Life After the Apocalypse

Clara smiles brightly as Raquel joins her in counting the coins. It's kinda surprising that gold from raids isn't automatically distributed like with the goblins' defeat, but it feels nice seeing the fruit of their labour physically. She's also curious about the crafting materials, but better leave it to the professionals. "While we're all here, may as well have some breakfast?" She suggests.

"I guess I will check the food." Taylor say. "If we get worn out after every fight without it, food is an important supply."

Grace finishes her tune and puts her instrument away. "I can help set up for breakfast. Maybe even help prep. Where do they keep the K-cups…?"

>>>Dividing up responsibilities, the Adventurers tackle the morning's projects. Tina offers Calamity her already warmed chair as the Enchanter leaves the coin counting to go conference with BradL33, Isbjorn and Arga as to which items to Identify.
>>>Piphany joins the coin counting, choosing to sit beside Raquel and across from Calamity. Guy tags along with Grace and Atalanta in search of breakfast. Fren tackles identifying the Materials from the Raid and their value.

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>>>"This feels like we're playing Bridge or Euchre or Mah Jong or something..." Piphany said after sorting the coins into stacks for a moment. She looked around at the others, arranged opposite each other at the rough wooden table. "We used to play card games when I was in rehab and I imagined having real money to play with instead of stale pretzel sticks... This still doesn't feel like real money though." She rubbed dirt out of the stamped face of a coin, a bit of melancholy passing over her face, "It's still kinda... dream-like. Y'know. I...half expected to wake up back at home. On Earth."

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>>>"Breakfast Quest is active, I guess..." Guy said as the trio exited the Merchant Quarters building into the muggy heat of the morning. Guy decided against wearing his armor and instead just wore the padded shirt that usually lay underneath it. "Ugh. This is like being at the coast in summer, except it's bright AND hot...and also nowhere near the coast." He stopped and looked around at the villagers going about their daily business. He put his hands on his hips, smiled in an exasperated way and looked at Grace and Atalanta. "Tina said this place was somewhere near St. Louis on Earth. Either of you from around there? Any ideas where we could nick a bite of...and I hesitate to call it that...'food'?"

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>>>"Well..." BradL33 began. "Ideas or opinions on which Items we should Identify? I don't think we'll have time to do more than one Item each before we have to start the journey towards Mound City."

>>>Arga shrugged, "You tell me. You've played longer than we have. What's the best play? Weapon and Staff, maybe, and then whatever clothes we can get to?"

>>>"We've got weapons. Maybe we should try the Crown and the amulet first?" Tina didn't sound any more convinced of the right path than Arga.

>>>"I don't know what the right answer is either." BradL33 sat down at the table beside the Items. "Used to be, I'd just pull up a wiki or online guide and check out everything about an item and decide whether to Identify it once I knew I wanted it and sell or trade what I didn't. We don't have that option now...so it's just pick something, I guess. Whatever looks cool." The 'not knowing' clearly bothered him. The old aphorism 'knowledge is power' was perhaps becoming more apt here than it was back on Earth.

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>>>Fren sits with the stacks of Materials and concentrates on running through their Status and Info Boxes as the others settle into their chosen tasks.

"Oh, I loved Mahjong!" Grace says, thinking back to dorm life at Smith. "My roommate taught me how to keep score, how to watch the dropped tiles… but it was hard to beat the girls who grew up playing the game with their moms and aunts! My win record is like… once?"

Apparently, Grace was a good sport when it came to losing. That’s because the winner never tried to murder her.

Thinking a bit on Guy’s warning… "I don’t understand how people can enter this game, feel like it’s kinda real, and attack other people. I don’t want a choice of kill-or-be-killed… but I guess it’s a matter of time before we run into a group that won’t give us a choice."

She looks at Raquel.

"There were players in the woods late last night, lighting the horizon with spells. A part of me wanted to rush to them but… they were too distant. I don’t know what I’d have done if it were two parties of people killing each other."

"Technically I am from the same state at least, but out in the sticks. Dad considered St. Louis hostile territory and wouldn't go anywhere near it." Taylor shrugs, her face briefly turns weird and then settles out. "As for food, look for any signs that have pictures of them or supplies on it. My history books always said that a lot of people in the medieval age couldn't read and signs where drawings instead."

Clara sorts the coins into a pile with clumsy paws. Card games like Bridge and Euchre are obscure to her. Her friends back in real life had tried to teach her Mahjong, but the rules simply bounced off her head.

Piphany's mention of rehab sparks curiosity in Clara, but she hesitates, unsure if it's appropriate to pry. With a gentle smile, she tries to convey her understanding. "Do you prefer life back on Earth? We'll try our best to figure out the way home. But for now, let's just consider this a... well, a really weird vacation."

>>>The counting crew sorts through the baskets of coins and comes up with a fairly definitive tally as Arga, BradL33, Isbjorn and Tina sort the special items.

>>>"Gamers aren't exactly the most rational sort of people when things don't go their way..." Guy said apologetically. "Any time spent on Reddit or any 'Chan' site would pop the mental balloon that people are intrinsically 'good' or 'nice'. Now, give those people real power and things are likely to go bad fast."" He listened to Grace say that she and Raquel had seen evidence of other Adventurers possibly being nearby and confirmed with a glance at Raquel's expression. "Let's just hope they're either noobs like us or are genuinely decent blokes."
>>>A tense moment passed before Guy turned to Atalanta, "Maybe we should go beg that elf lady...Adelby or whatever...for some food?"

>>> Piphany clinked a few coins into a stack before pushing the counted pike towards the center of the table. "Oh, hell no." she replied maybe a bit more quickly than even she expected. "I mean, I don't know what being here means but I'm not definitely not ready to give this up and go back to Earth. Not a lot to go back to there. Not for me anyway." She grabbed another pile and started pensively counting, "I kinda get that how I feel isn't how everyone feels but I hope this isn't just gonna be some kind of weird vacation. How do you feel about it? Do you want to go back?"

Unsure whether Piphany’s question was meant for Calico or the group, Grace answers anyway. "It’s no secret that I’m enjoying being young again. I don’t know what I’d choose if going back to reality becomes a choice." She’s hesitant to add some other thoughts—

—and gladly, she swaps topics as items are identified. "Okay, so with all the items here, I get that we can only take one or none.

"The crown and the boots both play to a couple of my advantages. With the boots, it would only cost me Five Emm-Pee to make a trail of thorns as long as my instrument is in hand—which is pretty much always the case since I fight best El-Kabonging or unarmed.

"My bardic style also reduces my aggro by Minus Two, which means I can gain the normal amount of aggro in melee with the crown on. Simply put, I can fight whatever… boss? …is around without worrying about the mob, if I have the crown on."

She’s a little surprised to hear herself using Gamer Jargon, maybe not quite correctly. But rather than worry about that, she considers the other fighters, and notes, "I could see how a fighter with high Aitch-Pee might want Plus Two aggro, so like I said… I would only want one item for myself, or none if someone else can make better use. As much as I like the idea of dressing fashionably, what’s most important is keeping this whole party alive."

"I think one of our tanks should take the crown to keep the aggro on them and not the casters," Raquel opines, gesturing to Atalanta and Calico. "The boots are neat but I think they're better on somebody else besides myself. No need for the staff, either. Though I am interested in either the blade or the vestments, once we find out what abilities they have."

"I don't mind being here for a short while. I'm in a phase where I'd rather take a break from real life, and so far, I've been enjoying this world. I'm just a bit worried about my family at home..." Clara senses the shift in topic, so she diverts her attention to the raid loot. "Raquel's right. Aggro gets out of hand so fast once our magic users start hitting monster vulnerabilities, so the crown would be nice for aggro management. If Atalanta wants to go for it though, I might pick the satchel. Poison immunity seems neat, and I've just taken Apothecary subclass to make potions in the future."

Taylor gets an odd expression as Calico talks about family, but otherwise doesn't say anything.

>>>Guy returns after about half an hour with a couple of Aegelby's young maids in tow, each of them carrying a platter of bread and cheese with a basket of late spring fruits.

>>> "Found some nosh for us. Just what was left over from earlier but better than nothin'." he considered the state of food they'd eaten since being here and amended his statement, "Better than starvin', I guess..."

>>>The young maids placed the trays on one of the tables, their eyes drawn to the assembled items, coins and other goods the Adventurers had 'won' fighting King Triffid. It was obvious they'd never seen such wealth up close and in person. "Thank you for saving our village!" one of them announced. The other maid mumbled her agreement as they both bowed deeply as the made their way towards the doors.

>>>"We don't have to all jump on this stuff right away..." BradL33 said of the loot as the maids retreated. "I mean it's nice stuff but there's still about half if it to Identify and there's hopefully a good supply of items at the shops in Mound City. We could probably sell what we don't want and get some stuff that fits our builds once we get there. But we can decide that later." He eyed the fruit, bread and cheese trays before going over to them and picking up an assorted handful of the berries and trying them one by one. "Yep. That's what I thought. Here try some..." he delivered handfuls of berries to the counting table and to the Adventurers standing around.

>>> "HEY! These don't taste like crap!" Tina said after braving a blueberry. "They're sour AF but they taste like food..." She gobbled down the rest of what BradL33 handed her.

>>> "I don't know why but some things DO have a flavor but most things don't.
I ate one of the apples I gathered from before we all ended up here and it had flavor and didn't turn into that weird mush when I ate it. I thought...hoped, really...that this fruit might be the same."

>>>"Bread still sucks though..." Arga disappointedly announced after tearing off a chunk of the dark brown loaf and popping it in his mouth. "Paste City, just like the stew from last night." His expression of disgust told the story entirely too well.

>>>"So...is it just the fruit that has a taste?" he hesitantly broke off a chunk of cheese and sniffed it before touching it to his tongue before actually eating it. "Tastes like old socks but it might be French..." he announced. "God, this place is so weird..."

>>>"Yeah, yeah...lots of mysteries..." Piphany waved her hand dismissively, not even looking at the pile of berries on the table. "Shouldn't we get to packing? You said it was a long-ass walk to the City and 'contemplating our navels' isn't going to get us there before nightfall and I'm not looking forward to walking around in the dark waiting to get ambushed."

Raquel chows down on a few handfuls of berries, making a face at the sour taste before shrugging it away. "I'm with Piphany. Let's not waste too much daylight. I'm ready to head out when you all are."

Fren grabs some berries and some of the bread. "I agree with the girls. Better go to the City as soon as possible." although he is most eager to go to the city and find any blacksmithing equipment and recipes. He hadn't thinked what will happen after that.

"So who is carrying these things?" Taylor gestures to the loot. "I'm pretty strong I guess, but it seems like a lot."

Grace wonders, "Do we feel it if we carry too much? My instrument is six feet long, but it fits in my purse. It’s not heavy though …just big."

She is of course extremely gracious when thanking the maids. They do so much work considering they’re children… but they’re children because they were programmed to be. She gets that. Still, they’re so well-dressed and well-behaved, she kinda wishes she went through with adoption even after her partner left her.

My substance abuse history …probably not what they look for in an adoptive single mom.

Her regrets hit her hard. And seeing the children ogling the gold, she makes a decision. "Hey, kids… we’re gonna pack up and leave. So before we do, how about I play a song just for you."

She pulls out her bass (from her purse) and sits facing the children.

There's a sad sort of clanging
From the clock in the hall
And the bells in the steeple, too
And up in the nursery
An absurd little bird
Is popping out to say "cuckoo"

Regretfully they tell us
But firmly they compel us
To say goodbye
To you

So long, farewell,
Auf Wiederseh'n, goodbye
We leave and heave
A sigh and fleetly fly

She plays a cutesy little bass line, then one more verse:

So long, farewell,
Auf Wiederseh'n, adieu
A tip to you,
You too, you two, and you

This time, her cutesy riffs make coins rain between herself and the children! She puts her bass aside and tips the five children: 3 coins each, plus a fourth for the little girl who attended Grace in the bath.

"Give your parents a big hug. I know they’re all very proud of you."

Grace remains all smiles for as long as the children are in front of her.

>>>The young Maids listen to Grace's ballad with rapt attention. They'd heard music before but not from an Adventurer and not a song from what was essentially an alien world...to them anyway. The shower of gold never failed to amaze them as well, as did the fact that Grace gifted the shiny new coins to them so casually.
>>>"Thank you, Lady Grace!" the older of the girls exclaimed. "Aegelby said you were all leaving today. Please come back and see us again." She seemed sincere and a bit starstruck. They cleaned up what the Party hadn't eaten and dutifully retreated, giggling and whispering to themselves excitedly on the way out.

>>>"I'm going to get diabetes if you keep that up..." Piphany mumbled towards Grace half-heartedly.

>>>"We'll have to split up what we carry but I think we can take it all with us fairly easy." BradL33 said as a change of topic as the doors closed behind the Maids. "Most of those Mats and Consumables will probably go in the Herbalist's Satchel. They've all got the requisite Tags so it can store them like your regular Inventory Bags or my backpack does. The Gold can stack in your Inventory Bags too, I hope. Like Grace's 'turbo bazooka' or whatever it is can fit in there, it should hold a lot of those coins.". He sure hoped it did because that much gold was heavy! "In-game, you could stack a thousand Gold Coins in a single inventory slot. So, we might have to split it up if we're low on open slots."

>>>"So, you're telling me that we sat there and counted...BY HAND...all those coins when we coulda just jammed it all in a Bag and counted the stacks?!?" Tina said exasperatedly.

>>>"well...yeah." was all BradL33 could sheepishly say in reply. "I didn't think about it til just now. We still have to try it and see if it works."
>>>Packing everything up and experimenting with what best fit where took about a half-hour, as close as anyone could guess, before the tables were emptied. The Merchant's Quarters seemed a bit like a hotel at the end of a trip as everyone stood around, carrying everything they owned, and taking one last look around before leaving.

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>>>Varduhn met them in the avenue, with Adana and Jean Louis in tow, to walk with the Adventurers to the edge of town. The air was heavy with humidity but not yet hot, though the promise of a warm day was already in the air.

>>>"They may not show it well, but the village thanks you for what you did last night." Varduhn offered the Adventurers the thanks for the village. "Maxime found Kaimon and the others just after daybreak. They were shook up but none the worse for wear... They caught sight of the King Triffid too late and it was already between them and the village. They decided to go the long way around, through the forest, to warm the village and got lost after the sun went down. Spent the night up a tree, it seems." Varduhn seemed a little amused by that fact, patting his stomach jovially.
>>>The old Apothecary stopped at the farthest point along the trail where the village was still visible in the distance, "This is where we part ways, I'm afraid..." he said wistfully. "Just follow the old roads and they'll take you to Mound City. I wish you good journeys. I am glad to have met you all and hope that maybe you'll think of Belle on occasion. You'll always be welcome here." He gathered Adana and Jean Louis to him to watch the Adventurers take the next step in their journey.

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>>>The packed dirt path led past a few straggling houses and field before becoming scrublands like they'd all encountered when they first arrived in this world. Abruptly, a Zone Status Box popped into the visual field, announcing that you'd all crossed into a different Zone having left the town's Zone:

Swansea Fields
Field Zone | Eusa Server
Monsters: Yes | PvP: Yes | Skill Use: Yes
Entry Restriction: None
Flat grassy patches interspersed with stands of trees and low hills dotted the land around them. The trail more or less disappeared but BradL33 kept heading in a steady direction. The trees became denser as the sun climbed in the sky. With those trees came wildlife like none on Earth; even the most homebodied could tell these weren't the kind of animals you were used to...


Something deer-like stared at you for a moment before dashing back into the woods. Around the bend from the encounter with the deer, the wood opens up a bit into a jarring scene.

>>>Until now, the more medieval fantasy elements of Elder Tales had been front and center. The ruined overpass and rusted cars overgrown in the forest was a reminder that this world was also supposedly a post-apocalypse Earth...

>>>"Looks like a good place for a rest break..." BradL33 said nonchalantly. He looked at the others for affirmation or denial. "We made pretty good time and not seen anything hostile...yet." He retrieved a container from his backpack as he lowered it to the ground and took a drink from it, "Should be able to follow the highway from here to the City."

Grace’s posture sinks a little after the children leave. She replies to Piphany, "If you knew the real me, you’d prefer this version." Her tone is dead serious, and she rises to help stack the coins, as the task is a perfect excuse not to elaborate on what she just said.

When Varduhn mentions the workers hiding in a tree, Grace perks up. "I’m so happy everyone survived!

"Like I said before, I’ve been in dozens of Belles. But this Belle will always hold a special place in my heart." She stops herself from promising to return because… she doesn’t know whether that will be an option.

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She looks at the cars the way that deer looked at the party. "Reminds me of that YouTuber who turned her car into a chia pet."

"I hope nobody is expecting any great performances from me."