HC:Pacifist | Ch. 62 - Garrison (Patreon)

Roth was shocked at how fast the Gazpachos had sent someone to intimidate him. It looked like they were keeping an eye on Soros. No wonder the man who told him where to find Golden Mountain Inc. had seemed so afraid of being overheard. That showed that they were either making an example out of him or that he was someone they feared. He looked at the notification he'd received after encountering those two players.

Mind your business, and don't cause trouble; the Gazpachos will come for you.

-20 reputation with the Gazpachos.

This was his first time receiving a negative reputation bonus for helping someone else. Things in this city were more complicated than in the woods. As he drew closer to factions here, he would make enemies.

His sympathy for Soros only grew. He would have to find a way to sneak into Golden Mountain Inc. the next time he came for a visit so that the Gazpachos couldn't see him.

Roth was glad that Soros's quest sent him to the Garrison. He was planning to go there anyway. He hoped he would find an item or a quest that would allow him to hide his appearance from other players. His safety depended on it.

Roth considered whether he should return to the sewers and try to get to the garrison that way or walk there now. The truth was that even if he wanted to, he couldn't activate [Miniaturize]. He had to wait for 20 hours before being able to squeeze through the bars of a drain again. He tried one of the sewer lids in the street but found it was locked and that he couldn't lift it.

There had to be a better way to enter and exit the sewers. He made a mental note to investigate this further after visiting the garrison. At least, over there, he would have a mountain of soldiers who wouldn't let players attack him recklessly. Even if they had special items to avoid detection, Roth doubted anyone would dare to cause trouble.

Roth traveled the streets of the city toward the castle uptown. Even though Roth had already left Merchant Street, horses, oxen, and camels could be seen pulling cars everywhere around town.

He'd seen photos in the forums with all sorts of rides. Some were bionic constructs; others were cool-looking hoverbikes. There had been a player who had an elephant and another who had a jetpack. He had seen that player flying a giant golden hawk that one time too, didn't he? There had to be a stable or something like that where players bought rides. Perhaps, one day soon, he would get one too. It would help him greatly with his broker profession.

As he observed the animals around him, Roth suddenly stopped. Hadn't all of the animals in the game become intelligent? Roth felt as if he'd been struck by lightning. It wouldn't make sense for some animals to become intelligent and others to remain clueless. Then, how were humans still using them to carry goods around?

Roth decided that waiting a few minutes wouldn't hurt or increase the chances of being spotted by Loki's hounds. He couldn't resist the urge to check this out, even if it did. He patiently waited as he sought one lone horse or an isolated camel. It was easier said than done. They were all in constant movement and most of them were in groups.

Finally, he saw a chance to experiment. He saw a merchant riding a lone camel, stopping in front of a building and disappearing into it. Roth approached the camel slowly and carefully. The last thing he wanted was to be misinterpreted as a camel thief or someone causing trouble. But since he had the Martyr title and a righteous alignment, he doubted that the merchant would call the guards on him if he saw him talking to his animal.

As he came closer, the camel looked up and faced him squarely. Roth stretched out his hands, letting the camel smell him. If his racial effect worked for every animal, this would be a good way to start contact.

It's the first time you're interacting with the camel race. Plus 50% bonus to your charisma.

System Notification: Your charisma is over 250. You have unlocked the bonus [Silver Tongue].

System Notification: Your charisma is over 300. You have unlocked the bonus [NPC appeal]

It was time to see if the camels in this game were intelligent.

"Hello, can you understand me?"

The camel leaned its head to one side and then to the other. Roth caught a glimmer of intelligence in the animal's eyes, but before he could prod any further, he was surprised by the swift return of its owner.

"Excuse me, sir, can I help you?"

"No, not at all. I'm a broker and I was appreciating your camel. It seems to be very well taken care of."

"Oh yes, I got them from the Sun Desert." Roth sighed in relief, seeing the merchant's easygoing attitude. The last thing he wanted was to call attention to himself in the middle of the street. "They are incredible beasts. They can go for weeks without drinking. They're meek and obedient. Everything that a merchant can ask for."

"Are camels... intelligent creatures?"

The merchant raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Do they... talk?"

"Ahaha. Good one, stranger. I see. You have a good sense of humor. That's a good asset for a merchant. Well done." Roth felt lost as to what to say. If all animals in this game were intelligent, were they OK with carrying goods around from one place to another?

"Yes, yes. Just a joke. Sorry if I bothered you."

"That's okay. All the best for your business. Hut-hut!" The merchant screamed, and the camel took off. Roth followed the departing animal with his eyes. He thought he had seen some intelligence in the eyes of the camel, but maybe it was just wishful thinking. He shouldn't have wasted his time with this. Frustrated, he kicked off the dust, only to see something that caused him to gasp.

The camel had written with his hooves a message in the sand. "Help us." Roth looked back urgently toward the camel. His eyes then searched the many caravans of camels walking around him. What was happening in here? Why did the camel need help? The merchant had seemed so lovely. What was happening in here? He hadn't received a quest, but he couldn't stop looking at the message written on the ground.

Why did the camel write... of course. He couldn't still understand it. He didn't speak the camel language.

The list of things to do was only increasing. Roth would have to look into this later. He had wasted enough time already. He needed to ensure his safety. He couldn't help anyone if he were dead.

*

Perched atop a commanding hill, the guarded citadel of Hilsford loomed over the bustling city below. With its gleaming white walls, the citadel stood in contrast against the blue sky.

Delicate tendrils of vegetation gracefully climbed the walls, their green tones contrasting against the stark white stone. The striking combination beautifully added to the natural theme that marked this as a city of Green Country.

As Roth approached the garrison, the sound of sentries marching in precise cadence resonated through the air. At the gates, guards clad in gleaming armor stood to watch at strategic points, their watchful eyes surveying the gate below and the city beyond.

Flags bearing the city's emblem fluttered proudly in the wind. The emblem was two golden hills, with a white castle in the middle in a field of green, referencing the terrain that distinguished this city from the others in the region.

Roth reached the ample courtyard. It was windier and chillier here because of how high they were. Perhaps, the soldiers appreciated this, given the heavy clothing they had to wear to perform their duties. The atmosphere was thick with purpose as soldiers carried out their duties. He saw barracks, armories, and command centers.

Roth liked the simplicity of this place. There were no bells and whistles. Like most military constructs, the fort favored functionality and had no lavish decorations or flourishes to the basic architecture. The only decoration was the one that nature had painted in it, with little pockets of moss and plants dressing the walls like veins.

The castle of the garrison was impressive. Its towers were the city's tallest point, providing a 360º terrain view. Roth wondered if he could go up one of the fortress' towers one day to look at all the surrounding landscape. The view from up there had to be breathtaking. Undoubtedly, he would have to unlock a relationship with the garrison before being granted access there.

In this part of town, armored warriors could be seen everywhere. Some carried spears, others axes, but most stuck to swords. Roth's eyes stopped curiously on a player who looked different from the rest. Instead of metal armor, he wore a simple leather vest and had a two-handed sword on his back.

Roth smirked. He could tell right away that he was a berserker. In another life, that could have been him very easily. He had always played classes that didn't care about defense and went for a pure attack build.

Typically, the more damage a berserker received, the stronger they became. It was an elegant class because it required activating life-saving skills with impeccable timing and always dancing on the blade's edge, playing with the hit point bar in the red. Roth shook his head. That was another Roth. This time, there were no blades on his hand, only cuts.

A line of players stood in front of the citadel. Some warriors stroke conversations with each other, while classless players conversed with the guards so that they could unlock their warrior quest.

According to the forums, players had to do a full day of recruit training with several activities, drills, and even a spar battle to become warriors. They would unlock their class if they won the spar against one of the other applicants. If they didn't, they had to start over. Good players usually got in on their first try. Others needed several tries before being lucky enough to face a weaker player.

Once upon a time, Roth would have probably been among these warriors. He had enjoyed being in the center of all action and using his hands to bash his adversaries. Just thinking about it now made Roth sick. He wasn’t interested in any of it. He tried to talk to one of the guards:

“Hello, guard; I was wondering if I could speak with someone in charge of peacekeeping?”

This is your first time interacting with a soldier of the garrison. Charisma bonus activated.

System Notification: Your charisma is over 250. You have unlocked the bonus [Silver Tongue].

System Notification: Your charisma is over 300. You have unlocked the bonus [NPC appeal]

The garrison soldiers feel in you a commanding presence and an assertive demeanor. +67 reputation with the garrison of Hilsford.

Roth looked at all the buffs and smiled. Since this was the first time he met this faction, he received a massive boon for his charisma. That, coupled with [Fox Form], made him irresistible.

*

Xana had been spending her days patroling Hilford with her drones. As a Robotician, a variation of the medic profession, she had observation skills that relied on her drones. She had one of the classes with the broadest range in her observation but on the other hand, the skills didn't give much information and could easily be jammed.

Her drones could pick up targets as far as 500 meters. Had it not been for Gary's crazy stunt, she would have been able to afford a more powerful set of drones that could give her an increased radius of 750 meters. Cursed be Gary. He was getting so fidgety that he saw Roth in every shadow.

She was sitting on the roof of a building. As an engineer, Xana tried to find the most optimal way of solving problems. She figured that by sitting in this location, and she could have one drone patrolling the garrison and the other patrolling one of the city's main streets.

It was so boring to be here hour in, hour out. Her bracelets started buzzing. The system alert she had programmed notified her that the drones had located the player she'd been hunting for. After so many weeks without turning up any results in their search, she was momentarily lost on what to do.

Regaining composure, she leaped off the building, slowing her fall with her jetpack. At the same time, she called up the squad on a group call.

"Gary! Wilson! He's in Hilsford! He's in Hilsford. It's as you guessed, Gary. He's in the garrison."

"Don't lose sight of him. On my way!"

"On my way too!"

Finally, they found Roth. Now they could fix the problem and return to playing the game. They would catch him, bring him into a kill zone, and kill him repeatedly until he promised them he would be willing to reset his character and start somewhere else. They didn't care where he went. The only thing that couldn't happen was for him to keep playing with his Pax avatar.

With bursts of her jetpack, Xana quickly arrived at the garrison. She followed the warnings she was receiving from her drone and honed in on Roth. She wanted to scream but stopped herself. Rock was entering the citadel, accompanying a guard just as they had suspected! He had become a warrior! That was the only explanation for him to be granted access to the inside of the fortress.

She clicked her tongue. That meant that out of the three of them, only Wilson could follow him inside the fortress. She dared not send an attack at Roth or send a drone in. The guards would pulverize her. These NPCs were much higher-leveled than she was.

She would stay out here and ensure she followed Roth from afar when he left the fortress. He was perhaps turning in a quest or going in to learn a skill from a warrior NPC. She would stay put and wait for Wilson and Gary to arrive.

Ch. 61 - The Gazpacho Family

INDEX

Ch. 63 - Peacekeeper Josh