Chapter 154: Relatives (Patreon)

Coop was standing out in the open, exposed without his ethereal equipment, wearing nothing but his under armor. Behind him, serving as his backdrop, there was a wingless plane fuselage still connected to a partially collapsed jet bridge, sitting on large flattened tires. The derelict was providing the nearest but limited shade. Coop had moved out of the way, toward the side of the airport terminals with the least activity, so that he could be hosed down, like he was some kind of muddy dog that wouldn’t be allowed inside until he was properly cleaned. Rather than grooming, it was more like he was a little kid playing among lawn sprinklers as evidenced by his giggling.

The warm water was a relief compared to the hot sun beating down on his shoulders and the heat radiating from the paved ground. The airport really lacked proper vegetation. All of the black tarmac of the intersecting runways magnified the warmth far beyond comfortable levels. In Coop’s opinion, Empress City needed a proper landscaper as soon as possible, before the residents had to suffer through the actual summer heat without the ocean breeze to provide relief. No wonder people had been miserable in the settlement. Being uncomfortable would have that effect on Coop as well.

After working through the morning and well into the day, hauling construction materials for the residents of Empress City, he ended up covered in sweat, dirt, and dust. He had even received a new affliction for a short period, called Overheating, that reduced all of his stats by 10% and added a minor HP drain until it expired. The affliction dropped off as soon as he took a break, and the drain on his health hadn’t been able to overcome his passive regeneration, but it was still a clear indicator that he was overdoing it. A simple dip into the canals at the golf course had given him some small solace after all of the fighting, but it didn’t compare to a proper shower. When it was break time at the airport, Charlie had been forced to take charge.

The Aeromancer had established her light healing rain with the intention of dousing Coop and letting him rinse off, but it really only managed to moisten his skin. No matter how much Coop encouraged her, she wasn’t willing to try one of her water blades, even if he blocked it with his shield, to see if it would splash, because she was scared that she would actually hurt him. Not even suggesting she aim for less vital areas was enough to convince her to give it a shot.

The pair managed to attract attention to themselves as they faced the dilemma of cleansing Coop together, with Coop trying to hype her up into launching more spells at him. It didn’t take long before random residents of Empress City had taken notice and joined in on the fun. Most were merely spectating the so-called legendary Nomad from the shade as he was splashed with water from various magical abilities.

“C’mon! Is that all you’ve got?” He taunted after a level 36 Blue Mage blasted him with a skill that summoned a person-sized tidal wave that rushed forward from her raised hand. He flicked his dripping hair out of his eyes and gestured with both hands for her to bring it on.

“I’m out of mana!” She complained with a disappointed laugh. The gathered crowd jeered at the latest individual to tap out while the next person tagged in.

A level 32 Hydropriest who channeled a jet of water from both hands enthusiastically took his turn. Coop laughed as a stream of water splashed against him, quickly turning around and spreading his arms so that it would collide with his back before it lost pressure. The residents had turned Coop’s rinsing into a game with his continued encouragement. They were essentially practicing with their abilities, not trying to hurt him, but learning to control some of their skills.

At least with water, it was all fun and games. Coop could probably do the same with other elements, given the level disparity and his formidable magic defense, but being doused with flames wouldn’t be nearly as delightful. In his opinion, they already had too much fear of him, and seeing him walk through flames or lightning would just compound the issue. They’d lived under leaders who relied on fear for too long already. Coop was inadvertently offering the opposite, introducing them to his own casual management style with his antics. As the founder of The Lighthouse faction, he was essentially the definitive ambassador, and they would be living within his territory, so his example would be noteworthy.

The fact that the atmosphere was so light-hearted was a welcome surprise to him. On some level, he knew it was his own influence permeating to those playing along, but it wasn’t something he had been consciously pursuing. His actions were a lot more selfish than that, where he simply wanted to have his own positive experiences and he was in a position that he couldn’t really be stopped from being unserious. The fact that others saw his sometimes whimsical behavior as an opportunity to join in was a simple bonus, or at most a side effect. Then the additional consequence that it alleviated some of their stress was essentially a happy accident. He was just the one to break the ice.

Turning what should have been a quick rinse into a carnival game dunk tank hadn’t been planned. If it was, they could have sold tickets, but instead they had ended up with a small crowd of people who were taking their own breaks from a day and a half of picking up the pieces of their settlement. Coop respected that these people were oddly resilient despite expectations. They had to be. They made it through the apocalypse despite not being able to take their fates into their own hands prior to that point. They kept riding the scenarios out, dealing with the changing developments with a quiet, dogged persistence that overcame their traumas. It seemed like a few recognized the extra chance they were being given by the sweeping changes that were taking place and they were embracing the shift.

The settlement of Empress City was still laying out its foundation, but the shape was already becoming clear. Coop had ended up helping residents as they concentrated on establishing a whole series of large administrative buildings along the roads that led into the pickup and drop off area of the airport, where the civilization shard was situated.

The buildings were the first manual builds of the new settlement. After their shacks and huts had been destroyed, a few were intent on creating much longer lasting structures, especially since they didn’t have to scavenge scrap materials and could instead use the mana generated materials from the first service buildings. They were already coordinating proper builds, planning amongst themselves as they volunteered to construct projects correctly using untapped pre-mana expertise. Rock and stone, unfamiliar wood, lumber, tile, shingles, iron, and alien steel, along with tools, were all being staged as the different, freshly established groups claimed the places of their future headquarters.

Coop wasn’t sure who had specifically come up with the idea, but smaller organizations had formed almost immediately after being given access to the shard. Profession related guilds were forming. They were the ones who were focused on building their headquarters along the centralized hub of the settlement. The Adventurer’s Guild concept from Ghost Reef, outlined by Marcus, had set off a chain reaction where others wanted to have the same kind of associations that it would provide.

They were struggling to move the materials and get started, still adapting to a lack of machinery, so Coop volunteered himself as a pack animal. He quickly established that he could haul more than enough for everyone. So, he ended up spending the entire morning moving enough construction materials to build two dozen livery halls, by himself, to the amusement of onlookers while others decided on how to proceed with building. With a settlement the size of Empress City, there were people of all walks of life, with experience to match, who were available to contribute. Unlike Ghost Reef, they had construction superintendents, foremans, and project managers making sure that the settlement would get off on the right foot.

In the meantime, the freshly forming guilds were actively recruiting new members. They were soliciting those still in line, waiting to receive their professions, by offering cooperative training, support, and the camaraderie that had been completely absent in the previous iteration of Empress City. It seemed like, for every crafting or gathering profession, there would be a guild. There was no scavenging specific guild forming, but the Guild of Foragers was a healthy size and seemed to be cornering the type of professions that Scavenging would fall under. Even Coop considered signing up for the benefits they promised.

While Coop carried massive piles of solid materials, Marcus was doing his best to help Fabiana establish rules for what would inevitably become a powerful group of collective voices in the city. In order to be properly recognized, the Guilds would need to submit themselves to a series of guidelines that would prevent abuses toward members and non-members alike, and clearly establish that the primary goals were to be beneficial to the settlement and its residents. Rather than competitive, they were being steered toward being entirely cooperative right from their inception.

One example that was already being bandied about was that all of the profession specific guild members would automatically register with the Adventurer’s Guild, establishing a duty to continue leveling for the shared benefit of strengthening the settlement. Coop thought it was a good way to incentivize leveling aside from the general expectation that had worked on the residents of Ghost Reef. He laid out the path, but other than that, leveling was purely voluntary back home.

Seeing the threats that they would be facing, such as through the siege event, was generally enough incentive for a small settlement where no one could shirk their responsibilities. In a much larger settlement, they had already proven it possible to let others take the brunt of the damage, letting simple luck carry them through each day. The rising leaders of Empress City would be attempting to stamp that attitude out with their fresh start.

Marcus seemed excited to have a council of unions and had already been developing rules for their own internal elections, overseen and authenticated by the city’s leadership as well as the rest of the council members. It was all way too much civics for Coop. He was glad to stick with grinding and the occasional series of manual labor tasks, even if he was interested in seeing what the results would turn up. Marcus displayed a professionalism that generated his own groupies among the residents of Empress City. They were eager to find ways to contribute on a diplomatic or administrative level and bring his vision to life. Coop’s influence was purely through vibes, but the odd combination between the Champion and the Viceroy seemed like a potent one for encouraging hope and action.

“Alright ladies! Show’s over!” Camila shouted, breaking up the circus that had formed around Coop’s dunk tank where everyone was a winner.

Several people booed at Camila but they slowly drifted away, heading back to work for the most part, laughing at the antics they had witnessed. Coop noted that several headed toward the new apartments and the dining options that had popped up among them. He wasn’t above checking out the Clumsy Shark’s peers, but the reminder of the venue back home was enough for him to shift his priorities.

“Are we ready to go?” Coop wondered, approaching Camila and Charlie as he shook off the moisture. He was feeling eager to get back to his own grind sessions. Providing simple assistance was all well and good, but he had other threats constantly lingering in the back of his mind, worrying him such that he didn’t want to allow his own progress to stall.

“Miss Camila!” An unfamiliar voice shouted, interrupting her response before she could vocalize it. “Mr. Coop!” The young man added as he worked his way against the flow of the dispersing crowd and rushed up toward Coop and the two girls. “Please come quick, Mr. Marcus, Commander Fabiana, and Subcommander Jackson need you.”

“What’s the problem?” Coop prompted, losing his nonchalance in an instant. The urgency of their messenger was enough to have him ready for battle, like a switch flipped that he wasn’t aware he had.

“They just told me to bring you right away!” The messenger exclaimed. “There were some injured people at one of the north gates, but they are really high level and they are asking about Ghost Reef.”

Coop nodded, casting Salvation to reequip his gladiator armor, and summoning his spear. “Which gate?” He asked as his gear solidified.

The messenger pointed and Coop launched his spear like a javelin thrower. One mistjump covered half of the airport, placing him near the inside of the gate that had been indicated. After another moment he identified Marcus, Jackson, and Fabiana. As he approached his advisor, Camila joined him, utilizing her own skills to cross the distance. Charlie and the messenger would take a bit longer as they were traveling without abusing abilities.

“What’s going on?” Coop queried Marcus, but he got his answer in the form of a shout from outside the gate.

“Listen! We just want some information. If you don’t open up, I’m gonna huff and I’m gonna puff, and I’m gonna blow this gate down!” A man with a distinct accent yelled, sounding less agitated and more arrogant and mischievous, as if he was enjoying himself too much to hide a smile.

Marcus responded to Coop anyway. “There are three level 75 ish people outside. Two women who are pretty severely injured and that pushy guy. They are looking for Ghost Reef and seem to suspect that this is it, even though the guards told them it wasn’t. They’re making a big enough stink that the guards came looking for Jackson for help.” Marcus put his hands out, not sure what to do about the threats, leaving it to Coop.

“I’ll see what they want.” Coop decided and walked up the steps to the top of the inside wall, which had a makeshift catwalk to give guards a vantage to the outside.

He took a look over the top edge of the scrap metal barrier and hesitated. Rather than feel intimidated by their posture, he was intimidated by their looks. Each of the strangers was more beautiful than the last. Coop felt himself stop and glance back at Camila who had followed him up, as he subconsciously associated the strangers’ beauty with her own. She was also looking outside, scowling at the other people.

“Oh, crap.” He heard her whisper to herself.

Coop raised an eyebrow and inspected the trio of strangers, unsure of what they had found, but staying guarded due to Camila’s reaction.

[Human (Level 77)]

[Streetsweeper (Strength)]

[Steadfast (Slugger)]

[Human (Level 75)]

[Shadowdancer (Agility)]

[Darkness (Chosen)]

[Human (Level 75)]

[Evoker (Intelligence)]

[Arcane (Nimble)]

“Cici!” The undeniably handsome Shadowdancer in the center of the strangers exclaimed, moving even closer to the wall.

The Shadowdancer’s slender jaw was covered with thick stubble, which was the only indication that he had been roughing it at all. There were no other signs of unintended dishevelment on his person. He looked up to where Camila had appeared on the top of the wall, and with a little flick of his head, his black hair rearranged itself in a way that would take hours to recreate intentionally. The man’s dark red shirt had one or two extra buttons undone from the top and both of his sleeves were rolled up his tanned forearms as he waved to get the other two strangers’ attention on Camila. The clearly injured Streetsweeper was practically carrying the Evoker, who was the worst off of the bunch, but the man wasn’t visibly injured at all.

Coop vaulted over the wall and landed in the man’s way, preventing him from approaching the rather feeble physical defenses of Empress City. The Shadowdancer was visibly dissatisfied, but ignored the interruption.

“What are you doing here, Carlos?” Camila demanded from above.

“Aw, don’t be like that.” Carlos whined back at her, ignoring Coop as he tried sidestepping around him.

When Coop matched his movement, the Shadowdancer glanced at him directly, like he was taking notice of a bug for the first time. Then, he activated a skill that caused him to shrink into his shadow and disappear, like he clipped through the earth. Coop followed his aura, having so much practice reflexively incorporating Presence of Mind thanks to the synergy with Fog of War.

The man’s aura jumped into Coop’s own shadow, behind him. Coop spun around and snatched the back of the man’s collar as soon as he reappeared, tossing him back toward the two women so he could keep them all in one place.

Carlos grunted as he slid in the dirt of the outer ring, right up to the feet of the other two women. “What the hell?” He muttered as he scrambled back to his feet, like he was ready to fight.

The Streetsweeper grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from doing anything else without a word or so much as a change in expression. She stood with perfect poise, but she had a torn cloth wrapped around her head that partially obstructed one eye. The white cloth was stained with blood on the right side of her forehead down to her eyebrow. Her dark, wavy hair was trimmed short, barely covering her ears and with the tips of her bangs curving to her cheekbones. Her left arm was held gently in a makeshift sling above a miniature baseball bat that was hanging through a belt loop at her hip. The Evoker steadied herself against her back, wincing with every shift as one of her legs seemed broken. A splint made of sticks was all that immobilized the limb. The Streetsweeper’s other arm held the Shadowdancer tight enough for him to wince.

“Ay! Alright, Gabby! I won’t! I get it!” Carlos complained with a pout as he tried to shift his whole body out of her grip, unsuccessfully.

“Inspect him.” The Streetsweeper ordered before she made eye contact with Coop, raising her voice to address him. “Sorry about him, I hope you can forgive his impertinence.”

Coop shrugged. “No harm, no foul.”

Camila hopped down during their little exchange, appearing next to Coop and put a soothing hand on his forearm. “It’s alright, they’re part of my family.” She reassured him as she hopped forward and embraced the Streetsweeper in a tight hug after bypassing Carlos.

“That’s right!” Carlos declared. “Who’s this guy, Cici? You got a boyfriend and didn’t even tell us?” He asked while Camila hugged the Evoker, then held her at arm’s length, expressing concern over her injuries.

Instead of responding, she gave him a kiss on the cheek as she dodged and moved back to Coop’s side to introduce the trio from his shoulder. She indicated the Streetsweeper. “That’s my cousin Gabriela.” The woman tilted her head slightly, expression remaining as neutral as it had been ever since he first saw her. Camila gestured to the Evoker. “That’s Tia Sofia.” The woman gave a little wave causing her to hop and brace against Gabriela again. “And the loudmouth is another cousin, Carlos.”

“That’s right, I’m the favorite cousin.” Carlos boasted. “Now, who’s this guy?”

“I’m Coop.” Coop greeted them with a warm smile. “Nice to meet you.” The women gave him friendly smiles in return, as if his name confirmed their suspicions, but Carlos crossed his arms suspiciously.

“Are you guys alright?” Camila asked, referring to the obvious injuries.

Gabriela bowed her head one time. “We just need some rest, but first what we came for.” She looks at Camila with a serious expression that was only slightly different from her previous stoicism. “Tita would like for you to come home.”

“Of course she does.” Camila sighed, already exasperated. “She actually sent you all the way down here just for that?” She clicked her tongue against her teeth. “And look what happened!”

“Not just here!” Carlos piled on, apparently aligning more with Camila’s stance than the others’. “We were going to have to go to Australia next, assuming Platinum didn’t find you in Colorado first.” Carlos turned back to the women with his hands on his hips, puffing himself up. “Do you think we beat Platinum? If we did, she owes me a date.”

“She didn’t agree to that.” Gabriela clarified in a tone that made it seem unequivocal. “Besides, she obviously has a thing for Neon, but now isn’t the time or place.”

Coop interjected before the little family reunion continued. “Why don’t you come inside? We can find somewhere comfortable for you guys to start resting.” He suggested, waving at Marcus for the gate to be opened.

“Come on, we’ll sit down and talk.” Camila waved them along.