The Autocraft Alchemist

Chapter 38



Between Richard and his father they were able to get the potions loaded in a single trip. "Did you want to come along? You can meet with the lads who are going to do the testing? Maybe even take part as well?" his father asked and slammed the tailgate closed.

Richard had been wondering about the clan since he found out about it during the ratter invasion. And while he did try to find some information about it online. It was only conspiracy theories and half truths. Someone wanted information about the clans buried, and had managed it quite well. "I'd like that. Though, I wonder if you could fill me in on the clan some more?"

"Might as well. Tell you what you've found out and I'll fill in the rest."

They hopped into his father's light truck and then started off towards the Boroughs. While they drove through Welf Richard explained the issues that he had with finding information about the clans and his father shook his head.

"One of the first things to fall after the break was the government. They fell to infighting after the dungeons appeared and banned people from going inside. Most of them around the world did. They argued over who got the rights to enter. Just government people? Corps? Military?

"The delay in action pushed the world from bad to worse. As the arguing continued the dungeons continued to build up monsters. And, which everyone now knows, caused them to break out after they reached critical levels.

"While the governments were still bickering amongst themselves, we the people, rose up and fought back against the monsters that were killing us. We found out that levels could be gained inside of the dungeons. And with those levels we could better fight back against the released monsters. From there we needed a way to band together. A way to collectively fight back against the break monsters while trying to keep the dungeons under control."

"And that was the clans?"

"Sort of. At first it was tyrants, robber kings, and all the like. Strong people gathering people to themselves and preying upon others. Some people tried with guilds like what appeared in games. But they were flimsy. Prone to breaking up as people became more powerful and their egos ballooned. We just ended up back where we started.

"It wasn't until some people found solidarity in clans. Working together. Living together. Fighting together. Gaining power together. All for a common good. And over time the clan model was copied, we didn't come up with it, and the area came to a tense peace."

"That… that's so much more than what I was able to find online," Richard said. "I thought that the internet was supposed to be a place for information."

"Well, it's more of an intranet. But that's a conversation for another time. After we found peace, then came the politicians. They wanted things to go back to the way that it was. Many of the normal people did as well. Which meant that the clans, which held more power than politicians, which had more power than the country ever did, had to go. We fought with them, not with swords, but with words. And in the end we ceded to their demands. But not without our own concessions being put into place."

Richard looked out the window. They were passing through a small section of the city that had been recovered. But had yet to be settled. It was inside of the walls so it should be safe enough. And yet there weren't enough people who wanted to live there. So there was a small expanse of nothing. Just ruins and overgrowth. A lingering reminder of the break. "That sounds like it would be a shitty deal no matter how you slice it."

His father smiled at him before he looked back to the road. "I know right? But there were people like your mother who wanted to rest. Wanted their loved ones to rest. And leave the fighting to the next generation. And so, we retired the clan.

"But we retained our identities. The right to fight back against outside threats. As well as to remove such threats should they impact clan members. And the promise that should the government fail us that we have the option to rise again. Though not many are left. Old age and families do that."

"I see." From how it sounded the clans had done their job. They helped humanity rise again from the monsters of the break. And had become something that was deemed unnecessary. "How do the guilds compare?"

"They are in the hands of those who chase profits. Maybe they weren't at the start. But they have tended towards that over enough time. I… I don't think that the clans would have been any better given enough years. People tend to forget things that are inconvenient. And only remember the things that prove the path that they took was right. Or those that fit their own ideals."

Richard sighed. He had hoped that it would have been an entertaining conversation with his father about history. But it had turned into something a lot more dense than he expected. "I wonder really. If they would have fallen to the same vices as the guilds?"

"We can never be sure. But if we look to the clans beyond the wastes. They seem to take the worst from both the guilds and politicians. It's possible we could have stood against that. But maybe it was for the best that the clans were forced into retirement. It's harder to keep someone honest when they are too powerful."

"Were there many clans?"

"Sure. Lots of small ones. But only a few others were as large as the Horns. Like the Punchers, and Bobs. Bobs got wiped out in a break though. So I don't know if they made it to the table."

They turned off of the main road and onto a gravel driveway that led onto a small holding. And holding might have been a strong word to use. As it was really just a single house where a chain link perimeter fence had been cobbled together. The fence looked like it was ready to fall over and would fail to keep a person out let alone something like a monster.

"This is our secret base," his father said with a smile. "The government tried to prevent us from gathering. But we nixed that. Since we considered one another family it wasn't something that we would have tolerated or accepted. Also," he leaned in close, "this base is another one of those secrets your mother is better off not knowing." He clapped Richard on the shoulder. "Now let's see what those old timers are up to."

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***

Jackie looked over her shield at the spiked barricade in front of her. She was standing in a tunnel that was large enough that 4 or so people could stand side by side in. While the ceiling was a little low and the taller members of their joint clan-guild strike force needed to duck.

"I can see beady little eyes hiding behind something that won't save them. This seems like it might be the main warren?" Jackie asked. The ratters on the other side of the fortification were hesitant to step into the light. And they squinted and shaded their eyes against the light as they hissed and gnashed their teeth. One good thing about being outside of the dungeons was that electric light sources not only worked, but were an excellent way to light up ratter warrens and tunnels.

Those who were left of her party were standing around her. While a little further back was a group from the Sword Souls. Of the guilds in the city they were the only ones who came forward to help root out the warrens. Her grandson, Daniel, was somewhere amongst them. The following combat would do him some good.

"Maybe. Maybe not. It really just depends on how long it's been," Grace said. She was also dressed in heavy armor and was one of the better tanks of the clan who were still active.

"Only one way to find out," Albright said. He slammed his two hammer gauntlets together and a spark flew into the air.

"That's how you always think, nothing a little hammering can't fix," Grace said and lowered her visor.

He turned to her and smiled. "How many years have we known one another? You would have been against it if it didn't work."

"Alright. Enough flirting. How you two married other people is beyond me," Jackie said.

Albright showed a big grin and said, "Pace was just too cute." He probably would have continued to gush about his wife if Jackie hadn't glared at him. The ratters were getting impatient and looked like they were going to charge from behind the barricade soon. Light be damned.

"We'll start with the Flash Potions and then charge in like we've been doing," Jackie said.

"They do seem to be getting wise to the tactic," Klein said. He was wearing the same trench coat that he had all those years ago. When she first saw him in it she wondered how the hell he managed to keep it from falling apart. But no matter how much he was teased about it by the others Klein never gave his secret.

"Well. Then we'll give them the one-two," Jackie said. She pulled a potion from her belt, shouted "Flash!" and tossed it. There was a blinding flash when the potion hit the barricade. "Second flash!" she yelled out and threw the second one.

The first potion had only produced a small amount of noise from the ratters. But after the second one the sounds of their their hisses and screams confirmed that the tunnel was filled with them. Without giving them a chance to recover Albright charged into the barricade, and then through it, and into the ratters sardined behind it.

Grace muttered something under her breath and she charged in after him. Taunting the ratters who were trying to stab Albright in the kidneys. Said stabbing was the right idea in a vacuum, but since his level was so much higher than the ratters they have a hard time just breaking his skin.

Before Jackie could take another step Klein had finished his aria and a beam of frost shot past the party and into the ratters. First it landed on a ratter who was frozen solid where it was standing. A moment later the rime covered ratter shattered and the freezing energy chained into several other ratters who were likewise frozen.

Albright then let out a bellow and charged into the frozen ratters laughing gleefully as he shattered them. Their assault into the room was enough for the others to break in. And between the old timers and the Sword Souls they made short work of the ratters who were resisting. And even shorter work of the ones who remained.

Jackie leaned against the wall as she caught her breath. "It's getting harder and harder to deal with this crap. Why the hell are we here again?"

"Because you wanted one last campaign?" Albright asked.

"No, no. It's because she couldn't stand these vile creatures," Grace said. "They attacked our homes and thought to get away without paying for it."

"I'm pretty sure she wanted to be battler granny. At least one last time. We haven't been out for a walk in years. So it's been nice to get a good stretch."

Jackie cut off Grace with a wave of her hand. "It was a rhetorical question. And we are here because the bloody government can't be bothered to patrol this deep into the wilds."

The final member of their party appeared. And Lala jumped and skipped her way through the battlefield towards where Jackie and the others were resting. "Report, there are signs of a break here. This is probably the main site where the ratters come from. There is also a rather alarming amount of unicorn drops here. Both ones that have been processed into weapons and raw. We have found another location nearby that might have been the site of another dungeon. But it appears to have been cleared and not a break."

Jackie laughed. "So they screwed themselves?"

"How do you mean? Albright asked.

"They broke out of the dungeon here. And then probably found the other one. Unicorns are pretty vicious, and high level. But I bet they can't deal with a swarm. The ratters had a source of drops for food and gear. And they probably popped the place by mistake. This is why ratter's can't be left alone. They learn too much, too fast."

"I've got the scouts out looking for any other satellite settlements. So far we are seeing traces of paths and tunnels leading deeper into the wilds," Lala said. "When the drone footage comes in we'll have a better idea."

"Alright. Let's start cleaning up here. Get the body piles going and we'll see if anything comes out of the ground for a bite. Then we'll probably need to restock on consumables. Also we are getting low on Flash Potions."

They split up then, each to work on the task that they felt less opposed to. Albright for some reason always ended up on body duty. While Grace took watch outside for anything that might look to sneak up on them. Klein was probably deep in whatever ratter artifacts or fetishes he might find. Someone would also need to check the armory, as there was a chance that there might be something powerful among the unicorn drops. Probably Lala.

Jackie sighed and stayed in place. She was getting too old for all the running around she had done. Maybe it would be a good idea to hand things over to the next generation after all? Though they would need to put the forks to the government first. Make some room for people to just live the way that they want to. Without some incompetent, armchair, and uninitialized suit telling people what to do with the dungeons and the land they reclaim.

Daniel peeked his head around a tunnel and she waved him over. The boy was strong enough. He just needed a little more gusto when it came to things. Maybe she could pass the torch over to him? She laughed at the thought. The way that he recoiled as he stumbled through the ratter bodies showed that he was still too green.


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