Chapter 246: Ancient defenders
Reba stepped into the dark and felt the girl freeze at her side.
"It''s alright," she said, putting an arm around Annie''s waist. "We''ll do it together."
That seemed to help, or at least got the girl moving. As they walked in further little torch-globes lit along the walls, and Reba saw portraits of old, bearded men, as well as beautiful sculptures of athletic bodies. It all felt ancient and gone, like the civilized remnants of a better, or at least more sophisticated age. A doorway ahead led to several paths, each ending in a glowing, colorful symbol.
"That''s mine," Becky pointed at the Arcane Affinity. "You see yours?"
Annie nodded, gesturing to some red symbol Reba didn''t recognize or understand.
"OK," she said. "We have to go our own ways now. Mason said there wasn''t any fight or anythin’, so you just go on in and the system will do the rest. OK?"
Annie nodded, but clutched her axe with white knuckles. There was still blood slowly dripping off it, and Reba struggled to square the timid girl with the killer she sometimes saw. But she couldn''t think of anything else useful to say, so she let go of the girl''s waist and started walking her own path.
Her steps slowed as soon as she was alone. It had always been easier for her to be strong for others, to go on when she knew people were relying on her. That was true back home on the farm, and it was true here in the damn apocalypse.
She tried not to think about all her family dead or at least gone. About finding Sarah and failing her instantly. She''d always been such a sweet girl, ready to lend a hand, never any trouble like her brother Willy. No doubt it was some kind of sick joke that the one bit of family she managed to keep was the one she liked the least.
Willy had gotten the wrong friends at school, drinking and doing drugs, even starting some bad fires until he got arrested. Becky didn''t understand him or people like him, and they''d rarely had more than two words to say to each other. But there he was, safe now and back in Nassau when so many better folks were gone.
It just wasn''t fair, or right. But nothing was. <em>Focus, do what needs doing</em>, she told herself, or maybe heard Mason''s voice in the back of her mind. She smiled at the thought and walked forward. Not all change was bad.
At least she had him, and Haley, and Phuong and A and all the other friends she''d made since...everything. They were her family now. And she needed to be strong for them.
The door mmed shut behind her as she stepped into the glowing blue room at the end of the hall. It made her jump in surprise, and she clenched a fist and closed her eyes as she took a breath and stepped further.
"You stand in the hall of the Makers," intoned a deep voice from the ceiling. "What makes you think you are worthy?"
For a moment she nked. Mason hadn''t mentioned that. Did she have to give it some good reason or get kicked out?
"I want to help my family," she shouted, hating the sound of her own quivering voice. It said nothing in return, and she soon found herself drawn forward to stare at a swirling, golden orb. The closer she got, the more she thought she recognized a mile-high view of her family farm.
It was like she was looking from an airne, and she stepped closer and closer until the image zoomed in and she saw herself and Mason back on the farm in Arkansas. They were wearing normal clothes, smiling, happy.
Mason wasughing as her father showed him up onto a tractor and how it worked. She felt a tear run down her cheek, then she touched the orb, and a spark jolted through her hand and froze her body.
[Orb of Transcendence activated. Receiving unique Prestige ss based on all avable data. Please do not drop the orb.]
Reba clenched every muscle and couldn''t stop. Something warm flooded over her, and if her body didn''t feel out of her control, it might even have been pleasant.
[Unique Prestige ss formted: Sacred Shield. Implementing.]
[You have gained a Prestige ss! Sacred Shield. +2 to all statistics.]
[Power synergy discovered! Arcane Shield ===> Sacred Aegis. While you live, your sacred charge will never fall.]
[Unique ss power gained: Duality of Sanctity. A wall protects, a wall excludes. At least you can decide where to build it.]
[Title gained: Powerful friends. You have obtained a prestige ss before obtaining a secondary ss. +2 luck]
Reba shivered as the orb broke apart and entered her skin. Finally she could move again, and she stared at her new prestige ss with no idea how to feel. As usual the damn thing didn''t exin itself, but she was getting used to that. An upgrade to Arcane Shield was amazing, though she didn''t exactly understand.
As it was, she could protect others as long as her mana held. But she had two resources, mana and energy, and her mana went down faster and came back far slower. Did this ''Aegis'' let her protect someone with the same ''energy'' resource she used to protect herself?
What ''Duality of Sanctity'' did she had no idea, but potentially create a shield that just stayed wherever she put it? Whatever it did, it was better than nothing, as was a plus two to all her stats, which was incredible. Speaking of which, it seemed about time to pull up her full profile and take a look.
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Reba Weber
Level: 8
Primary ss: Arcane Defender
Prestige ss: Sacred Shield
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 12
Vitality: 18
Intellect: 6
Will: 12
Presence: 8
Luck: 12
Titles: Killer, Hit the ground running, Shields up, Can’t touch this, Defender, Powerful Friends.
Powers: Sacred Aegis+, Reflective Burst, Energy Resource, Protective Barrier, Synchronized Shield, Energized, Defender’s Endurance, Duality of Sanctity
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Finally she turned to the other glowing item in the hall, which unsurprisingly looked like a shield.
But this one was no little stic disc. It was big and silver with symbols on the front, and as she stepped closer she realized it had a kind of glove along with the straps to hold it on the back. She put her hand inside without hesitation, and again the system red a message in her mind.
[Item found: Familial Crest Shield. Do you wish to attune this item now?]
She nodded and epted at the same time, and again a powerful energy coursed through her as she gripped her hand into the perfect fit of the glove. When it finally ended she opened her eyes and read the text.
[Item acquired: Familial Crest Shield. ''Thest line of defense.'' Wielded by defenders of the ancient great houses before the doom. Boosts defensive powers when protecting members of your settlement, house, or group. Can be transformed into a silver-steel mace.]
Becky lifted the thin metal as soon as she could move. It was incredibly light, and the glove, which went all the way to her elbow, feltfortable and natural. It fit so perfectly it felt like a hug, and made her feel safe. She smiled, then remembered it could turn into a ''silver steel mace'' and wondered how she...
It transformed with a bright sh of silver light, the wide edges shrinking down until Reba held a three foot length of metal club. The head was round and heavily weighted, the whole thing feeling like some perfectly designed golf club made for smashing heads. Becky swung it back and forth with a grin.
Most of the time she was very happy to spend all her time protecting her friends. But every now and then she got ignored, and she knew she needed something to...get a little attention. She suspected this thing would do just fine.
She changed it back to a shield, then unsummoned it and summoned it again, unable to stop smiling. Mason was right, this maker hall was a hell of an upgrade, and she couldn''t wait to show the others her new toy and powers.
"Thank y''all," she muttered, looking up at the ceiling. Then with a little shriek of excitement, ran for the exit.
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