Surviving the Simulation: The Grand Crusade

The rain intensified, falling in sheets that blurred the world's edges and muffled the sounds of their approach. Xander moved with stealth, his Spectral Sight lighting up the darkness that enveloped him. The gnollshadn't yet noticed their presence, focused instead on the shipping container as they growled and barked at one another.

Zoey slipped away into the dark without a word. Xander tracked her through the rain, just long enough to watch her silhouette vanish behind the shattered frame of a half-collapsed house. The structure looked like it would fold under a strong wind, all broken beams and splintered brick, but she'd make it work. This wasn't her first rooftop rodeo.

Xander shifted his focus back to the yard. The gnolls milled restlessly, noses twitching as they circled the shipping container. They hadn't noticed her. She had cover, high ground, and if things went sideways, she'd already clocked her exit. He'd seen her glance toward a gap in the crumbled wall on approach, a fallback built into her pathing.

Letting her go first had been the right call. He just hoped the old house held together long enough to matter. Xander and Jo, meanwhile, crept along the periphery, sticking to the shadows as they circled toward the south side of the yard.

Triggering analyze, Xander took a better look at the gnolls arrayed before them.

[Analyze] Gnoll Fighter | Level: 4 | Status: Hostile | Class: Fighter
[Analyze] Gnoll Fighter | Level: 4 | Status: Hostile | Class: Fighter
[Analyze] Gnoll Fighter | Level: 5 | Status: Hostile | Class: Fighter
[Analyze] Gnoll Gunslinger | Level: 5 | Status: Hostile | Class: Gunslinger
[Analyze] Gnoll Rogue | Level: 4 | Status: Hostile | Class: Rogue

Gunslinger? That's new and probably bad. Great. Xander thought to himself. For a moment, he regretted not bringing Ford and Kane along. He was convinced that a direct confrontation wasn't the best way to eliminate this threat, but some extra backup would have been helpful. Too late to change his mind now, he thought.

Xander signaled Jo, who slipped ahead, her steps as silent as the falling rain. Their plan was simple. Divide and conquer, drawing the gnolls away from one another so they could be picked off individually.

As Jo approached the edge of the yard, she found a broken piece of timber no larger than the size of a baseball bat and hurled it into the darkness. The wood clattered against the remains of a nearby wall, the sound sharp and unexpected in the otherwise quiet night. One of the gnolls snapped its head toward the noise, snarling. It broke away from the pack, lumbering toward the sound with a mix of curiosity and aggression.

This was the moment they'd been waiting for.

Zoey's arrow flew through the night like a whispered secret, striking the gnoll squarely in the throat. A thick layer of ice formed on the gnoll's rain-soaked fur and armor from the frost damage caused by her attack. The creature gurgled, its snarl turning into a strangled cry as it staggered back, clutching at the arrow. It collapsed to the ground with a wet thud, dead before it knew what had hit it.

But the sound was enough to draw the others' attention. The two nearby gnolls turned in unison, their eyes scanning the darkness, nostrils flaring as they tried to locate the source of the attack.

"Time to move," Xander muttered under his breath.

Jo was already in motion, sliding between the shadows as she drew closer to another lone gnoll. It was the Gunslinger, a smaller, wiry creature with a broken fang sticking out of its snout and what looked like a pistol in a holster on its belt. She waited until it was just at the edge of her reach, then lunged forward, her blade flashing in the darkness. The gnoll barely had time to react as Jo's sword plunged into its side, twisting upwards toward its heart. Letting out a strangled howl, it reached for its pistol, but Jo clamped a hand over its snout, silencing it as she pulled the blood-soaked sword free. The gnoll slumped to the ground, its lifeblood mingling with the rain and its dropped weapon.

Two down. So much for the Gunslinger being a problem.

But as Xander moved to signal Zoey again, he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Something they had missed. A sixth gnoll, larger than the rest, had been lying in wait, its gaze fixed on Zoey's position.

[Analyze] Gnoll Dark Paladin | Level: 8 | Status: Hostile | Class: Dark Paladin

"Zoey!" Xander hissed, but his warning was too late.

The gnoll roared and lunged, claws scraping stone as it charged the ruins where Zoey had taken position. Xander spotted the movement a second too late. He opened his mouth to warn her, but she was already reacting.

An arrow whipped down from the rooftop, but the beast veered off its line in a burst of unnatural speed. The shot buried itself in the mud. Zoey didn't wait to see if she'd get another chance. Her silhouette blurred as she turned and sprinted for the far side of the wreck.

Xander's eyes followed her across the rooftop. She vaulted the crumbled wall without hesitation, dropped into the yard beyond, and disappeared into the dark. The gnoll came crashing after her, its sword slicing empty air as it missed by inches. No time for finesse now. She was pulling the threat away from the rest of them.

He caught flashes of motion between broken beams and half-fallen timbers, Zoey weaving through the debris with the gnoll on her heels. It snarled with fury, but she kept ahead of it, leading it deeper into the ruins.

Xander clenched his jaw. She was drawing aggro, same as they'd planned, but this wasn't a fighter chasing a shadow. Every paladin class monster they'd encountered so far had been formidable. She was going to need help.

Xander and Jo exchanged a glance. There was no time to lose. Xander sprinted after Zoey, while Jo moved to take out another lone gnoll that had followed.

He rounded the corner just in time to see the gnoll closing in on Zoey. She'd pulled it into a narrow alley choked with debris and shadows. She'd made a mistake. The alley had no avenue for retreat. Her mistake trapped her. The creature snarled as it closed the gap, a blur of fur, steel, and bad intent.

No time, Xander thought. He lowered his stance and drove forward, mud sucking at his boots as he burst into the alley. His spear hit first, the tip punching into the gnoll's rib cage with a crunch that echoed off the stone. The beast shrieked and twisted, caught between instincts and pain, but it was already too late.

Zoey moved on reflex. From Xander's angle, she was just a shape rising through the chaos, arm flashing as her dagger slammed down. The blade disappeared into the gnoll's skull with a dull, wet sound. It dropped without resistance, one last gurgle rattling in its throat before it went still.

Xander stepped back, shoulder brushing the crumbled wall, pulse pounding in his ears. Rain streamed down between them. He glanced at Zoey. She didn't say anything, just wiped her knife on the gnoll's ragged cloak and met his eyes.

Breathing hard, Xander wiped the rain from his eyes, glancing at Zoey. "You alright?"

Zoey nodded. "Thanks for the save. For a minute, I thought I was done."

Before they could catch their breath, a wild cry echoed from the yard. The remaining gnolls alerted to the skirmish were now fully aware of the danger.

"Jo!" Xander called, his voice barely carrying over the rain.

Jo was a whirlwind of motion in the yard, her blade flashing as she engaged the gnolls in close combat. One creature fell to her swift strikes, but the last two circled her, growling as they tried to find an opening.

Zoey wasted no time. She scaled the nearby ruins, bow in hand, and took aim. Her arrow struck true, embedding itself in the chest of one gnoll just as it lunged at Jo. The creature collapsed, its body twitching in the mud.

Jo slipped past the gnoll's swing and drove her blade into its chest. It dropped without a sound.

Rain filled the silence. The yard was still, broken only by the steady drum of water and the stink of blood sinking into mud. Xander scanned the field. No movement. Just bodies, steam rising where heat met cold.

Jo stepped back from the last kill. She was fast and efficient in her combat style. There was no wasted effort, just an economy of motion. Where Zoey played the field, Jo pushed forward, always controlled. Xander had seen it enough times to trust the rhythm.

Zoey regrouped without a word, boots squelching through the mud.

"That's six," Xander said. He glanced at the container. "We didn't quite hit 100% on the stealth mission objective, but in the end, they're dead, and we're not. Now let's find out if Dustin actually stockpiled what he said he did or if he was just blowing hot air."

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Zoey nodded, already moving to cover them from above as they approached the container. Jo gave Xander a tired grin. "Guess we'll find out soon enough."

The gnolls had done a number on the shipping container door and hinges. It seems Dustin wasn't too keen on someone being able to break into his container. However, the gnolls had done most of the work, and Xander could finish breaking the last hinge with little effort.

Backing away quickly, the door fell outwards and landed on the muddy ground with a squishy thud. Peering into the container, Xander saw… nothing. The entire container was empty except for a bare wooden table that sat against the back wall and several sections of bare pegboard.

"Son of a…" Xander started as he stomped into the container. "That lying sack of crap."

"Xander, you should see everything I've stockpiled. Xander, I've got enough weapons to supply an army. Xander, I could feed the entire town a five-course meal three times a day for a year." He fumed.

"Ok, let's think this through. Dustin was a bit of a blowhard but also a serious paranoid. He totally would have had a stash," Jo responded as she looked around the room. "No one ransacked the room, and it doesn't appear Dustin emptied it either."

"Dammit!" Xander said, finally losing his temper, the stress of everything finally getting to him. In a moment of frustration lashed out and he kicked the table with his steel-toed boot. However, instead of a dramatic moment of the table leg being destroyed or, at the very least, the table itself moving, nothing happened other than a solid thud.

"That didn't sound right," Jo said, turning to look at the table leg. Bending down, she examined the table. The leg didn't appear to be bolted to the floor, but it most certainly was. "You think Dustin would be paranoid to put a bunker under this place?"

"Yes, yes I do," Xander said, his frustration instantly giving way to curiosity. He had always been a sucker for a good mystery. "Zoey, this will take a few minutes. Can you get on top and keep a lookout? I don't want to get trapped in here if there are more gnolls."

Zoey grabbed the roof's edge and hoisted herself up into the darkness. Footsteps on the container's metal roof announced her settling into her vantage point. Xander pondered the table and surrounding floor for several moments. Lifting, pushing, or pulling in any direction didn't cause the table to budget.

"Thoughts?" Xander commented while holding his chin in his hand.

"There has to be a latch mechanism of some type, but I don't see anything on the table," Jo replied as she crawled under the table.

The latch wouldn't be attached to the table, Xander thought. That wouldn't be paranoid enough. What would a paranoid conspiracy theorist do? Could you even call someone a paranoid conspiracy theorist when the truth turned out to be crazier? A thought experiment for another time.

Walking over to the pegboard, Xander examined the frame. There was a little play in the framework, as if it swung out, but something prevented it. A latching mechanism for the latching mechanism? That just might be the correct level of paranoia.

"Jo, see if that pegboard over there moves," Xander said, pointing to another section of pegboard on the far side of the container.

Pulling on the frame, the pegboard swung up freely as Jo pulled on it. Calling over her shoulder, "No lever here."

"No, but it moved. Hold it up for a moment," Xander instructed before pulling on his section of pegboard again. This time, the frame swung up to reveal a solid metal lever. Pulling the lever caused the room to fill with a loud clang as the table and the floor section under it popped up several inches.

"Well, there we go. A lever to find the lever. That sounds like about the right level of paranoia for Dustin. Shall we see what our efforts have gained us?"

"Let me update Zoey," Jo called as she stepped outside.

While waiting for Jo to return, Xander lifted the table. An entire floor section swung upwards as a large trap door created a gaping hole. There were stairs down, and a powerful odor wafting from the shaft.

"That's not a pleasant smell," Jo commented as she joined Xander by his side at the top of the stairs.

"Nope."

Xander and Jo descended the narrow staircase, their boots clomping heavily on the steel steps. The dampness from the rain still clung to their clothes, and mud from the drenched earth smeared across their soles, leaving a trail of dirty footprints behind them. The air grew cooler as they ventured deeper into the underground storage bunker, and with it came a stench so foul it clawed at their throats. A vile mixture of death and decay that permeated every inch of the space.

Xander gripped his spear tighter, his eyes narrowing as they reached the bottom of the stairs. The bunker was a cramped chamber, its walls lined with shelves that groaned under the weight of an assortment of supplies.

And then they saw it.

In the far corner, slumped against the wall, was a figure. At first glance, it was just a lifeless heap, the remnants of what had once been a man. The body was withered; the skin pulled taut over a skeletal frame, and its clothes hung in tatters with a worn trucker cap on its head. Flies buzzed around the corpse, their droning a macabre symphony in the still air.

"Dustin," Xander muttered under his breath, a pang of sorrow stabbing at his heart. There was no mistaking it. The corpse was the remains of the man who had once lived here, who had once prepared for an apocalypse far different from the one that had claimed him.

But as Xander took a step closer, something changed. The body twitched with a slow, unnatural movement that sent a jolt of alarm through Xander and Jo. The stench intensified, becoming almost overbearing, as if the rot itself were coming alive.

"Xander" Jo started.

Before she could finish, the corpse moved again, this time more violently. Its head jerked upward, empty eye sockets fixing on Xander with a malevolent glare. The jaw creaked open, revealing blackened teeth as a low, guttural growl emanated from deep within the thing that had once been Dustin.

[Analyze] Dustin the Ghoul | Level: 2 | Status: Hostile | Class: None

It rose to its feet in a jerky, unnatural motion, the joints popping audibly as if they had long been unused. Xander's grip on his spear tightened, his knuckles turning white as the ghoul lunged at him with a feral snarl.

Xander reacted on instinct, thrusting his spear forward with practiced precision. The tip of the weapon pierced the ghoul's chest, sinking deep into the corrupted flesh. The creature hissed, a sound like steam escaping from a broken pipe as it clawed at the shaft of the spear, trying to wrench it free.

But Xander was already moving, his mind focused and sharp. He felt the familiar surge of power coursing through him as he triggered a radiant smite. A divine energy that thrummed with righteous fury. He channeled that energy through the spear. The weapon glowing with an ethereal light as the power of the divine manifested.

A blinding bolt of holy light shot through the spear and into the ghoul's body, igniting it from within. The creature let out a hideous scream, its voice a twisted wail of pain and rage as the divine energy consumed it. In seconds, the ghoul that had been Dustin was reduced to nothing but a smoldering pile of dust.

Xander stood there silently, the spear still crackling with residual energy. His heart ached with the weight of what he had just done. He looked down at the ashes that had once been Dustin, feeling a deep sorrow for the man who had fallen victim to the darkness that now plagued the world.

"I'm sorry, Dustin," Xander whispered.

Jo moved beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You did what was necessary," she said softly. "It wasn't him anymore."

Xander nodded, though the sadness in his eyes remained. He pulled his gaze away from the ashes and turned his attention to the surrounding room.

The bunker was a treasure trove of supplies. A grim testament to Dustin's meticulous preparations. Cans of food, jars of preserved goods, and containers filled with dried meat and fruit lined the shelves. Packed boxes contained non-perishable items, everything from powdered milk to vacuum-sealed bags of rice and beans. There were knives, crossbows, and an assortment of firearms. All meticulously maintained, their metal surfaces gleaming even in the dim light.

Xander's eyes swept across the bounty, taking in the crossbows with their neatly bundled bolts, the knives laid out in careful rows, and the guns lined up like soldiers ready for battle. There were medical supplies, too. Bandages, antiseptics, even antibiotics sealed in waterproof containers.

"He really was ready for the end," Jo said.

"Let's gather what we can," Xander said quietly. "Dustin's work won't go to waste. We'll honor his memory by using what he left behind to survive."

Jo nodded, and together, they gathered the supplies, working in silence save for the occasional clink of metal or rustle of paper. The air in the bunker remained thick with the scent of decay, but the oppressive sense of death had lifted, replaced by a determined purpose.

When they finally emerged from the bunker, their packs laden with food, weapons, and supplies, the rain was still falling, and the world outside was cold and unwelcoming. Much of the supplies had been too large to fit into the mouth of Xander's survival belt inventory. They'd filled up on the most essential items and would make sure the expedition stopped at the cache to clear out everything else in the morning. The trapdoor slid back into place with a final thunk, and the trio returned to their encampment.

"Nothing in the way of loot that is going to replace any of our current gear, but we certainly won't be going hungry. Some other folks might get an upgrade from some knives and crossbows. The guns are useless, and I'm going to recommend we don't even take them since they're dead weight," Xander said, providing Zoey with an update.

"Are guns useless? That one gnoll had a Gunslinger class and a pistol," Zoey said, holding up the gnoll's belt and weapon she retrieved. "Look at this. The damned thing burnt me when I picked it up. You'll see why when you analyze it."

Emberstrike Pistol
Quality: Uncommon
Enchantments: Flame Burst Rounds, Flame Attuned
Description: A sleek, black six-round revolver with a barrel that appears to shimmer like the embers of a smoldering fire. Charred wood forms the handle, warm to the touch, and faint wisps of smoke escape the cylinder when fired. When fired, the revolver shoots a bullet that explodes into flames upon impact. Target takes additional fire damage besides standard piercing damage. Warning! This weapon is restricted to classes attuned to fire magic. Classes attuned to other elements will take damage upon firing the weapon. Classes attuned to frost-based elements will take damage upon holding the weapon.

"Yeah, Arctic Warden," Xander said, eyeing the weapon with a frown. "That definitely puts you on the 'don't touch' list. You alright?"

Zoey flexed her fingers, the skin along her palm red and angry. "I'll live. Burned like hell for half a second. Guess that counts as user feedback."

Xander turned the Emberstrike Pistol over in his hands. The weapon gave off a faint heat, just enough to be felt through his gloves, and wisps of smoke curled lazily from the chamber. He didn't like unknowns, especially ones that bit the moment you picked them up.

"This is the first functional firearm we've seen in the Simulation," he said, half to himself. "And it's enchanted, keyed to fire magic. If guns are starting to show up like this, it changes the gear economy. Or the playbook. Or both."

He let that sink in for a beat, then glanced at Zoey. "Mind if I hold on to it? It's not much use to us, but someone in Starlight might know what to make of it."

Zoey shrugged. "It's either you or Jo. And you've got the inventory belt."

"Right," Xander said dryly, sliding the pistol and belt into his belt pouch. "Team pack mule, reporting for duty."