Epilogues

Epilogues

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Epilogue 1: The Sleeper Wakes

In the center of the world, the Engine began to spin faster. An explosion of great power had rocked the under caverns near the lair of a sleeping creature, causing it to stir. The threads of a quest connected the massive creature to many other gigantic sleepers beneath the ancient cities. They waited for the call, and the call had come. Uthneragrubban stirred and began eating her way through the rock, heading for the surface. She didn’t know what had awakened her, and she didn’t care. She only knew that she was hungry.

Crushing stone, digging new tunnels, and following the cave system upward, she paused briefly as she felt small, scurrying creatures nearby. A Hollow? She had seen these before. Hundreds of ratkin lived peacefully within this Hollow, making their cheese and protecting their home. Their guards and mages were arrayed against her should she turn towards them but were relieved when she continued upward. She didn’t spare them a thought. She had a quest: Destroy the city above to awaken her brethren beneath other cities. The first World-Wide Quest had begun.

Epilogue 2: ManpowerINC.

Section H was coming along quickly, and John Sabbatino was becoming more enthusiastic about the project. The Habitat was a shithole of a building, but it was cheap with lots of space. And lots of people who needed jobs were all around him. Once they sorted out the problems with electricity distribution and waste disposal, they could start moving in the first thousand pods and begin hiring. The corporations trying to carve out a chunk of the online economy needed people to work in the new game, and his new company, Manpower, was going to provide those people.

Once the money started rolling in, he had plans to take over more sections of the Habitat. Section H was first, then Section E with its control over the rest of the habitat’s mechanical system, and finally, Section J which he could fill top to bottom with long-term employees doing work for weeks and months at a time without leaving their pods. By the end of the year, he wanted to have a hundred thousand people in pods and a lease on the entire habitat.

Epilogue 3: The Back Alleys

The children huddled in the alley, hidden behind a stack of rotten crates and crab traps, not daring to breathe. The bad man was walking toward them, and no one wanted to be the next one to disappear. Gully looked at the little ones huddled next to Clary. They ran too slow on their small legs and couldn’t make the jump to the top of the wall. They were trapped. He glanced at the wall at the end of the tunnel; once over it, he could get away. He set his knife and pouch next to Clary. It had a half-eaten apple from the tail-man and a couple of copper in it.

Clary realized what she was about to do and shook her head in panic. Gully shrugged. Better someone got caught than all of them. When the bad man was close, Gully darted past him, holding a board with a loose nail. She surprised him and swung the board into his knee, making him curse. Then she was past him, running for the entrance to the alley. She knew she wouldn’t make it. The spell hit her, and she disappeared. The bad man walked to where Gully had been and picked up a small ball. Clary kept the little ones there until daylight, then moved to another spot closer to the docks, hoping to hide from the slavers for another day.

Epilogue Four: Milo’s new Character Sheet

Our wayward ratkin has reached the second Tier of the game, moving to Level 6 and the ability to gain more stats, more levels, and new enhancements. Follow his further adventures in Book 2.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Name: Milo/Tallsqueak Class: Were-rat Scout Race: Ratkin

Level: 6

Experience Points: 21000

Enhancement Points Available: 0

Enhancement Points Spent: 72

Vitals:

Health: 1130

(100+100 per level=700, STR bonus=+60, CON bonus=+220,Extra Health 2:+150)

Stamina: 1430

(100+100 per level=700, STR Bonus=+120,CON bonus=+110, Were-rat bonus +500)

Mana: 2240

(200+200 per Level=1400, WIS+INT Bonus =+840)

Class Bonuses:

Were-Rat Scout:+2 PER, +2 AGI, +2 DEX

Runic Engineer: +2 INT, +2 CON, +2 WIS, +2 PER, +2 TOU, +1 Free point.

Stat:

STR: 8 Rank 6, +2 Enhancement

DEX: 15 Rank 10, +2 Class Bonus, +3 Enhancement

AGI: 15 Rank 9, +2 Class Bonus, +3 Enhancement, +1 Free Point

CON: 11 Rank 6, +2 Class Bonus, +3 Enhancement

INT: 17 Rank 10, +2, Soul-Bound Item, +3 Enhancement

WIS: 11 Rank 6, +2 Class Bonus, +3 Enhancement

CHA: 0 Rank 0

PER: 14 Rank 7, +4 Class Bonus, +3 Enhancement

TOU: 5 Rank 0, +2 Class Bonus, +3 Enhancement

Runic Lore (INT) Rank 5

Perks and Special Abilities:

Shape Change to Human Form

Superior Low Light Vision

Dark Vision 20’

Enhanced Sense of Smell

+100 mana per Level (Gift of the Oracle)

The Power of Cheese! (Variable)

Hard-Runed Bones: 50% mitigation of crushing damage. Bones are nearly impossible to break.

Sharp-Runed Talons: +20 Damage per Tier to claw attacks.

Claws of Alta Viator: +20 Damage per Tier to claw attacks and increased sharpness.

Speed-Runed Skin: Double movement speed in water that contains mana.

Gift of the Oracle: Gain +200 Mana per level (Instead of 100.)

Enhancements:

Smugglers Stash 3

Invisible Tail.

Jumping Jack 1

Slashing Tail 1

Weak Poison Resistance

Weak Disease Resistance

Not-so-good Regeneration

Silent Step 1

Unnoticed

Breathless 2

Abundance 3

Skilled Provider 1

Extra Health 2

Items:

Ring of the Swiss Army

Bone-Runed Cowl

Shadow Blight (Legendary Ratkin Spikeystick)

...and a few things in his chest, forgotten in the haste of looking for cheese. J

Spells:

Exploding Skull

Bone Spike

Mend Bones

Curse of Brittle Bones