New Message from Rubio: I see lights up on the highway. I don’t think they are headlights. The color is yellow. Maybe candlelight? That street you came down is all lit up now. Might as well be a landing strip, cabron.

  CJ twitched a little bit realizing he lit all those streetlights with Polychrome Flames. With a mental flick of a switch, he dispelled the magic. This thrust that street into total darkness. Then he targeted a mailbox and a fire hydrant nearby causing the flames to shift into a less bright white spectrum. All of this happened in the blink of an eye as Saul began his mea culpa.

  “I feel I should apologize for my rash behavior.” He began as he took a step back from the door to give CJ some more space. “We have had a terrible few weeks since this all began. Atlantic city is a veritable war zone. We have all been on edge. If it weren’t for me and the young Marty there, many of these people would have died. They cannot see the slates, you see. I assume from your theatrics you have a magic based class?”

  “You would be correct. How about we discuss things somewhere more secure? You have stopped outside the safe barrier. I would like you to come into town proper and avail yourself of our hospitality. How does that sound?”

  “My actions may have seemed rash, and I don’t deserve the civility you are currently showing me. Thank you for your offer of hospitality.”

  A wall of text assaulted both CJ’s and Saul’s slates as the bus moved into the protection of the Quest Pillar. CJ wanted to read them in order but couldn’t catch the first one as the next moved it further down the slate. So, he began where he could see.

  You have offered Hospitality to Saul Isaacs and his companions. While under your protection they are prohibited from acting against your forces in any malicious manner. You must provide adequate shelter and board during their stay. This is a contract bound in mana. If either party should break said contract a ten percent curse will be levied against Health, Mana, and Stamina.

  New Class Ability Learned: Fey Lineage- This ability allows the user to create two way mana bound contracts. There are several staple contracts that have been used throughout legend, but this class ability allows for the creation of new ones by tapping into unaspected mana. Be warned, once a contract is agreed to it will be upheld by mana itself. The higher the stakes, the bigger the penalties. This class ability is only available to magic using classes and settlement owners.

  Your settlement has grown beyond ten residents. The next zone of safety increase happens at twenty five.

  CJ almost fell back on his ass he could feel the edge of the safe zone jump another block away from the center of town. Now most of Leaf’s Bend would be protected from the horrors out in the corrupted mana zones. He also noticed the back of the bus was covered from top to bottom in dents. Some of which still contained what did the damage to begin with. They looked like blunted and razor sharp casino chips.

  “What just happened? Contract? Why does the air feel so different now?” Saul said as he spun in a small circle while watching the bus move further into town.

  “It seems we chose our words poorly.” Muttered CJ while rubbing the side of his head. “Come on, we’ll get your people set up in the mattress store for now. We’ve got running water in there at least.”

  Ten minutes later, all the people had exited the bus and set up in the mattress store. Some of the children were bouncing up and down on a few mattresses in the back as their parents tried to burn off their nervous energy.

  “Looks like those vehicles on the road missed the exit. Good thing you took down the sign.” Commented Rubio as he passed CJ and Saul speaking at the salespersons’ desk.

  “Thanks Rubio.” He said before turning his attention back to Saul, “So it looks like I’ve invited you to stay. Now I need to discuss something particularly important with you. What do you know about Dungeons?”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “So, you do know. That was the biggest issue back in Atlantic City. The whole place turned into a dungeon. It was like trying to get out of Falluja back in the nineties. All the slots and table games came to life. It was a massacre after the world went to shit.” Saul responded with a faraway look in his eyes.

  “Corrupted City Dungeon. Minor correction. We actually have a quest to clear it. We’ve been clearing multiple bolster dungeons for the last week. They evaluate your abilities and reward you with gear or class points, various ways to make you stronger. Hasn’t been the same twice. They’re also dungeon created items inside that are slate active. Meaning they are parts of this slate system we all use now.”

  “Wait, I don’t understand. Dungeon equipment? We barely escaped with our lives with whatever we could find. Mostly trash. There were some pawn shops where we got actual weapons, but they wouldn’t put down any of the monsters. It was like they couldn’t be hurt. A lot of good people died.” Lamented Saul.

  “Some monsters require enchanted weapons to be hurt or some kind of magic. Don’t get me started on Arcanum. It’s a conversation all its own. I should introduce you to Monty. Hey Monty,” CJ called out and the black furred bunny bounded his way into the mattress store.

  Monty’s arrival was met with gasps and some shrieks. Some of the new people assumed it was another monster who had come to hurt them. Others were delighted to see such a big cotton tailed rabbit.

  “What’s up, dork?” said Monty eliciting another round of gasps.

  “Mommy! That bunny talks!” came from one of the children.

  “Saul, this is Monty. Monty this is Saul. He’s the de facto leader of these new people. It appears they’ll be staying for a while. Better to get you acquainted now.”

  “Nice to… meet you.” Stuttered Saul.

  “Unpucker that O ring, friend.” Monty started before looking Saul up and down. “You’re going to wish you met me sooner by the time I’m done talking to you. Also, CJ, you need to check the chat. Rogers got hella questions about the quest pillar.”

  “Actually, I have some question about that too.” Saul chimed in.

  “You know what, CJ, have Jenn come in here with Liber. That’ll make things nice and quick.”

  “You think they’re ready for Liber?” asked CJ in jest.

  “Just get me the damn book. I’ll manage everything else like usual.”

  CJ left Monty to explain more things. He realized he did a really shitty job of explaining anything to Saul. Marty was nowhere in sight, and he wondered why. Assuming that the breakdown of information would be good for both of them. Then his focus was brought back to his party chat.

  New Message from Elena: These people have been through the ringer. Hey Craig, there’s a woman here that wants to talk to you.

  New Message from Psycho: I think we should call him Jack instead.

  CJ’s blood ran cold. Who could possibly have told them what his initials stand for? Who was left in this world that even knew? He picked up the pace to get outside where he saw Elena and Jenn speaking to a woman on the park bench. She had red hair and several freckles spanning from cheek to cheek across the bridge of her nose. Finally, there was a scar on her face. A remarkably familiar scar.

  “Riley? Is that you?”

  “Um… I… Yes.” She said while nervously rubbing her hands.

  “We’ll leave you two to get reacquainted.” Smirked Elena as she grabbed Jenn’s hand and hauled her away.

  CJ didn’t know what to think. I felt for sure she would be dead. That disastrous date was almost ten years ago. She didn’t look a day older. Rile decided to get up and pace back and forth in front of the bench while CJ stood there mouth agape.

  “I didn’t know… how to approach you. I didn’t even realize it was you until I saw the handkerchief trick with the water bottles. Saul and Marty just kept saying we were going someplace safe. I didn’t like how we left things. You abandoning me at the hospital and me spitefully not calling you back. I was hurt physically and emotionally.”

  It all just poured out of her. Weeks of stressful living and years of misplaced anger toward him. CJ just let her speak until she was finished. Then and only then would he correct her misunderstanding. She stopped talking for a moment to take a breath before continuing.

  “So that’s how I got here and here you are. I wasn’t going to just keep hiding in a small crowd of people. That wasn’t going to work. I figure now everything is said and out in the open.” She finished.

  “So… I’m glad you’re okay. This place is safe from the monsters, but humans can come and go as they please. They won’t always be the nicest people. I’ll start with that.” Began CJ as he pulled a small box from his inventory. He opened it quickly and then shut it. “I do have a point of clarification though. The hospital wouldn’t let me in to see you because I wasn’t immediate family. I attempted to make further contact with you but as you said, my calls went unanswered. You may not have known that little bit of information. So, I apologize for the incident itself. Not your decade of misplaced anger. With that said, I hope we can wipe the slate clean. It is the end of the world after all.”