Shelter by killertpu

Love those rare original stories where a man try to survive as apocalypse begins

Especially if they are not like those crap quality chinesse apocalypse novels but actually the real deal

Well here is a good one a man that just wanted to be left alone that got the hints that a apocalypse was going to occur before majority of the people

And now he is forced to survive in this dying worlds as magic and myths shatters everything hope you enjoy 😝

Link: https://fiction.live/stories/Shelter/dz3nNHdNhHPa8MDjE/home

(You wanted nothing to do with the World, or the Apocalypse that came for it. Sadly, it still came to you.)

Synopsis

You are a man, a lone and lonely man, and your world was forever changed, including you.

You knew it was coming. Always knew it! It was quite obvious that this was going to happen! It was written all over deep web articles, all the way from obscure fifth-party conceptual news reports, to purely skeptical what-ifs and whatnots. All the way to some man screaming about, "putting chemicals into the water to make freaking frogs gay."

Some called you paranoid; other's called you insane. Hell, even now you think they were right.

Too bad for them it ended with you laughing as you drive away from the city. You saw the news reports, the signs, recognized them, and then packed your bags, your gun, ammo, food, more food, and then raced from your old home to reach your new base in the mountains. Not a second too soon either as everyone began to scatter like dust when purple lightning fell from the sky and scorched the populated buildings below. It was hell trying to commandeer your vehicle through it, but you were well out of the city and highways by then. Many weren't as lucky as you; becoming nothing more than burning husks on the roadside.

By the time you made it to the mountains: the city was burning pyre, ravaged from all angles by a mix of kaleidoscope lightning cracks and devastating tornadoes. It was only when you lifted the camouflaged manhole, and slide down the ladder did you see the sky split in two.

You repress that horrid memory as the cover neatly slides back into place before you climb down the ladder. At the bottom you see the gates that barred your way further within: two pairs of thick, steel doors. With your flashlight you find the false stone located on the left of the narrow hall and lift it to reveal the keypad. You punched in the code, and with a loud clunk did the doors unlock, and slide open.

You smile at that, and pass by them to enter your new home.

Now safe behind two security gates you let the dying world die in the back of your mind as you march over to the light switch. With a flick of the finger the entire room lights up so that you can finally see your new base of operations.

Pick what bonuses your Shelter has! (Max 4)

Choices -Voting closed - 81 voters

VOTES

Water Filtration System: Thanks to some unique piping that runs through the top of your base and out to the world, you have a natural rain catcher that delivers the water down through a sequence of filters before delivering fresh water into your bottles. Wonderful!

47/621

Efficient Hydropnics: Thanks to a fancy drainage system that brings all your shit and piss to the plants a level below you, your veggies are always growing in fertilized soil! Greens have never looked so good!

38/461

Improved Generator: With a larger, more efficient generator you now have a lot more power, which grants you far more options and less of a need to conserve your energy, or scavenge for fuel.

36/46

Workshop: With some wood, metal, and a bit of welding, and glue, you can probably make anything in here with the equipment you bought to fill this room.

30/40

Medical Station: You knew some shit from all those survivalist catalogues you've read. Thanks to that this new medical station allows for a safe and sanitized space to operate on... things. Yeah, let's go with that.

25/32

Research Lab: Hey, sometimes you gotta keep your hands busy or you'll go crazy! The lab will help you theory craft, study, or otherwise just make crazy hypothesis' on just how... stuff works!

24/271

Aquaponics: For both plants And fish!

18/23

Extra Security: Your doors are tough, but that's all you really have to stand against invades. The doors are improved enough so that they'll take one hell of a beating before going down. Additionally comes with a security station that has a hidden camera so you'll know who exactly is trying to break in.

18/232

Biohazard Locker: You knew the apocalypse was coming, but you didn't know what it was going to be. That's why you got a locker devoted to holding everything relating to dealing with bio-hazardous or radioactive dangers in the even that you have to go outside. Comes with special equipment like a Gieger Counter and Detox Pills.

15/18

Expanded Ration Storage: You've expanded the storage mainly because you were paranoid you wouldn't have enough to last the storm. Now you're damn sure you'll have enough to last for a decade, if not more.

15/17

Computer Room: Some people say that this part is useless without any form of wifi, but... just having some one thousand gigabytes of games, movies, and other shit will help you from going insane. Comes with a pretty okay living room. Comfy couch.

15/162

Expanded Armory: God Bless America! You've spent a pretty penny in ensuring that you got yourself a nice arsenal of guns and ammo. Comes with a spare rifle, a brand new pistol, and enough ammo to cover expenses for a while. Can't carry it all though.

11/141

Improved Radio: Your only connection to the outside world is through a fairly decent CB Radio. However, this new one is far better, has extended range, and everything comes out nice and clear.

8/9

Extra large, extra comfy bed: Some would call it vain, but a damn good night's sleep is important to take the next day! Especially if you're doing nothing but hiding in your shelter all day.

6/7

An dog.

4/52

Alarm System: As opposed to a big, scary door and a single camera system, the surrounding area has been set up with an array of laser tripwires and motion-sensitive cameras. You'll know about any visitors long before they arrive.

1/2

Stat Adjustments: +2 Acuity, +2 Constitution.

-

Shelter Adjustments:

Armory: 0 - Just a simple gun rack with a spare rifle, handgun, and a few hundred rounds of ammunition for the two of them. Nothing fancy.

Comfort: 3 - With fresh water and veggies being a staple, you don't exactly have to worry about your coveted dailies. The improved generator also helps to reduce stress.

Radio: 0 - Standard CB Radio. Moving on.

Security: 0 - Your only real defense is the camouflaged manhole and two sets of thick, steel doors.

Tech: 2 - Having the Workshop helps to build whatever you need, and you have enough surplus metal and wood to last you for the duration of your stay, if all goes well.

-

The first room is your radio room. A simple, open area that has two desks, a chair, and an impressive CB radio array. Mind you it's only good for picking up anything within a kilometer, but that's why you bought it in the first place. It'll be your contact with the outside world, letting you listen in on the radio waves that pass overhead, if there are any.

The adjacent room was your designated sleeping area. Only a simple, one person bed with a stand to hold a lamp, and a few coat hangars to hold up your stuff is left here. To the North of the bedroom was a small area built to collect the filtered rain water from the purification systems, and to the East was the bathroom fitted with a toilet, sink, vanity, and small shower.

Content that everything on the top floor is accounted for, you leave your bags here and take the ladder down to the lower levels where the more important stuff lies. Particularly your workshop, generator, and hydroponics.

The workshop was located in the southern section and was by far the largest room you had thanks to your need of metal and wood surplus. Outside of the room was a simple bookshelf that held more than a few D.I.Y. Novels to give broad access to a variety of workshop-related projects. Even a few where you could even make crude pipe bombs if necessary.

West of the ladder was the second largest room, and the one that held the Generator. A massive, black machine that could efficiently power your new home for years on end. In fact, you know these types of generators were built to power large farms and skyscrapers above ground for many, many days. This thing is by far your most expensive product. It was even harder to drag all the pieces up here and construct it in this compact room.

Finally, to the Northeast was your hydroponics station. Situated beneath the washroom there were several drainage pipes that would bring your excrement and used water to help fertilize the rows of plant-life that would help deliver a far more balanced (and natural) meal. Sadly there was no dirt in the rows yet, but you had several bags of fertilizer, earth, and several stacks of vegetable seeds ready to be planted by the end of the day.

At the end of your rounds, content with the knowledge that everything is in place, you climb back up the ladder and move into your humble bedroom. With a heavy sigh you begin to dig through your personal effects. Which is little due to your secluded and paranoid lifestyle. Your small group of friends were distant at best, and while a part of you wishes you could take some of them with you here, this place was ever only built to accommodate one man for several years. Harsh, but that's reality to you, and to the devastated world above.

With a sigh, and shake of the head, you bury those memories as you pull from your bag your weapons of choice.

The character is considered to already be proficient with: Small Arms (handguns and machine pistols), and Light Melee Weapons (Daggers, throwing knives, brass knuckles, saps, and other small, one-handed melee weapons). Choosing the next weapon will be considered what branch weapon you'll be proficient with next.

Choices -Voting closed - 44 voters

VOTES

A Shotgun: A powerful boomtube that is deadly at close ranges, but drops off at longer ranges. Slugs also apply as an alternative ranged option for this school fo weapon. Buskshot is easy to find, and make. Slugs take more time, but are still a simple round to create.

18/262

A Rifle: A semi to full-auto two-handed weapon that is accurate and well-rounded, but rounds are less common.

10/15

An SMG: Something between close to medium range, and excells in cqc thanks to its compact frame. Sadly tapers off at longer ranges. Have high rate of fire for maximum bullet drowning and advantage at closer ranges. Limited by lower caliber rounds, but rounds are plentiful and easy to make.

2/4

A Sniper Rifle: Powerful and long distance bolt to semi-auto rifles. Deal great damage thanks to their heavy calibers, but rounds are difficult to find and create, and struggles at anything closer than medium range.

3/4

Double Barreled Hunting Shotgun:

A long barreled, moderate range, but surprisingly accurate tool generally used to hunt wild animals like deer. It can only contain two rounds however and is breech loaded. The major advantage of this tool is its simplicity as the only truly complex piece is its firing mechanism, which is very easy to repair. It does however have a major downside that it's long barrels can become an issue in tight quarters.

Stats:

Reload Speed: Full-Action.

Accuracy: +1 at long range, +4 at moderate range, -1 at close range, -2 in melee.

Special:

Can fire both barrels in a combat round for double damage, but at a -1 accuracy penalty at all ranges.

This tool was made for taking down wild beasts. Creatures with the "Beast" subtype have +2 to hit.

-

Coach Gun:

A hunting shotgun, but with its barrel length cut halfway to provide greater close quarters benefits at the cost long range effectiveness.

Stats:

Reload Speed: Half-Action.

Accuracy: -1 at long range, +1 at moderate range, +2 at close range, +0 in melee.

Special:

Can fire both barrels in a combat round for double damage, but at a -1 accuracy penalty at all ranges.

-

Sawn-off Shotgun:

Exactly like the hunting shotgun, but sacrifices range for close range power and spread.

Stats:

Reload Speed: Half-Action.

Accuracy: -10 at long range, -5 at moderate range, +2 at close range, +5 in melee.

Special:

Can fire both barrels in a combat round for double damage, but at a -1 accuracy penalty at all ranges.

Weapon can be fired in melee without penalty or provoking a free attack from the combatant.

-

Pump-action Shotgun:

A tube fed shotgun popular with both home defense and on hunting trips. The tube can hold up to 6+1 rounds to allow for rapid follow up shots, or to suppress an enemy in cover. Has a more complex firing mechanism than the hunting shotgun, which can be a pain for some.

Stats:

Reload Speed: 2 Full (if empty), 1 Full (if half-empty).

Accuracy: +0 at long range, +2 at moderate range, +1 at close range, -1 in melee.

Special:

This weapon can suppress an enemy in cover and prevent them from moving.

This weapon can be equipped with a bayonet to allow better close quarters effectiveness.

Choices -Voting closed - 32 voters

VOTES

Pump-action Shotgun

18/26

Hunting Shotgun

5/9

Sawn-off

3/5

Coach Gun

3/4

Pistol:

Standard nine millimeter handgun that's common basically everywhere. Ammo is easy to come by and cheap as well, caliber lacks a punch though. Contains 15 rounds.

Stats:

Reload Speed: Half-Action.

Accuracy: +0 at long range, +2 at moderate range, +2 at close range, +1 in melee.

Special:

Weapon can be fired in melee without penalty or provoking a free attack from the combatant.

This weapon can be hidden with a Guile Check on your person.

-

Holdout Pistol:

The Pistol's smaller cousin. Has less rounds, but still uses the classic 9mm for that familiar zest. Can be hidden quite well and just about anywhere thanks to its compact size. Contains 8 rounds.

Stats:

Reload Speed: Free-Action.

Accuracy: +0 at long range, +1 at moderate range, +3 at close range, +2 in melee.

Special:

Weapon can be fired in melee without penalty or provoking a free attack from the combatant.

This weapon can be hidden with a +4 Guile Check on your person.

This weapon can be drawn as a free action so long as it's hidden near your hands.

-

Revolver:

The revolver, uncle of all sidearms. It is easier to maintain than a pistol, durable, and carries heavier - if uncommon - rounds. Contains 6 shots.

Stats:

Reload Speed: Full-Action, Half-Action if given speed loader.

Accuracy: +1 at long range, +2 at moderate range, +2 at close range, +1 in melee.

Special:

Weapon can be fired in melee without penalty or provoking a free attack from the combatant.

This weapon can be hidden with a Guile Check on your person.

Choices -Voting closed - 22 voters

VOTES

Revolver.

7/111

Holdout Pistol.

7/101

Pistol.

5/6

Stat Adjustments: +1 Constitution, +1 Guile, +3 Instinct

-

Proficiency Adjustments:

Shotguns +2

Handguns +1

Rifles +1

Light +1

-

You pull free your Mossberg 500 from the bag. A simple, easy to use pump-action shotgun to add to your small collection of guns hanging from the racks. On said racks is your spare hunting rifle, old, but still working and quite durable to boot, and your revolver. Nothing really special about the other two beyond that you're familiar with how they work and, more importantly, how to maintain them when on the field.

You add the shotgun to the rack, only to then grab the boxes of ammunition for it from your bag as well and laying them next to other boxes of ammunition.

After that you then pulled free the survival knife strapped to your waist to examine it. A simple twelve inch blade covered in a black sheen so that it would not glitter in the dark when you needed to shank someone quietly.

You... frown at that thought. You have never killed someone before, and the thought that you're so casually thinking about it already disturbs you slightly. Then again... you are going to have to go back to see the world again in just a few years after-

A great rumble shakes the room, you nearly lose your footing as the lights flicker. The rumbling then ends just as quickly as it had begun.

...Things settle down.

You grumble, thumbing the guard of your knife as if preparing for something that could burst from the walls at any moment. After a minute of absolutely nothing do you sigh again and give yourself the benefit of the doubt. The silence is then broken by a new rumbling: your stomach. You haven't eaten since the day had started in that damned city, far too concerned with packing your bags and escaping than filling an empty stomach.

For some reason your roaring organ makes you laugh as you pull free a ration and mini-stove from your bag. May as well commemorate your new home with a warm meal while the apocalypse is happening just outside two steel doors!

Yes... you do believe you're going to be fine down here. Fine... for a while. At least.

~

The rumblings never did stop. Ever. Once a day you believe, judging by your hanging clock, did the tremors return to annoy and scare the ever loving shit out of you. More than once you were certain that you were going to buried under rubble as your home shook all around you. Amazingly nothing ever got broken, but the clock did spin out more times than you could count, forcing you to reset it every damn time.

At least you had a calendar which you marked off a date every twenty-four hours.

Eventually the shitty upheaval finally stopped - or so you hoped - after nothing happened for a straight week of tenuous waiting. Relieved that it seemed to be over, you decided to do something more productive than book reading, imaginative wanking, or checking up on your growing plants. No, you decided it was time to flick on the radio for the first time ever to see if you could get a signal of the outside world. Even, if you're isolated, you'd like to know what is exactly happening out there so you could prepare.

And what you had received was nothing but static on all channels. Which sucked. Then again it is the apocalypse after all! No one's going to bother with finding or building a long-distance radio for some time now you believe. The quakes may have also delayed things.

Looks like you'll be in the dark for quite awhile.

~

It's been a month now, you think. Things are going well though. Generator still going good at low, won't need to be refilled for another seven days, and you've begun to break in the workshop with a few tiny art projects that can be scrapped later so that no material is ever really wasted.

The plants have also grown exponentially, faster than you had believed! Either your poop is that good, the soil is top notch, or the seeds have some kind of... fast growing bullshit being applied to them. You already have carrots and potatoes, big ones! And those aren't fully grown for at least seventy days minimum!

...you think you've been down here for longer than a month.

~

Another few months. Radio has begun to pick up signals. Majority static, but... after a few channel flicks you do begin hear voices though! It's... still pretty hard to hear them though... maybe you could boost the frequency?

Choices -Voting closed - 18 voters

VOTES

Boost the frequency [Acuity + Radio.]

12/17

Nah, you're fine for now.

11

1d20+2 Please.

Reader Posts- Closed - be the first to post.

Dice: 1d20+2

6 + 2 = 8

Dice: 1d20+2

20 + 2 = 22

Dice: 1d20+2

18 + 2 = 20

Dice: 1d20+2

19 + 2 = 21

You try your best to use your smarts as you fiddle with the dial to slowly shift the frequency while the other hands plays with a few more technical gizmos. Amazingly you actually manage to get a hit!

"Attention to all civilians of America. Do not panic. The Government of the United States is attempting to restore order as we speak. Stay in your homes and prepare for military assistance when it arrives. Comply to all orders made by military officers. Attention to all-"

Nope. Not having that one. Next!

"The heavens were torn asunder! I saw it with my own eyes! And how they bled! I was struck blind, blind! I can only see the pitch black now... and... it is coming!"

Yeah... you aren't having that doomsayer bullshit either.

"-don't you see everyone! This is our chance! Without the government interfering with our daily lives we can build a new future! A better future! One where every man, woman, and child is equal under every pair of eyes! We can do this! Together! We'll be-"

None of that as well... is there anything good on here?

"-I just wanted to let all you survivors out there know that... well... someone's gotta be out there watching for us, right? Hell... the world is fucked up as it was before the Cataclysm! And now? Now I honestly think we're all part of some great plan, or just a cosmic joke thrown into infinity..."

Depressing. Next!

You switch the channel, and get nothing but the low hum of subdued static. Did you reach the end? No... you still have a few more channels, but when you flip through them, even when you decide to go back, you still get nothing but this same, damnable static.

"...I see you." A voice comes from the electrical blur.

...what?

Choices -Voting closed - 22 voters

VOTES

Just wait to see if it continues.

10/16

"H-hello?"

5/6

Nope! Not having it! Shut it off.

4/64

Congratulations, you have nothing better to do during the apocalypse other than spy on a paranoid loner in his bunker.

1/5

Well i cant see you, want to come out so i can?

1/21

This is clearly some kind of stupid prank. On to the next channel!

0

You... stop playing with the dial. Instead, you let it continue to run. Though you don't give the little blurb the benefit of doubt and go to grab your shotgun, knife, and revolver. When you return you find the radio has stopped spewing static, now it's a low, droning hum.

"Paranoid." The voice on the other side chuckles, only when it speaks does the static return. Which disturbs the fuck out of you. "Good."

Calmly, you aim your shotgun at the radio. A stupid idea to point a loaded weapon at one of your priceless pieces of equipment in your base, but damn it all if this isn't all sorts of wrong!

"I..." It hums, almost singing. "Want to play... a... game? Test? Something... that... isn't boring. For... both of us. Yes. All alone. Down here. Where... we... they... it... have fun. Yes. Fun. That's a nice word. Fun. Like... sky-breaking fun. Fun. Do you like fun? Do you like games?"

You don't answer, honestly a bit scared on what the fuck is going on right now. As it continues to droll you begin feel something of a headache begin to come. Fast, like a jackhammer being applied directly to your skull. A loud ringing making your ears bleed.

"Let's have some fun."

You, black out.

It's dark, dank, and wet here. The staccato of water dripping from stalactites unto the ground is almost like the balls of someone's foot dancing on the loamy earth.

You woke up here. That much you remember. At one point you know that you were back in your home below ground, then... there was a voice, and now you're here. The problem is that you have no clue with how long you have been down... here.

In this... damnable cave system.

It has been... hours? Yes. Hours at least since you've begun to wander with no clue how to navigate the grotto before you. Stranger still is that since you've been here... you haven't felt a pang of hunger, sleep, or even the need to piss. The only thing that feels real is the shotgun in your hand, the clothes on your back, the scabbard and holster on your hips, and the cold walls of stone.

This is beyond surreal. It's just straight up fucked up here.

Finally though, after what felt like years honestly, you stumble across ten different paths. Some lead up, others down, some straight ahead, and even a few are now behind you where you once came. For whatever reason, you feel compelled to take one of them, and only one.

For now, at least.

Choices -Voting closed - 40 voters

VOTES

Hammer against steel, Creation. Steel against steel, Battle. An endless cacophony of warfare is heard down this tunnel.

13/179

The distant roar of thunder, but also a great scream of powerful wind is heard down this particular path.

10/173

You hear the woods, the wind flitting through the tree leaves, the prey resting underneath the canopy. You feel an urge to hunt when you look down this path.

9/173

This path sounds like the ocean waves; soft and calming at one point, but then it shifts into an insurmountable rage. Strangely enough, the path also seems to emmanate cooling waves that both calm and invigorate the body and spirit.

9/163

This path is a strange one for it constantly shifts. One moment it's normal, then plumes of feathers replace solid stone before shifting into hardened, organic scales. There is still something dark here though, for everytime it shifts, you hear the cracking of flesh and bone. Something, or someone being molded into something new, and terrifyingly beautiful.

7/122

Earth. Just like the stuff underfoot, to your left and right, and above you. It's everywhere, and it rumbles just like the waves that shook your home. The path, however, seems to be simultainiously stable, and unstable.

5/101

This path is... friendly. Familiar-ish. As if you will walk away with a companion after this, but it also has a dark side to it. A certain... lack of isolation if you will. A path that will let you see things that... no one else should be ever allowed to see and, they can see you too.

6/81

This path is particularly blunt. Mainly because it's on fire. Constantly. The flames lick against the stone, searing what little life they already had from its carapace. However, dispite the wanton destruction, there is another part that feels it can be controlled. Like all things.

4/8

It is a dark and silent path. One shrouded in preternatural darkness and shadows that stretch out, snuffing all forms of light. Threatening to consume everything.

3/72

You crinkle your nose when you look down this path. Death, the cracking of bone, the clattering of teeth. A deep seated hunger just begging to be unleashed, so that it can feed both of you.

4/6

Choices -Voting closed - 31 voters

VOTES

Hammer against steel, Creation. Steel against steel, Battle. An endless cacophony of warfare is heard down this tunnel.

12/163

The distant roar of thunder, but also a great scream of powerful wind is heard down this particular path.

9/14

You hear the woods, the wind flitting through the tree leaves, the prey resting underneath the canopy. You feel an urge to hunt when you look down this path.

1/1

The cacophony of constant battle, war, and creation appeals to you the most for some reason. Maybe because the sounds of drilling remind you of the workshop you have at home. Peacefully creating works of art, or forging weapons of destruction... it's all stringed together in a beautiful melody of untold Creation.

You do not realize that you've already taken the path until you blink. The caves are gone, and alone you stand on a bridge made purely of metal. Their is no way back as it's shrouded in darkness, but before you the bridge leads to what seems to be an altar made of the same metal the bridge is formed by.

With... disturbing clarity you know what you need to do here and stride towards the lone altar standing in the sea of darkness. The closer you get, the more you make out its intricate definitions. Clearly this was a work of art at some point, but there are clear signs of batter and misuse before it was hastily repaired and left there in an unfinished state.

For some reason you find it annoying that such a 'craftsman' would leave or throw away such a beautiful work of art.

When you stand before it does the altar suddenly become massive, dwarfing you in size by several hundred feet. Now a spire of metal in which you hear the sound of a hammer banging against an anvil while, simultaneously, the crash of battle is being made also.

You know you can't reach the top. Not yet, but at least down here you can begin.

Without thinking of the consequences you bring your naked palm up against one of the unfinished, sharp edges of the altar. Without hesitation you cut the extremity against the gleaming blade. Your blood feeds the wound of the altar, and you see the piece recede until nothing but a smooth surface remains. For a moment you hear the hammering stop, and the battle ceases. From atop of the spire twin voices speak in unison. One is boisterously loud and proud, but the other soothing and fatherly.

"Thank you."

And from that thanks, you feel something replace the blood in your veins with... something else.

You have unlocked: Warfare Tree!

You have learned the spell: Smite!

-

Smite:

Mana Cost: 1

Description:

Empower your next melee attack to deal double damage. Further mastery of Smite will allow you to focus the power against specific creatures or humanoids.

-

Pick a Talent!

Choices -Voting closed - 34 voters

VOTES

Master Craftsman: Anything you craft with your hands is a step higher in quality than you inteded it to be (I.e. you craft a poor sword, but instead it's of moderate quality and so forth).

16/223

Unbreakable Weapon: Pick a melee weapon. That weapon is now considered to be unbreakable until you personally end the enchantment, or decide to pick a different weapon.

8/104

Arms Master: You immedietely are proficient with all melee weapon schools. If you already have proficiency, increase the level by one.

6/81

Now... pick a corruption trait.

Choices -Voting closed - 30 voters

VOTES

Malevolent Gaze: Your pupils are replaced with deep, red and burning coals that exude the promise of violence. Very intimidating, but also difficult to cover up.

14/212

Burning Blood: Your blood is hot, very hot. Whenever your blood is spilt it burns like acid when exposed to bare skin and, exudes a nasty, sulphuric scent.

4/117

Mark of War: On your body you've been marked with a sign that attracts the call of violence to you (increased Hostile Random Encounters)

3/4

Stat Adjustments: +3 Mysticism, +1 Acuity, +2 Constitution.

Current Mana Pool: 3/3

-

You feel... power... flow into your veins. Raw and chaotic, your body burn with newfound strength. Strength that you may have once believed that you could never get, control, or achieve. It's yours, all yours for the taking!

And the power reaches your eyes, and you feel your pupils burn as it molten lead was just poured onto them.

You scream.

~

With a gasp, then another scream, you awaken in cold sweat. Rocketing from the concrete floor of your base, shotgun raised high and scanning the room with a mix of confusion and fear. Heart beating against your chest like a hammer against a windshield.

It takes a long, long minute for you to calm yourself down. For the sickness to hit your stomach like a brick. You fall to your knees, vomit, and then dry heave for another solid minute before you fall onto your side and curl yourself up into a little, sniveling ball.

Your everything hurts. Badly. And you just lost your lunch.

You really don't know how long you're like that, but... eventually you manage to regain your bearings enough for you to stand up and at least walk over to the next room where you bed is and crash upon it soft covers. A dreamless sleep claims you soon after, to tired too bother caring about the entity in your radio cackling in your ear all the while.

END OF PROLOGUE.