Two weeks. They only had two weeks left until the Cryptid Challenge began and every temper was stretched to the limits. The neighborhood had filled with scared people, desperate for a safe haven, and that desperation drove them to give the preparations their all. At the morning orientations Tess had made it extremely clear that anyone who didn't pull their weight would be out, and any fights would be dealt with without trial or argument. Jason and Madison were in charge, and any complaints could be delivered to Ed. If he couldn't, or just didn't have time, to resolve the issue the offenders were encouraged - at the tip of Tess's sword - to take their complaint to the wide world beyond their neighborhood and find someone else who would cater to their needs.
The draconian measures didn't start out that way, and democracy was given a strong chance for the first three days. As Z would say, get their buy-in and you don't have to convince them to do anything. Make them a part of the solution and they won't be a part of the problem. Tess thought of that often for the first few days, through the arguments on who would get what houses, who would do which tasks, and who felt like their status or skills or age or skin color or gender gave them a right to demand special accommodations and privileges.
By the third day Owen had retreated inside, throwing his hands up and mumbling something about it being the apocalypse and he still had to be a manager and that he was done with it all. Quiet Jason and enthusiastic, logical Madison did what they could to explain the reasoning - to convince people of the plan and organize people into work parties that took most advantage of their skills, abilities, and knowledge.
Tess stepped out of her house the morning of the third day, marveling at the warmth in their cul-de-sac that was displacing the brittle cold just beyond. Jason and Madison had found a way to expand their climate control to the broader area and, if it didn't keep the cold out entirely, it at least made the area tolerable. People would warm up as they worked.
If they ever did, she realized.
The crowd was milling around the flustered Bouchard teens. The neighborhood population had expanded to 98 souls, about half of which were already pulling houses off of their foundations using Jason's hover sleds, as they'd come to be called. The process only took a few hours per home but required multiple people to get positioned just right. Others were filling massive wheelbarrows with dirt and transporting it between the evenly-spaced homes that were forming circles that clung to the Bouchard walls like barnacles. Between Jason and Madison's inventions and System enhanced bodies the work wasn't overly taxing or tiring, but it was tedious and labor-intensive. Something which was being argued about at this very moment.
"I'm just saying, we can worry about that later. Right now we need to keep fortifying these berms. There can't be any gaps." Jason's voice was low, his reserved nature being plowed over by the couple in front of him. "It'll be done soon and we can discuss official positions after. Right now, we need to focus on survival."
"That's what I'm trying to do, boy!" Chad's haughty voice carried through the open space, clearly entertaining to the crowd of 20 or so people behind him. "You need leadership, and I'm the man for it! I am a councilman, my leadership skills helped the fine people of this county for years!"
He was charming. Commanding. His voice carried the weight of authority, causing Jason to shrink in front of it. Tess got flashbacks of a certain preacher standing here, demanding loyalty from those around him. It took every ounce of her willpower not to pull her sword as she approached.
"What is the problem here?"
All eyes turned to her and Chad looked her up and down. She did not like the way his gaze lingered.
"I was just telling your boy here that this place needs a leader! Someone to guide these people through the trials and tribulations that are coming. Someone that balances a firm hand with a soft heart. Someone that can bear the responsibilities of leadership. I humbly propose that that man is me, not…" he waved his hand at Jason in a dismissive manner.
Tess scanned him, her Advanced Identify giving her a look at his core build.
Chadwick Blankenship, Level: 12
Class: Supervisor
Core Stats:
STR: 13 AGI: 11 END: 11 INT: 23 LUK: 10 CHA: 24
Combat Skills:
Melee Combat: Basic 1 Ranged Combat: Basic 1 Defense: Basic 1 Tactics: Basic 5 Attack: 4 Defense: 3
Magic and Technology:
Magic Affinity: Basic 1 Tech Savvy: Basic 1 Spellcraft: N/A Enchantments: Basic 4
Ancillary Skills:
Leadership: Intermediate 2 Survival: Basic 2 Crafting: N/A Stealth: N/A
"Fara, do you get anything else from this guy? Anything you can piece together from it?"
This was a new challenge they'd undertaken as they explored their synergies. Tess would identify the person and the two of them would use the character sheet, body language, and any history they had on them to form a fuller picture. They'd starting calling it their Sherlock Holmes challenge.
"His stats are basic - my assumption is that, other than Intelligence and Charisma, he just let The System allocate the rest for him, thus explaining the even distribution. That indicates that he hasn't encountered a lot of individual trials, since his stat distribution doesn't appear to be shoring up any potential weaknesses. His other attributes confirm that hypothesis since he is at the lowest levels of the Basic tier for virtually everything except Leadership, Enchantments, and Tactics. This would lead me to assume that he has spells associated with leadership, and none as far as combat or defense."
"So he looks out for himself and relies on his powers of persuasion to convince others to do the dirty work for him. My danger sense is completely silent so I would tend to agree with that assessment." Tess felt Fara's thrill of getting her approval.
"Mother, he may not be a physical danger but we should not ignore the potential danger of him convincing others to aid him. He has survived this long for a reason."
Tess didn't need convincing of that fact. "No doubt about that. I don't find it surprising that none of the people who he has presumably led before are not here now."
Tess was getting better at sensing when Fara was surprised. "Mother, that is an excellent conclusion! If he relies on leadership enchantments to survive then he should have been accompanied by those he led. Would you like me to determine possible conclusions of what happened to them?"
"No need, Fara. I've seen this before."
"Are you going to finally tell me about Him?"
Tess gave a mental shake of her head. Through Tess's conversations with Ed, Fara had concluded that there was a man - Gabriel - that had done unspeakable things to her family. Fara pressed often at first, but Tess's rage when his name was brought up stopped those conversations short. She pried, never using his name, but never got anywhere.
"No, we don't need to talk about him."
"But then how can I formulate a strategy for dealing with him should we encounter him again? I want to keep my family safe."
Tess had become so accustomed to Fara's forced insertion in her family that she didn't even notice it anymore. "You don't have to. If we run into him again I will deal with him." The finality in her thought brooked no more discussion on the matter.
Tess continued. "This guy reminds me a little too much of him, though. I think it's time to set an example."
"Ooooh, fun!"
The conversation had happened in the blink of an eye. When Tess came back to real time she was greeted by Chad's smug face.
"Enough politicking, Chad."
"But," he spluttered
"I said stop." There was a razor's edge in her voice and it cut through his next words. She turned to find Madison. "Is Ed around?"
Madison nodded over Tess's shoulder where Ed was casting spells on some of the newly-placed houses. Tess whistled to get his attention and Ed jogged over.
"Hey Tess, what's up?"
She nodded at Chad. "Did you cast a system block on this guy's skills? He has very high charisma and seems very skilled in leadership magic."
Ed's face darkened, understanding the meaning behind her words. Without another word he pulled his brush out of the air and began a complicated drawing that surrounded Chad.
The older man waved his hands futile at the shimmering rainbow that was surrounding him.
"Hey now! What is this? Stop this, I demand it!"
Pulses began shimmering against the jar-shaped spell that encapsulated him. Ed growled. "Okay, yeah. He's definitely doing something. Not like… well, not like THAT, but it's something. It seems he's having an effect on the people behind him. It would to us, too, if we weren't already exposed to a much more powerful version."
"Is it dangerous?"
"Today? No. A month from now?" He shrugged, the implication heavy in the air.
"That's all I needed to know, thanks. Grab me one of those platforms, will you please?"
Ed hopped away with a nod, coming back moments later with one of the lifting platforms. She jumped onto it, now heads above everyone else.
"Listen up everyone! I need everyone here! Stop what you're doing for a minute, please, and come here."
Her words were polite but the delivery made everyone stop immediately and come to surround her.
"Ooh, I can't wait to see what you do! Is your plan to inspire them? Tell this guy off?"
"I'm not the inspiring type, Fara. I'm a mother, and some of these people are acting like children."
When the last of the people arrived she took a moment to look each of them in the eye, letting a bit of The Huntress out in the gaze. Many flinched and looked away, while others gazed on her like a protective Athena.
Chad, and his vapid wife, Karen, looked on in defiance.
She didn't yell, despite the size of the crowd, but her voice carried to each of them all the same.
"Many of you don't know me so let me introduce myself. I am Tess Torres and this is my neighborhood. You are here because we need help to survive what is coming -, and I thank each and every one of you for joining us. What is coming is dark and dangerous and it will require all of us if we're going to come out the other side alive."
Whispers and murmurs of fear reached her but she ignored them. "I know you're scared - and you should be. Some of us are going to die soon."
There were outbursts, but she held up a hand to silence them. "I"m sorry, but it's true. The world we're in now is a dangerous place, filled with creatures that were designed to come from the dark and tear us apart in our sleep. Some of us have stayed asleep to what is coming, dreaming of a world that is no longer here. Dreaming of a place where safety and laws keep the bad things out."
She leveled her stare again, this time the full power of her class on display. She heard whimpers but ignored them as well. She was standing before kittens and didn't have time to coddle the weak.
"So, who is going to die?" She looked around and found a woman standing with her arms around a young boy. A part of her felt bad for what was coming next but it was necessary. She pointed to her, the woman's eyes going wide at being singled out.
"Will it be you?"
Tess let the silent moment stretch, then raised her voice. "I asked you a question! Answer me! Will it be you who dies?"
The tears that filled the woman's eyes met only the hard stare of a killer. She shook her head and mumbled something. Tess's advanced perception picked it up, but she knew no one else did.
"Louder! Answer the question."
"That's enough!" A burly man in a flannel shirt stepped in front of the woman, shielding her from Tess's gaze. "Just leave her alone, she's here for protection."
Tess's smile was predatory. "Why does she need my protection?" She turned to face the rest of the crowd. "Why do any of you?"
"Because we're not strong enough to face what's coming on our own." Tess could see that the man's words cost him his pride and she respected him for saying them.
She nodded. "Good, then you understand. Let me make something absolutely fucking clear right now."
"Mother, you swore!"
"Shut up Fara, now isn't the time."
Fara giggled in her head. "I just can't believe you said the F word!"
"I am not here to protect you. You are here to protect yourselves. I understand that there's not enough time to make each of you strong individually, so the only option left is for us to be strong together. While we are here we are going to work together. Together in EVERYTHING. There will be no arguing, no dissension, no battles for supremacy or leadership. You will work together to survive or we will all die together."