KC Chapter 16

With the arrival of the reinforcements, space in Koronya was suddenly at a premium. Karalti, Suri and I got a single room to share in one of the towers. It was a bare stone hexagon with two stone beds, shutters that whistled when the wind blew, and a fireplace full of dirt and moss. The reeds on the floor were damp, the bedding musty and worn.

“Home sweet home.” I plopped down on the edge of one of the beds and brought up my message window. “Let’s see how Rin’s doing, and then huddle up and decide on a gameplan, okay?”

There was no reply. I looked up to see Karalti glaring at Suri, and Suri leering back at her.

I sighed. “Karalti. Whatever you’re saying to her, quit it.”

“I was just telling her that I’m sleeping in bed with you tonight.” Karalti bared her piranha teeth at me in an awkward attempt at a smile. She was still getting the hang of those human facial expressions.

“And I was just telling her that I don’t give a shit,” Suri added.

I looked between them. “... You don’t?”

Karalti cocked her head sharply, her face turning blank. A dragon’s expression of confusion.

“Why the fuck would I? You and Karalti have been glued at the hip and-or brainstem since I met you. Every time we fool around, she’s there, listening in. If I wasn’t okay with her sharing you, we’d have never gone on our first date. It’s pretty obvious you’re basically a package deal.” Suri’s shit-eating grin only grew wider as Karalti cocked her head to the other side. “Anyway, how long does this human-suit spell of yours last, Karalti? Is there a timer on it?”

My dragon shook herself, fighting not to pout. “You could just look it up in the wiki. Polymorph I lasts for twelve hours. There’s a cooldown period equal to the number of hours I spend as a human. Minimum cooldown is one hour.”

“Then you just turn back to normal whether you like it or not?” Suri sat down on her bed.

Karalti bobbed her head. “Uh-huh.”

Suri’s looked at me side-long, her eyes dark with sly humor. “Meaning that if you accidentally change back inside this room, you’re gonna get stuck. So, Hector: we’re all gonna be sleeping with an alarm on to make sure your dragon’s huge scaly arse doesn’t crush us all to death...”

“It’s not THAT big!” Karalti shrilled.

I held up my hands like a referee. “Okay, ladies, come on. Yes, we will be sleeping with an alarm. No, Karalti, your ass is not disproportionate for a dragon of your size and bodyweight-”

“I’m just sayin’, every time you flew over the ship on the way here, it was like an eclipse.” Suri’s grin returned. “How do those fancy names of yours go again? Karalti the Many-Colored, Queen with the Ass That Can Blot Out the Sun?

Karalti hissed, and dropped to hands and feet to crawl-stalk Suri across the floor. The Berserker rolled over her shoulder and up into a wrestler’s crouch.

“C’mon, babe,” she crooned. “You really wanna come at me? Ey? Try to fight me. Let me show you how humans do it.”

Shaking my head, I ignored the sound of smashing pottery and breaking furniture to my right, I recalled the Message Center and composed a P.M to Rin. “How’s it going over in Crafter land? Did you get an update to Unto Death? Get back to us when you can.”

By the time I’d finished that, the two of them had already settled down. Suri was wiping tears of mirth from her eyes while Karalti squatted on the floor like a gargoyle and glared at her, sullenly licking the corners of her mouth.

“Alright. All sorted? Ready to plan things out?” I looked over at both of them. 

“Sure.” Suri plopped back down. “Quests, right… let’s see here…”

I bought up the quest, letting it hang in front of me. “We should probably read the detailed descriptions and work out which one we want to tackle first. “Karalti, can you see the quest as well?”

“Me? Nope.” She shook her head, pawing through the reeds on the floor and sniffing deeply. “I know it when you know it.”

“Nothing like a little casual mind-reading between friends, I guess.” I opened up the sub-quests and had Navigail read them out to me.

Sub-Quest: All the King's Men

Many soldiers in Vlachia are paid mercenaries, including the Orphans: a free company of grizzled veteran soldiers who helped to hold the lines against the Demon’s horrific forces - until suddenly they didn’t. The Orphans are believed to have crossed the Sarviz and headed north. Istvan isn’t sure what caused them to leave, but he badly wants them back.

Reward: EXP, Renown +100, unlock the Orphan Company units for Mass Combat.

Sub-Quest: Into the Swamp

Unwilling to have his authority questioned, Lord Soma sent the Baru, Vash Dorha, into the Endlar to scout the swamps and report back on any sightings of the Demon or his army. That was four days ago, and neither he or the volunteer soldiers who went with him have returned.

Vash is the hero of the garrison, serving as warrior, spiritual advisor, and healer. His loss has dealt the Defense Force’s morale a mortal blow. Even closure would be better than nothing. Bring back Vash dead or alive, and you will bolster the men and either restore their hope or give them relief.

Reward: EXP, 250 Renown; +500 renown if Vash returns alive. Unlock the Baru unit for Mass Combat.

Sub-Quest: Supply Train

The route between the industrial city of Boros and Fort Koronya has become treacherous since the Demon invaded the province. Cargo that cannot be safely transported on airships - explosives, gunpowder, volatile chemicals and mana - is shipped to the front lines by night-time caravans running secret routes. Someone - or something - has found one of these key routes and has disrupted the supply chain. You must reopen the roads before it’s too late. Learn more from Lord Soma’s top weaponeer and commander of the Koronya Sappers, Viktor.

Reward: EXP, +200 renown.

“Damn. We really have our work cut out for us, don’t we?” Suri remarked, breaking the stream of narration. “Sounds like maybe Vash can train up more Baru for us, though. We need more healers, so-”

“Hang on. The system helps with reading, but I still take longer.” I held up a hand, and tried to read along as Navigail continued narrating.

Bayou Warriors

The Endlar swamp is a vast, harsh land, concentrating some of the worst monsters to be found in Myszno into one humid, hot, disease-riddled mire. And yet, despite the dangers, the Endlar is also the home of the Yanik, fierce dinosaur tamers and raiders who have resisted the Vlachian conquest of Myszno for hundreds of years. 

Fielding dinosaur-riding mounted archers and cavalry, powerful mages and even packs of trained Allosaurus and T-rex, these people would be a powerful force against the Demon’s armies -  if they could unite with the Defense Force. The Yanik have no love for Vlachians, but they respect heroism and the Demon is as much a threat to them as anyone else. Impress their chieftain, and you might be able to win them over to your side. 

Reward: EXP, unlocks the Yanik Warrior units in Mass Combat.

Sidequests: Hold the Line

There is a constant battle against entropy on the Prezyemi Line: officers behaving badly, broken equipment, rats eating supplies. Listen to gossip and pay attention to problems you see around Koronya to gain sidequests that will give you EXP and Renown, special items, and more. You can find points of contact anywhere in the Fortress or along the walls.

Current Sidequests:

- Istvan remarked that one of his captains, a man named Zlaslo, has fallen ill with a seemingly incurable disease. Go to the Fort Hospital to see if you can help.

“Okay, there we go. And yeah… you’re right. This quest-line is like an entire game of its own,” I muttered, closing the window down. “What do you think, Suri? Where do you want to start?”

Suri shook her head and puffed a lock of hair out of her face. “Yeah no, I’m a bit overwhelmed, to be honest. Never had a quest this complex before.”

I had - in other games. “It’s alright: they’ll tie in together at some point. The thing we have to figure out is how to optimize the quest sequence. My vote is we leave any quests where we have to impress someone until last. We need that renown to back up our approach to the Yanik and the Orphans.”

“Yeah. So that leaves the sidequests, the swamp, and the caravans.” Suri rolled her shoulders, then closed her eyes and sighed. “The caravan one isn’t close to Koronya. That’s a dragon mission, in my opinion.”

“What’s what supposed to mean?” Karalti stopped investigating the fireplace and turned on her, eyes blazing.

Suri smirked. “It means you can fly, you big flappy cunt.” 

Karalti hissed and flew up to her feet, fists balled. “Hector! She’s calling me names!”

“You call her names all the time, Tidbit.” I replied. “I seem to recall ‘two-legs, no-wing whore’ being thrown around a couple of days ago.”

“Yeah! But to you! Not to her face!”

“That doesn’t make it any better. Suck it up.”

“Fine! Whatever!” Fuming, Karalti sunk back down on her heels. Shooting us dark looks over one shoulder, she wrapped her arms around her knees and began muttering to herself. Even in human form, the bird-like mimicry sounded weird: like a demon grumbling into a bad radio.

“Anyway, yeah. As you said: excluding the quests rely on renown leaves us with the Happy Fun Time Swamp Adventure, the caravan, and sidequests,” I said aloud, picking up my conversation with Suri. “My vote is that we get Vash back first. Bringing him home will open up a lot of shit for us, including sidequests. I’d bet real money that most of the ‘Hold the Line’ quests only appear once you have a certain level of renown in the Fort.”

“Huh. What tier do you reckon they open at?”

I opened my mouth to ask her what tiers were, but then remembered I was a strong, independant man who could just wiki it. “Hang on.” 

I queried ‘Renown Tiers’, and called up the relevant article:

Renown

Renown is the measure of fame or infamy you possess in a locale. In every location where you complete (or fail to complete) quests, you can potentially gain renown. Renown is important for players interested in Mass Combat.

Like most things in Archemi, Renown is accrued through points. After accumulating a certain number of renown points, you gain bonuses or penalties to dealing with people in your locale. The size of the locale where you command fame or terror varies depending on your renown tier. The tiers are as follows:

• 0-200 - Stranger: Unknown and      unnotable.
• 201-400 - Adventurer: Some people      have heard of you, and neighbourhoods where you completed adventures are      friendly/hostile.
• 401-690 - Public Figure: You are a      person of note in your city, able to command respect, fear, or both.
• 691-880 - Local Hero/Villain: You      are well-known everywhere in your locale. Bards begin composing and      singing about you, spreading news of your deeds.
• 880-1050 - Idol: You are known      across your nation and are sought after for your abilities.
• 1051-1535 - Celebrity: Your deeds      have spread internationally, and your fame is recognizable across borders.
• 1536+ -      Legend: Your deeds will go down in history, heroic or villainous.

View individual tiers for information on bonuses, penalties, and other perks.

“Probably just the Adventurer rank. That’s the tier where people are talking about you to each other,” I replied, closing the window.

“Yeah, but...” Karalti interjected. “Renown is for factions, right? Like groups of people?”

“Right.” Suri answered her. “Why?”

Karalti shrugged. “Soma and Istvan don’t like each other very much.”

“Yeah, but they’re on the same team…” I paused for a moment, then checked my Mass Combat window. And sure enough, there was a factional difference between Soma and Istvan. “... Technically speaking.”

“Shit.” Suri clicked her tongue. “So, what? If we help one, we lose renown with the other?

“Yup.” Karalti bobbed her head. “But you know who can help? Rin.” 

Suri lifted her chin, then grunted her agreement. “Right. Rin’s already in with Soma’s faction. So if she gains renown with Soma and his people, and we gain renown with Istvan at the same time... in theory, we can meet in the middle. Maybe bring them together.” 

I listened, rubbing my hand over my mouth in thought. After they finished, I nodded. “Yeah, I think you’ve hit on it. I think we should stay together for the main quests and then take the sidequests individually. Rin will probably take any magitech quests. Suri, what do you want dibs on?”

“Combat training, rank and file discipline, anything like that.” Suri replied. “Karalti?”

“Uhh.” The dragon looked anxiously to me. “I dunno what I’m good at.”

“You’re good at lots of things, Tidbit,” I said. “Vlachians worship the dragon gods. You can inspire them and give spiritual counsel or something.”

Her eyes got big. “Yeah! I can do that!”

“I can heal,” I added. “And that’s probably going to make some quick friends here. If we go at this strategically, we can maximize our time. We have to get as many of these things done as we can. But Vash first.”

Suri nodded. “Yeah. Looks like we have to go digging for info on the Endlar. How dangerous do you think it is? I’ve never seen a swamp.”

I paused for a second. “...You’ve never seen a swamp?”

“Mate, I’m from the bloody desert.” She shrugged. “Ninety-nine percent of my life was spent underground, and the rest of it, I was traveling with caravans or fighting in arenas. I know what swamps are. Bushes and water n’ shit.” 

“Uhh… well, the short answer to your question is that swamps suck. The Endlar is apparently enough of a challenge to keep thirty thousand undead at bay, so I’m guessing its reputation is pretty much on point.” 

“Yeah, and no love from the wiki, either.” Suri rocked back onto her hands and sighed.

Karalti finally circled back to join me on the bed, rolling onto it and balling up against me. “Nope. We need to find some Yanik soldiers and make good with them. They should be able to tell us more about the Endlar. But seriously, if we don’t eat shit out there at least once, I’ll be really surprised. You need to be careful out there. You can’t afford to die.”

“I’m a Berserker. Fighting things bigger than me is what I’m made for.” Suri flashed me a sharp-toothed smile. “I can’t afford to die. So I won’t.”

My HUD chirped. Suri stopped talking and Karalti perked up, suddenly alert. They were getting a call as well.

“Hi guys!” Rin’s voice hummed against my inner ear. “Sorry for the late reply, but it’s madness over in munitions and engineering right now. These ballista are all warped from the humidity, and-”

“How’s Soma going?” I cut her off just as her voice sped up into the early stages of a nerd rant. “You able to wrangle him?”

“Oh, he’s not that bad: he’s just not a military person and Istvan is driving him mad,” she replied breezily. “He’s a genius in his field, but that field isn’t like… here. Until now, he basically just lived at the university in Litvy. But his father died recently, and now he’s expected to be something he’s not.”

“Istvan is driving Soma mad?” I looked to Suri, who shrugged.

“Yeah. Soma says he drinks because he’s upset about his family, but he won’t talk about it to anyone or work through it. On top of that, Istvan just doesn’t take technology seriously and has a phobia of magic that has leaked down to the soldiers and made them scared of being cursed or Stranged. He’s absolutely crippled the engineers’ ability to do their jobs. Istvan wants these old-fashioned cannons and things, even though there’s much better equipment they could be using, and it costs lives every time the Demon assaults the Fort.”

“Right.” I reached out and wrapped an arm around Karalti’s shoulders as she snuggled in against my side. “We heard a totally different story from Istvan.”

“I know, right? The two of them can’t agree on anything. Istvan wants infantry and cavalry on the ground to take out the Demon’s mana sources, while Soma thinks he’s wasting lives. Explosives and turrets would be more efficient defenses against a giant shambling mob of zombies. The problem is, they’re both right. If Soma could just trust Istvan with the men and Istvan would let the engineers do their jobs, we could probably beat the undead back like… tomorrow. Except with those caravans being held up...”

“So you got the quest chain too?” Suri asked.

“Yeah, I did! But the combat ones are definitely too much for me,” the Mercurion replied. 

“I disagree,” Suri said. “Rin, we’ve got a tank, a striker, and... whatever Karalti is like this. We need ranged and magic support. Your turrets can take the heat off us with both. We really need you out there.”

“Umm... I don’t know.” There was a barely concealed note of panic in her voice. “I’d have to find a way to modify Lovelace and Hopper to be able to deal with mud, and we don’t have much time.”

“If you can do it tonight, do it.” I replied. “Suri’s right. You took that Combat Engineer class so you could go on adventures. We need you.”

“Okay,” Rin agreed reluctantly. “G-Give me like... until tomorrow morning. Soma has some amphibious traction designs here already. I can probably work something out.”

“Awesome. Also, we were talking about how to handle these side-quests. The plan is to go and fish Vash out of the swamp, then tackle some chores around the Fort. We’ll handle Istvan’s people and you handle Soma’s. Does that suit you?”

“Sure! There’s lot of yellow rings where I am here.”

‘Yellow rings’ were the floating side-quest markers that appeared around some people’s Coronas. “Great. Suri? Karalti? Sound good to you?”

Suri clapped her hands on her thighs. “Let’s do it, kids.”