“What did you just do?”
Confused, she put her hands up and shrugged. “I don’t know? I mean, what happened?”
Allistor held up a finger. “Let me read all this stuff. One minute.”
He pulled up his interface and the notifications.
First was the experience notification.
Congratulations! You are the first human to secure title to one thousand square miles of territory. Reward: 10,000 experience points; 350,000 klax; Baron’s Seal
You have earned the Title: Land Baron
By securing land holdings of one thousand square miles or more, you have earned yourself the title of Land Baron. As a Baron, you have the right to levy taxes on any citizens in residence upon your land. Further, you may sell or grant portions of your land to those who pledge themselves to your service. You may not compel any citizen to pledge to you, but those who refuse can be evicted from your holdings. Further rights and benefits will be bestowed upon completion of the stabilization period.
The next notification was one he’d been waiting for.
Level up! You are now Level 10! You have earned two attribute points.
You are now eligible to choose a Class designation. Available classes are listed in the Class information section. Recommended Classes based on your current attribute levels may also be found there. Choose carefully, as the Class you choose cannot be changed unless or until you reach level fifty.
Allistor held off reading the rest as Helen cleared her throat impatiently. “Um, Helen? Just how big is the park you just gave me?”
Her mouth dropped open. “You mean, when I said that… I mean, I was just fooling around! The system actually gave you the park?”
His grin was so wide it made his cheeks hurt, but he couldn’t stop smiling. “Yup! Now, what can you tell me about my new Barony?”
“Barony?” She rubbed her face, then slipped into park ranger mode. She motioned for him to follow her as she got up and walked into the office. “The Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest is broken up into several areas in Wyoming and Colorado.” She pulled a large rolled up map from a stand next to her desk and opened it up on the table. Pointing as she spoke, she continued. “Totaling roughly 2.9 million acres, it includes open grasslands, old growth forests, three rivers, several mountains, and-” She halted as he held up a hand.
“Did you say a million acres?”
“Yep! Even after ten years, I don’t think I’ve seen all of it myself. The best views are from up on the mountains.” She moved her finger to a new spot on the map.
Allistor’s head was spinning. “That’s… in square miles that has to be…”
She already knew the number. “Just over four thousand five hundred square miles.”
Allistor sat in one of the chairs. “Your gift just earned me a title. Land Baron. Like in Europe in the middle ages.” He looked up at her. “You’re my new favorite person on the whole planet!”
She laughed as he leapt from his chair and hugged her, lifting her off her feet. “And all you had to do was carry me up a flight of stairs and feed me a candy bar. I’m a cheap date!”
Setting her back down gently, he stepped back. “I can’t believe this. I’ve been losing sleep worrying about securing enough land for our people by the end of the year. With one wave of your hand, you just guaranteed we’ll have enough land to support us for… generations. Millions of us could live and thrive on this much land!”
She shook her head, suddenly serious. “No, not millions. Thousands, certainly. But the ecosystem here is delicate. If you were to kill off all the bison, or the wolves, or alter the path of one of the rivers, it would permanently damage this place. And there’s no need to do that. There are enough big cities nearby for people to live in. You need to promise me you’ll protect this place, not just the people.” The look on her face was stern and implacable.
“Absolutely. You have my oath that as long as I live I will protect these lands as well as the people on them. We may need to hunt the monsters to extinction, but I’ll do my best to preserve the natural inhabitants. I grew up camping every weekend and summer that we could. I wouldn’t destroy the beauty of this place. And you already know I was planning to take Cheyenne as a Stronghold.”
When he gave the oath, a green-blue light swirled around the two of them, and a single chime rang out. Satisfied, Helen nodded her head. “That felt weird. And I got a notice saying we are now Oathbound.”
Allistor had gotten the same notice. He was reading the linked information and was already making a mental note to be more careful with oaths. The penalty for breaking them could be anywhere from a fine, to instant death, depending on the gravity of the oath and the consequences to the other Oathbound.
She looked to the door as Fuzzy came wandering back in. There was blood on his snout, and little tufts of what looked like squirrel hair stuck to it. He held his head high as if proud of himself.
“So, Mister Baron Allistor, your Lordship. Have I earned a ticket on your little road trip?”
“Ha! You’ve earned a ticket on any road trip you want. And my eternal thanks.”
“In that case, I’ll deal with this notification that popped up earlier.” She took a knee in front of him. “I, Helen Rodgers of the National Park Service, hereby pledge my loyalty to you, Lord Allistor.”
This time a short blue flash of light surrounded each of them. There were no sounds to accompany the binding. She got back to her feet and said, “I hope you’re not going to demand that we all bow to you or service you in kinky ways.” She raised an eyebrow at him.
He held up both hands. “No, no. No bowing. No servicing. I think Amanda might object to that. And she knows all the most deadly places to stab a guy.”
Just then the radio crackled, and Meg’s voice came through. “Allistor? Are you there? What the hell have you done now, boy!?”
He walked over to the radio set and pressed the talk button on the microphone. “I um… I sort of just inherited about forty-five hundred square miles of national forest. It was an accident, I swear.” He grinned at the radio as Helen laughed behind him.
“We all just got this message asking if we’re willing to pledge our loyalty to Baron Allistor. What kind of game are you playing?” Meg sounded annoyed.
“It wasn’t me, Meg! I mean, it was me, I am the Baron now and stuff. But I didn’t create that loyalty pledge. The system seems to have generated it automatically for anyone who lives on the land that I control now.” He paused, deciding to mess with Meg a bit. “It also tells me I can evict anyone who doesn’t want to pledge to me. So you better be real nice to me…”
There was a spluttering on the other end of the line. “You little…! You’ll be lucky if I don’t beat you about the head with my spatula when you get back!” The laughter in her voice didn’t match her words.
“Yup! Love you too, Meg. And I promise you don’t have to call me Lord Allistor or kiss my feet or anything. I plan to be a real casual sort of evil overlord.”
Michael’s voice replaced Meg’s. “You lucky bastard! I hear you got yourself a bear pet yesterday, and now you have your own Barony? If there was a leaderboard, I’m betting you’d be at the top right now.”
Allistor winced. He hadn’t thought of that. “Hey, let’s hope there isn’t one. You know what happens to the top people on the boards.”
There was a pause, then Michael said, “Shit. Yeah, everybody else tries to take them down. Hadn’t thought of that.”
Allistor was quiet for a few moments. Then he pushed the talk button again. “Listen, guys, I’m going to continue on to Cheyenne and try for that Stronghold. We already own a lot of the land around it now. Also, get together and discuss if you want any upgrades to the Stronghold. We have a buttload of klax in the account now. Let me know what you decide the next time we talk. Also, I obviously won’t demand a pledge from any of you. But there might be some benefit to it. So if one of you wants to spend a little time reading up on that?”
Michael replied right away. “Lilly’s already done it. She says there are bonuses to crafting skill development, morale, and experience gains. They are supposed to be the benefits to offset the taxes you can charge us now.”
“Ha! There will be no taxes. At least, not in this first year. You can consider that an official decree.” He could hear some chuckling in the background when Michael keyed his microphone.
“Glad to hear it. We’ll get together and talk about upgrades. And I think we’ll all be making the pledge. It’s not like we can’t change our minds later and leave if you turn out to be a tyrant.”
Allistor pictured himself on a throne shouting ‘Off with their heads!’
“Good to know. And thank you, guys, for the faith you’ve shown in me so far. This really was an accident. I’ll tell you the whole story when I get back. I’m a little worried about the competition coming after you guys, now. The Warren is my headquarters, and effectively the seat of our little Barony. If you can, take a couple people and drive down this way. Stop at the gun shop and grab a bunch more guns and ammo. I’ll make this ranger station an Outpost too before I leave. No shortage of klax to convert to system points. I’m going to leave my pickup here and take one of the big ranger’s trucks.” He smacked himself on the forehead.
“Oh! There’s a ranger here with me. Helen. Say hi to everyone, Helen!”
He stepped aside as she bent over the mic and hit the button. “Hello, everyone.”
There was a chorus of hellos from the other side as Allistor took the microphone back. “Helen is the one responsible for our recent windfall. So treat her super nice when we get back. Anyway, if you want to swing by here after the gun shop, you can grab the pickup and take it back with you. I’ll leave the keys inside the cabin here. You’ll all be authorized to enter. This is a good place to spend a night. I’ll leave all the food and stuff here. If not, don’t sweat it. We can always find more trucks.”
They spoke for a few more minutes, and Allistor wrapped up the conversation. “One other thing, guys. The lake below the gun shop has a grumpy sturgeon nearly the size of that shellback. So don’t go swimming in there, okay?”
“Got it! We’ll swing down there today. Be careful out there, Lord Allistor.” Michael signed off.
Helen went to change the sheets, clean up the bedroom, and pack as Allistor opened up his Outpost interface. The button to establish the ranger cabin as an Outpost was a bright and friendly green where it had been grayed out before. He added the usual features – the wall around the clearing, sensors, remote access. The windmill already provided electricity, which also operated the pump in the well beneath the cabin, so he didn’t need to spend points on those. He approved the transaction, and the usual golden glow surrounded them as the cabin converted itself to an Outpost. He authorized his crowd to access the doors, then added Helen to the approved list for all the facilities.
By the time he was done, she was ready to go. Fuzzy was napping again, so Allistor nudged him with a foot. “C’mon, buddy. Time to hit the road.” He retrieved both of the stainless bowls, tossing the remaining water out the door before returning them to his ring. When he turned around, Fuzzy was nowhere to be seen.
Walking back into the main room, he found the cub with his nose jammed under the sofa, his butt in the air. He pushed at the sofa, trying to squeeze his head underneath to reach something. Thinking it was another rat, Allistor obliged him by grabbing one end of the sofa and lifting it high.
Fuzzy slid forward on his face, his back legs still pushing. He grabbed hold of something green, shook it a few times, then got to his feet and trotted outside. Curious, Allistor followed him out. “What’ve you got there, Fuzzster?” He reached out a hand for the cub to turn over his prize. Fuzzy turned his back on him and raised a paw at the pickup door, asking to be let in.
“Oh, no you don’t. Let me see what you’ve got there, buddy. I need to make sure it won’t make you sick.” He leaned down and took hold of one end of the thing. It was made of soft fabric. Fuzzy reluctantly let go, and Allistor got a good look at it.
It was a stuffed toy, about eight inches tall. A little creature of some sort. Bright green with big ears and feet, it had a leather strap across its chest and an underbite with only three crooked teeth. It held a stick in one hand. The thing looked familiar…
“Fibble! Ha! You found a Fibble plushy, Fuzzy. I had one of these as a kid.” He held the slobber-covered doll up and waved the arm holding the stick. “Pew! Pew!”
Chuckling, he handed the doll back to Fuzzy, who took it gently in his mouth. Opening the back door of one of the ranger trucks, he said, “Hop up in here, bud. This is our new ride.”
Fuzzy approached the door, sniffing at the truck. Then he turned and looked back at the pickup. He walked over and got up on his hind legs, putting both paws against the passenger door. Looking back at Allistor, he chuffed once.
“What’s wrong, buddy?” Allistor joined him. A quick glance inside the truck, and he understood. “Your nest!” Allistor opened the truck door and grabbed the pile of blankets from the seat. He transferred them over to the back seat of the Suburban, and Fuzzy happily hopped up and made himself comfortable. He placed the little doll gently on the blankets between his paws and put his head down.
Helen joined Allistor up front a few minutes later, and they hit the road.
Chapter Fourteen
Mall Rats
Helen was driving the truck as she knew the territory. While she navigated the back roads toward Cheyenne, Allistor took some time to review his options for choosing a class.
He quickly eliminated all the warrior classes, as well as most of the melee options. The system had different names than he was used to. But from the descriptions, he eliminated the monk and paladin classes as well. He wanted something with powerful magical abilities, but he wasn’t willing to dedicate his life to a deity in return for his powers. Especially since he didn’t know anything about the pantheon in this new place.
He thought about the druid class or some hybrid of druid and melee. With Fuzzy as his companion, it made some sense. But the druid class was focused on nature-based abilities that didn’t really fit with what he wanted.
Focusing on the Mage and Sorcerer classes, he scrolled down until he found one he thought fit him pretty well. The word Battlemage seemed to jump off the screen at him.
Battlemage: This magic-based hybrid class allows the mage to combine spellcraft with physical attacks. Spells can be channeled through a weapon to increase physical damage or to focus spell power to increase effectiveness. Class-based spells include both offensive and defensive capabilities, single target and area of effect. Main attributes are Will Power and Intelligence, with a secondary focus on Strength and Stamina. Luck may play a significant role in this class.
Allistor squirmed in his seat. Battlemage sounded badass! It fit the new path he’d chosen for his attribute build, and the thought of defensive magic was just cool. He pictured casting a bubble of protection over himself and Fuzzy as they were bombarded by fire from a hovering drake.
“Battlemage it is!” he mumbled to himself as he verified that selection. A tingling feeling rushed through his body from his feet upward. A congratulatory message scrolled across his interface, and a new tab labeled Battlemage Class highlighted itself.
“What was that?” Helen asked, keeping her eyes scanning the road and trees ahead.
“I reached level ten. Just chose my class. I’m now officially a Battlemage.” He deepened his voice and tried to sound like Sam Elliot when he said the word.
Helen snorted. “Sounds very scary.” She humored him. “But what does it mean? Can you call down lightning or make fire rain from the sky? Or is that more of a ‘make-your-sword-all-sparky’ kind of thing?”
“I’m not sure yet, I’ve been a Battlemage for all of twenty seconds!” he answered, a little defensive. “But from what I’ve read so far, maybe a bit of both? Plus magic shields!”
; Helen nodded her head. “I think I’d go with a Druid class. But I’ve got a ways to go. I’m only level 4. Being rangers, Cliff and I started out trying not to kill anything we didn’t have to. And then, well you already know I spent a week in the cellar.”
“No worries. We’ll get you leveled up in no time. This little road trip is bound to bring us up against some higher level creatures. And…” He paused to consider for a moment. Looking at Helen, he decided to trust her. “And I haven’t told anyone else this yet. But when I’ve had to kill other humans, I got experience points and loot.”
“You’ve murdered people since this started?” Helen hit the brakes and pulled to the side of the road. She turned to look suspiciously at him.
“You remember I told you about Luther and his Stronghold? Well, this dick named Evan and his guys were attacking the Stronghold. They’d been starving out the group living inside for a week. Stole almost all of their food and trapped them inside, killing several of them in the process.” He watched her face as he spoke. When she nodded her head ever-so-slightly, he added. “So I shot Evan in the head, and with a little help, we killed most of his guys. The rest ran away.” He elected not to tell her about the artillery round George and Sam sent their way later.
When she still didn’t look convinced, he turned in his seat to face her. “I’m not a murderer, Helen. There are people left that seem to have chosen to survive by stealing and robbing others. I’m not one of those, but if one of them comes at me or mine, I will kill them to keep us safe. There’s no more government to protect us, no more judges. In fact, Evan was an ex-cop, using his skills to gain power over others. And I don’t have the resources, or frankly, the desire, to take and keep prisoners. We’ve been pushed into a new society here. Or rather, a very old one that’s much different than what we’re used to. If I’m placed in a kill-or-die situation, I will kill. I’m sorry if that is not acceptable to you. We can turn around, and I’ll give you back the cabin.” He paused for just a second, then grinned. “But I’m keeping the park!”
Shadow Sun Survival Page 28
