Surviving the Simulation: The Grand Crusade

The wagons made the return to the safe zone a lot easier than walking. Still, if travel was going to be a regular thing, Xander needed a better option than just his boots. A horse was the obvious choice, but could it survive random monster attacks and dungeon crawls? He wasn't about to treat an animal like expendable gear unless he had a way to keep it safe.

The majority of the return trip was uneventful, aside from the former captives bombarding them with questions. Most were from the Danville area and had been taken in the early moments of the reboot. Xander now understood what the 'information reward' part of the quest had meant. Since their original theory about the invasion source had been wrong, he was hoping for a better lead.

They knew little about the Simulation itself, but their stories pointed to one likely culprit. An overflowing dungeon.

It matched what Xander had suspected before, even if he hadn't had the evidence to back it up. Eyewitness accounts were always shaky, but enough survivors described similar details to build a solid case. Each remembered receiving a notification that they'd entered what they now realized was a dungeon. The name was fuzzy, but most agreed it had been a mine. The ore they'd found in the carts also supported that information.

The most valuable detail, though, was a location. Based on landmarks described, the dungeon had to be in one of two abandoned mines scattered through the Pollywogs. Now all they had to do was survive the next wave, and shut the source down for good.

A shout from Major Rex drew Xander's attention back to the front of the cart he was riding in. While the return trip was uneventful regarding monster attacks, it was not a quiet one. Rex and the leader of the safe zone team had done nothing but bicker the entire trip. It sounded like Rex had taken exception to the implication that the current situation was all his responsibility and that not only had he wasted three days of searching; he had also abandoned supplies that would have been critical to the safe zone. Xander frowned upon hearing that as this was a group effort with very little information as a starting point, and more importantly because the people they rescued were way more important than a bunch of ore the safe zone couldn't even smelt yet. Some people were just looking to cover their own butt and scapegoat Rex.

"I tell you what, when we get back, my team and I will gladly take the blame for this operation. An operation that I will remind you cost me one of my own men. In return, we'll pack up and head out to our original destination. We're all dealing with a new world here and if you feel my leadership isn't up to the task, I'll turn the reins over to you," Rex said, his face red with anger.

Xander tuned out the rest of the conversation, as it had been the same thing for the entire trip. The situation with the safe zone had been strained since the first battle, and Rex was reaching a point where he felt he had delayed his mission long enough to help ungrateful people. Xander couldn't say he disagreed. He certainly wanted to walk away and get to the campground. But Jo would have wanted him to help these people if he could. So he wasn't ready to throw the towel in just yet. Depending on the reception when they got back to the high school, though, Xander thought he may change his mind. Deciding there was no point getting worked up over something that hadn't happened yet, he turned his attention to the new item he had received and reviewing his skill gains from the past few days.

Verdant Survival Belt
Quality: Rare
Enchantments: Spatial Inventory Description: This bushcraft belt has two pockets capable of holding more than they appear. The lower pocket can hold up to five cubic feet of inventory while the upper pocket can hold up to two cubic feet. All items will be weightless while in the spatial inventory but must be able to fit through the opening of each pocket. Warning! Spatial Inventory is not suitable for storing living material.

Xander had looked at the item several times since receiving it for being one of the top two contributors during the Harbinger of Retribution fight, and he still couldn't believe it. While not a weapon or armor, it was an absolute game changer in his mind. Not only did it take a large amount of weight for survival supplies, it also expanded the amount Xander could keep on hand. Unlike his old bushcraft belt, this one was some type of leather and had intricate decorative tooling. Other than looking better than his old belt, from the outside it had two pouches on the right-hand side, one on top of the other, placing one at the waist and the other at the thigh. On the left-hand side was a holder for his bushcraft tool, knife, and camp axe.

Not wanting to share the functionality of the belt with everyone else present, Xander quietly reorganized his gear to move everything he could, from his backpack to the pouches. He was concerned about how retrieving items would work, but after a little experimentation found that it was intuitive. All he needed to do was think of the item he wanted and he would find he could grab it from the correct pouch. Xander had already made a list of other items he'd like to add to his kit that hadn't been viable because of concerns regarding weight and backpack space.

+2 Light Armor | Congratulations! You are looking stylish in that leather armor!

+3 Survival | Congratulations! You have learned the basics of roughing it away from civilization and safe harbor. Due to the Simulation error, you have been awarded five additional skill points because of knowledge gained before the reboot.

+1 Mace Combat | Congratulations! Batter up!

The skill gains weren't great, but getting to build a bushcraft campsite for a change instead of just finding a hole to hide in finally triggered a new skill, survival. Seemed like a bit of a misnomer to Xander since everything had to do with survival, but given that this triggered when he was building a camp and took his previous off grid camping experience into consideration it was fair to say it was more focused on being able to find shelter, food, and things of that nature. Xander, with his mild prepper-be-prepared attitude, would have called it bushcraft.

There were just under six hours left to go before the next attack when the caravan arrived in the safe zone. Xander could tell they had been busy in the last several days setting up defenses but he could also see Victor, Cynthia, and the third person he'd met in the conference room the last time waiting for them at the new entrance to the main compound.

Hopping down from the carts, the leaders of the three separate groups approached the council. Behind them, Xander could hear the former captives climbing out of the wagons. A few tearful reunions already underway.

"Ma'am, these two squandered our time looking for the main gnoll army by leading us around in circles! I told you we shouldn't have trusted them," the leader of the safe zone team barked before anyone could offer a report.

"I wouldn't say rescuing a large group of people from captivity and forced labor qualifies as squandered," Rex said through gritted teeth. "As you very well know, no one here had good intel on where the gnolls were coming from, and we came up with the plan together."

"I'm sure you men tried," Cynthia replied in an icy tone, "but it seems you weren't able to live up to the hopes we all had."

Xander stepped forward before Victor could interject.

"Then let's talk facts instead of hopes," he said, voice calm but firm. "We recovered captives. We confirmed the dungeon source. And we kept your safe zone from losing more people than it already has. That may not be perfect, but it's not failure."

Cynthia's eyes filled with ice and anger at the rebuke, but she said nothing.

Xander frowned. She hadn't been this bitter before. Something had shifted. She had harder eyes and a colder voice. Was it pressure? Fear? Or something worse?

"Folks," Victor said smoothly, "perhaps we should move this inside for a full debrief and strategy before the next attack. As you can see, our defenses have improved. We knew stopping the next assault was a longshot. That's why we had a plan B."

As the group filed into the building to continue the conversation in a more private setting, Xander flagged Zoey down and asked her to look at the defenses and, more importantly, to find out if anyone had heard from Alex yet. Rex had a similar idea and sent the engineer from his team to check things over as well.

The scent of sawdust still hung in the air, mixing with the faint tang of oil and scorched metal. Outside, the late sun caught on the newly forged braces reinforcing the perimeter, each glint a small promise that the next fight might be less one-sided.

Zoey and the engineer walked off in the same direction, chatting. They were too far for Xander to hear what they were saying, but given how often the pair glanced back at the council, one could only imagine.

Once inside the conference room, Xander and Rex recounted everything that had happened over the past couple of days. While it was true, they hadn't stopped the second gnoll attack, they did now know the location of the dungeon and, with it, a chance to stop a third.

The third council member, a former shop teacher from the high school, had mobilized quite a force to build a more defensible position. Another group of adventurers had discovered the safe zone while traveling from the northern edge of Champaign. Xander and Rex were both eager to hear what the situation was like to the northwest, but that would have to wait.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"The new party of reliable adventurers has established themselves at an observation post on the roof. They have a mage, a couple of archers, and a cleric in their group," Cynthia said, clearly trying to needle Xander and Rex for their perceived failure.

"Also, we have built three watchtowers on the east side of the compound. The plan is to have them all the way around, but focused on the area with the known threat first. Several safe zone members have managed to get a level. It's my hope that we'll need to rely less on you, Major Rex, to direct the fight, but have our captain of the guard run the battle."

"Ma'am, while I understand your position, is your man familiar with group combat tactics?" Rex said, obviously more than a little offended.

"Rex, how about your team and mine act as a strike unit? We'll hunt down the enemy commanders and leader. We'll let your captain of the guard defend the walls," Xander suggested. In his opinion, the actual way they had ended the fight the last time was to take the head off the snake. If they could decapitate the leadership of the attackers quickly, that should take the fight out of the rest, or at the very least give a damage reduction to the attackers.

"Then once we're done with the battle, we can go to plan C, which is heading out to find the dungeon and stop it at the source."

"Isn't plan C just plan A again?" Victor inquired.

"No, we know where the gnoll army is coming from this time. Totally new plan," Xander responded, with no sarcasm in his voice.

Xander was thankful that the rest of the planning session went well, at least as well as he expected, with the constant negativity from Cynthia. Zoey had returned from her survey halfway through the planning meeting with Rex's engineer. The pair confirmed the defenses were in good shape.

One point Xander didn't think anyone was acknowledging was that this would be the second wave. And if the Simulation followed video game logic, wave two would be tougher. Smarter tactics, stronger monsters, higher stakes.

The defenses had definitely improved. But in his mind, they'd only just reached the level they should've had before the first attack. Which meant they were still behind.

Nothing good would come from calling that out right now. Morale was fragile, and pessimism wouldn't help anyone hold the line. He filed the thought away for later.

With the session concluded, Zoey and Xander went to scout a good stalking point to launch from when the attack began. They were mid-debate about whether it would be better to start inside the walls or from one of the nearby abandoned buildings when Victor approached.

"Xander, Zoey, could I trouble you for a moment? There's a matter I'd like to discuss," Victor said as he neared them.

Zoey didn't smile. "Of course, Victor. What can we do for you?" she asked.

Xander caught the edge in her tone. She'd pegged Victor from the start: a smooth operator with too many answers and not enough transparency. The kind of guy who could sell you a shovel while burying your reputation.

"Yes, that tone in your voice is exactly what I wanted to talk about," Victor said, offering a light chuckle as if he hadn't just walked into a wall of ice. "I owe you both an apology for the councilor's behavior. Honestly, I don't know what's gotten into her. We're all under stress, but she's been more combative than the situation warrants. Seems determined to alienate the very people keeping us alive."

"Not going to lie, I find it more than a little annoying that we seem to be persona non grata, for some reason. Both Rex and I have goals of our own that we're putting on hold to help here," Xander said with disappointment clear in his voice.

"For what it's worth, I appreciate the work you're doing for us. Well, anyway, I need to get back to the final preparations. Good luck out there," Victor said as he turned away. "Oh, one more thing. Should we all come out the other side of this thing, please see me before you head back out to close the dungeon. I need a little favor while you're out."

Watching Victor leave, Xander waited until it was just him and Zoey. "That wasn't weird at all."

"Did you notice he got a class? Alchemist," Zoey replied.

"No… No I did not. That's interesting," Xander said, taking another look down the hallway Victor had walked down.

Given that everyone he'd talked to so far had gotten class choices based on either actions taken since the reboot or their occupations before the reboot, Xander thought it interesting that Victor was an alchemist. Especially since he knew Victor had been a salesperson or politician before the reboot.

Filing that information away for later, Xander returned to the matter at hand and worked out their plan for hunting down the leaders of the next attack. During the conversation, Xander also updated Zoey on the new bushcraft belt he had received as a reward item.

"That's crazy! Getting the overpowered gear. Maybe you are the main character!" Zoey laughed.

"Ha ha, hilarious. Okay, head in the game. We've only got a couple of hours before the next attack. What did you think of the new adventuring team?" Xander asked.

"We've got time. You should meet them yourself. I'll save my opinion until after you've had time to form your own," Zoey said.

The pair took the short walk to the roof access. Opening the door to the roof, Xander took in what he thought was a bit of a bizarre sight. Standing on one side of the roof were the safe zone's regular archers. Each had a stand near their station with arrows or bolts, depending on if they were using bows or crossbows along with other items that would be useful in the middle of a fight: healing potions, bandages, water… things of that nature.

The group looked more like the kind of backwoods family every town had: five or six cars on blocks, couches on the front porch, and just enough loud confidence to make you nervous. They wore matching camouflage shirts and pants, but unlike Major Rex's team, the sporting goods store's clearance rack supplied their outfits.

There were no stations. No lookout posts. Just several guys standing around drinking what Xander quickly confirmed was beer.

A moment later, they burst into a chant. "Chug, chug, chug!" Egging on one member in a sleeveless tee as he knocked back a can with the practiced flair of a tailgate veteran.

Xander wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the scene, but didn't.

Instead, he felt a quiet ripple of unease. These were the people they'd be depending on when the next wave hit. And from the look of things, they didn't seem to understand what was coming or just didn't care.

If all that wasn't strange enough, besides the crossbows each person had with them, they also appeared to have a mobile ballista type weapon. The weapon was too small for a fixed emplacement weapon built for fortifications, but it also didn't look like the type associated with hunting. What it reminded him of, he thought, was if someone had thought what a fifty-caliber machine gun would look like if it had to fire bolts instead.

There was no stock, just a long straight handle at the rear with the trigger mechanism and a handhold on the top of the crossarm. Each bolt looked to be three feet long and Xander swore there was dynamite strapped to several of the bolts.

How would that even work? He wondered. Not to mention the fact that if gunpowder didn't fire any longer, then the dynamite was probably a dud, too. Curiosity getting the better of him, he tried to analyze the weapon.

Heavy Arbalest
Quality: Common
Enchantments: Information Restricted to Owner
Description: An Arbalest is a type of crossbow that falls between handheld versions and larger siege weapons. Its larger size characterized the arbalest compared to typical crossbows, but is still more compact and portable than a full-scale ballista.

Even knowing what it was, it still boggled Xander's mind a little, but he also would not question it too much. A weapon like that could punch clean through almost any type of armor he'd seen so far. He was sure that the firing speed would be a tradeoff, but it seemed to be a very scary weapon.

Looking at the group, they all appeared to be between level five and seven. That was a good sign, plus they had an Ember Mage in their group. Xander allowed himself to have a moment of hope that this fight would go better than the last. Plan for the worst, hope for the best, he reminded himself.

"What's happening there, big hoss!" the large man who had chugged the beer called out in way of greeting as he threw his beer can over the side. "Come to check out my big… weapon?"

Great, locker room humor, Xander thought, "Hey there! Just came up to meet the new group of adventurers that came in. Myself and Major Rex each lead a team of our own. Was hoping to get some info on what's happening back toward Champaign when this is all over."

"Sure thing, chief! We'll take care of the dog problem, then we can hook up. Are you the guys that came up from the south? Victor said something about a dungeon down that way. We want some info on that. We're thinking we'll go spank it after we're done here," boasted the big man.

"Yep, that's us. Happy to swap info," Xander said, motioning between him and Zoey. "Question, though, is that dynamite I see on a couple of those? Are they live? We thought all the gunpowder was inert."

"Hell yeah! Tick, tick, boom!" He laughed as all his companions fell over at the word 'boom' as if it was a well-rehearsed joke. "Anything before the evil computer took over doesn't work, but there's a crafting recipe for making a new version."

"Wait, does that mean we could probably make guns again?" Xander asked hopefully.

"Doubtful. This stuff is crude as heck. It's going to be good enough to blast anything in a ten-foot radius, though. We're going to open up with those while the dogs are away from the gates."

Having seen enough, Xander wanted to get back down to the ground level and stake out his claim. Shaking his head slightly, he and Zoey parted with the eclectic group, only to run into Major Rex, heading for the main exit as well.

"Met the yokels, did you?" Rex said, bemused.

Xander smirked. "Interesting bunch, that's for sure. Did you see that big honking crossbow thing with dynamite strapped to its projectiles?"

"Yeah, my engineer was practically drooling. None of the crew upstairs has the formula, though. They received it from an older man who passed away," Rex said, grimacing. "At least we know it's possible, I suppose."

Xander's smirk faded. The absurdity of the rooftop beer-chugging brigade still lingered in the back of his mind, but Rex's mention of the man who'd passed grounded the moment fast. Even here, surrounded by chaos and makeshift camaraderie, death was never more than a half-step behind.

"We've picked a spot," he said, tone shifting as he pointed toward a crumbling storefront just outside the safe zone perimeter. "Zoey and I are going to hunker down over there. Stay low, then strike when the elites or commanders show up."

"How about we join you? I think without Alex, you may have a tough time. Plus, I'm down more men too after that Harbinger fight. I'd like to stick together to improve our chances," Rex suggested. "Oh, one more thing. Did Victor stop by and talk to you?"

"Yeah, he get you too?"

"Yep, apologized for the way the council was treating us and all that jazz. Then asked if I'd stop by before we head out. Something about a favor," Rex supplied.

"Zoey and I got the same speech." Xander paused before continuing, "We've been in a couple scrapes together, so I'm going to be straight with you. Something funky is going on with the council. I'm not sure what, but there are some… oddities."

Rex listened while Xander outlined all the lines that didn't really seem to connect, ranging from the librarian's change of attitude, Victor having an alchemy class, and several missing persons including the former council faculty and Alex. Rex was about to reply when the captain of the guard interrupted.

"Guys, head out to your spots. The scouts just reported that the next wave was coming, and it looks tougher than the last. Which building are you going to hide out in?" the captain said.

"Thanks for the heads up. We're heading out now. We'll be setting up in that building," Xander said, pointing out the location he'd decided on. He wasn't surprised this wave looked hard; he was just tired of being correct about such things.