NOVEL FROG 182. Facing Carter
“Sorry,” Carter says to me with a stunned look on his face. “You did what?”
“I went into the secret vault of one of the most powerful beings in the Universe and I bought something… for Logan.”
“But… why? I mean, thank you. But why?” Carter asks, still confused.
“Can I come in?” I ask him with a grin.
“Yeah, yeah, of course. Come on in,” he says, and backs away from the door on the front landing and gestures to the stairs up to the top floor. I’ve taken those 7 steps hundreds of thousands of times before and even though I could easily take them in 1 casual leap I make sure to place my feet on each step, grounding myself here to the house I grew up in and feeling the roots of it back before the Influx, and before everything got so complicated.
“Where are the kids and Dana?” I ask as I sit down on one of the couches. There’s no hiding from my Perception and minimap nowadays so I know they aren’t around. I shift around uncomfortably on the seat and wonder why on Earth people buy things that are so uncomfortable?
“You need to get some new furniture,” I say to Carter, who laughs.
“They’re fine for us, it’s not something I want to spend on. We’re investing all our Credits in equipment and Skills for the family plus a group of us are starting an Academy to help teach kids how to deal with all of this. Well, Dana’s doing it really… she doesn’t need me. I’m always amazed at what she can accomplish when she puts her mind to it.”
“You need Credits?” I ask him seriously with a tilt of my head. Carter wanders over to the fridge and pulls out two Brewsters Beer Pub beers, then hands one to me without answering. I take a long pull and find the beer is average, no better. But still… you’d have to say it is proper beer and it’s been a while since I’ve had one. I wait for Carter to give me an answer patiently because I can see whatever he’s got to say is taking some thought. I’ve got some Credits leftover after the Vault that my previous self would have considered a fortune, and it’s never tough to generate more when I’m taking out the rarest, most valuable Monsters on Earth what seems like every day of the week.
“I don’t want to take your Credits, Bronwic. You’ve done a lot for us already.”
I get where he’s coming from on some level, but it annoys me all the same.
“Carter, that’s just a fucking stupid thing to say. I love you guys. If your family hasn’t got the best gear, if this place isn’t jacked up with every defensive measure you can fit in here, if you don’t have everything you need, I’m going to shovel Credits at you or just go on a spending spree until you’ve got it all. The world is fucking dangerous, but let’s make sure you’re meeting danger on your own terms. And Carter… Logan is special. Have you looked at his Class properly? Really thought about how to leverage it and what he’s going to do? The kind of trouble he could get himself into with the wrong crowd? I told pretty much everyone who tried to recruit me to fuck off, but I’m a salty old pirate. He’s still just a kid and you could see him whipped off world or thrown to the wolves way too quick.”
I’ve made a long speech. Longer than I usually would and as brothers in our family we don’t talk about this shit much. Always leaving lots of things unsaid, but I’m trying to change that. Carter shrugs in a way that makes me certain he’s thought about some of the stuff I’ve said already, but it hasn’t really clicked for him.
“Well, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that kid can leverage his talents and doesn’t get taken advantage of,” I say and then hold up my hands, beer positioned to deflect Carter’s protests. “I know, I know, you want to keep him safe and nothing about what I do is safe. I’m not going to bring him on a suicide mission. But you know this is the fucking Apocalypse and he’s got something seriously powerful going for him. And Mille - I’ve never seen a more resourceful, tougher girl. Let’s make sure they can handle themselves no matter what comes along.”
Carter sighs and stares at the beer in his hands then sits down in one of the massive reclining chairs in the room. It looks a lot more comfortable than the couch I’m on.
“You’re right, but you’re also wrong Bronwic. We’re trying to get them help, establish new schools, let them be kids even despite everything that’s going on.”
“It’s too late for that, mate. They can be kids to a certain extent, especially the really young ones. But… we also have Galactics walking around the Earth, Mana trying to warp things to such an extent we’re in danger of being wiped out, and so much more. You’ve got to give them all the tools they can get to survive. They can still be happy, but it won’t be an innocent happy.”
“I know.”
Carter is silent for a long time. The kind of stretch of silence I was used to before he got himself fixed up in the Shop, when his depression and anger bubbled beneath the surface most of the time before they exploded out in unpredictable ways. But he doesn’t explode. Instead he looks me dead in the eyes. This is the most we’ve connected in a long time and I find it brings up a lot of feelings about the kind of brothers we should be, but we aren’t. I miss Robb, he should be here drinking a beer with us and giving us much better advice than we can come up with ourselves.
“If we do this your way, you better fucking look after them,” he says with a lot of feeling. Some of what drove him to the edge of crazy in Queenstown that convinced Robb and I to enter into the Contract with Taiwo is still there. I’m not sure I can meet the commitment he’s challenged me with.
“Fair enough,” I agree. “But you know I can’t commit to that. I’ll do my best and take time out to hunt and train with Logan, and with Millie when she’s ready, but I can’t be with them all the time. Not if I’m also going to Level up do what I do. And I need to Level up. There are beings out there so much more powerful than we can imagine, and we’re not going to be safe until we can match them toe to toe.”
Carter looks up at the low ceiling with its domed adjustable lights and drains his beer, then looks at me. I expect him to hit me with something aggressive, trying to get a further commitment from me.
“You want another?” he asks instead, holding up the bottle. Maybe we are both older and wiser enough to find a good path together. Robb would have been proud.
I shake my head and finish my beer off too.
“Should we go give Logan his present? Maybe the two of us can go hunt with him to let him try it out?”
Carter looks thoughtful for a second and then stands up.
“Yeah, sounds good. I need to Level up too so I can contribute to defending this place and my kids. When you’re not around I’ll also need to help Logan Level up. With this Influx who knows what bullshit is going to happen at any time.”
He pauses for a second while looking at me and then gives out a huff.
“Fuck, Bronwic. I can’t even pull your Status, your Level is too high. What did you get for him, anyway?”
I wave a notification over to Carter.
Armor of Arvodis (Mythic Artifact)
Arvodis was at the forefront of magical theory development across the entire Universe when he killed himself in a tragic but elegant experiment involving over 40 different types of magic combined into what ended up being a rift that nearly destabilized 88 Galaxies and triggered multiple supernovas.
Created using nanites, magical bindings, and rare composite materials, this is the first set of power armor Arvodis designed for his famous Dungeon runs to search for rare components with unique properties.
Effects: self-repairing, Strength +60, Agility +40, Perception +30, Luck + 50
Features: force shield with XV7798 Mana battery, Guul’kin ablative plating, flight pack
Carter’s eyes bug out of his head and I admit I enjoy it.
“What the fuck, Bronwic? Are you trying to get him killed? I thought maybe you got him a shielding ring or a high quality blaster or something”
I frown at Carter, not understanding what he means.
“Mate, I don’t get it. One of Logan’s inherent Class skills is a 200% increase in the effectiveness of technology, which is insane. I’m 90% confident he’s going to make this powerful armor into a beast of a thing worth a dozen Mythic Levels or more. This is going to keep him alive, not kill him.”
“Bronwic, how many people are going to see that armor and try to kill him for it? How long before he runs into someone more powerful and experienced than him that murders him for it?”
Carter is really pissed, and I can see what he’s talking about, even though I don’t agree with it. Logan needs everything he can get to give him an edge, and I’ve seen too many people, including Robb, get killed for nothing to do with armor or equipment. To be fair, I’ve only been thinking about the Monsters Logan will be taking on. The non-human kind. There are still the kind of monsters around that Carter is talking about though, no doubt.
I pull the armor out of my Inventory and show it to Carter, which calms him down a bit. It looks like a normal, stock standard set of power armor. Hints of dark blue in the metal, but nothing special. Maybe the reddish tint of the armor’s eyes is a bit unusual, but nothing dramatic. This armor is something you’d see on any battlefield, hunting excursion, or even walking down a random street. I can see the look of confusion on Carter’s face as he inspects it.
“Yeah,” I agree with Carter, even though he hasn’t said anything. I call up the armor’s description to anyone who’s inspecting it.
Hytlyrran Power Armor
Durable and flexible, with a number of base models and expansion slots, Hytlyrran Power Armor is the most respected and popular power armor for those up to mid Level Advanced Classes. This armor is particularly able to conduct spells and Skills, reducing any penalties for armor interaction effects by 100% in nearly all cases.
“So, a nice set of power armor. But not something to get too excited about,” I say to Carter, making my case. One of my considerations was how much of a target this armor might make him, but Arvodis apparently had the same kind of paranoia that we do..
“Sorry,” says Carter with a sour face that looks like half an apology, but I wave it away.
“He means a lot to me, Carter. Nowadays individual Levels and strength, plus a bit of luck, count for a lot more than they used to. So let’s do our best to make sure he has all 3. Should we go see him? I’m keen to get it into his hands as soon as possible, for a few reasons.”
“How is it out there?” Carter asks as he grabs a few things to bring along and shoves them into bags that then disappear into his Inventory. Food, clothes, normal mundane stuff but important nonetheless, especially for a father of four.
“A lot better than last time,” I reply. “I mean, there are plenty of powerful creatures being mutated and Leveling up, and plenty of Teleports arriving. But outside the highest Level Zones and the most powerful Monsters, it seems like we’re holding our own. Never underestimate humanity, I guess. Plus we have high Level Legendary Adventurer help from the SSA and Tenebris arriving soon.”
“I was hoping it would go this way after this Influx, though I feel a bit guilty for not Leveling faster and not being able to protect everyone like you can. Those first few weeks after the Influx were crazy Bronwic… man I was messed up. I hope I’ve told you enough times that I’m sorry about what happened then. I got home and kept my family safe, but I’ve fallen behind now.”
“Nothing to be sorry about Carter. At the time it felt a bit shit, the way you just left, but I understand. I really do. If you want to Level, maybe the Cadimus boys should hit a Dungeon together.”
Carter rubs his short beard and face with both hands.
“Yeah, let’s do that. There’s only so many times we’ll be able to do this with your help, I’m sure. I don’t want to put Logan in danger, but shit danger comes along and smacks us in the mouth all the time. He needs to be as prepared as he can.”
I nod, knowing exactly what he’s talking about. These same thoughts have played through my mind hundreds of times. I’ve got my own version of Carter’s story that’s different but still… now that I have the Sentinel Class it seems like I made the right call going for it, but there were a lot of times in those 100 days of the Class Quest that I wondered if I’d made a huge mistake. I guess in the end it’s been an outcome based decision. The outcome has been good, so the decision must have been right! I’ll go with that.
“Ready?” I ask him.
“Yeah,” he says with a tired voice, then it changes.
“Hey Bronwic - thanks. You didn’t have to do any of this. You’ve already done so much for me and Dana and the kids. I can’t ever really repay you but I do appreciate it.”
He holds my eyes for a few seconds. For the Cadimus boys, it’s a lot to say, a lot more emotion and recognition than either of us is used to in our family.
“Dick,” is all I say, admittedly with a grin, and the Cadimus emotional balance returns to normal. I open a Portal to Logan and we both step through.