Downtown Pittsburgh - 5:38 AM

While cold, the weather outside was manageable in my Ringmaster’s Hoodie and comfortable pants. Jamie didn’t complain, nor would she, as the armor she wore was insulated from all but the most extreme of temperatures. We walked through the dark street while on alert for any monsters that might have shown up, even though Sara’s all clear was still in effect.

“Sara, could I get a quest, please?” I asked, loud enough that only Jamie could hear me. It didn’t take long before I got what I wanted.

[[Patron Quest: Scenario Kickstart!]]

Of course you can, Ant.

Pittsburgh has been silent for long enough. Sometimes, you simply must rip the bandage off before the healing can begin. Starting the scenario early is heinous in its own way, but I trust you know what you’re doing.

Make sure the guard doesn’t notice you, and ensure that Jamie makes it through this in one piece.

Objective: Liberate the building and start the second scenario

Optional Objectives: (1) Don’t alert the guard to your presence as you sneak by, (2) Jamie returns to the surface at over 50% hit points.

Reward: 1,000 points, a photo.

Optional Reward: +500 points for each Optional Objective met.

“Thank you, Sara,” I replied as I swiped the quest away. My eyes had focused on the rewards, and I had to keep myself from outwardly showing how excited I was.

“That seems a little like cheating,” Jamie said, keeping her tone politely even.

“As I’m sure you know, the rich only get richer, and the winners pick up more wins. That hasn’t changed from before the system dropped.”

Our destination wasn’t very far away from where the train parked, perhaps a five minute jog now that there wasn’t any traffic, but we kept silent the rest of the way. I had already given Jamie the rundown on what to expect as we left the Subspace Depot, and we were there before we knew it.

The entrance to Gateway Station was a long, glass building situated next to Liberty Avenue Park and had stairs descending to the light rail network that shuttled people all around the city. At one point it was full of life even at the tail end of winter. Though now, like most places, it was an empty shell of what it was once.

Jamie and I walked around the building, taking a path that wasn’t straightforward and easy. One of the entrances was barricaded to prevent people who weren’t supposed to be there from getting in. Given that there was a possibility that the scenario could be started early, that was fair for the people who had taken charge of Pittsburgh to do. That was not the entrance we were heading for.

Between the two of us, she was definitely louder, and I slowed down until the crunch of snow under her feet wasn’t nearly as easy to hear. It was still dark out with plenty of fog, and the wind covered the noise fairly well, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. We walked to the one open entrance and glanced inside.

On the bridge that led to the other side of Gateway Station, behind the stairs down, was a wooden guard post. I could see the man inside, illuminated by an oil lamp, and I could hear his snoring. His name was Henry, I knew, and he didn’t take his job very seriously. It never occurred to him that someone would actually want to sneak into the dungeon, and until we arrived he was right.

Signaling to Jamie that she should stick close, I waited for a confirmation nod before heading inside. I activated Dungeon Sight just to be absolutely sure of my surroundings.

[[Skill]]

Dungeon Sight

You can always see through darkness as if it were daylight and you gain a sixth sense for danger. For a low Mental Point cost per minute, you may see through magical darkness, smoke, fire, and similar obscurement. In addition, items of distinction, traps, and hidden doors have a high chance of releasing a glow that only you can see.

Several sections on the ground started glowing red for me as I spent the Mental Point cost to activate the skill. These were traps left behind by Henry, who had a class built around them. Thanks to his high ability level, they were nearly invisible. 

He may not have had the greatest work ethic, but anyone blundering through would immediately wake him up. I weaved through the traps just like I did outside, which was his early warning system for when people came to relieve him, and worked my way to the stairs.

I heard Jamie following behind me, but didn’t worry about the gentle clacks of plastic on concrete. That wouldn’t be enough to wake up Henry unless she started stomping around, and she knew better than that.

It was only a few feet to the stairs, but we had to step over so many invisible traps that it took us nearly half a minute to get there. Placing my hands on the railings, I skipped over several steps that had different traps on them, let go of the railing and skipped three more, and then slid the rest of the way down. The Weapon Master did the same despite her plastic armor, which was resistant to scratching, and soon we were walking as normal.

[[Notice]]

One of your Patron Quest’s optional objectives has been completed.

Optional Objective: Don’t alert the guard.

The stairs of Gateway Station once led to a platform for trains, though it no longer did. Instead, the stairs continued to descend for a good forty or fifty feet before depositing us into a tunnel. It was made of hard stone, and we had two options for how to proceed, left and right. There was a helpful sign in front of us, however, and I read it aloud.

“Left, certain doom. Right, begin the scenario,” I said. “As if going to the right is any safer than heading left.” I looked back at Jamie, who simply shrugged. Flashing her a quick smile, I started heading to the right.

There were a lot of branching tunnels as we made our way forward. While ours was relatively flat and easy to walk on, the further you deviated the harder it became to traverse. It would start off easy enough with uneven ground or gentle slopes before ramping up to hazardous passageways, steep cliffs, and small crawl spaces. This was supposed to slow people down from getting to the places that were more dangerous, but it really only ended up being an annoyance.

Every junction had more signs as a way to indicate the path, though they never actually said where they led to. We continued to follow the ones that said “begin the scenario,” but passed by ones that led to “ketchup plains,” “spray and pray,” and “sleepytime village,” to name a few. 

It was certainly set up to make people think the names had something to do with the destination, and sometimes they did, but for the most part it was absolute garbage when it came to actual directions.

Still, it allowed people to map out the place easier, which I appreciated. When I started sending Jamie and the Mills off on their own missions, this was pretty much the only way to ensure they would get to where I wanted them to be. Luckily, the ways back to the surface were marked properly, as none of the administrators wanted to watch people starve to death. 

After all, why allow that when they could get mauled by monsters instead?

I shook my head to clear that thought and pushed on. Jamie wasn’t trying to hide the sound of her footsteps anymore and, unlike my magically muffled steps, hers rang through the tunnels. That sound was going to become commonplace later today; this was going to become a much busier place, then, and over the next couple of weeks things would start getting downright crowded.

“We’re here,” I announced after nearly twenty minutes of walking. If my internal compass was working, then based on the twists and turns we were somewhere north of the Allegheny River. The tunnel opened up slightly to a very strange sight.

The Chamber of Commerce Building was sitting in a cavern just barely big enough to hold it. The rock walls were only a few feet away from the brick in some places, and I was glad we didn’t have to go through the entire dungeon in order to liberate it. It was massive, after all, and it would be a major pain. Walking around it, we found the proper door and I stopped with my hand on the handle.

“You remember what we’re doing?” I asked, looking back at Jamie.

She frowned at me. “Yes. You were very clear.”

“I’m just making sure, because this is it,” I said before opening the door and gesturing her forward. The Weapon Master stood there for a moment before shaking her head and walking in. I followed her.

[[Second Scenario Quest: The Guildhall (0)]]

So far, the people have avoided the Pitt of Pittsburgh. The treasures it hides are vast and powerful; not only the buildings of the city, but the gear and skills that can be found inside. 

It is only a matter of time before the scenario properly starts, but it’s no fun waiting, is it? By liberating this building, we can begin early.

Objective: Liberate the Chamber of Commerce Building.

Time limit: 3 days, 6 hours.

Reward: 1,000 points.

Leads to: Second Scenario Quest: Guildmaker (1) [All].

We both silently dismissed the quest. As discussed, she didn’t retrieve any weapons, and she grabbed a ticket from the free-standing dispenser. Showing it to me, I saw that we were 47, and the number on the board waiting to be seen was 23. Jamie walked forward to sit down in the waiting area, and I joined her.

“I’m with her,” I said, addressing everyone that was staring at me as I sat next to her. Looking around, I saw that none of them were making any moves, and nodded. “So far so good.”

“The DMV of the Dead,” she repeated, nearly gagging on the room’s stench as she opened her mouth. “I didn’t realize you meant it so literally.”

“Yeah, it’s a trip.”

The number on the board changed to 24, and a zombie nearby rose from its seat and slowly shuffled towards the counter. Those waiting behind us were all undead, as were the ones pretending to be employees. The smell was awful in ways that I couldn’t adequately describe, and I could see Jamie wrinkling her nose out of the corner of my eye.

“47,” she stated. “Are you sure that’s going to be enough?”

“If it drops below 40 I’ll be surprised,” I told her honestly, though I was barely paying attention.

Despite being called up, none of the zombies were saying anything. They shambled to the counter and stood in front of another one who “worked” there for some time before grabbing a new number and returning to its seat. Every single undead was staring at us when they weren’t called up, and it was fairly unnerving.

What made it worse was that each one used to be a person. No two zombies were the same, though some had similar enough features to pass as family members. Many were a muddy gray, with extensive bruising, scarring, and missing body parts from the first scenario. Head injuries were especially common, though the necromantic magics animating them now cared not for damaged brains.

“All of these people, unable to be put to rest,” I growled, the bile rising in my throat. Death was not uncommon to me; it wasn’t wrong to say I greeted it like an old friend. This, however, was one of the cruelest, most unforgivable tricks the administrators played.

“Don’t you get sentimental on me, Franklin,” Jamie replied.

“No worries, Summers. I can hold myself together long enough for our number to get called, you just make sure you don’t throw up before then.”

Jamie’s head turned towards me as she leveled me with a solid glare. “Why would you say that?” she snapped. “Why would you make me think of vomit at a time like this? Surrounded by all of these?”

“Just trying to keep you on your toes,” I snarked, though I relented as I saw how green her face was. That wasn’t something I was going to fault her for; the environment was rancid.

We sat in uncomfortable silence as the number on the board ticked up. 25, 26, 27. Some went by quickly, while others took several minutes. One of the zombie pairs nearest the door hadn’t changed at all since we arrived. It was truly an exercise in patience, but as it was one that kept us from searching the entire massive building, it was one we would suffer through.

Time ticked away, though we had no idea how much had actually passed. Eventually, Jamie calmed down as she got used to the smell. Her ability to adapt was admirable, though I knew better than to tease her like I would Kayla and Jeff. We hadn’t gotten to that point yet, though it wouldn’t be long.

“One to go,” she whispered when the number finally ticked up to 46.

“Things are going to happen really quickly once I say the magic words,” I told her. “You’ll have to be near me at first, but feel free to roam about the room when it shows up. Are you ready?”

“Of course I’m ready,” she replied, looking at me as if I had said something embarrassing. “I’ve been ready for the past hour or however long we’ve been stuck in here, pretending to be waiting in this imaginary line.”

“A bona fide big city DMV experience,” I stated with a chuckle.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re having too much fun with this?” Jamie sighed.

“Gotta find humor in something.” The number changed, and the Weapon Master immediately stood up. I did the same. “Alright, it’s show time.”

We walked up to the lone zombie waiting for us. Jamie set the ticket on the desk, and the monster raised its hand. It slapped down on the little slip of paper like dead weight before pulling backwards. As the arm fell, so too did the ticket, and it stared at us.

I fiddled with the camera on the desk before she nudged me, and I cleared my throat. “Ah, sorry. Just thinking about how unfortunate almost everyone’s driver license picture is,” I claimed. When Jamie shook her head, clearly unamused, I shrugged.

The zombie continued staring at the space in between us, unresponsive to everything now that the ticket was with several more like it on the ground.

Leaning onto the desk, I shifted so that I was in its direct line of sight. “Zombie person,” I started. “I am unhappy with my service. I request- nay, demand, to see your boss right this instant.”

“I can’t believe this is the plan,” Jamie muttered.

“Right this instant!” I repeated, slamming my hand on the wooden desk. The zombie didn’t respond to the sudden noise, none of them did, but it did turn around and start walking out of sight. Smirking, I turned to my companion. “See? It works.”

“Wonderful,” she said sarcastically.

While she was looking around, I hopped over the counter. The tickets were on the ground, and I reached down to grab them. The zombies on either side of me turned to regard my intrusion into their space, but they quickly crumpled as Jamie speared them through their heads.

I dropped the handful of tickets on the counter before ducking to the side. Jamie began sorting through them, dividing them so that one pile had even numbers and the other was all odd numbers. It took me only a moment to grab the pile under the first dead zombie, and another to grab the second. I dumped them all on the counter before retrieving my Vague Stick from my inventory.

The zombie employees shambled towards me, but I made quick work of them. They weren’t particularly strong, relying on the psychological aspect and their numbers to make them more dangerous than they should have been. With my high stats and expertise, a fast knock to the head put them down with satisfying efficiency. I tucked my weapon under my arm as I scooped the rest of the tickets from the different counters into my hands.

“Evens or odds?” I asked as I returned. Without missing a beat, I began helping with the piles.

“Odds,” she said immediately.

“Sounds good to me.”

The two of us made great time, and soon we each had a separate row in front of us. Even though it should have been all of them, we were missing a few numbers. There was a small stack of unreadable tickets at our feet. These were the ones covered in zombie gore from a few of the undead that held them against their disgusting open wounds.

“I’m missing 45, 43, 39, 23, and all of the teens,” Jamie quickly assessed.

“44, 34, and the teens,” I sounded off.

“Then let’s hope that your confidence that we can handle this before we hit those numbers is correct.”

Before I could respond, the lights in the building shut off and immersed us in darkness. I could see Jamie blinking beside me, but before she could acclimate, the lights returned with a sickening red hue. The zombies behind us all started to stand up and shuffle outside.

“The boss is almost here,” I whispered as the ground started to shake in the rhythm of something walking. “It’s showtime.”