Second Chance

Chapter: 3

Eskon districts

Len led Rick out of the upper district around Valoria Academy and through Eskon city.

It was the kingdom’s capitol located in the northwest of Plynthia’s lands. To the west and north was the main continent. The mountains created a half horse-shoe, cutting off the kingdom, to the east the mountains fell away to the sea, several port towns dotting up and down the coast.

To the north of the city was a largely untamed forest. To the south were the ample farming fields.

Streams turned into lakes as they descended from the Stained Mountain range, passing through the untamed forests to the north, wrapped around Eskon and weaved south to the prosperous farmland of Plynthia and out to the port cities.

The city itself was built along a large rise running parallel to the mountainous ranges. To the southwest was the royal district. Stretching out like bands to the north and eastward were the noble district, the Valoria Academy, the upper market district, then there was the middle class and merchant district.

Then the buildings started to come down the rise. The lower trade district taking over most, mixed in with housing. It touched the bottom of the sloping rise and planes below. Here were the low-class homes, some sinking into slums. Beyond them were the industrial districts. The old one to the north facing the forests, the others curling around the east where the train lines and docks were located. The factories and industrial complexes belched flame and black smoke into the skies.

Nobles country homes lay beyond the new industrial district, private reserves and forests where they hunted beasts for sport.

Farms had been sold off centuries ago, the farmers pushed south or to the harsher north. The north was still largely unexplored. Coal and iron were mined up and down the Stained Mountain Range. There were better water and land routes in the south to move the goods, increasing profits.

Mines in the north needed to set up their own towns, build their own routes and their winters were longer. Few people were willing to suffer through that when conditions were better in the south.

Plynthia was a peaceful kingdom, few threats with a natural mountainous geography that made attack incredibly difficult and drew up great resources from the ground.

While the terrain gave them safety it also made them isolated, for now.

The age of steam was connecting the nation faster than ever before, industry sweeping the world.

“I still remember everything,” Len said. That made Rick pause.

“Me too." Rick looked over. “And it seems that the apocalypse is still on its way.”

“How many times did you wish we could do things different?” Len asked. “Change things knowing what we do? We have the chance now.”

Len drew on the mana around him. “Mana is here so the apocalypse isn’t stopped, its just restarting. What if this time we stacked things in our favor?”

“Go on,” Rick said.

“We already know where a massive mana vein is that we could hollow out.” Len gestured at the crater. “There’s materials in abundance, iron, coke, steel, people, food. If we use the information we gained through the apocalypse with those resources just how far could we go?”

===

Quest: Form a city.

===

Rick was silent, looking at where the obelisk had been. “Looks like the system agrees with you to be throwing out a quest already.

“Think of all the people that the God Emperor killed or those that died who could have changed the apocalypse. They’re all still alive.” Len gave him time.

“Our families are alive, Len.” Rick looked at him.

Len opened his mouth as his stomach dropped and he closed his mouth again. The obelisk was interesting, using that power, then the mana stone that would make them rich as gods.

His mother and father, his siblings. It had been over a century.

“We could save them,” Rick said. There was a note of tight apprehension in his voice.

===

Quest: Family connection

===

Find the Isendia family and make sure they’re safe

Find Farmer Edward and his family, make sure they’re safe.

===

Len changed directions.

“So what’s the plan?” Rick asked.

“We head to the station, get tickets. We save our families, once we save them we can recover the obelisk and the mana stone underneath it. We’ve already got screens much earlier, lets see how much we can change the future.”

It didn’t take them long to reach the central station, a great edifice of stone and steel where a dozen tracks ran through.

“Okay, looks like we’ve got a train headed east to Goran in…” Rick checked the clock. “None today, it looks like the first is early tomorrow morning?”

“From Goran we can cut south for my family’s farm. Your Grandma isn’t in good health as it is. I just hope we can move quickly,” Len said.

“As soon as my business with Goran is done we’ll head out to meet your family,” Rick said, looking him dead in the eyes.

Len nodded, it was as good as carved into stone now.

Rick moved up to the ticket window.

“Two tickets to Goran?” Rick asked at the ticket window.

“Going for the competition are you, sir?” the ticketmaster asked, as he checked a board behind the counter.

“Thought it might be entertaining,” Rick said.

“It’ll be forty-four coppers each.” the man said. “There’s a train exhibition going on.” The ticketmaster had noticed Len’s interest as Len pushed coins into the tray.

The ticketmaster separated out the coins with his index finger.

“All here.” He pulled two tickets out from under the counter, writing something on them and then stamping them both. “Don’t have any private carriages, though should be able to get a seat here. Don’t let it go till you reach Goran!” He pushed the tickets under the gate.

“Thank you,” Rick said, pulling them out and tucking them into a pocket in his pack.

“Platform three heading eastbound tomorrow at six am.”

“Thanks.” Rick held a ticket out to Len. He tucked it into a pocket.

“I’ll get some food, meet up here in an hour?” Rick asked.

“Sure.” Len headed in the direction the noise had come from. He and his father had talked about steam engines and trains nearly everyday. Dad would’ve been so excited—would be? It was hard to wrap his head around a man being dead for so long to him was still alive now.

A set of wrought iron gates were proudly open with people in the street heading within with curiosity in their eyes.

Len drifted with the crowd through the gate into the train yard.

He had come to the cities all those decades ago, wanting to work with the beasts of steel, steam and coal. He’d carried his book on furnaces and steam powered technology for all that time. When emptying his belongings from the bunkhouse it was one of his few possessions he kept.

Len rested his hand on his messenger bag, feeling the book within.

He’d seen the trains passing his family farm, each time wondering what it would be like to feel the wind through his hair, the wheels rolling beneath his feet. Fire at his command, the world that had been beyond now within his grasp.

Train jobs had become dangerous, requiring mercenaries to fend off attacking beasts. So he’d pushed his dreams to the side and headed to the factories, the closest he got to steam powered technology. That had been the way in his last life too.

He’d ridden on trains just twice. Each time a joy to behold.

Few survived the apocalypse and other methods of transportation overtook the need for dangerous trains.

He stepped through the wrought iron gates to the train yard. Sheds lay in a circle around a wheelhouse. Engines lay on the tracks between the wheelhouse and the sheds. They came in all different forms, in different colors. All had reinforced cow catchers, many were enclosed, the engines longer.

Built to have larger boilers and hoppers for coal so they stop less often.

Len studied them. These were up armored with steel, the sides enclosed, firing ports and extra boilers for steam guns added in.

To deal with the beasts attacking them.

Large steam guns were on display outside of the trains. Steam from the boilers was routed through pipes to the weapons, a pull of the trigger opening a seal to fire the projectile dropped into the chamber.

Pulling down the trigger projectiles would drop into the barrel, the constant flow of air hurtling them forward.

Interesting ideas that he himself and tinkered with prototypes and enchantments.

Several firearms were on display as well, using cartridges of different kinds, from rifles to artillery. Such weapons would be invaluable and useful at the start of the apocalypse when creatures were still weak.

Need to have the materials and shops to make them continuously.

He grimaced; infrastructure suffered the most with the fall. Most cities without walls being overrun and the people running for their lives.

Most firearms had been useless after a few weeks. Bows and arrows were easier to make and with the materials that came with the apocalypse, they hit harder.

Len took in the sights of the engines, using his atomic-sight to peer through the weapons and the trains, learning their secrets.

It was bittersweet. He finally got to see them, but he knew that all too soon they’d be made largely useless.

His eyes caught a train half hidden in its shed, his heart clenching.

“A Xinta Two point five.” The train was bulkier than its sleek counterparts. A workhorse of a train, built for reliability, power and mechanical advancements over looking good.

There had been a limited number of the engines created, he had trekked into a forest for three days to go and see one found on its side.

This was the first functional one he’d ever seen. He took in her full length. Her prow rose up beyond the cow catcher, up to the top of the train, like the bow of some great ship.

“Parting the air as one might part the seas.” He repeated the words of its creator Clint Xinta. “Double boiler design with a condenser and heat exchange piping.” He let out a soft snort, the blood rushing through his body.

Most engines worked with heating the boiler up to create steam, that would rush through a cylinder to drive the pistons, which would then be ejected into a condenser, cooling the steam to water once more and returning it to the boiler to be heated once more.

This system had two boilers, the first stage warmed the water slightly, the second took a much smaller amount of water to turn it into steam to drive the pistons. With the smaller volume of the second stage boiler, it could quickly heat up the water contained within into steam with less coal required. The first boiler quickly filling it with warm water to be converted into steam made sure it had the capacity it required. The first boiler also captured the cold water coming from the condenser so that it wouldn’t drop the overall temperature of the second boiler suddenly, drawing it in opposite from the opening into the second boiler.

The steam passed through the piston and instead of just passing through the condenser, a second heat-capturing coil was added.

“Alcohol?” Len held his chin studying it. A series of coils rand around the condenser tube, filled with alcohol. “With its low boiling point then it would draw out the heat from the steam quickly. Genius.”

It ran through the condenser, pulling out the heat rapidly, creating a vacuum in the piston, clearing the steam built up and increasing the overall power.

Then the coils brought the heated alcohol down to the first boiler, wrapping around the input feed, warming up the liquid water that came in through the condenser.

“Passively heating up the water once more before it drops into the boiler.” There was a network of pipes within, each pulling out heat from different sources, feeding it into the first boiler.

Len took in her full length, his eyes peering through her outer skin to her innards, the piping, the main boiler and supplementary. She was… “Gorgeous.”

His eyes itched as a smile spread on his face the world took a pause for a moment as he patted the pitted and repainted wheel of the behemoth. She had soul, she had a power that the other trains couldn’t hope to meet up to.

She squatted in the corner, yearning to be let free. A lion among kittens

“Won’t be long until Xinta falls now. Bunch of steel workers thought they could go over our heads,” a man bragged.

“Didn’t rightly know their place. I know that you personally visited to become their patron,” another man said. Len looked over to see three nobles walking past.

“They had the gall to try and push me out!” the young man in a velvet green suit, and matching top hat said, a black cane in his hand as he tapped it on the ground in frustration.

“They didn’t know the truth of who they were dealing with! Crenda steel foundries are known throughout Plynthia and beyond!” another man, taller, rakish and in purple said.

Len’s expression became pinched.

The third of their ensemble in a blue canvas suit caught Len’s eye and drew his overly large self up. “Best watch where you look with those eyes, boy!” he reprimanded, his wig shifting as he lashed out with his finger. He was barely older than Len, with all of the items of someone trying to prove their were an adult.

“They really do let anyone into these things, Forsyth!” the rakish fellow said.

“Get!” Lord Forsyth said.

Do you own the world?

Len thought about putting them in their place for a second. He tapped on the engine and walked towards the gates.

“He’s a lucky gutter rat to only get a tongue lashing!” Purple boy declared.

“Right! I just got this suit and don’t want to dirty it with a fight!”

“Why dirty our hands when we have guards to deal with the trash. Come! Let us go see the Emerald Engine builders, I have an appointment,” Forsyth declared, leading the group away.

Len shook his head, there were idiots everywhere. Let alone guards, it the entire army might have a hard time dealing with Rick and him.

He’d learned to keep his head low, the hot heads and the strong showed off their power. Those kinds of people had no true friends and there was always someone stronger that could put you in your place.

Stay quiet, stay hidden. That had been how he and Rick had survived. He backtracked to the station proper, finding Rick eating as pasty wrapped in newspaper.

He gave Len one.

“See anything interesting.”

“A true Xinta engine, thing of beauty.” Len bit into his meal, eating as they walked through the station and up the bridge over to their platform. “More people than I was expecting.” Len finished his meal. “Also I was thinking that we get gear and supplies first, feel naked out here without a set of armor and a sword.”

“Mana density is shit too,” Rick said.

“Don’t think that there’s any alchemists with pills or elixirs to increase cultivation yet,” Len grimaced.

“We don’t have the gold to buy that even if there was. If you rough up a mana gathering formation or enchantment and I get a hammer we can do it the old fashioned way?” Rick asked.

“If we’re leaving tomorrow I don’t have the time to make something like that. We’ll just have to help one another to open them up that way we can at least out sustain others even if we don’t have the firepower to beat them outright.”

Len took out the smudged newspaper from under his arm and handed it to Rick. “Unrest on the farms, reports of beasts attacking people, the mines in the north have closed down. Though even with the beasts and the attacks lumber, coal, iron and food have all increased in supply.”

Rick took the paper and flipped it open. “Beasts are getting stronger and threatening people. Mercenaries are coming in and killing them off. People are have also got professions though they can’t see them and are producing more.”

“There are several new commodities entering the market, materials from areas that haven’t produced them before,” Len said.

“What you hinting at?”

“Dungeons have been discovered but people aren’t talking about them commonly. Mana storms haven’t started, there’s no talk of cultivation, random people getting stronger so far and new surprising advancements in weapons, armor and alchemy. Also there’s no hunters guild.”

“No hunters guild you say?” Rick’s face split into a grin. “So no annoying ass tests, no having to sign over thirty percent of our loot in value to them when we come out of a dungeon they’ve claimed? No fucking admins to deal with?”

“Right,” Len nodded.

“This day just got a lot better. Though I will say, kicking my old training officer in the nuts was satisfying, and then telling people to go fuck themselves. Oh and I nearly dodged all of the other officers too! Should have seen the look on the lady’s faces in the audience.” Rick grinned. Len shook his head. “You were back for minutes.”

“Wanted to make an impression in this go-over.” Rick flipped the pages of the newspaper and kept reading.

Len kept his pace steady, leading them down the city’s rise towards the lower districts. He took out his journal and kept copying down information.

They were in the lower districts when a question rose in his mind.

"What are we going to do about the obelisk?" Len asked.

“Lets us go back in time, repeat days, we have to get that. How many times did you wish that we could do things over again? Then there’s the mana lode underneath it. That’s enough to buy five Harmonias.”

“Which doesn’t exist yet,” Len interjected.

“Hmm, guess that’s true.” Rick squinted, looking up. “Need a map then, guess the mountain range is still intact? From what I remember, its about two hundred and fifty kilometres northwest over the Stained mountain range.”

“We’re going to need to temper and cultivate fast. That’s too far for us to do as we are, with horses we’d have to take so many supplies to keep them fed.”

Rick folded the paper and turned it towards Len. It was a half page advert for ‘Olwell’s, Chemical Formulations’. “Revitalizing tonic and a cure all panacea. Sounds like stamina and health potions.”

“Could have ingredients too,” Len said.

“We only know how to make journeyman level potions,” Rick said.

“We’re level ones and potions weren’t that effective until nearly a decade after the apocalypse.”

Rick’s eyebrow’s climbed. “The weakest potions we know could be much stronger than the strongest potions that are being made already.”

“Right.”

“If we could find some alchemists, get them under contract and have them making potions,” Rick stared off into the distance. “We could push potion creation ahead over a decade and get people on the right step. Heck we teach them how to temper and cultivate too?”

Len frowned. “Everything we thought of as basic knowledge would be much more advanced right now.”

Rick held his ear, half squinting, straining to hear something.

“What is it?”

“Sorry, just heard gold falling into our pockets!” Rick laughed.

Len rolled his eyes, he would’ve swatted him if he was a younger man. Len paused, then smacked Rick’s shoulder and smiled.

“What was that for?”

“Being a pain in my ass as usual. Now talking about gold, how much coin were you able to get off of Dominus?"

"Oh, right, here's your gold." Rick folded up the paper, putting it under his armpit before he pulled out his retainer’s liberated purse, passing Len coins. "One gold and fifty silver pieces."

Len nodded in thanks, putting it away into his own coin purse. Rick checked the contents of his. "I'd say five gold pieces, thirty-five silver, and a lot of copper." Rick closed up the coin purse and put it back in his pocket. "Yourself?"

"With your donation, three gold, twenty-three silver, and seventeen copper," Len said. “Is it okay you kicking that guy, Dominus?”

“He’s always been a shit fighter, prick ran when Lydia’s estate got attacked. Better with his tongue than a sword. He’s one of my uncle’s people,” Rick gripped his fists tighter.

“Maybe this time we can change that outcome,” Len said.

“What you writing in that book?”

“All the information I can remember. Want to get as much down as possible. I don’t have my books or references so I’m going from the basics to the most complex. What did you get those pieces of paper for?”

“Same pretty much. Uhh Len.” Rick scratched the back of his head. “Y’know history, how much do you remember?”

Len lowered his journal, biting on his tongue with his molars as he frowned, giving himself a few seconds to collect his thoughts and cast them back. “I came here to work in the factories at sixteen to send back money to my parents because it was safer than being out in the fields and there was more to be made here.” He dug deeper.

“The attacks increased, fights kicked off over resources. Magical artifacts were discovered, people were getting stronger from killing the mana beasts. A market for mana related items grew as people tried to find uses for things. I turned seventeen and I think I sent back four gold to my family, they never got it because their town was already gone. Then I got conscripted.”

“Three months later and you were in my squad,” Rick said. “We bloodied ourselves on beasts and dungeons, getting stronger and sending everything to the noble families. Caught higher up’s attention with how well we were doing in dungeons.”

“Got put on dungeon diving,” Len nodded. “Till the king died.”

“Yeah then things really turned to shit. Had us going into every dungeon they could find, clearing and looting them. Never a spare minute. What was that asshole’s name, something Crenda?”

“The one that would wait at the entrance with his guards, using their spears to push us into the dungeons if we didn’t move fast enough, then had us strip every time we came out to make sure we didn’t get any loot at all. Ivan, Ivan Crenda. He took everything, using it on himself or his people, then sold the rest off on the black market. The remainder he sent to his officers to support the civil war.”

“Till that wasn’t enough and they brought the dungeon delving crews to the fighting,” Rick said.

Len snorted, a harsh, grim thing. “We were stronger than most people, killed lots of beasts, had the need and the time to learn some magic. Knew how to use some of the gear, how to make basic gear go further. Rough one-time enchantments upgraded weapons and armor. Sent us into the grinder because we got results.”

They sunk into silence.

“Well, I guess that our squad mates are alive right now,” Rick said.

“Right, I guess that they are.” Len searched for the words and frowned. “Its weird. I know they died, I can remember their deaths, when and where it happened. That hole of them being gone. Though they’re alive out there right now.”

“Fucking weird,” Rick muttered.

“Yeah, still not going to forgive Crenda for that bullshit though. The apocalypse brought the civil war to an end at least.”

“The leadership came apart and the armies did the same. Mana storms tore through the world, altering it.” Rick said. “Mountain ranges appearing, others disappearing, fertile land destroyed, barren turned into some of the best growing fields and mana materials throughout.”

“Everything had fallen apart by that point. Food was scarce, we didn’t know how to use the ingredients and materials all around us. The beasts that we had left unchecked in the civil war tore through farms worsening the problem.” Len took in a heavy breath. “We headed into the age of despair, some fifteen years where we struggled to defend against the beasts, build up supplies and fend off other groups.”

“City-states became the largest organized groups.” Rick squinted. “From them the guilds started spreading out to kill beasts, gather materials. They established outposts, their own cities, farming dungeons. Things began to stabilize. Harmonia rose up, then Dennis stopped working with people and started lording over them. The only thing that seemed to be universal was the adventurer’s guild using their contracts to bind traders, crafters, fighters and dungeoneers together into an organization.”

Len kicked a stone on the path and snorted. “That was when we were hoping to put up our weapons and learn something different. I tried to join the greenwood enchanting guild, and you worked to develop your building profession more.”

“Then that fucking snake backstabbed you and got you kicked from the guild,” Rick’s voice carried a dangerous heat.

“We went back to delving dungeons, we were good at it. We made a good paycheck and then the wars started up between the different city-states. So we went into the larger realms, selling our items on the black market. Made Erriondale our base of operations, neutral from it all.”

“And then the arrivals showed up and fucked everything up again and put all of us under their boots because we were too weak to do shit and they wanted the resources of our little planet,” Rick shook his head. “Every fucking time we started to get ahead we got fucked. Hell we just got into the God Emperor’s vault and we’re back here having to do this shit all over again.” The newspaper crumpled in his fists.

“This time we know what’s going to happen,” Len said.

“Do you remember exactly when that all happened?” Rick asked.

Len opened his mouth, his footsteps slowing to a stop. “I don’t.”

“Alright, yeah me either. I can be like, this happened here and this at this time, like one after another. Though I couldn’t pin the dates on anything,” Rick said.

“Write down all of the events that you remember and in what order. If we know what order they’re going to happen in, that should help.”

Rick sighed. “Such a damn workhorse.”

“At least now you can’t complain about your advanced age,” Len said.

“I’m old in my soul! My soul, Len!”

“Old in the brain, get to writing.”

“Youngsters these days,” Rick sighed. “Where are we going anyway?”

“Lower districts, the smiths, get weapons and armor,” Len said.

“And a hammer?”

“Your weapon is a hammer, so that’s implied.”

“Wonder what kind of hammers they have.”

“Don’t you know how to use a sword?”

Rick shrugged. “Kind of, my Uncle banned me from learning a weapon when I was a kid, so I was pretty crap with a sword and used spears and a hammer instead. Swords just take a long time to learn. Hammers and spears are more straight forward. Also Olwell’s, Chemical Formulations is up here in the upper market district.”

Len slowed looking between them. “You’re going to have to get it, no way is anyone going to let me in these clothes.”

“Okay, I’ll get the maps too, you’ll just get them all covered in coal dust.”

“Fair enough, I’ll see if I can’t get supplies for the road, weapons and armor,” Len patted his pockets absently. “You got your sound talisman?”

“Yeah, you don’t?”

“Round this time the only people that have them are the nobles, most people use ones that you have to pay for and you can only use them for short periods everyday.”

“So there are some magical devices in the world,” Rick said.

“Yeah, though they’re all from dungeons. I saw one up on a wall in the industrial district.” Len glanced down alleyways as they walked. “That one should do.”

They crossed the street, passing carriages drawn by horses. Rick folded up his paper, folding it clean paper out and putting it under his armpit.

“Turn some of the stone into a thin brick,” Len turned to face the street, screening Rick as he crouched down.

People looked over at Len before continuing on his journey. Maybe I’m not the best one to have on the street.

“Got an issue,” Rick said, standing up.

“Hmm?”

“I don’t have my builder’s profession anymore, or I was only recognized as having it when I had the system.” Rick moved around him and continued walking down the street. Len caught up with him.

“Professions were recognized by the system when is spread when the Arrivals appeared,” Len said.

“They system showed the things that were hidden from us.”

“There are a hundred and one theories on the system, we don’t even know why the Arrivals passed it to us, though we know that anyone with the system would pass it to anyone else within their domain reach,” Len said.

“Right, though the problem right now is that I either have a really low level builders profession, or I don’t have it at all because I should be able to tap on a brick and crack it into another brick with ease.”

“Maybe the skill required to break the brick down is too high?” Len asked.

Rick turned his head, giving him a sarcastic ‘really?’ expression.

“Fair, you were a really high level builder.” Len held up his hands.

“Was a master builder,” Rick said with pride.

“To get there you needed to take the profession and work with higher grade materials and make increasingly complex buildings. Though you subverted it to use its skills to understand dungeons, then alter and change them to make our lives easier.”

“Then I had to grind out a lot of smart ideas that skirted the uses of the builder profession to increase the overall level. I have all the knowledge, but the Rick right now hasn’t built a damn thing in his life. So where I could do low level things with a single touch, I’m going to have to grind out from the Novice ranks again.”

“Crap.” Len grimaced and rubbed the back of his head. “Which means how we could just make a Novice piece of gear with a single touch, we’re going to need to do it all over again.”

“Bingo,” Rick sounded as frustrated as Len felt.

“That means I won’t be able to make folded space devices either.”

“Backpacks,” Rick groaned.

“Backpacks,” Len agreed. “Plan B, I’ll got get food and gear supplies, stuff them into packs and then I’ll head to a smithy, I’ll try to keep it the closest to the train lines coming into the city. I’ll see if I can get some metal there and carve it into a sound talisman and call you that way.”

“Smithy near the train lines in the lower district. Backup?”

“If you don’t see me there by sunset, then meet at the central train station. I’ll stay in place you circle,” Len said.

“Perfect.” Rick clapped him on the shoulder, “Well Olwell’s should be off in that direction, see you in a few hours.” He paused, the two of them looking at one another. “Fuck, we got a second shot.”

“Lets not waste it,” Len said. “Don’t get arrested again.”

“I promise nothing.” Rick picked up the pace, running right infront of a horse drawn carriage.

“Watch where you’re going you—” The man coughed. “Sorry my lord.” The man grovelled.

Rick waved the man off and continued on his way. The driver snapped his reins, getting the fuck out of there.

Len turned towards the lower district once more and picked up his pace.

I hate carrying shit, folded space accessories were so useful. Do I want to try and become an enchanter again?

Len sighed, that was a decision for later.