Chương 96: 3.21 Rush - Seatbelts (3:24)

MyPrec0ius Who else is thinking the whole "go tell the Pale Regiment and leave" plan is ridiculous? It's smart, sure. If I was the one stranded out in the Deadlands it's exactly what I'd be doing. But the Blooming Witch literally spent the last bits of her life hiding info about Corva and the Eaters. She could have done anything with that time, including building herself a better echo. Instead, she made sure Zeke could understand what Corva was planning.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it feels to me like she was passing Zeke the responsibility to do something about Corva. It feels weird Zeke would know all that and just fob it off on the creepy porcelain masks. Craaazzzzy The Witch also spent a bunch of her energy telling Zeke that obsessions are bad. He's already got history with Corva and he was talking about wanting to hunt the guy down.

Maybe our boy is growing and letting someone else handle the body-hopper so he doesn't do the whole hero/villain spiral thing. I don't want Corva turning into the Joker, becoming obsessed with Zeke's Batman. KnightsWHOsay-NIN-NIN | it feels to me like she was passing Zeke the responsibility | She didn't choose Zeke. He was just the person who happened to show up before the House fully died. If some other rando wandered through the front door, they'd have gotten the same speech.

Dead people don't have a lot of delivery options. SteelResolve ^MyPrec0ius. I'm getting sick and tired of all these lore dumps. The last few updates from Zeke have all been history lessons, magical theory, and tragic backstories. It's okay in moderation, but eventually he's going to need to hit something. This story has gotten so much slower ever since the Reclaimer fight. Zeke needs to go back to the Glens. That would kick the story up a notch.

I want to see Zeke in the same room when Corva and the Eaters start talking. I don't care if it's a terrible idea or if everyone dies. An immortal body-hopping necromancer is going to walk into a negotiation with creatures that consume memory and identity. That's the most interesting thing that's happened in this story for a long while. StoryLeech Crush… is that you? CrushDaddyXx How dare you. | I don't care if it's a terrible idea or if everyone dies. | I have ALWAYS been on Zeke's side trying to get him stronger.

Even the Reclaimer fight wasn't really all that dangerous. All Zeke needed to do was sit back and poison the thing with glyphs. And it worked… because I fight smart. Last_admiral Zeke needs to rest. Like, filler arc you know, so he can sit down and decompress and actually handle/face his depression and think about "going back home" plan. SixtySix Oooo. A beach episode. I like it. Zeke, make sure you tell us what you're wearing. Try and get Riley to go with you.

Teabaggins420 Imagine reading all this buildup only for the next update to be: Corva went to the Glens and the Pale Regiment handled it. Hells nah. We've had too many updates building towards whatever insanity Corva's got planning. If the payoff happens off-screen because this forum convinced Zeke to let someone else handle it, I'll lose my mind. I'm with Steel. I want him ten feet from Corva when he pitches his resurrection plan to the eldritch memory thieves. ShivSays Idiots. All of you.

Zeke's got the chance to hand off a dangerous problem to a well-armed paramilitary organization. It's literally the smartest decision he's made in this story and you're all shitting on him for it.

Cryolophus_The_First I know that everyone wants Zeke to explore more but GENUINELY it's like you all seem to forget his character is IN the game and is HELPLESS after several traumatic events, the fact that he's updating so fast is way more than expected because realistically he should be on the verge of a mental breakdown if he hasn't had one already, not to mention the fact he needs to hide and keep quiet just to be safe, much less recuperate in general.

ReCoil44 (Primary) It is fascinating to see this forum more focused on the practical aspects of the story while ignoring the narrative symmetry that he has accomplished. His tale began with the Glens, which represented the unknown and were home of the Eaters, the first truly incomprehensible horror he encountered in this world. It was his introduction to a setting defined by fear and uncertainty. Now we find ourselves discussing whether he should willingly return. Narratively, there is something elegant about that.

This story began with Zeke fleeing from the unknown, and it has come full circle to him deliberately walking towards it. It is the perfect example of the Hero's Journey. Kudos to you, Zeke. MushroomCleric Uh…" narratively" Zeke is trying not to die here. What happened to everyone treating his story like it's a real situation? I thought we were all supposed to be taking this more seriously? Saltmines I'm firmly on Team Don't Fuck With Corva. But also… I think we're all missing something incredibly important here.

If Corva gets dropped, somebody is going to be looting his stuff. I'd much rather that be our boy Zeke and not some rando Pale Regiment dood. Let's think about it. Corva is old and he's been wandering around collecting artifacts, journals, relics, and whatever other bizarre nonsense immortal people grab. He's probably got plenty of trash that Zeke could sell for quick cash. When Zeke kills a scavenger, he gets trash. When he kills a Black Teeth member, he gets slightly better trash.

When he kills Corva, it's like him getting an inheritance from a murderous uncle. SignalLoss Hmmm. Inheritance via homicide. The traditional Deadlands method. GrognarTheGreen Don't you remember Zeke already killing Corva once before? It was with Wren and Cole and Zeke didn't get shit except for a hand-axe and a few other small items. It's doubtful that Corva is walking around with a ton of gold and magical items on his person.

SmokeStackMalloy If the Blooming Witch is dead then does that mean Corva now has that Skill Break Reagent? The one that lets people break the cap of 7 for non-class skills. Cause if so then Corva might have just got his shot to break through his Animancy. SpicyShoyu OH SNAP. I just realized something. Corva is old. Corva contains valuable artifacts. Corva is extremely dangerous. You all know what this means? He's not a person anymore, he's a mobile dungeon! Saltmines HAA.

That just means another reason for Zeke to be hunting the dood down. Also SmokeStack, that's a good pull. Zeke kills Corva and is able to get the reagent and boosts his History up past 7 and gets his psychometry skill. That would give us sooooo much more lore. Profectus Hey Zeke, have you finished reading the books you got from the Pale Regiment during the downtime after Patch got in the chair? Anything interesting in them? StoryLeech Oooo. I completely forgot about those.

It should be a good chance to boost some skills, and Zeke's got some time on his hands now. Also Zeke, didn't you end up buying books that Mushroom suggested? What's your skill sheet up to now? Z3ke (Original Poster) Uh… Profectus, no I haven't read the books yet. I know you're all gonna be bitching at me for that, but you all have to remember that I've been dealing with the riot and the storm and Corva and the Blooming Witch dumping a bunch of info directly into my brain.

I can't exactly sit down with a book and a cup of tea. Before you all say "hey Zeke, all you're doing is sitting in the jeep while Jackie drives you around," you've gotta understand how weird it would look for me to pull out a book right now. This isn't like a normal road trip where I can be doing whatever. Jackie is driving and Elnor and I are keeping our eyes peeled for ambushes and movement and monsters and shit.

If Jackie looked over and saw me sitting there reading a book while we were traveling through dangerous territory, she'd lost her shit on me. I will say though that I've been able to look through the books that I got from the Pale Regiment. I don't think I told you all what they are or the skills they would boost for me. I can do that now if you'd like. Z3ke (Original Poster) The Silver Tongues Almanac is connected to Persuasion.

I feel like that's something that would most help me and it's gonna be the first book I start with because I'm interested to see how Persuasion is gonna mesh with Performance and Persona. I'd have three P's in my social skills. The book is a bunch of speeches and historical arguments and examples of people talking themselves out of impossible situations. Next up is The Bookkeeper's Ledger. It's helpful for Accounting which… what the hell man? I'm not saying I won't read it but it's not really a page-turner.

A Hunter's Catalogue of Teeth and Tracks supposedly improves my Tracking skill… which I don't even have. The book is all sketches and observations and notes about identifying creatures. It's useful but most of the creatures and monsters I've dealt with have straight up chased after me and I haven't really had to track them. The Principles of Efficient Motion is for Athletics which is the best book I've got because my Athletics is stuck at Rank 2. It's got exercises and stretching routines and training regimes.

The next book and possibly the one that would have been most useful is The Art of the Open Road. It helps with Navigation. Jackie's already got that skill, but she says it's only Rank 2 so it's not doing much for us. And finally is another book that I'll probably just sell the next time I'm in The MIZ. It's called On Structural Integrity and Practical Construction. The thing is a damn door-stopper.

I can barely lift it and if it weren't for my dimensional storage I wouldn't have bothered lugging the thing around with me. It's supposed to help with an engineering skill but I don't really think that's going to be all that useful for me going forward. Unfortunately, the Pale Regiment didn't give me the book I really wanted, which was How To Become An Immortal Wizard in Ten Easy Steps. Huge oversight on their part. For Story, here's my current list.

A few changed descriptions since the last time I posted it for you all. Puzzle Intuition - Rank 2 You've begun to see the threads of life. Increased awareness of non-linear patterns. Simple Melee Weapons - Rank 2 You've learned basic, unrefined skills related to handheld weapons like batons, knives, and improvised weapons. First Aid - Rank 2 Basic emergency medical care. Stop bleeding, stabilize injuries, and reduce the chance of immediate death. Athletics - Rank 2 You can move in an athletic fashion.

Performance - Rank 7 (Different Description) You understand how to command attention. Music, speech, movement and timing have become instruments to you. Whether performing before a crowd, negotiating with strangers, or inspiring allies in a moment of crisis, you instinctively understand how to make people listen. Instrument Mastery - Rank 4 (Different Description) You possess a practiced familiarity with musical instruments.

What once appeared as a collection of strings, valves, and wood now reveals purpose, technique, and possibility. You can play, maintain, and weaponize musical instruments - both as tools of expression and as unconventional implements in the field. Persona - Rank 3 * You have learned to suppress visible signs of fear, pain, or hesitation. Your posture, expression, and body language present as controlled and intentional.

History - Rank 4 (Different Description) You are learning to see the world through the lens of the past. You can begin identifying connections between people, cultures, and events, allowing you to reconstruct fragments of larger stories from incomplete evidence. Glyph Writing - Rank 2 You have taken your first steps into the art of glyph creation. You may now activate basic glyphs. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

InnerMarrow Do you all feel weird about the story or is it just me? It feels like we're in a lull and I'm hating it. The House of Seasons thing was cool, but now that it's over I'm sitting here realizing I've got absolutely no idea what Zeke is supposed to be doing. Usually when an arc ends there's at least some objective pulling the story forward. After the Valley of Echoes we had Corva. After the Reclaimer we got Binary trying to kill Zeke. After the Chapel Pit we had the Janus Storm. But now what?

What does Zeke even do next? Assuming he gives the info to the Pale Regiment and they send him on his way, what is he actually supposed to do next? HecateTeaCozy | What does Zeke even do next? | NOT go back to The MIZ, that's for sure. InkWell What are you talking about? Zeke's GOT to go back to The MIZ. It's where Patch is and it's where a bunch of gear is. Now that he knows what his class can actually do, he should go shopping for stuff that'll help him out. Profectus ^Inkwell.

Zeke should give Patch a slate so they can keep in contact no matter the distance or time. SixtySix Yes. Force Patch to watch someone walking around in the Deadlands, free and clear and not stuck in a chair in the middle of nowhere. Kerrowe If Zeke adds Patch into the forums, Zeke wouldn't need to be the one feeding info to him. On top of those benefits: A long range contact for Zeke would be great.

Though unless Patch has more friends who'd move things around for him, Patch will only be able to help as recon, a rumor mill checker, and a friendly face to converse with. All of which would probably still be great. Polw3 I have a couple ideas for gear, Zeke for you to pick up at The MIZ when you get back. Some leather gloves, so your fingers don't get shredded by the strings again.

A pocket guitar amplifier, like the ones you can clip to your belt; this way you can extend your AoE range, as well as either conserve mana, or be combined with glyphs for even more effects. Stacking buffs is always OP. AnywayHeresWonderwall He doesn't need a shopping arc. He's got the guitar, the knife from the Pale Regiment, and his leather jacket armor. What more does he need? He should just sit somewhere safe and spend a week reading his books. The amount of skill progression he's leaving on the table is nuts.

Yapez_Astora If Zeke's biggest strength is preparation, then he should reserve some hours to brainstorm magical tools with the forum's help. I mean, those magical tuning forks he just used on the Apocalypse Placenta? How about a more planned and powerfully designed version he can carry around and deploy when needed? If Zeke can apparently use more glyphs than we initially thought, then should we explore that? Bilbo Do we know if glyphs can be taken in inventory?

Zeke should have two sound amplification slabs ready to be taken out whenever he needs to blast music. Well, he should also have forcefields and lightning bolts and whatnot but let's ignore that for now. HecateTeaCozy | NOT go back to The MIZ, that's for sure. | I'm saying he shouldn't go back because he'd be a target. The Black Teeth hate him because he escaped the Chapel Pit and broke their shit. The Shard Choir is going to hunt him because he killed their God.

And if word gets out about what happened with the Janus Storm, anyone who has family out in the Deadlands who is about to get mutated by the alien virus is going to be hunting him too. The MIZ is too dangerous for him and he should be going elsewhere. JimothyTheBarber Did you just quote your own post? Who the hell does that? Yapez_Astora I want Zeke to go to Null Protocol, mostly because I'm in a Cyberpunk run recently, but also because we need the meeting between him and that lady from the beginning!

Did people forget about her, the scary lady with a gun that made our boy run like hell??? FolkingSchmidt I get what you're saying Hecate… but how the hell are any of these people going to know about Zeke? He's not some famous hero or anything. The Black Teeth are probably still dealing with the aftereffects of the riot and only three people know who killed the Janus Storm. You know who those three people are? Jackie, Elnor, and Zeke.

As long as the three of them don't go up to a crowd and brag about it, they should be fine. Resusplus | what does Zeke even do next? | Welp, feels like the next thing to do will be to try to fix the alien virus problem. 7Spirals Agree. Folking brought up the fact that only three people know about the Janus Storm and the pod. But that also means only three people know that the pod was containing the alien virus and it's broke now.

The infection is still there and, until it gets fixed, the Deadlands is on a ticking clock. Dodough I'm not sure Zeke can fix the virus problem, this requires a solution that lasts for a really long time. Zeke's musical effects only last for as long as the song he's playing and there's no song that can play long enough to keep the virus at bay forever. The solution must be physical, it needs to last, the solution needs to be at least nearly as advanced as the pod itself.

Y_Ddraig_Gogh Maybe an out-there idea: Zeke could use his skills for a whole concert of scientists, disease specialists, and maybe engineers to pump up their skills to make a solution to the virus? I. I. I One man The Cure concert. DCX9 Geez it feels Zeke is becoming the second Fracture himself with the consequences his actions have caused by listening to the forum. It's like playing a game and doing all the bad stuff and getting the Bad End. FinalBossIntern I've got an idea.

Zeke should find a time-machine and then head back to before he started messing around with both the Reclaimer and the Janus Pod… and then stop himself from doing that. That would fix everything. BaryBybax ^Final. What was it that Plethora was saying? ReCoil and Crush basically broke the Deadlands and used Zeke to do it for them?

Cringyusername Plethora is totally correct, the forum has been using Zeke as a probing tool and interactions have been colored by that view rather than a "story" and has a mindset of kill kill kill like a child or a druggie. Shovah | before he started messing around with both the Reclaimer and the Janus Pod | The intent was never to go there and stop it though.

That decision wasn't even made because it was monstrous, it only became the plan when the alternative to "stop this and die slowly" was "don't stop this and die quickly." The plan was to go there to learn and maybe snag some power-ups. Everything that happened was moment-to-moment choices that pretty much make sense.

For an entirely different character (more capable, more experienced, more informed, more resources) and situation, sure, these ideas and their outcomes would be great to explore for a best case solution. Berating people for not going for them here feels about as fair as berating homeless people for not just having a bunch of real estate investments.

DaveLurksHere Zeke's problem is that he's an utterly unambitious and mediocre person attempting to do the impossible via increasingly suspicious or ill advised advice from people with no real stake in his continued life and safety let alone that of the rest of the setting.

He has the means to avoid many of the problems he's faced since he got to The MIZ but has zero drive or talent to go at it without the dangerous advice that he never bothers to properly check or sift through or properly think about cause he is the sort of man Grok was made for. Which is why the Primary system got made, other than cause Zeke was so unambitious and indecisive that he left his choices up to some strangers on the internet.

Gilar But Zeke can't double check forum advice - he doesn't have a second source of information. He was dropped into deadly situations one after another, and while the forum advice is shitty it's the only one he has for most of his time. And even if he somehow found another trustworthy source - he can't see the future. He killed the Reclaimer because it was described as a "terraforming device out of control that slowly mutates the city foundation" and it was true!

He did the Glens with zero info about the world, did the House of Seasons intelligently, Binary tricked him into the Witness Chamber by literally withholding info, everyone thought that Corva was trustworthy. It looks like people should blame forum users who've spent decades theorycrafting instead of Zeke who was dropped in an unfamiliar world where everything is different, including some laws of physics.

DaveLurksHere He has access to the rest of the forum even if it's not the easiest thing to navigate, and he could've entirely avoided the Witness Chamber lock if he ever bothered to just PM someone like Null or Mushroom the details to factcheck. Yet even now, it feels like he never bothers trawling through any threads beyond his own in order to ask people like they're a twitter bot. Gilar He has access to the DeepFracture forum, which is for all the games, while Zeke is in a specific one.

Finding needed information is a matter of days if not weeks while he is in constant danger - that's why he started the thread by basically asking "I'm in danger, can you quickly help me." After that it was non-stop danger. What I'm trying to say is Zeke did not have a luxury of research. He asked people who self-proclaimed as lore gurus and who gave him information that was accurate, but not full.

That's better than sitting in the middle of slums with no money or food or shelter and trawling 1000 page lore threads in hopes of finding something helpful.

Cringelord Yea I agree, Z3ke should simply get over his depression and magic asbestos blue cheeto dust brain damage and horribly toxic relationship with the annoying boomers on the forum (it's not just Binary) and generally detach from and discard everything else in his life weighing him down and ascend as the DeepFracture Competent (™) MC he was always meant to be. Pingle4454 To be fair to Zeke, I think a lot of you are holding him to a standard that nobody else here would actually be able to meet.

His whole fanfic is about him being new to the forums and not having played the Fracture-verse games before. He couldn't access the wiki and he spent the first week or so of his story stumbling around with no idea how this forum works. I'm new too and I get what he's going through. At the risk of all you booing me… have any of you actually tried scrolling through this forum? It's absolutely awful. You can't find anything. Half the time when I open a thread here I don't know what I'm looking at.

Even if a thread starts with a discussion about a single lore subject, it devolves into memes and theories and analysis about something completely different. Also, how is he supposed to know something is important? You're all saying he should have known this or he should be researching that. Okay. But how? Seriously? Crush told him to attack the Reclaimer and now half of you are acting like he's an idiot for doing it because the thing supposedly could serve as a counterbalance to the alien virus. But…

how many people knew about the Second Fracture before Zeke discovered it? Who here thought the Reclaimer would help with the Janus Storm? Who here was able to legitimately look at the Reclaimer and be like "yes, this giant monster is probably able to prevent a larger catastrophe from hitting the Deadlands?" Zeke didn't know about the Reclaimer before Crush told him. He didn't know about the Janus Storm before ReCoil sicced him on it. He doesn't know the games. He never played them.

Even if someone on here did have theories about the Reclaimer and a Second Fracture and ecological disasters, it still wouldn't have done Zeke any good. Try searching "Reclaimer" in the search bar. You'll get years of posts, theories, old discussions, dead links (that he couldn't follow in the first place) speculation threads, roleplay archives, and people arguing random things. It's impossible to find anything on the Reclaimer unless you're willing to spend the next two months reading absolutely everything.

You all want Zeke to have perfect information because he's got access to the forum but that's not going to happen. A buddy has been trying to get me into the games and he sent me the article, saying this was the best time to jump in. I've spent the last three days trying to understand everything and I still don't understand ANYTHING. You're asking Zeke to build skills, earn money, survive gangs trying to gank him, navigate the Deadlands, understand centuries of history, AND uncover hidden lore for all of you.

On top of all that, he's supposed to develop encyclopedic knowledge of every obscure theory ever posted on this site? Maybe cut him a little slack. DeconstructedAntlers Mmmmm… nah. Dood needs to git gud. GravemindLegacy (MOD) Since several of you have begun speculating about future storylines, Primary assignments, and where Zeke's story goes from here, this seems as good a time as any to address the subject directly. As of now, Zeke has officially completed what I will call the Janus Storm Arc.

For new members of this forum, Primary assignments for Zeke's story are normally rotated after major narrative milestones. The exact timing varies case by case, but the goal is to prevent a single Primary from continuing past their arc. Under normal circumstances, there would be a handoff to the next Primary in line and they would begin preparing Zeke. Unfortunately for us, there isn't a good handoff point in the story. I have spoken with 10161066, who was scheduled to be the next Primary.

After discussing the matter, I've decided it would be unfair to ask him to continue Zeke's story now that he is hundreds of miles from The MIZ, stranded out in the Deadlands, and surrounded by unresolved plot threads. Hastings has agreed to step back and accept the NEXT Primary slot instead. Therefore, we have an open slot. If any of you believe you are a suitable Primary, capable of guiding Zeke through the Glens and back towards a more stable position, you may contact me directly via PM to make your case.

I am particularly interested in hearing from candidates who understand the difference between knowing interesting opportunities for Zeke and steering him into a catastrophe. Based on recent discussions, I'm expecting that will significantly narrow the applicant pool. Iunnrais Vote Plethora for Primary!

EarliestSideCharacter Plethora seems to be an original forum member who knows a lot about the Fractureverse and considers the consequences of Zeke's actions, why not make them the next primary (and maybe solve the whole alien virus thing)? VeneratedWitchHunter Ew Plethora. You've got the newbie votes. I was going to support you until I saw that.

Plethora It's been a while since I've been back on this forum, but I'm thinking the rule where you can't just post a gif is still in effect and I have no interest in Grave banning me. So instead: Gif of Obama throwing up his hands and looking around in confusion. That should be enough words to not get me a warning. Z3ke (Original Poster) Quick update for everyone. We got to the Pale Regiment and not a moment too soon. For the past hour or so, Jackie's been driving with one eye on the road and one on the fuel gauge.

She wasn't saying much but I could tell she was nervous. Well, actually, she's been a lot better over the past couple days. Fuel shortages and water shortages and finding a place to sleep are normal problems for her. A pod trying to absorb everyone into a biological nightmare isn't a normal problem. Now that we're back to things she can actually solve she's been in a better mood. Anyways, we're at the Pale Regiment now.

I've gotta admit that when Jackie and Elnor first agreed to the plan and said they knew a few spots out in the Deadlands where they hung out, I was expecting a giant fortress or something. They control the library in The MIZ and everything I've seen with them so far shows they're a serious organization. Then we find them out here and they're chilling in a… facility. That's the generous term for it. There's this low hill overlooking a stretch of road and they've thrown up a chainlink fence and a watchtower.

The whole thing is not impressive. But… it's got what we need. There's three large fuel tanks here and some garages scattered about the place. There's also a big warehouse with a bunch of cars parked out front. All told, the whole place is basically a logistics hub which is exactly what we were hoping for. We pulled up to the gate of the place and I immediately saw Jackie tensing up next to me. She doesn't like the Pale Regiment and finds them creepy, which is apparently a fairly common opinion back in The MIZ.

But they've got gas and water and food so, I'm sure she'll be okay. A guard stepped out to meet us and we rolled to a stop at the gate. Like everyone else he was wearing one of those creepy porcelain masks and he leaned into the jeep with a hand resting on his rifle. He stared at Jackie in the driver's seat and then back at Elnor who was in the back.

"Are you expected?"

"No -" I didn't even get to finish the sentence before he cut me off.

"Then turn around and leave." I felt my Persona kick in and shook my head.

"My name is Zeke and I worked with your people back in the Under-MIZ. You hear about the Reclaimer? That was me. Right now, your whole organization is picking through my scraps." That seemed to get his attention and he started bristling at my words but I barreled forward without giving him the chance to interrupt.

"Now, you can listen to what I've got to say or you can tell your boss that you sent away the person who made your organization more money than you ever will." The guy(?) went completely still and I could feel Jackie staring at me, wondering why the hell I was trying to piss off the only people with fuel. After a moment the guard finally stepped aside and gestured towards the warehouse at the center of the place.

"You'll find the boss there." And that's how I talked my way onto a military base.