+ Reid +

Clouds formed and swirled against the barrier of the massive mountain range to his left. Each peak rose imposingly into the sky, with steep slopes and often jagged sections of rock that appeared as though they would make traversal a harrowing exercise. Then there was the spiders.

Thousands of the overgrown arachnids swarmed over vast webbed sections of the landscape. They seemed to be hunting North of the range, and brought their spoils back to the top of the peaks for liquefaction and consumption. It was an interesting bit of behavior. None of the spiders dared take to the air on the Southern side of the mountains here - because of how close they were to the water. Less than half a mile separated the base of the slopes from the sand of the beaches - and the beasts waiting in the water. Flying fish were there in force, and seemed to have an innate understanding of when something flew too close to the water. Firsthand experience gave Reid an idea of their sensing range - and figuring that out had been useful, but it also nearly soiled the new, clean Vuxarinan clothes he'd left Dayo Evni with.

He'd since changed his underlayer to something less pristine, and shifted his flight path close to the mountains themselves. Flying straight through the spiders was much easier than trying to keep up the same speed while dealing with the fish. The spiders had less mass, and popped rather easily. Neither foe gave him meaningful amounts of XP, so Reid was happy to focus on the quicker route.

Down on the ground, the remnants of a hard stone road split the distance between water and mountain. Large sections were separated, and sometimes the road itself looked like a great beast had pulled it apart from the edges - but it seemed like it would still make a decent path for travelers. Slightly concerning to Reid was the fact that he hadn't seen any people traversing the path between towns. The locals had given him the general idea, and this road followed the coast in its entirety, all the way from Dayo Evni to Dayo Norte - his next destination. The proximity to shore would naturally lead spiders to get assaulted by the fish, so it was probably one of the safest ways to travel on the island.

Not that anyone had a reason to go between the two towns at the moment. The late Hester would have objected to people leaving Dayo Evni, and his antics were also guaranteed to dissuade others from heading into the town, even with the beacon there.

Reid pressed on, his travel devoid of other people, for days on end. When he got too dirty from spider guts, he dunked himself in ocean water to clean off. He ate more prepared meats, bemoaned his lack of foresight in not storing coffee for himself, and in spare moments, tried to focus on his efficiency and speed in manifesting his arcane wings. Improvements were minor, but Reid knew the small savings in time and effort would add up to something meaningful, eventually.

Nyx didn't say much over the days and miles, and Reid found himself within scouting distance of Dayo Norte on a quiet morning as first light was beginning to break over the horizon. It lit the backs of clouds in the distance, and bathed the shoreline in a warm glow. Ahead, the town - or rather, the city waited. Dayo Norte was easily four times the size of Dayo Evni and Dayo Sovni put together. Obvious resort buildings dotted portions of the shoreline, interspersed with a mix of open, potentially public beaches, and sections of coastline dedicated to more industrial use. Factories and warehouse-looking buildings fanned out from those industrial sections of coastline, which were then bordered by small stacked houses on cramped streets. The resort buildings were surrounded by structures largely made of glass or pastel stone, the attempt at affluence evident in their construction. Behind those was a larger district, and what Reid pegged as the heart of the city. What appeared to be office buildings, each as large as a city block, rose higher into the air. The biggest of all - if Reid had counted correctly - was 20 stories of usable space, capped with a rounded dome and an antenna above that. Further from shore, there were a mix of residential neighborhoods, stores, shops, and a large swath of construction projects, seemingly frozen in time. A clear-cut section of forest extended around the entire perimeter of the city, with varying levels of fortifications stretched through the space.

The sunlight hit the high floors of the tallest buildings, and Reid watched on for minutes before reluctantly descending to the ground.

It was time to test entry plan 2.0.

#

Reid held both hands overhead.

He was outfitted with a set of armor - but not his usual set. This was a much plainer, segmented osteal plate that left large gaps at his shoulders, elbows, and on his legs. A simple, non-threatening spear was slung across his back, and he had taken a sack and some of his provisions from storage and attached it to his waist for good measure. Normal, non-intimidating traveler look probably achieved.

Except his welcome was not starting off warm.

There were a number of locals around him in a semi-circle, holding melee weapons and a few semi-traditional looking firearms. Only one seemed to be a mage. They said nothing to him as they stood ready. Eventually, a Vuxarinan man with an interesting set of tattoos up his arms strode confidently from a secure door in their outer wall. The semicircle parted to let him through, and he stopped a decent distance away from Reid. He wore a pistol and knife on his waist, there was another bulge near his ankle that spoke to a backup weapon, and the dual heads of a stone axe peeked out from over his shoulders.

"Whatever Hester told you, none of his culty morons are welcome inside the walls. Whatever you want, it happens right here. And if you start trying to praise your Lord Hester or spew anything about him, I'll chase you all the way back to Dayo Evni myself. State your business."

Reid had to actively stop a smile from creeping onto his face. Blunt, and with no love lost for those nutjobs from Dayo Evni. He was starting to like this guy already.

"Hester's dead, and so are his loyalists. Most of them, at least. My name's Serroc, and why I'm here has little to do with that wannabe monarch."

His words took a few moments to sink in, but when they did, the eyes of each person arrayed around him widened in surprise. The axe-wielder scanned over Reid with his eyes, and grunted to himself.

"Interesting. Maybe you're not one of those crazy fucks." He looked back towards the walls, and waved a hand motion with three fingers splayed. "I'm Zeke. You want to continue this conversation, I'm going to put you through a security check. Bag gets emptied, armor comes off, and we sit down in a secure room with a cup of the worst coffee you ever tasted and a sandwich that mostly qualifies as food. You and I chat, and a buddy of mine that has a skill for detecting ill intent listens in and tells me if I need to chop you, or if you can enter the city itself. Make your choice. This is your last chance to turn around and go back where you came from."

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"You had me at coffee - let's go."

Reid slowly walked forwards, arms still raised, with a smile starting to part his lips. Zeke was exactly the kind of person he wanted to be dealing with, here. And he was pretty sure that, as he passed the man, the axe-wielder was holding back a smile of his own.

#

#

Zeke eyed Reid with a raised eyebrow as he poured a third cup of coffee into the stone mug. Reid raised the warm liquid and sipped. It was like normal coffee - completely devoid of cinnamon. Just a good, bitter, black mug o' joe.

"I knew something was wrong with you." Zeke complained from across the table. He looked down at the mostly-eaten sandwich before continuing. "Broken-damn tastebuds on you. I had a half-starved exile from Dayo Evni only make it through half of one of those."

Reid shrugged. "The bread was alright."

Zeke rubbed his forehead. "The bread is stale. I know, 'cause that's what they give us. Forget it. Back to you. You honestly expect me to believe you're some noble wanderer going around and showering people with superpowered sticks and arrows with nothing in return? That you somehow know what's happening with the King and the Prince? Who are you, really? What's in it for you? What's your angle?"

Reid popped the last bit of sandwich in his mouth. The meat had a mustardy taste, the bread was stale, and the cheese didn't go well with the meat, but it was a different flavor than lizard meat.

"I want to make sure you can stand on your own against the beasts, and against Belar. That's what I want. That's all I want."

The slender Vuxarinan next to Zeke leaned forward as his eyes swirled with energy. "True, I think. He's still hard to read."

With the sandwich gone, and the coffee pot getting close to empty, it was time for him to be a bit more convincing. He had been truthful with Zeke and the lie-reader, though the man was struggling with Reid. He wasn't certain whether it was because of his level, or the general changes he'd made to skills. In any case, it didn't seem like it would matter much. Zeke had started to wear down and be more receptive to Reid's stories about the state of the planet the more he spoke, and now all he needed was a bit of evidence to push him the rest of the way over the edge.

Reid put a hand out on the table, palm up, and focused. 30 seconds later, a single bolt thrower appeared in his open palm. The lie-reader jumped out of his seat at the sudden materialization of the weapon, but Zeke managed to only flinch. His eyes flit between Reid and the creation.

"You think that's going to help us against this overwhelming alien force you described? Ancient weaponry?"

He could tell Zeke was more than a little curious about how Reid had managed to materialize a weapon, and had a whole host of questions he wanted to ask - but the man had once again schooled himself and probed the larger questions, the ones that could affect the city as a whole. An idea had started to form in Reid's mind. One that would allow him to quickly achieve all of his goals here.

"You swing your axe at this, and I bet you'd break your axe before you broke that weapon. Or my armor. Or my spear. That's what I'm giving you - all of you. Things that will let you fight back against the spiders on the island, the beasts in the water, and the forces outside of those that could threaten you all. I have enough to give a few hundred sets of armor and weapons out. This is a bigger city, but that should still be enough to kit a fighting force and protect the whole place."

Zeke chewed on the corner of his lip and he mumbled. "If it goes into the right hands, sure."

Reid cocked an eyebrow. Zeke grimaced, and then sighed.

"Fuck it. Why not. The apocalypse might have descended, but that doesn't mean it got rid of established hierarchies. We don't have issues like the nutjobs in Dayo Evni, but we still have resources that tend to make their way into richer hands. And I say that as one of the 'people in charge'. It's just that my area of control - walls, defenses, and the like - is still low when compared to others. If you give us extra gear, less will get claimed away by others, and we'll be able to properly outfit my teams."

"Wait, so you're like, part of the main ruling structure already?" Reid couldn't believe his luck.

Zeke nodded. "Chief of Defense, for whatever the words are worth. We don't get attacked, I'm a waste of resources. We do get attacked, I'm ineffective. They know better, but it's easier to push the stale bread here when they're constantly complaining. I guess a few of them are good people, it's just that the dumb ones are louder. Eh, now I'm griping. Short answer is yes."

A Cheshire grin split Reid's face, and Zeke exchanged a nervous look with his lie detector friend, then his eyes snapped open.

"What the fuck is this?"

"Just what it looks like," Reid replied. "I need someone to make sure what I offer gets used right, and someone that can keep people safe. I did the same thing in Dayo Sovni. And Dayo Evni - but those people are nuts, so I'm really still worried about them. Anyway - you seem like a good dude, and you're already part of the power structure, so I'm just elevating that a bit, and then I'll give all the weapons and whatnot right to you."

Zeke gave the lie detector mage a pointed look, and received a nod in return.

"I knew something was wrong with you," Zeke started. Reid was about to object when the acceptance notification popped into view.

NOTICE: Zeke Bywood has accepted the invitation to join [The Osteal Empire] as [Dayo Norte Settlement Chief]. Zeke Bywood now has highly limited access to quests, reward distributions...

Zeke was now in charge of the Osteal Empire within Dayo Norte, with specific rules that prevented him from giving that power to anyone else. The man shook his head. "Gasten's ashes, I guess there's something wrong with me, too. What the hell am I doing?"

Reid shrugged. "Protecting people? Making sure things don't get too out of hand here? Acting as the shining savior that's going to shower the town in new gear? You seem even-keel enough, so I'm sure you'll be fine. Now, if you pour me another cup of coffee, maybe get me another sandwich, and I'll start breaking out the goods."

Zeke poured two cups of steaming brown liquid, and chugged one down himself with a wince. "You're a strange fucker, Serroc."

Reid shrugged as he thought about the best comeback to give to a man that just accepted an invitation to join 'a strange fucker's faction. If Reid had more time, he could easily see himself getting on well with the man. The cosmos needed more blunt, upright, and decisive types.

Then another notification appeared.

NOTICE: Beast Wave Completed! Experience Bonus Awarded to residents of Ferber Compound. No bonus experience awarded to Dayo Sovni. NOTICE: Settlement, [Dayo Wolte] lost! 5/6 Settlements Remaining. 4/6 Settlements Eligible.

NOTICE: Irregular wave activity detected. Compensation enacted.

Next Wave (30 Enemy Beasts) begins in: 9H 59M 56S for Ferber Compound, Dayo Sovni, Dayo Evni, and Dayo Norte.

Zeke broke the silence by slamming his fist on the table. "Fuck! Hap, go tell the men to start another pot of coffee." As the lie detector, Hap, exited the room, Zeke reached out and picked up the bolt thrower. He inspected it briefly, then shot his gaze at Reid. He was lost in his own thoughts - about the wave, how the prior two towns he visited would fare, and the implications of Dayo Wolte being lost.

"We've got ten hours. You should hurry the fuck up."

The man's words broke him out of the worry. He was right, the focus needed to be on getting things done here and now.

Reid smiled, and summoned more bolt throwers from storage while spears began to materialize from his other hand.

Picking Zeke was a great choice.

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