The magical nature of the construction was made blatantly obvious by the perfectly circular stone double wall that circled the city. A permanent light spell lit up the ground to either side of it. A road of matching black stone fifteen meters wide spiraled up to Zed's former lair on top of the mountain.
Magical illumination flowed down the road, branching off in little streams to illuminate the side streets. It pooled at the base like a glowing lake. The permanent spells were a reminder of how great the city had once been, and perhaps could be again.
In its heyday Brexis had been home to over forty thousand people. The river that cut through the forest had given the otherwise isolated city surprisingly easy access to trade. If they found a buyer for their timber, it would probably travel down that same river west towards the capital.
They walked up the long spiraling road with their undead trolls leading the way. Empty buildings made of black stone flanked the road to either side. Once they might have been shops or houses. But now all that occupied them were the undead that had escaped Francis’ extermination.
Whenever one caught wind of them it would charge out, only to be pinned down by the trolls while Willow reprogrammed it. The process took a few minutes and seemed to be more difficult for her than raising them from scratch.
“So, how did Zed capture you in the first place?” Francis asked, trying to understand how someone so adept at managing the undead had been taken prisoner. Willow didn't seem like the type to give up without a fight.
“Tactics and plans don't mean shit if your team refuses to follow them.” Willow winced at the unpleasant memory. “Zed had his weakest minions attack in ones and twos. Then, once the rest of my party were feeling invincible and acting stupid, he slammed the door on us.”
“Hordes and swarms are very nasty and deceptively strong.” Julia explained when she noticed the look of confusion on Francis’ face. “A smart lich will separate members of a party then surround them. We call that ‘slamming the door’ on someone.”
“Because when it happens you can't escape and you're fucked.” Shiv elaborated. “I've seen paladins in full plate ripped apart by packs of wolves. And I mean that literally.”
Francis didn't get it. He'd been shot in the face with crossbow bolts and they'd bounced off. Why would wolves be special? When he asked for an explanation, Willow sighed.
“I keep forgetting you're not from around here. Dismount and I'll show you why.” Willow hopped to the ground.
He joined her and looked around awkwardly. “Um, you're not going to hit me. Are you?”
“No. Sparring with romantic partners has never appealed to me. It seems unhealthy.” Willow waved her hand and a series of glowing lines appeared. Francis was standing in the middle of a meter wide box with nine similarly sized boxes surrounding him.
“You are incredibly hard to hit. But any creature within melee range can choose to reduce your Deflection by their tier instead of attacking. If all nine decided to do that, you wouldn't last long.”
“Their archers would fill you with holes while the rest stabbed you with spears or threw javelins. And that's assuming they were low level undead. Higher tier creatures would be landing critical hits.” Willow dismissed the illusionary grid. “Now, do you see why hordes are so dangerous and tactics are important?”
“Yes, Ma'am.” Francis nodded. Small group tactics would be just as important in this world as the one he came from. He looked at his staff, realizing why Relativity had given him the Inferno spell. “What if I did something like this?”
Ten cubic meters of fire flared up around him in a “U” shape. The drain on his mana reserves was intense as he tried to hold the spell. He let the flames die out. “Ok, maybe something less intense.”
“And now he begins to understand why everyone still needs a melee weapon.” Julia observed. “You'll run dry if you focus on magic alone or go for crazy burst damage instead of buffs and debuffs.”
“It's way more effective to buff the team than go solo.” Shiv agreed. “You get more damage overall and spend less mana. What class are you, anyway? The robes say ‘wizard’ but I don't see a spell book, and you don't seem the scholarly type. No offense.”
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“None taken. But I don't actually hate learnin’, you know.” Francis said, shifting awkwardly. Shiv’s words had hit a nerve, touching on what might have been Francis’s only insecurity, besides his fears about fatherhood.
It wasn't that he was stupid or didn't value education. He would have given almost anything to be the kind of person who could sit down with a book and stand up with new ideas. But that wasn't how his brain worked.
This world was a closed book to him. If he didn't tell his friends what was wrong, they would think he was being dumb on purpose. Or maybe they would assume he knew something he didn't and Willow or Chuck would get hurt. He couldn't let that happen. Even if they would look at him differently.
More importantly, he had to admit it to himself. He was out of his depth and needed help. Francis hated this. He hated the pity people gave him, the assumptions people made. He wasn't dumb. He was smart! He just wasn't smart in the way people wanted.
But they were in a firefight. This whole world was a battlefield, with people who wanted to hurt him and the people around him. Hiding an injury or a weakness was a good way to get people killed.
That was why you always told your CO when you weren't at your best. You might downplay the injuries, or take some pills to dull the pain. But you told the boss what was going on and let them decide where to put you. He gritted his teeth and continued.
Willow was surprised to see the sudden change in the normally fearless man. He was there with them, but his mind was somewhere else. “I like talking to people and listening to what they tell me. I like hearing stories and getting to know folks.” He grimaced. “I just… I'd rather people teach me than learn on my own. I don't absorb… words when I read them. I understand them, but they don't stick.”
The Marine shrugged helplessly. “Normally I don't talk about it, but we are fighting together and I don't want to let people down. Can't… hide things from people you fight with.” He shook his head. “No good comes of that. Sorry.”
Willow walked over and gave him a hug. She rubbed his back with her hand when they separated. “Don't worry about it. You did the right thing by telling us.”
Julia and Shiv wisely stayed quiet. Shiv looked at her partner, silently asking if she did something wrong. Julia shook her head and gestured for them to continue on, giving the other couple some space. The troll zombies had already resumed shuffling up the road.
A prompt appeared in the air in front of Francis, external from his mind. It took the form of a blue box with white text. An ethereal male voice spoke slowly and clearly, taking care to enunciate each word.
Switch from mental text to hybrid audio-visual interface? Only you can see and hear these prompts. You can respond verbally, mentally, or by physically interacting with the interface.
Yes /No
He reached out and touched the Yes. Unsure if this new interface would help, but willing to try. Willow watched him, smiling as she realized what was happening.
Hybrid mode selected.
You can also access menus, tutorials, tips, inventory, maps, notes, bestiary, or personal information by verbal or mental request.
Tutorials are a good way for users to acclimate to their new abilities and the world.
Users who prefer hands-on learning may benefit from performing mini-quests.
The new boxes were easier to understand, but still a little slippery. He had to listen carefully to absorb the information. It didn't fix things, but it was a step in the right direction.
“Thank you.” He said, not sure if System could or would respond.
You are welcome, Francis.
-System
“Well, that's a lot better.” Francis said, feeling like a heavy weight had gotten a bit lighter. He still had a long way to go, but at least he had a way forward.
Willow gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.” She said.
He frowned, unsure why he was being thanked. Women were still a mystery to him. “What for?”
“Trusting me.” She explained, taking his large callused hand in hers and squeezing it gently. “We're a team, and it is nice to know that you trust me enough to let me know what's going on. That says a lot about you. We will talk more about it later, but I wanted to say it now.”
Francis leaned down and kissed her. Then they continued together on foot, giving the mounts some rest. He wasn't sure why he was here in this world, but he was happy to have Willow at his side.