Dark Fate, Book 7 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.

BagOTrix: OK, who stirred up the damn orcs?

shadow_clone23: What, the tribe that went and took over East Cobb? What happened with them?

BagOTrix: Don’t know what happened, but their war boss just led a whole fuckton of them down into Sandy Springs!

daytrader: What levels are they at?

BagOTrix: The main troops are level 15. The boss is level 20, and they’re absolutely wrecking shit!

FusionGal: Isn’t Sandy Springs where the religious types holed up, claiming god would save them?

FullServiceMassage: Well, maybe if they weren’t always cracking down on massage parlors, they would be more relaxed.

RadicalEdward: Not the point, and not the time. Are the orcs pressing on, or are they consolidating their gains?

BagOTrix: Pretty sure they’re looking for someone. Said they were looking for the ‘Humie in black’.

Faraday: Interesting. I wonder what this guy did to set them off.

DarkLord: Ah, that would probably be me. I was passing through, and they were less than pleased to see me. Said something about killing me and taking my girls as party favors. So we killed a bunch of them, until the leader ran off like a little bitch, and continued on our way.

Angelus: You were ‘just passing through’ the orc den?

DarkLord: Yeah, I got called in to consult with some missing persons cases up in Kennesaw, because they thought there was some System-related shit going on. And with 285 out of commission…

Angelus: You had to go around. Makes sense, then. What about the missing persons? You find them?

DarkLord: Yeah, and there was System shit going on, up in the state park. We managed to shut down what was luring people in, but the guardian used the missing people to heal himself. They didn’t make it, but neither did he.

Angelus: Damn. But the threat is gone, right?

DarkLord: Yes. The lure, and the cause behind it, have been removed, so it is as safe to walk through the park as it is anywhere, considering what is going on.

THE_MERCHANT: Any interesting drops?

DarkLord: None I’ll be selling, sorry. The orcs didn’t have anything worth taking, and the drop from the guardian was too sweet to toss away.

THE_MERCHANT: By your standards? That’s saying something.

DarkLord: It had several immunities on it.

THE_MERCHANT: Ah, that would definitely do it.

BagOTrix: Forget that, what are you going to do about the orcs?

DarkLord: Nothing.

BagOTrix: WHAT? How could you! It is your fault that they’re rampaging!

DarkLord: No, it isn’t.

BagOTrix: You just admitted that you killed some of them!

DarkLord: In self-defense, yes. And that doesn’t make me responsible for their actions after I’ve gone.

BatOTrix: What?!?

DarkLord: Did I stutter?

BagOTrix: But—

DarkLord: No, no buts. I am not responsible for people deciding to just leave the orcs there, getting stronger, instead of working to push them out. They would have raided eventually, because that is what orcs do.

BagOTrix: You heartless bastard!

DarkLord: Stop being a Karen, get some people together, and take the fight to them. You’ve had plenty of time to gain levels. Orcs are strong, but they’re not unbeatable.

RamblingWreck: Oof. Harsh, man.

DarkLord: You people have to realize that the world has fucking changed, man. It is back to dog-eats-dog. You can’t just demand to speak to a supervisor, and complain until they do what you want just so you’ll fuck off somewhere else. Pick up a weapon, learn your class and profession, and make something of yourself.

Faraday: So, what would you suggest about the orcs?

DarkLord: Two ways to go about it. First, you try and take out the boss, fast. The boss dies, the rest will start squabbling amongst themselves to see who is the new boss. Problem is, the boss is the biggest and baddest of the orcs, so he isn’t likely to get taken down quick, unless you have multiple assassin types of around his level.

Faraday: OK, what’s the other way?

DarkLord: You have the tankiest person around, with a healer and some support, go and try to survive against the boss, while everyone else dogpiles the rest, taking them out as quickly as possible. When they’re dead, everyone focuses on the boss.

DoritoMan: I’m not liking the way you say ‘just try to survive’.

DarkLord: That’s because this is not a game, and there are no respawns. Sure, there’s some magic that can raise up the fallen, but that is basically borrowing power from other sources.

D.VaLuvr69: You fought the orcs before, so why not help out now?

DarkLord: Because Karen over there wasn’t asking for help. She was asking—no, DEMANDING that someone come in and solve things for her. Like it was OWED to her or something. People need to get it through their heads that this world is fucking dangerous, and they need to be able to solve problems themselves.

Scholar: So, where does this leave the people in Sandy Springs?

DarkLord: They can either band together, fight, and maybe die, they can surrender, and pray for death, or they can run. But if they run, they’ll never stop running, because there will never be a safe place in this world again. Not in our lifetimes.

abby_gail: So, basically, fight and try to survive, or run and hope someone else will protect you?

DarkLord: Pretty much. But things are going to get worse before they get better, and people who can’t at least help in the defense are going to be dead weight.

bento: What about those who don’t have combat classes?

DarkLord: I never said they had to fight on the front lines. A crafter can do a lot to keep the fighters in functioning arms and armor. Classes more suited to gathering and maintaining supplies are essential in the long term. Those who have money or excess supplies can hire others to fight. There are plenty of ways to help. But you can’t go demanding that random strangers do everything for you, getting nothing in return.

RainyDaze: So, what would it take to get you to help?

DarkLord: Now, THAT is the proper question.