Chapter 45: A Private Market, Part 2 (Patreon)

Author's note: In the previous chapter, I realized that Logan told Ernie that he would return in the night to transport the octopuses. I've updated that now to the next day.

Logan got Ernie up to speed and made sure that he was gathering the octopuses who wanted to leave. Ernie’s outlook on life had done a 180. He was no longer muttering about Pied and skill rings; instead, he was enthused about his growing army, his horns jumping up and down like whack-a-moles, his pale Liche colors fluctuating. He was a bundle of energy, his tentacles dancing up and down, his mouth gaping, his eyes alight in pleasure as he inventoried each additional minion.

“Remember,” said Logan, slightly worried that Ernie would be too distracted to take in anything other than his growing army. “Watch them. Watch them with your life.”

Ernie paused, his tentacles stilling as he grinned. “Pfft! It will be child’s play, Logan! With my mighty army, I could create a wall of monsters, circling your brethren! No one will touch them! For I rival all.”

Logan winced as he thought of Lara’s reaction to being surrounded by undead zombies. “That’s not necessary. Just keep them close to the shore and monitor the area. Lara will let out the alarm if there’s a problem, but hopefully your minions will be able to stop anything before it gets to that point.”

Shoot paced up and down the beach, her tail swinging from side-to-side, green flowers blooming on the end. She reminded him of a cat, desperate to get to her owner, but unwilling to get her feet wet.

“I can help too, Mother!” she chirped. Clawing the ground, she bounced, digging in with the sand and making it go flying. “I will stay close to the little ones and jump to Ernie if there’s a problem!”

Right, Shoot also had a teleportation skill.

On top of that, Shoot had the ability to level just from gaining acceptance from others. If she cozied up to Lara and the kids and charmed them, she might jump a few extra levels.

Logan strode out of the water and up onto the beach, his wet feet soaking the sand. Even in the morning, it was already close to a hundred degrees, making the sand feel like burning coals.

Peering down, he deployed [Mimicry Armour], not bothering to take sand out of his spatial collar since it was all around him. In seconds, he’d managed to shift the sand underneath his feet into solid sandstone, sculpting the material and giving himself a pair of boots.

Logan crouched and gave Shoot a gentle look. “You’ll protect them? Protect them with your life?”

Shoot panted, her tail swaying. “Yes, mother!”

Logan nodded. “I know you’ll do a good job.”

Logan had one more thing to do before he left, and that was to make sure that he spread the word about his lodestone so that he’d at least make one of the requirements of his Build an Empire Quest.

“Ernie,” he said, turning to the water. “Give me ten minutes and then I’ll take your brethren away.” Already, offshore, there was a massive swarm of tentacles that danced together as the octopuses of assorted sizes gathered. Dozens of eyes blinked at him as waves passed over their heads, the water glinting orange underneath the smoggy sky.

Logan pinched the bridge of his nose and blew out a breath. He felt pulled in different directions with too many priorities to count. Right now, the most important tasks were to take care of Ernie’s octopus transportation side quest in the quickest time as possible, make sure Jack’s cabin was safe, and then tackle his Build an Empire quest.

That meant time was ticking.

Striding up the beach, Logan made his way to Brooke and Chase’s group. They’d piled together, sleeping on blankets and towels. Half of them were already awake, rummaging around in backpacks and bags, looking for food, while the others were trying to sleep, pulling blankets over top of their heads to block the light.

Brooke along with another man Logan didn’t know had stood guard for the rest of the night. They looked weary, their shoulders slumped and dark circles underneath their eyes.

The man had thinning hair, and he was sweating in the heat, scalp shining red, his shirt pulled to the side, his collar torn. His stubble had grown out of control, giving him a small beard, but it had grown in unkempt; his lip bare, his chin full of scraggly facial hair. He had a round nose and thin lips, his brown eyes bloodshot.

Strands of hair were exploding out of Brooke’s braid, her pants filthy with dirt and blood. Huh. The next time he found an abandoned home, even a store, it might be worth picking up a selection of clothes that he could add to his private market. Creature comforts were something that had taken a backseat to monsters and death, but eventually, people would be craving for normality.

Logan scanned them with [Idiot’s Inspect]:

[Brooke Fisher: Level 25. A human being.]

[Highest Stat: Intelligence. Characteristics: An analytical mind. Hidden name: Brooke.]

[Frederick Nedtuck: Level 15. A human being.]

[Highest Stat: Agility. Characteristics: Not what he seems. Hidden name: Fred.]

Brooke had leveled up twice in the fight with the rat army, but other than that, she was the same. But he didn’t know what to think of Frederick’s characteristics. It reminded him of the [Charlatan] class that let you hide your level. Logan scrutinized him, opening his senses and scanning his aura, but it was what he’d expect for someone level 15.

Either way, he bore watching.

“I have to leave,” said Logan.

Brooke’s eyes widened.

“Only for a few hours, and I’ll be back, but I’ll be gone for the morning. My bonded—”

“Hold on,” said Brooke as she flagged down Chase, gesturing for him to come over. The man looked groggy, having only went to bed halfway through the night, but as soon as he saw Brooke, his face paled, and he scrambled over.

“What is it?” he said. “Are we under attack?”

Sarah trailed him, her face full of worry. Logan was so used to viewing her as his boss that it was difficult to reconcile this version of her. His boss was steady, no nonsense and demanding. This version of Sarah didn’t compute. And even worse, her gaze kept drifting to his chest and shoulders where his shirt clung to his body. Logan felt an uncomfortable sensation trickle through him, making him want to retreat. Or put on his armour.

Sarah had two bright spots of color on her cheeks, although her lips were bloodless and chapped. Clenching her fingers anxiously, she glanced from Logan to Chase. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing is wrong,” said Logan. “I just have to leave for a few hours.” Come to think of it, he’d never asked if they wanted to come with him to the cabin. “I have a friend who has a cabin on Okanagan Lake. It’s large and powered by solar panels. It’s not big enough for everyone, but there are properties along the shoreline that could house the rest. Or I guess… you could camp out on the property line in front of the beach?”

It would depend upon their comfort level. But Logan had already cleared out the neighbour’s property, and that thing was massive. “Is that something that would interest you?”

“Is it secure?” asked Brooke.

“That’s why I need to leave. I’m going to make it that way. Secure for my sister and her kids. I went to Pied’s Kingdom to rescue them and find them a safe place. I wasn’t there for you, but I feel responsible for you now. If you want to come, you can. Or if you want to go your own way, I’m okay with that as well. It’s up to you.”

Brooke and Chase looked at each other, communicating silently.

“We have nowhere else to go,” said Chase, his voice gruff. “If we go on our own, and he leaves, how long until we encounter another monster or XP harvesters? I say we go. I trust him.” Chase worried his lip and gave Logan a serious, solemn look. “He has my loyalty for rescuing us and taking us out of that prison. While others were left imprisoned, he negotiated for our release.”

Brooke studied Logan, her eyes piercing. “I don’t like this idea of having to be ‘saved.’ Yeah, you helped us, but I’m no helpless woman. I can fight. I can kill. If we go with you, does that mean we’ll be coddled? Not given an opportunity to level up?”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “Hell no. I want people to get into the one percent, and you won’t do that by sitting on your ass. Those that want protection, have it. Those that want to level up have free rein to go after monsters.” He cleared his throat, thinking about the undead fungis and mushrooms that might be making their way out of the lake. “You’ll have enough opportunity. Maybe too much.”

Brooke blew out a breath, lifting a strand of her hair in the air. “Then yeah, I’ll go. We’ll go. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can’t imagine anyone will want to be on their own. Where we go, they go.”

That was one thing taken care of. Logan wouldn’t have felt good about taking Lara and the kids to the cabin and then abandoning these people.

“Then I’ll go, make it safe, then come back for you once it’s clear.” Logan glanced towards Richton’s Tomb. “There’s just one thing I want to show you before I go.”

<----Go to chapter 46