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Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage

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Chapter Seventy Two
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    • Hey everyone, just a reminder that I have a Patreon! Being a supporter has a lot of benefits, like early chapters and access to my original content. You could get up to eight chapters early from this story and either four or eight from my other two. Board Members even get to vote on story beats, interludes, names, and the bonus unlock during Arcanum's recharge cycle! (The first vote was for Geomancy, and the second was Druidcraft!)

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    We sat there for a second or five, basking in the awkwardness of having talked over each other like that. Then I snorted, and Olivia threw the crumpled wrapper of her burrito at me, though it went wide when the wind caught it. Rather than compete for whoever was going to go first, I gestured for her to talk. For a few seconds, I thought she might have missed it. Finally, she leaned forward and uncrossed her arms, seeming ready to talk.

    "I'm still not happy about the whole secret watcher thing," She explained. "But… I'm also not… I'm not up my own ass enough to think that my feelings matter more than you getting an extra edge on being a hero. It's dangerous, and you were on your own when you were just starting out. Keeping some secrets is expected, but… Well, I'm sure you've noticed by now, but I'm a private person. I don't like sharing about myself, and… you're the first person I have ever told about my powers. Finding out that your friend was also around got to me and… Well, I just wish you had trusted me."

    "If I had known you were about to unmask yourself, I would have told you. Or at least warned you," I assured her. "I'm sorry it happened like that, and I'm sorry you found out the way you did. I would have liked to have eased you into it in a more personal setting… But I wasn't willing to delay the Farm raid for that. I can't apologize for that, it couldn't wait."

    "I wouldn't expect you to. You made the right choice," She said, pulling down her hood so I could see her face. "That was beyond us, beyond personal feelings."

    "So… you still want to work with me?" I asked, looking at her. The question made her roll her eyes.

    "Yes, I still want to work with you," She confirmed. "I told you I get it. I'm not happy about it, but I'll get over it. You didn't do anything that bad."

    "That's great. I missed your company the last few times I patrolled," I admitted with a smirk. "The golems aren't really that talkative, and Alya is usually busy keeping an eye on the area."

    "I'm glad I could help keep you from getting bored," she joked before looking around. "I assume Alya is here? Could we talk before we start?"

    "Alya?" I asked, looking upward. "Could you pull yourself together for a moment?"

    I watch as the elemental coalesced into her corporeal form, sensing a sort of reluctance. Between working with New Wave now, I was getting the picture that she wasn't enjoying the attention very much, something that surprised her. It wasn't quite social anxiety, feeling more like wariness of being seen at all.

    "Greeting, Crow," Alya said, giving her a slight bow as she floated slightly above us.

    "Hello," Olivia responded, sounding a bit awkward. "I'm not usually someone to do this, but Will trusts you, so I… I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. Please don't prove my paranoia right."

    "I will do my best to uphold your trust," Alya responded, nodding her head. "I… would like to apologize. I would not take my actions back, as I was working to keep William safe, but I did not wish to upset you."

    "Apology accepted," Olivia responded, reaching out her hand toward Alya.

    After a long moment, Alya reached out as well, and they shook hands. After a moment, Alya looked back at me with a silent question. When I nodded in agreement, she poofed into a cool breeze and dispersed around us.

    "So… where are we patrolling today?" Olivia asked, pulling her hood over her head, her cloak morphing slightly into a feathered, galaxy-decorated covering layer.

    "Well… before I heard from you, I was going to do some short patrols before jumping to a specific target," I admitted. "Alya spotted what she thinks is a depot of some kind. Some drugs and some guns, but nothing too massive. Sounds like it's just a minor storage or distribution center. Maybe ten or fifteen goons."

    "Finally going directly after the gang, huh?" She asked, sounding interested.

    "Yeah… The Farm really pushed me over the edge," I admitted,m shaking my head. "I'm strong enough to take on just about any number of non-cap members at this point, so it's time to start breaking the ABB down."

    "Hey, you don't need to convince me," She assured me, punching me in the shoulder. "So, patrol first, then the direct hit. I'm ready when you are."

    I whistled for my golems to get close, and Crow stepped closer as well since they knew the drill. As they all hung off of me, I began to chant, finishing the teleportation spell after a few seconds, all of us reappearing deep in ABB territory.

    Which would hopefully not be theirs for long.

    Once everyone was in place, we started to walk the streets, making a show of our presence as we patrolled. I had very specifically chosen this route as it was very far from our future target, meaning when we teleported close by, it would come from nowhere, hopefully catching the ABB inside off guard.

    "So are we just putting on a show until it's go time, or are we keeping an eye out for anything while we wait?" Crow asked as we walked together, flanked by all four of my golems.

    "No, we can take care of anything Alya spots," I responded. "No reason not to, especially if she spots something bigger to stomp on. Well, if it's too big, I might hold off so we can include New Wave."

    We continue to walk around the area, eventually stopping a mugging. After that, we walked along the line between ABB and Empire territory. It was here that tension was the highest I had felt in a long time, and for obvious reasons. The ABB was, to many in the area, a shield against the Empire, and now that shield was slowly collapsing. People moved around as if they expected the Empire to rush in at any moment, and to be fair, they were not entirely wrong.

    I was pretty sure that the only reason the Empire hadn't pushed forward was because they couldn't get a firm grip on what I had to bring to the table. At first, they probably assumed I was some lowly new cape trying to make a difference. Then I killed Alabaster and took down Rune and Kreig all by myself. Since then, I've been mixing it up nearly constantly, always upping or shifting what I was capable of. Making Troy and other golems, finding Crow as an ally, defeating Lung and Oni-Lee, making metal golems, working with New Wave, giving them their new gear, and then finally showing off that I could teleport anywhere in the city in just a few seconds?

    I wouldn't be surprised that my capture or elimination hadn't been on the Empire docket a few times already, only for a new development or ability to put the task back into the planning phase. I could only hope that would hold out until I got another cycle of charges and I could start making allies to protect freed parts of the city.

    After the police drove away with the mugger and I healed the victim, We continued to patrol for another thirty minutes. Eventually, I decided enough was enough, and it was time to go after something a bit meatier than muggers and lone drug dealers. We retreated to the alleyway, my golems, and Crow gathering around me as I pulled out my staff and straightened it.

    "Okay, so according to Alya, the depot is in an abandoned gas station. We've actually passed by it a couple times during our random patrols. The front is all boarded up, but the back entrance is open, which is how they get in and out," I explained. "Crow, I want you to stealth around back to keep anyone from running while I send the golems in through the front door, boards and all."

    "Hard and heavy, nice," Crow agreed. "Will we even need to do anything?"

    "Not if we are lucky," I responded with a smirk. "I'll follow in after them to clean up, just in case, but if we are lucky, we won't have to do anything but pick up a little slack if it comes up. We are going to pop up in an alley across the street from it, but hold back for just a second. I'm going to cast that shadow spell for you, and then it's on.

    "Fine by me," She said with a nod, reaching out to grab my arm, my golems already holding on.

    With my staff out in one hand and my spellbook in the other, I cast the teleportation spell, and moments later, we were in a new, totally unspecial alleyway. As my golems and Crow stepped away. I turned to face the direction of the gas station.

    "Not a lot of civilians around," Alya whispered into my ear. "Thirteen armed ABB inside. Most of the drugs are in an old large freezer unit in the back, but the guns are in the basement. They… aren't on alert, but they aren't sleeping either."

    "Stop whispering, Alya," I said. "Crow needs to know that too."

    "Apologies," Alya responded, now loud enough for everyone to hear, before continuing to repeat what she told me.

    Once she was done giving her report, I mentally flicked through the pages of my spellbook, selecting the shadow spell. Before I started to cast, I looked over at Crow.

    "The second you can, you should fade out and head around the back," I instructed. "The golems won't be far behind."

    She nodded before I started chanting out the spell. Soon, the same billowing stream of shadow and smoke filled the sky, absorbing the sunlight and blanketing the area with shadows. Not long after that, Crow started running towards the street, before vanishing into the darkness just before making it out of the alleyway. I counted to fifteen before ordering the golems out after her.

    "Smash through the boarded windows, apprehending anyone who attacks you," I ordered. "Try and keep stray gunfire to a minimum."

    All four golems took off at a run, and I followed after them at a jog, stepping out into the street and watching them run under the hood of the gas station. By the time I was crossing the street, all four had slammed through the boarded-up windows to gain access to the interior.

    "Alya, go in with them, keep watch, and keep Crow and me in the loop."

    I got closer, my staff clunking against the ground as I walked. With a wave and a quick casted blast of kinetic energy, I punched the remaining boards from one of the golem's breach points, letting me step calmly into the building. The lights were on, surprisingly, meaning I could easily see the pair of gangers that lay unconscious nearby, two shotguns neatly bent in half. I slapped them with a knockout and a general stabilizing heal to keep any freak injuries that might have happened through their ass beating.

    After dealing with the unconscious gangers, I stepped around the shelves that had blocked my view. It was just in time to see one of my golems throw an old advertisement sign across the open interior, knocking down a handful of gangers. The element of surprise quickly fell apart, and the remaining standing gangers opened fire, bullets pinging off the golems even as I shot blasts of freezing energy across the way, causing guns to seize up, their internals frozen in place.

    "Two running towards the back already warned Crow," Alya said in my ear as I fought, letting my coat absorb the damage as I focused on the offensive.

    We pushed deeper into the gas station, with three golems going down into the basement to secure the weapons and other equipment that were stored there. Meanwhile, I was with the remaining golem as we made our way to the back of a small food prep area, where a large walk-in fridge would have normally kept the crappy gas station food on sale. We had to take down three more goons before I had the golem tear the door from its hinges since I didn't feel like messing with the several locks that had been bolted on.

    Sitting inside the ten or twelve-foot-wide sealed room were four tables. Two of them had a single chair each, with some tools set in front of it, including a scale, a knife, scoops, and baggies. An open brick of cocaine was sitting on one table, with another open brick on the other. I wasn't exactly well versed in drugs, so I could only guess that the other drug was heroin, cut open and ready to be cut into several dozen bags. Each table was carefully set up to dole out and weigh into smaller baggies for distribution.

    The other two tables were just as orderly but not nearly as empty.

    "Alya…" I said, feeling my elemental partner's focus shifting to me as I said her name. "Just to be clear. This is not a small amount of drugs. This is a fucking shit ton of drugs."

    Each of the other two tables were laden with blocks, smaller bags, and several different storage methods. There were at least ten blocks of what looked like cocaine, tightly wrapped and stacked along the back, while the other table had more of what I was pretty sure was heroin. Together, assuming the large blocks were kilos, nearly twenty kilos of cocaine and heroin stacked in front of me.

    "This… when all the gangers are down, tell Crow to get in here… She needs to see this… I'll call the cops."

    I shook my head as I walked away from the defunct freezer, instructing the golem to stand guard. I needed to check the basement, knock everyone out, and then call the cops.

    I quickly dialed Nine-one-one, walking towards the stairs. I couldn't help but laugh when I heard Crow making her way inside, cursing and shouting loudly when she spotted just how much drugs we had found. I knew how she felt. Even with my middling knowledge, I knew that was a lot.

    The conversation with the police didn't take long, even though I needed to stay on the line. Once I explained the situation and gave them the address, I got to work, making sure everyone was stunned and asleep. Once I was sure the gangers weren't a threat, I inspected the guns, finding several rifles, a few shotguns, and at least a dozen pistols, all stacked on shelves.

    I sent the golems up to the first floor, telling them to keep watch before having Alya spread herself wide over the whole area. This was a significant payload, and if there was any large gang presence nearby, I would not be surprised if they got sent over to try and recover what they could.

    I quickly made my way back upstairs, where Crow was already watching through the gaps in the boards, looking for threats and waiting for the police.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • hmm, so trap I think.
    but is it bomb in the drug pile?
    or assault on the location?
    or both?

    Magus is probably due for some hard retaliation by either coil or the empire, almost over due given his accomplishments in so short a time.
     
    Last edited:
    Chapter Seventy Three New
  • Threadmarks
    • Hey everyone, just a reminder that I have a Patreon! Being a supporter has a lot of benefits, like early chapters and access to my original content. You could get up to eight chapters early from this story and either four or eight from my other two. Board Members even get to vote on story beats, interludes, names, and the bonus unlock during Arcanum's recharge cycle! (The first vote was for Geomancy, and the second was Druidcraft!)

    If you are interested in those benefits or just want to support my attempt to become a full-time writer, stop by and show your support. Every dollar helps!


    Thankfully, it didn't take long for the police to arrive at the rundown gas station. When they did, they quickly set up a perimeter before taking the criminals away. According to the officer who seemed to be assigned to us, due to the amount of drugs on location, they had every intention of sticking around and investigating the area. They quickly set up shop and began going over the gas station with a fine toothcomb, apparently looking for any link to other locations they could find.
    The liaison also explained that the ABB had more or less been off-limits to them since Lung and Oni Lee had been protecting them and because it meant they were technically out of their jurisdiction. Now, however, it was clear they had no cape support, which meant they could start really pushing in on them without running afoul of capes or the PRT.

    I barely managed to keep my mouth shut about how utterly ridiculous that was. I didn't blame them for not wanting to get involved with capes, but not investigating them at all?

    They also congratulated Crow and me on a fantastic bust, naming some mind-boggling numbers when describing how much the drugs were worth and how much we had just cost the ABB. It was a staggering number, but both Crow and I could feel it was just the beginning.

    We left about thirty minutes after the police showed up at the scene, after giving our statements and doing a broad perimeter sweep around the gas station to make sure they didn't have any surprises waiting for them after we were gone. Once we were done with them, we made our way to the trade-off point, where we would meet with our patrol replacements.

    Today, it was Laserdream and Manpower, the latter of which arrived floating on one of Laserdream's shields. After our initial greetings, we went over our latest raid, which surprised both of the New Wave members.

    "You're pushing them hard, huh?" Laserdream asked, playing with a strand of her hair. "I suppose it's good news the police are finally picking up the ball... but that's gonna rile them up pretty badly …"

    "You need to warn us next time," Manpower pointed out with a frown. "If they are riled up and spoiling for some revenge, we should have come prepared with a large group."

    I considered his words and quickly realized he was right. The ABB would be extra agitated, and there was a good chance they might try and take it out on one of the patrolling teams. Thankfully, the solution was rather obvious.

    "I'll lend you a pair of golems," I said, gesturing to my four nonliving warriors. "They should more than make up for the extra agitation."

    "You'd just lend them to us?" Laserdream asked, sounding surprised.

    "With some ground rules in place, yes," I agreed with a nod. "They should be able to keep a decent pace, and you can use them as heavies, moving shields, anything you need. In all honesty, I should have been letting you guys use them the whole time, I feel silly for not doing this before."

    I spent about twenty minutes giving Laserdream and Manpower the rundown on how to use the Golems. I added them to the user list with a drop of blood from each, but I also added the command that only I could authorize certain levels of violence. Basically, they wouldn't be able to go all out on normal humans. Once I layered a few more cautionary orders, they left to head out on their patrol, leaving Crow, myself, and my two golems alone in the alleyway.

    "So what do I have to do to get me a golem bodyguard?" Crow asked as I prepared to teleport us away.

    "Do you really want one?" I asked, lowering my spellbook to look at her, eyebrow raised. "They would clash big time with your whole stealth schtick. I can do a lot, but a stealthy golem... that might be beyond me at the moment.

    "No, I know, they would slow me down," She admitted, shaking her head. "Could you do anything to my crowbar?"

    She reached behind her back to pull out the crowbar, which I had honestly forgotten she carried. I frowned and considered it for a moment, shrugging half-heartedly.

    "Probably? But it wouldn't be anything special, it's too artificial, my m-mojo doesn't work well like that."

    Crow leaned forward in a way that told me she was looking at me intently. Her crude, odd choice of weapons remained in her hand as she looked at me.

    "You were gonna say magic, weren't you?"

    "What? No, of course not. I'm not one of those delusional-" I started, only to stop when Crow poked me with her weapon. "Really?"

    "Don't lie, I can tell," she said, shaking her head. "You were gonna say magic. Besides, you've already messed up before, calling your stuff 'casting' and 'spells.'"

    "... Fine, yes, I call it magic," I relented, rolling my eyes. "Can you blame me with how it all works? My chanting and rituals?"

    "...no, not really," she admitted with a shrug. "It's still funny, though. Gonna trade notes with Myrddin? Maybe run off with that villain group? I bet they would love to meet you."

    "The Adepts? Yeah, really not up for joking about that," I said, shaking my head. "Them showing up to sniff around eventually is not too far-fetched. If I had known about them earlier, and doing so wouldn't horribly handicap me, I would have worked a lot harder to pretend to have normal, not weird trump powers."

    "You think they would come here?" She asked, pulling back, now sounding serious. "Just to see you?"

    "It's a possibility," I admitted with a frown. "They like to investigate powers that are weird or seem even vaguely magical. In the grand scheme of things, there are worse villain groups, but I still wouldn't want them here."

    "Damn… that's all Brockton Bay needs, another group of villains."

    "What do you think is going to happen now that the ABB ain't a factor?" I pointed out. "Or when we start taking down the Empire? The safer we make the city, the more likely people start coming here to expand or make a name for themselves."

    "So we signed up for an uphill battle, huh?" she said with a frown, sitting on a turned-over trash bin, looking a bit strange in her full cloak. "That's bullshit."

    "Well… I'm hoping to have a solution," I admitted, Crow's hood turning to look at me. "I'm not really sure what it's going to end up looking like, but I'm working on it."

    "Why not just make more golems?" she asked, confusion in her voice. "I think they might actually be more effective than me."

    "Well… think of a golem as a forklift or some other piece of heavy equipment," I said with a frown. "They make life much easier for the people who know how to use them. But for everyone else, they just aren't ready for it, and they will probably end up doing more harm than good. The golems have safety features, but they aren't foolproof. There is only so much crap I can stuff into their cores before they start losing the first stuff I put in. In the end, just like heavy equipment, the level of safety depends really on the user, and while I trust Manpower not to accidentally order one to crush a car with people still in it, I can't say the same if I make thirty of them and distribute them around the city, you know? I'm still working on a solution, but I will get there eventually."

    We talked a bit more about my golems, about how I made them, and some of their limitations before we finally realized we were just sitting in an alleyway, fully dressed up, shooting the shit. After that, I teleported us much closer to the Docks Community so Olivia could head home. After saying goodbye, I finally teleported back home to the forest.

    When I arrived, Kali was using her golem to garden among the food trees. As I greeted her, I realized that not only was she adding cute stone pathways, flowers, and other nice additions to the small orchard I used for a good amount of my food, but she was also maintaining the spells I used to make them produce more food. I was surprised how easily she had managed to do that, as those were sensitive spells that would kill the plant in hours if not properly maintained.

    "Wow, Kalil, thank you for taking care of that," I said with a smile. "One less thing for me to worry about. Are you sure you're saving enough energy, though?"

    She stood and dusted off her knees, the wooden, almost dryad-like golem stretching as if she was flesh and blood. She then took my hand and placed it against the bark of the closest tree. It took a minute for her to explain with images and feelings, but she "showed" me how the magic I had pumped into the plants was slowly spreading and leaking, a natural process.

    It was clear that, even with her working to maintain the orchard, she was more than making up for the absorbed mana. She then showed that every tree building I made did the same, each tree like its own little mini mana spreading generator. Alone, they weren't much, but as the compound grew, so did the amount of energy she gained. It wasn't groundbreaking, as I was feeding her much more by wearing my mana-leaking necklace when I was at the compound, but every bit helped.

    Plus, it made me feel better about spending my downtime working and adding to the compound.

    After Kali was done giving me a tour of the orchard area, which was now more of an orchard garden than anything, I sat down in the common area, starting a fire to keep warm. The day had been around average, but now in the forest, with the sun getting lower, I could feel it getting a bit colder, even though it was still late afternoon.

    I was just settling in with my notebook, ready for some more brainstorming, when a familiar feeling came over me.

    I was getting my quest.

    Like my previous quest, it snapped into place suddenly, leaving me feeling off-center for a moment. Thankfully, it passed quickly.

    "Oh fuck!" I shouted, jumping out of my seat and running through the compound. "Son of a bitch!"

    "What is it?" Alya asked, pulling in around

    "My quest kicked in!" I shouted, despite really not needing to. "Miss Militia is getting ambushed by fucking Hookwolf and Cricket. Considering my quest is keeping her alive, I would say they are our for blood."

    "What? How did that happen?" She asked, sounding confused

    "I don't know!" I responded before grabbing my mask and pulling it over my face, quickly pulling on my overcoat before I mentally yanked on my staff.

    I was standing by the ritual platform, stuffing my feet into my boots, when my staff appeared beside me just in time for me to snag it. My spell book, which had been lying in my holster on the ground, snapped free and slapped into my hand. With my costume now hastily on, I ran towards Troy and jumped on his back. I waited only a split second for my two golems to grab onto Troy before I immediately shouted the activation phrase.

    "Goodbye!"

    Troy and I vanished from the compound, the instant teleportation carrying us to ABB territory. Unfortunately, I wasn't familiar with the specific spot that my quest was leading me to, but I got close.

    "Let's go, Troy!"

    I shouted, leaning forward and slamming my magic into him, his body glowing and his hooves sparking as he dove forward, racing down the street, bounding between cars. Behind us, my golems followed, barely able to keep up with my reckless, enhanced speed. Now was not the time to be concerned about traffic, and we left more than a few scratches behind as we ran.

    I gripped on tightly to the handholds built into Troy's side, his living wooden body growing around my staff to keep it from being torn free of my grip as we moved, running full tilt down one street, then a second, before finally seeing the first signs of the fight.

    First was a smoking wreck of a motorcycle, which I vaguely recognized from our late-night meeting. I passed by damaged cars, torn-up asphalt, and people running and screaming as I kept pushing Troy. Finally, we swung around the last corner, charging into a back lot parking area, which was blocked around all four sides, save the entrance. There, I could see a handful of Empire goons, led by a rough-looking man and a scarred woman. Past them, I could see Miss Militia standing behind a broken and rusted car.

    Without slowing down, I aimed Troy at the rough-looking man, letting him go full tilt. We barely made it inside the lot before people spotted us, turning and shouting as we barrelled through the group. E88 goons jumped out of the way, only for Hookwolf to turn and take Troy to the face, just as I jumped off his back. I used the ability of my boots to conjure a platform, letting me jump twice over the remaining goons, before landing smoothly next to Miss Militia.

    The Protectorate heroine was holding her summoned weapon, a large trench shotgun that flickered and smoked slightly. Her uniform was scuffed and cut up, and I could see some blood welling through her clothes and her arm. I immediately quick cast some general healing into the heroine. I also got to see why she wasn't trying to run. A black man, face bloodied and cut, was sitting with his back against the rusted-out car. He was in rough shape, so I immediately cast some healing spells at him as well.

    "Miss Militia, you alright?" I asked, standing up from the man, watching as my golems came tearing around the corner, stopping when I whistled for them to hold off

    "I've been better." She admitted, as we both watched Hookwolf take chunks out of Troy, even as the construct ran away. "Good to see you."

    "Same. Any reason we should hang around?" I asked, whistling for my golems to engage. They quickly attacked, shoving and punching goons that tried to stop Troy from escaping. The construct was down a leg and a chunk of his neck, but with his core intact, he would be fine.

    "Assuming you mean teleporting to safety?" She asked, racking a shell as one of the closest goons stepped forward. "Please, by all means."

    "Fantastic, hold on tight."

    I grabbed the still-injured and unconscious man's hand before Miss Militia grabbed my shoulder. I whistled loudly, knowing the golems and Troy would be able to outrun anyone here, before tapping my staff on the ground again and shouting

    "Goodbye!"

    Once again, in just a flash, we vanished and reappeared just in front of the PRT headquarters, namely the bench by the front entrance. Immediately, Miss Militia pulled her radio from her hip and started talking into it. She quickly informed whoever was listening she had been safely extracted and that the rescue team was free to engage or return to base. She then collapsed backward onto the bench, her conjured weapon flitting to a pistol, slipping into her hip holster.

    While she was doing this, I knelt beside the unconscious man, scanning and making sure he was okay. I chanted a few short healing spells better tuned to his injuries, making sure he was fully healthy before taking a seat beside Miss Militia. She was still listening to her radio, though not saying much as others took over the situation.

    "So... how far away were reinforcements?"

    "Way too far," She admitted, looking over at me. "Thanks for the save."

    "Happy to help."

    Even as we talked, PRT agents poured from the headquarters front entrance. They rather uselessly secured the area before starting to ask their questions. I sighed and leaned back on the bench, realizing that, unless I wanted to pull a repeat of the last time I was here, this was probably going to take a while.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Gonna be hard for MC to describe how he knew MM was in trouble when he gets asked about it. Fortunately, he can claim he was "in the area" and have it kinda/sorta sound plausible.
     
    Chapter Seventy Four New
  • Threadmarks
    • Hey everyone, just a reminder that I have a Patreon! Being a supporter has a lot of benefits, like early chapters and access to my original content. You could get up to eight chapters early from this story and either four or eight from my other two. Board Members even get to vote on story beats, interludes, names, and the bonus unlock during Arcanum's recharge cycle! (The first vote was for Geomancy, and the second was Druidcraft!)

    If you are interested in those benefits or just want to support my attempt to become a full-time writer, stop by and show your support. Every dollar helps!


    It certainly seemed like some of what Sarah Pelham had said to Director Piggot had gotten through to the retired soldier, because while the PRT agents asked way too many questions, they were surprisingly happy to accept non-answers. They asked things like how I knew Miss Militia was in danger and seemed to accept, or at least tolerate, my response of "I dunno, I just felt it."

    Before starting anything, they moved me to a conference room for my statement, or maybe it was a debriefing. Either way, I reluctantly agreed to go inside the headquarters despite my easy teleport charges having already been spent. The only reason I agreed was because they had no way of knowing that.

    I wasn't sure that letting them think that I had some sort of powerful precog ability was the best idea, but it wasn't like I could hide it. I had teleported in from nowhere, ridden Troy full tilt through the city, and arrived just in time to save Miss Militia. I could lie and say someone told me, but that was flimsy at best. At least this way, they were partially prepared for me to just know I was needed somewhere.

    Besides, after how I "stumbled" on Taylor Hebert needing help, there was a chance they already had me labeled as a potential Thinker anyway.

    Miss Militia stuck with me during the debriefing process, which might have also been the reason the PRT agents were a bit more polite to me. She also kept me in the loop about how the team that was initially sent to rescue her had switched to engage the E88 directly, forcing the Hookwolf and the others to retreat back to their territory, something I was very grateful for. I would not have put it past a monster like Hookwolf to take out his frustrations on the civilians around him, or at least any he could catch at least. Eventually, once the PRT had run out of questions, I got a chance to ask my own.


    "So, what the hell happened?" I asked, settling into the office chair and sipping a cup of coffee they graciously provided.

    "I was returning from a patrol when I spotted a few Empire goons pushing into the edge of ABB territory," She explained, leaning forward slightly to rub her brow. "So I pulled over to investigate, maybe scare them off. I realized they were beating up the man you healed earlier, so I pressed more. Turns out Hookwolf and Cricket were in the area, so I attempted to clear out with the victim. You saw how well that turned out."

    "Just glad I got there in time," I said, shaking my head. "The fact they pushed that far into ABB territory is a bad sign. I think our grace period might be running out."

    "I think you might be right," She agreed, the frown evident in her voice. "We are going to have to discuss this internally, but if we reach out, will you answer to discuss potentially working together? Your ability to teleport is clearly game-changing and could make a serious difference."

    "Yes, I will answer," I assured her. "I'm not about to leave someone to suffer just because of your boss… No, sorry, it's better if we just drop it. I'm happy to help with rapid deployment, we just need to keep our own patrols as well."

    "We appreciate the help, Arcanum," She said. "You are free to leave whenever you would like, though we ask that you use the front door."

    "I think I could manage that," I said, unable to keep from smirking as I stood, reaching out to shake the heroine's hand.

    An agent escorted me out to the public area, and from there I left the building, teleporting to the docks community only a minute later. I needed to pick up my golems, and they were "programmed" to make their way there since it was the closest location designated a home. I could have sent them off all the way back to the forest, but if I was in the city and needed them, having to go back to the compound to get them would be counterproductive. Sure enough, after jumping down from the rooftop I frequently sat on, I found the golems, along with Troy, tucked up in a small alley, with Charles keeping the more curious members of the community away from them.

    "Arc! Good to see you," He said, sharing a handshake. "These guys just showed up a bit ago, no idea why. Everything alright?"

    "Everything is fine, we just got separated when I needed to teleport some people out of a fight," I explained loosely. "I sent them here so I could pick them up. How are the other two metal ones I left here working out?"

    "We keep them in storage with the stone golems," he responded. "No reason to broadcast where they are, keeps people guessing."

    I nodded in understanding, stepping closer to Troy so I could examine him. He was missing a good fifteen percent of his body mass, at least, with massive slashing marks and bullet holes. I quickly fixed him up using druidcraft, regrowing his leg and body. When I was done, I went about checking up on the community, fixing their orchard up, and healing anyone who needed it. When that was done, the sun had started to set, so I finally teleported home.

    The first thing I did when I arrived was refill the teleport spells in my staff's storage crystals. When I was done with that, Alya finally pulled in around me, becoming solid as I once again took off my costume.

    "So, did you finish the quest?" She asked, sounding curious.

    "Yeah, I could feel the extra pip fill up when I was finished healing the injured man, after teleporting us out of danger," I explained, recalling the sensation of the quest completing and getting my extra charge. "Just the single charge, too."

    "Only one?" She asked, her confusion evident. "That is... surprising."

    "Yeah… I can only imagine the quest that wanted me to stay behind and fight?" I guessed with a frown, hanging up my coat. "Or maybe there was more behind the guy getting beat up? It doesn't really matter, I wasn't about to risk the victim's life so I could earn an extra charge or two. I showed up and saved Miss Militia and an innocent person. Not much else I could have done. It's possible that I only had the chance to earn one or two charges this time, but either way, it doesn't matter."

    I could feel the charge sitting in my mind, ready to use. Even if it wasn't much, I was still happy to have it, as it represented a chance to mess up in my next cycle. I was still trying to figure out the best way to invest my next six charges, still trying to think of a subject that would let me create more autonomous help. Now, with this extra point, I could invest in a subject and then explore the first level to see if it was what I needed. If it was, I could then invest five more points to bring it up to level three, or I could try another subject, praying that the second was what I needed.

    There was always a chance that the second choice wasn't what I wanted as well, but honestly, I wasn't too worried about that. So far, the subject purchasing had been pretty intuitive, and the Marvelous Mage system had informed me clearly when what I was thinking of really wasn't something it could provide. Between that and the extra chance, I was happy with my odds.

    With night quickly settled, I spent some time working on my magic. I was still filling out my basic utility list of spells, spells ranging from short to long that performed specific functions that I thought might be useful. I tried to write ideas down when I could, but I was also hesitant to overfill my spell book. I knew eventually, I would probably have to reorganize the book, even with my ability to mentally turn its pages to whatever I needed with my mind. It didn't matter how easily I could turn the pages to what I needed if there were still six hundred pages between those spells.

    Eventually, I decided to head to bed early. I had the following day off, but I already knew what I was going to be spending most of the day doing. Once I developed my teleportation spell, I wanted to take some time to explore some of the surrounding towns, maybe even making my way all the way to Boston. This would not only spread out my range, but it would give me access to more resources, and make some of my more strange purchases hard to pick up. Not only that, but I needed more things for my rituals.

    In truth, I had taken a break from rituals primarily so that I could focus on filling my spellbook. However, I was also beginning to run low on some of the more unique supplies I needed. Don't get me wrong, there were still shops I could scour through around here, small pawn shops and the like that still had the sort of things that would make key foundations for powerful ritualized objects. But I still had yet to find the perfect shop. I could picture it in my head, having visited places like it in my previous life. Shops filled with old, eclectic collections, a mix between antique and curios shops, with a dash of witchy flare. I was already holding off on making a door opener until I could find a barrel of old, lost keys, the classic weird shop selling point.

    I woke up the next morning and quickly got ready for the day before visiting the hospital. I cleared my patient list in record time before teleporting back to the compound, putting on my civilian clothes, and teleporting to an abandoned alleyway near a bus stop that led out of the city. I tucked my spellbook into the bottom of my large backpack, which also contained my lunch and a single duffel bag. I was tempted to take more, but this was an exploratory journey, there would be plenty of time to buy stuff later.

    I hopped the first bus of many, settling in for a long day of traveling. In total, I stopped at six towns, snapping some pictures with my phone of locations that might come in handy as teleport spots. I visited several shops, finding a few close to what I was looking for. Eventually, as the sun started to set, I finally arrived in Boston. There, I got in a taxi that took me to several more shops, racking up a pretty large bill that I could thankfully pay for in cash. I filled my backpack, and half filled my duffel bag with random trinkets, items, and materials.

    After completing a circuit of Boston and finding several spots suitable to use as teleport locations, I grabbed some dinner near the ocean, stopping by a seafood place for a pair of lobster rolls. They were absurdly expensive but worth every dollar. My family in my old world had a tradition surrounding lobster rolls, and having one here, alone, had been a bittersweet moment.

    With my mission complete, I found myself a nice little hidden spot, pulled out my spellbook, and teleported home, appearing on my ritual platform in a flash. As far as I could tell, there was no discernible difference between teleporting from the Bay and from Boston, which coincided with what I understood about the spell I designed.

    I spent a few minutes putting away everything I had bought, tucking them into the storage trees that framed the ritual platform. I slid my spellbook back into its holster before grabbing one of the few books I bought during my trip. In an attempt to better jog my imagination and hopefully come up with the perfect subject to invest in, I bought several books on occultism and magic. They weren't anything special, just a few relatively modern books on magic and supernatural beliefs from several cultures. Technically, had no idea how closely what the Marvelous Mage system had access to would line up with this world's magical beliefs. After all, druidcraft had been a rather weird subject, considering its name. Still, I was hoping having an outside source of ideas would give me something to work with.

    I sat down by the fire pit, the lights around the compound turning on, compensating for the rapidly dwindling sunlight. As I read, I felt Kali and Alya swirl around me, partially reading over my shoulder, but mostly just pulling in close around my presence. We mainly talked about the subjects from the first book, which was ultimately a bust. There were a few concepts that kind of touched on what I needed, but in the end, there was nothing that filled the role like I wanted.

    As it got later, and I was beginning to consider heading to bed, Kali suddenly stirred. In a moment, her soft, kind demeanor shifted to one of protectiveness and violence, ready to attack whatever she had sensed. It was like feeling a wolf step in front of its cubs, preparing to defend them with their life

    "What is it," I asked, instinctually looking around. "Alya, you got anything?"

    "Whatever it is, it's out of my range," The elemental admitted, her presence spreading out rapidly. "I don't see or hear anything."

    Suddenly, Kali reached out and metaphorically took my hand. In a wave of colors, she dragged my mind alongside her senses, pulling us along the many magical protections I had placed over our chunk of the forest. We were far past her area of influence, along the edges of what she could still feel and see through the rituals. Once we "arrived," she guided my vision again, showing what she had spotted.

    There, creeping around in the dark, were nearly two dozen people, all of them dressed up in E88 attire. They slowly walked through the woods, sweeping their flashlights across the trees, clearly looking for someone, most likely me.

    In a rush of colors, I was suddenly back in my body, rocking back slightly in my seat as if Kali had thrown me back into my body. I immediately stood, turning to face the dark woods surrounding the compound.

    "What is it?" Alya asked, still spread out but unable to see the incoming gang member.

    "She showed me some E88 gangers, just on the outside of the protective bubble around us," I explained. "They are armed, searching the forest with flashlights. I can only imagine they are looking for us."

    I could feel Alya's alarm ratchet up slightly. I whistled softly, all four of my golems slowly making their way to me from their waiting spot by the ritual platform.

    "Should I head out and take care of them?" I asked with a frown, unsure of my choices. "They are all armed, but… between the golems and myself... they don't stand a chance. On the other hand, it's not like that can get to me…"

    "Are they headed in this direction?"

    I frowned and turned around twice in place, trying to orient myself in the right direction. Thankfully, Kali chimed in with a quick series of images that showed that if they spread out, they would enter the protected area soon. Thankfully, they appeared to all be base humans, which meant none of them came even close to being powerful enough to break through my rituals.

    "Vaguely, but they won't get through," I assured her. "If we turn off the lights, there is no way they could even know we are here. Hell, even with the lights on, their chances are pretty low."

    "You don't want to take them down?" Alya asked, Kali's curiosity poking up behind her.

    "I do, but that would all but confirm that I live in the forest," I pointed out.

    "You haven't been trying to hide that," Alya pointed out. "You've flat-out mentioned it a few times now."

    "That's true..." I admitted. "Plus... the forest is the best place to fight the E88, isn't it? No civilians and plenty of opportunities for traps... It's gonna suck having to constantly deal with them wandering around, but unless one of them is a super genius, capable of mental partitioning and several other techniques, they aren't getting through my deterrents."

    "So you're going after them?" She asked. "Trick them into sending their fights directly to you?"

    After a few seconds more consideration, I nodded, making my way to where my costume was hanging. I quickly put it on before whistling for my golems to follow me into the forest, ready to steamroll some E88 goons.
     
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    • OK. one bit of questionable...rationale behind what I think is a sub-optimal decision? in this chapter.

    The decision I have problems with...keeping that charge for later to use to test out a theory. I mean, I don't have a problem with taking comfort of having an extra chance at putting in that first point to see if your perk is really all you think it is. I have a problem with deciding to withold on using it if you've already got an idea of what you actually want. After all, you can just as well trigger it now and then not only do you get to see if it is indeed what you need for your next big plan at the initial stages, you get however long is between now and the moment you get new charges to actually test it out. See if it's not just the ideas it gives you a sense of but to get more inspiration. And in those days you also have an extra trick up your sleeve in case you need it. Now if the rationale had been "If I get in trouble, then I can use it to get at least the basics for what I need." I could understand. I'd still argue that it has proven thus far that most of the stuff so far has worked best with preparation time (which also could be useful having that extra time for, to gather the materials that is needed when we get the full scale of the ability.) but I could understand holding one charge back to either get lockpicking magic or something if you get caught. But I don't think holding it back for wowever many days left before we reach the next point bonanza is better than getting it early to both test out the plan so we can either pivot to begin planning for an alternative if it fails, or begin testing and gathering resources if it works out.

    That's just my oppinion, and I'm only this investes because...well, the story is good enough to get that reaction out of me. I genuinely think there are more arguments for using it sooner if the plan doesn't require a certain number to purchase the next level we need, and I only care to make that distinction because I'm a fan.
     
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    MetaBettaOmega said:
    ... the forest is the best place to fight the E88, isn't it? No civilians and plenty of opportunities for traps...
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    Oh boy, he's going to find out soon enough that the whole no civvies thing works both ways. They can just let their heavy hitters start levelling the entire forest, all they need is a general location.

    He's also missing the massive red flag that they're coming for him at home... the unwritten rules are not in effect.
     
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    Andorxor said:
    In two updates he comes back to a burned down forrest
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    ScreamyBirb said:
    Oh boy, he's going to find out soon enough that the whole no civvies thing works both ways. They can just let their heavy hitters start levelling the entire forest, all they need is a general location.

    He's also missing the massive red flag that they're coming for him at home... the unwritten rules are not in effect.
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    The Empire won't try to burn it down. They'll try to flatten it.

    A non civilian-area with an enemy cape who's already killed one of theirs before? It's an easy sell for Kaiser to have Purity go ham. "He's already killed one of us! He's broken the rules! Why should we care about them? Which one of us is next?" and so on.

    And if it's between him killing Purity or having Kali die, then yeah, he's going to kill another nazi. Cue escalation.
     
    Besides investing in anti-fire wards, maybe stock up on some bottles to catcher light in case purity fires a being just catch and return I guess. As for the others, trench warfare with traps tunnels like in Vietnam all covered by the forest, he doesn't even have to be in there.
     
    They kinda know he's in there, but that's a lot different from confirming he's in there.

    And "We're pretty sure he's in the forest" is a lot different than "When we look he's not in the forest" is different than "We know he's in the forest after we rolled up to his front door at ass-o-clock"
     
    Chapter Seventy Five New
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    • Hey everyone, just a reminder that I have a Patreon! Being a supporter has a lot of benefits, like early chapters and access to my original content. You could get up to eight chapters early from this story and either four or eight from my other two. Board Members even get to vote on story beats, interludes, names, and the bonus unlock during Arcanum's recharge cycle! (The first vote was for Geomancy, and the second was Druidcraft!)

    If you are interested in those benefits or just want to support my attempt to become a full-time writer, stop by and show your support. Every dollar helps!


    The fight was over before it even started. Between my own enhancements, my golems, and Alya watching out for any surprises, the E88 dumbasses stood about the same chance as a snowball in hell. The only weapons they had were pistols and crappy melee weapons like pipes and bats, which were completely ineffective against any of us. All that meant that I had them cleaned up and tied up in just about five minutes. Once I did, I led them to the edge of the woods and called the cops.

    Now, I was under no illusion that they would actually get in any trouble. Some of them probably had warrants, and the ones with guns could maybe be charged with illegal possession of a firearm, but other than that, two AM strolls through the woods were not really against the law. They were undoubtedly E88 gang members, as shown by the colors they were wearing and the tattoos that they were covered in. They were also clearly there to cause trouble, armed and ready to fight, so I was in the clear liability-wise, but in all likelihood, more than half of them would likely be out by the time the sun rose.

    Which was precisely what I wanted.

    Between my rituals and the fact that Kali was in control of them, I had complete faith in the protections surrounding my actual home. The E88 did not have anyone I was worried could break through the protection. Even Purity, with her powerful blaster ability, would be mitigated since Kali could adjust the range of the rituals on the fly, meaning she could reach up pretty high and make Purity want to be anywhere but where she was. Not to mention that, according to Kali, the canopy was actually pretty well disguised at this point. From the air, the compound looked like a couple of especially wide canopies growing together.

    All that meant was that I had a safe spot in the forest to ambush anyone who came looking for me. It was a great place to pick people off, slowly whittling down a numerically superior force at my own pace. Unless Kaiser sent his entire team at me at once, which I was almost certain he wouldn't, I was pretty sure I could handle whatever he would throw at me. Even better, if, for some reason, he did send all of the Empire's capes after me at once, I could just teleport away. No doubt they would try to catch me off guard to keep me from doing so, but since I was perfectly safe in the compound, I had nothing to worry about.

    If they wanted to try and break the unwritten rules and attack me at my home, I would welcome the chance to take them down in a terrain I knew I could use to my advantage, and that was far away from civilians.

    It was basically a win-win scenario for me, which was why I was happy that the gangers they sent to find me were likely to get away with it. They would return to Kaiser, as he most likely planned, and explain that yes, I attacked them as they got deep into the forest and that I definitely muttered a few times for them to stay away from my home.

    With the potential threat of Empire invasion, Even though I trusted my in-place protections, I decided that it was better to be safe than sorry. It was far past time to add a few more protective rituals to the list, starting with a very specific one. I had considerably more resources now, as well as experience utilizing my knowledge, which meant I was confident I could finally design something that I had wanted to add for a long time.

    Once the police had picked up the gangers, I teleported home and quickly snagged my notebook. I was a fair hand at designing rituals by now, but this one was going to be a doozy, more complicated and physical than any of the general protection ones I had used so far.

    I consigned myself to a sleepless night and spent about three hours designing a two-stage enchantment. The first stage was all about mana generation, a complicated concept that was only just barely inside the knowledge that I had about rituals. The only reason I was sure I could manage it at all was the comparatively low level I was looking for. I knew things like mana wells were possible, massive mana generators that could fuel great works of near-impossible magic for near infinity. Comparing that to what I was looking to build was like comparing a few solar panels to a nuclear generator.

    The first step to making the ritual was finding an anchor, which in this case was a boulder we found near the compound, which I had the golems dig up. It was about half my weight, and when I finished cleaning it, I had the golems place it in the center of the ritual platform. I then meticulously drew out the ritual and placed the dozen planned anchors around it, including several bottled energies, like a spark of electricity, a natural flame, bright sunshine, blasts from the Pelham family, and more. The ritual took these and flipped them, making it so that the stone could absorb all sorts of energy, converting it to magical energy.

    When it was complete, I could feel Kali happily absorbing mana off it as it off-gassed it into the environment.

    I could make multiples of the stone, all just to feed Kali, but stacking more than one close together would drastically reduce their effectiveness. Considering the draining range of the stone was larger than Kali's domain, it would be a while before I could make one and place it in her domain without affecting the original.

    But that was fine, since when the protections weren't in use, she could absorb the excess mana anyway.

    Once the first layer was done, I got to work on the second. Once again, the stone was the center, but this time, I was putting the gathered mana to use. I used the Pelham's shields, as well as Glory Girls, another turtle shell, leather from an armadillo, and a thick clam shell. The shell didn't seem like much, but it was thick, strong, and its entire purpose for existing was to protect what was inside it.

    The second ritual was even more complicated than the first, and copying it down to the platform took two whole sticks of high-end chalk. It also took considerably longer to charge, almost fifteen minutes of me pushing my magic into the outermost layer, feeding the ritual continuously until finally it snapped into place. I watched and felt it as the ritual wove itself around the existing magic that was embedded in the rock. Ideally, I would have preferred to let the ritual exist around the area itself rather than tie it to a particular object, but since it ended up being a two-stage ritual, tying it to something was necessary.

    The final step was to have a pair of golems lift the stone while the other two quickly dug out a hole at the center of the clearing, the heart of Kali's domain. When the hole was done, we lowered the ritualized boulder inside and buried it. Immediately, I felt Kali reaching out for the complicated, ritualized stone. She pulled and tugged at it and the magic woven around it, stretching and weaving it into her domain as well. Using the stone as an anchor, she cast the magic all around herself, infusing it into the existing rituals and settling it into her essence. When she was done, she created a small floating barrier, pale blue with shimmering flat facets that slowly spun in place.

    "Well done," I said with a smile, feeling Kali's excitement. "now show me how far you can push it."

    Suddenly, dozens of small barriers appeared, floating around in independent patterns. They danced and moved before finally pulling in around me, the Genus Loci carefully shaping the barriers so they protected me perfectly. Then, as a final show of power, she encapsulated the entire clearing in a dome of shimmering protection. I had to step off the ritual platform to really see it, but it was an impressive sight.

    "Well done, Kali, you can put it away. Wouldn't want anyone to see it," I said, chuckling as I could feel her pout before the sparkling, almost crystalline shield disappeared. "We can test for power later, but I'm pretty sure you'll have plenty to spare. Feel free to absorb the extra mana coming off the stone when you are not using it."

    She flashed me with a wave of happiness that reminded me of an eager pet, the image emphasized by how she seemed to curl up around the anchor stone like a dog near a heat source. It was honestly kind of cute, and a large part of me wished I could join her, even though it was way too late for me to go to sleep. Instead, I simply washed my fatigue away with a spell. It was very early in the morning, but I figured I could make something out of it, so I got washed up and dressed before teleporting into town in my civilian clothes. I did have my mask on, though, just in case the alley I was teleporting to just happened to have anyone in it.

    I tucked my spellbook into my messenger bag and made my way to a cafe I knew was open that early. When I arrived, I ordered a bit too much food and a large coffee. When my order was ready, I picked a private spot in the corner, sitting down to enjoy just a bit of free time. I had been constantly on the move lately, so just relaxing and enjoying a full, hot meal was nice. I made a mental note to myself to find some music to listen to, as well as a book to read. Somehow, I had managed to not go crazy from overstress and overworking, probably because I genuinely enjoyed working on my magic stuff, so designing rituals and making spells was enough of a break to recover, but that wouldn't last forever. I needed a hobby, even if it was as simple as an occasional early morning where I could listen to music and read a book.

    Preferably something science fiction, without any magic in it. The one I had with me was another of the occultism/magic books I had found during my shopping trip the previous day, and while it was interesting, it was still basically required reading for my job.

    When I eventually finished my breakfast around eight AM, I headed back to the compound, changed into my costume, and teleported outside the hospital, quickly stepping inside. My golems followed me inside, and I got to work. By now, all of the women who had been victims of the Farm had been either discharged or sent to more permanent residences, meaning the hospital was considerably more calm than it had been. I quickly checked with those in charge before I did my healing. When all that was done I headed out into the city, teleporting straight to ABB territory.

    I wasn't technically up for patrol for another few hours, but that was fine, as I wasn't there to bust heads. For now, I simply wanted to gather information. By riding around on Troy, while Alya spread herself out, I planned on marking out places of significance for the ABB. With any luck, we would be able to find a few more large gatherings and storehouses. There were only so many setbacks the gang could take before it began to unwind and scatter, and I was hoping to pull those setbacks as close as I could.

    I "solo" patrolled for two hours, wandering through ABB territory, surreptitiously marking down anything I thought would hurt the ABB if it was taken or destroyed. By the end, I had two solid targets and several smaller ones. I planned to hand one of the targets to New Wave, who seemed to be as interested in ending the ABB as I was at this point. I planned on taking down the other location with Crow, assuming she approved of my plan.

    When it was time to start our patrol, I picked up Crow as usual and then left to meet up with New Wave. I handed over the address and general description that Alya gave me about the building, which the ABB used as a storehouse for weapons and ammo. As long as they were smart and let their shields guide them in, they would be fine. And if they got hurt, they had me on speed dial. Since I knew the location, I could be on the scene in seconds to heal them up again.

    New Wave agreed they could hit the weapons depot later in the day, tomorrow morning at the latest. Meanwhile, I showed Crow our potential target, a receiving point and storehouse for the ABB's drug trade. According to Alya, it held fewer drugs than the gas station distribution center, but from what she was describing, it would still be a solid hit. According to the air elemental, the goods were stored, once again, in the building's freezer. Seemed like a common theme for the group, which was good, as it made my job easier.

    After explaining the plan to Crow, we made our way to the target, both of us quickly settling in at different spots to watch for any runners. When we were both in position, just as I had before, I sent the golems in.

    As they did at the gas station, the golems tore through the normal gang members like tissue paper. Bullets did next to nothing, even the higher caliber ones simply bouncing off of them, leaving behind minor damage. It wasn't until one of the gang members had the genius idea to use some sort of explosive device that they managed to do any real damage, blowing one of the golem's arms off.

    Of course, he nearly killed himself and two other gangs in the process, and the golem was only down a single limb and still generally functional, so the whole victory was moot anyway.

    When the explosion went off, I cursed and rushed inside. It wasn't hard to find the partially destroyed room in which the explosive had gone off. I did have to dig through the partially collapsed roof to uncover the three idiots who had been way too close to whatever type of bomb they had used for their own health.

    I quickly stabilized and healed them, going the extra mile and fully healing their injuries. While my usual operating procedure was to leave the gang members to their injuries unless they were fatal, these injuries were partly, minorly, the fault of my golems, so I made an exception.

    When the dust had settled, and the cops had been called, Crow and I sat down to wait.

    "So... What's next on your list of targets?" Crow asked.

    "You want to keep going?" I asked, looking over at the cloak-covered hero.

    "Well, my schedule just so happens to be free..."

    I gave her a look and chuckled, pulling out the notebook I had been using to copy down Alya's intelligence information. I scanned through them before spotting a good one.

    "There's a gathering spot not far from here," I said. "Alya thinks there might be a lot of useful information there..."

    "Sounds perfect," She said with a smirk. "Time to get to work."
     
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    • I hope he's not going to leave it at defensive measures, giving Kali a lightning tower to do counter-battery fire is going to be important to truly breaking an assault.

    ... dunno what Assault and Battery are doing there, but it's best to not ask questions about what a married couple is doing alone in the woods.
     
    ScreamyBirb said:
    I hope he's not going to leave it at defensive measures, giving Kali a lightning tower to do counter-battery fire is going to be important to truly breaking an assault.

    ... dunno what Assault and Battery are doing there, but it's best to not ask questions about what a married couple is doing alone in the woods.
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    Make a ritual to let Kali use something like D&D prestidigitation and then watch the Vietnam reenactment the E88 will be forced to take part in. A genus locii like Kali can get very nasty with simple traps.
     
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