Dark Fate, Book 24 Prologue

I am back from LitRPG Con! Back to writing, now!

Prologue – Trade Chat

(North American System Information Exchange Forum, formerly Community Building and Civil Defense Chat)

abby_gail, bento, RainyDayze, GringottsGoblin, DoritoMan, D.VaLuvr69, Carion, RadicalEdward, FusionGal, NotACop, Scholar, RamblingWreck, Anonymous4, Anonymous6, RedShift, SevenNationArmy, DarkLord, BagOTrix, White_Queen, Faraday, BackpageGal, FullServiceMassage, daytrader, LinaLuv, Skippy, shadow_clone23, THE_MERCHANT, jenny8675309, Rabbit, Angelus and Tracker are in the chat.

BagOTrix: So, any news on what those lizard guys are doing? Seen on the news that one of their ships is docked at Ceres, in the military side of the rock.

Faraday: Cultural exchange, from what I hear. One of their ships comes here, and some of Ceres’s folks go to their worlds, so both sides can learn from each other, and get stronger. That’s where the Tripoli went apparently.

Skippy: I do know that some of the lizards are down in Panama, at what people are calling Camp Demon Lord. No one can get close enough for good pics, but word from some of the workers there says they’re doing exercises.

White_Queen: Camp Demon Lord? Really?

DarkLord: The locals decided on that, after the incident with the Giant Kraken. That was the second choice, as far as names went.

NotACop: Second choice? What was the first?

DarkLord: Camp Succubus’s Wrath. It was quickly decided that name would send the wrong message about the type of training troops would be undergoing, and so it was scrapped. I acquiesced to Camp Demon Lord, because other than being a bit cringe-worthy, it is fairly unobjectionable. Plus, doing things like that helps keep morale up, which is always a plus.

White_Queen: You didn’t use to think like that.

DarkLord: Getting stabbed in the back by people you thought were friends has that effect on people.

White_Queen: You’re never going to let that go, are you?

DarkLord: I do not forgive, and I do not forget. Be glad I’ve decided on restraint, this time through.

Carion: So, what are the lizards up to?

DarkLord: First of all, they’re called the Ouran. Second of all, they’re teaching Ceresan forces System-enhanced individual combat tactics, while we’re teaching them unit tactics. The Ouran typically fight as groups of individual warriors, not as a unit of soldiers. If they can change that, it will be a powerful boon in their contests with other clans.

bento: Interestingly enough, not all of the Ouran are in Panama. Several people witnessed the ‘Huntleader’ and his second, along with their guards, entering Chalmun’s.

abby_gail: So? That supposed to mean something?

Scholar: A quick search says that Chalmun’s is the actual name of the cantina in Mos Eisley Spaceport in the Star Wars movies.

bento: And the reference makes sense, since it is owned by members of Rogue and Renegade Squadrons, and is basically their squadron bar. Other fliers go there, too, but there isn’t a night when someone from those two squadrons isn’t there.

RainyDayze: So, was he picking a fight?

bento: No, which is weird. Apparently, he was one of the ones commanding one of the ships that escaped getting blown up when the Ouran attacked.

DarkLord: The Ouran value strength, and cunning. Ceres proved itself to have both, and has been named a Peer to the Iscand. The survivors amongst the Iscand clan’s forces hold no true ill will towards Ceres, no more than a rational person would hold ill will against a rival team that beat them in sports.

DoritoMan: Uh, have you seen what happens when Alabama plays Auburn?

DarkLord: I said ‘rational person’, not ‘insane person’. Most sports fans aren’t like the ones you see in the news, just like most of any group aren’t like the ones of that group that make the news, because outliers are more newsworthy.

RainyDayze: So, what were they doing, if not picking a fight?

DarkLord: Sharing food and drink with fellow warriors, trading tales of all they had done. Also, it was Barbecue Night, and their grillmaster has System skills for cooking, in addition to years of experience, so they got to enjoy a good meal, while they were at it.

DarkLord: But while the Huntleader’s chat with the pilots was the most visible thing the Ouran were doing, the others on the station weren’t exactly sitting idle. I know for a fact that some interesting trade deals were set up by the merchant who came with them. And they had a crafter in the party who rose to Tier 3 during our meeting.

FusionGal: Huh? How did a crafter get to Tier 3 during a meeting? Surely they weren’t fighting monsters or making items while they were talking to you? Did they save up the XP until they were in front of you, hoping for better options?

Scholar: You can’t save XP to hold off leveling or going up in Tier until something happens. It doesn’t work like that.

DarkLord: Well…

Scholar: No. I don’t believe it. The information from the System Shop said that there as no way to do it!

THE_MERCHANT: It is true that no item, spell, or ability can allow someone to ‘save’ XP and apply it later. There are ones which prevent someone from gaining XP, usually either as a punishment or so that they can master some feat before being forced into another Tier, but that XP is lost, not saved. Which means there was a loophole.

DarkLord: Indeed. Crafters typically gain XP when they complete items. Some items, however, are not completed until they are properly bound, and sometimes Named. In this case, the crafter was already on the cusp of Tier 3 when she brought a spear she had made for me, but it was left on the final step, the one that would soulbind it to me, preventing anyone else from using it, while empowering the weapon with my blood. When I completed the binding ritual, she gained the XP for the spear, which pushed her into Tier 3.

White_Queen: Oh, god. What kind of monster did the spear turn into?

bento: not a literal monster, right? Right?

DarkLord: No, the spear did not become an actual monster. But it is extremely powerful. Just the first three abilities are enough to stagger the mind. It can be thrown at any target in line of sight, without range issues, never misses its mark when thrown (unless the target’s DEX or CHA is greater than my CHA), and returns to my hand when I call it’s name. And it gains a new ability for each ten levels I have.

White_Queen: Scaling weapons like that are extremely dangerous, when equipped by someone with high levels. That kind of weapon is a force-multiplier on its own, never mind anything the rest of his group brings to a fight.

DarkLord: I was so pleased with the crafter, that I officially gave her a second Name, something that is rarely bestowed upon a crafter, since they too rarely have time to attain true glory in a hunting-focused civilization like the Ouran.

jenny8675309: Well, that’s another great reason to never piss off the Ceresan Empire.