The Angel Express - 7:16 AM

I woke up with a jolt from a sitting position in my bed. The Subspace Depot enveloping the train meant that there was no natural light coming in from outside, but it was set to mimic the time wherever we were. It was starting to brighten, which meant that it was already morning.

Ignoring the blinking messages in the corner of my vision, I frowned. I remembered getting back to the Angel Express last night. After emptying my inventory of monster parts into the Vault, I cleaned both my clothes and my body. While I was waiting for the dryer to finish, I started meditating to regain Mental Points with my new Tranquil Recovery skill. After that…

“Fucking fell asleep,” I mumbled, reaching up to rub my face. Snapping open my messages, I noticed I had four separate screens and went through them in order. 

[[Guild Notice]]

Member [Jamie Summers] has liberated [Single Family Home] x3.

Member [Jamie Summers] has liberated [Laundromat].

Sol Ligatus has gained 8 Guild Points.

“She’s always so busy,” I mumbled approvingly before clicking to the next one.

[[Patron Quest: Get Some Rest, Sweetie.]]

Imagine my surprise when, after I finished negotiating with Rexxel, I took a moment to check up on you and saw you napping.

First, you are adorable.

Second, despite your strange posture, you really needed this. I don’t know if you know this, but you toss and turn in your sleep a lot more than most people I’ve watched from here. There have been times where, if I hadn’t known any better, I wondered if you were actually sleeping or just trying to.

Either way, I’m hoping this message doesn’t wake you up. If you doze off just because you took a few minutes to yourself, I think you really need some down time. Please don’t fail this quest.

Objective: Get at least 8 hours of rest.

Reward: 300 points.

Blinking at the screen in confusion, I had a vague recollection of the title but not much more. I must have received the quest, agreed to it, and then immediately went back to sleep. If that were the case, then I must have been far more tired than I thought, and I knew what to blame it on.

A high Constitution stat meant that people would feel awake and alert for much longer than usual. It gave them the stamina to keep going for days at a time. I remembered a time when I stayed awake for over a week straight in Romania fighting Vampires.

The issue was that you still needed to sleep. That wasn’t something a high Constitution could fix, it was simply human nature. A recommended 8 hours a day didn’t change just because you didn’t feel tired, and I often wanted my guild members to sleep for longer than that. By how much light was coming in from the windows, I had guessed I got nearly 12 hours of rest.

As I stretched, I realized that I was feeling good. A lot better than I did back in Merder Stadium, at least. I didn't need Sara to tell me that my sleep was very fitful, I already knew. It was something that had been told to me many times during the years, but that never stopped me from feeling like I was well rested before. The 12 hour power nap seemed evidence to the contrary.

Shaking my head free of that thought, I brought up the next notice.

[[Patron Quest Complete!]]

Good morning, Anthony!

You slept in a really strange position, but you managed to make it through the night. Just over 11 hours. I know that you could have done a lot of things during that time, but I think it was well worth it. Pittsburgh is a much slower burn from what you’ve told me, and you already have the two biggest issues taken care of with the liberation of the bank and auction house.

Speaking of that, your ATM is in the dining car. I had Rexxel stop by and deliver one to the group before they left. Jeff placed it next to the Guild Board for now.

How are you feeling?

Reward: 300 points.

“Good morning, Sara,” I greeted, glancing up at the ceiling. “I’m feeling… surprisingly well, actually. Things have been kind of nonstop since Etson, so, that was nice. An unwelcome surprise, but nice nonetheless. I’m assuming that could be a quest because my well being aligns with your goals, right?”

I didn’t get an answer, nor did I expect one. Sara should have signed a deal with Rexxel for the Platinum Patron’s Package, which meant she would be low on points. Sighing, I focused on what she had said.

The biggest issues were taken care of early in the scenario, that part was true. Rexxel’s Bank would allow more guilds to pop up faster after they take loans, which would make things in general advance smoothly. None of the other buildings would provide such a handy helper, which made it vital that it was liberated quickly despite the clear danger.

Hao’s Auction House would allow for a wider market to appear in Pittsburgh, as well. The merchant classes would flock to it in order to set up their stalls, and trade would be facilitated quickly. This would lead to a healthy economy much sooner than it would if I hadn’t sent Jamie there. All in all, the city was set up for success.

Swiping away the Quest Complete screen, I opened the last one.

[[Notice]]

You have slept in a rank 4 guildhall that you are a member of. All HP and other resources have been returned to full and exceeded by 10%.

I stood up and retrieved my gear from the dryer in the bathroom. As long as I was wearing all of my items before I left the Angel Express that buff would persist on both my HP and MP, but I felt more comfortable with them on. Retrieving my Writhing Belt Whip and putting it in my pocket, I closed the notice and checked out my stats with the guild buff active.

[[Status]]

Guildmaster Anthony Franklin

Class: Warmind

Race: Half-Angel (Dormant)

Patron: (Hidden)

Points: 100,985

Stats:

Hit Points: 1,030/937

Mental Points: 1,287/1,170 (300/300)

Strength: 42; Dexterity: 52; Constitution: 71; Wisdom: 73; Willpower: 88

That 10% increase was a downright gift. Even with the weird way the rank up rewards for guilds were structured, I was always happy to see this one. Making sure everything was in order, I took a step outside of my room where I was immediately tackled by Corwin.

“Good morning to you,” I said with a chuckle as the Evolution Hound leaned against me, tail slapping against the hallway walls.

“It’s about time you woke up!” Jeff called, which prompted Corwin to run away from me back into the dining car.

I followed after him to see the Mills enjoying a cup of coffee at a table near the door. On the other side of the bar, I saw the ATM and the Guild Board. The machine looked just like any other one of its kind except that it had the name Rexxel on it, and I headed that way.

“Morning, you two,” I greeted as I passed them.

“Morning,” Kayla replied before gesturing towards the notice board. “I was surprised to see that you hadn’t completed any more quests when I checked this morning.”

“Yeah, I kind of fell asleep while meditating,” I admitted with a grimace. “Guess I was more tired than I thought.”

“If your body needs it, it needs it,” Jeff said as he shifted in his chair so he could see me better. “You feeling alright, then?”

“Right as rain,” I replied as I stopped in front of the ATM. It recognized me immediately, and words popped up both on the touch screen and in front of me.

[[Rexxel’s Automated Teller Machine]]

Welcome, guildmaster [Anthony Franklin].

Your Platinum Patron’s Package account has been set up. Please deposit 100,000 points to activate.

Would you like to deposit the points now?

Yes

No

I hit Yes, and a small bar appeared on the ATM when the text box disappeared. It showed a stick figure depositing coins into the machine with the bar filling up above them. I knew the process was instantaneous, but the animation was kind of cute to watch.

[[Rexxel’s Automated Teller Machine]]

Thank you, guildmaster [Anthony Franklin].

Account Balance: 100,000 points.

Please select from the following options.

Deposit

Withdrawal

Loan

Auction House

I snapped away the screen and the ATM powered down. My points were already drained to less than a thousand and I knew the ATM wouldn’t let me withdraw since the account was at its absolute minimum. With nothing else to do, I took a step to the side to check out the Guild Notice Board.

It was a physical item not unlike a white board that was divided into four sections. No text box appeared; all the information needed was already shown. The top showed the name of the guild, its logo, and how many points we had acquired. Thanks to the actions of Jamie last night, we had a grand total of 148 and our next rank up would happen at 185.

The next section of the board showed which members liberated which buildings and how many points they were worth. The only one getting notices directly were myself and Kayla, so this was a good place for everyone else to keep up with things. So far, Jamie was the only other person who had gained guild points, and I was the obvious points leader. Despite her frustration at being second, it would be like that for a while.

Next, a smaller section showed an overall leaderboard for all of Pittsburgh. Sol Ligatus was, unsurprisingly, the only one in the triple digits, and there were three guilds who had broken ten overnight. Yinzers United had 17 points, Parking Chairs for Dungeons had 14, and Do It For The Elves had 11.

That last one would not make it very far.

Finally, the last and largest section was for community notes. It had markers and erasers for people to draw or leave messages. I picked up one of them and wrote down the schedule I wanted people to adhere to, two days of adventuring with one day of down time. As long as they did some work when they were supposed to, I wasn’t going to ride anyone’s ass. Even liberating one building and messing around the rest of the day was fine by me.

That said, no one I picked up would consider that an option. I looked into the sleeper car to see that only Ashley’s door was closed. “Did Jamie-“

Before I had a chance to finish my sentence, a notice popped up in front of me. I snapped it away to read it on the board. The Weapon Master had just liberated a grocery store for 5 points. Her drive was admirable; Jamie could have sat on the bench and did the bare minimum while taking my advance, but her competitive side wouldn’t allow it.

And she was smart about it, too. Not one to let pride get in the way of survival, Jamie always started at the top before heading deeper into the Pitt. While Hao’s Auction House was a good baseline, the woman was careful when it came to gambling with her life. She would stop at a comfortable depth and keep hitting dungeons in an effort to catch up to me.

Even her "test" against Acidic Allen wasn't as bad as it seemed. I knew she had elemental resistances to fall back on and she just wanted to see if I was willing to stick my neck out for her. What happened to her feet was an unfortunate accident, but they happened in dangerous situations.

“She ditched us the moment we woke up,” Kayla said. “I reminded her that, according to you, it was her day off. You know what she told me?”

I couldn’t help but smile as I sat next to Jeff and snapped open the dining car’s meal menu. “Let me guess,” I started as I ordered a hot chocolate. Taking a breath, I did my best impersonation of Jamie. “’If it’s my day off, then he doesn’t get to dictate what I do with it.’”

Kayla pursed her lips. “I see you’ve already heard that before.”

“Several times,” I confirmed with a barked laugh. “There’s a reason why I recruit Jamie, you know. She’s really good at what she does and doesn’t hold grudges. Especially after I beat her up. Twice. Usually it’s more, but the Chaos Cup kinda got clipped so I’m considering myself ahead of the curve.”

“Well, I appreciate her work ethic, at least,” Kayla sighed.

“Whatever helps, right?” Jeff asked, reaching his hand across the table.

“I suppose that’s true.” She smiled and took it as they sipped coffee together.

“At the very least, she’ll take a break when she needs it,” I said. “So don’t you two worry about her.”

“Like we should be worrying about you?” Jeff asked immediately, glancing my way with a grin.

“No, I’m absolutely fine.”

“Falling asleep when meditating fine? Or fine in that way that people who aren’t claim they are?” Kayla asked.

I shook my head and breathed out. “Y’all can cut me some slack, you know.”

“Where’s the fun in that, psychic boy?” she teased.

“Alright, alright, enough of all that,” I chuckled. “Did you two grab some good things from the bank?”

They both relaxed, letting go of each other as they sat back. “I picked up a Drakefang Dagger, the Collar of the Diplomat, and the Earthquake Bangle,” Kayla answered. She raised her hand and flicked it, and a thick, bone knife appeared in her grip. The handle was wrapped with black leather, and she did the same motion to make it disappear. “Also used a Blank Skill Book on my Vanishing Dagger to get the In The Palm skill, so now I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“Solid choices,” I praised before looking at Jeff.

He gave me an uneasy grin. “Well, despite the weather, I went with the Sure-Step Sandals,” he said.

“Then it looks like you’re going to be a socks and sandals kind of guy for a while, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Jeff sighed. “But I also picked out a skill book for both Anchored Foe and Twin Thrust. The first for making sure it’s harder to get away from me, and the second so I have a reliable finishing move.”

I nodded along. Jeff had the Marked Target skill from his Duelist’s Trousers, which allowed him to mark a single enemy. They would take penalties if they fought anyone other than him and became worse as time went on. That was a good skill for team fights, but Anchored Foe made it so the target wouldn’t be able to escape past a certain distance, making it handy one on one.

Twin Thrusts was also great, and it served me well as a Needle Lancer. After striking an opponent, you had a split second to activate the skill. When you did, the attack was duplicated by an incorporeal version of your weapon. I used it to essentially achieve critical hits twice in a row, and it had a surprisingly short cooldown of only a minute.

“Also solid choices,” I said. “I’m assuming that Ashley went with the bucket, cap, and gold hammer?”

“Not much of an assumption if you already know,” Kayla replied. “But yes. Jamie picked out a bow, quiver, and khopesh.”

“Then everything’s as it should be,” I said, leaning back in my chair and taking the first sip of hot chocolate. “I’m going to be finished with this pretty quick. Do you two want to leave soon? I’ll be ready to head out once you’re geared up.”

The Mills looked at each other before nodding. “Sure thing, boss,” Jeff said as he stood and his wife joined him. “Where are we going to start? Down in the Pitt?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. Today, we’re going to check out the cemeteries. It’ll be great, you’ll love it there. People spending time with each other and building up relationships, all having a grand ole time fighting an endless stream of zombies emerging from unhallowed ground.”

Kayla and Jeff shared another glance, but I just smiled. Today was going to be an easy day.