They both then stood there with the cell phone faces on, calculating what classes they wanted to be. It was really unfair that they didn’t have enough information to really make an informed choice, but I was gathering it up. Hopefully, the next person I was asked to help would have better luck deciding because I’d have better information to prepare them with. Which reminded me, I had a question for Miles.

“Miles,” I asked using my inside voice, “is there some difference between classes other than their primary and secondary attributes?”

The little guy appeared, this time looking more substantial, more like a real being that he had before and said, “Yes.”

I waited for a bit, but apparently, that little nugget was all he was going to pass on to me, so I asked, “What is the difference between a mage and a cleric?”

He just stood there quietly, so I figured that wasn’t the right question. It was evidently a question on the do not tell list.

“What are the characteristics of a mage?” I asked.

“A mage is defined by their mana. They can easily learn most lower elemental spells. They can also learn greater elemental sphere spells if they are capable of mastering the appropriate sphere. They can learn scribing, scroll making, magical wand or staff making, artifact or other magical item creation. They can not learn alchemy, potion making or pill making.”

“Can mages learn to heal?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, “some mages can learn and cast basic healing spells; however, advanced healing spells are beyond them.”

“Can a mage cure warts?” I asked.

“No,” he replied.

“Can a mage make a person grow two inches,” I asked.

“No,” he replied.

“Can a mage heal a broken arm?” I asked.

“No, only cuts, bruises, or punctures can be healed by a mage,” he answered. “Skin can be grown together, bleeding can be stopped, holes in organs can be repaired if the spell is high enough of a level. Advanced healing is beyond them.”

“Can a mage remove a curse or other permanent debuff?” I asked.

“If the curse is cast from the lower elemental realm such as petrify, then it is possible for the curse to be broken.”

“Could a mage cut off the wart and then heal the skin?” I asked and Miles vanished.

‘I have got to learn to not try to game the system,’ I thought. ‘And I wonder if there a time limit before I can call him back? Am I in an information penalty box for a couple of hours or do I just need to change the subject? Next time think before you ask stupid questions!’

Just then Big Mike turned to Consuelo and smiled at her. I saw her come to a final decision and then she smiled back. “Ok,” I asked both of them, “what did you select?”

Big Mike looked at Consuelo again, waiting and then evidently received one of those couple’s ‘you first signals’ because he said, “I went multi-class like you Monsoon. I selected Mage and then I selected Knight as well. I will be a Paladin Mage and be able to kill any of these fucking monsters. I originally was only going to take Knight, but then I remembered your stories of your fights with the rats and squirrels, even that vulture. It was clear that magic played a big part in your survival. It was a huge force multiplier. I wanted that. What did you take, mama?” he asked Consuelo.

“I too decided to go multi-class. I also select Mage. I wanted my babies to be safe and I thought the best way to make them safe is to kill everything that threatens them. And I selected Alchemist as well. I didn’t want to run out of mana and leave my babies in danger, so I selected it too. I will make potions, I will use the potions to help me kill things that threaten my family. I will not lose another daughter.” There was a pause there as we all took a metaphorical knee to figure out how to respond. Don’t mess with a mother bear’s cubs.

“Ok,” I said, understanding her pain, but not equipped to deal with it, “you both should have a lot of free points to distribute now. When you select your class, you get a ton of free stats as well as all of the primary and secondary stats that come with the class. Go ahead and distribute the free points.” Of course, then we had to explain how to do the assigning of the free points to them and listen while they were shocked at how much their stat points had gone up. Their badges had changed: Big Mike, Level 2, HP124; Consuelo, Level 2, HP107;

In addition to their stats, they both got the standard three spells, but different ones than we’d received. That was good though, it increased the number of spells available to our party. He got Force Bolt and another two spells that none of us had received yet, Sonic Boom and Grease. She got Force Bolt as well, pretty much confirming that it was handed out to every starting mage, and then two other spells that were new to us: Acid Splash and Mend. ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ I thought when I heard the names of their spells. Grease was always one of my favorite spells in the games I played. Coupled with a fire spell, it reduces mobility and causes damage, sometimes a lot of damage. Mend was a spell that I’d been wanting for a while, it was the reason that I had collected all of my broken arrows, not to mention my shield! Sonic Boom sounded interesting and Acid Burst was an old standby. Practically every game had some version of it.

By this time the sun was setting. It was about 4:45 in the afternoon. The shadows were growing in the woods and the birds had begun to calm down. And, of course, the mosquitoes came out. I wasn’t sure why they weren’t present last night, maybe They were taking it easy on us, but they were out in force tonight.

“Momma,” said Baila. “I don’t like these bugs!”

Her mom looked at her helplessly and then looked at the girls and I. I couldn’t remember any of the games I played having bugs in them except nightmarishly giant ones so I didn’t have any spell ideas. Burst of Citronella? Minor Poison Cloud? Harden Skin? Gust of Wind? Campfire Haven?

I said, “Why don’t you girls take Roxie into the teepee and play with her there while we get a fire started? That should work to help get rid of these bugs. And start cooking dinner?”

“OK,” she said. “Is that squirrel going to be dinner?”

“Baila, vamanos!” her mom said, so she did, they both did, stepping into the teepee. As I closed the flap, I cast a couple of light spells inside to light up the interior, accompanied by a couple of yells of ‘that’s so cool’ from the inside.

They were right though, the mosquitos were bad. You could almost see them coming out of the woods. I suppose it was too much to hope for an apocalypse with no pests. ‘Oh God’, I thought. ‘Palm-sized deer ticks’.

I quickly pulled some wood from the stack that the girls had created and lit it using my Firebolt spell. The fire started and began smoking, some of the wood being relatively wet and green. “Ok,” I said. “Does anyone have any herbs that will drive away bugs? Or any ideas about how to deal with them? It’s not Florida swamp bad, but there are a lot more skeeters out tonight than I remember the last time I was in the woods.”

“Yeah,” said Big Mike. “I went camping with some friends in June, we didn’t get near this many.”

“Must be another gift from the Event,” I said.

“I got a skill,” said Consuelo. “It’s called Herbalism, it’s supposed to help me locate plants with special properties. I could go look for something.”

“Neat skill, but no. I say nobody’s going in the woods at night. I know that I’m not the boss of you all, but we got attacked by giant squirrels today. I hate to think about what’s prowling there now. Lord, a friend once had an owl take her Jack Russell Terrier. She let it out of the house into her front yard and the bird just grabbed it by the neck. Never even slowed down. I imagine that there are owls big enough to take us in those woods. We can all go tomorrow. Hey, that reminds me, what other skills did you two receive?”

“I got Swordsmanship Rank Bronze, Level 1, 2/25. I also got Shields Rank Bronze, Level 1, 2/25. I also got Horsemanship Rank Bronze, Level 1, 2/25. It’s crazy. I now know the basics of swordsmanship and how to block with a shield, how to bash someone with it, and even how to ride. Not only that, I know how to care for a horse, what to feed him, how to walk him after a run, how to check his feet and teeth, how to braid his tail and mane, how to inspect his feet to make sure the shoes are still good, how to clean them, hell, I even know what the frog is and that I need to be careful with it. Don’t run my pick into it too hard or I can hurt his feet. Monsoon, I’ve never ridden a horse before. I grew up in Chicago. Damn this apocalypse is weird. Marine dress uniforms, I’ve handled a sword before. I’ve also done some saber training, done a little Kendo for fun with one of my buddies who was super into it. Shields, I’m used to. I completed Riot Control training at Camp Lejeune, so it’s not that big a deal that now I know more, but horses. Man, the closest I’ve been to a horse was in Tulsa’s Veteran’s Day parade, holding Dominica and letting her pet a mounted police officer’s horse. Now I’m pretty sure, no I’m sure, I could saddle that horse and ride it over a jump.” His face looked a little wild by the time he’d finished.

“Hey,” I said. “Calm down. You’re a knight! Knights and horses go together like cowboys and horses. Give it time and you won’t even notice that the knowledge is there,” I said, not knowing for sure, but wanting to de-stress the man. “Speaking of which, I wonder if cowboy’s a class? Is Indian?” I asked. “Sorry, my mind just goes there. So what skills besides Herbalism did you get, Consuelo?”

“I got one more skill and one ability,” she said. “The ability is called ‘Alchemist’s Flame’ and the skill is called ‘Ingredient Refining’. Just like Mike, I suddenly know all of this information that I never had before. I know that there is a plant in the woods, a new plant called Insect Bane, that I can refine to make a lotion that will keep the bugs away from whoever wears it. A good lotion. You rub it on you, it will last 24 hours. It smells of flowers and will keep ticks, mosquitoes, horse flies, deer flies, even fleas off of you. I know all of the steps of the refining. I know how to use a furnace or even a Wok to refine the plant. I know how to create a flame,” and here she held up her hand and stretching up into the air above her palm was about a 15 cm flame that started out orange, turned yellow then became blue, “and even control its temperature. How do I know this?” And here everyone looked at me. Again.

“It’s ok,” I said. “Don’t worry. It like a free gift from Them. They created the classes and They created the knowledge we need to do the classes. It’s basic knowledge. You’ll use it and it will grow as you get better at your class. This is just starter stuff. Can you make a Lesser Potion of Healing?”

She nodded yes.

“Can you make a Medium Potion of Healing?” I asked.

She thought very briefly and then shook her head no. “Not yet,” she said.

“Can you make a ‘Minor Potion of Sustenance’?” I asked.

Her gaze turned inward and she appeared to be really stretching for the answer. “Nope,” she finally answered. “My flame control would probably not be steady enough. And I’m not clear about the ingredients I’d need. I think I know, but I’m not sure. I’ve got a way to go”

“See,” I said. “Basic abilities, basic knowledge. If you want to get better, you have to do it yourself. Just like in old-Earth. Genius is 99% perspiration. They gave us a little bit, They expect us to do more.”

“How do you know?” she asked.

“Because they got upset with the loss of people. I don’t know what they want, but it’s more than just watching us squirm and die. They have some goals for us, we just don’t know what they are. But, I don’t care. What I want is to live. I want to live with my family and friends beside me. I want us to be healthy and strong. I want to be loved and to love. If what They want doesn’t conflict with that, then I don’t care what they want. They can have their big plans. I don’t care.”

Big Mike asked then, “And what if it does?”

“Then we’re gonna tussle,” I said. Looking around, I saw from everybody's faces that they agreed with me.