Chapter Six

Interlude The Pentagon Arlington County, Virginia.

The General, a dark skinned Great Orc, stood in a conference room on the bottom floor of the Pentagon, He held two 20-pound sledge hammers, one in each hand, and was wearing a mix of medieval armor and modern camouflage. The General considered the remains of what used to be Lieutenant General Ritter, U.S. Army. It should not have been like this, but too many had given in to the changes forced upon them, acting like the things they were turned into. Which was bullshit. It was harder to quit smoking, and after about six hours the impulses faded away to almost nothing. Kneeling he went through the loot and General Frank D. Harrington found what he was looking for.

Congratulations you have recovered the final shard to the Pentagon Core.

Combine the shards?

“Yes.”

Quest Complete. {We stand united...}

Experience 182(50,000/274) The Pentagon Core.

Core Owner: Frank D Blackfist

Core Activation in 7 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes and 14 seconds.

“Damn it.” His family name was Harrington, not Blackfist. Looking to his people he said, “Did all of you get the core activation timer?” A chorus of “Yes sir.” and “Yes General.” answered him. He had shared the quest with all his people to give them some extra motivation. Standing up he looked his people in the eyes and asked “Tell me one of you found Ritter’s phylactery? Don’t need him coming back.”

“Yes, General.” Msgt Green was a gorgeous redheaded wood elf, she walked up to him holding a black box.

“Master Sergeant Green, would you do the honors?”

“Thank you General!” Master Sergeant Green knelt and drew a dagger with a glowing white blade. Flipping open the box, she drove the glowing dagger into the still beating heart of the lich once known as Lt. General Ritter, U.S. Army.

“All right people, the Pentagon is ours again. I want an all hands meeting in two hours. Colonel Marston.”

“Sir!” Colonel Marston, a tall human with ebony skin replied.

“I recovered a ring of detect evil intent off Ritter, it should help when screening the prisoners. Here take it.” The General handed the ring to Colonel Marston. “You and your team are excused from the meeting for prisoner interrogation but send someone to take notes if you can’t come yourself.

“Yes sir, General.”

General Harrington watched the Colonel gather his people and head off. It had been a hell of a 48 hours after the Event, but with the last of the crazies dead or in chains it was time to expand outward. He wasn’t foolish enough to think he could fight whatever it was transforming the world, but that did not mean he would allow his country to fall. The United States was born before the technological age, and it would continue on after this if he had anything to say about it.

April 2, 2018, 0905 hours.

Rachel paused before finishing her last arrow and looked again toward columns of smoke coming from Oakhurst. She didn’t know how many separate fires were burning, she was able to make out about 20 seperate columns of smoke, but the vast majority blended into a vast cloud over the city. With a sigh she closed her fist and finished the final arrow.

Congratulations you have successfully crafted 1 silver arrow of swiftness

“That’s the last of the feathers, about half the glue left and well,” Rachel waved at the surrounding woods, “Not like we are going to run out of wood.” Rachel picked up the arrow, setting it with the rest. Crafting was odd, she thought. Easier she imagined than doing it the old way. All she had to do to make the arrow shaft is run a fairly straight piece of wood through her closed hand and a smooth shaft came out the other side. Setting the shaft in her lap she picked up two Valkyrie feathers in her right hand, then with her left she dipped one end about an inch deep into the glue. Laying the glued end of the shaft into her right hand, close into fist, negative five to stamina, and instant fletching. To add an arrowhead just add a 12 inch length of thread, twine, or something similar, with an arrowhead in her right hand, negative five stamina, arrow done. She got the arrowheads from Joe. He used spoons from the kitchen, hit them a couple of times with the hammer and they were done. They ended up making 40 steel arrows of swiftness using up his stainless-steel spoons, and another 20 silver arrows of swiftness using his grandmother's sterling silver. A little experimentation and they found out the Valkyrie feathers accounted for the swiftness in the arrows.

Joe was sitting near Rachel watching Sarah practice with the NCO Saber. He was glad he paid for a live steel blade. Live steel was a term used among reenactors meaning the blade was made for fighting. It was a quirk of his. If he was going to buy a sword, it had to be a sword not some dull junk metal wall hanger. He smiled as he watched her, remembering the shocks they experienced when waking. Sarah’s ears had become pointed, sometime between when she had put on the headgear and taking it off, along with a few other things. His muscles had grown, along with the rest of him, the most apparent were his hands, teeth and ears. His hands were twice the size they used to be, his teeth were twice the size if fewer in number and his ears had also become pointed. He felt he should be more upset, but it was just the way it was. Looking back to Sarah it was like she was dancing, all grace and speed.

Sarah recovered from the lunge, slashing with her saber at an imaginary foe while blocking with her shield. They were packed, so she was making the best use of her time getting used to all the changes to her body. Along with the ears everything felt a bit off, not to mention gaining a full cup size played hell with her balance.

“All done.” Rachel said to Joe with satisfaction she bundled up the arrows in groups of 20, setting 20 steel and 20 silver arrows into the back of the wagon. She placed the other 20 into the quiver at her waist. She was wearing a pair of leather arm bracers, and a chainmail sleeveless shirt over her a padded vest. A leather headband kept the sweat from her eyes and her hair was tied behind her back in a ponytail. Looking over at Joe, who was still staring at Sarah, she realized he hadn’t heard her. “Joe! All done.”

Joe looked over to Rachel who was grinning at him he realized he had been caught staring at Sarah. Again. Sighing he stood up, he had Helm Cleaver in his right hand, it was never outside of his reach. *We are leaving! And NO barking. We hunt.* The dogs ran up via Sarah trying to cage a few pets from her.

“Ok let’s go over this one last time. We are going East on Road 426 till we get to the Millers place. We’ll follow the turn off until we get out of sight of the road. Leave the wagon and with luck the bear will be on the opposite side of the house and upwind. If the bear is out of sight we’ll quietly enter the house and see if we can spot the bear through one of the windows. Rachel, once we find the bear you need to keep an eye on it. If it becomes aware of us, just cast Tame until it works, or you run out of mana. Sarah will back you up while I search for the guns. Hopefully we can find the guns and get out without the bear any wiser. Worse case, we fight it. I’ll get its attention. Sarah, work the flanks, try to get behind it. Rachel, use your bow and watch your fire. If in doubt hold your fire until you have a clear shot. After the fight last night, I have a better feel for System combat. It’s a mix of reality and game mechanics. That said as long as I stay on my feet and keep my front toward the bear it should not be able to take me out with one hit. I will take the regen potion before the fight starts. If the fight looks unwinnable I’ll call for a retreat, then everyone should try to cripple one of its limbs, if we are unable to…” He looked at his dogs, “Let’s just not lose. Any questions? No? Let’s go.”

Joe pulled the cart as they left his driveway and headed east on road 426. The effects of the Event were evident everywhere you looked: cars abandoned in the road, columns of smoke on the horizon in every direction. The only thing missing were bodies, either the car owners had walked to town after their cars stalled or they were absorbed by the System. They all walked together, slowly weaving through the cars. Normally, he would want someone out front, but neither of the women were professional soldiers. Two dogs ran on either side of the road on the shoulders. They were constantly pausing to sniff the ground and check the air for other scents. Joe could see between 30 and 50 feet into the woods on each side of the road, not great but it would have to do. They were about halfway to the Miller’s when Rachel asked, “Joe are we an adventuring group like in those game you used to play with mom and dad?”

Joe didn’t even need to think about it, “Pretty much, why do you ask?”

“Well, I was thinking, do we need to do anything to make a party?”

Joe stopped in the middle of the road looking at her. Then pointed a finger at her and said, “Invite Rachel to party.” A small picture of Rachel appeared in the upper left corner of his sight, it had the standard red health and blue mana bars. He then pointed at Sarah, “Invite Sarah to party,” another small picture appeared with her health and mana. “I should have thought of that yesterday.” he sighed. “Thank you for reminding me.”

“Your welcome, I may never have played with you Joe, but my parents drafted me when they needed a body.” Rachel grew quiet at the mention of her parents.

To distract her Joe said, “Ok, I know we went over basic infantry hand signals at breakfast, do any of you have any questions?”

Rachel said, “Joe I was thinking, we need a hand signal for magic, maybe point at the target and move your finger in a circle. Like waving a wand.”

Joe thought for a minute, “That will work, it doesn’t conflict with any others, but make it your whole hand. When you get more spells well assign them numbers. Sound good?”

Rachel nodded, “Yes, thanks

“Sarah?” Joe asked, “Anything you want to add?”

“Nope, I’m good.”

“Ok, no more talking. Don’t want the bear hearing us.” Joe ordered.

The final half of the walk along the twisting road to the Miller’s place was uneventful. As they pulled into the driveway, everyone tried to be as quiet as possible. They stashed the wagon in a dip in the ground among the trees, a few artfully placed limbs hid it from view. Anything short of a thorough search should miss it. They then crept slowly toward the house. As they caught sight of the dark blue, single story, western style home sitting in a open area among the trees Joe held out his hand, fist clenched, indicating for them to stop. Joe waved them down to one knee as they searched for the bear.

Sarah spotted the bear first, well part of it. All they could see was back third of the bear sticking out. The wind was blowing toward them from the west, this was good as it was going to get. Joe gestured to Rachel to lean down. He was not sure how good the bear’s hearing was, and he wasn’t taking a chance. He spoke in a low tone of voice, “Rachel change of plans, I want you to watch from here. If the bear gets up, I want you to shoot the house. The house, not the bear. If we can get far enough away, it may be unwilling to chase after us, but if you shoot it the fight is on. Understand?” Rachel nodded. “If you shoot the house we’ll hear it and head back out.”

He pointed Rachel toward a large fallen pine. It was about three feet thick, a victim of the pine beetle epidemic. Joe looked to Sarah gesturing for her to follow, and they headed at an angle toward the house. Making sure they kept the house between them and the bear.

They made it to the house without a problem. Joe looked through the bay window but could not see anyone in the house. Joe moved a rock, picking up the spare house key, and quietly opened the front door. He looked back at Sarah. He moved his left hand to catch her attention. Once she was looking him in the eyes, he pointed at her wings. She nodded back to him and pointed at his shoulders. “Good.” he thought to himself, “One last reminder for both of us.”, remembering the changes to his own body. It was hard sometimes, it all felt natural now. He opened the door without a sound, thanking Rich for his obsessive maintenance.

Rachel watched the ass of the short-faced bear, she was sure to always keep it in her peripheral vision as she checked her surroundings. No goblin was sneaking up on her. The dogs around her were also alert and watching. She was glad they were with her. She was starting to get nervous, they had been in there a long time. The front door opened, and she sighed with relief. The pair of them were carrying something wrapped in a quilt but they made excellent time getting to her. As they came near her, she could hear voices coming from down the road behind them, even as she watched, the bear started to move.

“They had scored.” Joe thought as they headed out of the house, “Well sort of.” A half dozen smooth bore flintlock muskets, over a dozen single shot black powder pistols, and a couple of wall hanger swords that turned out to be the real deal. The only thing he had to leave behind was the gun safe, considering everything outside of it he was curious but not stupid. He was unsure of how much ammo he had at the moment. Rich seemed to have purchased a bunch of different black powder brands, in powder and pellet form. He had hundreds, if not thousands, of shots worth of primer, over a thousand lead bullets mostly in the .50 caliber. He needed time to sort it all out and 75 feet from a 1500-pound bear was not the time. They carefully placed everything into a couple of quilts and headed out. He was walking up to Rachel, when he heard the voices. Orcs! “Fuck me.” Joe thought.

They had maybe a minute to get out of sight, so they headed toward the fallen pine tree quickly laying down on the opposite side. He motioned for everyone to stay down and be quiet, and from the unchanging sounds of the voices they had made it into cover. Joe opened the quilts to get to the muskets. Most of them were the modern reproduction flintlock .50 caliber Hawken. Moving as quietly as possible, he opened a reproduction tin cartridge box, praying there were pre-made cartridges stored in it. There were six.

Crusher walked with his orcs toward what he hoped was a payday. He had traded two human girls to a high elf necromancer for information on where they could find working firearms. This was supposed to be that place. As he walked into the clearing in front of the house he smelled bear, dwarf, something else. That’s when the bear came around the corner of the house. It was an odd-looking bear.

“Surround it, kill it.” Crusher commanded, then the bear charged him, fast. He aimed for the head with his 10lb sledge hammer but missed, hitting it in the shoulder.

Damage 36(20 x 3 strength modifier - 40% beast hide)

Then the bear swatted him with one of its front paws hitting Crusher in the head.

Damage taken 225(25 x 3 strength x 1.5 large creature modifier x2 head shot) You have taken over half your total hit points in one hit, you are stunned, you are unconscious.

Joe had finished loading the six muskets, It was a difficult task while lying on the ground but the paper cartridges made an almost impossible task possible. When he heard the roar from the bear and shouts from the Orcs, he knew they were engaged. He and the others peered over the fallen pine to get a glimpse of what was going on. They needed to decide if they were going to stay and fight or run. He refused to assume they had lost their humanity. The fight was not going well for either side. Half of the eight orcs he could see were motionless on the ground, but the bear was bleeding from several wounds and had several arrows sticking out of it.

Checking the driveway, he saw something that told him what he needed to know about the orcs. Two women were standing in the middle of the driveway naked. They were wearing collars with heavy chains attached to what looked like the remains of several round 45-pound weights. He knew slavery was still practiced in some countries to this day, but in this country, it was both illegal and considered evil. He picked up the muskets and began laying them side by side on the fallen pine for ease of access. “Rachel, as soon as either the orcs or the bear goes down, shoot at whatever is still standing.” He pointed to the girls in the driveway. “We will not let that shit happen anywhere we can prevent it. Sarah stand off to the side and come in when the bear gets to melee range.”

“Do you want me to try and tame it?” Rachel asked, thinking back to the original plan.

“No, as pissed off as it is I doubt it would work so focus on shooting. I plan on us taking our time searching the house after the fight.” Joe said, looking back to the fight in time to see another orc drop. The last orc standing broke and ran toward the driveway. The orc didn’t manage three steps before the bear caught him with its jaws, decapitating him as the bear bit down. Not wanting to waste any time, Joe brought the first flintlock to his shoulder. Pulling the cock from half to full cock he aimed, exhaled, and squeezed.

Damage 36(30 x 1.5 dexterity modifier - 20% beast hide, armor value halved due to armor piercing)

Bear 75 feet. Drop musket, pick up new musket, full cock. Aim center mass, squeeze…

Damage 36(30 x 1.5 dexterity modifier - 20% beast hide, armor value halved due to armor piercing)

Bear 60 feet. Drop musket, pick up new musket, full cock. Aim center mass, squeeze…

Damage 36(30 x 1.5 dexterity modifier - 20% beast hide, armor value halved due to armor piercing)

Bear 45 feet. Drop musket, pick up new musket, full cock. Aim for head, squeeze…

Damage 72(30 x 1.5 dexterity modifier x2 head shot. - 20% beast hide, armor value halved due to armor piercing) Bleed -1

Bear 30 feet. Drop musket, pick up new musket, full cock. Aim for head, squeeze…

Damage 72(30 x 1.5 dexterity modifier x2 head shot. - 20% beast hide, armor value halved due to armor piercing) Bleed -2

Bear 15 feet. Drop musket, pick up new musket, full cock. Aim for head, squeeze…

Damage 72(30 x 1.5 dexterity modifier x2 head shot. - 20% beast hide, armor value halved due to armor piercing) Bleed -3. Level 5 Short-faced bear slain.

Experience reward 400 (1200/3)

The bear carcass slammed into the fallen pine knocking the dropped muskets in five different directions. Staring at the dead bear, Joe took note of the five arrow shafts buried to the fletching. “Nice shooting, Rachel. That thing had a ridiculus amount of life.”

“Sarah, I need you to go check the Orcs. If any are still alive, capture or kill at your discretion. I’d prefer to have two alive. Rachel, I need you to check on the girls. I’ll get the cart and help unchain the girls.”

Rachel headed to where the two girls were kneeling to take the strain off their necks. They had their heads down, unwilling to look up. When Joe ran by them with the dogs to get the wagon, they both flinched away from him. Rachel focused on the two girls.

Elizabeth Gearbox: Female, arcane gnome, inventor, level 1

Donna Summer: Female, wood elf, bard, level 1

Rachel slowly approached talking to them in a low voice, “Easy. My name is Rachel. What’s yours?”

The redheaded girl on left looked up when she said her name, and she got her first good look at her face. “Donna!!”

Rachel stepped forward and grabbed Donna trying to keep her from standing with the weights. She knelt, wrapping her arms around Donna and just held her as she started to cry. The other girl didn’t respond at all, just stayed kneeling on the ground.

Joe quickly had the wagon moving. He had the dogs watching the driveway. As he approached the three girls, he saw Rachel hugging one of them. When he got within 10 feet of them he stopped. “Rachel, is it alright if I come closer? I have some bolt cutters for the locks.”

Rachel looked at Joe, then spoke to the two girls. “Joe is good people. You met him a few times Donna. Remember the Marine who would come by around Christmas?”

Donna looked back at to where Joe was standing, “That’s him? He has changed a lot.”

Rachel couldn’t help but laugh at that statement, “Have you seen my legs Donna, all four of them? Now let’s get those chains off you. Elizabeth, can he approach?” Elizabeth still didn’t respond. Sighing, she looked at Joe “Yes, come get these things off them.”

Joe pulled the bolt cutters out of the tool pile. They were a little worse for wear from the Event. It was now a short-handled bolt cutter. He slowly walked up to the girls and used them to cut the locks off the rings on the back off the collars. He then carefully pulled the collars away from the two girls. Carrying the weights over, he was amazed at how much stronger he was. He knew he was, but this was the first time he could quantify it. He was able to lift all 270 pounds at once and set them in the wagon. Joe untangled the chains from the weights. Leaving the wagon, he told Rachel to bring the girls over when he called.

He approached the scene of the fight between the orcs and the short-faced bear. Looking at the wounds, he was glad they hadn’t had to fight it first. Sarah had two of the orcs pulled to the side. She had stepped away from them and had her saber out. Using the chains and collars, he quickly tied up the first one, making sure to double up on the chain. On the second orc, he used rope from the wagon. After he finished with the legs neither one of them had moved beyond breathing. Deciding he had time to do it right, he went back to get the wagon. As he passed the three young women, he told them to follow him.

Crusher woke up to water being thrown in his face. His arms were tied above his head, and his legs were spread out. He tried to pull himself free, but he was tied up by an expert. Looking around he saw his two slaves sitting next to, what he thought they called, a centaur. There was a winged woman standing near him. She had a hard look in her eyes and seemed to know how to use the sword she was holding. The last was a dwarf. Now that was a joke of a name for a race, short though they may be, because they all looked like powerlifters. This bastard looked like he benched pressed cars.

“Ah you’re awake, good.” Joe said. “I realize you can’t move your head very well, but your friend Chopper is also alive. The other six are dead, and no, I didn’t kill them. I did kill the bear after it tore up your men though. Now the reason I didn’t help earlier is those two young women right over there. I spent 25 years in the Marines defending this country. I will not tolerate that crap here. I talked to the two girls and they told me you purchased them yesterday from another. If that all it was, I would probably have just stripped you naked and let you go. However, the gang rape last night, and this morning takes away that option. If I let you go, I have some responsibility for what you do afterword.”

Crusher started to speak but he felt the touch of steel on his lips. Looking up the blade to the winged women, she said, “Shhh. You will get your chance to talk.” Looking into that women’s blue eyes, Crusher was terrified. Something inhuman was looking out at him, then it faded and he knew he was looking at the person again. “Sorry Joe, I needed to instruct the suspect on court etiquette.”

“That’s alright Sarah, I’d much rather hear your voice. Now since we don’t have a police force or a jail cell to place you in, I decided to leave your fate up to the injured party. Donna. Elizabeth. I have a knife, and pistol here for each of you. You can leave it to me, or you can take one of these and pay them back. Now, I’m going to go into Rich’s house while you do what you need to without a man present.”

“Rachel, I realize Elizabeth is an inventor. Allow her access to some of the gunpowder if she would like to use it.” At those words Elizabeth gave the first smile Joe had seen from her. Nodding to Sarah, Joe headed into the house.

Sarah watched Joe enter the house, he was wise to leave them to her and the other women. A week ago the law would have handled this, now it was a little bit different, and older laws again held sway. The Valkyrie inside of her was close to the surface now, normally she had no problem staying herself. The crimes committed to the two women brought the warrior woman very close to the surface, and for a time the two became one. The Valkyrie looked at the two Orcs tied to the ground and walked over to the nearby wagon, getting two lengths of leather cord and some rags. Turning she told Elizabeth and Donna to join her as she headed toward the two Orcs.

Joe stared at the old safe. Now if he was Rich, where would he put the combination? Or what would his combination be? Looking around the room, he noticed something odd about the picture of George Washington. Three of the numbers in the bronze plate below the picture were colored in black. The month and day of his birth, and the day of his death. Trying the numbers with the combination lock, he used 2-22-14 and it opened.

Congratulations you acquired the skill: Perception I

Opening the safe, he saw there were two muskets:

Skill check Firearms Successful.

Brown Bess long land pattern, 1778 .75 caliber

Brown Bess long land pattern, 1779 .75 caliber

Two sabers:

Potter Saber ???

Silver horseman's saber ??

“Ok damn, the questions marks were new, must have to be identified.” There were also a pair of pistols.

Silver horse pistol, 1775, .54 caliber ?

Silver horse pistol, 1775, .54 caliber ?

The rest of the items was just a bunch of miscellaneous stuff: dated bullets, medals, buckles. Probably worth something before, but worth nothing now. All the guns were in excellent condition, but Joe had no musket balls in that caliber, and the corroded older balls probably wouldn’t work too well. “What is this? “ thought Joe. “Ah, a pair of bullet molds. Excellent!” Joe started to gather up all the items in another quilt. Joe spent 30 minutes checking the house, and before he left he remembered to grab all the spoons he could find for arrowheads. As he was finishing with the spoons he heard a mucket fire. Well best go check on the how things went and put the loot away. We need to get on the road before anyone comes to check on them, but he needed to give the others a chance to see if they needed anything in the house. We should also take the saddle and tack out of the barn, could come in handy. Then there are the bags of horse feed, worse case we can cook and eat the oats.

Stepping outside, he looked at the remains of the two orcs. “Sarah, did they each kill one of the orcs?”

“Yes they did, it helped them I think.”

“Good, found a few more guns to put in the wagon, and we need to gather a few more supplies and get on the road. Sarah, check through the house one more time for anything useful. Rachel, loot the bear, think to yourself that you want the hide, some meat and your arrows. I have a theory I want you to check. Elizabeth, Donna, if your up for it I want you to do gather the firewood from the side of the house. We’re going to set fire to the bodies when we leave. Not sure why they haven’t dissolved. Rachel when you’re done go over leveling with them, they should have each leveled up. Then everyone take a few minutes to check the house for anything they need, Rich would not mind. I want to be far away from here when we camp for the night.”

“Joe” Elizabeth said.

“Yes?”

“Thank you and call me Liz.”

“Of course, Liz.”

Joe headed to the barn satisfied. Personally, he figured the girls wanted more time to vent on the bodies, and if they wanted the bodies they remained.