Dark Fate, Book 5 Prologue (Patreon)

Prologue – Trade Chat

(Community Building and Civil Defense Chat, formerly Life in the City Chat Room)

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

FusionGal: Oh my god! Did you hear about the people who were trapped in the mall ever since System Day?

DoritoMan: Wait, that was a real thing? I thought it was just some joke, like the Onion, or that orange guy saying he won a second term!

FusionGal: No, it really happened! My friend Becky’s brother was in the System Shop when they started coming out!

abby_gail: Friend of a friend story, then?

THE_MERCHANT: Actually, this one is true.

shadow_clone23: Wait, really? How in the fuck did those people survive in a dungeon for a month? And why didn’t they leave?

THE_MERCHANT: Yes, really. And, apparently, they were trapped in the mall during what they believed to be a zombie apocalypse. By the time they had beaten back enough of the zombies that they could think about escape, the dungeon had already established itself, and spawned a boss right outside the place they were hiding out.

DoritoMan: How many were there?

THE_MERCHANT: Twenty survived the initial outbreak of zombies. Twelve were left by the time they were discovered.

shadow_clone23: That still brings up the question of how they stayed alive for a month. I seriously doubt they all had rations just stored away for a month.

THE_MERCHANT: DarkLord, you want to take this one?

DarkLord: Might as well.

FullServiceMassage: Wait, you mean to say DarkLord is the one who went and beat the dungeon?

DarkLord: I am. Though the fighting got a bit more difficult than I expected towards the end.

DoritoMan: So, how did those people survive in the dungeon for a month?

DarkLord: Well, one of them was lucky enough to get turned into a Vampire when the System started up. The zombies ignore the undead, so the vampire traded their ability to go gather supplies for the blood she needed to survive.

Rabbit: Wait, a vampire? A real vampire? Do they sparkle?

Angelus: Rabbit, I’m going to kill you if you mention that dumpster fire again.

Rabbit: Oh, come on, the movies weren’t that bad!

DarkLord: Yes, they were. The only way you can say the movies weren’t bad is if you’re comparing them to the books. I’ve seen porn movies with better writing and a more riveting plot than those massive piles of shit.

Rabbit: Oh, come on!

DarkLord: No. And, frankly, everything about that story was fucked up. Immortal vampire goes picking up depressed high school girl? You might be thinking ‘romantic’, but what you should be thinking is ‘that’s fucking creepy’ and ‘that guy is a predator’. And don’t get me started on the middle-aged women that went nuts for it. If it had been a bunch of middle-aged guys swooning over a much younger girl, people would be calling the police.

daytrader: Oh, man. You don’t pull punches, do you?

DarkLord: Hey, I haven’t even started on the ‘romantic’ abusive relationship fanfic that they had to make into it being a rich guy instead of a vampire so they wouldn’t get sued.

DarkLord: Anyways, the people managed to survive by rationing what food they could scrounge from the food court and different vending machines. Unfortunately, the miasma caused problems there.

jenny8675309: Miasma?

DarkLord: It is something that collects when large groups of Undead are around. Basically, it corrupts things. The longer the undead are somewhere, the more the miasma, and if they’re bottled up, like in the mall, the miasma starts to get stronger.

Scholar: What effects does this miasma have?

DarkLord: Basically, consider anything tainted by the miasma to be toxic to some degree, depending on the strength of the miasma, and how long it has been exposed. Takes a week or two under normal conditions to start tainting things. So, if you just go into an undead dungeon and back out, then the things you brought with you won’t be a problem. Trying to grab some Nikes of the shelf in the dungeon and wearing them every day would be a bad idea, unless you have someone who can purify them.

Scholar: So, this is like a contact poison?

DarkLord: Contact and inhaled. Slow acting, with effects building up over time.

Scholar: Then, the survivors?

DarkLord: They were starting to show the first signs of miasma poisoning, yes. They were lucky, since the dungeon took over the whole mall, which meant the miasma had a lot of space to fill before it could start concentrating. They’ll be fine in a few days.

Scholar: What happens if it goes untreated?

DarkLord: Depends. According to the System, extended exposure can result in things like organ failure, hair loss, death, and undeath. And not the pretty kinds of undeath. Then you got the REALLY nasty shit.

RamblingWreck: Well, shit. At least the survivors got out before that.

bento: So, what does this mean for people who are diving the dungeon?

DarkLord: Don’t stay too long. Don’t eat or drink anything you find in the dungeon without running it by a priest or someone else who can detect tainted items first. Loot given by the System is fine, usually, but stuff just lying around? Check it, always.

D.VaLuvr69: Hey, what can you tell us about the boss fights? You said they were tough?

DarkLord: The early bosses basically combine a zombie that likes to jump down on you and claw at your eyes, and zombies that spit acid. Not too bad, if you know what you’re doing. Then you have a pair of zombies with nasty claws that have armor penetration, so they can just ignore any armor you’re wearing. Best to have someone quick and agile keep their attention. And then, there’s the boss.

RamblingWreck: What is the boss like?

DarkLord: Picture Hulk, on steroids, but he skipped leg day for the last few years. Big bastard has a ‘crushing’ effect, so it deals a percentage-based minimum amount of damage on anything it hits that is smaller than it, regardless of defenses. And one hit knocked me across the food court, into a wall.

RamblingWreck: Well, shit.

DarkLord: Fortunately, it is dumber than a sack of hammers, so if you have someone who can keep its attention without dying, the rest of the party can burn it down.

bento: So, is this dungeon like the ones in stories, where the monsters respawn periodically?

DarkLord: Yes, but it takes time. So, sending people too close together will just result in everyone getting less experience and loot. But that is a problem for somebody else.