Amateurs talk tactics. Professionals talk logistics.

Pre-Fall General

“You’re heading out?” Johanna asked Madelynn.

“You’re saying it yourself, it’s going to take maybe three weeks to organize everything. That means we have some time to scavenge, classic style. And test how those dynamics between specializations work.”

“Don’t take risks.”

“Don’t worry, Johanna. We’re going to do some parts of West Cleveland. That’s not my usual area, but people usually skip it because you can hear Canid packs and the south of that Ancient ruin is a lot easier and not too shabby. We’re not looking specifically for trouble, but the idea is to see how we work out. How we measure to… the Ancient Exemplars.”

Johanna groaned before she spotted Madelynn smirking.

“Get used to it. And you need it.”

“Really? Because that feels like a joke.”

“You’re changing the world. That’s even what you said. People need to know you’re the driver of that change. They need to respect you. And titles go a lot that way. I mean, what’s more impressive, Jack Griffith or Burgher of New Sandusky? If you’re just Johanna Milton, how can people mark their respect for you.”

“We haven’t changed the world yet.”

“But you have. Right now, your Professor friend says there might be close to as many sorcerous or sorcerous-like Talents, concentrated in New Sandusky as there are spread over the entire continent. That’d be unimaginable in any other circumstances.”

“Okay. If you say so. Good dive then. But remember to be there!”

“I wouldn’t miss it. And besides, it’s easy for me, I mean, with me as the Fixer, I got a Guardian that can take it, two Shapers, and a Battler. What could possibly happen to us?”

“Does Cameron…”

“He’s been talking with Louvell. Since apparently, Georgy seems to be too busy to run his own outfit, he’s trying to get them along with his team at least for a test. And I imagine he’ll be trying to poach for a more permanent expanded team.”

“There will be opportunities to make more teams.”

“And possibly a lot of shuffles, if you can’t control who gets what specialization.”

Johanna shrugged.

“The Ancient decides.”

“Unless you pick yourself among the various parchments you make.”

“Not everyone can qualify for everything.”

“You’ve tested it on those you made in advance?”

Johanna thought back about the tests with Ernesto Gomez. Out of the six specialization scrolls brought out, the Nashville Professor seemingly qualified for Fixer and Sentinel, but not Monger, Maker, Explorer, or Duelist. Even the stand-alone Metal Shaper – that she had yet to ship to Catherine – did not activate. The academic had promptly refused to use any of the two, saying again he wanted to see more interactions.

“We did. North made me realize I need to figure out how that works when we’re not granting Talents directly. After Washington, this will be something.”

“True,” Madelynn answered, before standing and raising her fist.

“I go with the grace of the Ancients!”

Johanna groaned again.

“Purchasing draft teams is not how I envisioned spending the day,” Johanna half-joked.

It turned out that there was a significant difference between a three-week-long scavenging expedition, like the one they’d just done, and a three-month-long one like the one to Washington was shaping out to be.

“At the time, we were only trying to get to one of the big ruins, not the coast,” Miles had said on the topic. “And we were overloaded with food going out. But even if we hadn’t had to run because it was too dangerous, food was always going to be the limiting factor.”

“Cleanse Toxins work,” Laura had replied.

“With some items. Not everything. That’s what you said to Barrett about that Talent,” Miles had countered.

“Okay, that is a last-ditch measure then. We need enough food,” Johanna had acknowledged.

A quick calculation had shown there would be around nine short tons of preserved food needed for the entire three-month expedition, given the impossibility to resupply later and the dangers of local food. It was just impossible to carry.

Which had brought her to securing wagons and the draft beasts that came with them. The very presence of them would also slow them down, she knew now, but they were a necessary burden. Thankfully, while New Sandusky was not on a major trade route, there was enough trading going on that it had a business dedicated to all kinds of things associated with trade wagons. After a long discussion with North, she finally opted for a pair of brand-new wagons rather than refurbished ones that had been traded out. They were more expensive, but also slightly larger.

“You need to plan not just for one expedition, but the one next year. Even if there are only one million books left out of nineteen, you’re not processing or hauling all of them at once,” he had said.

That would be useful not for just hauling the food, but also for bringing back parchments or Ancient books directly.

Of course, those wagons immediately turned into a new source of problems. Because nobody in the scavenger’s group was a teamster, and they need probably four in total. She’d asked before the two teams had left to scavenge a few quick bucks, and a few members of Madelynn Nash’s team had experience in driving some sort of light wagons, as all except Madelynn herself were farm kids. But the large oxen-driven wagons were a different thing.

And of course, they couldn’t find such wagoners, at any wage level.

Almost all wagoners with experience were already employed by trading companies, following standard trade routes. Finding unemployed ones was hard, and once the prospective candidates heard about the expedition they all unanimously bailed out.

Johanna had offered to provide proof of their security, but nobody with wagon-driving experience was willing to go to the Coast. They didn’t even discuss wages, they all metaphorically ran away as soon as they learned where the wagons were headed to.

Before long, everyone knew what she was looking for, and more importantly why, as the rumors spread across the city, and no one even bothered to show up.

Two weeks in, a surprising figure appeared in town. A tall, horned person, reminiscent of the pair of Changed she’d seen back in Nedalshe.

“May I present you Kartmann of Vernon and a member of my old team,” Ulrich announced.

“Hello…” she answered.

“Don’t be shy. I don’t gore people,” the minotaur deadpanned.

“I’d thought Sethek-Eshes would have been answered earlier, but the big one came first,” Ulrich told Johanna, much to her confusion.

“And if you hope for Keegan, you’ll be waiting for long. He’s in the Rockies… somewhere. You know, dwarf country. Mail doesn’t even go there,” Kartmann answered. “As for Sethek-Eshes, they have a family going on these days.”

“You too.”

“Bah, the kids can deal with their mother. And she can handle the business. Kartmann’s All Medicals can work even without me.”

“Who’s Keegan? A dwarf?” she asked.

“Keegan Vakanson, yes. You can find minotaurs like me everywhere, but if you want more than a girlfriend, you tend to go home.”

She was reminded of that dwarf in Valetta, a year ago. Changed were different species, even if they were people.

“Until a year ago, I had never seen a Changed,” she admitted.

“We used to joke that our team was every single species in the North Americas. We stopped at taking in a Troll, not that we’ve ever seen one around,” Kartmann said.

“That’s the islands, not the continent,” Ulrich countered, smiling.

“Okay. Point conceded.”

“I promised you adventure, but I did not expect that kind when I wrote first,” the thirster said.

“Yea, you promised me a team of powerful Talented to go where Cartaigh fell and beyond. I come and find that team now includes you.”

Ulrich shrugged, spreading his arms.

“Wait until you see Miles in action. That’s what you get for being late to the party.”

“Hey, Vernon’s not next door.”

“But Johanna can fix that, can’t you.”

“I’d need a few Ancient books. Or, we can test the stored parchments. Up to you,” she replied.

In the back room of the bank, Kartmann considered the parchments.

“Looks like you can get Explorer. Or Duelist,” Johanna noted.

The minotaur squinted, looking at the two scrolls set aside, then at the partial scrolls.

“Or Specialist Battler. Like Tom,” she added.

“But you don’t have skills for that one,” Kartmann noted.

“No. There might be Talents in there that work for that specialization, but we have no way of knowing which. You can qualify for a Talent, but without a match with the specialization, it’s a very, very unpowered version.”

He looked at Tom.

“You know, you’re almost as good as being a minotaur. A small one. All you need is a pair of good horns.”

Tom snorted, then deliberately scratched his head. On the left, then right side.

“And I admit the hammer stuff sounds awesome. I never understood why everyone says we Minotaurs have to use axes. Sure, to cut wood in winter, but otherwise, a good spear is enough for everyone…”

“You should have seen the flaming axe we got from the Grand Rapids,” Ulrich said.

“Really? But if I want to contribute to that expedition, I need some Talents early. Or would it be better off waiting until Washington and seeing what your patron has to say about a minotaur?”

“Ulrich got an interesting set…” Johanna trailed as Kartmann put his hand on the Duelist scroll, which immediately activated again.

“May I?”

“We pulled them out for you now that you're joining us,” she simply said, and the parchment spewed sparks as it burned away.

Curiously, not every Talent parchment lit up when the minotaur tested them. He could use Interrupt with Strength, and Gauge Endurance with Perception in addition to Block and Dexterity. The weird part was that Optimal Strike and Empathy lit up only after the first three had been used. The only Talent parchment that remained obstinately inactive was Disarm associated with Authority.

Johanna and Gomez had both noted early on that all six parchments generated for the various “spare” specializations featured one of each quality that the Talents apparently needed, but Gomez also could not activate all of them for the specialization he qualified for. She assumed that other factors dictated what was available. After all, Catherine’s Guardian did not have difficulties with Disarm back last year. She took notes for Gomez’s future studies.

“Five Talents is good,” Ulrich said.

“How many?”

“Okay, six. And yes, Miles has seven.”

The minotaur groaned.

“But I’m sure Johanna’s patron can fix you up with more once we get there. That’s just… a teaser?”

“And what does this make me?”

“Some kind of defender-fighter? The names suggest a lot of self-protection, and focused offense on a single enemy?” Johanna suggested.

“That’s why I picked it. Do you guys know a place where one can check how all of this work?”

Julian Kartmann

Male minotaur, 40 years, 2 months

Duelist

Level: 7 (21,000 XP needed)

Stamina: 1/199 (+17 per hour)

2 unallocated skill points

XP: 20,229

STR: 17 (2000 XP needed)

Interrupt (41)

AUT: 15 (2000 XP needed)

AGI: 17 (2000 XP needed)

Deflect (41)

PER: 16 (3000 XP needed)

Gauge Stamina (39)

DEX: 16 (2000 XP needed)

Block (39)

EMP: 16 (2000 XP needed)

Optimal Strike (39)

+8.0 Strength for skill checks

Unshakable grip on a weapon under 41 pounds

Perceive levels up to 13

Not what I’d have allocated if I had to shape his build, but that works out, if a bit weak. Authority is a pain for that specialization unless you get to add loads of stats first, Moore noted when the minotaur shook both Johanna and Tom’s hands.

Duelist is weird.

“So you don’t need to drink much anymore.”

“I’m never really thirsty. Which is a fun thing, given what my people are called – at least politely,” Ulrich said.

“Which means one of your Talents includes a reduction in drinking needs. We’ve been looking for these since we got the gloves. Thorn Fist is out, the compendium says it just increases your strength somewhat. Dark Flame too, no one has found any associated effect. Now, Laura can try to emulate the rest of your abilities, and see if she can make one happen.”

“Or we can test directly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, as we’ve discovered, an Artifact interferes with its Talent. I can use mine, and if one fails…”

“We’ll know which one.”

“And if all work, then you’ll know which ones it is not. My bet is on Barkskin.”

“It’s not Barkskin,” Laura said as the thirster’s skin turned brown and thick.

“Not too much water would have fit with being a tree. Well…”

They had moved outside of town, to allow for testing. The vegetation under Ulrich turned rigid, and he immediately turned his Talent off, because they already knew the herbs would desiccate and die if walked on. If it had not been for horrible difficulty moving, it would have made for a great weed remover.

It was only when Ulrich slapped on a large tree that they scored a win.

“So it’s that one?”

“Looks like,” Ulrich said as he peeled off the gloves.

“Let’s try this,” Johanna said, as her friend put them on.

It took Laura a try or two, but then she slid into the tree, leaving no mark. She almost instantly came out.

“You can’t see anything!”

“No. It’s a bit hard to get used to. I guess trees don’t have sight,” Ulrich noted.

“So now, you’ve got water walking, tree hiding, and that insane cold aura,” Johanna noted.

“Which I can’t sustain for long, or my trousers won’t survive the damage,” Laura replied.

“Well, if you could find four Artifacts in Grand Rapids, I would imagine the East Coast will offer opportunities. It’s almost like an entire extra specialization,” Ulrich noted.

Good work. I gave him that one to allow the opportunity to figure out your gloves, Moore cheered mentally. Although I didn’t think of that particular way of checking.

Money was flowing out, as Johanna realized that ten tons of food were not easy to get, pack, or store. And that was with the funds provided by Georgy North in exchange for the Maker set. Laura had reasoned that, if they started to sell one day, the price of sets would not stay sky-high, so North was correct in saying that nobody could know how much those would cost.

She wished the Skeleton would call back in her dreams, to explain further how she was supposed to control the distribution of the parchments he made through them, but for now, the Skeleton remained silent.

Bit by bit, the expedition came together. Tons of packed flour, grains, salted meats, dried milk – the hardest to get – and other foodstuffs stacked in the little corner of a warehouse they’d rented. The mixed Scott-North team came back early, in good spirits. They’d encountered no Changed beasts actually, but they’d taken care of a pair of mountain lions that had been prowling the ruins they were visiting.

Madelynn came back looking satisfied as well.

“I wish we had one Earth Shaper along, but we hold our weight without her. Of course, a single Canid doesn’t count for much, and I wish my team was immune to my Falter, but we’re learning.”

“Fire and Water do mix then?” Johanna joked.

“Not that much, and I wish Jackson had your projectile stuff. I can’t believe Cameron sniped those books. I wish I’d thought of it first, so we could have checked what you can make him now that he is a full Fire Shaper.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll have more when we arrive,” she replied.

“Jackson’s counting on it.”

Miles called out among the scavenger teams for people with at least some experience as a teamster and found three. By then, the rumors of the power obtained by the expedition had started to spread, and two of them were willing to go for a chance at power. She offered a pass at the stored specialization sets, but unfortunately, neither qualified for Explorer, Fixer, or Sentinel. The Monger specialization definitively did not seem to be very combat-oriented and nobody was interested.

The last scavenger, curiously enough, was willing to go, but for pay only.

“Power is nice, but I feel like it comes along with an obligation. I know, you say it’s not in any contract… but I guess that if you accept those powers, then you need to use them. I know I’m doing this for fun and money, but I can stop at any time. Can I lose those powers?”

Johanna thought about Petra’s removal of Frostbite.

“It’s possible. But it requires…”

The salvager raised his hand to interrupt her.

“It’s rhetorical. Of course, you’re not going to waste powers on me if it’s only to remove them later.”

He smiled.

“But I hear you can find Artifacts. That means there is good money to be made, right?”