good intentions will hold forever? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have the power to stop him if push did come to shove? We’re only still alive because we were proactive and bucked the system. Do you honestly think Osmark would’ve stopped Carrera from hunting us down if we hadn’t backed him into a corner by taking Rowanheath?”
I took a few deep breaths, running my sweat-slick palms through my dark hair, then flopped back into my chair. Abby made some good points, too. My fear of Osmark, my fear of the unknown, urged me to sit back and not rock the boat. To fight for the status quo. To turn inward, build up Yunnam, and leave the rest of Eldgard to fend for itself. But, that same fear also whispered something else in my ear: it’s only a matter of time … eventually, he’ll come for you.
Abby looked like she was going to continue, to push her case, but the chief stopped her with an upraised hand. “Abby speaks the truth, but”—he dropped his hands, folding them in resignation on the tabletop—“we will not force you into a decision, Grim Jack. Your instincts have also played a significant role in the victories we’ve had. Let us all”—he stole a long look at Abby and Anton—“never forget that.”
I sighed and slouched back in the chair, letting the comforting leather cradle my battle-sore muscles. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to at least talk about our options,” I finally conceded. “But first, food.”
THREE:
Level Up
“Should we get Cutter and Amara before we start?” I asked before sinking my teeth into a char-roasted slab of spider—the meat tender and oddly chicken-like. An explosion of hot grease and smoky flavor ran across my tongue in a delicious wave. God the food in VGO was good. Everything, even skewered rat, tasted better than the best steak I’d ever eaten back IRL, plus it made you feel incredible. I chewed in contemplative silence, then sat back and took a big swig of copper-red ale, which was sweet, but balanced out with hints of hops and honey.
Alcoholic heaven.
“Better not to wait,” the chief replied. “They’re running an errand for me deep in the heart of the forest—handling a bit of trouble.”
I cocked an eyebrow at him as I tore off another chunk of meat with my teeth.
He waved my unspoken question away with one hand. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Grim Jack.” He paused, a sly barely there smile gracing his lips. “Something of a team-building exercise, meant to bring them closer together. It will be good, I think, but they’ll be indisposed for a time.”
“Besides,” Anton said, his voice coated with a light British accent, “having Cutter around would only make things more difficult. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice enough bloke—in a disgusting, drunk, belligerent sort of way—but he’s not one with the patience or aptitude for politics or business. Best if we handle this alone.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes at the joke, which was funny precisely because it wasn’t a joke at all.
“Fine,” I conceded. “Otto?” I asked, my mind flashing to the taciturn Risi. He may have been a bit rough around the edges, but he was also great with military advice and overall strategy. He had a knack for it, earned from a lifetime of skirmishes, raids, and war.
“Nope. He’s in Rowanheath for the next few days,” Abby replied. “He’s training the new recruits, getting them ready for wall duty. Which just leaves us.” She swept an arm out in a small circle.
“Okay,” I said, glancing at Abby, Anton, and Chief Kolle in turn, “but where should we start? I mean this is big. Osmark isn’t just some pushover—he’s the Emperor of Viridia with twenty-four other factions backing him.” I stole another bite.
“Well, before we talk about Osmark and the Imperials,” Abby replied, voice positively brimming with excitement, “we’ve got some faction business to take care of.” She paused, glanced at me, then tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to look at the Faction Menu, have you, Jack?”
I shook my head, mouth too full to speak.
“Well, then I’ve got some good news for you. The Crimson Alliance just leveled—that last battle finally put us over the top.” She practically squeed, her hands shaking in erratic delight.
“We’re level two now, Jackie-boy,” Anton said as a shit-eating grin stretched across his pinched face. He reached over and gave me a light punch on the shoulder. “Level two. Can you believe it?”
I just sat there for a moment, letting the news settle over me. Honestly, I was shocked—a part of me didn’t believe it. In fact, I’d been starting to think we were never going to level up as a faction. Brewald—the chief guardian of Darkshard, and the physical manifestation of the Keep—had warned us how difficult leveling up a faction was, but I hadn’t really paid him any mind. Not until later. It turned out, Brewald hadn’t exaggerated. Moving from level one to level two required a whopping ten million EXP.
Capturing Rowanheath had earned us half that number. If not for that, we’d be grinding away for another few months, no doubt.
I choked down my bite and followed it with a gulp of mead as I thought. “Wow, that’s huge,” I finally said.
“Yep, yep, yep,” Abby replied with a grin and a nod. “Which means we’ve got five points to divvy up. The question is, what do we do with them? Maybe, in light of the constant siege, we should more seriously consider investing a few points in the Battle-Craft skill set? I mean, our members could use an increase in morale or some extra movement bonuses. Anything would help, really.”
“Our girl has a point, Jackie-boy,” Anton added. “I salute you guys for taking a gamble and investing into Merchant-Craft and State-Craft, but maybe it’s time to reevaluate our strategy. Before all of this”—he swept a hand around the room—“before VGO and the asteroid, I did a significant amount of work with small businesses. Mostly taxes, but I also helped them analyze return on investment so they could figure out if what they were doing was worthwhile. Maybe we should consider doing the same?”
I glanced at the chief, waiting for him to impart some nugget of wisdom. He was an NPC, but he was also brilliant, and he always seemed to have an answer. He was a natural leader with years of experience making hard decisions, compared to my weeks in the driver’s seat. Surprisingly, he said nothing. But his steely gaze seemed to say, go with your gut, Jack. And my gut? My gut said we needed to resist the urge to go with the quick, easy, conventional solution.
The Battle-Craft options looked good on paper—practical abilities with obvious, tangible benefits—but I couldn’t get the devastating image of Vlad’s javelins out of my head: fire raining down, charred bodies littering the ground, the twisted remains of burnt-out war machines. That’s what innovation looked like, and all the added movement bonuses and extra elemental resistances in the world wouldn’t save our faction members against something like Vlad’s javelins. No, what we needed was better defenses. Better armor. Better crafting. Better infrastructure. And, most of all, better weapons.
More weapons like the javelins, though I hesitated to say so. I knew that was the way to go, but I felt uneasy about it deep down in my soul. We’d left the world behind a handful of weeks ago, watched the entire planet die, and already we were working out ways to produce new weapons of mass destruction. True, Vlad’s designs were a long way off from nuclear warheads, but how long before that was an option on the table? It might’ve been the most efficient solution, but was it a good thing? The right thing?
I didn’t have an answer for that.
I to
ok another gulp of mead, swishing the delicious brew around in my mouth before swallowing and shaking my head. “I stand by what we did before, and I still think that’s the right course to take. Think about it, we never would’ve captured Rowanheath without the aid of the mercs and our alliance with the Spider Queen, and neither of those would’ve been possible without our State-Craft skills. And right now”—I drummed my fingers on the table, tat-tat-tat—“our access to the Black Market is the only thing keeping trade open inside of Rowanheath. Those skills have already paid huge dividends. We’d be dead without them.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like investing in Battle-Craft is going to strip us of those skills, Jackie-Boy,” Anton said, rubbing a hand along his chin. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m an actual Merchant, so personally I’m all for acquiring more Trade- and State-Craft skills, but I just want to make sure that’s really what’s best for the faction. I want to make sure that’s going to keep us alive, because that’s what this is really about. Surviving.”
“There’s something on your mind, Jack,” Abby said, reading my face like a book. “There’s something you’re not telling us. I can see it in your eyes.”
“We tried Vlad’s new javelins,” I finally offered, giving them a rundown on what had happened during the last battle. “That’s the future,” I finished. “With weapons like that …” I frowned, sighed. “Well, maybe we can win a war against the Empire. Yes, we could go wide and invest haphazardly in a bunch of different skill trees, buffet style, but in my experience, the most powerful skills are the ones that come later on. I think we need to specialize in the Merchant-Craft skill tree with a secondary focus on State-Craft. And I think we should just leave Battle-Craft alone. I could be wrong, but I think that’s where our future lies. With new technology and better crafting.”
Abby stared at me, her lips drawn into a firm line. She looked as conflicted as I felt.
She stood, the chair squeaking softly in relief, circled the table, and sat down next to me. She reached over and took my hand in hers, our fingers intertwining. “I know this is tough. You didn’t ask for this. Neither did I. None of us did, Jack. But I just want you to know, I’m proud of you. And, for the record, I trust you. So if you think Merchant-Craft is the way to go, then I’ll get behind you. Let’s give it a look.” She waved her free hand over the giant emerald in the center of the table.
The crystal flared to brilliant life, bleeding tendrils of jade into the air, which unfurled and morphed until a hazy interface screen hung suspended for everyone to see:
This wasn’t our first time studying the skill tree, but this time, we examined it under a new light: given our circumstances, what were the most likely skills to foster innovation, attract new talent, and keep us alive? After what felt like a lifetime of strenuous back and forth, we toggled over to the State-Craft skill tree to see if there were any new features we needed to pick up—after all, the Recruitment and Black Market skills had already saved our underdog faction more than a few times:
Another half hour passed, filled with even more vigorous debate.
The chief kept mostly silent, leaving the faction business to us and only offering input when prompted, but Anton and Abby had lots and lots and lots to say. Anton advocated heavily for the merchant-oriented skills—Barter, Investor, Entrepreneur, Caravan, and Fence—which, in his defense, basically amounted to a license to print great gobs of money. Abby, the pragmatist she was, argued for a more balanced mix of skills with a heavy focus on crafting. Finally, we settled on five abilities which seemed like they’d give us an edge over Osmark and his cronies:
∞∞∞
Faction Ability: Salvage
Eldgard is full of crafted items—from bridges and buildings to weapons and armor—which can be built, earned, and bought. The usefulness of those items, however, is often up for debate. But no longer. With the Salvage ability, faction members can destroy items and salvage them for parts, whether that be scrap iron, for weapons and armor, or quarried rock, useful for constructing roads and building homes. Even more important, salvaging complex crafted goods allows players to learn how those items are made …
Faction Ability Type/Level: Passive / Max Level
Cost: N/A
Effect 1: Destroy any player-controlled item and receive 60% of the original building material.
Effect 2: Destroying a complex crafted item gives the player a 35% chance of discovering how the item was built or enchanted—allowing the crafter to reproduce the item.
Restriction: Salvage doesn’t have any effect on potions.
∞∞∞
Faction Ability: Alchemic Wonder
Alchemists have the power of creation at their fingertips: transmuting common substances into potions, poisons, and weapons which can significantly shift the tide of any engagement. With the Alchemic Wonder skill, all Alchemic concoctions become more powerful, and ingredients can be combined in new and exciting ways. Additionally, Alchemists can now manufacture potions while in the field and utilize a new subspecialty, Explosive Catalyst.
Faction Ability Type/Level: Passive / Max Level
Cost: N/A
Effect 1: Healing potions, skill tonics, and poisons are 15% more potent.
Effect 2: Utilize the Splice ability to combine items and ingredients in unconventional and, often, unpredictable ways.
Effect 3: Alchemic concoctions can now be created without an alchemy lab; all alchemic potions created in the field are 25% weaker.
Effect 4: Access to the subspecialty Explosive Catalyst for all players with the Alchemist class.
∞∞∞
Faction Ability: Weapon-Smith
Eldgard is a harsh unforgiving land filled with a myriad of deadly creatures and natural threats, not to mention devious travelers and citizens looking to exploit the weak and defenseless. Survival in Eldgard is often dependent on the edge of a sword, the string of a bow, or the crushing head of a mace—and a fighter is only as good as the weapon they wield. With the Weapon-Smith skill, crafters can drastically improve weapons of all types while simultaneously lowering the cost of production.
Faction Ability Type/Level: Passive / Max Level
Cost: N/A
Effect 1: Improve weapon durability and damage by 20%.
Effect 2: Production costs for all weapon-related crafting is decreased by 10%.
Effect 3: Alter existing weapons into faction-specific items; faction items offer (1) additional enchanted property slot, but are usable only by current faction members.
Effect 4: Modify and upgrade existing weapons using ultra-rare crafting items, such as Argentum Dust, Arcane Nightshade, Essence of Magma, and Dragon Scales.
∞∞∞
Faction Ability: Armor-Smith
Eldgard is a harsh unforgiving land filled with a myriad of deadly creatures and natural threats, not to mention devious travelers and citizens looking to exploit the weak and defenseless. Survival in Eldgard is often dependent on the strength of a breastplate, the firmness of a shield, or the durability of a helm—and a warrior is only as safe as the armor they wear. With the Armor-Smith skill, crafters can drastically improve armor of all types while simultaneously lowering the cost of production.
Faction Ability Type/Level: Passive / Max Level
Cost: N/A
Effect 1: Improve armor durability and base defense by 20%.
Effect 2: Production cost for all armor-related crafting is decreased by 10%.
Effect 3: Alter existing armor into faction-specific items; faction items offer (1) additional enchanted property slot, but are usable only by current faction members.
Effect 4: Modify and upgrade existing armor using ultra-rare crafting items, such as Argentum Dust, Arcane Nightshade, Essence of Magma, and Dragon Scales.
∞∞∞
Since I was a non-crafter, none of those skills looked especially promising for my character, but I could just envision all of the cool new things we might be able to achieve as a group. The ability to br
eak down trash loot and form it into something worthwhile, had some serious appeal, and the weapon and armor smith abilities sounded beneficial to our frontline fighters. And then there was the Alchemic Wonder ability … We’d attracted lots of Alchemists over the past few weeks, but our secret weapon was Vlad, the ultra-rare Alchemic Weaponeer. His inventions were already game-changing, but what would he be able to accomplish with these new abilities?
The possibilities left me excited and anxious all at once.
Last, we picked up one skill from the State-Craft tree:
∞∞∞
Faction Ability: Savvy Bureaucrat
Warriors fight the battles, clerics and priests heal the wounds, alchemists brew potions, crafters build the goods, and merchants supply them, but it is the bureaucrat who oversees it all. The Savvy Bureaucrat, a peerless politician and administrative cog, keeps the war machine running, the city well stocked, and the rule of law maintained, holding everything together through hard work, political intrigue, and sheer force of will.
Faction Ability Type/Level: Passive / Max Level
Cost: None
Effect 1: Faction-EXP level requirements are reduced by 10%.
Effect 2: Due to bureaucratic efficiency, the faction tax—money and experience currently levied on faction members—is increased by 8%.
Effect 3: Faction officers can access a private communications channel through the Faction Tab interface, allowing them to communicate in real time, even over great distances. Faction officers can also send group PMs and can post universal notices for all faction members.
∞∞∞
With that all done, I checked the time. Dear God.
Somehow, things had gotten away from us—it was already creeping up on 9:30, and we still had a crazy amount of work yet to do. “Hold on a second,” I said to everyone, then stifled a yawn with a fist. I toggled over to the Keep interface and ordered a cup of Western Brew from the kitchen below, which was now manned and fully operational. A small miracle I was constantly thankful for. “Okay,” I said, focusing on Abby and Anton as I dismissed the menu with a lazy flick of my hand. “Now, for the nitty-gritty … we still need to decide what to do about Osmark.”